{"text":"Early Marriage and Forced Marriage in Pakistan:\nEarly marriage and forced marriages, Child marriage, Child marriages, are human rights violations that violate several international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Marriage Age, and Marriage Registration; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). According to international law, boys and girls should be allowed to marry at a uniform age, and consent to marriage should be free, full, and informed. Against this background, the CRC recommends that the minimum age of marriage be 18 years, while the CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) urges states to protect the right of free will in choosing a spouse and marriage only with full consent from both parties. Similarly, UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims to eradicate all harmful practices by 2030, including child marriage, early marriage, and forced marriage.\nEarly marriage:\nGenerally, child marriage and early marriage refer to marriages in which one or both spouses are under the age of 18. However, early marriage can sometimes be referred to as a marriage in which one or both spouses are 18 years of age or older, but without their free and full consent. A young marriage could, for example, be that of a 19-year-old who is not physically or emotionally mature, or unable to make their own decisions.\nForced marriage:\nForced marriages are characterized by one or both spouses being unable to give their full, free, and informed consent to marriage, regardless of age. A marriage that cannot be ended or left can be referred to as a forced marriage as well. The majority of child marriages are considered forced marriages because children aren't considered able to give consent legally.\nEffects of Early and Forced Marriages:\nChildren involved in child, early, or forced marriages are at high risk of violence and abuse, as well as being deprived of their fundamental rights to childhood, education, health, and opportunity. United Nations Children's Fund's 2016 State of the World's Children reports states that 18% of Pakistani girls get married before their 18th birthday, 4% before their 15th birthday, and 5% before their 18th birthday, while 5% of Pakistani boys get married before their 18th birthday.\nPakistan has a high rate of child, early, and forced marriages in rural and low-income areas where education is low. Sindh is the state with the highest prevalence (72% girls and 25% boys). Similarly, 99% of girls living in K-P's tribal areas are victims. Due to socioeconomic and cultural reasons, a large proportion of young girls marry before they turn 18. According to the UK's Forced Marriage Unit, at least 439 children forced marriages occurred in Pakistan in 2017, making it the first 'focused' country among Bangladesh, Somalia, and India.\nActs in Pakistan concerning Early and Forced Marriages:\nAccording to Pakistani legislation, boys and girls have different marriage ages. In 1947, Pakistan adopted the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 as the primary law, and it is applicable to the Islamabad Capital Territory, K-P, Balochistan, and the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Contrary to international standards, this law sets the legal marriage age at 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Additionally, Sindh passed exemplary legislation, imposing an 18-year-old age limit on both boy and girl marriages, and penalizing perpetrators, aiders, and abettors of underage marriage. A marriage solemnized underage is also a cognizable, non bailable, and non-compoundable offense. In Punjab, the legal marriage age is 16 years for girls and 18 years for boys, together with a clause that declares underage marriage a criminal offense. Despite five attempts, the federal government has only succeeded in amending The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 once, and it still does not totally address child, early, and forced marriages, nor does it set the marriageable age at 18 years for girls.\nThough Pakistan has legislation to address child, early, and forced marriages, its enforcement and interpretation have not been addressed since Pakistani courts often apply Islamic law in such cases, which interprets any girl who has undergone puberty can marry regardless of her age.\nConsent of marriage in Pakistan:\nUpon reaching her late teens or early twenties, a woman can expect the protections provided by her father to shift to her husband. Pakistani society allows women to exist only by being married. Exclusions, criticism, and intrusions await those who violate this rule. A woman without a husband is automatically regarded as a social pariah, and their morals are compromised. In many parts of the country, a single woman will still find it difficult to rent or lease a home in 2022. Many girls choose to go ahead regardless of such challenges.\n\"There is more to consent than saying 'yes'. Focusing only on the technical definition of consent leaves out so much of the story\".\nWomen in Pakistan are not allowed to exercise their right to say 'no' with consent. This also applies to men in many cases. In most cases, the guy on the stage has just married a woman because she is his cousin, as part of a business deal with his family, or because her brother has married her sister. Couples are told that love will come as their lives are shared over time, etc\nWas this helpful? Please give your feedback!\nWe tried to cover the detailed analysis on child, early and forced marriages with its rules and regulations set by the Government of Pakistan. We at Right Law Associates, provide the service of court marriage and online marriage (for people living abroad) with complete process and documentation. Moreover, we also offer services regarding legal matters such as Family Law, Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Corporate Law, etc. We are the top law firm in Karachi, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. For legal consultation with our expert lawyers, please send us an email with your query. We will try our best to reach you in the best possible manner.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Category Archives: Other Media\nComic book movies, games, and more!\nTurning (iPad) Pro!\nLest my current paper comics-based review project make you think I've turned my back on digital funnybooks, I offer photographic proof of my Commitment To The Future:\nThat is a photo of my new iPad Pro, displaying my favorite issue of Kamandi, along with a copy of the issue itself and my old iPad Air 2 for reference.\nMy \"old\" iPad was perfectly adequate for reading comics, but the new job has been good to me and I had a few extra bucks at the end of the year, and I became obsessed with the idea of reading in 1:1 scale on a digital device, so \u2026\nThe bugaboo of this photographic report is that it can't really show the superior resolution of the iPad Pro, which is a significant step up from my previous device. It also loads pages and changes pages in a flash.\nSince switching to the iPad Pro, I rarely use pinch\/zoom functionality to zero in on individual panels \u2014 it is all easy to see in a single image, now, and having a display this size allows me to view the work as originally composed, in the form of a single page.\nProvided you can adjust to the color of digital comics, and assuming you aren't addicted to the smell of old comic pages, about the only place the iPad Pro reading experience lags behind print is in viewing two-pages spreads, like Jack Kirby loved to do:\nAnd of course digital comics are usually absent the collateral charms of original books, like letters pages and house ads \u2026\n\u2026 but for speed, convenience, clarity, and ease of image capture for articles here at Longbox Graveyard, nothing beats digital comics. I'm a convert.\nSo, yeah \u2026 I'm the guy who dropped eleven-hundred bucks on a device to read comics with a twenty-cent cover price. Hmm.\nI'm blessed to be able to afford such foolishness. Life is good!\nTags: digital comics, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, Jack Kirby, Kamandi\nPosted by miloapama\nIn this week's guest blog, Milo Miller of Hero Tomorrow Comics tells us of the secret origin of his comic book hero, The Apama \u2026 and his own secret origin, as well, which involves Steve Gerber, the Man-Thing, and a certain fool-killing vigilante. Take it way, Milo!\nI've always considered myself a comic book reader. Collector? Not so much. I've got tons of comics \u2014 a lot of Bronze Age gold that by all rights should be getting ready to pay for college, finance my next feature film, or \u2014 at the very least \u2014 purchase a jet pack (or two.)\nHulk 181, Spidey 129, Giant Size X-Men. They're all there & then some; bought 'em right off the racks.\nSpidey 129!\nThen my twin brother and I read them to shreds of course. It's not like I cut out the value stamps, right Paul? But I might as well have \u2014 creased covers, broken bindings, an inevitable grape jelly stain. Ughh.\nIn the film I co-wrote, Hero Tomorrow, a comic shop customer asks the proprietor \u2014 \"Is that a comic book or a napkin?\" and I regretfully have to admit here, \"Yes, my writing does include many autobiographical elements.\"\nHero Tomorrow\nBut mostly those books took such an incredible beating because I just loved the stories, the storytelling. And to be honest those landmark books we always picked up \u2014 fabulous first appearances, amazing origins, big premiere issues \u2014 aren't all that indicative of the comics I was most attracted to.\nMy favorite books lived in the shadows; low-selling, anything-goes straight-up weirdness where creator's often seemed to challenge an audience to follow on a trip that would inevitably end badly (at least from a commercial perspective.) Given the choice I would always take Mister Miracle over Superman, the Creeper over Gotham's Dark Knight, Luke Cage over Peter Parker's alter-ego.\nIt's those pre-Star Wars books that led me to co-write my own retro\/throwback\/homage comic Apama The Undiscovered Animal: the story of a Cleveland-born Hungarian ice cream truck driver who unlocks the spiritual force of the most savage beast man has never known.\nBut it wasn't only inspiration those Bronze Age beauties provided; they also presented the opportunity for me to meet & ultimately join forces with someone who would become one of my best friends, partner-in-crime, and greatest creative collaborators.\nBecause the day I met Ted Sikora at the University of Akron I told him all about one of the favorite books in my own longbox graveyard. And things were never the same.\nTed and I were taking a Video Production course together. I was a slumming English Major; he had just left Accounting to take some Advertising & Media classes. We both started talking comics almost immediately \u2014- that uncanny geek-sense pinging as soon as we were in close proximity. I had drifted away from comics to a large degree; I still frequently visited my own accumulation but had lost the thread in the early eighties and hadn't been actively buying new books in a long time.\nTed on the other hand was \u2014- and still is \u2014 a life-long collector, a bag & board guy who hasn't missed an issue of Amazing Spider-Man since 1975.\nSo in my desire to make a keen impression on a new acquaintance I played my trump card early in the conversation. \"You've probably never heard of him but my favorite character of all-time is a guy named The Foolkiller.\"\nNow Ted surprised me. Because, of course, he knew who the Foolkiller was. Unknown to me he'd made an appearance in Amazing to begin with and -\u2014 more shocking to me -\u2014 Ted told me there was a new Foolkiller mini-series that had just started hitting the racks.\nAfter class that day Ted and I booked over to a local shop and attacked the longboxes with a vengeance. I picked up some of the other Fookliller appearances -\u2014 the afore-mentioned Spider-Man, two-issues of the wonderfully idiosyncratic Omega, a Defenders story. And I also purchased the first two issues of the current mini-series. Just like that, I was back in the game.\nAnd I got Ted to purchase two of the greatest comic books of all-time: Man-Thing #3 & 4.\nTed and I have been friends ever since. After graduation we co-wrote the script for our award-winning indie film Hero Tomorrow which Ted would direct to much acclaim. The film is a comic-shop romance with a super-hero twist about a struggling comic book creator who is desperately trying to break into the industry by promoting his original creation Apama. Apama is the \"undiscovered animal,\" a creature shrouded in mystery, a crypto-zoological puzzle that puts Bigfoot to shame.\nThe humor in the film comes from the creator's inability to see that while characters based on bats, spiders and wolverines have an instant connection with an audience, one based on an animal that doesn't exist fails to resonate.\nIn the film his girlfriend makes him a costume based on his creation for a Halloween party and in no time he's out on the streets of Cleveland \"fighting crime.\" (I use the quotations since there is very little fighting and even less crime in the actual film).\nFor a micro-budget indie the film was very successful. We played a lot of festivals across the globe and it was at the post-screening Q&A's that we kept hearing the same thing, \"What's with this Apama character?\"\nWe didn't need further incentive -\u2014 we'd each been dreaming of taking a crack at doing a comic since we were kids. And so began the ongoing series Apama The Undiscovered Animal.\nThe book has been getting some great reviews and the Volume 1 Collection of Issues 1-5 just got picked up by Diamond Distribution. It's something I'm really proud of and captures many of the fun Bronze Age elements I grew up loving.\nBut enough about Apama; I'm running out of time and I've still got to tell you about two of the greatest comic books of all-time: Man-Thing #3 and 4!\nI originally traded for beat-up copies from my old neighborhood pal Tim Engleman. He'd colored in the eyes of most of the characters with ballpoint pen for some reason. Paging through it today it strikes me as slightly unsettling; as if the detective investigating a rash of local serial killings will extract this from my accumulation to a thrilling declaration of \"we've found our man!\" Thank God Tim also was kind enough to scrawl his name across the cover as well, giving me at least a shot to slip the hangman's noose.\nI suspect the trade involved sports cards of some kind or maybe an early Blue Oyster Cult album that I was still too young to get into.\nRegardless I felt I had won big.\nSteve Gerber is (for me) the quintessential Bronze Age talent and -\u2014 backed up with some fantastic art by Val Mayerik \u2014 nowhere does his quirky poetry and off-the-wall storytelling come into more thrilling focus than this frantic tale of the Foolkiller.\nThe cover is wonderfully apocalyptic -\u2014 attacking alligators, flaming wreckage, a swamp filled with screaming survivors that look like they just woke up in Hell. And it only gets better from there.\nMy favorite aspect of The Man-Thing in general is simply the jaw-dropping audacity that the character could carry a book. He -\u2014 it \u2014- is everything a protagonist shouldn't be: reactive, mostly passive, barely possessing a consciousness. In the best stories -\u2014 like these issues -\u2014 the 'most startling swamp creature of all!' sort of just shambles on stage as an after-thought, appearing to fulfill some sort of Comics Code mandate for minimum page appearance for a title character.\nAfter the man-muck-monster ties up loose ends from last ish in some action-packed first pages the tale really starts cooking. A couple of bikers from the Skullcrushers \u2014- also hold-overs from Man-Thing #2 -\u2014 hit the road after making peace with Richard Rory, the lifelong loser of the supporting cast. There at the bottom of page 11, in the distance we can just make out a figure standing boldly in the middle of the road.\nThen, on the page turn after a couple of ads, we're introduced to what is, frankly, an incredible example of visual storytelling and what can happen in the synergy between writer and artist.\nOur first good look of the Foolkiller -\u2014 a perfect low-angle shot of a confident and dashing character -\u2014 part pirate, part cavalier, all WTF \u2014 is accompanied by a brilliant statement of purpose: \"They come. All the days of their lives have led to this moment. It was ordained long ago in Heaven that this day they would meet -\u2014 the Foolkiller!\"\nIn these next couple of pages every panel is a home run. This \"Holy Warrior\" stops the two cyclists with a purifying blast -\u2014 the \"energy of the just and righteous\" -\u2014 that is so over-the-top and devastating in effect that it can only be the weapon of a madman.\nGerber makes it clear \u2014- even through the satire and absurdity -\u2014 that every great villain is a hero in his own mind; but Mayerik's close-ups leave no doubt \u2014- this guy is friggin' nuts!\n\"Sometimes I fear,\" FK muses, \"that when my killing of fools is done -\u2014 only I shall be left alive.\" Gerber is firing on all cylinders; the entire issue if full of these incredible, dead-pan hilarious observations. The voice of the character is so strong right from the rip I couldn't help but be drawn to him. And then when he hands out his calling card demanding his future victims repent, ah brilliance!\nIssue #4 has the Foolkiller's origin which just ups the wacky ante even higher. Born 'a cripple' Ross Everbest's father was killed on the day of his birth during the final days of WW2 while his mother perished as a military nurse in Korea on another of his birthdays -\u2014 'cut down by a commie bomb!'\nConfined to a wheelchair Ross studies the art of war and worships all things military. Which one might think would result in a great tactical mind, an ability that would translate to a strategic advantage in combat but nothing could be farther from the truth. The Foolkiller's escapades are marked by missteps, mistakes, and operative failure\u2014- he is nothing if not an incredibly violent screw-up.\nEverbest discovers his true calling when he's miraculously healed at a revival meeting. Becoming a soldier in the service of the Almighty he realizes he must be an active agent against the fools -\u2014 'criminals \u2026 protesters, dope pushers \u2026 mocking the Lord and the military.\"\nAdd in a betrayal, a corpse encased in a glass shrine, and a strong sense of environmental consciousness to the murderous mayhem and you've got classic Gerber. There are so many great little elements along the way -\u2014 Foolkiller's mobile HQ in a the back of an ACME moving truck, a 'red herring' sports car, Rory being on the killer's hit list for playing \"blasphemous\" music while a disc jockey in Ohio.\nAnd then, within pages of his introduction, the Foolkiller is dead. (By his own hand, of course.) \"What a lousy way to die \u2026 even for a killer \u2026! But maybe it's poetic justice \u2026 sort of \u2026 even if we never know what the rhyme was.\"\nYou can take the Punisher, Wolverine, Deadpool \u2014- any of those characters who have followed that twisted trajectory from hyper-violent take-no-prisoner psychopath to the side of your kid's lunchbox; I knew I'd found the unstable, rage-fueled killer for me. To this day I think Foolkiller missed his shot at the big time by not more than a degree or two, missed the refrigerator magnet, beach towel, and action-figures and wound up in semi-obscurity instead, buried -\u2014 not too deeply \u2014- in many a longbox graveyard.\nPunish a PBJ today!\nThanks to Paul for letting me pinch-hit this month; it was a lot of fun. Originally I had contacted him in hopes of getting some promotional attention for the Apama Vol 1 release. But given the opportunity I found myself unable to resist the urge to waltz through some of my own tombstones if you will.\nMaybe that says more about our book than any amount of shilling I could do otherwise.\nThanks, Milo, for bearing your swampy soul! Truly, you are a child of the Bronze Age! I urge my readers to check out The Apama \u2026 and visit them on Facebook, too. Tell them Longbox Graveyard sent you!\nTags: Apama The Undiscovered Animal, Foolkiller, Hero Tomorrow, Man-Thing, Milo Miller, Steve Gerber, Ted Sikora\nMarvel Unlimited Updated Review!\nIt's been three-and-a-half years since I reviewed Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. I've been meaning to post an update for some time, and as I've been on vacation these past few weeks \u2014 and using the service a lot in my downtime \u2014 now seems the ideal time!\n(For the TL:DR-types in the audience \u2014 I still enthusiastically endorse this service! For those wanting a bit more detail, I offer brief and updated impressions below!)\nFirst off, the service has a new name \u2014 it is now simply Marvel Unlimited, which is snappier, but no less deceptive, as the service is still limited, though considerably improved over my original review.\nTechnology & Interface\nThe single greatest improvement in the service was a rebuild that dispensed with Flash and went cross-platform. That's right, now I can use Marvel Unlimited on my tablet, which dispenses with about a third of my original criticism. Marvel Unlimited's \"smart panel\" system isn't quite so sharp as Comixology's, but I find single-page mode on an iPad serves me just fine, given that I can pinch\/zoom in on anything I want to see in greater detail. The service has been of great value in capturing images for use here at Longbox Graveyard (and the absence of a similar service accounts for much of the relatively paucity of DC Comics features here at my blog \u2026 it takes a lot more effort and expense to read DC product in electronic form).\nThe updated app came with some under-the-hood improvements, too, resulting in faster search and (generally) better stability. The physical search process also seems improved, though some of this might be down to my familiarity with the system, or just lowered expectations. My sense is that Marvel has been cleaning up their search metadata behind-the-scenes, but I haven't run any benchmark tests, so you are on your own if a routine search turns up twelve separate entries for Don Heck (horrors!).\nHeck, no!\nA very welcome addition is the option to search by date, which lets me set the Wayback Machine for (say) 1978 and see all the comics on offer for that year. I LOVE this feature, as it lets me dive directly into eras of interest, and even kinda-sorta read books in the order they came out, should I wish to experience a past year on a month-to-month basis. This is an indispensable feature \u2014 the kind that makes me wonder how I ever went without it. Well done!\nThe \"Must Reads\" search workaround I mentioned in my previous review is no longer available (at least on tablet, which is the only place I use this service now) \u2014 in its place is a \"Library\" option, which is supposed to let you download up to twelve comics at a time to read offline, a theoretically useful feature for plane or car trips.\nI say, \"theoretically,\" because I can't get the bloody thing to work.\nKind of damning to read instructions about how I can read comics offline on the same screen that chastises me for not having an internet connection, no? This may well be down to user error. Or maybe it just flat out doesn't work.\nOtherwise, the experience has improved in every way. Upon completing an issue, the option is available to jump directly to the next issue in line, a very welcome feature for long series re-reads. The ability to rate books or try to share them with friends is gone, and un-missed.\nThe front-end has nice new features like spotlight sections, with the most recently-released content displayed front-and-center (and alerts about new content rolling onto the system can also be pushed to you via email updates).\nWhich brings me to \u2026\nContent is still king on this app \u2014 everything I lauded in my original review of the service is still here, plus seemingly every new book Marvel has published since, with the significant caveat that the system lags approximately six months behind print. You can think of Marvel Unlimited as the home video release of theatrical movies \u2026 and just as with the movies, if you can wean yourself of seeing everything when it comes out day-and-date, you can enjoy a lot of content for a fraction of the price.\nFor your humble narrator \u2014 stuck as I am in the year of 1978 \u2014 being \"only\" six month behind the times is so far into the future that it gives me a nosebleed! In other words, I'm fine with it, even for new books. Like many readers, I am looking forward to Marvel's Even-Newer-And-This-Time-We-Mean-It relaunch \u2026 but I will be enjoying it in the Spring, instead of the Fall!\nvery much looking forward to this \u2026 eventually\nArchival gaps have been slower to close. Marvel's Star Wars books recently appeared on the service, but frustrating omissions from decades past remain (I am still flummoxed that Marvel's monster books from the 70s are so few and far between). Very occasionally I will get notice that new issues of an old book have been filled in, but mostly I've adjusted my expectations and use the service for reading newer issues.\nnew-old Daredevil, recently added to Marvel Unlimited\nMarvel Unlimited helped me come to terms with my conflicted feelings about Brian Michael Bendis by reading his work in long digital binges (where he shines) \u2014 I even bit the bullet and detoured into Battle of the Atom when it interrupted my long 40-issue read of Uncanny X-Men. It would have been nice if those Battle of the Atom issues were threaded one to the next, so I didn't have to search up each title in order and by hand \u2026 but you can't have everything!\nmy kingdom for an interactive checklist!\nIn a lot of ways, my Marvel Unlimited service has been like a gym membership. There have been times when I've used it religiously, and then long gaps when I forgotten I've paid for the damn thing. If my credit card had aged out and the service had failed to renew, I might not have missed it \u2026 until the time came that I wanted to look as some specific issue of such-and-so, when Marvel Unlimited proves itself very much indispensable. I suppose I could cancel out my sub and pop in-and-out with trail memberships from disposable email addresses, but that is a churlish way to treat this service. There is good content here, and I'm happy to pay for it (and I will keep a candle burring in the window in hopes of DC offering a similar platform someday). I might even double-down and get a retina-display iPad specifically for Marvel Unlimited \u2026 or better yet, wait on the super-sized tablets Apple supposedly has in the pipeline, which strike me as possibly the best way yet to read digital comics.\nBut even with my \"old\" iPad, I am still a fan of Marvel Unlimited; I think it is worth a subscription, and it is certainly worth a tryout for whatever app is native to your device.\nAnd now, if you will excuse me, I need to return to my Bendis-era Uncanny X-Men re-read. It might be 2013 in that particular series, but it's all new to me!\nTags: Digit, digital comics, iPad, Marvel Comics, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, Marvel Unlimited","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Tags Posts tagged with \"costa rica safety\"\ncosta rica safety\nCosta Rica InfoUncategorized\nCosta Rica Travel Warning Issued by Canadian Government\nThe Canadian government has issued an 'Exercise a High-Degree of Caution' advisory for the Central America country of Costa Rica. This Level 2 Advisory was issued on May 13, 2019,\u2026\nA Solo Girls Trip to Costa Rica\nRecent headlines about the deadly violence inflicted on women traveling alone have raised questions about how the world is greeting the documented rise in female solo travelers and about the\u2026\nCosta Rica Operation to Combat Violence Against Tourists\nby Isabella Foster Villanueva 2019\/01\/14\nAuthorities, in a mega-operation, made 36 arrests in tourist areas. Drugs, firearms and license plates were also seized in this fourth mega-operation of the year. Among the arrested were two\u2026\nArrests Made in Costa Rican kidnapping of American\nAP \u2013 Costa Rican authorities are hoping the arrest of 12 people allegedly involved in the September kidnapping of the owner of an internet sports betting site will lead to\u2026\nFamily of Florida Woman Killed in Costa Rica Sues Airbnb\nThe family of a Florida woman found dead near her vacation rental in Costa Rica has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb and the resort where she was staying. The lawsuit\u2026\nWhat Is Costa Rica Doing About the Recent Crimes Against Tourists?\nDeputies have called on the ministers of Security, Labor, and Tourism regarding the recent crimes against vacationers in Costa Rica. The President of the Security and Drug Trafficking Commission proposed\u2026\nBody Found in Costa Rica Confirmed to be Murdered Tourist Carla Stefaniak\nCosta Rica News \u2013 The OIJ has been able to confirm, using fingerprints, that the body found near the Le Mas Provence Hotel in San Antonio de Escaz\u00fa, San Jos\u00e9 was\u2026\nBody of Missing Tourist Carla Stefaniak Found in Costa Rica?\nThe Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) found a woman's body semi-covered in a wooded area of San Antonio de Escaz\u00fa.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"What's a merchant's daughter to do once she immigrates to a land of opportunity? Why, start a business. Or more than one.\nSarah Ocampo was her father's right hand \"man\" as he had no older son. She helped manage all his properties, which included chasing bandits who threatened them. She had learned much from him, and it near broke her heart when she decided she had to leave him. Now she can honor him by putting all she'd learned to use. With a WEE bit of help from the librarians of Grantville.\nThe country in and around Grantville is generally peaceful. But there are always some who would rather rob other's businesses than work their own.\nThey should have left the businesses of \"the African Princess\" alone.\nHere is the story that I've submitted to the Grantville Gazette.\nby Laer Carroll\nGrantville, Thuringia-Franconia, Europe\nAthena Sarah Mawusi Akwete Ocampo received an arrivalday gift which made her tear up. It was a Ruger .357 Magnum revolver with a six-inch barrel.\nArrivalday was an increasingly celebrated day for down-timer Grantvillers. Many didn't know their birthdays\u2013or didn't want it generally known. A good many were former mercenaries or bandits or political or religious refugees who wanted to remain anonymous. Arrivalday, the day they'd arrived in Grantville or its outlying areas, were for many of them a day of rebirth more important than their biological birth day.\nThat so many were possible criminals didn't usually bother up-timers. As long as they hadn't done anything really bad like commit atrocities, former West Virginia natives were cool with their past. After all, many of them, especially the hillbillies, had had their own scrapes with laws for such actions as moon shining and mild tax evasion and growing and selling weed. Or they had ancestors who'd been criminals. Indeed some up-timers bragged about just how terrible their awful ancestors were, so many that some perfectly white-bread up-timers made up outlaw ancestors.\nSarah took the pistol out of the box from her sort-of grandfather Bill Straight with the care one might handle a jeweled crown. Indeed, its jewel-like precision and subtle blue-black sheen invited the comparison.\n\"Oh, Bill! You shouldn't have. You might need it some day.\"\n\"Who, me? The most danger I'm ever in is if one of my chess-and-checkers buddies tries to brain me with a chess board. You're the one who goes out on distant roads guarding merchants and families and the like. You need the backup.\"\nSarah was a deadly warrior who had a rep back in the West African port city El Mina and its surroundings where she'd grown up. There she was known as the White Panther. Here in Grantville what they knew was that she'd killed more than a dozen bandits on the last leg of her journey to Grantville. Too, in the last year she'd killed more, as she set herself up as the head of the Athena Security firm with three other dangerous types. She was a rich woman but knew her fortune would not last forever. Besides, she was an active type and not made for an idle life.\nWith almost the same reverence Sarah took out the heavy box of .38 Special cartridges. Such were increasingly rare items and were almost literally worth their weight in gold. Also in the box were a cleaning kit and a small bottle labeled Hoppes #9.\nShe said, more to herself than to anyone else, \"I'll need to have a holster made for it. And my sword belt needs replacing with something that can handle it. Thank you, Bill!\"\nShe jumped up from the chair in the Safarelli House boarding room's event room where her arrivalday party was being held and hugged the old man, his whiskery face scratching her cheek. He felt alarmingly frail within her arms.\n\"OK, OK,\" said a woman nearly as old as Bill, Sarah's friend and accountant and business associate Olivia Bailey. \"Now can you two cut out the kissy kissy stuff. Open my present.\"\nSarah kissed Bill's check, sat in her chair, and opened another box. Inside it was a small solar powered calculator, quite old but still functional despite being nearly 40 years of age.\n\"Olivia, I'm\u2013 I'm speechless.\"\n\"Hardly, chatter box. Come here, give me a hug too.\"\nSarah complied. Olivia was reassuringly solid. She'd once been portly but few up-timers ever remained that way. The first two years after the Ring of Fire delivered Grantville to the 17th Century had been very lean ones. The habit of eating sparingly had remained after the area recovered from its crops devastated by war.\nThe next two presents came in the same box. They were two throwing knives: eight-inch blades with thin glued-on hand grips. They were from the Weber Twins. Nobody knew if they were sister and brother, cousins, or lovers. They were both sturdy and pleasant-faced and ever-polite, but they were deadly fighters with long experience. They never spoke of their Ring-of-Fire past, but Sarah had had no problem accepting them as two of her three partners in her security firm.\nShe thanked them, then asked where Aramis was. This was her third partner, a dapper Frenchman whose past was equally obscure. Obscured by his many fantastic and occasionally convincing tales of a sordid and adventurous past. He'd taken the name of one of Dumas's three musketeers in lieu of his real name, whatever it was.\nGina Weber handed Sarah a box with glossy rose-colored paper covering. \"He said he had an assignation and gave us this.\"\nSarah opened it carefully to keep the beautiful covering paper intact. Inside it was what looked like a red rose. It was a beautifully realistic fake with a nearly invisible clip which one could use to attach it to one's hair or clothing. It perfectly expressed Aramis's love of ironic jokes: lovely but something Sarah would never wear. She never adorned herself in stereotypically feminine fashion.\nIn an act of defiance she clipped the rose to her hair and accepted the remainder of her arrivalday gifts. They were mostly small things and came to over a dozen, from a couple of Bill's chess-and-checkers friends, Safarelli House friends, and a few teenagers from Grantville High School who had taken the coffee-au-lait African goddess as one of their heroes.\nGifts given and duly opened and appreciated, the party started with access given to the table of snacks and drinks. In all another dozen people participated, some actual acquaintances and some strangers ready to celebrate almost anything if free food and drink were included.\nThe next day Sarah, Bill, and Olivia met for lunch at the Golden Arches, which used to be McDonald's, at Olivia's request. It was near to Olivia's home and quieter than at the taverns.\nNot that its dining area was quiet. The business had gone through three ownership changes after the Ring of Fire, and had been stripped of much of its portable facilities. The latest owners were the most successful. The inside dining area in evenings was so in demand that reservations were required. Olivia was a favored guest since she did their books, but even so she reserved a table in the middle of the week. Weekends were so in-demand that reservations were made days or weeks in advance.\nThey began by drinking iced tea while their order was prepared, an expensive drink because it required refrigeration to make the ice. Olivia began the serious discussion that Sarah expected by gazing at Sarah.\n\"You can't keep up this guard duty if you want to live long and whole of body. I think you should start another business, one that will keep you out of scrapes. I believe the technology base is ready to start a media empire.\"\nBill lifted his brows. \"Really?\"\nThe phrase apparently meant something to the two up-timers. Sarah told Olivia to explain, starting with what the phrase meant.\n\"One of the more successful examples back up-time was the work of an Australian named Rupert Murdoch. He started with a newspaper he'd inherited and made it more profitable by, among other practices, publishing scandal stories and stories about celebrities. He bought more newspapers, ending up eventually with dozens of them. One practice he adopted was to share stories among his various papers of events of national as well as local interest. Written once, used often.\n\"He expanded to other countries. As TV became more widespread he expanded into that. Then into movie making. Then as digital communications became more widespread into that.\n\"In all those enterprises he championed something that was eventually labeled 'synergism.' This meant all the businesses worked together. A newspaper article might also be published electronically, and might serve as the basis for movies or TV shows.\"\nBill said, \"I remember synergism. A lot of companies tried it and failed.\"\n\"It's not like it's something magical. You just have to do it right.\"\nSarah said, \"It sounds like you're looking pretty far in the future.\"\nShe held up a hand as Olivia started to say something. \"Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I like it. My father\u2013\" She paused a moment. She still had not heard anything from him despite sending him and her family back in El Mina three long letters about her stay here in Grantville.\n\"My father always said you should set your targets far in advance of your efforts. I like this idea. In fact, I'll add to it. One of my nerd friends at Grantville High was suggesting the other day that I should start a publishing house.\"\nThe word \"nerd\" after the Ring of Fire had acquired a patina of respectability in the Germanies. It was sometimes still used as an insult to mean someone socially awkward and obsessively studious. But Germans in general approved of obsessive workers, as did most people who lived on the edge of starvation and ruin. Nerd was GOOD.\nBill said, \"We already have several printers here who publish books and newspapers and things.\"\n\"She had written a paper on it for a college class up-time. She said that printing was just part of publishing. In fact, most publishers didn't own printing departments. They contracted printing out to printers.\n\"They had several departments. Uhm\u2026 Acquisitions accepted and sought out works to publish. Editorial checked to be sure works were in good shape and had them reshaped if needed. Marketing figured out to who and where they could be sold. The Art Department worked with Marketing to design a catchy cover. And so on.\"\nOlivia was frowning, from thought not disagreement. \"I suppose\u2026 We could work publishing books into our overall plan.\n\"We're going to need more people. Bill\u2013\"\nHe threw up his hands. \"Don't look at me!\"\nSarah laughed. \"OK, we won't.\" She looked at Olivia with mischief in her eyes.\n\"We need to start building our staff with an overall boss. That's you, Olivia.\"\n\"Me? I can't\u2013\"\n\"Yes, you can. I may know you better than you do. You're smart, strong, good with people. You'll be the\u2026\"\nBill put in, \"CEO. Chief Executive Officer.\"\nOlivia looked as if she were trying to get out of the job.\nSarah took pity. \"You will start small. And you'll have advisors. Me, to start. And Bill.\"\nBill sat up. \"I just said No!\"\n\"You know you're not going to be able to stay away from this. You'll be criticizing and giving advice and in general making a nuisance of yourself. I hereby appoint you Senior, uhm, Research Consultant.\"\nOlivia laughed aloud. \"Caught, you old bastard!\"\nOlivia reluctantly accepted that to get Sarah to take her advice she'd have to become a CEO. Never one to put off unpleasant necessities she went right to work.\nSarah and Olivia started by visiting a lawyer who was expert in corporate law. For a couple of years after the Ring of Fire there'd been corporation fever in Grantville and beyond. Up-timers left and right and energetic Germans aplenty had created all sorts of good and many more bad corporations. Then the inevitable failures occurred and the boom in corporations burst. Leaving the successes as lessons in planning and good management.\nThe attorney showed the two several standard forms and explained them. Sarah chose one and the attorney and Olivia helped her customize it.\nWith a corporation in existence on paper the two retired to Olivia's apartment to plan further. Olivia brewed tea and they set to work in her home office.\nOlivia said they should first rough out the overall business, which they'd named Athena Enterprises Corporation. It would contain all the businesses which Sarah might eventually create or buy. A logo was essential, she said, so that the public could easily recognize the company. She suggested the initials AEC drawn inside a square, or maybe typed as [AEC]. This would go on the company letterhead and, writ large, on the front of any company buildings which they might acquire.\nSarah liked the image, but suggested they tilt the box to the right. This would suggest that it was moving like an automobile, not just sitting upright like an unmoving building.\nOlivia suggested a further shortening to just [A] or if italicized [A]. Sarah argued for an E, for Enterprise, inside the box, but Olivia was firm.\n\"You're already semi-famous. Let's use that fame.\"\nSarah reluctantly agreed.\nSarah had already created her first business: Athena Security. Olivia suggested an italic capital A surrounded by a stylized shield. Sarah was adamant that the letter should be an S.\n\"We're selling SECURITY, not me. If you have your way I'll never act as a guard again. Now let's get to the reason we got started on this.\"\n\"God, you're stubborn.\"\n\"Pot calling the kettle black.\"\n\"Speaking of pots\u2026\" Olivia got up to reheat water and make more tea. She brought cookies back to the work table to sustain them.\n\"OK. Now\u2026\" Olivia crunched on a cookie and thought.\n\"The core of our media company is communication in all its form: newspapers, magazines, books. Eventually telegraph, telephone, radio, and TV.\"\n\"And digital,\" Sarah put in. She was fascinated by computers and wanted one. Unfortunately nobody was selling.\n\"And digital.\"\nOlivia suggested Athena Communications for the news and entertainment corporation. Sarah shook her head.\n\"Same reason. We're not selling me.\"\nAfter some discussion they came up with Worldwide Communications Company.\nSarah snickered. She'd seen all three Star Wars movies and loved them.\n\"I'm tempted to call it Interplanetary Communications. Or Interstellar.\"\n\"Nutcase. Restrain yourself.\"\n\"I REALLY want a light saber.\"\nThat silliness demanded more tea. Olivia got up to repair the shortage.\nIt took some brainstorming, but finally they created a logo of an italic capital C with a horizontal double-headed arrow through it. You could type it as <\u2013C\u2013>.\nNext Olivia roughed out an organization chart. It came to almost twenty boxes arranged in an upside down tree structure. Sarah was appalled.\n\"That many?!\"\n\"That few, chickadee. What we've embarked on will eventually employ several thousand people. Most full time. It has to be clearly defined what each of them is to do.\"\n\"God! What have I started?\"\n\"You will start small. And you'll have advisors. Me, to start.\"\n\"You're an evil woman to throw my own words back in my face.\"\n\"What goes around comes around, baby.\"\nThat done they called their Senior Research Consultant to have dinner. Choice of place his but he had to pay for it if he wanted to know what they'd decided on today.\nThe next morning Sarah had breakfast at Higgins Hotel as she often did. A fair number of business people in the several blocks surrounding the hotel did. The day was Wednesday when she also scheduled a weekly Athena Security meeting at one of the smaller conference rooms in the Higgins. She was joined by the Webers and Aramis.\nThey talked about no business during the meal as Sarah had long ago decreed. Sarah told of her birthday party. Aramis told a tale of his latest assignation, which the Webers listened to skeptically. Business speech was reserved for the business meeting when they retired to the conference room carrying a last cup of coffee or tea.\nSarah ushered her partners inside and closed the door, causing Aramis to raise his eyebrows. They all saw why when she opened her briefcase and brought out her newly acquired pistol.\n\"Bill's birthday present,\" she said as she opened the six-shot cylinder and removed the rounds inside it. Bill had given her a brief lesson in handling the weapon. He'd then given her a thin little booklet. It had contained diagrams and instructions on how to disassemble and reassemble the weapon and otherwise take care of it.\nShe carefully clicked the cylinder closed and passed the pistol around.\nAramis examined it first with the Webers watching closely. Then he handed it on to them and spoke to the air.\n\"How is it that she can bring a loaded weapon past the entrance and a worthy person like myself cannot?\"\nAramis on duty wore a cap-and-ball revolver on his sword belt across from his rapier. Both of them had been surrendered this morning to be placed in the locked vault near the reception desk. He was expert in both weapons and had taught Sarah how to shoot.\n\"Start carrying a briefcase like me.\"\nGina Weber was the last to handle the weapon. Like the others she'd pointed it at various targets in the room. She handed it back and Sarah reloaded and replaced the weapon in her briefcase.\n\"OK. Who's first?\"\nGina said that the Webers had successfully carried out their latest bounty hunter assignment. Aramis, a budding computer hacker, said he'd investigated the theft of proprietary information from a company which suspected they'd been hacked electronically. He'd found it was simply a case where a clerk had sold the information to a rival.\nHe sounded annoyed. He'd been spending a lot of time with computer nerds at the high school and elsewhere and dearly wanted a chance to exercise his newly gotten expertise.\n\"Don't worry,\" Sarah said. \"If I have my way the internet is going to expand a lot in the not-so-far future.\"\nThere were a very few small nets in Grantville and its two major satellite cities, Badenburg to the west and Rudolstadt to the east. They were based on equipment brought from up-time, but a few forward-looking nerds were working on down-time versions.\nSarah's comment segued the talk into her new \"media empire\" enterprise.\n\"We're planning on two stages. The first will be print: newspapers, magazines, books.\"\nAramis said, \"There are already several printers in town. They're all over Europe. They sometimes print books.\"\n\"Right. But it was explained to me that they still mostly focus on printing. That's just a small part of publishing.\"\n\"And there are already newspapers. We have a couple right here in Grantville.\"\n\"We're planning on something up-timers called a conglomerate. It owns newspapers, or stakes in them. Printers, or stakes in them. But I'm talking too much about this. Back to the internet subject. The second stage of the media company is electronic: telegraph, telephone, radio, and TV. Eventually digital electronics and nets. Some day a combination of them.\"\nGina said all that would be a lot of work.\nSarah nodded.\n\"That brings us to us. I'll not be going on the road a lot. We need a fourth partner to take my place. Start thinking about who that could be. Start. We want to be very careful who we bring in. All four of us have to approve of him. Or her. Bring back suggestions to our next meeting.\n\"Now, we have a couple of jobs coming up. The big one will be a caravan to Suhl. Gina, Georg, take on a couple of temps.\"\nGina said, \"Phillipe and Jean-Luc are available.\"\n\"Good. Aramis, Dame Edith wants you to escort her and her daughters on a shopping visit to Rudolstadt.\"\n\"I will be my usual charming and protective self.\"\nThere was little need for his protection, though it was always possible SOME idiot even in the peaceful and well-protected area around Grantville would try to rob someone. It was more a prestige thing for \"Dame\" Edith, a rich merchant's wife, to have an armed guard, especially one so flamboyantly and attractively French.\nSarah's next stop was a leatherworker recommended by Aramis, whose holsters had been crafted for him. Sarah gave instructions to the crafter based on her experience with Aramis's holsters and her own taste. This included some ornamental stamped figures on the outside, but simple and \"tasteful.\" Placing her pistol atop a piece of paper he drew its outline and made some notes on the paper. He gave her an estimate of how much the job would cost and when it could be delivered.\nShe arrived at the Grantville High School an hour till the cafeteria opened. She spent that time reading a history text about the growth of American and other businesses. She especially focused on \"conglomerates\" and other such large organizations. Among other information, the text echoed Bill's comments on the limits of synergies, but also Olivia's comment that conglomerates had to be built for the right reasons and managed well.\nShe was at the door of the cafeteria when it opened and among the first to go through the serving line. She called out Hellos to the serving staff, who answered back to the familiar figure. She got \"her\" table: a big round one in a corner with a good view of the entrance. A couple of nerd girls were already sitting there. This was no surprise: they were part of her fan group. Other students quickly joined the table, including jocks. She had her fans among them, too. After all, she was a jock too.\nShe was also a sports fan, coming to a lot of the games and cheering as loudly as any other enthusiasts.\nA teacher walked by chatting with two other teachers. Sarah called out to him, \"Hola, Tejano.\" Jose Hernandez was the high school Spanish teacher and from Texas. He also had a linguistics degree and she and he'd had many discussions about the African languages she spoke. The discussions had often been at the home he shared with his wife, Monica.\nHe turned toward her, then back to his companions, telling them he'd join them shortly.\n\"Como 'stas esta ma\u00f1ana?\n\"Bien. Y tu?\"\nThey chatted briefly, still in Spanish. Sarah thought it set a good example for the high school students and thought (rightly) that her friendliness enhanced the teacher's reputation. She also spoke in French to the school's teacher of that language.\nAfter he'd rejoined his companions and near the end of lunch Sarah spoke to the whole table.\n\"I'm starting a publishing company. Pass the word for anyone to contact me who might have ideas about how to run it and what we should publish.\"\n\"My mom is a fan of romance novels. She and some others meet every few weeks to discuss them.\"\n\"My dad is into those old PI books. You know, private investigators, shoot-em-ups, like that. His favorite book is The Maltese Bird.\"\n\"Maltese EAGLE!\"\n\"Maltese SPARROW!\"\nThere was general laughter at that as everyone got up to go to their first afternoon class.\nBack in the library Sarah asked the librarian about a book called The Maltese Bird. The woman smiled.\n\"Someone was making a joke. It's called The Maltese Falcon. She, or they, may have had it assigned it to them in a class. Hold on a minute\u2026.\"\nShe walked off and came back with two books. One was an up-time hardback titled Dashiell Hammett: Complete Novels. There were five titles listed on the cover page, including the one Sarah had asked about. The other was a smaller paperback book printed by a down-time printer.\nThe front page was crude: a red hawk outline viewed from the side, with the author name and title superimposed. She opened it, carefully, because the whole thing felt flimsy. She started to read. She could hardly get halfway down the first page before the crudeness of the writing made her quit.\n\"People bought this?\"\n\"It was a big success?\"\n\"Of sorts.\"\n\"Then why isn't this company\u2013\" She pointed to the name of the printer on the back of the book. \"\u2013a big success? So much so that even I would have heard of them.\"\n\"I don't really know. Part of it is that printers focus mostly on the printing. Success depends on marketing a work, distributing it, and lots of other activities besides printing.\"\n\"I've heard that.\"\n\"There are also practical difficulties. How do you market something when most communication is limited by the speed of a horse? Even if you've got a good product, your books may languish in a warehouse for weeks or months, not making money.\"\n\"Hmm. Lots to think about. Let me change the subject.\n\"I'm planning to start a business. Your library has given me a good overview of the process. But I need specifics. Lots of them.\"\n\"That's where the Technical College comes in. They're just down the road that way.\" She pointed.\n\"I thought those buildings were part of the high school.\"\n\"I think they started out that way. But it grew.\"\nThere was a guard at a desk just inside the administration building. Sarah said she wanted to get information about starting a business. He made a phone call, said someone would see her now, and told her she'd have to leave her weapons with him. Sarah gave him her staff, asked if she could also leave her briefcase with him, and followed the directions down a hall to an open office door.\nThe office was fairly large with several bookcases full of books. Behind a desk sat a young woman of about 30 dressed in business formal for women, which to Sarah's sensibilities bordered on informal. She rose and put a hand out over her desk. Sarah shook it and sat in the indicated chair of two before the desk.\nThe woman, Diana Mora according to the name on the metal plate on a block of wood on her desk, just surveyed Sarah for a moment. She surveyed back.\n\"So you're this African princess everyone is talking about.\"\nA princess in the TV shows and movies Sarah had seen was someone dainty and pretty. She grinned at the idea she was one of those.\n\"If 'everyone' saw me coughing and farting as I crawled out of bed in the morning, my hair all amess, they'd change their mind awfully fast. After they got through puking, that is.\"\nThat got a smile from Diana.\n\"What can I do for you, Ms.\u2013Ocampo?\"\n\"Call me Sarah. I've been reading about businesses at the high school library. They don't have much on specifics. I need detail if I'm to start my own. Especially lessons learned that we down-timers are still figuring out.\"\n\"This is the right place to come. Why haven't you come sooner?\"\n\"I didn't even know this college existed. Even more important, I needed a general education before I started on specifics.\" That had been a point her father had made to her very early: look at the big picture first, then the little pictures.\nWhy hadn't he written back to her? Was he dead? Still mad?\n\"What have you been studying?\"\n\"Everything. My mother made sure I had what you up-timers call a 'classical education.' Greek, Latin, Aristotle, the seven liberal arts, like that. That's all trivial, according to you people. I had to start at the elementary school level and work up. Skipping lots of stuff.\"\n\"You were a student? In Africa?\"\n\"In my father's home. We had tutors.\"\n\"Would you say you were a good student?\"\n\"Hey, I'm not just a knuckle dragger.\" She grinned. She'd heard that particular insult, listening to two high-school football players playfully insulting each other.\n\"I read everything available to us. It wasn't much. I read it over and over again. Hell is living in a place without books.\"\nDiana leaned back in her chair and tilted her head, studying Sarah as she went on.\n\"When I first arrived and discovered this library I was delighted. Then I became depressed. So many books! I could never read them all.\n\"Thankfully I mentioned the feeling to one of the librarians. She set me straight. 'Think of it as getting to know what you DON'T know.' She showed me a math textbook and opened it to show the table of contents. 'Look. Matrix math. Differential equations. Boolean algebra, the foundation of all computer science. And so much more. You don't have to be an expert in each. You just have to know when you need it, and where to get it when you need it.'\"\nDiana said, \"'Learning to know what you DON'T know.' A very evocative phrase. It's the very definition of a liberal education. And why it's important to get it as well as focusing on a particular job-related field.\"\nSarah continued. \"After some fumbling around, getting used to using the library and browsing lots of topics, I made two tracks for myself, with a LOT of help from the school librarians. One was world history, another was the sciences. I studied physics first, then chemistry because it's founded on physics, then biology because it's founded on chemistry. I'm studying sociology now. It's the culmination of the physical sciences, and history.\"\n\"That's\u2026impressive. All that in, what, a year?\"\n\"I skimmed and skipped a lot. Also, I don't have to work. I made sure I was well-supplied with money when I left Africa. Though I did create a security firm after I got settled in here. You know, caravan guarding, bounty hunting, stuff like that. That brings in some money.\"\n\"All that studying shows lots of discipline.\"\n\"Are you kidding? It's paradise. I can read all day and half the night.\"\n\"No fiction reading?\"\n\"I have movies for fun. Though I suppose I have to know a little bit about novels now I'm starting a publishing company.\"\n\"That is the business you want advice about?\"\n\"No. Conglomerates. I'm starting a 'media empire.'\" She made quote signs with her fingers.\n\"And before you start in on how bad synergism is, I've already had that conversation several times. I know the companies must be selected to complement each other. And managed properly. That's why I'm here. To learn how to manage lots of people.\"\nThe woman spun her desk chair to the left and right while she stared at the ceiling.\n\"An interesting problem. Sets of problems. Hmm. I'd like to have you enroll in some courses, but I can see that wouldn't be right for you. Maybe some personal tutoring. Though that's a problem too. A teacher's work tends to spill over from office hours. Not many of them are free. Still\u2026 We can work something out. I'll have to think on this and get back to you.\"\nShe stood. \"One thing. A basic lesson every boss has to learn. You can't get too caught up in details. You must find good people, trustworthy people, give them some very clear GENERAL commands, and let them surprise you.\n\"Now come with me. I need to introduce you some people.\"\nThose were half a dozen, caught between classes or otherwise free. All were interested in her problem but could spend little time on it other than being willing to answer questions some of the time. One man loaned her a fat textbook and a slim one, charging her a big deposit for her to keep them for a limited time. If she didn't return it by the due date her money would be forfeit and she'd be assumed to have bought them.\nSarah thought this was a sneaky way to sell books. Both had been reprinted by local printers from copied up-time texts. She didn't mind sneaky as long as it didn't cross over into cheating. She might even use this tactic herself in her publishing business.\nShe ate at the Higgins with a few business \"friends.\" She was following her father's practice of building and maintaining a wide network of scratch-your-back associates. Then she watched the evening's movie in the hotel's viewing room, a VCR recording of two back-to-back episodes of Star Trek. When she left two groups were arguing Star Trek versus Star Wars.\nShe stayed up late skimming the fat textbook, getting a field for the \"forest\" (as Olivia called her father's big picture) before descending into the \"trees\" of details.\nShe spent the next few days browsing the Technical College library for business topics, sharing lunch with college faculty and students, and having dinner at the Higgins restaurant and the Golden Arches. Most times she watched the early or the late-night movie at the Higgins, then retired to her boarding house to read.\nOf the several books she'd borrowed or bought the one that was most useful was the slim one she'd bought early on. It was titled How to RUIN Your Business. At first she'd thought it was about RUNning a business even though the middle word was in all caps. Instead it was all about the many mistakes a business person could make with her business.\nOne lesson was the need to be prepared beforehand to fight off competitors. A lesson which was almost immediately useful. For Olivia showed up at a Golden Arches dinner with a legal ultimatum.\n\"These effing a-holes want us to shut down our publishing house!\" She was waving a piece of paper. She was clearly angry though not so much she didn't edit her curse words. Bill hated cursing, especially by women. Olivia had a tendency to curse.\nHe took the paper, glanced at it, and handed it to Sarah. It didn't take her long to understand: three of the several local printers had gotten an attorney to send them a warning to cease and desist all printing activities that would infringe upon their rights.\nOlivia was threatening to counter-sue. Sarah disagreed.\n\"The best answer to a known ambush is a counter-ambush.\"\n\"Is this some of that wisdom from that book you're going on about?\"\n\"Long experience in the African bush, partly. But Yes. Here's what we can do.\" She explained.\nHalfway through Bill began laughing.\nThe three met the three printers who were threatening to sue in a conference room in the Higgins at 2:00 in the afternoon. They came alone. The printers came with, seemingly, an aide each and one or two family members, including an older and a younger woman.\nThe oldest of the printers took one end-seat of the long oval table, another tried to take the other end seat. Sarah was behind the chair at that end as the man approached it, her hands on the back of the chair. She did not pull it out. Instead she turned and offered a hand to the man.\n\"Such a pleasure to meet you, Sir. We've heard so many good things about your business.\"\nHe had to look up to her. A moment of hesitation, then he smiled back, shook her hand, introduced himself, and retired to sit to the right hand of the man at the other end of the table.\nOlivia showed up a couple of minutes later. She'd been waiting in the lobby chatting with Bill, neither seemingly noticing the printers' party walk by. The stage now set, they made their entrance.\nEveryone's eyes turned toward them as they came into the room, the end-seated man having to twist in his chair and turn his head to see Bill ushering Olivia in ahead of him. She nodded at him and strode in to approach Sarah, who pulled the chair out from under the table. Bill then took over and pushed the chair forward a bit as Olivia finished seating herself. Bill took the seat to her right. Sarah ambled down the table on Olivia's left and settled herself two seats down. This put her next to the older of the two women. She smiled at the woman but turned her head toward Olivia.\nOlivia and Bill were dressed in up-time business attire, Bill's suit black, Olivia's suit light blue. He wore with it a white shirt and blue tie and shined black shoes. She wore a lilac blouse opened at the throat. Sarah wore blue jeans, tennies, and a tee-shirt with the logo of an up-time rock group on its front. She pushed her chair back enough so that she was able to slouch in her chair, her crossed legs out from under the table.\nThe leader of the printers spoke up so everyone could hear him. The room was small; he did not have to speak very loudly.\n\"If everyone is here, Lady Ocampo, we can begin.\"\n\"Fine with me,\" Sarah answered him. \"But talk to the boss. I'm just the financier.\"\n\"We understood it was your company.\"\n\"Oh, sure. But I get good people and let them do all the good things for me. SHE is the CEO. She's the real boss.\"\n\"Thank you, Sarah,\" Olivia said. \"I assume you're going to sit in.\"\n\"Oh, for a little while. Then I want to go visit Jean-Luc in the kitchen. He's promising such a TERRIFIC lunch for us all.\"\nOnly someone who knew Bill knew that his frown was keeping him from grinning at her performance.\n\"Oh, very well,\" Olivia said. \"We wouldn't want to keep you from that important task.\n\"Now, Mister Fiedler. We were very happy to receive your attorney's letters. We immediately knew you weren't serious, of course. Grantville's, and Thuringia's, courts would never entertain such a restriction in trade. So we knew this was the opening of bargaining for a position at the table of the big business we have planned. Let me tell you what we've planned and we can discuss just what part you would like to play in it.\n\"We plan on buying several newspapers and on publishing books. Naturally printers will be essential to both.\"\n\"We already publish books. Why do we need you?\"\nOlivia went into her brief \"synergy\" speech, then segued into her \"publishing is about much more than printing\" speech.\n\"So, how do you sell your books now? I know that S&S in Rudolstadt has a part-time sales person for that. By the way, Mr. Fiedler, you're in Rudolstadt, too. Why didn't they send someone with you? \"\n\"You'll have to talk to them about that.\"\n\"You can send out flyers, but everyone does that now. Most people just use them to start fires or wipe their butts. You can put ads in papers, but most of those are boring and poorly written and hidden in the back. Ours won't be, and they'll be in prominent positions in our newspapers.\"\nThe woman beside Sarah said, \"What newspapers? We know all the owners and you're not one.\"\n\"We will be. Or we will be part owners, investors in them.\"\n\"All of that is in the future.\"\n\"Exactly. Which you are in a good position to be part of.\"\nSarah pretended to yawn and got up to amble out.\nLater the three had lunch in the Higgins. Sarah asked how it went.\nBill said, \"Olivia knocked them dead.\"\nSarah filed away the idiom as Olivia protested.\n\"Oh, nonsense. By the time we ended we had them all with their tongues hanging out wanting in on the riches they've been convinced will quickly flow.\"\nOlivia smiled. \"Well, not quite. But they shut up about the lawsuit and said they'd get back to us about what they could give us and get from us. I expect that means they hope for business from us and if we can deliver a little they'll be happy. We may not have been far off in our guess that their law suit was a way to get our attention. I'd say this meeting was a success in that we and they got to know each other better.\"\n\"Go ahead, be modest,\" said Bill. \"It doesn't suit you, but what do I know. I'm only a retired coach.\n\"Now let me tell you what I found out about the Grantville Times and the Daily News\u2026.\"\nAfter listening to the two for a while Sarah grew satisfied they had the issue of printers for their publishing company well in hand for the time being. They had made a list of all the printers within a hundred miles and begun building a catalog of their facilities and practices. As she excused herself they'd just begun a similar list of newspapers to buy or to buy stock in.\nAnother matter had been pushing itself to the fore of her attention: book publishing. And she knew just the right person to go to deal with that business.\nHer name was Barbara Reed. An occasional substitute teacher, she supplemented that meager income by working as a librarian at Grantville High. She was one of the several librarians who worked there, usually in the evenings because the off-hours paid a bit extra and her husband was out of town in Erfurt for most of the month.\nAt 7:00 that evening Sarah was deep in a textbook titled Business and Marketing Essentials when Barbara arrived. She'd skimmed the book fairly early after arriving in Grantville, as she'd skimmed a lot of textbooks to \"know what she didn't know.\" Or as her father put it, \"looking at the big picture before looking at the little pictures.\"\nA hand waved at her from the side a safe distance away. All her friends had learned soon after they'd become friends not to startle someone as alert and ready for danger as Sarah.\n\"Hey, cookie. You here for long tonight?\"\n\"Hello, Barbara. Are your three fed and playing with their nanny?\"\n\"Fed, but I don't know about the playing. When I left the two oldest were arguing about some toy. The youngest was in his playpen playing, though, so Cindy doesn't have him to contend with.\"\n\"You going to be here till midnight?\"\n\"As usual. You need anything?\"\n\"A big long talk when you get some free time. No hurry, though. If it's too busy I'll be here tomorrow night too.\"\n\"Maybe in an hour. Later.\"\nIt was more like an hour and a half when Sarah's friend returned. Sarah closed the textbook gently and carefully returned it to its location on the bookshelves, then followed Barbara to the front desk where they could talk and Barbara could keep an eye on things and be available for questions from other library patrons.\nSeated beside the desk, Sarah gazed out into the room with her feet extended before her. Barbara said, \"What's up?\"\n\"You remember the other week when you made a joke about starting a publishing firm 'with all those millions in my bank?' Well, I am.\"\n\"Wow. That's a big job.\"\nSarah grinned as she looked up at Barbara sitting on her stool behind the reception counter. \"You don't know the half of it. The tenth of it. Olivia has me starting a 'media empire.' All print media. All ELECTRONIC media. Probably all telepathic media when you up-timers get around to inventing it.\"\nBarbara's look became serious.\n\"Publishing is a tough business. Even the experts can't perfectly predict what will sell well and what won't. So they depend on bestsellers to support their search among newbies for the next big seller. Or just a middling seller. It's a low-profit-margin business. You can't expect quick returns or big ones.\"\n\"You seem to know a lot about the subject.\"\n\"I've always loved books. After college I expected to intern as a literary agent, maybe even eventually become an editor at a publisher.\"\nA reminiscent smile took over her face. \"Gerald happened. Babies happened. Still, I sometimes wonder\u2026\"\n\"Good. You're hired.\"\n\"What? What!\"\n\"You're the next CEO of\u2026Athena Publishing. Athena. The goddess of wisdom. Appropriate, don't you think?\n\"The first thing we need to do is create a logo. An icon. A motto.\"\nBarbara was looking stunned. Luckily for her composure an older man came up to her desk with a question. When she returned from the stacks Sarah was doodling on a piece of scrap paper from the reception desk.\n\"We can't use an A for the logo. That's taken by the conglomerate logo. See? An italic capital A inside a box leaning to the right.\"\nShe pointed at the two versions on the paper, one the typeable version, [A], one the graphical version.\nBarbara puzzled over Sarah's scribbles, then began vigorously scratching them out. Then she drew her own: [L] and its graphical version.\n\"Libros. Latin for book. And the motto: Ex Libros Fortis. 'From books strength.'\"\nSarah, who knew Latin, though not as well as she'd like, marked out Libros and replaced it with Libris.\n\"I like it,\" she said. \"The L could also stand for Library. The motto can also be translated as 'From libraries POWER.' Fortis is more than physical strength. It can be other kinds.\"\n\"OK. Good. Now, I'll help out with your project but not as CEO. I'll get in touch with the romance discussion group and some others. Did you know that Grantville has several published authors?\"\n\"No. Really?\"\nAt 10:00 on a Saturday a week and a half later Sarah, Olivia, Bill, and Barbara met in one of the conference rooms at the high school, which rented it and other facilities to carefully vetted outside groups on weekends and evenings.\nWith them were a couple dozen students interested in books and publishing, some of whom hoped to earn a little money helping with various activities. This including jobs such as copy editing and translation, as there were some students who were fluent in two or even more languages. There was even one prodigy who knew a dozen languages and was nearly a poet in all of them.\nAttending were also some concerned or merely curious parents, the members of the romance discussion group, and various other adults, including the three, count them, three published writers.\nSarah started the meeting by standing up on the podium at one end of the room and waving her arms above her head.\n\"OK, everyone. Let's get started. I'm Sarah Ocampo, the President and Owner of Athena Enterprises Corporation. We're here today to introduce the Libris Company subsidiary of Athena. I'm now turning the floor to Olivia Bailey, the CEO of Athena Corp and temporary CEO of the Libris Company.\"\nOlivia came to the podium and Sarah left it.\n\"Thank you, Sarah. Libris, as several of you no doubt guess from the name, will publish books, though we anticipate eventually publishing magazines.\"\n\"Not newspapers?\" someone said.\n\"No. That's a different subsidiary. And, please, only speak if I recognize you after you've raised a hand.\"\nSeveral hands immediately shot up.\n\"Wow. So many interested people. Please put your hands down. After the meeting we'll have a questions and answers and discussion period. After that we'll adjourn to the school cafeteria where we've arranged a free buffet.\"\nThere was a buzz at that. Olivia didn't squash it. Instead she called Barbara up to the podium, then spoke loudly enough to quiet the room. She put a hand on Barbara's nearest shoulder.\n\"Many of you know Barbara Reed as a substitute teacher here at Grantville High. She also often acts as librarian in the evenings. As it happened, up-time she studied the publishing industry extensively. She has been kind enough to give us at Athena advice on starting and running Libris.\n\"The floor is yours, Barbara.\"\nBarbara adjusted the microphone on the podium and put some notes on it. Then she looked out at the audience.\n\"Who of you know what a publisher is?\"\nA couple of hands shot up, then a few more. Barbara picked a teenaged girl.\n\"They print books and sell them.\"\n\"That's right. What else?\" She pointed at a different audience member, an older man who was a parent judging by the teenaged boy beside him.\n\"They find books. But then they have to edit them if they have problems.\"\n\"That's right. Up-time they found them by looking in a 'slush' pile of manuscripts sent to them by someone. After a while they got so many that they said they'd only look at books sent to them by an agent who specialized in representing authors and taking a cut of the money earned by the books.\n\"I should say that we'll begin by looking at any book someone sends us. You won't absolutely need an agent. But you should start looking for one when you get serious about being an author. Good ones are very helpful to an author's career.\"\nOlivia raised a hand and Barbara nodded at her.\n\"I hate to disappoint anyone but the first few books we publish will be proven sellers from up-time. We have to do that to get income coming in before we can take a chance on unproven authors. But that WILL change. Lots of up-time books won't appeal to down-timers. Down-timers especially will better know what will. And you are better able to supply a lot of the details of background and custom and so on which a book needs.\"\nSomeone raised a hand. Barbara nodded to him.\n\"You are talking about books as if they were mostly fiction. Surely you will be publishing factual books as well. I have a few ideas about that.\"\n\"Yes, we will. Though to some extent the high school and the technical college are doing that. We hope to work with them on non-fiction books. And maybe with people like you, sir. But, be warned, getting involved with us may mean we put you to work.\"\nBill Straight spoke up at that without raising his hand. He was standing nearby leaning against a wall where he could look over the audience. He put on a sour-looking face.\n\"That's the God's truth. Just point out something obvious to anyone with a half a brain and before you know it they're slave-driving you.\"\nThere was general laughter at that. Barbara waited till it died down before continuing.\n\"We have said enough that anyone unfamiliar with publishing should now know what we're trying to do and how. It's time to listen to you.\n\"First, we'd like to hear from the published authors in the audience.\"\nShe knew the three women who qualified and had convinced them to sit near the front of the audience. She looked down from the foot-high dais at them.\nHazel McDonnell stood up. Barbara waved at her to come up to share the podium with her. The woman did.\nHazel was mid-seventies and retired till the Ring of Fire. She'd come out of retirement to tutor teacher trainees at middle school and technical college. A life-long artist, she'd sold the first of several illustrated children's books to a Rudolstadt printer.\nBarbara, with a hand on Hazel's shoulder, introduced her to the audience, telling them of that.\n\"Hazel, what has been your experience as an author?\" She moved aside so that the woman had full possession of the podium.\n\"Good and bad. Like a lot of life. It's good to see your work published. To stand there and hold it and see all your hard work turned real. To know that other people will like it as much you do, and did while you were creating it. Money is kind of nice, too.\"\nThere was laughter at that.\n\"The bad is that no matter how many people like what you do there is always someone who hates it. And you. And blabs about it loud and long. They just HAVE to be superior. Or they just hate anyone having success. Or just hate generally. It can really get you down if you let it.\"\nShe was silent for a moment.\n\"On the other hand, SOME of the criticism you get is well-meant. And some of that is useful. There's a woman at my printers who worked with me on my book. She loved it enough to spend time helping me. Most of her criticisms were helpful. A few were not. Value these people when you find them, or they find you.\"\nShe was silent for long enough that Barbara visibly checked herself from taking back the floor.\n\"Now, a few things that aren't good or bad. Just realities you must know if you set out to be a writer. First, your work may never be picked for publication. Maybe it's just not good enough. Yet. Or maybe it's almost too good, more than people are used to and want.\n\"Second, you have to write all the time. Or a lot of the time. The most successful writers back up-time wrote a lot. Every book is advertisement for all your other books. You keep building your readers with every book.\n\"This is true even if you can only work as a part-time writer. Everybody has a personal life that they have to spend time on. You have to make time every day. Or almost every day, to spend a little time on your writing.\n\"I don't just mean typing or scribbling. A lot of writing is thinking time. It's dreaming up the material that you type or pen.\n\"OK. I think that's it.\" She abruptly left to return to her chair to sit looking at her clasped hands.\nBarbara began clapping and Sarah and Ben joined her, then much of the audience.\n\"Thank you, Hazel. I'm sure we all look forward to your next book. Now\u2026\"\nShe looked down at the two young women sitting with Hazel.\n\"I want to introduce you to two other authors, Anna Greiner and Elisabeth M\u00fcller. Would you feel comfortable coming up here?\" That last was a real concern. The two girls had looked daunted at her first words and were holding hands. They were used to talking to groups but to students, being part-time teachers. This was a very different audience.\nThey got up, still holding hands, but had to break when they reached the low dais and had to step up to it.\nBarbara pulled the closest to her with a half-hug then let go of her. She spoke to the audience to give the young women time to adjust to being on stage.\n\"The success of romance novels has been a surprise to me and a lot of up-timers. Romantic love is almost a modern invention. Down-timers, the ones we know anyway, are very practical. You wait till your late twenties to marry, and it's usually for very practical reasons. A joining of families, for instance. Or\u2026you all know what I mean.\"\nWhich they surely did. Perhaps as many as 90% of the audience were down-timers. Though it was sometimes hard to tell.\nDown-timers who moved to Grantville quickly picked up the habits or at least the dress of up-timers. Women had mostly abandoned floor-length dresses for below-the-knee dresses. Sarah herself had certainly acclimated. She loved tennis shoes and blue jeans, and beige jeans, and brown jeans, and green jeans, and even thought for instants of buying pink and red jeans.\n\"Girls,\" said Barbara, \"what do you make of the success of your novels? You've had, what, two books and three books already published.\"\nOne, the blond, said, \"I think it's because women found what they really want from a marriage and books are a sure way to get it.\" She looked at her friend, the black-haired of the two.\nThat woman nodded and said, \"A lot of women do get it after they've been married a few years. That was the plot of my most successful book. It's about how she finds out that her husband does love her, and how much, but only on his death bed. Or what she THINKS is his death bed.\"\nA man in the audience said, \"Thinks? Does he die?\"\nShe got an impish look. \"Buy my book and find out.\"\nThere was laughter after that and the young women relaxed and talked about the art and craft and business of writing. So much so that Barbara had to gently bring their talk to a close.\n\"Thank you, Anna and Elisabeth.\" She led applause for the two women.\n\"The last item on our agenda is to find out what YOU all would like to see published. But that's a big discussion, so we'll adjourn now to the cafeteria for those free drinks and food so you can all discuss that amongst yourselves. Maybe you can make up discussion groups and get together with us in the days to come. Thank you all.\"\nThere was considerable applause as she got down from the dais, dying quickly away as everyone headed for the cafeteria.\nAfter an hour in the cafeteria most of the crowd had died away. Left were perhaps two dozen people, busy with their food and each other, ignoring the four Libris people.\nSarah, looking around at the sights, said, \"How many did we have?\"\nBill said almost 40 and Olivia 39.\n\"How many came to our 'free' buffet?\"\nOlivia said, \"Maybe a hundred.\"\nBill said, \"Lots of people are here on Saturdays. Any of them who heard about it came. Some may have phoned others.\"\n\"Oh, my aching bank account,\" said Sarah mournfully.\n\"It was a business expense,\" said Olivia. \"Meaning, it will be included in your income tax and you'll get compensation on your tax burden.\"\n\"I will be a poor woman soon.\" Sarah was not about to abandon her tragic role so readily.\n\"Cowshit. You're one of the richest people in Grantville, what with your income from Athena Security and the sales of your coins. Especially those. The bank has consulted me because of my numismatist background and called me in on selling your collectible coins and there are a lot of them.\n\"That octagonal Chinese coin? Bidding started at $1000 and is past ten times that and still rising. The word of it has even got to the Ottoman Empire and we have bids from there.\"\nBarbara said, \"Even though we're at war with them?\"\nBill snickered. \"Rich people everywhere can ignore such piddling annoyances as a war. Look out. Incoming.\"\nHe and the other two women were rising before Sarah reacted. She rose too and turned to see the cause.\nIt was the Grantville High School principal, Victor Saluzzo.\n\"Please, sit, everyone. That nonsense is embarassing. May I join you?\"\n\"Please do,\" said Olivia. She sat as he pulled a chair over from an adjoining table and sat. Everyone else sat, too.\n\"How was the turnout at your meeting?\"\nOlivia said, \"Pretty good numbers. Better than just numbers. They were mostly genuinely interested people who may become resources for Libris. That's the name of our publishing company.\"\n\"I know. It's good to meet you at last, Madame Ocampo.\" They shook hands. She said, \"And you, sir.\"\nThey'd semi-met at high school games and joined everyone else in yelling for the Grantville team. Badenburg, Rudolstadt, and Saalfeld all had high schools now big enough and their teams expert enough to give Grantville tough competition at games.\nSoccer was the big one, there being plenty of small but agile down-timers to compete with the generally larger but slower Grantvillers. Baseball was popular, too. American football and basketball were less so since Grantville still had height and weight advantages over the others. Tennis and diving were gaining ground. Who didn't want to see active young women athletes in next to nothing, and young men too?\n\"Well, I don't want to take up much of your time. Just ask you if you plan any further of these buffets?\"\n\"Is there a problem with them?\" said Barbara.\n\"On the contrary. The extra income is always welcome.\"\nThe four visitors looked at each other. Olivia said, \"That might be a good idea. We gained a good deal of publicity with this meeting. We can always use more. And we can pull in some people who might be useful.\"\n\"As free slave labor,\" said Bill Straight. \"Like me.\"\nOlivia looked at Barbara, who nodded. \"It would be especially useful when we announce a new book. Or a new line of books. There was more interest in Westerns than I'd have thought likely among down-timers.\"\nSarah was annoyed. \"Oh, please. Fast-draw fights. Fisticuffs. No smart fighter would be so stupid. Attack from secret, attack with weapons. For your God's sake, no woman matches muscles with a man. They use their brains and weapons.\"\nOlivia grinned. \"Spoken like a true expert.\"\nBill and Barbara grinned too. So did the principal.\n\"I gather the answer is Yes. Fine. If you need any help, just call on me. I or someone in my office will do what we can to help you.\"\nHe stood, shook hands all around, and left.\nThey all sat back down. Sarah said mournfully, \"Oh, my aching bank account.\"\nThe rest grinned at her and turned to a more interesting topic.\nFor the next several weeks the Libris business continued to build. Most employees were unpaid, or the more important ones with miniscule shares of stock. Finally they had another meeting at the High School.\nBarbara took the dais and the podium and called for quiet. The noise died away.\n\"We have been very fortunate at the response of people to our requests for suggestions. Because of this we have established three subsidiary lines. These are for romances, westerns, and mysteries. We are still discussing lines for children, teens, and science fiction and fantasy. That last is one line, as the two kinds of stories have much in common.\"\nShe held up in her hands a book, the face toward the audience. People in the front row leaned forward and squinted at it.\n\"This is Irish Thoroughbred by a popular up-time novelist named Nora Roberts. It is the first of three in a series. We will publish the next two if there is enough interest. We have leading contenders for the first book in each of the other two lines but have not yet settled on one. Each will be by other popular up-timers.\n\"I see some of you wanting to speak. My guess is you want to know if we will publish local authors.\"\nThe hands went down and Barbara went on.\n\"The answer is yes. In fact we want to buy a romance by a woman who lives here in Grantville. The legalities are not yet satisfied, as she had work published by a Rudolstadt printer. We are in discussions with them to see if we can work together on this. When we have resolved the issue, and we hope are able to start publishing her work, we will have another press conference like this one.\"\nShe waved at two teenagers, a girl and a boy. They nodded and showed her they each had a bucket and a batch of paper slips and small pencils.\n\"My two assistants will soon begin to pass down the rows of seats. We are going to have a drawing for the first ten copies of Thoroughbred. If you want to participate, write your name on a slip of paper and put it in the bucket. When that's all done, we will draw the winners.\"\nAfter a pause the two helpers began to do their job. It took a while, as everyone seemed to want to enter the drawing, but finally it was done. The teens brought their two buckets back and Barbara poured them into one larger bucket. She held up the bucket so everyone could see she mixed the slips well.\n\"Now the winners will be picked by the members of the romance club, starting with their president.\"\nShe called a woman's name and she came up, picked a name, held it up, and handed it to Barbara. She peered at the slip of paper and called out the name. The winner, a man, came up and received a book with much catcalls and applause.\nHe examined the first few pages of the book and held it up. \"I got Number One! Do you have any idea how much this will be worth in a year? Two years?\"\n\"Yeah. Zero!\" said someone. Everyone laughed, including the winner, and the remaining winners were announced.\nAs the last noise died down Barbara over-rode the last of it.\n\"Now, to the cafeteria!\"\nWith much applause and laughter and other noise the fifty or more people left the room.\nBarbara sat down on the edge of the dais and breathed for a few minutes. She was joined by Sarah, Olivia, and Bill who sat with her.\n\"Good job, Barb!\" \"Right.\" \"Yeah.\"\nMatters proceeded in Sarah's life, if not smoothly then with only a few rough bumps. Then mid-morning of one day she got a phone call.\nShe was in Olivia's home office. Her friend handed her the phone.\n\"Gina. We had a spot of trouble on the trip back from Suhl.\"\n\"Was anyone killed? Anyone hurt?\"\n\"No. Well, Georg had a sprained ankle getting off his horse when the trouble started.\"\n\"What about the cargo? And your animals?\"\n\"The three wagons are fine. We're in Rottenbach now. The same for one mule and its packs. But we lost two mules and their packs.\"\n\"We overnighted in K\u00f6nigsee as usual with a cargo this heavy and slow-going. We were about halfway to Rottenbach. You know where the eastern leg begins to trend northward?\"\nSarah did. She'd traveled to Suhl three times as part of Athena Security's caravan guard duty.\n\"It was about 8:00. The sunlight was in our eyes and we'd gotten careless, being so close to home after the long trip. We were fired upon. Per doctrine, we dismounted and took shelter around the wagons. That was when Georg sprained his ankle. The firing continued and we tried to see where they were. They were still hard to see because of the sun.\"\n\"Nobody or anything were hurt by bullets, so they were delaying you.\"\n\"We realized that afterwards. When we realized the last two mules were gone. By the time we did they were almost out of sight near where those hills rise up. We were still pinned down by fire. Slow fire.\"\n\"They were keeping you from pursuit.\"\n\"Right. The shots kept getting further apart. And from greater distances.\"\n\"They were retreating.\"\n\"Right. Georg wanted to go after them, despite his ankle. Idiot man.\"\n\"Hey!\" The words were faint over the phone. Georg must have an ear close to the phone Gina was holding.\nSarah was silent, thinking. Gina broke the silence. \"Hey, I'm sorry. I know we screwed up.\"\n\"If I wanted perfect partners I wouldn't even have me. I'll bet the next time you'll use your hats to shield your eyes better. Maybe adopt Aramis's deerstalker hat.\"\nSarah heard Georg complain about that. He and Aramis had a long-running argument, he favoring baseball caps, Aramis the deerstalker. He was especially enfuriated by Aramis's airy argument that if it was good enough for Sherlock Holmes it was good enough for him.\n\"Let me think, Gina. Good move going on to Rottenbach. Now let me think.\"\nShe was silent for several minutes. Then she gave Gina some orders, then got off the phone to phone others and began giving orders to them.\nShe sent two more security guards to Rottenbach, ones who worked full-time, though part-time for Athena, to help the Webers and their helpers finish the run into Grantville. Gina was to stay in Rottenbach to prepare for Sarah's arrival. Then she made some more phone calls.\nA half hour later she dressed in her complete camo outfit of green and grey pants, long-sleeved shirt, and big floppy hat which covered all her head and most of her pony tail. Sturdy boots finished her clothing.\nShe geared up with straps which held a quiver of a dozen arrows on her back and, in an X-configuration, her four-foot long hardwood fighting staff. Around her hips she slung her pistol belt and its holstered Ruger revolver. In her pockets went extra bullets for the weapon.\nShe slung an extra quiver of arrows over her shoulder and took up her two bows, stringing and testing the strings, then unstringing them. Extra strings went into one of her many pockets.\nOlivia, who'd come with Sarah when she left for her lodging, handed her a first-aid kit. Sarah slipped it into a pocket in her camo outfit.\n\"Come back safe, chickadee.\" Olivia stood up tall enough to kiss Sarah's cheek, then followed Sarah out to the waiting cab. She stood on the sidewalk watching as the cab pulled away.\nSarah picked up Aramis and another security guard, both in camo outfits which were the unofficial uniform for Athena guards. Aramis wore his deerstalker hat, probably because he knew it would annoy Georg. Nevertheless, Sarah considered it a very well-designed hunting hat, with its forward bill to shield eyes from the sun and its rear bill to protect one's neck from whatever debris or insect might befall it.\nThe two had various distance and close-up weapons. Aramis favored two cap-and-ball revolvers in cross-draw holsters and extra loaded cylinders in his pockets. He carried a 30.06 bolt-action Springfield rifle and his rapier, which would be slung over his back when they left the cab. Mateo Torres had a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and buckshot cartridges and a billy club.\nThe trip northwest on Hwy 250 was brief. The border created by the Ring of Fire was only three miles away. Then the cabby drove the few hundred yards to Rottenbach because the several-times-upgraded road was as easy on car tires as 250 was. She took her fares and wished them Good Hunting. Then she drove on to the hotel\/motel where she could pick up other fares for a return to Grantville.\nRottenbach, a village terribly small before the Ring of Fire, had expanded much in the last five years. This was partly because it was now the Door to the West. This included Badenburg only ten miles away, and partly because it was the main embarkation point to Ilmenau and Suhl and other points to the west and south. And to Frankfurt, where Sarah intended to go to the next book fair.\nSarah and her companions met their compatriots at a stable where their animals were being watered and fed. The Webers were diffident until Sarah greeted them with a cheerful Hello and got right to business.\n\"Did you get everything set up the way I asked?\"\nGina said they had. Sarah left Torres to guard the three wagons parked outside the stable and the Webers and Sarah and Aramis went to the nearby inn. There they joined the two other guards on the Suhl trip, Phillipe and Jean-Luc, and the three wagon drivers.\nOver drinks and snacks Sarah had all the Suhl travelers recount the attack in detail. One new fact came from one of the drivers.\n\"It looked like the ones taking the two mules were teenagers. I think one of them was a girl.\"\n\"Big teens or little teens?\"\n\"Maybe fourteen, fifteen. They were awfully skinny.\"\n\"Interesting. Now, I want you all except Gina to finish the trip to Grantville. And, no, Georg, you are not going with us. You're Athena's official rep, and you've got a sprained ankle. Now, up and out. I'll pay up here.\"\nLeft were Sarah, Aramis, and Gina. Torres came in after the Suhl caravaners had left and sat, ordering a beer. He nibbled on the remains of the snacks on the table.\nTo Gina Sarah said, \"You've all your weapons and trip supplies? Good. And you've got them for us: food, water, and so on? Good. And transport?\"\n\"I've lined up horses and something else, if you'll go for it instead of horses.\"\nAramis groaned. \"Oh, God. Not trikes.\"\nAn enterprising down-timer named Rudolf Goldschmidt had been impressed with bicycles and especially the few makeshift trikes created by adding on salvaged parts of other bicycles. Those were especially popular with older people, as an exercise option to \"keep them young\" and carry groceries and such. He'd bought every bicycle people would let go of, hired a couple of workers, and begun making trikes. They sold well enough for him to expand.\nBy now he and his family had gone through several generations of trikes. Tires had been the biggest problem and he'd found some smart down-timers to come up with several \"geared-down\" substitutes. He also sold or rented some motorized trikes. Light-weight purely-pedaled \"racer\" versions had even inspired trike races. (Bankrolled by Goldschmidt as advertising for his products.)\n\"OK. Let's go look at your trikes.\"\nGina led them to a nearby wagoneer's lot. It was big, with wagons of all sizes from large ones to lighter ones: buckboards and buggies and the like. And trikes.\nSarah had been teased into trying some by teenaged friends. She especially liked the ones with tiny motors. Some could get up to a blazing 15 miles an hour or greater. But they were loud. She pointed this out to Gina.\n\"We're lucky. The grade to K\u00f6nigsee is mostly downhill. It's slight, but real. We can coast or pedal down to the ambush site. Coming back we can use the motors or pedal. The grade IS very slight.\"\nSarah remembered the terrain going to and from Suhl very well. On a horse you had plenty of time to observe the country, especially when you're supposed to be alert to attack from out of it.\n\"We'll take the trikes. After the ambush site we're going to have to go afoot into the trees. Horses cost too much to abandon. Trikes will be easier to hide too. Torres, think you can ride a trike?\"\nThe Spaniard was as about as far from the stereotypical excitable Spaniard as it was possible to be. He said Yes.\n\"I've seen them in operation. If old people can ride them I can.\"\nAramis was not to be outdone. He said Yes too.\nShortly they were mounted on rented (\"with an option to buy\") trikes and set off down the trail to K\u00f6nigsee. It was an easy ride at first. The roads leading away from Grantville had gone through several upgrades over the years, starting with almost none to improvements good enough for automobiles and trucks and their precious tires to ride on.\nIt was not quite 10:00 and the day was still cool. To their left, eastward, the hilly land opened into more or less flatland. Also to their left was a tiny stream with its guardian bushes, a pleasant sight.\nTo their right, westward, forest on hillsides crowded the highway. The tires of the trikes made a quiet shushing noise.\nTen minutes later the road turned from south to southwest. Gina had them slow down and stop. She got off her trike and spoke to Sarah.\n\"This is about where the shooters were. I think they were hidden in those trees.\"\nSarah told everyone to stay with the trikes. She got off hers and walked slowly eastward where a long grove of low trees paralleled the road. The grove was perhaps a quarter mile long. They were near its south end. From it exited the little stream with its bushes to each side.\nShe looked down the very slight slope. She could see all the way to K\u00f6nigsee, about two miles away. A good place to spot the caravan coming toward her location. She walked slowly to the bushes on the stream. Several minutes later, walking very slowly and looking at the grass at her feet and nearby, she spied the first signs of the ambushers.\nThey were grass only just folding upright from being stepped on, a few leaves rubbed off bushes, and a few scuffs of barer earth. They would have been unnoticeable by most people but were obvious to someone who'd been taught by African bushmasters from childhood.\nFirst slowly then more surely she paralleled the caravan ambushers. Once she saw a bush whose topmost limb had been scored by a bullet. The \"ambushers\" had been firing high over the heads of the caravaneers.\nShe left the bushes and the road side. Gina had been walking between her trike and Sarah's, guiding both of them.\nShe mounted her trike and told the rest of her party what she'd found.\n\"Now let's go to where our mules were taken.\"\nThis was about a quarter of a mile, a long shot even for sharpshooter Aramis, another clue that the shooters had not intended to hit anyone. The signs of the ambush were clear.\nSarah looked around. Behind them, to the south, the land was mostly flat. To the west the road had turned more till it ran almost directly west. To the north, in front of her, there was a flat area between two hills about a quarter mile wide. Beyond were more hills, reaching higher.\nGina said the thieves had gone that way. Sarah agreed. The signs of two mules were distinct. There were also signs of two horses. They mounted their trikes and followed, pedaling still. There was a flat earth-packed road leading northwest between the two hills and the upward tilt of the land was slight.\nBeyond the two hills the land opened out into a flat area about a mile wide and three miles long. There were a few scattered farms holding cattle and sheep. Near the center of the area was a small general store behind which was a large pen of several chickens and another for pigs. A couple of houses bracketed the store.\nThey parked their trikes and went inside. There was a woman behind the counter on the far side of the dim room. A man was doing something to a shelf, stocking it or just rearranging merchandise.\nGina, who was German and whose German was best, greeted the woman and went to talk to her. Aramis asked the man if they had beer.\n\"Yes. We make it here. Very good. They even buy it in K\u00f6nigsee.\"\nSarah silently doubted that but joined Aramis and Torres in buying a big mug each.\nApproaching Gina, taking a swig, she also bought a double handful of cookies from one of the several jars and folded them into a large clean handkerchief which she also bought.\nBack outside they sat on a bench and finished their beers. Sarah shared the cookies around. Aramis, who'd stayed behind a few minutes, waved off his share and showed off a fistful of several sticks of smoked meat. He experimentally took a tiny bite of one, then began to nibble on it.\nGina shared her information.\n\"Our friends the Rohrbachers passed this way a couple of hours again. They weren't friendly enough to stop and share whatever was in those packs on mules.\"\nTorres said that their \"friends\" didn't seem like professional thieves. Aramis said more likely they wanted to get further away from the scene of the crime before investigating their plunder.\n\"Just what was in their 'plunder'?\" Aramis wanted know from Gina.\n\"Aside from the usual firearms and knife blades there was an assortment we bought for resale, the usual mixed bag: trinkets, oddities, some wine, food, some chocolate from Frankfurt\u2013\"\nAramis objected. \"Frankfurt is a hundred miles beyond Suhl, at least!\"\nSarah, a merchant's daughter, disagreed. \"Stuff travels. Bought and sold and bought and sold and bought and sold again. Back in El Mina, on the west coast of Africa, mind, we got stuff from as far away as Egypt. Passed THROUGH Africa, not around the coast on ships.\"\nAramis shook his head in disbelief. Then he got a mischievous look on his face. He hauled out of one of his pockets a small paperback book and handed it to Sarah.\n\"Not one of yours, I gather.\"\nShe examined it. It was poorly done and fragile, the pulp paper badly yellowed.\n\"They had a whole rack of them, would you believe it?!\"\nSarah, who had a reading addiction, did believe it. She'd sooner go hungry than go bookless. She stood up, slipped the book into a pocket, and went to her trike.\nThe valley ended two miles further as more hills rose up before them. The path had become too bad for the trikes to follow. This is where horses would have been a better choice. Though not for long, perhaps. The path seemed to diminish into the thick forest ahead of them.\nShe said, very quietly, \"We hide the trikes just inside the forest. Wait for me there. From now on we do not speak, we do not whisper. We make do with sign language.\"\nAramis said, equally quietly, \"I don't know sign language.\"\nSarah looked at him sharply. He shut up.\nShe gestured at them where to cache the trikes, off to the side of the slight path. Gina took Sarah's trike while Sarah took a bow from its slot on her back harness, strung it, tested the string, all the while looking about. She nocked an arrow.\nThen she walked slowly along the path, looking and listening with all her long years of moving through bush and forest. Every once in a while she stopped for several minutes.\nThe forest seemed to close around her. To greet her almost, though she knew this was a fantasy. She moved deeper into it, near but not on the path. It became ever more rough and invaded by bushes. This made tracking her prey easier, for hairs were pulled off mules and horses. Once she even found a long blond hair, clearly not from an animal. A hundred yards in she stopped near a tree and stood as near absolutly still as a human could. Only her eyes moved and, very slowly, her head turned to left and right.\nShe stood that way for at least a half hour. In that time she became one with the forest. She felt the long slow movement of the trees with the wind in their tree tops. Heard the trunks slowly shift position, their branches murmur, their leaves chat in barely heard whispers.\nThe forest seemed to open out. She could see further, hear sounds from further. Birds spoke back and forth. Squirrels made tiny complaints and comments. Once a rabbit hopped out of a cluster of longer grass, stopped and looked about, its tiny nose twitching. Sarah looked away from it lest it detect her thoughts.\nThere were no ambushers. Had not been for a long time if ever.\nShe ghosted back through the forest, still near but not on the path. Her feet in their tough boots avoided dried sticks and leaves without her guidance. Near where her party waited she clicked her tongue twice. Gina, who with Georg had been with her longest, clicked back. Sarah slowly lifted a hand and gestured Aramis and Torres to follow Gina, Gina to follow her. They did, almost as silently as Sarah. Gina kept about thirty feet behind the ghost ahead of her.\nAll of them were ghosts in their camouflage clothing.\nFor an hour, or maybe twice that, they went up and down slight rises in land which added up to more height. The green of the forest changed, became darker. Then for another hour or two the land sank and the forest's colors became slightly yellower.\nSarah heard the voices first and slowed her pace, raising a hand though not quickly. Everyone slowed to a stop.\nThe voices were faint. There seemed to be no strong emotions in them. More like an idle conversation.\nSarah moved on. The others followed.\nSarah came near enough to the clearing to see it though the trees. She moved near a tree and the others did the same in a V with Sarah at the point. Torres, farthest back by automatic decision not discussion, was the one who kept eyes on their back trail.\nIn the clearing was a house, a faded red. The voices were coming from the other side of it. The small party of hunters drifted to the right and then around the house, staying several feet inside the greenery around the oval clearing. Sarah stopped where she could see the front of the house. Her companions moved closer but stayed yards away from her.\nOn the porch of the house were two rocking chairs. They were occupied by an older man and a younger man. Sitting on the edge of the porch was a teenaged boy, very skinny. In the yard a boy of perhaps eight was throwing a ball up and catching it. Sometimes he caught it straight on. More often he leaned far to one side or the other. Once he even bent over and caught it through his legs as it came down behind him. He tried that again and failed to much hilarity.\nSarah saw only a rifle leaning against the door jamb. She looked at Torres, farthest from her and barely able to see along the side of the front of the house. She held up a finger, made a gesture as if holding a long gun, and raised her brows. He shook his head slowly, raised two fingers, and pointed. Clued in, Sarah saw a shotgun lying beside the younger man's chair, nearly hidden by the chair's rockers and his legs.\nShe looked at the two other companions and made the long gun sign again and raised two fingers. They nodded back at her.\nShe pointed at Gina and Aramis, pointed back to the rear of the house, made a circling motion of her arms almost as if to hug someone, and curved her hands toward her body. She made a pulling motion.\nGina nodded her head. Aramis frowned then nodded his head. The two were to go into the back of the house and herd everyone out the front door, shooting anyone who resisted.\nSarah clipped the grip of her strung bow onto her gun belt opposite the holster. A jerk and it would be in her hand again.\nShe caught Torres's eye, pointed at herself then the path she'd take out of the forest. Then she repeated it with him. He nodded.\nAs soon as she heard a scream and loud commanding voices she moved quickly forward. The people on the porch had their attention on the front door. The younger man stood, swaying, the shotgun in his hands.\n\"Mine,\" said Sarah quietly.\nOut of the door burst a teenaged girl, an arm around another girl of perhaps ten. Behind came an older woman and a younger. They halted just outside the door, hands in the air.\nThe teen girl shrieked. \"Uncle! Uncle! Don't do anything! It's her! It's her! She'll kill us all. She'll kill us all!\" She was pointing with her free hand.\nThe men and the boys looked behind them. Sarah stood before them like some leafy denizen of the forest, half tree and half human. The black revolver in her hand had no origin in a leafy vale, however. It clearly came from some black metallic Hell.\nThe girl had spoken in German. Sarah responded in kind.\n\"Put the gun down, Uncle. Slowly. Slowly.\"\nHe did as he was told, nearly over balancing and falling. Clearly, from his actions and the wine bottle beside his chair, he'd been taking too much advantage of his \"plunder.\" He straightened, his hands in the air.\nThe young boy in the yard had his hands in the air too. He said, \"Please don't kill my father.\"\nSarah said to the sitting older man, \"Anyone else comes on the scene I'll kill all of you first then them.\"\n\"There's no one else. Only us.\"\nThe older woman added, \"There's only us. See what you've done,\" directing her words to her likely husband, \"you've killed us all. I told you it was a bad idea. I told you time and again.\"\nSarah said, \"We're killing no one unless they make us. Come out here and sit on the ground, hands on your head.\"\nGina must have prodded the older woman in the back because she jerked, then came down off the porch to sit on the ground as directed. The rest of the females joined her, the teen girl giving the ten-year old a brief hug before putting her hands atop her own head.\nThe males joined them, the teen boy helping the older man who was even unsteadier than the younger man. The two men might have been pretending to be worse off than they were but the three empty wine bottles and the scent of alcohol on the men and the teen boy were evidence that any pretense was slight.\nTo Gina Sarah said, \"No one else in the house?\" Gina shook her head. Nonetheless Sarah entered it followed by Aramis. They looked everywhere carefully but there were no places to hide in or under. The beds, for instance, lay on the floor.\nSarah was struck with how clean everything was, even though the house had clearly been lived in for a long time. The cubbards were bare of almost all food, the \"plunder\" painfully obvious in its aloneness. This helped explain the almost skeletal appearance of this family or possibly two unrelated families. And their crime. They were on the edge or beyond of starvation.\nTwo facts struck her. The utensils in the kitchen and its drawer were clean and arranged very neatly. The older women were trying to maintain a proper household. And the bedrooms where the children must have slept had a cache of pulp paperbacks on the floor near a wall. They too were arranged neatly.\nBack outside Sarah told Aramis and Torres to get the men up and to packing the mules and the horses. They went off the to rickety barn to do so, the young boy insisting he could help. Sarah and Gina returned the females to the inside of the house to pack up all personal effects and everything else in it.\n\"My kitchen?\" the older woman wanted to know.\n\"I don't see why we should obey you. It's of no value to you rich people. Or to us when you hang us.\"\n\"No one is dying. You're all going to work for me.\"\n\"What?\" The younger woman had said nothing up till now. \"Work for you? Not kill us?\"\n\"Dead bodies are worthless. Alive ones are valuable. You stole from me. Now you're going to pay off the debt.\"\nThe teen girl had a concern. \"My books? Can I take them?\"\n\"Of course. Books are important. And you, be sure to bring your doll.\" This last was said to the ten-year old girl.\nSuddenly the two girl children were happy. They skipped out of the room.\n\"Poor children,\" said the older woman. \"They don't realize they're going to be slaves.\"\n\"Nonsense. You're not going to be sold or slave driven. Just worked hard. After we get some decent food in you first.\"\n\"Food?\" The younger woman's eyes grew large.\n\"Of course. Weak workers are poor workers.\"\nIt took well under an hour to pack everything, there was so little of it. The two teenagers were assigned to lead the mules. After all, they'd done well at that job despite mules' generally individualistic nature. The two women rode the men's horses, clutching at reins. Behind them rode the young boy and the young girl, holding on for dear life. Not that the horses were likely to bolt anywhere, being older and plodders. The two men walked, carrying their rifle and shotgun, minus their loads. The four Grantvillers stayed well out of reach of any use of the weapons as bludgeons, but otherwise everyone would seem to the world as a big not-so-happy family.\nThe trikes were a revelation to the thief family, especially once they were on the road toward Rottenbach and their tiny engines were started up. The horses were nervous at the sounds but were such nags they settled down quickly. The mules were blas\u00e9, though they continued to eye the trikes with jaundiced eyes.\nAt Rottenbach Aramis and Torres were told to finish the transport of the mules and their burdens to a pre-designated warehouse, the extra burdens of the thieves' property and the men's two weapons to be stored at the warehouse. The thieves (now \"my friends the Rohrbachers\") had a meal, a meager one. Sarah told the older woman, Gurda, it was her responsibility to ensure no one made themselves sick by over-eating. Meanwhile everyone was watched over by \"my friend\" Gina while Sarah arranged overnight lodging at the inn.\nThen the eight \"friends\" were taken shopping for a change of clothes and footwear. They returned to the hotel with their burdens, then were sent to the baths awaiting them to appear scrubbed and pink a while later in their new outfits.\nThe little girl twirled before \"Aunt Sarah\" to show off her new pink dress and soft shoes. Nixie, the teen girl, shyly showed off her blue (\"like the sky\") dress too.\nThe teen boy and younger boy were not to be outdone by mere girls. They showed off their new clothing too.\nIt was still early in the evening. In the guise of \"keeping everybody busy\" the Rohrbachers were treated to the nightly show at the inn. In this case it was a rock quartet with a lead guitarist and a female singer. Afterward Nixie and Frida, the little girl, both proclaimed they were going to be singers some day.\n\"If so,\" said Sarah, \"that means you will have to study music hard at the Grantville school. Can you study hard?\"\nThey definitely could. The boys were equally eager to learn to be guitarists.\nThe two families, reeling with exhaustion and excitement and a long day, went to their two family rooms. Sarah and Gina retired to their \"business\" room with double beds and glasses of wine and beer respectively with their room service meals.\n\"Think they'll run away?\" Sarah said.\nGina said, \"Nah. They've got a rich patron now. Or should I say matron?\"\n\"Patroness.\"\n\"You're no fun now that you've got all literary and wedded to dictionairies. It's ruined you. Before you'd never have gone after thieves and come back with a family.\"\nSarah laughed, though sobered when she wondered what Bill and Olivia would say to her.\nTo Hell with it. She finished her glass of wine and got into bed.\n\"Turn out the light when you're done. Good night.\"\nGina chuckled. \"Good night\u2013Mama.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Digitalisation trends in the immigration context\nIn this article, we look at some examples of the UK's immigration and nationality digitalisation programme, focusing on the implications for migrant workers, their sponsors, and business visitors.\nThe Home Office's immigration and nationality services \u2013 digital by design\nThe Home Office's Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team is responsible for improving the overall business efficiency of the department through the development of digital technologies. It was set up in 2016 and currently has 3,800 staff associated with it across the UK.\nUnder the current DDaT strategy, the Home Office aims to 'become digital by design' in everything it does to deliver its policies. This includes using automation, investing in cyber capabilities and focusing on data to manage the department both strategically and operationally.\nDigitalisation has been actively pursued the immigration and nationality sphere in recent years, ahead of other areas of the department. This is set to continue across the Home Office according to the following principles:\n1.\tConverging technologies where possible\n2.\tCreating shared technology products\n3.\tBeing product-centric over programme-centric\n4.\tBecoming data-driven to improve the Home Office's decisions\n5.\tDelivering effectively at scale\n6.\tEmbracing innovation\nThese principles can be seen in action in the Home Office's recent and planned innovations for how migrants make applications and have them assessed, and how they prove their status once granted.\nMaking and assessing applications\nThe digitalisation of immigration and nationality application processes is creating significant change in terms of data access, security and privacy. As a general trend, it should improve user experience. It will also provide the Home Office with a huge pool of data to store and analyse.\nApplying to enter the UK\nCurrently visitors to the UK (including business visitors) must make a formal visa application abroad if they are a visa national, or seek entry at the border if they are a non-visa national. Certain non-visa nationals are eligible to use eGates and are not routinely formally examined by a Border Force official.\nThe Home Office plans to implement Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) for all non-visa nationals visiting or transiting the UK as an additional pre-arrival security measure, as well as replacing physical visitor visas with a digital status record, or 'e-visa'. Visa nationals who are currently eligible to obtain an Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) will continue to be able to use an EVW. British and Irish nationals, as well as those who have British citizenship in the Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories will remain outside the scope of pre-arrival arrangements.\nTo make these changes effective, substantial systems development work still needs to be undertaken. This will need to cover the ETA application process, as well as replacing or upgrading two old systems that flag individuals of interest for security reasons and that analyse passenger information from a security perspective. Some of this work falls under the Digital Services at the Border programme, which is due to be delivered by the end of March 2022. Communications and training will also be necessary for air, maritime and rail carriers, as they will need to administer pre-departure checks. The new arrangements will be trialled ahead of a full rollout, with initial testing scheduled to take place by autumn 2021.\nAnticipated implications of these changes include:\nMore security and less likelihood of delays or refusal of entry for visitors at the border (although there will still be checks on visitors' intentions);\nAdditional administration and small fee charges for those who need to use the ETA system; and\nThe need for assurances on security of data and privacy, with the UK government collecting and retaining data for a much larger cohort of people than currently.\nOnline immigration and nationality application forms and sponsorship system\nOnline application forms have been a feature of UK immigration and nationality applications for some years now, however the post-Brexit immigration system is intended to become fully digital. This will include a roadmap to transform the Home Office IT systems used by sponsors of workers and students.\nThe Home Office is in the process of decommissioning legacy case working and other systems and is working on a shared form-building and hosting solution that it may produce within the department rather than through using an external provider. This latter change should enable the Home Office to design, prototype and deploy forms that meet their Accessibility Standard more quickly and cost-effectively than currently. Taking this work in-house would also allow small, iterative improvements to be made quickly to address identified issues.\nPossible implications of having a fully digital application form set and IT system for sponsors include:\nPressure to minimise the number of Statements of Changes in Immigration Rules brought forward each year, as this will in turn minimise the cost of rework to online application forms and associated guidance;\nThe need to develop worldwide functionality, including mobile device-enabled functionality, to allow applicants to upload supporting information and documents securely and transparently (including eliminating the need to send supplementary documents by unsecured email);\nFurther movement towards verifying information relied on by applicants and sponsors using self-certification, direct verification with third parties (e.g. employers), and checking data from previous applications, data shared between government departments and data exchanged across governments;\nPermanent movement away from submitting paper supporting documents (eg for sponsor licence applications);\nThe availability of a quicker, more environmentally-friendly system through avoiding the use of paper, and removing the need to submit applications by physically travelling or using couriers or postal services;\nGreater capability for adopting decision-making tools and automating case working functions, subject to this meeting the Algorithmic Transparency Standard the Government is currently developing, and including careful consideration of factors such as avoiding potential unconscious bias and race discrimination in the design of these;\nBetter access for applicants to their data, through subject access requests that are generated through drawing on integrated case working systems and are not reliant on the retrieval of paper-based archived files;\nThe need to properly engage with and address issues such as digital poverty, lack of digital skills and language barriers through measures such as appropriate and easily-accessible assisted digital support worldwide (this is currently only available on a limited basis in the UK).\nIn late 2018, an identity verification app was used for the first time as part of the rollout of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). This enabled millions of EEA nationals and some of their non-EEA family members to enrol their biometric data using a smartphone rather than attending a government-authorised facility.\nThe availability of this technology assisted with re-starting in-country immigration application processing for routes other than EUSS, after biometric enrolment centres were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\nA separate identity verification app was made available to support the implementation of the post-Brexit Points-Based Immigration system. It is currently available for use by a limited range of nationals and only in certain immigration routes, but the Home Office's intention is to widen its use over time. Before 30 November 2021, individuals using the app could not access priority processing options, however this is now possible.\nThe Home Office is also considering how biometric data are enrolled and retained. The Identity section of the New plan for immigration: legal migration and border control strategy statement includes a proposal to require fingerprints to be captured once and then reused, with facial biometrics being recaptured periodically using an identity verification app. This potentially could mean applicants do not have to enrol their biometric data more than once, however longer data retention times raise potential data privacy concerns. Some of the concerns over data handling may be mitigated in the future through the Home Office using its own identity verification apps and controlling the data from the outset, rather than using third party commercial partners in visa application centres to collect and transfer it.\nThe net result of changes to identity verification is likely to be quicker application processing and movement through the border for migrant workers and business visitors. Other implications and outstanding issues to address include:\nThe need to consider how automated allocation of National Insurance numbers can be integrated into the process for work routes where an identity verification app is used;\nReduced need to use visa application centres and in-country biometric enrolment facilities;\nPotential to link biometric records to processes required for immigration applications such as English language testing, verification of qualifications, health testing such as TB screening etc, which would reduce potential for impersonation and document fraud;\nIncreased need to ensure adequate governance around the collection, reuse and retention of biometric data (this may be addressed under planned reforms to the UK's data protection regime); and\nLess risk of misidentification of an individual when the Home Office is carrying out enforcement activities.\nProving status\nThe general direction of travel in this area is toward the exclusive use of digital status, with plans to make this a reality by the end of 2024.\nThe technology used for people to be able to verify their status under the EUSS (the View and Prove service) is now being expanded to other routes. Although the EUSS system has been hailed as a success, initial case inception and finalisation may have been prioritised, with other aspects of the system yet to have been properly developed. Current problems include the possibility of one individual having multiple live immigration records, and their current immigration status not being verifiable by default on the online right to work checking system when they have an extension or settlement application in process. This can be corrected, but only by the individual making a request to the Home Office.\nThe replacement of physical immigration documents with digital status has many benefits, including eliminating the logistical and security issues that currently are associated with entry clearance vignettes and biometric identity documents.\nAlso, the planned automated capability to update an individual's digital status record every time they cross the UK the border will enable the Home Office to accurately pinpoint if they are inside or outside the UK and for how long (see para 66 of the Home Office's strategy statement). This could streamline the assessment of residence for settlement and nationality purposes, as well as enabling the sharing of residence information with other government departments when they are considering eligibility for services and benefits. Digital status could also facilitate contactless border crossing.\nSome broader implications and issues relating to the adoption of digital status include:\nThe need to have a communications and education strategy to ensure UK digital immigration status is easy to access and is accepted in all cases where proof of status is required (e.g. at present, some individuals are not confident with using online systems, and foreign governments will not accept UK digital status as sufficient proof when considering visa applications for their country);\nThe need to build in safeguards to ensure migrant records are not duplicated and individuals can easily access their immigration history and current immigration status in one place;\nThe need for reminder or other mechanisms to prompt migrants to update their digital status record when their circumstances have changed (e.g. when they obtain a new identity document);\nThe need for a clear and quick process for migrants to have data inaccuracies addressed (e.g. where their digital status record does not accurately record an individual's work rights);\nThe need to ensure stability of the availability of information on digital status to minimise the risk that system crashes, data loss or corruption could result in real-world impacts on individuals' access to their rights and services; and\nThe need for robust processes to re-establish immigration status where digital status data is lost, corrupted or requires updating.\nThe future of digitalisation in the immigration and nationality sphere\nDigitalisation of the immigration and nationality system is not without controversy and significant work still needs to be done to ensure it operates smoothly, as the examples highlighted above demonstrate.\nWe can expect to see further evolution as the Home Office pursues successive iterations of the DDaT strategy, with a view to providing better services to both to direct and indirect users of the system.\nNo doubt new challenges and solutions will emerge as digitalised processes and products become more embedded as the norm. The Home Office is clear that it is now a 'digital organisation', so an exploration of, and reliance on, digital technology appears to be high priority for the foreseeable future.\nSupinder Singh Sian\nI am a partner in the Immigration & Global Mobility team.\nsupinder.sian@lewissilkin.com\nAndrew Osborne\nI am the head of Lewis Silkin's Immigration practice and joined the firm as a Partner in January 2010.\nandrew.osborne@lewissilkin.com\nKathryn Denyer\nManaging Practice Development Lawyer\nI ensure Lewis Silkin's immigration team is kept up-to-date with relevant law and policy developments and that they have the tools and ...\nkathryn.denyer@lewissilkin.com","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Trans woman forced to crowdfund for 'urgent' gender treatment\nJoe Williams February 23, 2016\nA trans woman is using crowdfunding to raise money for surgery because of long waits for NHS treatment.\nSarah O'Connell saw her GP in March last year \u2013 but has only just met for a consultation at a gender identity clinic.\nThe 35-year-old is now trying to raise \u00a320,000 through online donations and has set up a GoFundMe page to aid her progress.\nShe says the money will cover all aspects of transitioning \u2013 including gender surgery, hormone treatment, laser treatment and voice coaching.\n\"Transitioning can be incredible expensive, this is a last resort. I haven't had NHS support yet. The waiting lists are very long,\" she told the BBC.\n\"It is a long process, it is like being in prison for something you didn't commit and I want to get it over as quickly as possible.\n\"I just want to get on with my life, I don't want to spend my whole life doing this.\"\nMrs O'Connell \u2013 who has a wife and five-year-old daughter \u2013 said her partner had known she was trans from early on in their relationship.\n\"I have known who I am since I was three years old, so it has been the biggest relief telling my family,\" she said.\nThe NHS acknowledged the \"urgent need to bring down waiting times\" and said that further funding is being made available.\n\"The NHS has put additional funding into gender identity services for the last two years and will continue to do so,\" said Will Huxter, chairman of NHS England's gender identity task and finish group.\n\"We recognise the urgent need to bring down waiting times, and to this end we have met with all the gender identity clinics to agree plans to increase capacity from April 2016.\"\nIn January, a report from the Women and Equality Select Committee called for radical reforms to the UK's gender laws \u2013 and strongly rebuked the government for failing to make progress.\nAfter an inquiry on trans issues lasting several months, a report released last month called for drastic changes across a number of departments \u2013 from the healthcare system to gender laws to prison reforms.\nIn an exclusive interview with PinkNews, Mrs Miller said that transgender people were being \"failed\" by the law, health services and other public bodies \u2013 while the report itself directly accused the NHS of breaking \"legal obligations\" to trans patients.\nMore: LGBT, NHS, Stonewall, surgery, Trans\nTrailer for new Sha'Carri Richardson film by Virgil Abloh examines runner's 'blessing and curse'\nJosh Milton - January 21, 2022\nHorrific spate of anti-LGBT+ murders in Jamaica investigated in vital new series\nEuphoria: the show's makeup artist reveals the character's signature beauty products\nJonny Yates - January 21, 2022\nMormon university under federal investigation over heinous anti-LGBT+ rules\nLily Wakefield - January 21, 2022\nEnter your email to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories\nBrave 11-year-old trans girl who shamed hateful lawmakers is finalist for TIME's Kid of the Year\nLorraine Kelly says her unflinching trans allyship goes back to the 70s\nElliot Page and Matrix's Lilly Wachowski join legal battle against Arkansas trans healthcare ban\nMaggie Baska - January 20, 2022\nRepublican bid to ban trans kids from bathrooms in Virginia flies in face of Supreme Court ruling","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"info@blackswaninn.com\nThis is a block of text Click Here\nRoom Themes\nPirate's Suite\nAtlantis Under The Sea\nBlack Swan Garden\nThe Egyptian\nJungle Falls\nMayan Rainforest\nRocky Mountain Cabin\nRomeo and Juliet I\nRomeo and Juliet II\nSea Cave\nGift Shop and Specials\nTHE BLACK SWAN INN LEGACY\nThe Black Swan Inn turned from dream to reality in 1997 when the first suite (the Caveman Suite) was finished and ready for couples to experience. Since then, fourteen other suites and the reception area have been created and opened for your enjoyment.\nIn 1996, Larry and Debbie Fisher and Clyne and Ann Long purchased the building, with the intention of turning it into themed suites. In 2001, the Fishers bought out the Longs' interest in the enterprise. At the time of purchase, the building required a complete update of all the plumbing and electrical systems. The inside of the structure was gutted and rebuilt to current building codes. The first phase included eight suites that were created between the time of purchase and the summer of 1998. The next six suites were built between 1998 and 2000. The fifteenth suite was finished in 2005.\nThousands of guests from all over the world have stayed at the Black Swan Inn.\nOur mission is to exceed our guest's expectations in service, cleanliness, and decor of room. We aim to create and maintain a hotel that is comprehensive and exceptional in its attention to every detail of operation.\nAt The Black Swan Inn, we aim to provide an experience you won't find anywhere else. As an active giving member of the community, we want to provide all who work with us a friendly, cooperative and rewarding environment.\nOur vision is to consistently provide our guests with impeccable service by demonstrating warmth, graciousness, efficiency, knowledge, professionalism, and integrity in our work.\nImage may be subject to copyright\nThe unique English Tudor building was built in 1933 and originally featured ten two-story apartments. Many important and influential people have lived within its walls.\nLater on, many businesses were located there. Some of them included Western Realty, Attorney Steve Wood, Denim and Daisies, and La Bella Vita Salon.\n\u00a9 2020. All Rights Reserved. Black Swan Inn\n746 East Center, Pocatello, Idaho\nHotel Website Design & Reservation Software by ResNexus","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Sudan: \"Russia in 1917 must have felt like Khartoum 2019\"\nWeizmann Hamilton, Workers' and Socialist Party (CWI South Africa)\nThe overthrow of Omar al Bashir by the Sudanese masses on 11 April is one of the most momentous events in the modern history of the Sudanese masses, on the continent and in the Middle East. It has simultaneously inspired the masses throughout Africa and instilled fear in despotic regimes in the region.\nA Financial Times journalist observing these tumultuous events was moved to write: \"One cannot know for sure what Russia felt like in 1917 as the tsar was being toppled, or France in 1871 in the heady, idealistic days of the short-lived Paris Commune. But it must have felt something like Khartoum in April 2019.\"\nThe London Guardian (5\/05\/2019) reports that \"within days of the removal of Bashir, Saudi's purse strings loosened. Along with the UAE, it pledged a $3bn aid package to prop up Sudan's economy and thus the transitional military government\u2026. Gulf News ran a profile of the current head of the transitional military council saying that \"during the war in southern Sudan and the Darfur region, he served on [sic] important positions, largely due to his civic manners and professional demeanour\".\n\"The editorial started with a panicked homage to Sudan as \"one of Africa's and the Arab world's most strategic countries.\" A senior United Arab Emirates minister last week tried to frame the sudden interest and largesse towards Sudan as a wise precaution after the tumult of the Arab spring. \"We have experienced all-out chaos in the region and, sensibly, don't need more of it,\" he lectured.\n\"But this newfound affection for oh so strategic Sudan and its civic-mannered military leaders has more to do with the Saudi royal family's heightened insecurity about its own fate than it does with maintaining stability. The danger of a Sudanese revolution is in its optics, in the sense of possibility that it suggests\u2026regime change.\"\nThe fact that Bashir had been able to overcome several crises before had led to delusions of invulnerability. This uprising was different. Whereas brutality had preserved his regime before, this time, the widespread repression including the arrest of activists and a death toll of approximately, 60, the masses would not be deterred.\nThat courage and determination was reflected in the fact that the masses chose the 6th April to take the revolution directly to the seat of his dictatorship, the military complex that housed his residence where the masses have set up camp ever since. Within five days, Bashir's 30-year reign had ended.\nThe movement was precipitated by the Bashir regime's decision to follow the advice of the IMF by cancelling fuel and wheat subsidies. In a country where only 3% of the national budget is allocated to education and even less to health, and expenditure consumed by the cost of dealing with insurgencies in the South Kordofan, Darfur and the Blue Nile regions, the burden of these measures fell directly on the working class and the poor in city and countryside.\nThe lifting of US sanctions in 1997 had failed to provide economic relief. The economic situation had deteriorated significantly since the independence of oil\u2013rich South Sudan in 2011. It meant the loss of oil revenue, concentrated in South Soudan. Accelerated by the devaluation of the Sudanese pound on IMF advice, inflation soared to 72%, the second highest in the world after Venezuela. The economic crisis was aggravated by rampant looting which had placed Sudan at number 175 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. Suitcases loaded with more than $351,000, \u20ac6m ($6.7m; \u00a35.2m) and five billion Sudanese pounds ($105m) were found at Mr Bashir's home.\nIn these circumstances, although the IMF-dictated measures serve as the straw that broke the camel's back this movement was not going to end as in so many other countries, as just another \"IMF food riot\". Starting in mid-December in Atbara, a city in River Nile state, about 180 miles from Khartoum, they spread across the country, swept along even marginalized peripheries like El-Gadarif in eastern Sudan and Nyala and El Fashir in Darfur, where thousands have been killed and hundreds of villages destroyed in counterinsurgency. This is the longest, most widespread and sustained movement of the Sudanese masses in the post-colonial period.\nThe intensity of the protests caused panic within the coalition of generals, security chiefs and Islamist politicians within the ruling National Congress Party. The hard-liners pressed for a brutal crackdown, but army commanders argued for restraint. These internal conflicts were reflected in the intervention by rank-and-file soldiers in the army to protect the crowds when militia forces and units of the feared National Intelligence and Security Services fired heavy tear gas and bullets at the protesters.\nUnder the hot breath of the revolution, the military was compelled within twenty four hours to replace al Bashir's replacement, Lieutenant General Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, rejected by the masses as too close to al-Bashir's regime, with General Abdel-Fattah Burhan.\nAt the time of writing, the stalemate between the masses and the military that resulted from the revolutionary uprising that forced Omar al Bashir from office continues. Fearing that the overthrow of the former dictator by the direct action of the revolutionary movement would pose the question of the construction of a new order led by the masses themselves, the military took action to head off the movement, carried out a coup, forcing Omar al Bashir from office. This was as much a palace coup against Bashir, as it was a counter-revolutionary act by the army generals against the masses.\nPosturing as sympathetic to the aims of the masses, the army is warning about \"chaos and anarchy\" in favour of an \"orderly transition.\" The military has set up an interim Transitional Council, headed by lieutenant-general Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, who has promised to \"uproot the regime,\"vowed to restructure state institutions and end the night curfew. The army suspended the constitution, dissolved the government, declared a three-month state of emergency, imposed a one-month curfew, and closed the country's borders and airspace. Lt. Gen. Burhan also announced the release of all political prisoners.\nThe stand-off between the organisation which called the masses into action, the Sudanese Professional Association, and the military is over the composition of the transitional Council. The SPA is demanding a 15 member council with 8 civilians and 7 from the military. The military's counter proposal is a 10 member council with 7 for the military.\nExperience of 2011 Arab Spring\nThe experience of the 2011 Arab Spring, especially in Egypt, where a regime even more repressive than Mubarak's has now taken power after the military was able to posture as the \"people's army\", has left its imprint on the consciousness of the Sudanese masses. The Arab Spring has taught the masses to be completely distrustful of the posturing of the military. The military's immediate aim is to ride the revolutionary wave, portray itself as a neutral independent arbiter sympathetic to the democratic aspirations of the masses, wait for exhaustion to set in, and then to move decisively to reestablish \"law and order\".\nMilitary council member, Lieutenant General Salah Abdelkhalik, responding to reports of army plans to disperse the protests, told reporters security forces \"will never use violence against protesters\". He also distanced the council from the former government of al-Bashir, saying: \"We are part of the revolution and not part of the former regime as people view us.\" (Al Jazeera Online -- 30\/04\/2019)\nThe Sudanese incarnation of the Arab Spring of eight years ago is determined to avoid the fate of that magnificent uprising. Confronted with the same counter-revolutionary machinations of the military as in Egypt in 2011, the masses have met these measures with defiance. Protests have continued with the masses demanding that the military hand control back to the people. In a country in which more than 60 percent of the population is under 25 and around 20 percent is between 15 and 24 years old, it is the youth that has been to the fore in the movement. Most significantly an estimated 70% of demonstrators are women.\nThe massesare determined that there will be no repeat of a return of the old order or direct military rule.Reflecting the deep suspicions of the masses, theSudanese Professionals Association (SPA), thrust into the leadership of the movement against al-Bashir's regime has stepped up the pressure on the army. \"The military council is a copy cat of the toppled regime. The army is trying to disperse the sit-in by removing the barricades,\" the SPA said.\" (Al Jazeera Online -- 30\/04\/2019)\nResponding to threats by the army to put an end to the \"chaos\" the SPA called for a \"million strong march\" on 2nd May to break the deadlock over the composition of the Transitional Council. What in reality is playing itself out is a trial of strength between revolution and counter-revolution. This stalemate cannot endure indefinitely. It must be resolved in favour of the masses or in favour of the ruling elite.\nThe Sudanese uprising is a resounding confirmation of one of the foundations of Trotsky's Theory of Permanent Revolution \u2013 the complete incapacity of the colonial bourgeoisie to carry through even the most basic tasks of the bourgeois democratic revolution much less fulfill even the most modest aspirations of the masses. The post-independence elite has not only presided over economic dislocation, the failure to keep Sudan together as a single state, but also allowed the country to become the playground of competing regional powers in the Gulf and their imperialist masters.\nIn determining the way forward, the Sudanese masses will not only use the Arab Spring, the greatest achievement of which, the ousting of a dictator, they have already achieved , and whose limitations \u2013 the return of the old order under the military, they remain determined to prevent, as a point of reference. They will also reopen the pages of their own rich history of struggle.\nThis is the 6th military coup since independence. Importantly, from the standpoint of the way forward for the revolution, three of those coups were in fact carried out to cut across and suppress the mass uprisings. But the lessons of the October Revolution of 1964 and April Intifada of 1985 were that both succeeded against the military. The former ousted the Sudan's first military regime, the latter the second.\nThere can be no trust in the military. As well-known activist figure, Ali Elhasan, arrested in January, and taken to the so-called \"refrigerator\" at Shandi prison, but returned immediately to the protests the day before Bashir was ousted, points out: The old regime \"is still represented in the security forces and in the economy. They have militias and they still have guns and they have money. We have a window of opportunity \u2026 We can't wait.\"\nThe organisation at the forefront of the movement, the Sudanese Professionals Association, is an umbrella association of 15 different trade unions first formed in October 2016. Under its umbrella are the Forces of National Consensus, the Sudan Call and other political parties including the Sudanese Communist Party. It campaigned for the introduction of a minimum wage and participated in protests against the rising cost of living in Sudan. Prominent in the SPA are lawyers, doctors and university lecturers.\nThe SPA proposals for a Transitional Council that will include the military suggests that it has not drawn the lessons of either the Arab Spring, the October Revolution of 1964 and the intifada of 1985. They reflect the middle class character of the SPA leadership and the inclination to find an imaginary middle way between the Bashir's dictatorship and a genuinely democratic regime based on the working class and the poor.\nThe activist Elhasan is among a group that began pushing early in the protests for daily demonstrations, in opposition to the SPA, which wanted a more incremental approach.\"I have been sleeping here since I got out,\" he said at a pavement cafe at the sit-in. \"We won't allow decisions to be made away from people. It has to be transparent. We're here to keep up pressure on the [opposition coalition] so that they understand that their negotiations with the Transitional Military Council are on behalf of the protesters.\"\nThe military includes General Auf who is a graduate of the Cairo Military Academy and maintains close links with Egyptian strong man president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It is led by Durhan, responsible for Sudan's operations alongside the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The deputy leader Mohammad Hamdan aka Himeidti, is the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, a private military force which was partially integrated into the military and security services. The unit is regarded by many as a re-branded version of the Janjaweed militias of which Himeidti was himself a part, which carried out massacres in Darfur in 2003. He has 7,000 troops stationed in Yemen on the Saudi Arabian payroll. It also includes the ruthless and ambitious chief of the intelligence services, Salah Abdalla Gosh, who controls powerful forces in the capital, and has close links to intelligence services, including the C.I.A., and has recently been particularly associated with the United Arab Emirates.\nClass collaborationist policies\nIt is enough to set out these facts to recognise the grievously mistaken approach of the SPA. Nor does the Sudanese Communist Party offer a way forward. It calls for \"Freedom, peace, justice\" and goes on, \"Revolution is the people's choice. The Sudanese Communist Party and all the opposition forces are adamant in their resolve to continue the fight until the establishment of a civilian government that represents the masses and implements the democratic alternativeprogram accepted by all the forces, the Professionals Alliance, and the armed groups.\"\nThis position unfortunately is drawn directly from the class collaborationist policies of Stalinism that have aided the counter-revolution in many countries. It is the direct opposite of the policy of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks in the 1917 revolution who opposed joining any government committed to working with capitalism and campaigned to win majority support for a workers' and peasants' government that would break with capitalism.\nUntil now the unity and resolve of the masses remains unbroken. Attempts by religious leaders to discredit the movement were repulsed. Claims that the movement was inspired by the Sudanese Liberation Army in Darfur were met with the defiant chant: \"We are all Darfur.\"\nReflecting the close cultural ties between the SPA leadership and the Sudanese elite, it issued a call for a cleaning campaign in which women should be in the forefront because: \"because you care more about it.\" It was met with outrage and an apology from the SPA. Amongst the repressive measures against women are compulsory dress codes for the violation of which they are flogged. There is no gender equality in the mainly Muslim country, where female genital mutilation is still practised - almost 90% of Sudanese women have been cut. The SPA was forced to retract that insult.\nThe energy of the movement has been sufficient to bring the uprising to its present conjuncture. But, in the absence of a mass workers party, the SPA has stepped into the vacuum. However the SPA, while opposing military rule, is attempting to form a civilian led capitalist government. But such a government, even if called \"transitional\", would by its very nature not break the grip of the ruling class and imperialism, something that would, sooner or later, pose the threat of counter-revolution, something seen before in Sudan and in other revolutions.\nThe masses need to establish their own power, counterposed to that of the same regime that continues without Bashir and even to the SPA upon which pressure must be exerted to break completely with the military. The fraternization between the rank-and file soldiers that occurred when the hardliners were preparing to crackdown in April shows the potential power of the masses themselves.\nWhat is now urgently needed is the consolidation of the unity that has propelled the movement forward till now. The action committees in areas such as in Atbera where the uprising began, must be replicated throughout the country as a step towards laying the groundwork for the independent power of the masses. The basic steps of organisation that have been taken at the mass occupation outside the military headquarters, Sudan's Tahrir Square, including the establishment of committees to feed people, for security, to control traffic, even a clinic, must be taken into the rest of the country, to take control of workplaces and production.\nLinked together these committees, including local unions, workers, and other forces of the revolution, a local, state-wide and national level, workers' committees can provide the basis for an alternative state structure that can seize power from the military and form a government led by representatives of the workers and poor.\nSudanese society can overcome the impasse of capitalism only through a socialist revolution. This requires a mass party of the working class on a socialist programme. Such a programme must include the idea of a planned economy, democratically controlled by the working class and the poor.To win affordable prices for food and fuel, wage rises and a shorter working week, it is necessary to fight for nationalisation of the major industries and the land of the big landowners, under working class democratic control and management. On the basis of a socialist plan it would be possible to invest in job creation, decent housing, health care and education.\nIt must call for:\n\u2022 the immediate scrapping of all discriminatory laws oppressing women\n\u2022 freedom of religion and a separation of church and state\n\u2022 defence of democratic rights\n\u2022 the repudiation of foreign debt\n\u2022 the withdrawal of troops from Yemen and the cessation of military repression of oppressed nationalities and the recognition of the right to self determination\n\u2022 a government led by democratically elected representatives of the workers' and poor\n\u2022 for a socialist Sudan united on a federal basis\nBritain: Sinister moves against Corbyn can be beaten by clear socialist policies\nIrish health workers' anger boils over into strike action\nBritain: How can we build workers' action to support the climate strikes?","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Joshua Crutchfield\nFilter Options \u00bb\nFilter by Scripture:\nFilter by Series:\nFilter by Media Format:\nFIRST-PERSON: Heaven on earth\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted August 16, 2018 in\nHeaven can be seen on earth, Joshua Crutchfield writes, through \"the supernatural awe-inspiring power of God\" among His people.\nEASTER: The resurrection \u2014 a fatal blow to death\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 28, 2018 in\nPreaching, evangelism and every other aspect of life is affected by what we believe about the resurrection, Joshua Crutchfield writes, noting, \"The chief victory of Jesus is not that He died, but that even though He died, He lives.\"\nFIRST-PERSON: If it is good for kids \u2026\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 2, 2018 in Discipleship\nApart from children in the church, Joshua Crutchfield laments, so few Christians memorize Scripture. One possible reason, he writes, is, \"We don't esteem the Bible like we say we do.\"\n500 YEARS: 'Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise'\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted October 26, 2017 in\nMartin Luther's battleground \"also is our battleground -- the authority of Scripture,\" Joshua Crutchfield writes, underscoring the Bible \"not as a book of suggestions or good advice, but as words spoken from the very mouth of God.\"\nFIRST-PERSON: 'His glory is our reward'\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted June 7, 2017 in Evangelism\nChristians are not \"heavenly real estate brokers,\" Joshua Crutchfield writes, noting that the focus of the Gospel is far more than an eternal destination; it is God Himself. \"Fortunately, we do not have to wait for death to enjoy God,\" he notes.\nFIRST-PERSON: United by truth\nJoshua Crutchfield notes that the truth -- Jesus is Lord -- can unite Southern Baptists so that \"all people might hear His name and have the opportunity to receive new life .... If we must fight, let it be against the darkness of this world.\"\nFIRST-PERSON: Standing with cooperation\nBy Joshua Crutchfield, posted March 3, 2017 in Cooperative Program, SBC News\nCooperation among Southern Baptists, as noted by Joshua Crutchfield, is based on the theological beliefs in the SBC's Baptist Faith and Message and, all the more \"on the one of whom the document speaks -- Jesus.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"X-O MANOWAR #15 preview\nby First Comics News on February 8, 2018 X-O MANOWAR #15 preview2018-02-08T12:42:48-08:00 - News\nValiant is proud to present X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 the FIRST ISSUE of \"BARBARIANS,\" an ALL-NEW ARC and FEROCIOUS NEW JUMPING-ON POINT from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (HARBINGER WARS 2, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (DIVINITY)! On May 23rd, the best-selling creative team behind Valiant's groundbreaking DIVINITY series reunites to reveal a battle-scarred mission from Aric of Dacia's youth\u2026 As HARBINGER WARS 2 readies it fire, prepare to witness the ;andmark episode that forged the heir to the Visigoth nation into the world-smashing, interstellar champion now known as X-O Manowar!\nAs HARBINGER WARS 2 besieges the Valiant Universe \u2013 and X-O Manowar along with it \u2013 Aric of Dacia cannot escape the flames that now threaten his future\u2026or the shadows that cloud his past. Before space\u2026 Before the armor\u2026 Return to the apex of Visigoth conquest as a younger, brasher Aric and a sword-wielding grifter set off on a continent-spanning quest for fortune, glory, and power! From the bloodstained sands of the gladiatorial arena to the dunes of the Arabian Desert, meet the man who would become the warrior-king of an alien civilization \u2013 and our own world's most powerful hero \u2013 as he sets out to seize his destiny once upon a time in a land of faraway kings and unrepentant conquerors!\n\"I wanted to try to do something a little different than we've seen in past 'event' books that crossover with other books and become these massive unwieldy narratives,\" writer Matt Kindt. \"So instead of getting a double-dose of X-O Manowar during HARBINGER WARS 2 and in his own book, I thought it would be more interesting to have him take on a larger role in the HARBINGER WARS book and then have a contrasting tale taking place in his own title \u2013 one that tells a story of him as a Visigoth in Rome \u2013 that would both inform his past self and also serve to work in harmony with HARBINGER WARS 2\u2026 Two stories that can be read independently of one another, but also work together in this crazy harmonic way if you're reading both. Both storylines are standalone and also\u2026not.\"\nOn May 23rd, jump on board one of the most acclaimed series in comics today as visionary creators Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine reunite for a thrilling, four-part melee of blood and steely-eyed daring at the height of the barbarian age with X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 featuring covers by Lewis LaRosa (BLOODSHOT SALVATION), Jim Mahfood (Grrl Scouts), Veronica Fish (Spider-Woman), and Viktor Kalachev (Blue Estate)!\nPLUS: Valiant is rewarding fans who reserve \"BARBARIANS\", the next staggering arc of Valiant's best-selling epic series, with specially expanded, limited editions of each issue in the X-O MANOWAR #15-18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE \u2013 available only as a pre-order set! Released monthly from May 2018 through August 2018, each PRE-ORDER EDITION comes packed with trade paperback-style extras and bonus content, including creator commentary, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the comics, process character designs and artwork, and first looks at upcoming issues \u2013 plus exclusive covers by Shane Davis (Superman: Earth One) that can't be found anywhere else!\nFans and retailers, take note: The only way to obtain these exclusive items is to pre-order all four issues with your local comic shop by the initial order date (IOD) of March 29th, 2018! No more copies will be made available beyond that date and subsequent issues will not be offered in later solicitations!\nTHEN, ALSO BEGINNING IN MAY: From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, DIVINITY, Mind MGMT), Academy Award nominee Eric Heisserer (SECRET WEAPONS), and superstar artists Tom\u00e1s Giorello (X-O MANOWAR), Ra\u00fal All\u00e9n (SECRET WEAPONS), and Patricia Mart\u00edn (BLOODSHOT REBORN), the most powerful Valiant event ever attempted erupts in full force as X-O Manowar, Livewire, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, the Secret Weapons, Ninjak, and a cast of thousands draw their battle lines in HARBINGER WARS 2!\nFor the rare and immensely powerful subset of humanity known as psiots, their unique abilities have come with an enormous cost. Once, their existence was known only to a select few. Now, the revelation that thousands of these latent telekinetic \"harbingers\" secretly live among us\u2026with the potential to become active at any moment\u2026has led the American government to a dramatic tipping point\u2026\nArmed with new extra-governmental authority, the deep-black military contractor known as Omen has been authorized to identify, evaluate, and, if need be, eliminate all super-normal threats to the homeland. H.A.R.D. Corps units have been deployed into cities and towns across the United States to enforce their orders.\nIn the East, one of the most powerful minds on Earth, Peter Stanchek, is leading his band of Renegades across the country, activating any potential psiots willing to join them, and building an insurrection force of ultra-powerful and unwieldy new abilities that will soon bring war to Omen's doorstep\u2026and the unstoppable force known as X-O Manowar raging back to Earth\u2026\nIn the West, Livewire \u2013 the telekinetic technopath with the ability to bend machines and computers to her will \u2013 will be forced to choose between her former allies\u2026or her newfound team of Secret Weapons. As the situation escalates beyond human control, the United States will be plunged into darkness from coast to coast, launching Bloodshot and Ninjak into a dangerous mission to neutralize their one-time teammate \u2013 and setting the stage for the most shocking, most violent, and most consequential clash of powers ever witnessed in the history of the Valiant Universe!\nStay tuned for more massive developments related to HARBINGER WARS 2 in the weeks to come!\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 (NEW ARC! \"BARBARIANS\" \u2013 PART 1)\nWritten by MATT KINDT\nArt by TREVOR HAIRSINE\nCover A by LEWIS LAROSA\nCover B by JIM MAHFOOD\nVariant Cover by VERONICA FISH\nX-O Manowar Icon Variant by VIKTOR KALACHEV\n$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On Sale MAY 23rd (FOC \u2013 4\/30\/18)\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15-18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE\nCovers by SHANE DAVIS\n$3.99 each [4 issues]| 40 pgs. each | T+ | Issue #15 on Sale MAY 23rd (IOD \u2013 3\/29\/18)\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 Cover A by Lewis LaRosa\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 Cover B by Jim Mahfood\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 Variant Cover by Veronica Fish\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 X-O Manowar Icon Variant by Viktor Kalachev\nX-O MANOWAR (2017) #15-#18 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE COUPON\nhttps:\/\/www.firstcomicsnews.com\/x-o-manowar-15-preview\/https:\/\/www.firstcomicsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/XO-Logo-600x253.pnghttps:\/\/www.firstcomicsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/XO-Logo-150x63.png 2018-02-08T12:42:48-08:00 First Comics NewsNews\nValiant is proud to present X-O MANOWAR (2017) #15 \u2013 the FIRST ISSUE of \"BARBARIANS,\" an ALL-NEW ARC and FEROCIOUS NEW JUMPING-ON POINT from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (HARBINGER WARS 2, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (DIVINITY)! On May 23rd, the best-selling creative team behind...\nThe Krampus Kickstarter is now LIVE!\nYour First Look at the Spooktacular SPECTER INSPECTORS #1 from BOOM! Studios\nThe Best of John Buscema's Roy Rogers\nREVIEW: CAPTAIN CANUCK YEAR 1 #3\nDigital Lizards of Doom To Support ComicBooks For Kids!","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Yb Fibre Laser and MAG Hybrid Processing in Pipeline Welding\nYb Fibre Laser\/MAG Hybrid Processing for Welding of Pipelines\nDavid S. Howse, Robert J. Scudamore, Geoff S. Booth\nPaper presented at the Commission IV (Power Beam Processes) Document at 58th IIW Annual Assembly in Prague, 11-15 July 2005.\nTWI has been processing materials with high power (4kW and above) Nd:YAG lasers since 1997 and has a history of welding structures with lasers extending back some thirty years. The work carried out at TWI for the pipeline industry using lasers has moved from early autogenous work with high power (9kW) fibre delivered Nd:YAG laser to hybrid procedures with Nd:YAG and MAG through to recent work carried out with a 7kW Yb fibre\/MAG procedure capable of delivering deep penetration girth welding procedures at 1.8m\/min travel speed. The paper describes the technical progress made throughout this work in terms of process developments to meet the exacting productivity requirements along with those necessary to meet technical requirements such as impact toughness and other pipeline code acceptance criteria.\nThere is continual emphasis on reducing the costs associated with new pipeline development, particularly for large diameter gas transmission lines. In particular, Markland [1] noted that BP expects to be involved in building over 10,000km of onshore pipelines for transporting oil and gas with capital expenditure estimated as exceeding \u00a311 billion. Over half of the world's undeveloped hydrocarbon reserves are remote from potential users and very large pipelines, up to 1.42m (56\") diameter are required to transport the fuel to market. The welding process used to make the site girth welds has a significant bearing on the total cost per kilometre of pipeline and is one of the areas that TWI has been involved with over the last few years. Current practice is to use either mechanised or automated MAG and in the short term there are probably further cost reduction opportunities offered by incremental improvements to this operation. The multipass MAG process, however, requires a high manning level and the costs of providing this and the necessary support in fairly remote regions are a significant component of the overall costs.\nLaser welding, and in particular fibre delivered laser welding, has now been developed to the stage where it presents opportunities for cost savings, which arise from reductions in labour content, despite perceived high capital costs. Yb fibre lasers are now commercially available with power levels of up to 10kW. These lasers are particularly suitable for pipe girth welds because the beam is delivered to the workstation through a single optical fibre and their efficiency is high enabling the development of more portable welding systems. It has also been demonstrated [2,3] by TWI that the concept of high power laser welding of land pipelines is entirely feasible. Welding procedures have been developed that produce good quality welds with satisfactory tolerance to joint fit-up. Additionally techniques have been developed for welding around 360\u00b0 and for ensuring a good weld at the start\/stop weld overlap position. With the Yb fibre lasers currently available, a procedure involving laser and MAG offers an attractive commercialisation route.\n2. Laser technology\nUntil quite recently, there have been two main types of industrial laser used at high powers for deep penetration keyhole welding. These were CO 2 gas lasers and Neodymium doped Yttrium, Aluminium Garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers. Ireland [4] , noted that, historically, CO 2 lasers were the first to be developed capable of delivering higher powers needed to process relatively thick structural steels (>6mm thickness) while Nd:YAG lasers have been more limited in terms of power. However, over recent years, developments in Nd:YAG laser technology have resulted in higher power systems, up to 6kW, becoming commercially available. In terms of materials processing, the principal difference between Nd:YAG lasers andCO 2 lasers is the difference in wavelength of the light emitted. Nd:YAG lasers produce light of 1.06\u00b5m wavelength that can be transmitted to the workpiece by a fibre optic cable. This is a much more flexible system of beam delivery than for CO 2 lasers (10.64\u00b5m wavelength) that must be transmitted to the workpiece by more cumbersome reflective or transmissive optical systems. This makes Nd:YAG lasers much more attractive as flexible manufacturing tools compared to CO 2 lasers. Certainly for orbital welding of land pipelines, fibre delivered lasers would be the preferred choice.\nLarson [5] has shown that lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers have established themselves as reliable processing tools capable of delivering a precise heat source in high volume, flexible manufacturing environments such as the automotive industry in Europe. Kincade and Anderson [6] have also shown that the trend is for the world market to grow for solid state lasers generally. Forecast worldwide sales for 2005 are $520M, this compares with $602M for CO 2 lasers in an expanding materials processing market worth an estimated $1.5 billion.\nAlthough Nd:YAG lasers compare favourably to CO 2 lasers in terms of reliability and ease of processing, they have a significant drawback for some manufacturing applications in that although they are relatively compact they are inefficient, only converting around 3% of the input energy to produce the laser beam power. This is not a major issue for most manufacturing applications, but the use of lasers for welding cross-country pipelines relies on the portability of the process. Although the Nd:YAG laser process can be containerised, the low efficiency and high capital cost of the process make it very difficult to justify economically. One of the major advances in laser technology in recent times is the introduction ofytterbium (Yb) fibre lasers. The lasing medium for these lasers is contained within the fibre itself and individual units generating 2-300W can be combined to produce single lasers with up to 10kW power and beyond. Alternatively, higher power single mode fibre lasers are also commercially available at powers up to 1kW. These lasers have a similar wavelength to Nd:YAG lasers and the laser light can be transmitted to the workpiece via a flexible optical fibre. Ybfibre lasers are approximately 20% wall plug efficient and are much more compact than Nd:YAG lasers. This makes them very attractive for applications such as pipelay where they need to be portable. Although these lasers are just becoming commercially available, at powers in excess of those available for lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers, there has been very little practical work carried out to investigate their suitability for keyhole welding and their performance. Also, although having enormous potential, they need to be thoroughly evaluated for reliable and economic industrial use. To this end, TWI has recently added a 7kW fibre bundled Yb fibre system to its laser processing facilities. The laser is capable of delivering any power up to 7kW via a 0.3mm diameter, 20m length, optical fibre cable and has the capability of producing a focused spot with a power density of 5.6 x 10 6 W\/cm 2 .\n3. Laser processing for pipeline applications\n3.1 CO 2 laser processing\nBonigon and Geertsen [7] reported development work carried out in this area by Bouygues Offshore, looking at the application of CO 2 laser welding for S-lay of offshore pipelines. This system used a CO 2 laser delivering power up to 20kW and was designed to weld up to 20mm wall thickness in a single pass. Not all the results from this work have been made public, but those that have show that although the processing tolerances are acceptable for producing welds in the 5G position (pipe axis horizontal and welding direction vertical up or down). It was concluded that it was not possible to use all commercially available pipeline compositions and product forms to satisfy existing code requirements, particularly in meeting hardness requirements for sour service and toughness requirements at the same time. Similarly, work was also carried out by Gain and Y. et al(2000) at AXAL\/ITP to develop a fully automatic laser welding system to improve the speed of offshore pipeline welding. This system also used a CO 2 laser delivering power up to 20kW and was designed to weld up to 20mm wall thickness in a single pass. Welds have been made in wall thickness up to 15.9mm but although the weld met non destructive tolerances toAPI 1104, detailed mechanical property data is not available.\n3.2 Lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser processing\nFor a number of years TWI has also been involved in initiatives looking at girth welding of pipelines with high power Nd:YAG lasers. Initially a review project was carried out by TWI for BP to identify potential options for reducing welding costs associated with land lay of pipelines. This work identified improvements to existing arc welding technology and also highlighted the potential of high power Nd:YAG lasers in reducing the cost of pipeline fabrication. Very early studies investigated autogenous laser welding in the 2G position ( Fig.1). Although these welds demonstrated that welding was possible in wall thicknesses up to 12.7mm, the welding speeds were still relatively slow. Higher speeds of around 1.0m\/min, needed for the process to maintain productivity, were used but the process was not tolerant to variation in joint gap. In addition, the autogenous process produced welds with very low impact toughness. In order to solve the problems with poor tolerance to fit up at high speeds and the low toughness, the development of the process concentrated on procedures using hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG welding reported by both Howse [2] and Booth [3] .\nFig.1. Macrosection of BOP weld made on X52 pipe steel, 324mm outside diameter and 12.7mm wall thickness. Power at the workpiece 8.2kW, travel speed 500mm\/min. The laser source was three combined lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers\n3.3 Hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG processing\nFor this work, the initial proposed fabrication sequence was for the MAG pass fill stations in an land based pipelay spread to be replaced by a hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG welding station, whilst still retaining the MAG root. An example of this type of joint, but made autogenously with 9kW of Nd:YAG laser power, is shown in Fig.2.\nTwo separate laser power sources\/hybrid welding heads or a single Nd:YAG laser system with the beam switched between two heads positioned on either side of the pipe, may potentially be used to produce this weld. The intention was to use the laser in conjunction with a MAG wire fed consumable to increase the processing speed, tolerance to fit-up and generate appropriate microstructures with acceptable impact toughness.\nFig.2. Section through pipe wall, showing internal MAG root run and 9.0kW autogenous laser fill made at 0.7 m\/min. Pipe grade API 1104 X70 14.3mm wall thickness (mm scale shown). The laser source was three combined lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers\nThe laser apparatus used to make these welds comprised two 3kW Trumpf HL3006D Nd:YAG lasers and one 4kW Trumpf HL4006D Nd:YAG laser combined in an optical beam combining unit to deliver 9kW at the workpiece. The output from the lasers was transmitted into the beam combining unit using a step index fibre optic of core diameter 0.6mm and length 30m. A single fibre optic of core diameter 1mm and length 15m transmitted the combined laser power from the beam combining unit to the laser output housing. A Lincoln Electric Powerwave 455 MAG power source was also used. A synergic pulsed welding programme appropriate for 1mm diameter wire and Ar-CO 2 shielding gas mixtures was selected for the welding trials.\nA purpose built fixture was used to hold both the laser focusing head and MAG torch. The fixture permitted accurate and repeatable control of the relative position and orientation of the two heat sources. Figure 3 shows the laser output head and MAG torch attached to the hybrid fixture, with the laser co-axial gas nozzle and MAG shroud removed.\nFig.3. Laboratory demonstration of hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG welding for pipelines\nIf the welding conditions used were carefully chosen to give fully penetrating welds, the weld was clear of solidification defects. It was evident that if full penetration was achieved, defect free welds above 8mm penetration were possible at processing speeds of 1m\/min ( Fig.4).\nFig.4. Macrograph of a hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG weld in X60 pipeline steel showing an acceptable weld with 11mm full penetration. Laser power at the workpiece 8.0kW, travel speed 1.0 m\/min. The laser source was three combined Nd:YAG lasers\nIn summary, this work showed that it was possible to use high power Nd:YAG laser welding combined with the MAG process to produce deep penetration welding passes in commercially available pipeline steels that met the requirements of pipeline specifications such as BS 4515 and API 1104 in terms of acceptance criteria for imperfection limits. The welds also showed acceptable hardness values and good, low temperature toughness ( Tables 1 and 2). The acceptance criteria used for was for a minimum average vale of 40J and minimum individual value of 30J impact energy at -10\u00b0C using full sized (10mm x 10mm) Charpy specimens and a maximum permitted hardness of 275HV10 in the weld metal. It can be seen that although the samples met the minimum requirements, there was some scatter in the Charpy results with a single lower value in the heat affected zone. One disadvantage of using asingle pass welding process is that the heat affected zone does not undergo microstructural refinement in the same way that a multipass weld will. It is possible that the scatter is due to sampling of a region of unrefined grain coarsened microstructure. Subsequently, much more Charpy testing was carried out within this programme of work and values in the weld and heat affected zones consistently met acceptance criteria. It would be recommended however, that afull qualification of the process for pipeline applications should include heat affected zone CTOD testing.\nTable 1 Hardness values for a hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG weld in API 5L X60 pipeline steel.\nWeld Metal Hardness\n(HV10)\nHeat Affected Zone\nHardness (HV10)\nAverage Peak Average Peak\nTable 2 Charpy impact results for a hybrid Nd:YAG laser\/MAG weld in API 5L X60 pipeline steel. Charpy values quoted are values for full size (10x10mm) tested at -10\u00b0C.\nCharpy Impact Energy\nat -10\u00b0C (J)\nWeld metal centreline 106, 130, 91 (average 109)\nHeat affected zone 43, 140, 90 (average 91)\nAlthough the results of this project work showed that fibre delivered lasers were capable of producing orbital welds in pipe materials that would meet productivity targets, give acceptable mechanical properties and low defect levels, the economic performance could not be justified. One of the main drawbacks in the proposed use of lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser technology for the site welding of pipelines was the process' poor efficiency and lack of portability. To achieve these welds would require two separate laser power sources being combined and operating together. The poor efficiency and high capital cost of the process effectively prohibited their use compared to existing arc technologies.\nFig.5. The IPG YLR7000 Yb fibre laser installed at TWI (Yorkshire)\n3.4 Hybrid Yb fibre laser\/MAG processing\nIn late 2003, TWI took delivery of a 7kW Yb fibre laser. The 7kW laser at TWI delivers the power to the workpiece through a 0.3mm diameter optical fibre. In addition, the wallplug efficiency of the laser at this power has been measured as 20%, much higher than competing lamp pumped Nd:YAG technology. The wavelength that the laser operates at for these powers is 1070nm, with similar, good material interaction to Nd:YAG lasers. The laser is also relatively compact with length, width and height dimensions of 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6m respectively. Figure 5 is a photograph of the laser with one of the front panels open. The 200W modules, the outputs of which are combined to provide 7kW, are clearly visible. In this laser we have a single power source with high efficiency, which is capable of being containerised and used for pipeline applications.\nWith this in mind, TWI carried out some initial trials welding API 5L X80 linepipe material to investigate the potential of this technology. Fig.6 is a photograph of the processing cell. The laser processing head is mounted on a Kawasaki ZX130L 6 axis robot. Hybrid laser-arc welding capability is achieved using the Yb fibre laser in combination with an ESABAristoMIG 450 programmable arc power source, AristoFeed 30 and an MA6 controller. A 0.3mm fibre delivers the laser beam to the workpiece. The processing heads used in the trials held a 250mm length focusing lens, producing a 0.6mmdiameter focused spot and a power density of 2.5x10 4 W\/mm 2 at 7kW.\nFig.6. The Yb fibre laser processing cell at TWI (Yorkshire)\nThe X80 linepipe material was prepared with a compound preparation angle with a 6mm root face and welds were made on pipe girth section in three positions; flat (1G), vertical up (3G) and overhead (4G) to simulate the quadrants inpipe girth welding 5G vertical up ( Fig.7).\nFig.7. ASME 9 welding positions\nThe procedure used for all three positions is as follows:\nTravel speed = 1.8m\/min.\nWire = 1mm diameter BS 2901 pt1:1983 A18.\nWire feed speed = 10m\/min.\nSource on synergic setting.\nAverage pulsed current = 215A.\nArc voltage = 25V.\nArc power = 5375W.\nLaser Power = 7kW.\nSpot size = 0.6mm.\nPosition of the focal plane at the surface of the preparation.\nCross sections of the welds are shown in Figs.8-10.\nFig.8. Macrosection of weld W70 transverse girth Yb fibre\/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m\/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m\/min welded in the overhead (PE\/4G) position\nFig.9. Macrosection of weld W69, transverse girth Yb fibre\/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m\/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m\/min welded in the vertical up(PF\/3G) position\nFig.10. Macrosection of weld W71, transverse girth Yb fibre\/MAG hybrid weld in X80 linepipe steel made at 1.8m\/min using 1mm A18 wire with a wire feed speed of 10m\/min welded in the flat (PA\/1G) position\nThese welds were inspected both visually and by radiography and were found to be of good quality with no internal defects. Samples were also taken from these welds and used for hardness, tensile and Charpy impact testing. The results of this testing are shown in Table 3. It can be seen that the samples produced acceptable toughness and that tensile failure occurred in the parent material in all cases. The hardness of these welds is high and the use of this technology for sour service applications would need further consideration.\nTable 3. Mechanical testing results for Yb fibre laser\/MAG hybrid welds made in X80 C-Mn line-pipe steel at a travel speed of 1.8m\/min. Charpy values quoted are actual values for sub size (7.5x10mm) specimens tested at-10\u00b0C.\nCharpy impact\nvalues at -10\u00b0C (J)\nMaximum hardness\nCross-weld tensile\ntests (N\/mm 2 )\nParent\/weld failure\nOver-head (4G) 73 64 380 380 700, 686, 696 Parent\nVertical up (3G) 78 70 394 387 732, 726, 728 Parent\nFlat (1G) 69 65 357 413 722, 732, 689 Parent\nThe developments within high power laser materials processing have been extremely rapid within the last ten years and the potential for welding pipelines with lasers has improved with each new product that has come onto the market. CO 2 laser technology, although reliable and available at high powers has disadvantages in terms of its delivery. The relatively long wavelength of CO 2 generated laser light (10.64\u00b5m) means that the light cannot be transmitted through silica based optics and hence glass fibre optical delivery systems. Although the beam quality of these lasers is good and high power densities and deep penetration welds can be achieved, the manipulation of the beam around a pipe to make a girth weld is not easy. Lamp pumped Nd:YAG technology however with shorter wavelength light (1.06\u00b5m) and power delivered to the workpiece via optical fibres has much more flexibility. Initial trials with this technology have demonstrated the potential of fibre delivered lasers to produce deep penetration orbital girth welds. However, both the CO 2 and lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser have significant drawbacks. The first being that the wallplug efficiency is relatively low at much less than 10%. This means that the systems not only require large amounts of energy to operate them but that they also require chiller equipment to extract waste heat. These characteristics mean that the lasers are not readily portable.\nAnother issue highlighted relatively early in the work with both CO 2 and Nd:YAG lasers for the welding of steel pipeline material is that the autogenous microstructures generated within the welds are brittle and have poor impact performance. Pipeline application standards require that the welded joints have adequate impact toughness at the appropriate ambient temperature, which can be low for cross country pipelines in cold regions. The work carried out has shown that this can be overcome by using laser-archybrid technology which allows filler wire additions with higher oxygen content to be added to the molten pool, which generates more favourable microstructures with better impact resistance. Using hybrid technology, acceptable weld metal impact values have been consistently been achieved at test temperatures of -10\u00b0C. The use of hybrid laser arc processes has further benefits in that the arc acts to bridge joint preparation gaps and gives stability to the process at high welding speeds.\nThe introduction of high power Yb fibre laser technology to the marketplace has further widened the scope for materials processing and particularly for application of hybrid laser-arc processing in pipeline welding applications. These lasers are capable of delivering high powers from a single source with good beam quality, resulting in high power densities and, therefore, fast processing speeds. The trials reported here demonstrate that these lasers arecapable of producing 9mm depth welds at speeds of 1.8m\/mmin. These procedures have been demonstrated in fixed positions capable of being translated to circumferential girth welds in pipeline demonstrators. Another relevant characteristic of these lasers is the relatively high efficiency of the process, measured by TWI at 20%. This means that, per kW, there is less input power required and less waste heat generated that has to be removed by some chilling capacity. One of the major unknowns of the process is its reliability in industrial applications. Although the laser at TWI appears to be a relatively robust design and has shown itself to deliver a very high availability for processing in its first year, this is the first commercial system of this size under evaluation and more data will be needed before industry is fully convinced of its capabilities. Similarly, although the technical results of these initial trials are extremely encouraging, further development work needs to be carried out to fully develop an integrated pipe welding system capable of being used in a production environment.\nThe following conclusions can be made:\nOver the past ten years laser technology has developed to the stage where reliable, high power and efficient Yb fibre laser power sources are now available capable of offering productivity benefits for pipelay.\nThe hybrid Yb fibre\/MAG process can be used at high processing speed (1.8m\/min) to weld a 9mm ligament in a single welding pass with low and acceptable flaw levels.\nWelded deposits have been tested for strength and the impact toughness and have been shown to be acceptable to current pipeline application standards.\nThe developed procedure has been demonstrated in the overhead, vertical up and flat welding positions capable of being translated to a 5G vertical up girth welding procedure in linepipe.\nThe authors would like to acknowledge the help and assistance of Anthony Elliot and Tom Woolhouse in making the welds with the 7kW Yb fibre laser facility and also to thank BP Exploration for funding the initial work at TWI with high power Nd:YAG lasers.\nMarkland, A (2000). 'Laying a finer line', Review, August, pp 25-27.\nHowse, DS, Scudamore, RJ, Booth GS, Woloszyn AC, and Howard, RD (2002). 'Development of the Laser\/MAG Hybrid Welding Process for Land Pipeline Construction', Proc. Application and evaluation of high-grade pipelines in hostile environments, Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, 7-8 November, pp763-783.\nBooth, GS, Howse, DS, Woloszyn, AC, and Howard RD (2002). 'Hybrid Nd:YAG Laser\/Gas Metal Arc Welding for New Land Pipelines', Proc. Conf. International Conference on Pipeline Technology, Wollongong, Australia, March 2002.\nIreland, C (1999). 'Evolution of the Industrial Nd:YAG laser', The Industrial Laser User, Issue 14, February, pp 20-23.\nLarson, JK (1999). 'Lasers for various materials processing. A review of the latest applications in automotive manufacturing', Proc. Conf. 7th Nordic Conference in Laser Processing of Materials, Lappeenranta, Finland, August, pp.26-37.\nKincade, K, and Anderson, SG (2005). 'Consumer applications boost laser sales 10%', Optoelectronics report, Vol 12, No 1, January.\nBonigon, C and Geertsen, C (1998). 'Orbital Laser Welding: A major advance in offshore pipelaying,' Proc. Conf. Deep Offshore Technology, New Orleans, USA.\nGainand, Y, Mas, JP; Jansen, JP; Coiffier, JC; Dupont, J C; and Vauthier C (2000). 'Laser orbital welding applied to offshore pipeline construction', Proc. Conf. Pipeline Technology, 3rd International Conference, Belgium, May, Vol 2, pp 327-342.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Show my name in the online users list\nLogged in as (0 ) | Log Out\nRecurring Articles\nAll Articles \u00bb\nGenre Introduction\nThe Aggie Awards\nTop 100 All-Time Adventure Games\nAggie Awards\nDiscover new games\nHype-o-Meter\nOur selection of Best Games\nPoint-and-Click Classics\nIndie Adventures\nPlayStation (PS4\/PS5\/Vita)\nXbox - One \/ 360 \/ Series X\/S\nNintendo - Switch \/ DS\niOS - iPhone \/ iPad\nVirtual Reality (VS)\nHints & Tech Support\nGame Discovery\n\u00bb Home \/ Games \/ Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse (1994) - Game details\nAre You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse\nWorldwide 1994 by Viacom New Media\nUnfold a classic ghost story in this unique storytelling game. You are a brother and sister team trapped inside a haunted theatre. You discover Orpheo, the Mad Magician, has put an evil curse on it\u2026 or so you think. Dare to explore this ghoulish theatre as you search for clues to unlock the mystery. Remember\u2026 surprises await you at every turn.\n3.5 stars: \"A solid adventure that is generally enjoyable, though it lacks enough polish or ambition to recommend without caution.\"\nScoring System - Editorial Policies\n\u00bb Read the full review\nReaders rating\nNo user ratings found.\nLog in or Register to post ratings.\nAre you afraid of the dark? review\nRead the review \u00bb May 19, 2002\nWalkthrough for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse\nStuck in Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse, or looking for the best way to proceed? Click below to view our walkthrough for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse and wonder no more!\nNote, these will contain spoilers.\nScreenshots for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse \u00bb View all screenshots (30)\nVideos for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse \u00bb View all videos\nNo videos for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse available (yet)\nWhat our readers think of Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse\nThere haven't been any reader that reviewed Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse yet. Please share your (short) verdict, a review or post your star rating!\nAdventure Games by Viacom New Media\nAre You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse\nFull game details\nMTV's Club Dead\nBeavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity\nCongo: Descent into Zinj\nAdventure Games DB\nPerspective First-Person\nControl Point-and-click\nGameplay Interactive movie\nGenre Horror\nTheme Children, Licensed properties\nGraphic Style Illustrated realism, Live Action\nPresentation -\nAction (Compulsory) -\nRed Flags -\nMedia CD\nDOS 5.0 and higher\n386\/33 MHz processor (486\/50 MHz recommended)\n4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended)\nSVGA compatible video card\nDouble speed CD-ROM drive recommended\nAre You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse by Viacom New Media - A Point and Click Adventure Game\nAre You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse is an adventure game, released in 1994 by Viacom New Media. Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse has a Illustrated realism, Live Action style and uses a Point-and-click control scheme. Adventure Gamers have published a review of Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse and rate it as Good, at this time the community has not provided a rating for Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse.\nNito Games network - Gamers Manual\n\u00a9 Copyright 1998 - 2021, Nito Games - Adventure Gamers\u00ae. All rights reserved.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Posts Tagged 'al Zawia al Baida'\nLIBYA \u2013 A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE ISLAMIC SENUSSI ORDER \u2013 (A WORK IN PROGRESS -06 FEBRUARY 2017)\nThere are a number of prominent Islamists in the old Libyan province of Cyrenaica, now East Libya. They caused the Gaddafi regime considerable trouble and they have been influential in post-Gaddafi Libya. I argue, though they may profoundly disagree, that they are the heirs to the Islamic Senussi order which exercised a profound influence over the nine Sa'adi tribes of Cyrenaica and supplied the first King of Libya, Sayyid Idris al Senussi, when Libya achieved independence. Without some small knowledge of the Senussi's and their influence on East Libya much of what is now happening there is not readily understood. There follows a very short introduction to the Senussi Order. There are but few books on the subject. The reader may find Rosita Forbes' eyewitness account in her book 'The Secret of the Sahara: Kufra' interesting reading. What follows is taken from a draft for my book 'Libya \u2013 The History of Gaddafi's Pariah State' and is out of context but I hope it proves a useful introduction.\nDuring the Ottoman period, the Sufi Senussi Order was established in Libya. There follows a brief sketch of the life of its founder and some of the history of the Order with especial reference to Libya.\nAl-Sayyid Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Senussi al-Khattabi al Idrisi al-Hasani, now known as the Grand Senussi, was born in about 1787 into a distinguished Algerian family claiming descent from the Prophet Mohammad. He was educated at the famous mosque school at Fez in Morocco where he came under the influence of the Trijaniya Order of dervishes.\nHe left Fez in his early thirties and travelled the pilgrim way along the coast to Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi. He had already gathered around him several disciples and went on to Cairo where he intended to study at al-Azhar University but his reforming zeal appears to have alienated many of the Sheikhs as the professors of that august university are known. He found it prudent to decamp to Mecca and remained in the Hejaz for several years.\nIt was here that he came under the most important spiritual influence of his life in the person of Sayyad Ahmad bin Idris al Fasi, the founder of the Idrisiya Order. Sayyad Ahmad Idrisi was at odds with the leaders of the Maliki rite in Mecca who regraded him as unorthodox. Consequently, he and his disciples went to Zabid in the Yemen, the revered site of a mosque built in the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed and a famous centre of Islamic learning. He was accompanied there by, amongst others, the Grand Senussi.\nSayyad Ahamd Idris died in the Yemen in 1837. The Idrisiya Order was then divided into two sub Orders, the Mirghaniya and the Senussiya. It was the latter, the Senussiya, which was organised by the Grand Senussi who moved its head quarters to Mt Abu Quabas near Mecca. It is this event which is regarded as the foundation of the Senussi Order.\nThe Senussi Order made such spectacular progress in the Hejaz that it made the Turkish and the Ulema in Mecca uneasy. The Grand Senussi was accused of reducing Sufi standards to suit the harsh simplicity of Bedouin life. This is an accusation which was often to be levelled at the Senussi Order over time.\nIn the face of mounting criticism, the Grand Senussi with a number of his disciples left the Hijaz in 1841 intending to return to Algeria. He travelled by way of Cairo and stopped for a while in the Oasis of Siwa where he opened a new lodge. It was clear to him that his homeland of Algeria was falling to French colonial ambitions and his mission in the east was out of favour with the authorities in Mecca.\nIt was thus that Sayyid Muhammad ibn 'Ali Senussi, found himself taking up residence in Cyrenaica [East Libya], near the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene. There he found, living amongst the native Bedouin, a number of holy men known as the Marabtin b'il Baraka. Like them, Sayyid Muhammad was an Arabic speaking Sunni Muslim, familiar with Bedouin life. There was also a flourishing cult of saints, the Marabtin, in Cyrenaica and tribes adjusted their annual migration to spend regular periods near the tomb of their patron saint. These tombs are often small square white structures topped by a dome. In my day, one such could be seen from the road from Benghazi to Benina airport with the tents of a visiting section of the al Awaqir tribe pitched nearby. Therefore the Bedouin found nothing unusual when, in 1843, Sayyid Muhammad, known as the Grand Senussi, and his disciples founded a Senussi lodge or 'Zawia' at Baida on the central Cyrenaican plateau.\nThe new lodge was situated at a point where the territories of three important tribes met. Probably the best way to describe a Senussi lodge is an Islamic seminary and community centre. It was made up of a mosque, classrooms, store rooms and living quarters for the head and for the brothers of the order. Senussi lodges were self-sufficient and needed land and water to support the residents and their visitors. In order to attract a lodge into their territory, local tribes had to give up some of their productive wells and arable land to support it. It was, thus, an important step because good land and reliable wells were precious resources in Cyrenaica and not often surplus to requirements.\nThis is how it worked in practice. When a few tribes applied for a lodge, they received a visit from a member of the Senussi family. Important visitors were always entertained to a feast and displays of wealth. By observing the interplay of personalities and their relative wealth, the Senussi visitor was able to spot the paramount sheik and areas of surplus wealth. They then set up their lodge under his protection and it was he who negotiated their title to arable land and grazing rights. The lodge was constructed where there is sufficient surplus acreage and water and was protected by the most powerful sheik amongst the tribes.\nUnder pressure from the Ottomans the Grand Senussi moved from Baida to Azziyat. In 1856 Said Ibn Ali founded a Zawia at Jaghbub which was to become a 'university' for the Senussi brotherhood. Jaghbub is situated around 280 kilometres south east of Tobruk. It is close to the Libya's border with Egypt and with Siwa, the oasis town in the Egyptian Western Desert. As an oasis Jaghbub is not well endowed with palm trees and the water is brackish. At first sight it does not seem a promising place for the Grand Senussi to establish his headquarters. However, it was strategically placed amongst feuding tribes which he wished to pacify and convert and its proximity to Siwa was important.\nSaid Ibn Ali lived for six years in Jaghbub from whence he contiuued his missionary work. He died in 1859 and was buried in a tomb over which rose the kubba of Jaghbub. (According to reports Colonel Gaddafi ordered the destruction of the tomb and had The Grand Senussi's mortal remains scattered.)\nFrom Jaghbub Said Ibn Ali allied himself with the Zuwaya tribe, whose home is the oasis of Kufra still further to the south. The tribe offered The Grand Senussi one third of its holdings in the Kurfa Oasis if he would establish a lodge there. He commissioned a famous follower called Sidi Omar Bu Hawa to go to Kufra and establish a Zawiah at Jof and to begin missionary work. The Zuwaya traded across the dessert as far south as Chad, Wadai, Darfur and Kano and as far north as Ajadabia. The Grand Senussi's followers travelled with the Zuwaya trading caravans to establish their missionary lodges.\nIn the late nineteenth century, the time was ripe for a new burst of missionary energy and the Grand Senussi was so successful that, within his lifetime, a vast theocratic empire was established. It was a missionary empire which stretched westwards into Tripolitania, eastwards into Saudi Arabia and the Western Desert of Egypt and southwards into the oasis towns of the Sahara.\nAt the height of its power I estimate that there were more than 140 lodges of which 51 were in Cyrenaica, 18 in Tripolitania, 15 in the Fezzan, 20 in Egypt, 16 in Arabia, and 14 in the Sahel reaching as far south as Kano. In the early stages the Order founded lodges amongst the nomadic Cha'amba tribe whose extensive homeland stretched over much of southern Algeria but I am unable at this stage to say how many nor how long they survived.\nIslamic orders are a way of life. One of the better known is the Wahhabi of Saudi Arabia, but there are many others. Their aim is to achieve a complete identification with God by means of contemplation, charity, living apart from the everyday world and performing religious exercises. For the Senussi order, this was achieved by the contemplation of the Prophet Muhammad. Followers were urged to imitate the Prophet's life until he became their sole guide and counsellor. Islam is a Bedouin faith at heart.\nTo quote the great traveller, Hassnein Bey, who was a rare and now too often forgotten observer of the Senussi order; 'For his followers (The Grand Senussi) forbade all kinds of luxurious living including the possession of gold and jewellery 'excepting for the adornment of women' and the use of tobacco and coffee. He imposed no ritual but demanded a return to the simplest form of Islam to be found in the teaching of the prophet. He was intolerant of any contact with Christians, Jews and those Moslems who, in his view, had strayed from the original meaning of Islam.'\nThe kinship between the Senussi Order and the modern Salafists is striking. I note here that Islamic scholars such as Dr Yasir Quadi suggest that Salafists acknowledge their debt to Taq\u012b ad-D\u012bn A\u1e25mad ibn Taymiyyah the medieval Sunni Muslim theologian and reformer. It is widely held that the same ibn Taymiyyah was the inspiration for both the Wahhabi and the Senussi Orders. Here is Dr Quadi's current definition of the term Salafi:\n'Within the context of our modern World, or to be more precise over the last half a century, the term 'Salaf\u012b' has come to designate an Islamic methodology, the aspirational objective of which is the emulation of the Prophetic example via the practices and beliefs of the earliest generations of Islam. This is because the first three Islamic generations, in being closest to the era of Mu\u1e25ammad and the period of revelation, are understood to best embody the Prophetic Sunnah, and thus a pristine Islam.'\nIt is easy to see that what the Prophet Muhammad taught the Bedouin of Saudi Arabia in the seventh century was well suited to the Bedouin of Cyrenaica, who still led much the same lives in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its clear and simple principles, to do good, avoid evil and pray regularly, were appealing to a tough nomadic and semi-nomadic people who lived in tents and followed their flocks in a quest for water and grazing.\nThe Senussi order was a success in Cyrenaica because, as the great anthropologist E. E Evans-Pritchard once wrote: \"(the Bedouin) need was for some authority lying outside their segmental tribal system which could compose intertribal or intersectional disputes and bind the tribes and tribal sections within an organisation and under a common symbol.\" It was also helpful that the Turkish occupiers of Libya were largely confined to the coastal towns and lacked the arms and will to destroy it.\nMany years later, during the Italian occupation of Cyrenaica, the Senussi order was given a new lease of life and became almost politicised. The Italians found it impossible to deal with the many powerful and independent tribal sheiks. They found it easier, as did the British after WWII, to deal with the head of the order, Sayyid Idris, who was to become the King of an independent Libya.\nThe Ikwan lived in lodges built within the tribal homelands and held prayer meetings there. The Ikhwan were missionaries in the true sense of the word and they lived cheerfully and dressed well. They were self-supporting, growing their own food and herding their own animals. Thus, they avoided living on charity. The ordinary unschooled Bedouin, Muntasabin, had little knowledge of the inner rituals and special prayers of the order, but they gave their personal loyalty to the sheikhs or leaders of the lodges in their territory. The Cyranaican Bedouin lived austere lives and thus the clear and unequivocal message of the Senussi Order suited them well, as it did their ancesters in the Nejd.\nThe Grand Senussi aimed to establish the conditions which would allow the Bedouin to live by their own laws and govern themselves, an aspiration which has recently plunged Libya into civil war. The Grand Senussi remained in Libya for only a few years. One of his sons, Sayyid Mohamed al Mahdi, who succeeded him, moved his headquarters to Kufra in 1895 and thence further south to Qiru in Chad in 1899. Some none too reliable estimates suggest that when Sayyid al Mahdi came to power there were between one and a half million and three million people who owed allegiance to the order.\nSayyid Mohamed al Mahdi was a charismatic and inspiring Muslim and leader, who was both a scholar and a soldier. Under his leadership the Senussi gained effective commercial and political control of the whole eastern half of the Sahara. His power became so great that during the First World War , with Turkish and also German support, he raised the tribes in his territory against the Allies in the First Senussi War but was defeated by the Italians and left Libya by German submarine in 1918.\nThe French, who were advancing there sphere of influence to Chad, were less than hospitable to the Senussi Order, so the Grand Senussi's third successor, Sayyid Ahmad al Sheriff, moved his headquarters back to Kufra, in order to retain control of the Wadai to Benghazi slave trade route.\nThe Italian occupation of Libya, which commenced in 1911, entered an aggressive phase during Mussolini's Fascist regime. Then Italians colonists launched a campaign of 're-conquest'. They began to pacify the defiant tribes with no little brutality. Organised resistance by the tribes was impossible so they pursued a classical guerrilla war where Italian sentries were shot, supply columns ambushed, and communications interrupted. There was a succession of small actions and acts of sabotage in different parts of the country. At first the Italians responded by courting the favour of those tribes, or parts of tribes, near the towns. By offering employment, subsidies and arms, they hoped to turn them against the rebels. In their minds there were two types of tribe, the sottomessi, that is the submitted, and the rebelli. They thought they had gained the loyalty of the sottomessi to support them against the rebelli. They were to be constantly disappointed. The sottomessi supplied arms, ammunition, food, intelligence, shelter and funds to the rebelli. Sometimes the tribal sheiks would arrange amongst themselves who would submit and who would take the field.\nTo their consternation, the Italians had overlooked or misinterpreted, as many do, the powerful Bedouin law. The nine Sa'adi tribes of East Libya and their clients were all Bedouin, jealous of each other and hostile to tribes other than their own. The males of each tribe were duty-bound to avenge a slain kinsman. The group of males within the tribe who shoulder this collective responsibility is called the amara dam. The other side of this coin is the duty to protect and aid a living kinsman. This is at the root of Bedouin values. The common ancestry and the kinship of the Sa'adi tribes overrode the lesser demands. The tribes were united by blood, Islam and a common way of life against the Italians.\nAs the Italian proconsul Graziani wrote of the Second Senussi War. \"The entire population thus took part directly or indirectly in the rebellion.\" However the guerrilla war was led by some notable families who have received less attention than they deserve. They were the Abbar and the Kizzih of the Awaquir, the Saif al Nasr of the Aulad Suliman, the Bu Baker bu Hadduth of the Bara'asa, the Lataiwish of the Magharba, the Abdalla of the Abaidat, the Asbali of the Arafa, the Suwaikir and the Ilwani of the Abid and the Bu Khatara bu Halaiqua of the Hasa. The homelands of the tribes which these families led stretched from the desert south of the present city of Sirte to the Marmarica in the east around the city of Tobruk. All of this territory was ideal for guerrilla warfare.\nThe tribal leaders were formidable but they needed the coordinating hand of a leader. They found it in the person of Omar Mukhtar who brought not only his considerable energy and talents into the field but also the network of Senussi lodges and intelligent personnel stretched throughout the tribal homelands. The Islamic Senussi order had for a long time planted seminaries amongst the Bedouin tribes of Eastern Libya. They were staffed by a leader or sheik and a band of the Ikwan (brothers) who educated the young and gave religious and practical leadership.\nIn the Senussi sheik, Omar Mukhtar, they had a leader who, though he was more than sixty, was an experienced soldier, a talented tactician with an almost unique ability to keep the peace between the fractious tribal detachments which he commanded, perhaps because of his Bedouin birth. His parents were members of a Minifa (Marabtin al-sadqan) tribe from the Marmarica. Between 1912 and 1931 he planned all the gruella operations, gathered and evaluated the intelligence, organised the logistics and finance and led a band of his own.\nThe Italians response grew more heavy handed as the war progressed. They found that the sottomessi were supplying the rebellei, so they commenced by disarming the non-combatant tribesmen. They went on to harsher methods to stop the flow of rebel volunteers, ammunition and weapons, money and food from the sottomessi. They used the well tried methods of arrests, restricting civilian movements, deportations, aerial bombardment and strafing of recalcitrant tribes. They blocked and poisoned desert wells, confiscated precious livestock and barbed wire was liberally strewn around to restrict the seasonal migrations. The rate of executions was alarming but it was in concentration camps that the sottomessi who were much depleted in health, morale and numbers.\nThey went after the Senussi lodges, destroying them and deporting their leaders. They captured Omar Mukhtar in September 1931 when he was ambushed near Baida. He was wounded in an arm. His horse was shot and pinned him to the ground. He was taken prisoner and tried in a hurry. The Italians made a spectacle of his final moments. He was hanged at a place called Suluq before an audience of 20,000 Libyans assembled there by their colonial masters. The rebellion was ended. A number of tribal leaders attempted to escape to Egypt.\nThe logistical problems posed by the huge distance and lack of fodder and water from the Italian bases on the Mediterranean coast meant that the Senussi theocracy based in Kufra was for many years beyond their reach. What is more the Italians became embroiled in World War I and had little time or resources with which to mount an attack on Kufra, protected as it was by distance and an arc of impassable sand seas.\nThe Grand Senussi's fourth and last successor was Sayyid Muhammad al Idris who was destined to become King of Libya when it became fully independent.\nIn 1920 the Italians, still unable to move against him, adopted the pragmatic policy of appointing the future King of Libya, Mohamed Idris es Senussi, Emir of Cyrenaica with his capital at Ajdabiya and his impregnable stronghold in the Kufra oasis. In so doing the Italians began the process of politicising the Senussi hierarchy. It will be seen later this was furthered by the British during WWII.\nIn 1931 the Italians had built up sufficient strength to project their power across the desert and they attacked Kufra and brutally killed the Senussi supporters there. Sayyid Idris went into exile in Egypt.\nThe fortunes of Sayyid Idris, the Senussi Emir in exile in Egypt, were improved by the strange and somewhat delusional act of war by Benito Mussolini. He had thrown in his lot with A. Hitler and declared war against the Allies on 10th June 1940. On 13th September 1940 he moved his 10th Army across the Libyan border into Egypt. He did so in the hope of expanding his North Africa empire when the Germans completed their seemingly inevitable conquest of Great Britain and thus her subsequent departure from the de facto occupation of Egypt. Hitler seemed unstoppable. It was, therefore, very brave, even foolhardy, for Sayyed Idris to tie Libya's fortunes to those of Great Britain at that dark time in her history.\nIn October 1939, when it seemed certain the Italy would invade Egypt some prominent Libyan sheikhs living in exile in Egypt met in Alexandria and formally recognised Sayyid Idris as their Emir. They informed the British ambassador that Sayyid Idris could speak for them in future negotiations. This was the first step in the long and difficult journey of Sayyid Idris, the head of the Sufi Senussi Order, from temporal to political power as King of Libya.\nFollowing Italy's declaration of war the Libyan Sheiks met again to hear Sayyid Idris make an impassioned appeal for the Libyans to fight with the British against the Italian. The sheiks, mostly Cyrenaicans incidentally, decided to form a Libyan Force to fight alongside the British Army in the Western Desert of Egypt. The Libyan Arab Force was raised from Libyans who had fled the Italian brutalities in Libya or who had deserted from the Italian Army. Its officers were a mixture of Libyan notables and British expatriates living in Egypt who were grated their commissions by the Emir, Sayyid Idris. This is generally recognised as the birth of the Libyan Army of today.\nFrom this brief sketch of the foundation and spread of the Senussi Order, it will be clear that it penetrated rapidly from its first foundation lodge near Baida, mainly via the slave trading routes from Kufra to the Sudan, Chad, Mali and Northern Nigeria. It was pushed out of the Sahel states by the French. However, its firm hold on the nine Sa'adi tribes in Cyrenaica was to give it a key role in modern Libya.\nJohn Oakes\nBooks by John Oakes: For books by John Oakes see\u2026 (USA): http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/John-Oakes\/e\/B001K86D3O\/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 \u2026.. (UK): http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/John-Oakes\/e\/B001K86D3O\/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1\nThe Libyan government commemorates of Battle of Kufra http:\/\/www.libyaherald.com\/2013\/01\/19\/1931-battle-of-kufra-commemorated\/\nUpdate 17th September 2017\nAn article published in 'Roar' in Bengali about the Libyan hero Omar Mukhtar may be accessed here. It deserves a wide audience.\nhttp:\/\/bn.bijoyerhasi.com\/\u09ae\u09b0\u09c1\u09b8\u09bf\u0982\u09b9-\u0993\u09ae\u09b0-\u0986\u09b2-\u09ae\u09c1\u0996\u09a4\u09be\u09b0-\u0987\u09a4\u09be\/\nThis article on Omar Mukhtar and the Italian occupation of Libya is well illustrated and worth reading:\nhttp:\/\/www.chezchiara.com\/2010\/09\/omar-al-mukhtar-1862-september-16-1931.html\nTagged with al Zawia al Baida, Baida, Gaddafi, Ikwan, Jaghbub, King Idris, Kufra, Libya, Marabtin b'il Baraka, Sayyid Ahmad al Sheriff al Senussi, Sayyid Mohamed al Mahdi al Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn 'Ali Senussi, Senussi, The Grand Senussi, the Sa'adi tribes of Cyrenaica, Wadai, Wahhabi, Zuwaya tribe","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Elaine M\nNora Lee\nLyn and Robin\nShirley and Brian H\nGuymun\nSabihe\nBrian E\nMerrilyn\nAto Addis\nBrian X\nJanet and Gypsy\nCharles and Lois\nHelen W\nVal and Austin\nTonia and Michael\nElaine H\nName: Elaine H\nAge at interview: 82\nElaine is an 82 year old mother of three. She has eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Elaine completed year 9 at high school and was a home-maker. She is now a widow and lives by herself in a retirement village on the fringes of Melbourne, Victoria.\nARVE Error: The [arve] shortcode needs one of this attributes av1mp4, mp4, m4v, webm, ogv, url\nMore about Elaine H\nElaine has been very healthy in her old age. She does not take any medication and still does the housework without having to stop for a rest. However, she does admit she cannot do all the things she used to because she gets tired more easily. She now spaces her activities through the week rather than trying to do them all in one day. While Elaine does not feel as old as she is, she says one positive aspect of ageing is that she is not expected to do as much, for example when she visits family she can sit down and relax while others do the dishes.\nElaine says her mind is still quite good but she finds it difficult to remember things such as telephone numbers and other small details. She can see she is suffering the same memory loss as her father. She finds this annoying but is thankful it has not significantly affected her daily functioning, as she does not forget to eat or clean.\nElaine lives in a retirement village. Initially she was not so keen on the thought of living in such a place and it was her husband who wanted to move there. He had a bad heart for a number of years and after he passed away Elaine was able to appreciate all the activities village life has to offer. She says there is always something to do and you can be as busy as you like. Elaine feels she is not a people person and is usually happy to potter around the house and chat to her neighbours. Her husband was much more gregarious and she misses him dreadfully.\nElaine and her husband travelled with friends to England and Europe in their older years. She feels she has now seen those places and can no longer be bothered with international travel. She does, however, still travel interstate regularly to visit family. Elaine keeps busy knitting baby clothes for her great-grandchildren or for charity. She explains her role as a great-grandmother as less hands-on because the children have their own grandmothers to babysit them. She is therefore like an older grandma, and her family members send her little letters and come by to see her. Elaine says that family is the most important thing and feels she is very lucky to have daughters who live close by.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Digital Preservation Metadata and Improvements to PREMIS in Version 3.0\nDeveloped by an international team of experts, PREMIS is implemented in digital preservation projects around the world, and support for PREMIS is incorporated into a number of commercial and open-source digital preservation tools and systems. The PREMIS Editorial Committee coordinates revisions and implementation of the standard, which consists of the Data Dictionary, an XML schema, and supporting documentation.\nThe PREMIS Data Dictionary is currently in version 2.2. A new major release 3.0 is due out this summer.\nThis webinar gives a brief overview over why digital preservation metadata is needed, shows examples of digital preservation metadata, shows how PREMIS can be used to capture this metadata, and illustrates some of the changes that will be available in version 3.0.\nAngela Dappert\nDr. Angela Dappert is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth. She has widely researched and published on digital preservation. She has consulted for archives and libraries on digital life cycle management and policies, led and conducted research in the EU-co-funded Planets, Scape, TIMBUS, and E-ARK projects, and applied digital preservation practice at the British Library through work on digital repository implementation, digital metadata standards, digital asset registration, digital asset ingest, preservation risk assessment, planning and characterization, and data carrier stabilization. Angela holds a Ph.D. in Digital Preservation, an M.Sc. in Medical Informatics and an M.Sc. in Computer Sciences. She serves on the PREMIS Editorial Committee and the Digital Preservation Programme Board of National Records Scotland.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The French Academic System\nExecutive Diploma in Sports Management\nNational Archives Professional Certificate\nTuition and Administration Fees\nPayment Schedules\nStudying in the UAE\nSorbonne Abu Dhabi Insights\nThe Friends of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi\nCompanions of Sorbonne Abu Dhabi\nAbu Dhabi, U.A.E\nT +971 (0) 2 656 9555\/666\nF +971 (0) 2 656 9656\nE info@sorbonne.ae\nSorbonne Abu Dhabi offers a range of postgraduate degree programmes with common admission requirements. The postgraduate admissions section processes applications for new admissions, completes administrative requirements, registers students for courses, manages examinations and issues transcripts as well as conferring degrees at the completion of studies.\nAt present, Sorbonne Abu Dhabi offers 13 postgraduate prgrammes; all are taught in English except the Master in Teaching French as a Foreign Language, which is taught in French. All postgraduate programmes are 2 years in duration, except the Master in Urban Planning and Development and the Master in Marketing, Management, Communication, Media, which are 18 months in duration.\nPostgraduate programmes at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi are offered by Sorbonne University, Paris Descartes University, and ENAC (Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile)\nTo apply for any of our postgraduate programmes, candidates should be a holder of:\nA recognised bachelor degree earned in a discipline appropriate for the prospective graduate degree. Sorbonne Abu Dhabi doesn't normally accept average grades that are below 12\/20 or 3.0\/4.0 or equivalent for the first year (M1). Candidates are required to have a minimum average of 12\/20 or 3.0 \/4.0 or equivalent for admission to the M2 degree level\nAn English language proficiency (written and oral) test with a minimum EmSAT \u2013 English score of 1400 or a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (213 CBT, 79-80 iBT) or a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 or City & Guilds IESOL B2. Normally, graduates from countries where English is the first official language or graduates from universities, which require a minimum score of TOEFL 500 or IELTS 5.0 for admission on bachelor degrees, are exempted from the language proficiency exams\nSorbonne University\nParis Descartes University\nDepartment of Education and Knowledge (ADEK)\n\u00a9 Copyright 2019 Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Forgotten Password? Login? Register Me\nFunding Timeline\nLCNI Presentations\nAnnual Innovation Summary\nFunding Documents\nReportpt\nPrintrn Download\/L\nIdeas for future projects?\nWater Extraction Reel & Y Branch\nReference: NIA_SGN0027\nStart Date: Nov 2013\nEnd Date: Jan 2016\nFunding Licencee(s): SGN\nContact: Sam Wilson, Innovation & New Technology Project Manager and David McLeod \u2013 Innovation Delivery Manager\nClick here to send a question to the contact.\nFunding Mechanism Network Innovation Allowance\nResearch Area: GD - Repair\nCore Technology(ies): Gas Distribution Networks\nEstimated Expenditure: \u00a3100,480.00\nIntroduction: The scope of this project is to bring to the industry a new and improved piece of equipment to be used in conjunction with current mains camera equipment to detect and remove the water inside of the low pressure network.\nThe project will:\nDesign and develop proof of concept\nDevelop 2 prototype working models\nConduct a field trial for product verification\nProduct training for selected field staff.\nThe registered project duration and costs have been amended due to the following reason:\nA significant redesign was necessitated after final stages of offsite testing highlighted an issue that could not have been determined prior to this stage. Specifically, it was found that there was a requirement to 'walk' the water extraction hose and camera (both of which are inserted through the Y Branch) into the pipe. Due to the orientation of the two components (camera and hose) in the original design this was not possible. A full redesign was then required to enable the hose and camera to be inserted in parallel to allow the 'walking' action to be carried out. Which has resulted in the additional costs and time delays.\nThe key objectives of this project are to design and develop a single-line water removal system, to be used in conjunction with the current camera systems, to detect and remove water from the network from one excavation.\nTo achieve this the key objectives will be:\nPipetech to research, develop, and produce working drawings of product\nPipetech to produce two working models of product and factory test\nTraining, for the purpose of the field trial, on the use of the new equipment provided by Pipetech\nSGN to field trial new equipment on suitable sites yet to be identified\nSGN to present the outcome of the project to the other Licensee's\nExpected Benefits: The success criteria for the project is to develop a product which:\nAllows water ingress incidents to be dealt with only 1 excavation\nCan identify the location of the water and extract the water\nIn order to determine whether this project has been successful or not at various stages it will be reviewed at key milestones set throughout the project, this will ensure value for money is received by the customer, with the avoidance of unnecessary expenditure. The new product will be trialled on the network in a number of different environments from urban to rural settings. Following field trials a review and product evaluation will be carried out to determine whether this equipment is suitable and successful in aiding the detection and removal of water from the network.\nScotia Gas Networks Network Innovation Allowance on Nov 04, 2013\nhttps:\/\/www.sgn.co.uk\/Publications\/\nBrowse by: By Sector | By Funding Mechanism | By Network Operator | By Technology\n\u00a92017 Energy Networks Association Limited.\nCompany registered in England & Wales No. 04832301\nWeb development by Lilo","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Once a bastion of press freedom, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China has seen an unprecedented setback since 2020 when Beijing adopted a National Security Law aimed at silencing independent voices.\nHong Kong, a former British colony, has a vibrant media environment with hundreds of publications and over 15 TV stations. Since the 1997 handover to China, most media have fallen under the control of the government or pro-China groups. In 2021, two major independent news outlets, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forcefully shut down while numerous smaller-scale media outlets ceased operations, citing legal risks.\nThe Hong Kong government takes orders directly from Beijing and openly supports its attempts to impose censorship and spread propaganda. Public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), previously renowned for its fearless investigations, has been placed under a pro-government management which does not hesitate to censor the programmes it dislikes.\nHong Kong's Basic Law enshrines \"freedom of speech, of the press and of publication\". The National Security Law, however, serves as a pretext to gag independent voices in the name of the fight against \"terrorism\", \"secession\", \"subversion\", and \"collusion with foreign forces\". Due to its ambiguous phrasing, the law looks like it could apply to any journalist covering Hong Kong, regardless of their location.\nMost large-scale media outlets are owned by pro-Beijing factions and the remaining independent media owners are confronted with political pressure. In 2021, the government froze the assets of Apple Daily and Stand News, forcing them to cease operations and causing the unemployment of 860 of their staff.\nSociocultural context\nJournalists in Hong Kong are de facto separated into two groups, namely those who work for local Chinese-language media and those who work for English-language or international media. Journalists who work for independent or pro-democracy media are generally regarded highly by the public, while those who work for pro-Beijing newspapers or TV stations are viewed more negatively.\nHong Kong used to be a very safe place for journalists until 2014, when those who covered the Umbrella Movement were targeted by the police and pro-Beijing factions. During the 2019 protests, hundreds of journalists were victims of police violence and were also detained and indicted. A new wave of arrests started in 2021, when a dozen journalists were detained for national security crimes.\nAbuses in real time in Hong Kong\n12 journalists\nArbitrary detention and proceedingsVid\u00e9o\nRSF urges Hong Kong government to cease judicial harassment of two Stand News editors, one year after the media's shutdown\nOne year after the forced shutdown of Hong Kong independent media Stand News, RSF urges the government to drop all charges against two of the outlet's former editors-in-chief.\nArbitrary detention and proceedingsNews\nHong Kong: RSF calls for release of freelance journalist sentenced to 15 months for \"possessing offensive weapons\"\nRSF urges for the release of Hong Kong journalist Tang Cheuk-yu, who was sentenced on 22 December 2022 to 15 months for possession of alleged \"offensive weapons\"\nHong Kong: detained press freedom symbol Jimmy Lai gets an additional 5 years and 9 months for alleged fraud\nRSF urges for the release of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, a symbolic figure of press freedom in Hong Kong, who received today an additional 5 years and 9 months for \"fraud\".\nAbsolute and autocratic control of information","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. [1Ti 1:17 NASB]\nto those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; [Rom 2:7 NASB]\nFor this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. [1Co 15:53 NASB]\nBut when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, \"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. [1Co 15:54 NASB]\nwho alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom behonor and everlasting power. Amen. [1Ti 6:16 NASB]\nbut now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, [2Ti 1:10 NKJV]\nThe word 'Rapture' is not in the English translation of the King James Bible. The Greek word 'harpazo' is translated to English as the words \"caught up\" and \"we shall be changed\", which also means 'Raptured'.\nBut we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.\nFor this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.\nFor the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.\nThen we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.\nTherefore comfort one another with these words.\n1 Cor 15:50-58\nNow I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.\nBehold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,\nin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.\nFor this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.\nBut when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, \"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.\n\"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?\"\nThe sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;\nbut thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.\nTherefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.\nStrong's G726 \u2013 harpaz\u014d\n3) to snatch out or away\nLatin \u2013 'rapio'\nAll prophecies have been fulfilled for the Rapture to occur! We are patiently anticipating his coming for us! Share the good news of Jesus Christ with your family and friends. With your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel! Amen!\nWhat Must I Do To Be Saved? https:\/\/revelationlastday.com\/revelation-of-jesus-christ\/revelation-22\/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved\/\nActs 10:38-43 N.A.S. 'You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.'\n1 Cor 15: 1-8 'By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of the first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more that five hundred (500) of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also'\nOne [thing] I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.\n[I would have lost heart], unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.\nWait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalms 27:4,13,14\n3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, \"Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?\" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: \"Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 \"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 \"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 \"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 \"All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. 9 \"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 \"And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 \"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 \"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 \"But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 \"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 \"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place\" (whoever reads, let him understand), \u2026 36 \"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 \"But as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 \"For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 \"and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 \"Then two [men] will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. \u2026 42 \"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. \u2026 44 \"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. \u2013 Matthew 24:3-15, 36-40, 42, 44 NKJV\n4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. \u2013 1 Thessalonians 5:4,8-11 NASB\nChapter 6, the opening of the 1st seal of God's wrath. The devil is cast down to earth, knowing 'that he has a short time'. Verse 9 is 'the rapture'\nRev 6:1 NOW I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, \"Come and see.\"\n1st Seal\n1st Church Age (Rev 2:1)\nRev 6:2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. Zech 1:8,18-21; 6:1-3;\nWhite horse (war)\nZech 1:8; I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that [were] in the bottom; and behind him [were there] red horses, speckled, and white. 18Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 19And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What [be] these? And he answered me, These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. 21Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up [their] horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.\nZech 6:1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains [were] mountains of brass. 2In the first chariot [were] red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.\nRev 6:3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, \"Come and see.\"\n2nd Seal\n2nd Church Age (Rev 2:8)\nRev 6:4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. (Rev 6:8)\nFiery red horse\nSword \u2013 people killed \u2013 Another War\nRev 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, \"Come and see.\" So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. (Note: Africa has been in famine for 40 years. Now the U.S., Israel, Syria, Turkey)\n3rd Seal\n3rd Church Age (Rev 2:12)\nBlack horse (famine) History tells of the terrible times after the wars.\nRev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, \"A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.\"\nSee http:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/abc\/antichrist The Anti-Christ \u2013 \"Perilous times\" also includes \"economic disaster.\" While the antichrist is boasting about having solutions to the world's problems, God will release a third horse and rider. John said, \"I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine\" (Revelation 6:5, 6). The third rider will bring economic collapse to the world. God will allow him to do this. Food will be so valuable it will have to be weighed on scales before it is sold. Money will be so worthless that what a man earns in one day will purchase barely enough for one person to survive on. It definitely seems that America, and perhaps the entire world, has forgotten that a good economy is a blessing of God and not a benefit of having the right kind of politician in office. This moral confusion will be disastrous in the days to come. \"Perilous times\" also includes starvation and sickness, and two more signs of the last days Jesus talked about are \"famine\" and \"pestilence\" (Matthew 24:7). God will release a fourth horse and rider that will fulfill this. John said, \"I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth\" (Revelation 6:8). God will allow this horse and rider. One-fourth of the world's population will die as war and economic disaster spreads like wildfire triggering hunger and disease on earth.\nRev 6:7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, \"Come and see.\"\n4th Seal\n4th Church Age (Rev 2:18)\nRev 6:8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. Rev 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14; Matt 24:6,7; Lk 21:9; 1 Chr 15:26; (6:8; 8:6; 13:18;? Great trib?) (The 4th seal now, waiting for the rapture. The 5th church age, and the 6th church age.) There shall be 'war and rumors of war.'\nPale horse \u2013 Death and Hades followed. Power to kill\nThose poor people in Africa and the Middle East must believe they are in the throes of God's wrath now! The 'Great' Tribulation!\n11\/10\/15 http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-34779447 Some 11 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and water shortages in east and southern Africa because of the strengthening El Nino weather phenomenon, the UN children's charity has said.\nIt has caused the worst drought in more than 30 years in Ethiopia, Unicef said.\nIts effects could also be \"particularly harsh\" in Somalia, amid fears of flooding, it warned.\nEl Nino is caused by Pacific Ocean warming.\n\"The weather phenomenon, among the strongest on record, is likely to cause more floods and droughts, fuel Pacific typhoons and cyclones and affect more areas if it continues strengthening as forecast over the coming months,\" Unicef said in a statement.\nIt said 8.2 million people in Ethiopia faced food insecurity, while an estimated 350,000 children needed treatment for severe acute malnutrition.\n\"To make matters worse, the weather phenomenon may also bring flooding to some areas of the country in the coming months,\" Unicef said.\nEthiopia says it has food surpluses in country which it continues to send to areas affected by the drought.\n\"The government is working hard to ensure that no-one dies from lack of food in this El Nino year and, contrary to some Western news reports, there will not be famine of any sort, let alone anything remotely like the magnitude of that of 1984,\" a statement from the Ethiopian embassy in the UK said.\nUnicef said severe flooding was also expected in neighbouring Somalia, where more than three million people were in need of aid as the effects of El Nino were already being felt.\nIn Kenya, the government estimated that 2.5 million children may be affected by floods, landslides, mudslides and diseases linked to the El Nino rains, it said.\nRev 6:9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. Rev 2:7; 4:1; Isa 26:20; 27:1; 40:8; Rev 1:2,9; 6:9; 18:4; 20:4;\nThe 5th seal, Rev 6:9-11.\n5th Church Age (Rev 3: )\nRev 4:1 \u2013 6:11\nThis Is The Rapture. There are souls under the altar, slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. We join them. (Read about the rapture here: http:\/\/flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/21\/many-people-have-asked-me-this-year-what-is-the-rapture-heres-what-i-tell-them\/ )\nAmen! (http:\/\/flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com\/2014\/10\/05\/hollywood-tackles-the-end-times-with-left-behind-film-but-is-the-rapture-a-biblical-concept-or-a-fictional-plot-device\/) Excellent article on the rapture. Also See Chapter 4 \u2013 Rapture\n[Rev 2:7 KJV] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.\nIsa 40:8; The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.\nRev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, \"How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?\" Isa 26:20; 27:1; 40:8;\nIsa 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. 27:1In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword.\nIsa 27:1 In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that [is] in the sea.\nIsa 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.\"\nRev 6:11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Rev 3:5,18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9,13,14; 15:6; 19:8,14; 22:14; Ex 28:2; Lev 8:6-9; Isa 26:20; 27:1; 40:8; 61:10; Dan 7:9; Matt 22:11-14; Rom 3:21; 1Thess 4:16-17;\nWhite Robes given\nThe raptured souls are told, 'rest a little while longer,'\nThe garment in Scripture is a symbol of righteousness.\nIsa 26:20; Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.\n1 Thess 4:16-17; For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.\nChapter 6 verses 12 through 17 are descriptions of events that are final for the earth and the heavens. Catastrophic events which happen in the final wrath of God.\nOther Rapture supporting texts.\nIsa 25:8,9 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken [it]. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.\nIsa 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.\nJohn 14:2-3; In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.\n1 Cor 1:7-8; So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, [that ye may be] blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.\n1 Cor 15:50-58; Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.\n1 Cor. 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. (Translates to 'Accursed, Our Lord Cometh\")\nPhil 3:20-21; 4:5; For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.\nPhil 4:5; Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.\n1 Thess 1:10; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.\n1 Thess 2:19; For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?\n1 Thess 4:13-18; But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.\n1 Thess 5:9; For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,\nAnd the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.\n2 Thess 2:1; Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,\n1 Tim 6:14; That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:\n2 Tim 4:8; Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.\nTitus 2:13; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;\nHeb 9:28; So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.\nJam 5:7-9; Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.\n1 Pet 1:7,13; That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:\nWherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;\n1 Pet 5:4; And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.\n1 John 2:28-29; And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.\n1 John 3:1-2; Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.\nJude 1:21; Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.\nRev 2:25; But that which ye have [already] hold fast till I come.\nRev 3:10-11; Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.\n|Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.\nRev 22:20 He who testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.\nGen 6:8; 7:1,7 Noah and his family were saved by God \u2013 taken away from the wrath of God, an example of being caught up by our Creator.\nSALVATION \u2013 HOW TO BE SAVED\n1 Cor 15: 1-8 'By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of the first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred (500) of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also'\n'I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.' Psalms 27:4,13,14\nAfter the Rapture \u2013 The people who are Left Behind!\nIsaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger \u2014 the staff in their hands is My wrath.\nZephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.\nWhere do we read in the Bible about Iran, ISIS?\nSee: 'the little horn' of Daniel chapter 7. Also see Dan 8,9,11 and Revelation 13\nProphecies concerning the nations: The Day of the Lord's Judgment upon Babylon, picturing God's future judgment on Gentile nations\nJeremiah 51:8; 47 \u2013 51;(Elam, is Iran)\nIsaiah 13 \u2013 23; Ezekiel 25 \u2013 32\nDaniel 2,7,8,9,11,12\nRev 6:12 \u2013 17; Rev 14:8; 18:2; Rev 16, 17, 18, 19\n5\/29\/15 http:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/six-foreign-ministers-headed-to-israel\/ As France readies 'imposed peace' push at UN, battery of foreign officials to hold meetings in Jerusalem, Ramallah. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is slated to visit Israel on Sunday, followed later in the week by Canada's Rob Nicholson and New Zealand's Murray McCully, the Ynet news site reported. Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna will visit next weekend, and in June France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Cyprus's President Nicos Anastasiades are expected to follow. The directors-general of four East European foreign ministers, those of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, will also be in Israel next week. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was in Israel this week for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials. They also mark a push to \"internationalize\" the peace efforts, moving from bilateral talks that many diplomats feel are unlikely to bear fruit to a broader international negotiating framework, and expanding the involvement of countries other then the United States in the peace negotiations. On Thursday, France's Fabius made the purpose of his visit explicit \u2013 UN sets a timetable of 18 months.\nEze 7:25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and [there shall be] none. Eze 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and [there was] no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [morter]:\n3\/26\/15 http:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/193232#.VRQ7xPnF-So UN Middle East envoy said in his last report Thursday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's new coalition government must freeze Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria for \"peace.\"\nDeut 32:30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them? ISIS chasing and putting ten thousand to flight.\nWorld Players:\nEgypt, Jordan, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain,\nISIS, Turkey, Qatar\nIran, the P5+1 (USA, Britain, France, Germany, China (+1 \u2013 Russia)), (some play both sides, but they are backing Iran!)\nQatar arms Jihadists in Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Libya, PA, Hamas, other countries names in the North of Africa, and ISIS\n2\/28\/15 https:\/\/flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com\/2015\/02\/27\/the-biggest-threat-now-is-not-radical-islam-it-is-apocalyptic-islam-let-me-explain-excerpts-from-my-address-to-the-national-religious-broadcasters-convention\/ These (ISIS) are demon-possessed people making blood sacrifices to their god and if they are not stopped they will murder millions and bring down one Mid-eastern regime after another. The apocalyptic leaders of Iran are biding their time to build a nuclear arsenal capable of killing tens of millions of people in a matter of minutes. [\"more than half.\" In a world of 1.5 billion Muslims, that means more than 750 million Muslims believe not only that the Mahdi is coming, but that his arrival is imminent.\"]\nAT ANY MOMENT OUR LORD JESUS MESSIAH WILL APPEAR WITH A SHOUT AND WE WILL BE RAISED FROM GRAVES TO MEET HIM IN THE AIR! BELIEVE JESUS IS MESSIAH, SON OF GOD, CALL ON HIS NAME AND BE SAVED!\nPlease open your Bible to each reference and read them for yourselves. Reading several verses before and after the reference so you can have the context in order. Printing each article and marking it in any way that helps you to remember it. Ps If you find errors, please leave a comment about it. Thanks\nThe 'scarlet coloured beast' is both, the coalition of kings\/nations\/countries and a leader\/man.\nThis is what 'The Beast' of Rev 13 could look like! The irresistible leader of Dan 11!\nISIS \u2013 (Sunni) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ***8\/23\/18 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/is-chief-urges-followers-to-wage-jihad-in-new-recording\/ IS chief urges followers to wage 'jihad' in new recording.\nIn first purported audio message since September 2017, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi tells Islamic State backers to persevere after rollback of 'caliphate.' \"Those who forget their religion, patience, jihad against their enemies, and their certainty in the creator's promise lose and are disgraced,\" the leader said.\nAmerica \u2013 (Shi'ite) Former President Obama ****7\/2\/18 http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2018\/07\/02\/obama-administration-granted-citizenship-to-2500-iranians-during-nuclear-deal-iran-official.html Obama administration granted citizenship to 2,500 Iranians during nuclear deal: Iran official. *1\/13\/17 http:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2017\/01\/obama-kerry-have-1-last-surprise-waiting-for-jewish-state\/ Israel is bracing for more hostile declarations from a bloc of more than 70 nations meeting Sunday in Paris with the goal of embracing a document that calls for a two-state solution with a Palestinian state formed within the 1949 boundaries.\nIsrael will not even have a representative in Paris, nor will Israel be present when Pope Francis meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the day before, on Saturday. This has led some to describe the pope's meddling as tantamount to \"having a wedding without the groom.\"\nThis weekend's developments are just the latest in a three-week nightmare for Israel that has coincided with the final month of Barack Obama's presidency. The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution Dec. 23 calling all of east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria \"occupied Palestinian land.\" Five days later, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that construction in Judea and Samaria stands as one of the main obstacles to peace and said Israel could either be Jewish or Democratic, not both.\nNow, the Paris peace summit document looms, and the fear is that it will be used by the U.N. as the basis for yet another anti-Israel resolution or statement that will be issued when the U.N. Security Council meets on Jan. 17, just three days before Obama leaves office.\nIran \u2013 (Shi'ite) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ***8\/5\/18 http:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/israel\/jerusalem-post\/20180805\/281745565203738 Israel, which enjoys intelligence supremacy in Syria and is currently ignoring the presence of Iran's proxies and the other forces under Iranian command in southern Syria. Iran is gradually taking over a number of key areas in order to create a contiguous territorial presence between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea.\nThis includes police, security and civil administration units of local militias believed to number up to 50,000 men. It was established by Iran.\nShi'ite militias from Afghanistan and Pakistan, operated by Iran. To consolidate long-term Iranian influence.\nIran sometimes uses Shi'ite militias from Iraq and Lebanon (Hezbollah's Radwan units, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Hezbollah Clavade, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Liwa'a Zulfiqar, Liwa Dhu al-Fiqar, Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas, Kawe al-Jafiryah, and others). These will return to Iraq.\nHezbollah under Iranian direction.\nThe area bordering Lebanon, called the Q zone \u2013 Quneitra, Qalamoun, and al Qusayr.\nAfter their training period is over, the recruits, wearing Syrian army uniforms, are integrated into forces. All Shi'ite!! They are funded by Iran.\nIran \u2013 (Shi'ite)Hezbullah \u2013 Nasrallah **6\/29\/18 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/amid-reports-of-south-syria-ceasefire-nasrallah-claims-big-victory-is-near\/ Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday evening the Syrian regime and its allies were nearing a \"big victory\" over \"terrorist forces supported by the US and Israel,\" amid unconfirmed reports that a ceasefire had been reached in the country's south between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.\nTurkey \u2013 (Sunni) Erdogan ***7\/27\/18 https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/Middle-East\/Turkeys-Erdogan-The-making-of-a-latter-day-Sultan-563479 Erdogan, 64, is positioning himself as the bearer of a new Turkish identity, one more closely aligned with Turkey's Ottoman past and Islamic heritage.\nErdogan, 64, is positioning himself as the bearer of a new Turkish identity, one more closely aligned with Turkey's Ottoman past and Islamic heritage. It is also an identity that appears to lend to strongman rule.\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pwLvWo9G46w The invincible Leopard Tanks for Erdogan?\nIran \u2013 (Shi'ite) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani **7\/3\/18 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/rouhanis-vienna-visit-to-bolster-nuclear-deal-clouded-by-diplomats-arrest\/ VIENNA, Austria (AFP) \u2014 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday began the second leg of his European tour seeking assurances over the 2015 nuclear deal, a trip clouded by the arrest of a Tehran diplomat over an alleged bomb plot against opposition exiles in Paris.\nUS President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the agreement nearly two months ago, to the ire of the other signatories \u2014 China, France, Germany, Britain and Russia \u2014 which along with the European Union have continued to back the accord.\nIran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has demanded Europe provide a number of economic guarantees in order for Tehran to continue its commitment. ***12\/13\/17 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/hamas-rockets-onset-anti-israel-war-attrition-ordered-irans-gen-soleimani\/ War in Israel! Hamas, the Jihad Islami and the Popular Resistance Committees, on the orders of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Al Qods external terrorist arm, and supreme commander of Iranian forces in the region. Our sources reveal that the order was given Monday in a phone conversation Soleimani held with Marwan Issa, commander of the Hamas armed wing, the Ezz e-din al-Qassam. It was the first direct, phone conversation between a high-ranking Iranian general and the Hamas commander and it was deliberately overt. The Iranians wanted the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence agencies eavesdropping on incoming and outgoing phone calls to and from Gaza to hear Soleimani pledge full Iranian support for any military action conducted against Israel.\nIran \u2013 Major General Qasem Soleimani On 24 January 2011, Soleimani was promoted to Major General by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Reputation of being 'Evil'! Was taken out of Iraq War with ISIS because of his inhumane treatment of 'any' soldier! Khamenei is described as having a close relationship with him, helping him financially and has called Soleimani a \"living martyr\" .Soleimani has been described as \"the single most powerful operative in the Middle East today\" and the principal military strategist and tactician in Iran's effort to combat Western influence and promote the expansion of Shiite and Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.\n***8\/16\/18 http:\/\/cjlab.memri.org\/lab-projects\/iran-cyber-initiative-lab-projects\/irgc-qods-force-commander-qassem-soleimani-designated-by-u-s-treasury-dept-is-active-on-instagram-posts-include-image-of-white-house-exploding\/ Gen. Qassem Soleimani,[1] who since 1998 has commanded Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) extra-territorial special forces unit, the Qods Force, was designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in October 2011 for connection to a plot to assassinate Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.[2] Earlier, in May 2011, he was also designated under Executive Order 13572, which focuses on human rights abuses in Syria, for his role as IRGC-QF commander,[3] and in July 2005 under E.O. 13382 for his relationship to the IRGC.[4] In a July 26, 2018 speech, Gen. Soleimani responded to a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump directed at Iranian President Hassan Rohani, stating that President Trump has the rhetoric of man in a casino or a bar, compared him to a gambler, and warned the U.S. not to threaten Iran. Soleimani declared: \"Know that we are near you, in places that don't come to your mind. We are near you in places that you can't even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom\u2026 You know that a war would mean the loss of all your capabilities. You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end.\"[5] On July 28, 2018, Soleimani posted a graphic of himself using a walkie-talkie in front of the White House as it explodes. Text on the photo reads: \"We will crush the USA under our feet.\" Soleimani's caption on the photo reiterates: \"We will crush America under our feet\" and asks readers to follow the account's Telegram channel.\nEndnotes:[1] For more information on Soleimani's recent activity, see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1410, The U.S.-Iran Confrontation \u2013 Possible Developments In Advance Of The November Sanctions, August 8, 2018; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7597, Calls In Saudi Arabia For Firm Measures Against Iran's Attempts To Disrupt Shipping In Bab El-Mandeb, July 31, 2018; MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1396, Iranian Reactions To The Strategic Change In The U.S.'s Iran Policy And To Israel's Activity To Eliminate The Iranian Threat To It From Syria, May 15, 2018.[2] Treasury.gov\/press-center\/press-releases\/pages\/tg1320.aspx, October 11, 2011. [3] Treasury.gov\/press-center\/press-releases\/Pages\/tg1181.aspx, May 18, 2011.[4] Treasury.gov\/resource-center\/sanctions\/Documents\/whwmdeo.pdf, July 1, 2005.[5] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7595, IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani: Trump's Rhetoric Is That Of A Casino; You May Start The War, But We Will Determine Its End; We Are Near You In Places That You Can't Even Imagine, We Are A Nation Of Martyrdom, July 30, 2018.\n***8\/23\/18 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/iraqi-shiite-militia-heavily-bombed-on-syrian-iraqi-highway-first-major-assault-on-soleimanis-forces\/ Iraqi Shiite militia heavily bombed on Syrian-Iraqi highway, first major assault on Soleimani's forces.\nThursday, Aug. 23 on the Syrian-Iraqi highway near the eastern Syrian town of Abu Kamal, our military sources report. On Monday, we were first to reveal that US National Security adviser John Bolton had this week discussed with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a possible joint military operation by the US and Israel against Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Al Qods Brigades in the Middle East, and the pro-Iranian Shiite proxy militias in Syria. The Iraqi militia hit on Thursday belonged to Soleimani's forces in that country. The attack took place as Bolton sat down with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushov in Geneva, and was presumably meant to warn to Moscow that the US was serious about military action for ousting Iranian forces from Syria. Bolton said later that they had discussed a \"series of steps\" for removing Iran's military presence from Syria. Patrushev said nothing had been decided in their talks.\nDEBKAfile reported on Wednesday that Soleimani was building up strength to seize control of the Iraqi-Syrian highway and massing troops in the Western Iraqi province of Anbar. Three months ago, on June 18, the Israeli air force bombed another Iraqi militia concentration, this one at Deir ez-Zour not far from the Syrian-Iraqi border.\n***8\/23\/18 https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2018\/08\/23\/netanyahu-says-still-hopes-us-will-recognize-israels-golan-hold\/ Netanyahu Says Still Hopes US Will Recognize Israel's Golan Hold.\nIsrael still hopes the US will recognize its claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, after a top American official said the issue is not currently under consideration by Washington.\nIsrael captured much of the Golan from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed it, in a move not endorsed internationally. In May, a senior Israeli official said that US recognition could be forthcoming within months.\nBut in a Reuters interview during a visit to Israel this week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said \"there's no discussion of it, no decision within the US government.\"\nNetanyahu was asked whether Israel, in light of Bolton's remarks, had dropped expectations of US recognition of Israel's Golan claim. He replied: \"Would I give up on such a thing? No way.\"\nIn the interview, Bolton said that while the United States understands Israel's claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights, \"there's no change in the US position for now.\"\n***8\/23\/18 https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2018\/08\/23\/eu-agrees-to-send-18-million-euros-in-development-aid-to-iran\/ The European Union agreed to send 18 million euros ($20.6 million) in aid to Iran on Thursday, including for the private sector, to help offset the impact of US sanctions and salvage a 2015 deal that saw Tehran pledge to limit its nuclear ambitions.\nThe announcement is part of the bloc's high-profile efforts to support the nuclear accord that President Donald Trump abandoned in May. It is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked for Iran in the EU budget.\nThe EU is working to maintain trade with Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with the nuclear agreement if it fails to see the economic benefits of relief from sanctions.\nThe bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc was committed to cooperation with Iran.\n***8\/23\/18 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/is-chief-urges-followers-to-wage-jihad-in-new-recording\/ IS chief urges followers to wage 'jihad' in new recording.\n***8\/22\/18 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/iran-masses-troops-for-controlling-iraqi-syrian-routes-soleimani-hits-defiant-iraqi-shiite-militia\/ Aug. 19, six large explosions set on fire the weapons and ammo depots of the Iraqi Shiite Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas near Lake Razaza, a few kilometers west of the Iraqi Shiite shrine city of Karbala. his Shiite militia, one of the few which refuses to bend the knee to Tehran or Soleimani, was founded by Grand Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Sistani, the highest religious authority in Iraq, who is also widely respected in Iran. Its deployment around Lake Razaza places the militiamen in position for controlling the main highways from central Iraq to Syria. The explosions ordered by Soleimani were meant, say intelligence sources, to drive this noncompliant militia south of Karbala, out of the way for obstructing the Iranian drive for a land bridge from Iraq to Syria and the passage of troops across the border.\nIn first purported audio message since September 2017, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urges Islamic State backers to persevere after rollback of 'caliphate'.\nBaghdadi has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but an Iraqi intelligence official said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border.\n***8\/20\/18 https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/250800 ANALYSIS: Meet the most dangerous Iranian.\nQassem Soleimani, dubbed by Iran's Supreme Leader as the 'living martyr of the Revolution', is one of the most dangerous men in the Mideast.\nProphecy: Dan 7:7 \"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It [was] different from all the beasts that [were] before it, and it had ten horns. 8 \"I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, [were] eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.\nThree of the first horns were plucked out by the roots \u2013 Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon\nSyria \u2013 ***8\/5\/18 http:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/israel\/jerusalem-post\/20180805\/281745565203738 Israel, which enjoys intelligence supremacy in Syria and is currently ignoring the presence of Iran's proxies and the other forces under Iranian command in southern Syria. Iran is gradually taking over a number of key areas in order to create a contiguous territorial presence between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea.\nShi'ite militias from Afghanistan and Pakistan, operated by Iran. To consolidate long-term Iranian influence\nIraq \u2013 **9\/9\/14 http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/09\/08\/world\/meast\/iraq-government\/index.html Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government Monday and tapped former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as one of the country's three vice presidents.\nSeveral key Cabinet posts remain vacant.\nPrime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed to have nominations for the defense and interior minister posts ready to present to Parliament within a week.\nMonday's Parliament vote, just a day before a constitutional deadline, comes as Iraq faces political turmoil and battles a surge of Islamist militants from ISIS.\nAlong with al-Maliki, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and former speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi will also serve as vice presidents. Allawi and Al-Maliki are longtime political foes.\nThe vice presidential post is largely ceremonial, but al-Maliki's appointment leaves him in a visible position of power.\nCritics have accused al-Maliki of consolidating power and persecuting political rivals, blaming him for fueling Iraq's problems with sectarian policies that alienated Sunni Muslims.\nIraqi politicians have been under intense pressure from the United States to form an inclusive government representing Sunni, Shia and Kurds. U.S. President Barack Obama has said that would be a key condition for more U.S. support, and an important step in fighting militants from ISIS, the Sunni extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State.\nOn Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the government's formation is \"unquestionably a major milestone,\" adding that it \"has the potential to unite all of Iraq's diverse communities.\"\n\"Now is the time for Iraq's leaders to govern their nation with the same vision and sense of purpose that helped bring this new government together in the first place,\" Kerry said. \"In that effort they should know that the United States will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraqis as they implement their national plan.\"\nA spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the new government is a \"positive step towards political stability and peace\" in Iraq.\nIt's too soon to say whether Monday's reshuffling will quell tensions and win over members Iraq's Sunni minority, who bitterly complained of being marginalizedand cut out of the political process by al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.\nA more inclusive government, Obama said last month, would give confidence to Sunnis that ISIS \"is not the only game in town.\"\nOutlining his government program Monday, al-Abadi vowed to rebuild security forces, stamp out corruption and make sure weapons were only in the hands of the state \u2014 not militia groups.\nIraq is \"under a vicious attack,\" he said, and security forces will fight until \"victory.\"\nWhether the new government will be able to settle political differences and bring the country together remains to be seen. (You did hear what they said: http:\/\/www.debka.com\/article\/24242\/Senior-NATO-Members-Rise-up-against-US-Iranian-Detente \"Senior NATO Members Rise up against US-Iranian Detente\")\n8\/17\/14 IRAQ \u2013 Dr. Haider Al-Abadi is an Iraqi politician and spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party. He was nominated for the role of prime minister of Iraq on 11 August by President Fuad Masum.\nIndeed, the new prime minister is going to need all the help he can get, from God and from the devil before too long. In God's department Al-Abadi has the support of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, who earlier today voiced his support for the political transition. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Shi'ite Muslim, was forced to step down. (Shiite Arab vice president Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Shiite militia Jaish Al-Mahdi, the Saudi daily Al Watan reported. Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.)\nLibya \u2013 4\/16\/16 http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-libya-security-france-germany-idUSKCN0XD0JB The West is counting on the unity government to tackle Islamic State militants in Libya and prevent new flows of migrants heading north across the Mediterranean, though the new government's leaders are still trying to establish themselves in Tripoli. \"Nothing will be done unless the government wants it and examines it in a very concrete manner,\" said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.\nLibya slipped into political turmoil after a NATO backed air campaign helped rebels topple autocrat Muammar Gaddafi five years ago. Paris played a leading part in the campaign, but has regretted the lack of support given to the authorities afterwards.\nSince 2014 the country has had two competing sets of parliaments and governments in Tripoli and the east, both backed by loose alliances of armed brigades.\nLebanon \u2013 3\/15\/16 http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-10814698 Hezbollah \u2013 the Party of God \u2013 is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon. After Israel withdrew in 2000, Hezbollah resisted pressure to disarm and continued to strengthen its military wing, the Islamic Resistance. In some ways, its capabilities now exceed those of the Lebanese army, its considerable firepower used against Israel in the 2006 war.\nThe group also gradually became a key power broker in Lebanon's political system, and has effectively gained veto power in the cabinet.\nHezbollah has been accused of carrying out a string of bombings and plots against Jewish and Israeli targets and is designated a terrorist organisation by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.\nSome Lebanese consider Hezbollah a threat to the country's stability, but it is enduringly popular within the Shia community. To end the sectarian clashes that left 81 people dead and brought Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war, the government backed down and a power-sharing agreement gave Hezbollah and its allies the power to veto any cabinet decision. In 2009 elections it won 10 seats in parliament and remained in the unity government. Later that year, Hezbollah's secretary general Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah issued a new political manifesto that sought to highlight the group's \"political vision\". It dropped the reference to an Islamic republic found in the 1985 manifesto, but maintained a tough line against Israel and the US and said Hezbollah needed to keep its weapons.\nOrder of events:\nChristians will be raptured, the 'first' resurrection (Rev 20:6). The anti-christ will be revealed. (2 Thess 2:3)(The Scarlot Coloured Beast Leader) (Rev 13) The wrath of God will be poured upon all mankind.{countries\/kingdoms\/nations\/people} Babylon will be destroyed in one day.(Rev 17,18) Israel will be attacked.(Zech 14:2) Israeli remnant will be placed in safety.(Zech 13:8-9)\nRev 16:13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.\nFor they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.\nAnd He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.\nZech 14:4-6 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, [Making] a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee [through] My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, [And] all the saints with You. 6 It shall come to pass in that day [That] there will be no light; The lights will diminish. Then 'IT IS DONE'! (Rev 16:17) The marriage supper of the Lamb.(Rev 19:9-21) Thousand year reign of our Lord!(Rev 20:2-7) Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.\nSee: What Must I Do To Be Saved https:\/\/revelationlastday.com\/revelation-of-jesus-christ\/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved\/\nTHE SCARLET COLOURED BEAST\nThe 'Coalition' of the Leopard, Bear and Lion of Rev 13:\nThe beasts of Daniel, same as 1st beast of Revelation 13: (The Scarlot Coloured Beast)\nDan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn (ISIS), before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon): and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things (ISIS leader ,the Anti-Christ?).\nDan 8:23\"And in the latter time of their kingdom,\nWhen the transgressors have reached their fullness,\nA king shall arise,\nHaving fierce features,\nWho understands sinister schemes.\nRev 13:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and and ten horns and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.\nRev 17:3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.\n\"the beast which I saw was like a leopard\" (Rev 13:2)\nDan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.\n***8\/14\/18 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/russia-deploys-police-to-help-un-patrol-israel-syria-border\/ Russia deploys police to help UN patrol Israel-Syria border.\nGeneral says officers setting up checkpoints, clearing landmines to facilitate return of international force to Golan.\n***8\/5\/18 http:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/israel\/jerusalem-post\/20180805\/281745565203738 Israel, which enjoys intelligence supremacy in Syria and is currently ignoring the presence of Iran's proxies and the other forces under Iranian command in southern Syria. Iran is gradually taking over a number of key areas in order to create a contiguous territorial presence between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea.\n\"his feet were like the feet of a bear\"\nDaniel 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.\n6\/7\/15 http:\/\/uk.investing.com\/news\/world-news\/insight\u2014in-rare-alliance,-shi'ites-join-sunnis-to-defend-iraqi-towns-16686 When Islamic State (ISIS) fighters tried to storm the Tigris River town of Dhuluiya north of Baghdad this week, they were repelled by a rare coalition of Sunni tribal fighters inside the town and Shi'ites in its sister city Balad on the opposite bank. Dhuluiya, which comes from the word \"ribs\", is a small town surrounded on three sides by a kink in the Tigris. A north-south highway runs through it, making it potentially one of the final stops for fighters attempting to assault Baghdad from the north.\nhttp:\/\/rt.com\/op-edge\/196900-iraq-isis-spirit-culture-seige\/ good article about the usefulness of Dhuluiya\nThe LION is BABYLON\n\"and his mouth like the mouth of a lion\"\nDan 7:4 The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.\nDan 11:11 \"And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.\n***7\/14\/18 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/massive-syrian-hizballah-golan-war-preparations-tie-idf-down-from-reining-in-gaza-terror\/ Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's adviser on external affairs. After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, he said: \"We will immediately leave if the Iraqi and Syrian governments want it, not because of Israel's and American pressure.\" Tehran has therefore welded together its Syrian and Iraqi policies and made them interdependent.\nHe went on to say: \"We will counter the Americans powerfully\u2026 We will help Syria counter\u2026US aggression. If the US does not want to leave our region, we will force it to do that. For the Iranian regime. the US and Israel are interchangeable.\"\nVelayati's words are significant in three respects:***7\/10\/18 http:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2018\/07\/iranian-general-forces-awaiting-orders-to-destroy-israel\/ IRANIAN GENERAL: FORCES 'AWAITING ORDERS' TO DESTROY ISRAEL\n'Islamic army in Syria' poised to eradicate 'evil Zionist regime.' Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said there are forces in Lebanon as well as Syria awaiting orders while the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group aims 100,000 missiles at Israel, the Times of Israel reported.\n***6\/24\/18 http:\/\/www.inss.org.il\/publication\/red-sea-old-new-arena-interest\/ The Red Sea, and particularly its southern section surrounding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has in recent years become the site of competition and struggle among regional actors and superpowers alike. In addition to the states along the coast of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, the US, China, Turkey, and Iran \u2013 which is involved in the war in Yemen \u2013 have a presence there. Sub-state actors, such as the Islamic State organization, al-Shabaab in Somalia, the Houthi rebels, and al-Qaeda in Yemen, are also active in the region. In the meantime, there have been no disruptions to Israeli shipping and flight paths, which connect Israel to the Indian Ocean, the Far East, and Africa. However, those engaged in decision making on strategic issues in Israel must be increasingly aware of this arena and consider whether to invest military and political resources to prevent the realization of potential threats against Israel in this region, particularly on the part of Iran and its proxies.\nEconomic Importance\nThe Red Sea arena possesses considerable economic importance. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is 29 kilometers wide and constitutes a maritime chokepoint and strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. A significant volume of the world's maritime traffic passes through the Strait, including a daily average of some five million barrels of oil. The Suez Canal constitutes an important source of income for Egypt, as does the port of Aqaba for Jordan and the port of Jeddah for Saudi Arabia (its most important port). It is also the route of passage to the port of Eilat.\nAs part of its ambitious Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia seeks to develop some 200 kilometers of its Red Sea coastline, including 50 micro islands, for the promotion of tourist initiatives that will attract foreign investments. The coastline will also be the site of the future Saudi city Neom, as well as an Egyptian-Saudi plan for building a bridge over the Red Sea, which would facilitate the direct passage of goods between the two countries and bring the markets of the Arabian Peninsula and Europe closer together.\n***11\/06\/17 https:\/\/www.sarahpalinnews.com\/2017\/11\/06\/middle-eastern-tempers-flare-saudi-arabia-says-regional-power-declared-war-country\/?ref=Ads The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) says Iran has officially declared war on their country.\nThe announcement comes after the KSA intercepted a ballistic missile over their country's airspace.\n**11\/06\/17 https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/iran-saudi-cold-war-intensifies-as-militant-threat-fades-1509917926 DUBAI\u2014A cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, fought with proxies seeded across the Middle East, is sharply escalating as the two powers jockey to shape a regional order devoid of Islamic State.\n5\/3\/17 https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/politics\/201705031053219078-iran-saudi-understanding-impossible\/ Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman al Saud says that it is impossible to reach mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and Iran. \"The Iranian regime adheres to the extremist ideology, that is why it is impossible to reach mutual understanding with it \u2026 There is no common ground between us and the Iranian regime,\" the deputy crown prince said on Tuesday.\nFrom his point of view, the main target for Tehran is Saudi Arabia, not Syria, because Iran wants to control the Muslim holy sites in Mecca.\n**We make a transition from Daniel, the Lion being Babylon, to Revelation Lion, still Babylon, (Mystery Babylon) {Rev 17:16 And the ten horns (countries\/kingdoms) which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore {mystery Babylon}, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.} {17:17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast}[13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.], until the words of God shall be fulfilled.} and is part of the coalition that is the scarlet coloured beast.\n1\/5\/16 http:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/in-the-iran-saudi-arabia-conflict-a-clash-of-civilizations\/ The cold war between the two regional powers is likely to heat up, reviving an age-old sectarian war between Sunni and Shiite Islam in which every country and group in the Middle East will have to choose a side.\nConsider the list: Lebanon, where for more than a year and a half there has been no president, partly because of the tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran; Yemen, where a civil war is being waged with the direct intervention of Saudi forces and Iranian advisers; Syria, of course, where Iran's Revolutionary Guards are fighting militias funded by Riyadh; Iraq (which is in many ways similar to Syria in that regard); and even the West Bank, where the Iranians give financial support to the Islamic Jihad, to the A-Sabireen movement in Gaza and, to a limited extent, to Hamas.\nAnd indeed, nearly all the actors in the Middle Eastern arena now understand that the Iranian declarations are not hollow and that Tehran will try to give them substance in the form of an attack on the Saudi kingdom.\nAny revenge attack via Shiite actors will draw a Saudi response. Which means, as the London-based site Al Araby Al Jadeed wrote Monday, the cold war will heat up suddenly into a more much more dangerous confrontation between the two countries.\nIt has to be said that this crisis, which is likely to lead to a clash of the two civilizations, Shiite and Sunni, does not come as much of a shock.\nHamas is not alone. From now on, the name of the game in our region is that every country or organization will have to choose a side. The Israeli-Arab conflict no longer interests decision-makers in Riyadh or Cairo; rather the battle for the future of the Middle East between Shiites and Sunnis occupies center stage.\nAlmost 1,400 years have passed since the first battles broke out within the Muslim world between the inheritors of the Prophet Muhammad, which led to the schism between Shiites and Sunnis, and it seems little has changed here: We are returning to the same very old sectarian war, which is likely to lead to severe ongoing bloodshed that will once again shape the face of the region.\n**1\/5\/16 http:\/\/defensetech.org\/2016\/01\/04\/u-s-navy-plans-to-fly-first-drone-swarm-this-summer\/ The U.S. Navy is a leader in the area of swarm warfare, (LOCUST) the threat has been analyzed in a number of papers from the Naval Postgraduate School analyze the threat. Some of these are classified, but a 2012 paper by Loc Pham, \"UAV Swarm Attack\" is open and makes uncomfortable reading.\nChung is staging a contest for swarms of small drones carry out simulated battles as a way of evaluating tactics and technology. His basic scenario is a 50-versus-50 encounter in which the Blue defenders attempt to stop Red attackers from getting through. Nobody knows much about drone-versus-drone combat yet, especially on this scale. How much autonomy do the drones need? How can the swarm commander stay in control in a fast-moving action? How do quality and quantity balance out in battling swarms?\nWith manned aircraft, the pilot's life counts for a lot; but swarming drones are expendable and high \"casualties\" do not matter. This is a very different world to the dogfights we have seen before.\nThe battles will be fought with small drones even cheaper than those used in LOCUST, but the tactics they discover may shape the future of warfare.\nWhen a swarm of drones heads for an American carrier some time in the future, they might be intercepted by a defensive swarm. What happens next \u2014 whether the aircraft on the carrier's deck are destroyed, or whether the attackers are beaten off \u2014 will depend on which side has the best grasp of an entirely new form of warfare.\nMatt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. KJV\nhttp:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2014\/09\/saudi-cleric-isis-soldiers-must-kill-their-commanders\/ Saudi Muslim cleric has bad news for members of the Muslim terror gang ISIS, also called Islamic State: They're going to \"hellfire.\" The cleric warns that ISIS members are \"apostates.\"\nDay of The Rapture?\nJoel 2:1-2 KJV \u2013 1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.\nAmos 5:18 KJV \u2013 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. (Joel 2:2)\nThe Book of Daniel, like The Revelation in the N.T., is called an apocalypse, as are also, Isaiah 24-27 (the Isaiah Apocalypse), and the visions in Zechariah. \"Apocalypse\" means unveiling. When wickedness seemed supreme in the world, and evil-powers were, an apocalypse was given to show the real situation behind that which was apparent, and to indicate the eventual victory of righteousness upon the earth. Apocalyptic writing uses many figures and symbols, God used this literary form to convey His truth to His people.\nThe author of this book, Daniel, whose name means God is my judge, was taken in his youth to Babylon in the first deportation under Nebuchadnezzar. He soon excelled in wisdom in this land famous for its wise men, and ultimately rose to become first among the three highest officers of the Medo-Persian Empire (5:29; 6:1-3). His life in Babylon extended to at least 530 B.C.\nDaniel is a book of kings and kingdoms, of thrones and dominions. While including a number of historical records, it embodies prophecies of the sequence of kingdoms in \"the times of the Gentiles\" (Lk 21:24; see Rev. 16:19, note) and portrays the end of this period. It voices the only prophecy in the O.T. (9:24-27) that sets the time of Christ's first advent.\nThe historical events in Daniel, occurring at the beginning of the times of the Gentiles, illustrate events prophetically set forth in the book as taking place at the end of this period and culminating catastrophically in the termination of Gentile world rule at the return of Christ, the Messiah. Thus, the persecution of the children of God in chs. 3 and 6 foreshadows the more severe and universal persecution of God's people (rather people left behind from the rapture) to take place at the end of this age (7:25; 8:24; 12:1); likewise, the blasphemous repudiation of the God of Israel, as in 5:1-4; 6:5-12, will appear in a more universal form and even greater intensity at the end of the age (7:25; 9:26; 11:37,38).\nThis book is referred to or quoted many times in the N.T. (cp. especially our Lord's reference to Daniel in Mt. 24:15; Mk. 13:14) and is the key to The Revelation. It exercised a great influence upon the early church; its scheme of four successive empires dominated European historiography until the middle of the eighteenth century.\nThe book may be divided as follows: I. Daniel's Early Life in the Babylonian Court, 1. II. Nebuchadnezzar's Vision of the Image, 2. III. The deliverance of the Three Hebrew Youths from the Fiery Furnace, 3. IV. The Vision and Humbling of Nebuchadnezzar, 4. V. Daniel's Experience under Belshazzar and Darius, 5-6. VI. Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts, 7. VII. The Prophecy of the Defeat of the Persians by the Greeks, and the Desecration of the Temple, 8. VII. Daniel's Prayer and the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, 9. IX. Daniel's Final Vision, 10-12. (Page 896)\nnote 1 (2:4) ch. 2:4 to 7:28 the book is written in Aramaic, the language spoken at the court of Nebuchadnezzar and later used as the official language of the whole western section of the Persian Empire. (page 897)\nnote 1 (2:31) The vision prophetically portrays the course of world empire and its destruction by Christ, who called this period \"the times of the Gentiles\" (Lk 21:24; see Rev. 16:19, note). The (Page 898) four metals composing the image are explained as symbolizing four empires (vv. 38-40), not necessarily possessing the earth but divinely authorized to do so (v. 38), and fulfilled in Babylon (1), Medo-Persia (2), Greece (3) (under Alexander) and Rome (4). The latter power is seen divided, first into two (the legs), fulfilled in the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, and then into ten (the toes) (5) (see Dan 7:26, note). As a whole, the image gives the imposing outward greatness and splendor of the Gentile world power.\nThe Smiting Stone (2:34-35) destroys the Gentile world system (in its final form) by a sudden and irremediable blow, not by the gradual processes of conversion and assimilation; and then and not before, does the Stone become a mountain which fills \"the whole earth\" (cp, Dan 7:26-27). Such a destruction of the Gentile monarchy system did not occur at the first advent of Christ. On the contrary, He was put to death by the sentence of an officer of the fourth empire, which was then at the zenith of its power. After Christ's death the western part of the Roman Empire fell in A.D. 476 and the eastern part in 1453, but no other world empire has superseded Rome because only four empires (**See Dan 2:35, 41-44; The 'ten toes,' the Ottoman Empire Caliphates) will precede Christ's return and rule. The interposition of the Church Age between the first and second advents of Christ, as revealed in the N.T., is not a part of this vision. The deadly wound suffered by the fourth empire will not be healed by the restoration of the empire until the Church Age has been completed by the rapture of the Church (Rev 13:3) (**See Dan 2:35, 41-44; The 'ten toes,' the Ottoman Empire Caliphates). Thus Gentile world power still continues, and the crushing blow is still suspended. The detail of the end-time is given in Dan 7 and Rev. 13-19, It is important to observe that (1) Gentile world power is to end in a sudden catastrophic judgment (See Armageddon, Rev. 16:13-16; 19:17, note); and (2) it is immediately to be followed by the kingdom of heaven. The God of the heavens will not set up His kingdom until after the destruction of the Gentile world system. It is noteworthy that Gentile world dominion begins and ends with a great image (Dan 2:31; Rev 13:14-15).\nThis Stone must not be identified with the Church, as some hold, for the task of the Church is never said to be the destruction of the nations of the earth.\n(Page 898, 899)\nnote 1 (2:35) A mountain is one of the Biblical symbols of a kingdom. See Isa 2:2, note. [(Note 4) A mountain in Scripture symbolism, means a kingdom, authority, or rule (Dan 2:35,44-45; Rev. 17:9-11; see Rev. 13:1, note). [**Isa 13; 25:6; Jer. 51:25-29; Micah 4:1; Rev. 8:8)] (Page 899, 714)\nnote 2 (2:38) Universal dominion is indicated. It was never fully realized, but diving authority was given for it. See v. 31, note.\nnote 3 (2:41) From the head of gold (v.38) to the iron of the fourth kingdom (Rome) there is deterioration in fineness, but increase of strength (v. 40). Then comes the deterioration of the fourth kingdom in that very quality\u2014strength. (1) Deterioration by division: the kingdom is divided into two, the legs (eastern and western empires), and these are again divided into kingdoms, the number of which, when the Stone smites the image, will be ten (toes, v. 42; cp. 7:23-24). And (2) deterioration by admixture: the iron mixed with the clay. (Page 899)\n**note 1 (2:44) This passage fixes, in relation to other predicted events, the time when the millennial kingdom will be established. It will be \"in the days of these kings,\" i.e. the days of the ten kings (cp. 7:24-27) symbolized by the toes of the image. [**Scofield acknowledges 'these kings' (The 10 toes) will be 'the time when the millennial kingdom will be established.' Not realizing it is the Ottoman Empire Caliphates being restored rather than Rome. Today we see Saudi Arabia vs Iran, Sunni vs Shias, Arab nations rich with Oil and all that money\ncan buy, ruling the world. It was stamped out in the 15th century only to arise in these last days. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, (Who is he? ISIS? The 1st Beast of Rev 13, the Scarlet Coloured Beast of Chap 17] The ten kings did not exist at the advent of Messiah, nor was the federation even possible until the dissolution of the Roman Empire and the rise of the present nationalistic world system. See Kingdom (O.T.) (Gen. 1:26; Zech 12:8, note); Kingdom (N.T.) (Lk. 1:31-33; Rev. 20:4); also notes at Mt. 3:2; 6:33; and 1 Cor 5:24. In vv. 44-45, the method by which the millennial kingdom will be established is repeated from vv. 34-35, i.e. the Smiting Stone will crush the image that represents the world powers that are inimical to God. (See v. 31, note; cp. Ps. 2:5 with 2:6; Zech.14:1-8 with 14:9.)\nnote 2 (2:49) Compare Gen.19:1, Lot, the compromiser with Daniel, the resolute. To sit in the gate of the king was to be in the place of authority. (Page 900)\nDan 11:45 \"And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. [4\/30\/17 http:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/228851 Israel asks UN for permission to inspect Armon Hanatziv compound.\nState asks for delay in response to petition against illegal construction by UN in Jerusalem, seeks to tour compound with UN permission.\nThe Jerusalem District Court last week ordered the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Land Authority to respond to the petition filed last week by Regavim against the United Nations over an illegal construction boom at the UN headquarters in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, which belongs to the State of Israel.\nThe state, for its part, has filed a request for an additional postponement to the Jerusalem District Court, which indicates that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with various elements of the UN, and has asked the UN to allow a visit by professional bodies on behalf of the State of Israel.\nThe representatives of the Foreign Ministry also held a preliminary visit to the site, during which UN representatives claimed that the construction work currently under way without building permits from the Jerusalem Municipality and without the consent of the State of Israel belongs to the area, as \"arising from the need for essential renovations in the historic building, which was erected in 1929.\"\nThe state explained its request for an additional period, also because of \"the need to formulate the State's position on the legal aspects [of the case], including aspects relating to the immunity of the UN, as well as the need to further clarify the factual basis and the continuation of diplomatic contacts with the UN.\"]\nBibliographpy Information\nThe 1967 Scofield Study Bible, King James Version (with word changes).\nCopyright\u00a9 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc.\nPublished by Oxford University Press\n198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016\nNow we move on to chapter 7:\nnote 1 (7:2) \"Sea\" in scripture imagery stands for the populace, the unorganized mass of mankind (Isa.60:5; Mt.13:47; Lk.21:25; Rev.13:1).\nnote 2 (7:3) The monarchy vision of Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 2) covers the same order of fulfillment as Daniel's beast vision, but with this difference: Nebuchadnezzar saw the imposing outward power and splendor of \"the times of the Gentiles\" (Lk.21:24; cp. Rev.16:19, note), whereas Daniel saw the true character of Gentile world government as rapacious and warlike, established and maintained by force. It is remarkable that the heraldic insignia of the Gentile Nations are all beasts or birds of prey.\nnote 1 (7:5)This is a possiblel reference to the threefold dominion of the second empire, Media, Persia, Babylonia.\nnote 2 (7:5)That is Lydia, Babylonia, Egypt, etc.\nnote 3 (7:6) An allusion to the swiftness of Alexander's conquests.\nnote 4 (7:6) The vision is of the end of Gentile world dominion. The former Roman Empire (the iron kingdom of 2:33-35, 40-44; 7:7) will have ten horns (i.e. kings, Rev. 17:12), corresponding to the ten toes of the image. As Daniel considers this vision of the ten kings, there rises up among them a \"little horn\" (king), who subdues three of the ten kings so completely that the separate identity of their kingdoms is destroyed. Seven kings of the ten are left, and the little \"little horn,\" who is \"the prince that shall come\" of 9:26, the \"abomination\" of 12:11 and Mt. 24:15, and the \"beast out of the sea\" of 2 Th. 2:4-8.\nnote 5 (7:9) This title, while referring here and in v. 13 to God the Father, has equal application to Christ, e.g. v.22; Rev. 1:8,13-18. Cp. Ps. 45:6; 93:2; Mic. 5:2; Hab. 1:12.\nnote 6 (7:13) This scene is identical with that of Rev. 5:6-10. There the ascription of praise of the \"kings and priests\" (see Dan. 7:18, note) ends with the words, \"and we shall reign on the earth.\" Revelation 6 opens the \"vexing\" of Ps. 2:5, introductory to setting the king on Zion (Ps. 2:6; Rev. 20:4). The vision (7:9-14) reverses the order of events as they will be fulfilled. Verse 13, describes the scene in heaven (cp. Rev. 5:6-10) which, in fulfillment, precedes the events which Daniel sees in vision in vv. 9-12. The order of fulfillment will be: (1) rhe investiture of the Son of man with the kingdom (Dan. 7:13,14; Rev. 5:6-10); (2) the \"vexing\" of Ps. 2:5, fully described in Mt. 24:21-22; Rev. 6-18; (3) the return of the Son of man in glory to deliver the smiting b low of 2:45 (Dan 7:9-11; Rev. 19:11-21); and (4) God's judgment of individuals among the nations and the setting up of the kingdom (Dan. 7:10,26-27; Mt. 25:31-46; Rev 20:1-6).\nnote 7 (7:14) Verses 13-14 are identical with Rev. 5:1-7, and precede the fulfillment of Dan. 2:34-35. Verses 13-14 and Rev. 5:1-7 describe the investiture of the Son of man and the Son of David with the kingdom authority, while Dan. 2:34-35 describes the crushing blow (see Armageddon, Rev. 16:13-16; 19:17, note) which destroys Gentile world power, thus clearing the way for the actual setting up of the kingdom of heaven. Verses 34-35 and Rev. 19:19-21 describes the same event.\nnote 1 (7:18) See \"saints\" in vv. 22,25, and 27 also. That the Church saints, i.e. believes of the Church Age, will also share this rule seems evident in that the Church, having part in the first resurrection, will \"reign with him [Christ] a thousand years\" (Rev. 20:6). Cp. Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:10-12; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 3:21; 5:10.\nnote 2 (7:25) The terms found in the O.T. and N.T. referring to specific lengths of time in future events require careful consideration, so as to avoid fantastic speculations. The first occurrence of a reference to a period of three and one-half years in the prophetic future is the expression \"time, times and the dividing of time\" found here. It is also in Dan. 12:7 and Rev. 12:14. This is the same length of time as one-half of the final seven-year period (9:27), and is likewise the period of time expressed in the term \"forty and two months\" (Rev. 11:2; 13:5), or \"a thousand two hundred and threescore days\" (Rev. 12:6).\nThe three-and=one-half-year period seems to be a reference to the last half of Daniel's seventieth week, also known as the great tribulation.\nnote 3 (7:26) The end of Gentile world power. (1) In the beast vision of ch. 7, the fourth beast (v. 7) is declared to be \"the fourth kingdom,\" i.e. the Roman Empire, the \"iron\" kingdom of ch. 2. The \"ten horns\" upon the fourth beast (Roman Empire), v. 7, are declared to be \"ten kings that shall arise\" (v. 24), answering to the ten toes of the image vision of ch. 2. The ten kingdoms, including the regions formerly ruled by Rome, will constitute, therefore, the form in which the fourth or Roman Empire will exist when the whole fabric of Gentile world domination is smitten by the \"stone cut out without hands,\" i.e. Christ (2:44-45; 7:9). But (2) Daniel sees a \"little horn\" rise and subdue three of the ten kings (vv. 24-26). His distinguishing mark is hatred of God and believers. He is not to be confounded with the \"little horn\" of ch. 8, a prophecy fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes (see 8:9, note). In Rev. 13 additional particulars of the \"little horn\" of Dan. 7 are given (see Rev. 13:1, note). (Page 909)\nDan 11:36-45 is prophecy concerning the 'willful king' (\"the 'supreme' ruler, who will magnify himself above all.\") (Page 915) Rev 13:1-18. (The number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six.)\nBABYLON \u2013 REVELATION\nHow it all ties together:\nRev 13:1And I stood upon the sand of the sea ('sea' in scripture imagery stands for the populace, the unorganized mass of mankind (Isa 60:5; Dan 7:2,3; Mt.13:47; Lk 21:25;)),\nand saw a beast (17:3And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns)\nrise up out of the sea ('sea' in scripture imagery stands for the populace, the unorganized mass of mankind (Isa 60:5; Dan 7:2,3; Mt.13:47; Lk 21:25;)),\nhaving seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, (17:3And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns) (Rev 12:3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.) (Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years) (These 10 crowns\/horns (see Dan 7:24) are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. (Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.)\n[ http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/religion\/religions\/islam\/history\/ottomanempire_1.shtml (These 10 horns are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, Iran, Iraq (Babylon), Syria, Qatar, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya: corresponding to the ten toes of the image.) At its peak it included:\nParts of Arabia\nMuch of the coastal strip of North Africa\nThe empire officially ended on the 1st November 1922, when the Ottoman sultanate was abolished and Turkey was declared a republic. The Ottoman caliphate continued as an institution, with greatly reduced authority, until it too was abolished on the 3rd March 1924.]\nand upon his heads the name of blasphemy. [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\"] (17:3And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns)\n2 And the beast (17:3 a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns)\nwhich I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: (The same beasts as in Rev. Here they are a 'coalition'!)\n(Daniel 7:3\u2033And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.\n4\u2033The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.\n5\u2033And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and [had] three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!'\n6\u2033After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.\n7\u2033After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It [was] different from all the beasts that [were] before it, and it had ten horns.\n8\u2033I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, [were] eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.\n17'Those great beasts, which are four, [are] four kings [which] arise out of the earth.\n23\u2033Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all [other] kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.\n24The ten horns [are] ten kings [Who] shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first [ones], And shall subdue three kings. (ISIS)\n25He shall speak [pompous] words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then [the saints] shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. (3 1\/2 years)\n26'But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy [it] forever). (Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, [are] four kings, [which] shall arise out of the earth.)\n40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And [as] the toes of the feet [were] part of iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (note there are 5 counting the toes))\nand the dragon (Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand year)\ngave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. Isa 14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, [so] shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This [is] the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this [is] the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul [it]? and his hand [is] stretched out, and who shall turn it back?)\n3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.\n4And they worshipped the dragon (Rev 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.) (Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years)\nwhich gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship \u2013 acknowledges his power, bowing down to him] (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (see Isa 14:24-27))\nsaying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?\n5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things [now speaking of the beast\/antichrist man\/leader]\nand blasphemies; (17:3And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns) [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship \u2013 acknowledges his power, bowing down to him]\nand power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months. [3 \u00bd years; See Dan 9:27; 7 years total]\n6And he opened his mouth [now speaking of the antichrist man\/leader]\nin blasphemy [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\"]\nagainst God, to blaspheme His name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.\n7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (see Isa 14:24-27))\n8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship \u2013 acknowledges his power, bowing down] (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (see Isa 14:24-27))\nwhose names are not written in the book of life [the unsaved]\nof the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.\n9If any man have an ear, let him hear.\n10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.\n11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.)\n12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. [\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship \u2013 acknowledges his power, bowing down]\n13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,\n14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (see Isa 14:24-27))\nby [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (see Isa 14:24-27))\n15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. [die or, bow down, convert to, \"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship \u2013 acknowledges his power]\n16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: (Rev 14:9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, \"If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 \"And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.\")\n17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.\n18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six. {In the Codex Sinaiticus there are three Greek symbols that have been interpreted to be 666.}\nRev 17:1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, \"Come, I will show you the judgment {Chap 18}\nof the great harlot (17:5 and on her forehead a name [was] written MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH) (18and the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.) {\"Mystery Babylon\"}\nwho sits on many waters (15 Then he said to me, \"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues)\n2 \"with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.\" {The Scarlet Beast}\n3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman (17:5 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH) (18 the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.) {\"Mystery Babylon\"}\nsitting on a scarlet beast (15 Then he said to me, \"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues)\n[which was] full of names of blasphemy {\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship {acknowledges his power}}\nhaving seven heads and ten horns. (12 \"The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.\")\n4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.\n5 And on her forehead a name [was] written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.\n6 I saw the woman, (17:5 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH) (18the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. \"Babylon)\ndrunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.\n7 But the angel said to me, \"Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman (17:5 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH) (18 the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. \"Babylon) (17:3And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy {\"Allah\"- \"Praise \"Allah\" \u2013 worship {acknowledges his power}, having seven heads and ten horns})\nand of the beast (3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (the scarlet beast) (15\u2033The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.))\nthat carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. (12 \"The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.\")\n8 \"The beast that you saw (3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (the scarlet beast) (15\u2033The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.))\nwas, and is not, and will ascend {the Ottoman Empire}(Dan 7:23The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom (These 10 horns are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, Iran, Iraq (Babylon), Syria, Qatar, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, corresponding to the ten toes of the image.) [are] ten kings [that] shall arise and another shall rise after them (ISIS); and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. ( http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/religion\/religions\/islam\/history\/ottomanempire_1.shtml At its peak it included:\nThe empire officially ended on the 1st November 1922, when the Ottoman sultanate was abolished and Turkey was declared a republic. The Ottoman caliphate continued as an institution, with greatly reduced authority, until it too was abolished on the 3rd March 1924.)\nout of the bottomless pit (Rev 9:1,2; 20:1,2;)\nand go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world {The unsaved and ISIS},\nwhen they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. {the Ottoman Empire}\n9 \"Here [is] the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains (17:2 kings of the earth and inhabitants of the earth) (note: A mountain is one of the Biblical symbols of a kingdom authority, or rule. See: Dan 2:45; Isa 2:2; 13:4; 25:6-7; Jer 51:25-29; Micah 4:1; Rev 13:4;) (see 'Nuclear Showdown in Iran' by Bill Salus, page 125, 'Although the Bible often refers to mountains in a literal, geographical sense, it may allude to the leadership or government of a nation in the typological sense.')\non which the woman sits. (2 the kings and the inhabitants of the earth) (15 Then he said to me, \"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues)\n10 \"There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, [and] the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. {ISIS Leader?}\n11 \"The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. {the Ottoman Empire}, {going to perdition means going to Hades\/Hell}\n12 \"The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. {These 10 horns are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, corresponding to the ten toes of the image. Dan 2:41-45}\n13 \"These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.\n14 \"These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those [who are] with Him [are] called, chosen, and faithful.\"\n15 Then he said to me, \"The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.\n16 \"And the ten horns which you saw on the beast {These 10 horns are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, corresponding to the ten toes of the image. Dan 2:41-45}\nthese will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. {Chap 18}\n17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, (Rev 17:17 \"For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. Isa 14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, [so] shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This [is] the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this [is] the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul [it]? and his hand [is] stretched out, and who shall turn it back?)\nto be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, {These 10 horns are kings\/countries that once were the Ottoman Empire. Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, corresponding to the ten toes of the image. Dan 2:41-45}\nuntil the words of God are fulfilled.\n18 \"And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.\" (17:5 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH)\nDan 8:23\u2033And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes. 24His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and [also] the holy people. [The Beast of Revelation 13:1, ISIS!] [13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority] [until the words of God shall be fulfilled.]\n25\u2033Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt [himself] in his heart. He shall destroy many in [their] prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. {The Lord God Almighty will intervene. Revelation 16; Zechariah 12-14;}\nhttps:\/\/revelationlastday.com\/revelation-of-jesus-christ\/revelation-22\/isis-daniel-prophecy-revelation\/\nIf Saudi Arabia is Mystery Babylon and this latest news reflects the war coming, is it time Rev 17,18 to be fulfilled? Perhaps it is time to reveal the 'beast', the leader of the end times we call him 'the anti-Christ.'\nBABYLON: Someone once said, 'The description of Babylon only fits the U. S. at this time.' Since that was said there are more possibilities:\nDubai (Sunni?) http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dubai Dubai (\/du\u02d0\u02c8ba\u026a\/ doo-BY; Arabic: \u062f\u0628\u064a\u0651\u200e Dubayy, IPA: [d\u028a\u02c8b\u00e6j]) is a city in the United Arab Emirates, located within the emirate of the same name. The emirate of Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. It has the largest population in the UAE (2,106,177) and the second-largest land territory (4,114 km2) after the capital, Abu Dhabi.[4] Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature.[5] The city of Dubai is located on the emirate's northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is often misperceived as a country or city-state and, in some cases, the UAE as a whole has been described as 'Dubai'\nAbu Dhabi (Sunni) houses important offices of the federal government, and is the seat for the UAE (United Arab Emirates Government) and the home for the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE from this family. Abu Dhabi has grown to be a cosmopolitan metropolis. Its rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed Abu Dhabi to a larger and advanced metropolis. Today the city is the country's center of political, industrial activities, and a major cultural, and commercial centre due to its position as the capital. Abu Dhabi alone generated 56.7% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates in 2008.\nSaudi Arabia (Sunni) -an absolute monarchy King Salman Bin Abdulaziz.\nCrown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stand together as Saudi Arabia's Cabinet agrees to implement a broad reform plan known as Vision 2030 in Riyadh, April 25, 2016.\n**11\/05\/17 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/mivzak\/sweeping-saudi-purge-detentions-princes-including-tycoon-waleed-bin-talal\/ Dozens of princes and former prime ministers were detained overnight Saturday in Saudi Arabia, including global financial tycoon Prince Waleed bin Talal, a major investor in Citigroup, 21st Century Fox, Apple and Twitter, among others. The purge was described as part of the kingdom's first ever anti-corruption drive, in line with Crown Prince Mohamad bin-Salman's reform program. Also detained was Finance Minister Ibrahim Al Assaf. King Salman said the detainees were \"weak of character, without conscience or morals.\" A parallel purge took place in the top ranks of the military and the National Guard. DEBKAfile reports that the Crown Prince targeted his opponents and strengthened his own position. Some sources claim the king will abdicate soon and Prince Muhammad ascend the throne.\nSaudi Arabia[b] ( i\/\u02ccsa\u028adi \u0259\u02c8re\u026abi.\u0259\/ or i\/\u02ccs\u0254\u02d0di\u02d0 \u0259\u02c8re\u026abi.\u0259\/), officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),[c] is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area (approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula) and the second-largest in the Arab world after Algeria. It is bordered byJordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen in the south. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast.Before the inception of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, modern-day Saudi Arabia consisted of four distinct regions: Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Hasa) andSouthern Arabia ('Asir).[12] The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud; he united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. The country has since been an absolute monarchy governed along Islamic lines, namely under the influence of Wahhabism.[13] Saudi Arabia is sometimes called \"the Land of the Two Holy Mosques\" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (inMecca), and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.\nhttp:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/middleeast\/saudiarabia\/11571482\/Saudi-Arabias-quiet-revolution-as-King-Salman-changes-royal-succession.html\nBahrain \u2013 (Sunni) The King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khal\u012bfa bin Salman al Khalifa a constitutional monarchy http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bahrain . Bahrain \u2013 Kingdom of the Two Seas. Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy headed by the King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khal\u012bfa bin Salman al Khalifa, who presides over a cabinet of twenty-five members, where 80% of its members are from the royal family. In a region experiencing an oil boom, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia found in January 2006. Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East according to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation\/Wall Street Journal, and is tenth freest overall in the world.\nBASRA \u2013 (mixed-Sunni, Shi'ite) has a major role in H.G. Wells's 1934 future history \"The Shape of Things to Come\" \"where the Iraqi city is at the center of a world state emerging after a collapse of civilization and becomes in effect the capital of the world.\" Basra is home to all of Iraq's six ports; Umm Qasr is the main deep-water port with 22 platforms, some of which are dedicated to specific goods (such as sulfur, seeds, lubricant oil, etc.) The other five ports are smaller in scale and more narrowly specialized. Fishing was an important business before the oil boom. The city also has an international airport, with service into Baghdad with Iraqi Airways\u2014the national airline. (See Jeremiah 49)\nQatar \u2013 (Sunni) Since 1995, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled Qatar, seizing control of the country from his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani while the latter vacationed in Switzerland. Under Emir Hamad, Qatar has experienced a notable amount of sociopolitical liberalization, including the endorsement of women's suffrage or right to vote, drafting a new constitution, and the launch of Al Jazeera, a leading English and Arabic news source which operates a website and satellite television news channel.The International Monetary Fund states that Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world, followed by Luxembourg. The World Factbook ranks Qatar at second, following Luxembourg. Doha, is the capital city of Qatar.\nAmerica \u2013 (Neutral) is not mentioned in the Bible. It would be reasonable to assume then America has no role in the 'last days' playing out. Thus, if America were to prosper and continue affecting the governments, politics and wars it would never play out the way God purposes it to be. Therein the results of American politics has well played into the purpose of God. Americans must take joy in knowing the return of our Lord Jesus Christ is imminent. Pray for strength, courage and each other to endure whatever plays out till our Lord Jesus Christ returns.\n**EU \u2013 (mixed Sunni, Shi'ite) ***5\/5\/18 http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/2018\/05\/04\/iran-deal-is-dead-iran-killed-it.html The Iran nuclear deal is dead \u2013 and the mullahs who rule the Islamic Republic have only themselves to blame.\nThere is no need for President Trump to even announce that the United States is pulling out of the deal. Iran killed the agreement through its own willful actions and blatant lies, even before the deal was officially implemented on Jan. 16, 2016.\nPresident Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry \u2013 who negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran and the European Union, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany \u2013 heaped praise on the agreement when it was reached in July 2015, ignoring its fatal flaws.\nThe premise of the deal, which was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, was simple: Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities and said it would provide the International Atomic Energy Agency with a full accounting of its past military activities \u2013 meaning its secret efforts to develop nuclear weapons.\nIn exchange for Iran accepting these restriction and disclosure requirements, the international community agreed to lift crippling economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Doing this pumped an estimated $100 billion and $150 billion into the coffers of the Iranian regime. It was as if Iran hit the jackpot in the richest lottery in the world \u2013 quite a victory.\n*6\/26\/17 https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/europe\/201706261054965037-moscow-minsk-eu-eaeu\/ Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Russia and Belarus are cooperating to establish of relations between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the joint statement by authorities issued on Sunday reads.\nMINSK (Sputnik) \u2014 Russia and Belarus seek to contribute to establishment of relations between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the states' joint statement, devoted to the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Minsk, said Sunday.\nAs regards the situation in Ukraine, Moscow and Minsk considered there was no military solution and the issue should be resolved by political and diplomatic means on the basis of the Minsk agreements.\nThe EAEU, comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union.\nUN \u2013 (Mixed\/leans Shi'ite) **6\/5\/18 https:\/\/www.debka.com\/iran-to-increase-uranium-enrichment-us-israeli-strike-on-nuclear-facilities-comes-closer\/ Iran is to inform the UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna on Tuesday, June 6, of its decision to increase uranium (UF6) enrichment capacity in response to the US exit from the 2015 nuclear accord. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, announcing this, did not mention a date for this process to begin or the grade of enrichment. Supreme ruler Ayatollah Khamenei's said Monday night: \"I have ordered Iran's atomic energy agency to be prepared to upgrade our (uranium) enrichment capacity\" if the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers falls apart after the US withdrawal. Chairman Ali Akhbar Salehi of the atomic organization forecast this development some days ago.\n5\/30\/17 http:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/230361 The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday urged the UN Security Council to take action to protect Jerusalem from Israeli attempts to \"Judaize\" the city, the Ma'an news agency reported.\nThe statement came a day after the Israeli Cabinet held its weekly meeting in the Western Wall tunnels instead of in the Knesset in order to honor Jerusalem Day, which was celebrated last week.\nDuring the meeting, the ministers approved several projects important for Israel's capital, including two projects intended to make the Western Wall more accessible for wheelchairs.\nThe PA bureau in charge of foreign affairs on Tuesday condemned Israel's \"Judaization campaign\" in eastern Jerusalem, including a cable car project approved by the Cabinet at Sunday's meeting and the planned construction of elevators and passages connecting the Western Wall to Jewish-majority neighborhoods in Jerusalem.\nThe Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem raised the ire of the Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, who said on Sunday that the \"meeting in Occupied East Jerusalem is an attempt by the Israeli government to normalize occupation, oppression and colonization over the land and the people of Palestine.\"\n4\/30\/17 http:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/228851 Israel asks UN for permission to inspect Armon Hanatziv compound.\n[Dan 11:45 \"And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.]\nGCC \u2013 (Mixed) **6\/1\/17 https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/middleeast\/201706011054177699-trump-anti-iran-coalition-crumbles\/ The enemy of my enemy is my friend, but Iran doesn't seem to be the enemy of all US allies. Qatari state media sources claimed that Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani cautioned against butting heads with Tehran, and have expressed support for Iran-backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.\nThis brings Qatar into conflict with the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates, both of whom consider Iran to be their primary foe. Doha claimed that the report was falsified, but the Saudis didn't buy it and continuously decried Qatar in their own state-run media. \"Doha's insistence in denying the issue is marginal because in reality, on the ground, Qatar confirms it adopts the policies that it is now trying to deny,\" read a Monday editorial in Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Hayat.\nQatar has always been the black sheep of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): while the Kingdom and the UAE consider the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, Qatar has traditionally backed them. When the Brotherhood seized control of Egypt after the 2011 Arab Spring, this caused a ripple effect that has soured Qatar's relationship with the Saudis and Emiratis.\nSome analysts have claimed that Trump's recent statements have opened the floodgates to renew an old regional rivalry. \"When Trump gave fulsome support in Riyadh and said, 'let's isolate Iran' that sent a signal to the UAE and Saudi, which felt emboldened and said: let's let loose everything we have on Qatar,\" said Gerd Nonneman, professor of International Relations and Gulf Studies at Georgetown University in Qatar.\nWith dissent in the ranks of their rivals, Iran is laughing their way to the bank. Pro-government Iranian newspaper Kayhan wrote that the bickering was evidence of the Saudis inability to \"form an alliance.\nA US diplomat in Doha worried that, if the row continues, \"the GCC could harm it own interests in this fight and is at risk of becoming more vulnerable to Iranian encroachment.\" Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will be meeting with Saudi emir counterpart Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah in Kuwait to try to ease tensions.\nThe hesitation wasn't limited to Qatar. Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari said that his country \"would never join the anti-Iran coalition\" in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC. Instead he pointed to Turkey, which he accused of illegally maintaining a military presence in Iraq since 2015. Iran, the old enemy of Iraq, is a comparatively insignificant challenge according to al-Ja'afari.\nTwenty-five hundred miles away in Pakistan, Islamabad has been unreceptive to Saudi and American offers to join an anti-Iran alliance. Pakistan's government initially was happy to participate in the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance against Terrorism (IMAT), but they pumped the brakes on that decision when the Saudis suggested IMAT would counter Iran as well.\nOIC \u2013 Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation\nIyad bin Amin Madani Secretary General of OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) plans to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.\nLeaders of Muslim nations met in Rabat to establish the OIC on 25 September 1969.\nThe OIC adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam to serve as a guidance for the member states in the matters of human rights in as much as they are compatible with the Sharia, or Quranic Law.\nAn official from the pan-Arab bloc told AFP Arabi had \"instructed the Arab League's UN representative to initiate urgent consultations within the Arab group calling for an emergency security meeting of the Security Council.\"\nAn international organization founded in 1969 consisting of 57 member states. The organisation states that it is \"the collective voice of the Muslim world\" and works to \"safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony\". The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English, and French. \u2013 ***12\/13\/17 https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/erdogan-seeks-to-galvanize-muslim-leaders-over-jerusalem\/ Turkish president hopes to unite leaders in tough response to Trump's recognition of Israeli capital\nISTANBUL (AFP) \u2014 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday chairs an emergency summit of the world's main pan-Islamic body, seeking to marshal Muslim leaders towards a coordinated response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.\nErdogan, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be hoping to unite often feuding Muslim leaders into a tough final statement on the move by US President Donald Trump.\nBut bridging the gaps in a Muslim political community that includes arch rivals Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran will be a far from easy task let alone announcing any concrete sanctions agreed between the 57 OIC member states.\nAt a joint press conference after talks in Ankara late Monday, Erdogan said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken a similar approach on the issue, accusing Israel of continuing to \"add fuel to the flames.\"\n4\/16\/16 http:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/islamic-summit-raps-iran-over-terror-support\/ President Hassan Rouhani ditches final session in protest of OIC's criticism of Tehran's 'interference in the internal affairs' of Mideast states. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who had been at the two-day Istanbul conference along with over 30 other heads of state and government from Islamic countries, did not attend the closing meeting in protest at the criticisms.\n\"The (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) Conference deplored Iran's interference in the internal affairs of the States of the region and other Member States including Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, and its continued support for terrorism,\" said the summit's final statement.\nUAE \u2013 (mixed Sunni, Shi'ite) The UAE, a federation of seven sheikdoms. the country is a federation of seven emirates. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai,Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch who jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates. http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_Arab_Emirates. ***7\/8\/18 https:\/\/www.israelnationalnews.com\/News\/News.aspx\/248577 Disappointment in UAE \u2013 Qatar remains committed to terror.\nUAE foreign minister says crisis between Qatar and gulf states, Egypt will not be solved soon due to Qatar's support for terror.\nThe P5+1 \u2013 (Shi'ite) USA, Britain, France, Germany, China (+1 \u2013 Russia)), and Iran??\nSee: https:\/\/revelationlastday.com\/revelation-of-jesus-christ\/emmanuel-revelation\/isis-daniel-revelation\/rapture-the-time-of-the-rapture-end-of-time\/\n8\/8\/14 \"We don't understand real evil, organized evil, very well. This is evil incarnate. People like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,\" http:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/hughhewitt\/2014\/08\/08\/we-dont-understand-real-evil-organized-evil-very-well-this-is-evil-incarnate-n1876441?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl Ryan Crocker said, who was ambassador to Iraq under Mr. Bush and to Afghanistan under Mr. Obama. \"We don't understand real evil, organized evil, very well. This is evil incarnate. People like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,\" the ISIS leader, \"have been in a fight for a decade. They are messianic in their vision, and they are not going to stop.\nhttp:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-2552589\/The-real-life-DEATH-STAR-US-researchers-developing-laser-powerful-Earths-power-stations-combined.html ELI \u2013 Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines project is an EU-funded lab being developed with experts from around the world, including Lawrence Livermore lab in the US, and being built in the Czech Republic. Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,\nDan 11:40And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, [even] Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.\nHAS THE DRAGON GIVEN ISIS or Iran HIS POWER, HIS THRONE, AND GREAT AUTHORITY?\nFollowing the News of the Scarlet Coloured Beast:\n***8\/16\/18 https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/chinese-bombers-likely-training-us-strikes-pentagon-194141619.html Chinese bombers likely training for US strikes: Pentagon.\nChinese bombers are likely training for strikes against US and allied targets in the Pacific, according to a new Pentagon report that also details how Beijing is transforming its ground forces to \"fight and win.\"\nThe annual report to Congress, released Thursday, highlights China's growing military, economic and diplomatic clout and how Beijing is leveraging this to rapidly build its international footprint and establish regional dominance.\nI had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.' Psalms 27:4,13,14\n2Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.\n2Thess 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. 8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:\nhttp:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2014\/02\/24\/state-department-pressing-iraq-for-answers-after-report-arms-deal-with-iran\/ Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey\u2026 http:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/170000-rockets-are-aimed-at-israels-cities-says-idf-intel-head\/ The head of Israel's most powerful intelligence agency depicted Wednesday a changing battlefield in which offensive cyber capabilities will, in the near future, represent the greatest shift in combat doctrine in over 1,000 years\nRev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's seat [is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth\n4\/1\/2014 The 12th Imam again: http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/apocalyptic-prophecies-drive-both-sides-syrian-battle-end-142641298.html;_ylt=AwrTWfwc7TpTWXgAjanQtDMD The Middle East is ready to fulfill the prophecies. \"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.Matt 5:18\n\"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.\" (Isa 55:1) Call on the name of Jesus Messiah and you will be saved.\n\u00a9Lorita Goza and ISIS, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Kurds, Saudi Arabia, Babylon, Israel, 2018 (2004). Unauthorized use and\/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and\/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Lorita Goza and RevelationLastDay.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Exclusive Celebrity Interviews and Travel & Theatre Reviews\nWest End Reviews and Interviews\nBelfield's Best Bits\nAll About Alex Belfield ~ Contact Us\nLuissa Burton Interview \u2013 Miss Europe\nEnjoy Celebrity Radio's LUISSA BURTON Interview \u2013 MISS EUROPE WORLD\u2026\nLuissa, who sufferers from eczema and psoriasis, is the current Miss Europe World 2018.\nShe has also represented UK for Miss Earth which is an environmental sustainability pageant held in the Philippines. Luissa, a British Skin Foundation Ambassador, has raised over \u00a310,000 for the British Skin Foundation's skin disease research fund.\nShe recently successfully climbed Europe's tallest mountain in aid of the British Skin Foundation.\nToday we talk to her about a report by E45 highlights that the impact of skin conditions is not just physical. A third of all adults often worry about the condition of their skin and of the eight in 10 adults who have experienced a skin condition.\nEnjoy an exclusive interview with Luissa and Alex via YouTube:\nCurrently Miss Europe World 2018. Luissa is a 6 times national beauty queen winner having competed internationally in China, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and Albania.\nMiss Burton was last month crowned Miss Europe World 2018 at the competition on MTV TV in Lebanon, with over 40 European countries competing, she also won a fitness award at the event.\nShe said: \"I wish to use the title to show others that despite whatever their limitation in life, mine being working in the modelling industry with eczema and psoriasis skin conditions, we all have our own personal mountains to climb.\nShe has been an ambassador for the British Skin Foundation for five years and for this challenge has so far raised \u00a31,785.\nTo donate, visit https:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/fundraising\/luissa-burton2\nInterview by Alex Belfield for Celebrity Radio 6th Dec 2018.\nKate Burton Interview 2018 Lance Burton Master Magician Life Story Interview Magician Lance Burton Exclusive Interview\n\u2190 5* REVIEW & Interviews Goldilocks Newcastle\nDominic Wood Interview 2018 \u2192\nAlex On Air\nCopyright Celebrity Radio. All Rights Reserved.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"What Is The Making Room\nWho's In The Making Room\nEnter The Making Room\nPre-Convening Materials\nConvening #1: Philadelphia\nConvening #2: Columbus\nConvening #3: Northampton\nBebe Miller Materials\nSusan Rethorst Materials\nMore Doors\nArchiving the Disappearing Dance\nDance's Archaeological Dig\nView Behind the Scenes\nThe Making Room\nInvestigating innovative ways of sharing the creative process from start to premiere\nChristal at the Jacob's Pillow residency. Photo: Lila Hurwitz\nChristal Brown\nDance Artist\nChristal Brown (performer, choreographer, educator, activist, mother, disciple of Christ) is the Founder of INSPIRIT, Project: BECOMING, the creator of the Liquid Strength training module for dance and the Chair of Dance and Faculty Director of MiddCORE at Middlebury College. Christal is a native of Kinston, NC, where she remembers cleaning up on Saturday mornings as a child to the music of the Chi-Lites, Marvin Gaye, and Shirley Caesar. These rituals innately produced a strong desire in her to make all work melodic, sensual, meaningful and set to music. Christal has danced since she was released from the confines of piano lessons at age nine. As an artist and entrepreneur working in the fields of education, entertainment, and community engagement, Christal creates pathways of understanding both on an off stage. Her education includes undergraduate degrees in dance and business from The University of NC at Greensboro and an MFA in new media art from Long Island University. Outside of academia Christal has been mentored by MacArthur Fellow Liz Lerman and worked alongside Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Bill T. Jones, Donna Faye Burchfield, Chuck Davis and Bebe Miller; pioneers of embodied scholarship.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"10 Best Qualities That Truly Make a Person with Unique Personality\nAs we go through life, we come to understand that not everyone shares our preferences, ideas, and desires. This can lead to a lot of disputes, but if we comprehend the traits that give...\nAyush Shukla - January 25, 2023\n7 Proven Best Health Benefits of Badam Pisin (Badam Resin \/ Almond Gum)\nIndian culture has always placed a high value on using home remedies to address a variety of medical conditions. One of these potent home remedies, there are various health benefits of badam pisin which...\nKnow How to Fix Patchy Beard Naturally at Home\nThe presence of a thick beard denotes manliness and masculinity. A thick beard has various advantages, such as making you look more appealing, increasing testosterone levels, enhancing self-confidence, and opening up new social chances....\nBest Patanjali Ashwagandha Benefits: Health Benefits, Usage, Ingredients, Dosage\nDid you find this post while searching for answers to your numerous health issues? Are you looking for treatments to reduce some stress and anxiety? Or perhaps you've just learned about the enchanted Patanjali...\nLoreal Revitalift Serum Review \u2013 L'Orea1.5% Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum\nOne bottle of L'Or\u00e9al Paris Revitalift Filler serum supposedly sells every 60 seconds in the United States, which is not surprising considering the technology and the fact that it appears to be pricey. So...\nAhaglow Face Wash Review \u2013 What Are Its Uses And Benefits?\nMy oily, acne-prone skin responds favorably to products with glycolic acid in them. About three years ago, I tried Ahaglow facial wash for the first time. I just treated the face wash like any...\nYakult Benefits For Skin: Everything You Need To Know About It\nWhen we consider our overall health, the digestive system can occasionally be overlooked. But as you are aware, excellent nutrition and wellness begin with the digestive tract. Therefore, no matter your age, it is...\nTop Flax Seeds Benefits for Females: 10 Reasons Why You Should Eat This Superfood\nThe flax plant produces tiny seeds called flaxseeds. The common weed plantain is a member of the Linaceae family, which includes this particular plant. Due to the characteristics of its fibers, it is thought...\nInked Review is a Professional Product Review Blogs Platform. Here we will provide you with only interesting content, which you will like very much.\n\u00a9 Copyright - Inked Review","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"<a href=\"http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/works\/13941492\"><strong>Forbidden Fruit<\/strong><\/a> (58907 words) by <a href=\"http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/users\/mazeoflife28\"><strong>mazeoflife28<\/strong><\/a><br \/>Chapters: 21\/21<br \/>Fandom: <a href=\"http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/tags\/Granblue%20Fantasy%20(Video%20Game)\">Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)<\/a><br \/>Rating: Mature<br \/>Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply<br \/>Relationships: Lucio\/Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)<br \/>Characters: Lucio (Granblue Fantasy), Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy), Gran (Granblue Fantasy), Belial (Granblue Fantasy), Lucilius (Granblue Fantasy), Lucifer (Granblue Fantasy)<br \/>Additional Tags: Comfort, Light Angst, New Beginnings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, and mentions of other crew members, Eventual Happy Ending, Minor Lucifer\/Sandalphon, Minor Belial\/Lucilius<br \/>Series: Part 1 of <a href=\"http:\/\/archiveofourown.org\/series\/1343875\">Forbidden Fruit AU<\/a><br \/>Summary: <p>Lucio gently sweeps the bangs to the side to reveal more of his face. Under the moonlight like this, with his mind in a state of momentary peace, he is even more breathtaking up close. He isn't perfect and heavily flawed. Almost human.<\/p><p>But that's also what makes him so... fascinating.<\/p>\nGranblue Fantasy (Video Game)\nLucio\/Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)\nLucio (Granblue Fantasy)\nSandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)\nGran (Granblue Fantasy)\nBelial (Granblue Fantasy)\nLucilius (Granblue Fantasy)\nLucifer (Granblue Fantasy)\nand mentions of other crew members\nMinor Lucifer\/Sandalphon\nMinor Belial\/Lucilius\nPart 1 of the Forbidden Fruit AU series Next Work \u2192\nmazeoflife28\nLucio gently sweeps the bangs to the side to reveal more of his face. Under the moonlight like this, with his mind in a state of momentary peace, he is even more breathtaking up close. He isn't perfect and heavily flawed. Almost human.\nBut that's also what makes him so... fascinating.\nChapter 1: A Taste\nThe image of Sandalphon's crying face lingers in his mind. He has the Supreme Primarch's wings, that much he is certain after having drawn it out of him. The boy is high strung, reckless, emotionally unstable... was it truly wise to have him inherit the wings?\nHe walks down the halls of the ship until he stops where he feels his aura the most, faint as it was. The one he's seeking is just beyond this door. Locked, as one would expect. But that's never been an obstacle before. He easily traverses through the solid material by re-materializing himself on the other side.\nThere he finds the current Supreme Primarch deep in sleep, curled up to his side with his knees almost drawn to his chest. With all the powers he used, it's only natural his body is recovering the powers he expended. Like this, he is vulnerable, unguarded. Lucio gingerly sits by the bedside. The mattress dips slightly from his weight. He quietly watches over what would be one of the most powerful beings in the skyscape.\n\"Lucifer...\" the name slips in a whisper.\nLucio remains perfectly still to gauge whether the Supreme Primarch can sense his presence after all. But when he shows no signs of rousing, he concludes that he's doing this unconsciously.\nBy mortal principles, he shouldn't even be trespassing. But neither of them are mortals and he wishes to see with his own eyes the very reason the previous Supreme Primarch chose him. He's compelled to move closer to take a better look at Lucifer's own creation, made flesh and life.\nSandalphon's eyebrows furrow as he lets out a stuttering breath. \"Lucifer..\" his face contorts in pain and he grasps at the bedsheets. His body begins to quake and gradually breaks into a thin sheen of sweat. \"Please..\" his tone tinged with desperation. \"... don't.. leave me.\"\nThe depth of his sorrow strikes a chord inside him. He knows the name he calls is not directed to him. Not exactly. But Lucio gives into impulse and leans over to envelop his quivering form in his embrace. And in a voice he knows will reach him, he assures him softly in his ear. \"I will do no such thing.\"\nThe result is instantaneous. A wracked sob escapes Sandalphon and his arms cling onto him like he's what keeps him afloat from drowning. The name escapes his lips like a litany even as he buries his face in his neck.\nLucio closes his eyes as he lets himself be held tightly. His fingers, in contrast, gently comb through brown hair while his other hand curls around his back. It seems like the most natural thing to do, yet he is not entirely unaffected. His core feels like it's being crushed from within. Steeped in grief, the sensation grips him slowly like the gradual sinking in quicksand. He takes in a shaky inhale of breath, his own tears roll down his cheeks.\nWhat is this pain he feels..? is it because Sandalphon is now the Supreme Primarch? He does not have the luxury of thinking about it too deeply at the moment because he can sense them drawing near. The otherworldly beings can hear the sorrowful song of his mourning heart. He can hear them, they want him and are coming for him.\nA fierce overprotectiveness causes him to erect a barrier around the Grandcypher. They cannot have him.\n\"Lucifer..\" he whispers in reverence. Eyes finally flutter open, half-lidded and sleep-laden. He can see his reflection in blood red pupils. The way he looks at him as if he's his entire world. The Primarch's white wings beneath him curve inward, half cocooning them both in their cascade of feathers.\nIn that moment, Lucio is drawn even more strongly towards him. He breathes out his name. \"Sandalphon.\" Beautiful. He's so beautiful. It's irrational that he wants him all to himself. He is not supposed to want. Astrals be damned. It isn't right. But he gives into the sweet temptation of partaking the offered nectar from his lips.\nLucio hears him let out a soft gasp before becoming gradually pliant and receptive in his arms. Their mouths slot perfectly as if they were made for each other.\nHis own heart soars like he's just been propelled up into the cosmos. It's nothing like he's ever felt before. It's heady and addicting. He can't get enough. What... is this feeling..!? His own wings are drawn out, folding over Sandalphon's own, returning its embrace and their combined wings encases them both.\nThe perfect moment ends in an instant, their wings dissipate once more. But the taste of euphoria is still on his tongue. The monsters have long dissipated, the negative aura repelled back into the dark void from whence it came.\nThe relief is short lived because he can sense Sandalphon further stir to wakefulness.\nHe has gone too far.\nWhat has he done..?\nLucio places a cool hand on his forehead and watches as those beautiful crimson pupils close behind a curtain of long lashes, and his breathing slows back to one in peaceful slumber. For the time being.\nHe slowly eases Sandalphon's hold on him and regrettably separates from his side. He regains a moment of clarity to slip out of his room and into the cool breeze of the night. For now he's done all he can, he will continue to keep watch. But he needs time to collect himself.\nLucio finds perch on the ship's mast and sighs where no one can hear him. His core continues to fluctuate from the encounter. He has no rational explanation for doing what he had just done.\nBut he does know one thing is certain.\nHe wants another taste.\n\"Good morning,\" The next day, Lucio greets him as per usual. Sandalphon jumps upon seeing him and for a beat, Lucio wonders if he actually remembers what happened last night. \"Did you sleep well?\"\n\"You again. Are you here every morning now?\" Sandalphon's scowl runs even deeper but his cheeks flush. He reverts his gaze when their eyes meet and his anger does not seem as pointed as before. \"I slept fine... but that doesn't have anything to do with you.\"\nThat... was new. Lucio feels his own cheeks warm. Something in his chest throbs in delight at being the cause of this reaction. \"Heh.\"\n\"Y-ou..! You were laughing at me just now, weren't you!?\" his voice cracks and he shakes his raised fist at him.\nIt's not real anger. He realizes his now. He has the strongest urge to embrace him while he is aware of it and see what it makes him do. But he relents. The captain will not be too happy if Sandalphon were to blow a hole into the side of the ship. \"Of course not. I wouldn't dare. Oh. If you're making a cup, I'd like one too, please.\"\n\"Make your own!\" he snaps back. Yet in contrast, he deposits the coffee beans into the maker with careful, measured precision. Lucio sees him snatch two mugs off the counter anyway. The tip of the boy's ears peeking from his brown hair are red.\nThis is bad.\nHe is utterly charmed.\nWhen Sandalphon places the cup and saucer down in front of him, Lucio's little wings flap a few times in appreciation. Sandalphon doesn't look up at him to see it because he hurriedly goes to his seat across.\nLucio scoots his chair a little closer to his when Sandalphon takes to his own seat. It makes a loud, dragging scrape on the wooden floor.\nThe noise and the sudden closeness of his proximity causes Sandalphon to back away to the edge of his seat. He tries to glare at him. \"What are you coming this close for!?\"\nThat's a good question. Lucio is not sure himself why the Supreme Primarch affects him in this way. \"Hmm, I simply want to be near you.\" he speaks his honest thoughts and tips the boy's chin up so he can meet his eyes. \"Can't I?\"\nSandalphon's breath hitches. His gaze moves to his mouth, then up at him again. Lucio takes that as his silent invitation and leans forward. But just as he feels his warm breath caress his mouth, the door to the galley is drawn open.\nA shriek and crash follow shortly after.\nSandalphon is sprawled on the ground. The crash is from his seat that toppled over. The shriek comes from the little blue haired girl and red dragon from the doorway. Their captain looks over them with raised eyebrows and that is enough to snap Sandalphon out of his stupor. He gets up quickly and the color drains from his face before turning into multiple shades of red.\n\"Out of my way!!\" he stomps past the group who leap to the side to give him room to pass.\n\"S-sandalphon?\" Lyria worriedly watches his retreating form. They hear what sounds like Lowain's yell and an explosion- coming from the hallway. Gran and Vyrn exchange glances and rush after him before he does some actual damage on-board the ship.\nLucio remains in his seat, calmly sipping and enjoying his coffee with a content smile on his face.\n\"How exquisite.\"\nChapter 2: By Your Side\n'Infuriating.' that's the one word he uses to describe him. They only share the same face but they are nothing alike. The mysterious entity within the ship remains elusive and his motives are questionable at best. Despite saying they're on the same side, he continues to be wary.\nSandalphon examines the pale pink plume between his fingers. He found it on his bed when he woke up that morning. Did he think he wouldn't notice?\nIf he had intentions of ending him, this \"Lucio\" had several opportunities. And leaving incriminating evidence like one of his feathers from his wings... he must have either left in a hurry or did it on purpose. After checking his person and small bag of meager belongings, he finds that he is physically unharmed and there's no traces of anything out of place. So why was he here..?\nAnd that stunt he pulled this morning at the kitchen.. The feeling of his touch continues to linger. Even Lucifer wouldn't lay a hand on him that shamelessly. Moreover, directed at someone like him\u2026\nHe rubs at his chin to will the sensation away. He's most definitely toying with him for his own amusement.\nSandalphon nearly crumples the delicate thing in his fist. But he relents and stares at it instead as if it held all the answers. \"...What are you up to?\"\nIt's difficult not to compare him to the former Supreme Primarch when his mirror image stares him right in the face but then, he goes and does something outlandish and so out of character: speaking in theatrics and grand gestures, blatantly concealing his origins in badly conjured lies, to name a few. He clearly knows more than he lets on.\nEver since their first meeting, Lucio has time and time again expressed clear interest in getting to know him better. But his take on an \"amicable\" approach is as strange and baffling as he is. If his idea of becoming acquaintances is constantly inviting himself in and invading the other's personal space- he's going about it all the wrong way.\nHis skin prickles at the memory. A shudder runs down his shoulder blades to the tip of his wings that all six of them ruffle uncomfortably within the confines of his room. Feeling even more agitated, he strides towards the upper deck with impatience in his step. He easily climbs on top of the railing that separates solid wooden slats and the clouds below.\nThe gales beckon him and without hesitation, he leaps.\nHe free-falls a few feet before the Primarch's wings pillow his descent and he soars through the sky. A world of no boundaries and limitless horizons. He can forget even just for a while, just be as carefree as the wind with no set direction or destination.\nHis moment of peace is brought to an eventual halt by the loud screeching noise of an incoming herd of harpies heading straight towards the Grandcypher. The kind of small fry that he shouldn't be wasting his time on but they're a nuisance nonetheless.\nThey go down in a matter of minutes. It's hardly what he would call a warm up but they seem to be putting up one hell of a fight. They moved with a blood-lust frenzy that went beyond the amount of pain they received. It's oddly concerning but it's nothing he couldn't handle. He watches coldly as pieces of them drift down towards the seemingly endless blue below.\nFor a moment, he remembers the sight of angels clad in armor charging towards their Astral masters only to fall into the abyss in defeat.\nHe faced off Lucifer just like this. Vanquished in the sky like small fry. Easily defeated with his inferior wings and power. Some part of him wonders if Lucifer should have let him fall and snuff this accursed life from him. Instead he saved him. He carried his battered body back to the labs. Only to stuff him in Pandemonium for 2000 years. Death may have been more merciful.\nIronic that those same wings and power are now adorning his back. And he is alive. And Lucifer is....\n...a fool, is what he is.\n\"Look out!!\"\nHe barely registers the sharp sting of a bite into the meat of his left main wing. Even as he grits his teeth in pain, he narrowly dodges a swing of claws and the attack leaves a thin cut on his cheek. It's shortly followed by the shrill slice of a blade. The remaining harpy screeches its last before the katana is drawn out of its stomach by the sheer force of Lucio's will.\nSandalphon stutters mid flight. The sharp, burning pain digs in and festers around the affected area. There's dark energy tainting the bite wound and he can feel it spreading like the slow drip of venom. The right wing and lower left wings attempt to overcompensate but it still throws him a little off balance and he finds himself slowly losing altitude.\nHis familiar silhouette casts an overshadow above him. He can almost see the deadpan expression, the hauntingly tranquil eyes staring back at him as the gap between them continues to expand. It painfully reminds him how unreachable he is. No matter how much he struggles he can never be his equal.\n\"Sandalphon!\" the call of his name snaps him out of his trance. The vivid blue eyes before him blaze with determination as he swoops down sharply in his direction. Strong arms catch and wrap around his waist. \"I've got you.\" and he is pressing against a metal plate and solid chest.\n\"I-I didn't ask for your help-\" Sandalphon struggles at first but he holds his tongue when he comes across Lucio's unusually stern gaze. He suddenly feels like he's shrunk two sizes smaller and reluctantly eases himself into his secure hold. His heart is still beating a mile a minute from the close encounter. He rests his forehead against his shoulder for lack of other places he can catch his breath against while the adrenaline rush begins to fade.\nLucio flies towards the direction of the Grandcypher in grim silence.\nHe is carefully deposited on the wooden floor of the crow's nest. \"Turn around.\" And Sandalphon cooperates by lowering his left wing so the other angel can inspect the damage done.\nThere's the buzz of crackling energy and the first brush of his fingers causes him to hiss. The wing attempts to recoil but Lucio keeps it firmly in place. Gentle, white light illuminates from his palm. The wing muscle relaxes as the dark energy gradually fades under his healing touch, allowing it to resume its regenerating abilities and become white and pure.\nSeemingly satisfied, Lucio then, gives the wing a few tender strokes with his palm, cooing softly at how they're beautiful again.\nIt gives him a shiver that crawls down from his wingtips to his shoulder blade. \" That's more than enough.\" Sandalphon tucks his wings protectively behind him and away from his reach. \"And um\u2026 thanks.\" he figures it's the least bit of courtesy he's obliged to give.\nLucio sighs, in what sounds like relief. \"Are you feeling better?\"\nSandalphon tests his newly healed wing. \"Yes.\"\n\"I suppose there is no point if I keep it from you. I'll be frank. What you were fighting are not harpies.. They only look that way because that's what they wanted you to believe.\"\n\"...What do you mean?\"\n\"I've cast a barrier within the Grandcypher for the time being. But because you breached the barrier, that's how they were able to find you. They, being... otherworldly creatures from Pandemonium, have noticed the shift in balance. And you're leaking the kind of energy that naturally draws them to you.\"\n\"What?\" a cold shiver runs down his back at the implication. Although he too, was imprisoned in Pandemonium, he had focused on surviving and fought only when he needed to. There had been no need for him to venture deeper within to find out what other horrors were locked up in there with him. But why\u2026?\n\"Because you're weakened and still adjusting to Lucifer's wings, it makes you a prime target.\" He patiently answers his unspoken question. \"They've also been attempting to feed you with dreams that induce despair. I discovered it only recently, so I've been keeping watch at night. You don't get nightmares often now, do you?\"\n\"So... that was your doing,\" Sandalphon has nothing to say to refute his claims. It's true that he has been feeling a little more well-rested these past few days. He didn't dwell on it too much, thinking it had been a sign that he was slowly moving on. Feeding dreams that induce despair.. What kind of creature would.. It's clear he misjudged Lucio's intentions and character severely. If there is any doubt left in his mind that Lucio means to do him harm, it has already faded.\nLucio's expression softens in understanding as though he senses his change of heart. \"I'm only glad that you're safe. But you're not alone in this. I wish you would acknowledge that and stop pushing me away.\" Lucio takes one of his hands in both his and sinks to the floor on one knee in a dramatic flourish, if only to show the depth of his sincerity. \"I swear upon the wings on my back that I shall be your acting shield from the encroaching darkness, your blade in times of strife. Wield me, use me as you so desire. You only have to say the word, Sandalphon. And I'm yours.\"\nA flustered Sandalphon grips him by the shoulders and awkwardly attempts to upright him back to a standing position. \"I-I get it, you don't have to go that far as to kneel...!\" the only saving grace is that the few skyfarers on deck are not paying attention to them. But it doesn't make it any less embarrassing how over the top he is. HE's the one getting second hand embarrassment!\nLucio's face lights up in earnest. \"Then... is it really ok for me to be by your side?\"\nThat smile is blindingly disarming, Sandalphon realizes. Is that all he needs to do to get him to agree to anything? Has he always been this easy? This isn't good for his heart or his sanity. He's already driving him mad enough as it is.\n\"Don't ask me something like that.\" Is he not aware the implications of that statement? If it were someone else surely they would misunderstand- Sandalphon is also alarmingly aware that Lucio is, once more, closing the distance between them but he quickly finds that he has no room to back away. Flying is an option but- he already has him with his back against the railing. He grips the said rails tightly, \"Alright, fine! Y-you can stay! Just.. don't come so clos-\" and then, he feels something soft brush against his cheek. And the undeniable sound of a quick peck.\nAll that comes out of his mouth is an undignified, strangled noise. \" Whyyy \u2026 did you\u2026\"\n\"There, it's all healed.\" he declares with a self-satisfied grin of his own.\n\"LIKE HELL IT IS..!\" his shout reverberates throughout the Grandcypher's upper deck. \"YOUR HANDS WERE ENOUGH, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO USE YOUR MOUTH!!!\"\nThere's a beat of silence and dead air before it sets in. Sandalphon reluctantly peers over to a small scattered crowd of skyfarers who all paused what they were doing.\nKatalina shoots them a dirty look and ushers a confused Lyria and Io below deck. The others shuffle out awkwardly and refuse to take part in this strange play of events, much to the indignant squawking of, \"It's not what it sounds like!\" coming from behind them.\nChapter 3: Fool Me Once\nIt's been a good few weeks since the last incident on the Grandcypher's deck. Lucio has become a permanent fixture in his everyday life. It's become such a normal occurence that at some point, he's stopped being too self-conscious whenever he approaches, even if it's something as mundane as greeting him a good morning over a shared cup of coffee.\nLucio still has a long way to go when it comes to knowing his personal boundaries, however. But he is maintaining an amicable distance at his behest. It's an improvement, at least.\nSo it's become a little disconcerting when he arrives at the kitchen this morning to find himself alone without a soul in sight in the galley.\n\"That's\u2026 odd.\" Sandalphon tries not to delve into the thought too deeply. Even angels can oversleep. He makes his way to the coffee maker, as he does every morning out of habit. He makes a mental note to add coffee beans to the list at their next stop and procures an estimated amount of beans from the stash he keeps hidden.\nHis footsteps and shuffling echoes in the empty galley. Has it always been this loud? Lucio often engages him in small talk, so he's barely noticed it but it seems louder today than usual. He heats the water at the right temperature and slowly pours it in a circle over the filter and beans.\nOh. He's made enough for two cups again. It's better this way so that he won't need to repeat the process if that smiling fool comes in asking for a second cup. Sandalphon seats himself at the table. He brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip to gauge the flavor himself.\nMinutes tick by\u2026 he knows it's on the early side, and most of the crew members are still in their beds, save for the few early risers.\nBut did everyone sleep in today? He impatiently taps his foot against the floor. He eyes the door waiting for it to swing open but it stays still and unmoving. Only the ticking of the overhead clock remains as his sole companion. His brows start to furrow, what's taking him so long? Why is he keeping him in suspense\u2026\nHe's halfway down his cup when he hears footsteps coming towards the galley. He perks up almost immediately. Finally. The coffee isn't going to stay warm forev-\n\"Oh, it's Sandy. Yoo, mornin..\" he locks eyes with another crew member who greets him with this lazy lilt like he's dragging his vowels. He's not fond of this way of speaking. His eyebrow twitches at the nickname but he gives him a pass. It's too early in the morning to engage him in conversation.\n\"Uh. Morning.\" he says to cut the conversation short, and reverts his gaze back to the cup in his hands.\nSaid erune crew member whose name escapes him grabs something from the cupboard before taking his leave.\nSandalphon clicks his tongue in annoyance. Why is he even waiting for him? It makes no sense. Given he did prepare ahead, but it's such a waste. And he'd really rather not leave it in the coffee maker longer than he's supposed to.\nOut of spite, he pours the second cup and sets it down on the table and decides to ignore it as he takes his own cup to the sink to wash.\nPeople come and go in the galley.\nThe cup on the table remains untouched and has gone cold now. Its intended never once showing his face. Sandalphon glares at it. He left the kitchen some hours prior to let his wings stretch only to return and find it still where it is.\nHe's going to find him and make him drink every last drop of it. How dare he waste his time... He snatches the cup in his hands only to remember to be a little more delicate with it as some of its contents spill over its rim. \"Shit.\" he carefully wipes it down and straightens his back. He'll give him a piece of his mind. Right. Now.\n\"Hey, Lucio.\" he knocks once, twice. There's no response coming from within. There's a twinge of worry taking root in his chest but he stomps it out before it can blossom further. He's overthinking it. \"OPEN UP!\" he bangs the door a little harder. \"If you don't open this right now, I'm kicking the door open!\"\nHe jostles the door knob and finds it's not locked. It audibly clicks open.\nThe unsettling feeling only seems to worsen at the sight of the empty room. Save for the basic built-in furniture each room has, there's nothing in this room that feels like it's been inhabited in. He checks the door again. It's the right? room. It's Lucio's designated living space in the Grandcypher. So why\u2026\nHis chest feels tight. He takes a breath and tries to keep calm to rationalize. Right.. There are several plausible explanations to where he could be. If he wants to show up, he will show up. It's no cause for alarm. He's not even alarmed, dammit. It's just\u2026 strange . For someone who made a big show of wanting to stay by his side and promising to have his back, the least he could do is tell him if he's..\nSince when was Lucio beholden to him? He may be the Supreme Primarch but it's not as if he's one of the primarchs that are loyal to him. They're words. They're just words. As it stands, Lucio has nothing to gain, and what exactly is stopping him from just walking right out the same way he came in and breaking his promise.\nAlternatively.. his behavior has been so bizarre that his disappearance could mean he's in a serious, life threatening situation.\nHe exhales sharply. No. He's not alright. The uncertainty viciously gnaws at him from the inside. He's going to get to the bottom of this. He sets the cup down safely on the table and decides to make his way to the only other person he can think of who might know his whereabouts.\n\"Singularity, have you seen\u2026\" Sandalphon pushes the doors to the control room open when he freezes in place. There standing in front of him is the very individual he had been searching high and low for. His temper flares, \"YOU. Where have you been!?\"\nLucio raises his head in his direction and regards him coolly with an unaffected stare. Sandalphon notices he's not looking at him, almost as if he's looking past him. Then, he breaks eye contact and turns his head back to the captain. \"As mentioned prior, if we were to take this route, it will be a much safer alternative to where we're currently headed..\"\nHe.. ignored him just now, didn't he?\n\"Um..\" Gran glances back between the two primarchs but Lucio ushers him back to his query and he can only shoot Sandalphon an apologetic look before resuming his talk with Lucio.\nA vein makes itself prominent as Sandalphon has half a mind to make good with earlier threats of throwing him overboard- He's about to say something when Lucio seems to have finished his talk with the Captain. \"--Very well, Captain. I shall make preparations for tomorrow's venture.\"\nThen, he parts ways with him and is heading towards Sandalphon who is still by the door.\nBut just as he is within range, Sandalphon is once again about to raise his voice at him when he brushes past him without so much as a glance back.\nAlmost as if he didn't exist in his line of sight.\nIt stuns Sandalphon where he stands that he completely forgets the reason why he wanted to yell at him in the first place for a few good seconds. But as soon as he regains his senses, he storms after him. \"I'm TALKING to you, hey.\"\nBut Lucio just keeps walking forward, in fact he's picked up his pace and walking more briskly away from him more than before.\nHe definitely sees him and he definitely hears him, so what foolishness...what nonsense is this?!\nHe's determined not to let him out of his sight. But as soon as he starts running, the other starts to sprint as well. Sandalphon sharply turns to the corner just to see just the flick of his red sash as Lucio disappears into another connecting hallway. He decides to use another path across just to cut him off but as soon as he reaches the other side, Lucio is in the opposite direction like he knows exactly where he is and what he's planning.\nHe curses out loud.\nHe's an unwilling participant in whatever this is! He just wants to know why he's been avoiding him. Did he do something wrong? Did he offend him somehow? Damn. Why does he even care so much!? To hell with it. Lucio can go off and do whatever he wants. He can do this on his own. He doesn't need anyone. He certainly doesn't need HIM. He can't ignore the vicious whisper of suggestion that he just somehow lost interest in him or that he's of no use to him anymore.\nIt's happening again, isn't it? He's become someone useless and not worth paying attention to.\nNo, no, no.. he's not that person. He's not the Sandalphon that's constantly trying to tug at Lucifer's sash for his attention anymore. Why is he even doing this!?\nSandalphon slumps against the wall. He's been chasing Lucio for a while now but he won't even stop to talk to him, much less look at him. He's tired, he's frustrated. He's had enough. His vision's gone blurry and he stifles an incoming sob. Stop it. He's past this already. This is pathetic. He's being pathetic. He feels it trickling down his face and he scrubs if off with the back of his hand. It just keeps coming, it won't\u2026 it won't stop .\n\"Ah.. Sandalphon..\" the sound is very close. His voice is tinged with regret. \"I did not mean for my actions to bring you to tears. I-\" The moment he looks up he's there, kneeling before him to get on his eye level. He tries to reach out but Sandalphon slaps his hand away.\n\"Stay away from me!\" he yells. He gives him one hard shove and bolts as fast as his legs can carry him. He doesn't want to see him, he doesn't want to hear him say his name in that voice. He just wants to be alone. He should have been alone. He was fine alone. He's an even bigger fool than Lucio to let himself be swayed by false promises and, astrals be damned.. why did he believe in him ?\nHe recognizes the footfalls trailing after him and hells, he's such a mess. He finds his room and bolts the door shut behind him.\n\"Sandalphon, please.\" he can hear him muffled behind the door.\n\"GO AWAY! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!\" he kicks at said door and crawls to his bed, hugging his knees to his chest. He doesn't understand any of this. He doesn't want to. If he never intended to stay, he should make up his damned mind and ignore him to the end of time. Lucio's behavior is erratic and he doesn't understand why this is even happening. Nothing makes sense!! What he does understand is that he's being toyed around with like a marionette on a string and it's making his insides twist unpleasantly.\nHis eyes widen when he sees Lucio's form in mid-transition just in front of his door. Out of places to run, Sandalphon summons his wings to him, and they all coil inwards almost like a Seraphim's Cradle would. All six folding around his form until his vision and body is obscured fully as he is encased by Lucifer's white wings.\n\"Sandalphon\u2026\" he can hear him approach the bedside and feel the mattress shift.\nHe stubbornly refuses to answer him. See how he likes a taste of his own medicine. The wings only further bolster its defenses by tightening around him.\n\"I've committed a grave mistake.\"\nHe may as well have stabbed him with his own sword. Sandalphon doesn't want to hear it. He grips his knees tighter against himself. There's no need for false pleasantries and prolonging his agony. Just leave. Please. Just leave him alone. He should have left him alone from the very beginning if this is the end result.\n\"...I didn't anticipate how much it would affect you. For that I am deeply regretting having hurt you so,\" he feels his fingers lightly skim over his feathers. He doesn't understand why the fact that he's being gentle hurts even more.\nSandalphon doesn't understand. He's not sure if he wants to.\n\"I\u2026 should have anticipated that you would not be used to skydweller customs. But I've been informed that it brings two individuals closer together when they play harmless pranks on each other. I was merely looking for a way to feel closer to you.\"\nWhat part of that was a harmless prank!? He covers his face with his hands in realization.\nSkydweller custom??\nOh. It's.. the day of the April Fool. And he has just been played as a fool. That doesn't make him any less upset. It slowly dawns on him. The pieces are coming together. Lucio's strange behavior and everything that has happened until now... curse these insects. He will make them pay dearly. The time he wasted agonizing on this, he wants it back. It's then he realizes that Lucio is anything but ill-intentioned even if his methods are questionable at best. But this couldn't have come out of thin air- so, who has been feeding him this garbage!?\nOne of his wings has lowered itself and he only notices this when Lucio's face comes into his line of sight when it's not supposed to. The other angel takes the gesture as a sign of his wavering conviction- judging from how his face lights up when they make eye contact.\nSandalphon uprights his wing immediately to conceal himself fully again.\n\"Haa\u2026 What do I do? I feel terrible for making you feel this way. Yet I feel so ..happy that my being away from you... distresses you this much,\" He pinpoints Lucio's voice from directly in front of him now and he can feel his hands resting on his foremost wings.\nHearing him say the words only makes him squirm in discomfort. \"Don't get too ahead of yourself!\"\n\"Is my assessment right?\" Lucio gently caresses the wing's wrists down to his wing tips. Should he even be letting him touch his wings this intimately ? He doesn't know.\n\"Nn..\" Sandalphon shivers, he wants to say 'no' but the word remains in his throat. He doesn't find himself totally adverse to this. It's strangely soothing the longer Lucio repeats the same sweeping motions until the forefront wings slack and he slowly guides and folds them back. Sandalphon could fight it. He knows that if he exerts effort he can easily cover himself back up again but as Lucio continues his ministrations and coaxing, his will to fight back dwindles down.\nForewings successfully tucked, Lucio moves onto the next set of wings, repeating the process patiently until he reaches his last remaining pair. He finally lifts them from his face and the tenderness and adoration Sandalphon sees in his eyes is enough to make him want to pull all six back to him out of sheer embarrassment.\n\"There you are.\" Lucio softly murmurs, \"Should I break my vow, let me be torn asunder. I will never betray you, Sandalphon. This is no trick, of this, I can assure you. Even if I'm unworthy of your forgiveness, just say the word and I will do what I can to earn it.\"\nSandalphon doesn't doubt his sincerity now. Nor does he want him to expound on it. Because Lucio can and will. He feels the heat blossom on his cheeks at his proximity and attempts to shy away from the intensity of his stare and touch.\nHe'll settle for something more simple this time. He timidly peeks at him from behind the veil of long lashes. \"You'll do anything for me, you say?\"\nThe next morning, the rest of the crew are awakened by yelling coming from the upper deck. Someone has tangled Tomoi, Elsam and Lowain in a fishing net while they were asleep, and left them hanging overnight with a sign tacked on that reads:\n\"We did something stupid. Someone saw and copied it. We will never come within 10 feet of Lucio again.\"\nChapter 4: Your Hand in Mine\nLucio busies himself by perusing the steadily growing library aboard the ship in his spare time. The archives are self-contributed by skyfarers who donate their books for others to read. Because the airship houses many unique individuals with equally different and varied interests, the library has topics and stories from the most mundane to uncommon. But even subjects that interested him before are suddenly so bland and the words may as well be undecipherable scribbles. His thoughts start to drift in the middle of reading and he claps it shut.\nHe sighs, tucking the book back into the shelf. A walk might bring him a sense of clarity that he desperately needs at the moment.\nThe Grandcypher is currently docked while the Captain and a few others head below to stretch their legs and restock on supplies. Lucio decided to stay behind. He didn't miss the look of brief disappointment flickering in Sandalphon's face when he politely declined his indirect invitation. Lyria and Gran both hauled Sandalphon off regardless of his weak protests of wanting to stay behind the ship as well.\nSo this is where Lucio finds himself. And the day seems to stretch on forever, leaving him to ponder on his own thoughts..\nThe Singularity himself is kind. Perhaps far too kind, far too trusting, far too naive. He is still a child. But there are others around him who act as his sight, naturally drawn by his charisma and way of thinking. Idealistically speaking\u2026 of course, that didn't apply to everyone. Plenty others boarded this ship with a mission, with an objective in mind. Some may be a justifiable cause, and some have less savory intentions. But he trusts the Singularity well enough that his presence there assures their safe return.\nBut perhaps if he were to trace their footsteps\u2026 he can--\nHis trail of thought is interrupted when his shoulder is brushed roughly by a woman with flowing, copper colored locks. Her amethyst eyes regards him for a moment, excusing herself for her mistake. \"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you.\"\n\"No harm done. Please don't worry about it.\" despite concealing the full magnitude of her power, he is aware she is anything but human. This also isn't their first encounter. Rather, the first one where they've come into direct contact, with her purposely putting herself in his way. She looks at him expectantly as if waiting for some kind of reaction or recognition.\nHe greets her with proper decorum regardless. \"This is the first time we've met face to face, I believe. My name is Lucio. And you are?\"\nHer mouth twists in an sardonic line. \"Lucio.. huh, okay. I'm Olivia.\"\n\"Something amuses you about my name?\" his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.\n\"No, nothing. I have an... acquaintance who has a name similar to yours.\"\nHe starts to wonder if there is any point in her seeking him out like this. But he does not have the patience to slowly draw her objective out of her. If she has a purpose, she better well state it now or hold her peace. \"Well then, sorry about your shoulder. I best be on my way.\"\n\"--To see him?\"\nLucio stops in mid step. If the woman refuses to reveal herself then he is not inclined to do the same. Sure enough he was just about to fly into the town area but with his intentions laid out in the open, he wonders how closely she has been monitoring them both. \"Beg your pardon, I have no idea who you mean.\"\n\"The moody one with the heels.\"\n\"You'd be surprised how many fit that description on board this ship.\" He laughs lightly, spinning around to face her. The only warning she has is the song of his blade unsheathing before she brings up her own weapon to keep it from connecting to her neck. But he is faster to draw his blade and the sudden movement disarms her.\nHer sword clangs to the floor loudly and she bares her teeth at him for catching her off-guard. He draws it closer to the skin of her neck in warning if she attempts to try anything more. Despite the calm smile he wears, there's a frosty undertone to it. \"You've been following us for weeks now. Is there perhaps a good reason you're skulking around and keeping an eye on us?\"\n\"Nngh.. and what about you..!?\" Her fighting spirit continues to blaze and refuses to admit defeat. \"Hovering over him like a shadow yourself. Using your likeness of the previous Supreme Primarch of whom he holds dear to get close to him.\"\nResorting to barbed accusations now, are they.. ? Lucio is not the least bit amused but neither does he care much for her perception of his relationship with Sandalphon. \"Haa... Misguided One. Think what you will.. You are either friend or foe. And I would hate to raise a hand against one of the Captain's crew members but if you test me, I shan't hesitate if you prove yourself the latter.\" he finally releases her and steps backwards. He continues to eye her cautiously as she moves to pick up her weapon.\nShe sheaths it properly and continues to watch him under a scrutinizing gaze. \"You... are one of us, are you not? Do you not wish to free the others still trapped within Pandemonium? Surely the Supreme Primarch now, was once held captive in that very same prison, can be convinced to join arms with his brethren-\"\nLucio raises a hand, if only to stop her from deluding herself. She speaks of an age old war that has long since been concluded. With the defectors imprisoned in Pandemonium for their rebellion. Appraising the horns on their side of her head and the wings black as night that emerge when cornered, she does bear the marks of the Fallen. \"I pray that you do not make dangerous assumptions on my character. Nor should you easily assume your cause, noble as it may be, will move me. I want nothing to do with your war against the Creator. And if your actions threaten the skydoms and the Supreme Primarch himself, then be prepared to find yourself across my blade.\"\n\"Fool. The Creator will be the end of us all including your Supreme Primarch! But if we can free the other fallen angels, we have a chance of fighting this accursed fate!\" she presses on adamantly.\nWhat manner of folly and blasphemy is this? To go against the creator would be to damn Sandalphon to join a losing battle. One that they weren't even meant to fight in. He will not allow her or anyone to lead him astray from the light and damn him to bear the mark of the Fallen. He lets out a troubled sigh. \"While I admire your confidence\u2026 it is not in my best interest to involve myself with the fate of the world. I am merely an observer of mankind's fate. To lend a helping hand in their trials would defeat my purpose.\"\n\"Yet.. here you are among the skydwellers doing just that.\"\n\"Again, you are mistaken. There is only one purpose for which I am here. But I'm not inclined to inform you of what it is.\" he says with some form of finality. \"I believe this conversation is now over. I humbly beseech you to not to directly interfere in matters involving the Supreme Primarch and the Singularity. Or I shall take matters into my own hands and deal with you personally.\"\nThe fallen angel drops her attack stance. She is visibly not pleased with his response but that is inevitable on her own end. \" But if, in the future he takes our side of his own accord, without my intervention...\"\n\"Then, we will cross that bridge when we reach it.\" Lucio waves dismissively, sheathing his swords in turn. \"Farewell for now, Dark Angel Olivia.\"\n\"Mark my words. You will rue the day you have spurned me.\" She gives him one last look of contempt and her wings spread when she departs for the skies.\nLucio exhales the breath he had been holding. The ominous encounter only leaves him feeling restless again. Ah, but the sun is still high in the clouds, indicating that it's only midday. It will be a couple more hours till they return. Worries begin to pile on top of the other as he unwittingly paces the Grandcypher deck. The fallen angel's presence and the reminder that she's been observing them only bolsters the unease he feels. It isn't that he doesn't trust the Singularity. But rather, he is consumed with the strong desire to see Sandalphon's safe return with his own eyes.\nWithout a second thought, he descends to town below using the ramp. He's honed in on the Supreme Primarch's location from his faint trace alone, all that's left is to go to him. \"Wait for me, Sandalphon.\" And he starts to make his way there, ignoring all the stares and the astonished murmuring of the masses. Unaware of the small crowd of people trailing behind him grow in number as they make vain attempts to catch his attention.\n\"Did you find everything you need?\" Sandalphon asks just as he reconvenes with Gran and company at the fountain square. Truth be told, he hasn't ventured too far from their meeting point. He doesn't see the point in following them to the public market. There's always too many people, a whole lot of shuffling, shoving and yelling to get remotely anywhere.\n\"Yes! We should have enough to last us a couple of days till we reach the next port. Sierokarte will have our supplies delivered to the ship. She knows which one, haha.\"\nHow carefree.. Sandalphon is sometimes spooked as to why Sierokarte is in every town they've been to. It's frankly unnerving. She still regards him with a friendly greeting whenever they cross paths, as though the incident some years back didn't happen.\n\"--And she also mentioned that you should probably drop by to have a cup of coffee with her sometime.\"\n\"I'll\u2026 think about it.\" He mumbles under his breath.\n\"Um..\" Lyria's brows furrow with worry, \"There seems to be some kind of commotion coming from over there?\"\n\"You two are really\u2026\" Sandalphon sighs in resignation. \"Must you always get involved with every little sign of trouble or fist fight? This is why we're never reaching Estalucia.. hey!\" but the pair and Vyrn in tow are already making their way towards it. He did not sign up to be on babysitting duty when they dragged him off on their shopping trip. He curses the Astrals and follows suit.\n\"Young man, won't you please reconsider? Someone of you caliber is perfect for this profession!\"\n\"I must have you as my model at all costs! Please, even just a little bit of your time!\"\n\"OH EM GEE, he looked right at meeee!!\"\n\"Hey!! I saw him first! Paws off, ya skank!\"\n\"EXCUSE ME--!?\"\n\"What\u2026 the hell\u2026\" Sandalphon can only gape at the chaos unfolding around them. And there in the middle of all this mess is the source of all this madness. He finds him . Profusely apologizing over and over to every offer being presented to him, none of whom were taking no for an answer, only becoming even more desperate and persistent with each refusal.\n\"Please, allow me through. There is someone I am looking for.\" is his troubled plea but alas it falls on deaf ears.\n\"Is it me, perhaps?\"\n\"I've got everything you're looking for right here!\"\nLucio grows more weary by the second. He had been so focused on his goal that he made the mistake of not concealing himself properly. This is the very reason he refrains from joining the other crew members in venturing off into populated areas.\nSome years back, he made the mistake of directly observing the Valentines festivities taking place in a certain town. But as soon as he set foot within, townspeople and visitors alike began offering him all these chocolates and sweet treats. Not wanting to appear rude, he accepted the first few but then the quantity and fervor increased in volume. It came to a point where people started fighting over him. It caused such a chaotic wave that the brawl took to the streets and ruined the entire festival with no one but himself knowing who the trigger was for such a disastrous turn of events.\nIt's happening again\u2026 His beauty is both a blessing and a curse.\nHe feels someone yank him hard by the arm. And as he turns to reprimand the brute, the words remain still in his throat when he comes face to face with his would be abductor.\n\"Sandalphon..!\" Lucio's whole face lights up in recognition.\nSandalphon angrily motions for him to keep quiet. Just as he did, a loud explosion fires into the skies. The crowd turns to the source of the noise above and at that moment, he throws over a cloak that covers Lucio's head and face. Keeping his hand on his head to keep it down, and the other on his back, as he stealthily guides him out of the epicenter.\nVyrn and Gran's voices rise above the crowd, \"Heyyy! The handsome fella went 'thatta way!!\"\nThe crowd becomes bewildered at first and begin to disperse. A number of whom resume their daily activities and seem to have forgotten what it was they were being so heated up for. Almost as if they've just been released from some form of trance. While the others who expressed more fervent displays of passion take off towards the direction Vyrn and Gran misled them to.\nIn a small alley behind one of the shops, Sandalphon lifts the cloth from his face. The very same dazzling face that can light up the whole city with a smile of pure tenderness. \"Sandalph-mm!\" He tugs at the cloth to conceal his head again and feels some form of satisfaction from the surprised, muffled yelp underneath.\n\"You're a handful, aren't you\u2026 why'd you suddenly come he-\" before he could finish, he's suddenly gathered into his arms for a full embrace. \"H-hey..!?\" The cloak pools to the floor when Lucio launches himself at him.\n\"Ah~ Sandalphon! I'm ever so glad to see you safe.\" his entire being radiates relief at their blessed reunion. Then, his demeanor rapidly shifts to that of grim seriousness. \"You haven't been approached by some seedy individuals, I hope. Even if they come in the form of a beautiful redhead who will promise you glory and honor in exchange for fighting a perilous cause.\"\n\"That's\u2026 oddly specific. And we last saw each other just this morning!\" Sandalphon should be used to his theaterics by now but it's still jarring how open and full of emotion he is. It's almost as though his entire body language and manner of speaking stemmed from watching people move and interact in a theater stage. The thought makes him pause. There's no way that could have gone the way it should, it's only his overactive imagination.\nDeflecting his own thoughts, he taunts him, \"Pff. What? Don't tell me you miss me already?\"\nHe is instead met with a sincere and heartfelt touch of his palm cradling his cheek. \"I do. The hours feel like years when I am separated from your side. It's a mysterious feeling I cannot place but my heart is restless when I don't have you in my sight-\"\nWith every word that spills from his lips, Sandalphon's face gradually takes on a darker hue from the intimate caress of his voice and hand. He stumbles over words he wants to say. Stop. This is embarrassing. What are you saying, you idiot!? Don't.. But they never make it out of his mouth.\n\"Umm.. we can.. c-come back later?\" came the nervous laugh. Reminding them that they're still in a very public environment. The Singularity, Lyria and Vyrn avert their gazes when he finally notices their presence there with them. And makes him realize only now that he's still wrapped up in Lucio's embrace.\nEmbarrassment creeps up his face and neck, \"Th-that's more than enough- you can let go now..!\" he starts pushing himself away from his chest with both his hands.\n\"Must I? It's not as though we're doing something considered shameless.\" Lucio's wings droop just a little but makes no notion to drop his arms anytime.\n\"You're really not one to talk when it comes to being shameless!\" Sandalphon bristles. \"There's a time and place for everything, and this really isn't proper out in the open!\"\n\"Oh. I understand..\" Lucio acquiesces and reluctantly relinquishes his hold. But his expression still remains hopeful and optimistic. \"This is something more appropriate when we're alone later.\"\nSteam is practically puffing from his ears. He's on the verge of screeching, \"T-THAT'S NOT WHAT I--!!?\"\n\"O-oh\u2026 I don't mind. Erm, I think you two are very sweet.\" Lyria says with some shy sincerity.\nSandalphon lets out a string of distorted noise and covers his face with his hands. The ground can come and swallow him whole now, please.\n\"Um\u2026 in any case, we're glad to see you guys made it in one piece.\" Gran shifts the topic away lest Sandalphon implodes on the spot from embarrassment. He looks like he's about to keel over.\n\"I apologize for the commotion, Captain. It was never my intent to create such a situation.\" Lucio walks up to him and bows low humbly, in hopes to seek his forgiveness.\n\"Hey, now. There's no need for that. It's not like you to just blindly dash into a crowded area.. So, I think you have a pretty good reason.\" Gran scratches his cheek as he ponders. His eyes meet with Sandalphon's for a moment and regards him before turning his attention back to his eccentric crew mate. \"Since you're already here, why don't you come with us?\"\n\"Come with\u2026\" Although the offer is quite generous, Lucio cannot help but be concerned at the unexpected invitation. \"But Captain, you've seen it yourself. I cannot simply waltz into the streets the way I am. Chaos chases my heels where I walk. I cannot put any of you through that again.\"\nGran mulls over it before his face lights up with a conclusion. \"Hmm, I think we'll be fine. We have Sandalphon, after all.\"\n\"I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. But I'm not liking the implications of that, Singularity..\" there's a dark edge to his voice as it drops in octave. But the captain seems to be oblivious to it or purposely chose to ignore it.\n\"Ehh? I don't get it either.\" Lyria is just as puzzled.\n\"Just come with us and see what I mean.\" Gran laughs carefreely as they walk towards the main road leading back to the fountain square.\nLucio inaudibly swallows and steels himself for the inevitable chaos to come. Part of him dreads the inevitable but he cannot defy the Captain after the confidence he has placed on whatever conclusion he's come up with.\nOne hesitant step became two.. then, three.. four... became regular strides.. Until he keeps up a normal walking pace with the group. Surprisingly, as they continue to walk down towards a more densely populated area, not a single soul has approached him. In fact, the townsfolk is parting for their group voluntarily without so much as a glance at his direction.\nHow peculiar. Lucio is left to wonder the strange phenomenon when his shoulder collides with a young maiden's. And for a moment, he's seized with a feeling of dread and deja vu all at once. For a second, her face belonged to a certain vengeful angel, only for him to blink and the image fades back to her regular face.\nShe looks up at him and apologizes, there's a brief pause as she stares at him.\nLucio anticipates, ready to decline or make haste to flee the scene. But then she does the unexpected. She ducks her head, excuses herself, and resumes her way past them.\n\"Damn.. it's really crowded..\" Sandalphon mutters under his breath.\nThat's when it clicks into place. Lucio can almost feel the hostility in a field around the air Sandalphon walks in. Whatever it is, it seems to be naturally repulsing his charismatic aura and cancelling it out. Whether he is conscious that he's tapping into his Supreme Primarch's powers or not, the effect is weak but effective to a certain range. Which means\u2026 \"I see, it all makes sense now. As expected of our Captain.\"\nVyrn takes a look around and finally notices, \"Heyy, you're right.. It's really weird that nobody's come up to you to give you free stuff or ask you to marry their daughters yet.\"\n\"...Wh..at?\" a vein makes itself prominent on the side of Sandalphon's face. Did the perimeter between him and the sea of people grow even wider by a fraction?\n\"Rest easy. I've properly declined them all. Although some were a little more forceful than others,\" Lucio lets his hand rest on his back to pacify him. \"I already dedicated myself to your cause and have no intention to go back on my word.\"\n\"Like I care, go run off with some harlot and see if I give a damn.\" Sandalphon feigns indifference even though anyone can tell he's clearly agitated.\n\"Perish the thought.\" Lucio shakes his head. \"If you require me to prove my loyalty, I can do so right now, in the middle of all these witnesses-\"\n\" S-T-O-P right there!\"\n\"Oh.\" At this, a look of realization settles upon Gran, but it goes unnoticed by the pair who don't appear to be conscious that they're in their own little world. Lucio is still getting those looks from everyone around them but as soon as they see he only has eyes for his equally, eye-catching companion beside him, their interest wanes away and only leaves them bereft and sighing.\n\"On another note,\" Lucio continues, clasping both Sandalphon's hands in his own. \" I have no need to fear walking amongst the masses with you here, Sandalphon. Now I can finally observe skydwellers up close without causing a near cataclysmic disaster.\"\nSandalphon rolls his eyes. The furrow of his eyebrows becomes less intense at least, and he huffs, \"Don't dawdle. We're only here to get what we came for.\" and he shakes Lucio's hold on him and folds his arms over his chest. The guy is really too touchy-feely and flashy for his own good.\n\"Um, hey.. So I was thinking..\" Gran interrupts. He stops in his tracks and faces them with a sheepish smile. \"I think Siero mentioned there's something she wants Lyria and I to help out with.\"\n\"Ah. How wonderfully benevolent of you, Captain. Of course, we would only be happy to help-\"\nGran rubs at his own nape, \"OH! Umm, it's a really top secret, important mission. You two should go on ahead without us.\"\nVyrn tilts his head in confusion, \"Huh? I don't re-MMP!\"\nGran tucks him securely in his arm with a hand over his snout.\n\"Really? Are you most certain you won't be needing our assistance?\" Lucio offers once again but Gran shakes his head.\n\"We'll be fine! I'll meet you two back at the Inn later. Just\u2026 stay out of trouble, alright?\" he also quietly promises the squirming Vyrn some apples later if he stays still. It works and his struggles cease.\nIf either of the two noticed how suspicious their captain is acting, they never make mention of it. Instead Sandalphon scoffs at the very impudence of his assumption, \"Haa? You're 2,000 years too young to be worrying about me, Singularity.\"\n\"Fear not, Captain. I'll be sure to keep us both safe.\" Lucio promises.\n\"Feh. More like I'm the one looking out for you. Let's go,\" Sandalphon raises an outstretched palm towards him with a reluctant but determined look in his eyes. \"I don't really get it but... as long as you're with me, you'll be fine, right? Here. So we don't get separated in the crowd.\"\nColor him impressed. It seems even Sandalphon is full of surprises today. Lucio breaks into a soft smile and his own hand meets him halfway. He carefully laces their fingers together. \"I wholeheartedly accept.\"\nThe brunet's cheeks only darken as he brusquely adds, \"-Only for today!\" 'As thanks for looking out for me..' he mumbles out the last bit but Lucio can hear him clear as day.\n\"If you say so.\" Lucio squeezes their conjoined palms together out of affection.\nA\/N: I started writing this as an outlet after wmtsb, but It makes me happy that there are people who enjoy reading it too. It has been a while but very belated thank you for your comments and kudos! I am shy when it comes to responding but I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate it~\nChapter 5: Foul Play\n\"Lucifer!\" Sandalphon's face does nothing to hide his mirth upon his arrival.\n\"Don't run or you'll fall.. Again,\" he lightly scolds but the smile he wears is fond.\n\"That was one time! I'm just\u2026 really happy to see you.\" he's sulking but the shy honesty touches his heart.\nHe ruffles his hair, reveling in the softness under his fingertips. \"I'm glad. But I would hate for you to be hurt because of me.\"\n\"I'll try not to.\" Sandalphon basks under his gentle affection, leaning into his touch.\nLucio flinches awake. Normally, one such as he does not require long hours of sleep unless he is in need of healing or if he expended his energies. Putting up the barrier in this space continues to draw from his power and he's found himself taking longer hours of rest just keeping it in place. It's only a temporary fix, a band-aid solution until the very source reveals itself. And he will continue to lie in wait for it. Starve it until it decides to take matters into its own hands and show itself.\nHow long had he been asleep? The skies are still dark and littered with the twinkling of faraway celestial bodies. Still some ways before dawn. He finds himself staring at the ceiling while he attempts to recall the last lingering fragments of his subconscious.\nHe saw something.\nA vision.\nIs it from Master? For what purpose would he show him this...\n\"Sandalphon..\" he looked less guarded then. Eyes clear and pure, full of adoration and faith. It did not carry any of the contempt and distrust that he's equipped himself with at present. Will he one day see that same innocent look with his own eyes, he ponders idly. Or perhaps that expression is reserved for Lucifer and Lucifer alone. Lucio shakes his head to will that thought away. He mulls over Olivia's words to him and his likeness to the previous Supreme Primarch.\nThe seed of awareness has taken root since that first fateful encounter on the Grandcypher bridge and continues to fester into his core. Each passing day he finds himself wanting. Wanting things he shouldn't want. Feeling things he shouldn't ever feel.\nWas it a mistake? Perhaps. Does he regret it? No.\nYet now that he awakens to that knowledge, it's impossible to pretend it isn't there. The warmth of his hand. How at peace he feels when he's near. The growing awareness that some of his impulsive decisions are born out of satisfying his own wishes. Perhaps this change in him is due to Sandalphon's influence. And he is changing. Rapidly. Learning and evolving with each day they spend together.\nAnd yet, it's still not enough.\nA chill creeps up his shoulder like a whisper in the wind. It effectively halts his own contemplating, thankfully so. It's far better company than his idle thoughts.\nLucio retrieves a charm he's hidden in one of his drawers from a certain Primal that reigns over dreams. One that he requested specifically made in exchange for a favor. He tentatively slips the trinket underneath his pillow and lays his head back down.\nThe massive tree shimmers from the early morning dew drops catching the rays of the sun. Being here, Sandalphon will not admit out loud, makes him feel the closest to Lucifer. But it's also a reminder that it's too soon for him to be back, he has nothing, no achievements to note. This is why he didn't want to come back just yet. Coming here empty handed. Yet. It's not as though Lucifer himself were here, so this petty sentiment is nothing short of unnecessary.\nHe hears the crunch of the leaves next to him. Yes, he is here as well. He insisted on accompanying him to see the tree for himself. He waits for Lucio to say something to annoy him again. But he is quiet. For once. Out of anything else to do, Sandalphon spares him a glance but Lucio's focus is elsewhere. His face drawing an undecipherable blank.\nWhat's with him? Is this the first time he's seen an ancient tree? There's nothing else to see here. Sandalphon decides to head back to where the others are.\n\"Are you two satisfied now? No point in loitering here if there's nothing else.\" Sandalphon returns to the content faces of the Singularity, Vyrn, and Lyria. They happily presented him with carefully packed coffee beans they just procured. It's become a habit of theirs to sometimes join him for morning coffee besides Lucio. Ah. How troublesome. But the preparation is simple and feels almost second nature to him. And he is taking up space in the ship. It's within reasonable means to indulge them once in a while. It's not because he's gone soft or anything. The quickest way to keep them quiet is to give them a share.\n\"Wasn't Mr. Lucio with you?\" Lyria asks. \"He hasn't come back yet. Shouldn't we wait for him?\"\n\"It'd be better if we left him on this island, to be honest.\" But when Lyria gives him that look, the one that tells him she's disappointed in him, he caves. \"Nngh. Fine. I'll go get him if it gets us off the ground sooner.\"\nIt's more efficient if he uses of the wings. But he hates the idea of attracting attention while the other farmers were up and about in the fields. So he goes on foot, grumbling all the way about how the smiling fool is never around when people are looking for him but always in his face when his company is unwarranted. He asks a few passerbys if they've seen someone stupidly good looking, about this tall, with tiny wings on his back. But they just give him a fairly odd look and he briskly walks past them without any progress.\n\"Ugh. Don't tell me..\" Sandalphon quickens his walking pace towards the coffee tree where he encountered him last. If he's still there spacing out this whole time, he'll-\nWhen he comes into the clearing, the first thing he sees is Lucio sprawled at the foot of the tree, unconscious. A thick pool of blood seeps out from underneath him, staining armor and hair red. Head hanging lifelessly. The revolting iron stench of death and decay is overwhelmingly potent and paralyzes Sandalphon where he stands. The carcass slowly rises to its feet with a sickening crack and squelch. The disembodied voice calls out his name and its arms extend towards him, beckoning him to draw near.\nNo, no, no ..! He thinks he opened his mouth to yell but he hears nothing but the quickening thrum of his own core. His limbs refuse to move no matter how hard he exerts effort.\n\"Sandalphon!!\" the sound of his name pierces through the suffocating fog. His vision is suddenly robbed from him when gloved hands close over his line of sight. His back is pressed against a solid but warm body. \"Don't stare into its eyes. It's not real.\"\n\"Not.. real?\"\nBlanketed by a familiar warmth and aura, the scent of blood is washed out completely leaving a faint but distinct scent of citrus blossoms and lavender in its wake. And with it, a vision of a silhouette bent over his bedside. Face obscured by the night as the moonlight etches its light upon its majestic wings enclosing over his own. 'Sandalphon\u2026'\nIt stirs something deep in the inner recesses of his memory.. A tender touch, a gentle light, a brush of something soft and warm upon his mouth-- \"Lu...cio?\"\nAs though pleased to hear his name in recognition, Sandalphon hears him sigh a breath of relief against his hair.\nWhatever he says next is garbled out by a disturbing string of sounds not of this world. The body in front of them bends back grotesquely as it is being swallowed into the ground whole. Its puppet master, a wraith in robes red and a face twisted with rage, emerges from the ground a good 8 feet high. It lets out a shrill cry and attempts to thrash its spindly arms at them. Lucio's wings propel them to the side to evade it with Sandalphon in tow. He manages to navigate them both to a safer distance but only momentarily, the creature switches gears and charges towards them.\n\"What abomination is that..!?\" Sandalphon summons his wings to him as soon as he is once more in control of his limbs. He's not going to give it a second thought what would have happened if Lucio hadn't come as soon as he did.\n\"You can think of it as an unwelcome parasite.\" Lucio answers, readying his armaments for battle as it draws closer.\n\"This otherworldly thing that keeps feeding me nightmares. This is the one, isn't it?\" Sandalphon is brimming with seething rage after several nights of mental anguish and torment at its hands. His body rises off the ground of his own volition. The Supreme Primarch's wings radiate with near blinding light. \"Allow me to thank you thoroughly for all you've done to me.\"\n\"-- AIN SOPH AUR..!!\"\nCharred remains is all what's left of it once the battle has been concluded. Lucio surveys the area just to be sure but he can no longer sense the malicious aura and the stench of decay that came with it. It's unlikely that it made its escape. Not when preventive measures have been set in place and it's safe to conclude that it was the last, remaining remnant.\n\"Are there more of them?\" Sandalphon asks cautiously.\nMore. Much, more. Worse horrors that dwell within Pandemonium just waiting to seize an opportunity to traverse the skydom realm. Lucio closes his eyes as he carefully picks his choice of words. \"If you mean the remnants in the dreamscape, no. That was the last one. You're strong enough now to bolster your own defenses passively, so I highly doubt they will return just as easily as the first time.\"\nSandalphon seems to be taking it into consideration. He's been worrying at his lip, deep in his own thoughts. \"If it is as you say, then I can count on you again if they return.\"\n\"Naturally. That is what I have sworn to do, after all.\" The smile he wears now feels painted on. He thought he was above the concept of lingering attachments. It has been this way since the beginning of his consciousness. Master is all he had known when he awakened. He wonders if his affinity towards Sandalphon is merely because he's come into acknowledge the meaning of loneliness. And whether Sandalphon's reason for enduring his company is also because he's come to be acquainted with the same feeling.\nTwo lonely souls seeking to fill the void of being left behind in each other's company. But\u2026 it's not that simple anymore. He refuses to be an entity that exists to fill the void of someone else's existence. Even though he's merely- He catches Sandalphon staring at him. Their eyes meet but it's too late to conceal the uncertainty reflected in them.\n\"If you have something you want to say, why don't you just spit it out?\"\nThe question remains still on his tongue. It's utter foolishness that he wants to ask and he finds himself apprehensive of the answer. Against his better judgement, he asks regardless. \"Sandalphon.. when you see me, do you only see Lucifer?\" He immediately regrets uttering the very words that he moves to retract them back, \"...Apologies, that it is a nonsensical question. Please forget-\"\nBut the latter interrupts him before he can finish. His shoulders slump in what appears to be relief. \"Is that it? I can't believe that's what you're worried about.\" he lets out a derisive snort and pokes his chest for emphasis. \"Listen. You're too uncool to be Lucifer. So I've never once thought of you to be the same person as soon as you opened your mouth.\"\n\"I...I see,\" Lucio manages to keep the expression on his face neutral even as he nurses his bruised confidence. \"Sorry for being ...uncool.\"\n\"You know that's not the point I'm getting at.\" Sandalphon's expression turns sheepish. He awkwardly taps Lucio's leg with the side of his boot as he waits for him to meet his eyes again, \"Lucifer is Lucifer. Lucio is Lucio. It's that simple, isn't it? Why are you overthinking it?\"\n\"Oh.\" Lucio can feel his worries dissipate like scattering dandelion seeds in the wind. When he puts it plainly like that.. there is some truth to it. Lucio is Lucio. It's a simple phrase, but it is one that affirms his own existence in Sandalphon's eyes. The turmoil in his heart quells and he is able to show him a sincere smile once more. Sandalphon will never know how much those very words saved him. \"You have the right of it. It's only that I have been told we share some likeness. Do I look like him that much?\"\n\"To be fair, I only mistook you for him twice. Once being.. The first time I saw you. And the other...\" Sandalphon's voice trails off slightly. His brow furrows as he appears to be thinking deeply about something. He tilts his head and levels him with an expectant stare. \"Hey, Lucio\u2026 this is still part of my dream, isn't it?\"\n\"Hm? That's right.\"\n\"I see. Then...\" Sandalphon steps towards him with an unreadable expression. It only takes a second when his fist lands right under his metal chest plate.\n\"Sa..nn-?!\" The sudden force of it causes Lucio to stagger and sharply draw in breath.\nSandalphon catches him in his arms before he completely falls forward. There's a split second where Lucio fears he might have let his guard down too soon. But the Supreme Primarch appears composed, if not a touch too smug that he's finally down to his eye level. \"Ah, Lucio... Your sealing magics don't affect me in this place. How does it feel not to have the upperhand for once?\"\nLucio's eyes widen slightly when the realization sinks in. Cold sweat rolls down the side of his face. He didn't think he would have to tackle this, this soon. He's at a loss of how to explain his behavior for that night he trespassed into his room. Having knocked the wind out of him makes it difficult for him to formulate an articulate response. \"Ah.. that was..\"\nBut it didn't seem as though Sandalphon is interested in listening to any half hearted explanation or excuses coming from him. \"Shh... This is payback for that time.\" He clasps his chin between thumb and forefinger and tilts his face up. Lucio barely has time to think when Sandalphon leans in and claims his mouth with his own.\nThe first brush sends an electric jolt through him and he finds himself clutching his forearms. \"-Mm..!\" Lucio makes a surprised noise in his throat but he's does nothing to fight back. He's light headed from both the punch and the forwardness of the kiss. Sandalphon's presence envelops him in a vice grip as a warm thrill unfurls from his center down to his bones. His eyes flutter close, surrendering to the feel of the hot and insistent lips on his.\nLucio cannot find it in himself to resist, not that he has any intention to. Not when Sandalphon himself is the initiator and he quickly finds that he's not an unwilling participant. His only regret is not being able to reciprocate in the way he wants to.\nSandalphon is the first to pull away, but not before giving Lucio's lower lip a soft bite between his teeth that only leaves his pulse stuttering. That impish gaze draws him in not unlike the beckoning of a moth to a slow-burning flame. He chases after him like a man thirsting for water but Sandalphon tugs a fistful of hair back, reminding him which between the two of them currently has the advantage over the other.\nIn frustration, Lucio lets out an unseemly sound of weakness. It's too much and too little, all at the same time. Only allowing him a small taste that reignites the craving he had been staving off for so long.\nSandalphon's eyes remain half lidded with a hunger, an almost mirror image of his. And Lucio would do anything, anything to grant him that wish. If only he'd let him. But the smirk that curls on the corner of his mouth tells him that the brunet has other plans. \"That also means,\" he adds on a more devious note, \"I won't be remembering any of this when I wake up.\" he places his hands on both Lucio's shoulders.\n\"But you will.\" A captivating smile graces his face and Lucio can't find it in himself to look away.\nHe feels Sandalphon give him a shove back. One with enough force to tip him backwards and lose his footing.\nWith no solid ground beneath his feet, Lucio becomes aware that he's falling off the platform. His wings have sprung up but even as he attempts to pillow his descent, it is to no avail. The charm's effects are steadily wearing off. His body becomes sluggish and he can feel himself slipping away.\nSandalphon is above him, peering from the edge of his dreamscape. He's resting his chin on his palm and gives him a little wave of his fingers in farewell. That image is the last thing Lucio sees as he is gradually engulfed in light in mid fall. A strong pull of gravity forcibly drags him down and into his body in the waking world.\nHe jolts awake with a sharp gasp. His body still experiences the last vestiges of his free falling even as he finds himself on his bed in the Grandcypher. He clutches at the bedsheets to will his body to a state of normalcy and for his pulse to slow.\nWhen he finally gathers his bearings, he traces his mouth with his fingers where he can almost still feel and taste him. And in the silence of his sleeping quarters, he can only release a defeated sigh.\n\"...That's foul play, Sandalphon.\"\nA\/N: I'm sorry but also not sorry. I wanted to try a hand at writing Sassyphon. I wonder if I should bump up the rating. *hides*\nChapter 6: Solace\nA\/N: UH. So.. yeah. I changed the rating.\n\"What the hell\u2026\"\nSandalphon peers down at his current state. He's coated in a thin sheen of sweat the moment he slips back into consciousness. His pillow and the black shirt he fell asleep in are both damp. He's in a state of hyper awareness; alert and restless all the same. Almost like the adrenaline rush he feels after a difficult battle. But also different. It's not an upset stomach or a fever. And Primals do not take ill that easily. Unless it's Katalina's cooking- that's a whole other weapon of mass destruction once ingested.\nRemembering the taste is enough to bring him back to focus. The peculiar ailment is gone or at least has gone back dormant. Feeling a little more like himself, he stretches his arms over his head and gets ready to start the day.\nBut first, a cold shower.\nHe prepares the pot of coffee like always. There's something therapeutic about the steady pouring as he evenly distributes the hot water over the filter with practiced precision. He welcomes the aroma of roasted beans like an old acquaintance. It fills him with a sense of calm and elegant indulgence.\nThe faint squeak of the galley door swinging open catches his attention. He notices his familiar figure in his peripheral vision almost immediately. He remains in position, concentrating on his task. \"You're earlier than usual. The coffee isn't ready yet.\"\nLucio doesn't respond at first. He seems to be in a daze, even his hair is more of a tousled mess than usual. He continues walking forward. It takes only a few strides for him to cross the threshold.\nSandalphon freezes in mid-pour when he feels arms wrap around his middle and an all encompassing warmth radiating from his backside when Lucio closes the distance between their bodies. A strangled yelp lodged itself in his throat. \"H-hey! I'm still in the middle of...\"\n\"Sandalphon...\" the low timbre of his voice sends shockwaves through him when Lucio's warm breath caresses his ear and neck. The heat creeping under his skin from earlier this morning returns with a vengeance. He almost drops the pot had Lucio's hand not supported the handle in his stead and sets it down safely on the counter for him.\n\"T-the coffee beans..\" he meant to say it'd go to waste, but he finds it difficult to form a coherent thought when he feels a gloved palm slide up under his shirt. The initial brush of his fingers is electrifying and he startles from the touch. He exhales sharply, unconsciously arching his back and feels something nudging his lower back. He can hear the answering groan behind him.\nThe audible sound of a throat clearing can be heard.\n\"I loathe to\u2026 interrupt, gentlemen. But this is a rather inappropriate setting for that sort of thing.\" the voice from a swordsman standing by the doorway makes them both crash back down to the realm of reality. Three knights behind him are crowding by the door with conflicted expressions on their faces. The bulkiest of the three squeaks when they make eye contact. Being the most flustered, attempts to make himself smaller by hiding behind the small statured, dark haired knight. The redhead scolds them in harsh whispers.\nThe voice of reason in the room rouses the pair from their heated daze. Sandalphon is the first to react and his elbow jabs Lucio hard in the ribs. The latter immediately lets go and clutches the affected area.\n\"Move!\" Sandalphon all but snarls as he bypasses the other three knights who sidestep to give him space to pass.\nWhat was that!? What the hell was that!? His head is still reeling from what happened. He can hear loud pulsing in his ears and his condition from this morning sweeps through him like the crashing of tides on the shores. He curses the Astrals and breaks into a mad dash to the sanctuary of his quarters. Nobody can see him like this. Especially not him. But he can feel it. Lucio's aura is coming up from behind him - and gaining speed!?\nHis heartbeat quickens and he deftly rounds the corner. Just down this hallway should be his room. He's not exactly sure why he's running or what he's running from. Sweat clammy palms clumsily reach for his room key and almost drops it. His shaky fingers manage to get it into the keyhole after a bit of struggle. If Lucio wanted to catch him, he certainly has his ways. Even a door wouldn't stop him from--\n\"Sandalphon. Please wait.\" he knows he's directly behind him, panting against his ear from all the running. Lucio's palm is resting on the door, his height allows him to tower over his hunched form.\nSandalphon slowly cranes his head back with some reluctance. The face he sees staring back at him is one of near desperation and desire. Desire for him. He can see himself in the reflection of dilated pupils and his body betrays him by trembling and thriving under that heated gaze.\nHe lets out a stuttering exhale, he never should have looked.\n\"Don't fear me.\" Lucio carefully draws closer but he gives him enough space to back away if he needs to. It's never been his intention to corner him. \"There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you out of harm's way. Even from one such as myself. So. Please. Push me away now, and I shall remain silent and faithful forever.\" he pleads like a man standing behind the door barring a dangerous beast.\nIt's hard to think when Sandalphon can feel him gently nuzzle his nape and hair. His ears feel like they're burning. He knows what he's silently asking for because the same flame threatens to smolder him alive. He's neither a child nor a delicate flower that needs fragile handling and protecting. He knows what he wants. And this is his answer.\nSandalphon turns to face him and resolutely grabs him by the collar. But it's Lucio who surges forward and steals his breath away.\nHe holds on tightly, using that piece of fabric as an anchor from the onslaught. His eyes widen when he feels Lucio effortlessly sweep him off the floor by lifting the back of his knees like he weighed no more than a feather. A testament to the strength hidden in those sculpted arms. Arms that could easily maneuver him, hold him down, maybe even fold him in half if he wishes to. And he feels like putty in the hands of an experienced artisan. His to mold and form any way he wants. He's not even going to deny it anymore. He's aroused. Blindingly, painfully so.\nPinned between the door and Lucio's upper torso, Sandalphon wraps his legs around his waist for a better foothold.\nThey take a sharp intake of air when they part. They gaze into each other, breathing heavily.\nThis is the most unkempt Sandalphon has seen him. He takes delight in the fact that even that perfectly immaculate face of his can make such a depraved expression. And sighs when he feels the scrape of his teeth along the column of his neck. Sandalphon tips his head to the side and bares more of his flesh for him to taste. Like an afterthought, his fingers fumble for the door but when Lucio teases his pulse point and presses against him in that way, his thoughts scatter and his unoccupied mouth can only let out a needy whine. One that earned him the sinking of teeth on the skin between his neck and shoulder.\nLucio's attention is eventually drawn to where he's trying to reach. And he twists the knob to his quarters open. The point of no return. But he's already long crossed a line that cannot be taken back. He could very well be damning his own fate and by extension, the world's fate. But at this point in time, he finds he couldn't care less. Centuries of solitude. With the only driving force of his existence is the hope of his reunion with a Master whose face and presence he can no longer remember, he finds solace in the embrace of the Supreme Primarch.\nConsequences be damned. And the door shuts behind them.\nBelial runs his fingers through his sweat slicked hair. He prods the unconscious body beneath him with a bare foot and clicks his tongue in disappointment. \"Fainted already? ...Figures.\" he rolls off the bed and feels around for his discarded clothing in the darkness. Mortals are so fragile and easy to break.\nHe plants a pouch of rupies on the night table. \"But it was fun. Even for a little while.\" not that the man could hear him in the state he's in. Broken toys are of no interest and of no use to him. They're just bodies to keep him warm at night. Their names not even worth remembering.\nAll six of his wings spread as he takes to the skies. It isn't long before he reaches his destination. He stuffs his hands into his pockets as he strides further into the fallen Astral ruins. \"Bubs, I'm hooome .\" he drawls loudly. The only sound is his voice echoing back. But it is the quiet stillness that makes him pause.\nA pair of glowing eyes flash open in the darkness and the ground rumbles beneath his feet.\n\"Not this again..\" Belial easily maneuvers himself out of the incoming fist of stone. It leaves a cracked imprint on the ground where he was standing only few seconds prior. \"Haven't we already been through this?\" he leaps into the air and lands on its head. \"No hard feelings but.. you're in the way.\" he thrusts his arm into the hollow of its chest and crushes the core with his bare hands.\nThe golem falls apart and returns to being inanimate stone and soil. \"You better still be here with that body, or I'll hunt you down to the otherworld and back.\" his grin turns wild and bloodthirsty as he makes his way to the only functioning facility within. Not once did he trust Beelzebub to have his back, not after the fucker high tailed out at the first sign of trouble.\nIt's a high risk to entrust all that was left of Lucifer's remains to the rat bastard but... he made a proposal that was too good to refuse and it was the only bargaining chip he had in his hands. The door slides open easily at his prompting and he's there alright, hood and all with his back turned to him.\nOne step inside and Beelzebub acknowledges his presence. \"So you're back.\"\n\"Yeah. In one piece. Disappointed?\" he sneers.\nBeelzebub makes a noncommittal noise. \"Did you bring what I requested?\"\n\"Most of it's been accounted for.\" Belial dumps the sack of procured items on the empty examination table haphazardly. \"If you see a crack or two in there, blame your golem plaything.\"\nThe only sign of Beelzebub's annoyance is the small twist at the corner of his mouth.\nBelial walks up to the large glass chamber Beelzebub was fixated at prior to his arrival. He sets his hand on the cool glass, caressing it with a heated reverence he reserves only for him . \"How much longer?\"\n\"Provided you acquired the right materials this time. It could be progressing more smoothly.\" Beelzebub mutters as he inspects the items laid out for any damage from the rough handling. \"If there's nothing else, go bother someone else. I've got work to do and you're in the way.\"\n\"Cold. I can be pretty useful in many other ways.\" Belial supplies. He suggestively slides a hand down the curve of his bicep.\n\"And you reek of filth.\" Beelzebub tugs his arm loose from his hold and continues to rummage through the items.\n\"Fine~ I'll go bathe and get myself all nice and loosened up, just for you.\" he chuckles and takes his leave of him.\nBelial looks over his shoulder. The floating entity within the liquid filled chamber continues to drift lifelessly. Several wires and tubes wrap around his ethereal-like form. Like this he looks like he's peacefully asleep, in a form of stasis. His head now rests seamlessly upon what was once Primal Lucifer's body. A perfect fit. He should know.. Lucilius originally created Lucifer with the intent of using his immortal body as his spare when the time was ripe. Although Lucifer's betrayal hadn't been preordained, both he and Beelzebub took several measures in order to secure him so that Lucilius was not lost to them both.\nThis blasphemous creation is a perversion of the natural order in the highest degree. A slap to the face of the Creator. Just what Lucilius would have wanted. Belial strokes the smooth glass surface. He whispers his name with devout longing. His Creator. His. Beautiful and alluring Lucilius. Here in the flesh with his resurrection close at hand. It excites him, makes his knees buckle at the thought of their reunion.\nHis breath comes out in pants as his palm leaves imprints on the surface. It won't be long now, Lucilius.\nA\/N: E..to, I am an ordinary fan just like you guys. And you're in my collection of headcanons and theories squeezed into one fic. So thank you for coming on this journey with me. It's been fun writing about them also. This is my imagined luciosan life onboard the Grancypher. :'D And how I cope when they don't have character banter when in battle. *shakes fist at Cygames* But. Ok so, Sandalphon's summon does give Lucio a 30% dark defense up.. and now Lucio has sword proficiency after the re-balance May 15 patch. HSKFHGH- tries not to overthink but ends up doing so anyway.\nAm I finished? Not yet.. I can't write when I think of deadlines or time constraints so I can't say for sure when I'm going to be finished. Don't worry I am pacing myself and not in any way forcing myself to write, haha :3 I only write when the urge to do so is there.\nSo I'll keep going while motivation lasts, I guess. Or when WMTSB III comes out. Whichever comes first.\nChapter 7: Sparrow\n\"...This was not part of the agreement. My friend, you said to me, that if I were to subjugate him with my own hands, I am free to do with him as I wish..\"\n\"I did say that. Yes. But we both know your little sparrow is too dangerous to be left to his own devices.\" The man seated in his high chair slowly spins his attention to face him. \"You already let him slip past your fingers once. What makes you think he will not do so again?\" The astral researcher levels him with a scrutinizing gaze. \"Furthermore, I find it strange. This irregularity is not part of my calculations.\"\n\"Irregularity? There is no such thing. But this is too...\" He stiffens when he is met with a look that often meant the researcher is not pleased. Perhaps he has spoken out of turn. He merely expressed his own thoughts in the matter. Of course, his analysis never comes without merit. Who is he to question his decisions and objectives?\n\"It seems my perfect creation is not quite... as infallible as I thought. I was sure you were aware of it yourself but apparently it seems there are things even you cannot comprehend. Either that or you've learned to lie to my face,\" The thin line of his lips curls to a cold sneer. \"How insolent.\"\nBefore he can speak in his defense, the Astral closes the distance between them and grabs a fistful of silvery pale hair in his grasp. He pulls his head back with a sharp, unforgiving tug. His voice remains impassive but it belies a temperamental undercurrent. \"Your judgement must be impartial and free of bias. Is it because he is a creation of your own making? Even moreso, that does not excuse his misgivings and he must be punished accordingly. I can, of course, keep him myself. His body composition is perfect for rigorous experiments and I'm sure Belial wouldn't mind a new toy.\"\nHe winces in his grip and a gasp of pain is drawn from his lips. Never before has he laid his hand on him to cause pain. But it is not the physical punishment that ails him so much as the horrors he whispers in his ear. He struggles to keep his voice even. \"F-forgive me. It was wrong of me to question your judgement. I've looked over him as you have instructed me to. It has never been my intention to make others believe I favor him over my duty.\"\n\"See that you do. Get rid of it or I shall do it for you.\" The researcher finally lets go of him and returns to his parchments. The tension in the air dissipates and he is once more at calm. \"I shall see you again in few days time. I pray this is the last I'll hear of it.\"\n\"Your will be done.\"\nAnother vision.\nHe is aware by now that they are memories. Vivid images playing out in his head as if he is experiencing the events firsthand. It's most certainly not a natural phenomenon. There can only be another force at work even if it's only fragments of consciousness. One that continues to linger even after its departure from this realm. It would need a fairly powerful catalyst in order to project itself.\n...But he already knows the answer to that.\nLucio need not look any further than the being lying curled up by his side. Fast asleep from exhaustion. His fingers caress the curve of his back where his wings would be. He can almost see the faint outline glimmering, reacting to his touch. Such a wonder the Astrals can replicate to match the power of Gods. It was only inevitable that their arrogance led them to their ruin. But in turn, the primals and primarchs have assimilated to their roles almost immediately, creating balance and fostering life in this realm. But once their purpose has been fulfilled\u2026\nHis trail of thought is interrupted from the slight movement to his side. Lucio props his chin on his palm as he shifts to find a better angle to bear witness to the sight of his peaceful, sleeping face and lightly runs his knuckle over his cheek. His heart swells with elation when those beautiful ruby orbs flutter open at his prompting. \"Good morning.. although to be more accurate, it's late afternoon.\"\nIt's shortly followed by a loud thud and a yelp. Sandalphon's legs are tangled in the sheets as he scrambles to cover his own body. Doing so has him tumbling off the bed. And he slaps his hands over his eyes when he realizes he unwittingly strips the remaining piece of fabric that covers what was left of Lucio's modesty.\nA muffled groan comes from the makeshift cocoon of cloth on the floor.\nLucio stifles a bubble of laughter and slowly rises from the bed only to pluck said cocoon off the ground to deposit it on his lap. He rummages the folds of cloth until he finds what he's looking for. The tuft of brown hair finally peeks from the covers but stubbornly refuses to surface.\n\"Sandalphon?\"\nFinally his fully flushed face comes into view. He squints at him and reverts his gaze. \"You're... too blinding. Do something about your face.\"\n\"But this is the face I was born with-\" a pillow meets him halfway before he can finish. By the time Lucio slides it off, Sandalphon shifts to sit on the edge of the bed with his back facing him. Although Lucio cannot see the expression on his face from this angle, he can almost perceive he is wearing a furrow in his brow. It's only solidified with what he says next.\n\"Listen... It was a spur in the moment thing so don't get used to it.\" Sandalphon's voice is calm but the slight tremor of his shoulders gives him away. Memories of only few hours prior come crashing back into him. He is very aware of what he was doing, of what he was asking and willing to give. And yet, it brings with it a myriad of complications in his life. One that he has tried so hard to avoid. This prickling feeling in his chest cavity. It is neither guilt, fear, nor-\n\"You are harboring regrets\u2026? \" Lucio asks for him.\nSandalphon runs his fingers through his own hair, clearly trying to keep calm amid his distress. \"No. It's not- it's not you. I.. I'm\u2026 I-I don't know.\" Words were never his strong suit. What he experienced was something beyond even his own comprehension. It felt like he wasn't even in full control of his own body's reactions. But Lucio guided him through it, and like a well tuned instrument, he strummed him to sing and reverberate a composition of his own making. It was never that intense, not by himself, not like this. He's nothing like Belial. But he can't deny how much he wanted the burning need to be sated once he became aware of it. Did that make him on level with that animal?\nBut Lucio made him feel.. so good, so alive. He hates the idea of being able to grasp that understanding now. He can sense the slow burn beneath his skin just thinking about what they've done moments prior. Was it Lucio's plan all along? To make him need him even more? To make it so that he embeds himself so deep that he'll never forget the imprints he leaves behind? Even now he struggles to piece together a reply that can convey the maelstrom whirling in his head. \"I don't know what happens next or what it means. Or why you would even want to, with me? Why me?\"\n\"It has to be you.\" Lucio answers without hesitation. \"Additionally, allow me to throw the question of, why can't it be you?\"\n\"Because I'm nothing. \" Sandalphon lets out a self deprecating laugh, \"Even I can't believe it myself.. Me? The Supreme Primarch, inheriting his wings and power. What a joke...! Everything about me is. My entire existence was initially to be a substitute in case something happened to Lucifer. Temporarily. Only to find out I'm not even needed for that role. It's so pitiful that it's laughable.\"\n\"And if that's not enough to be born as a creature with no purpose, I also caused the cataclysm. That's right. I've killed off entire islands by distorting the balance of the elements. Because I stole wings from primarchs to bolster my own power. I-\" He clenches his fist as he stares at the hardwood floors. \"I did this. All of this. I may as well have killed him with my own hands. The only reason I'm here is to finish what he couldn't because I owe him at least that much.\"\nLucio needs to see him. To see him for what he is. He's nothing like Lucifer. He can never hope to take over his role and responsibilities. Can never hope to take his place. His intention to destroy Lucilius' legacy is neither for honorable means nor to save this world but for his own justification. \"Don't you get it!? I'm not someone worth protecting or saving. I'm scum. Worthless. Trash. An omen of misfortune that only brings suffering to people who choose to associate with me. And I won't hesitate to use you or the Singularity to fulfill my end. Need I go on? Do yourself a favor and don't bother with someone like me anymore!\"\n\"Sandalphon.\" Lucio interrupts. He reaches towards him and gently cradles his face with both palms. \"Lucifer created you with his own hands, did he not? Do you also believe that he would create something and spend time with someone of no worth? I can see how much you are cherished just by looking at you. How is it you cannot?\"\nHe doesn't see what he sees. But it's not fair to bring Lucifer into this. To deny Lucio's claim would be to deny Lucifer's kindness towards him. It is not of Lucifer's own volition that he was created. It was that researcher's. And yet...\n\" You.. are not worthless trash. Or any of the unflattering things you've said.\" Lucio amends him resolutely. \"Never. Each life is a precious miracle, and yours is no different. I, for one, am glad that you were born. And Lucifer, would never regret having loved you.\"\nIt strikes a chord deep within him and Sandalphon finds it hard to breathe. He can hear the sound of an anguished cry, only to realize the voice comes from himself. He wants to tell him he's wrong. That there is just no plausible explanation for Lucio to know what Lucifer could be thinking. Love? They say love is something primal beasts such as themselves cannot fully comprehend. But who decided that if not their Astral masters? Whatever it is Lucifer feels for him.. he does not know if it can be called love? Responsibility, perhaps? Taking the blame for everything.. when he doesn't even have to. His priority was first and foremost to his duty to the world. Even if Lucifer did love him, he would not be able to reciprocate or even be made aware of what it is. What with that Astral Researcher looming over him like a lingering shadow. That would never have been allowed.\nEven to the end, it was always the world, the skies, the realm. And his wanting to have coffee with him one last time as a selfish wish of his own is filled with regret, longing and quiet suffering. That, he cannot refute. But Lucifer made his choice. And it would have been too presumptuous of him to believe Lucifer would ever consider him as a viable choice. It's an accursed position. Even without the Astral Researcher in the picture, he still doesn't want it. As soon as he's done what he's set out to do, he knows not if there is a tomorrow after it.\nHe looks to Lucio and sees the radiant glow of the afternoon sun on his hair and its gleam causing the illusion of a halo. He wants to tear himself away from that visage of kindness. From that hand extending to him full of hope. How easy would it be if he were to stop resisting and be swept away to bask in his offered warmth. Someone as vile as him can't hope for happiness in this life or the next.\n\"If you truly are such a wretched creature as you so claim, you would not be lamenting like this. You must learn to forgive yourself, Sandalphon. Just as Lucifer has already forgiven you.\"\n\"Let me go.\" Sandalphon is at his wit's end. Why? Whywhywhy? He doesn't even hear Lucio get up but he can feel large wings and firm arms fold around him protectively. Again, Lucio has no way of comprehending what Lucifer can feel or not feel. He'd like to think he, himself should know Lucifer better than anyone else. Yet, he also can't find it in himself to doubt his words. The Lucifer he knows will forgive him no matter how grave his sins are. And Lucio should not have to suffer the same fate. There is nothing to gain from being by his side. \"...Please.\"\nAnd in that cascade of feathers, he sees him and his brilliant smile. \"Never.\" Lucio peers deep into his eyes and challenges him to refute him. \"Pierce me with your blades if you must. But I'm never letting go. This, I swear with my life. And I'll affirm it many times as I need to.\"\nHe very well means to do it but he can't find the strength to summon his blades to him. Sandalphon sighs heavily in defeat in the face of his persistence. He allows himself to be pulled towards the other archangel's chest and can only supply bitterly, \"You're a fool.\"\n\"I may as well be. But I am not so weak as to let words of discouragement nor a little misfortune to befall me. And neither is the Singularity and his comrades. These bonds are not that frail to be easily broken. If you cannot have faith in yourself, then.. Have faith in me.\" Lucio gives his back a few soothing strokes of his palm. Sandalphon may not forgive himself just as readily. It takes time and acceptance. But if he can guide him, take him by the hand and see all this realm has to offer. Outside of that lonely tower, outside of that isolation that's been drilled into him since his creation. Give him courage to step out of that gilded cage and fly free of the chains that bind them to a destined..no, an assigned purpose that is not of their own choosing.\nSandalphon may not realize it himself but he has given him a new purpose. A possible future to hope for. One that he would like to share with him. So Lucio turns to him with his newfound proposition, \"When this is all over, Sandalphon. I want you to come with me.\"\n\"...What?\" he moves away if only to gaze upon at him with a look of shock and disbelief.\n\"If you have not found your own purpose by the end of your journey with the Singularity... let us depart on a journey of our own and search for it together.\" his gentle smile is radiant and piercing like sunlight over rain clouds. As Lucio's wings withdraws from them slowly, the orange hues of the sunset glows warmly on them both.\nSandalphon swallows the lump in his throat, fighting another wave of emotion threatening to bubble into the surface. He doesn't deserve this. Not any of this. And yet, a part of him desperately wants to reach out and cling to his words of promise. Lucio... wants him to come with him? Despite all this. Despite seeing him like this and knowing of his sins.\nTraveling the skies together, a journey with no set destination and all the time in the world. No quests for revenge, no saving the realm from destruction, drifting wherever the winds take them. It sounds so wonderful. Can he really hope for this outcome? It never occurred to him before to imagine a future outside of fulfilling Lucifer's last wishes. And the thought makes him feel a little lighter somehow.\n\"I..\" He senses Lucio's inquisitive but hopeful stare but he can't find it in himself to return it. Not yet. He doesn't see himself worthy of that yet. He can't bring it in himself to refuse, yet he also cannot will himself to accept. The result is the silence that only stretches between them.\nBut Lucio is not easily disheartened, his smile turns to one of quiet understanding. \"You need not answer now, of course.\" he places a hand over his. \"As long as you know that offer is there for the taking when you feel ready for it. For now. I am content to share this time with you. For as long as you'll have me in your thoughts, your company... and your bed.\"\n\"You're awful. So you're only interested in my body, is that what this whole thing is about?\" he accuses. Trying his hardest to ignore the burning sensation on his face and ears.\n\"It's a very beautiful body, I'll admit. Your face even more lovely.\" Lucio admits unabashedly. \"But I also like the charming you who can't be completely honest with me. The shine you get in your eyes at first whiff of coffee in the morning. The small smiles you wear when you think no one is looking. The little happy skip you do when you're particularly happy. I love all of that about you. I can keep going if you'd like.\"\n\"No. Stop. Stop. I-I..I do not..! Y-you..! You're such a sap. How can you say all of that with a straight face!?\" Sandalphon wrinkles his nose and turns his face away in futile attempt to hide his increasing embarrassment. Never mind that the butterflies in his stomach are fluttering with his silly, flowery words and promises. If he hears any more, he's going to give him another smack with the pillow.\n\"Perhaps. But you like that about me.\" is that a hint of smugness in that tone?\n\"Unbelievable. You sure are full of yourself all of a sudden,\" Sandalphon doesn't deny it outright. But he's not going to give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him either.\n\"I also like how you like to pretend to be angry when you're embarrassed..\" Lucio gently admonishes, and effectively getting him to quiet down any rising protests when he tilts his chin just so. But it is Sandalphon who surges up to meet his first. Just an innocent press of his mouth on his. When he pulls away, the look on his face is flustered yet also a touch complacent, as if he's feeling a little proud to have surprised Lucio at his own game.\nBut Lucio is not displeased with his initiative. Quite the opposite. Lucio prompts his lips to part for him with a slow sweep of his thumb. One that Sandalphon nips in retaliation. Lucio lets out a small huff of amusement and that is the only warning he gives when he probes deeper into his mouth with the same digit.\nThe widening of Sandalphon's eyes tells him he did not expect that either. But instead of resisting, he gradually accepts it and gives the pad of his thumb a few experimental licks. Growing bolder, he gives the finger a light suction.\nLucio shudders, the sensation ignites a fire down his lower body. His cerulean blue eyes darken in hue and he withdraws his hand from his mouth only to replace it with his own. Sandalphon's answer is to wrap his arms around his neck and gradually maneuver Lucio to lie flat on his back with an impish smirk of his own.\nA Harvin girl slumps over her desk in deep despair. \"The book fair is only a few days. I haven't finished the manuscript. Which angel do I have to pray to to give me the inspiration I need to finish this.\" she clasps her hands together, praying earnestly to any deity above who can hear her solemn plea. \"I need a sign or light! Or any motivation you can bestow me with, and I'll forever pay tribute the rest of my life-\"\nIt happens in a split second. The wall opposite of hers splinters wide open, leaving a gaping hole with a massive, glowing, winged appendage sticking out of it.\nLunalu screams and her vision fades to black.\nWhen she finally comes to, it's to the face of the Captain who finds her on the floor of her studio. \"Lunalu, are you alright? We heard you scream.\"\n\"B-bwuhhh!! C-captain..!\" she sits upright immediately. \"There was this- this thing, it looked like a giant wing and broke the wall down. I-\" she pauses her rapid fire talk as she stares at the aforementioned wall only to find it whole without so much as a noticeable dent on it. \"Huh? But I could have sworn.. something \u2026\" she touches the wall with her hands herself in disbelief. \"The hole was bigger than myself. And on the other side I saw..\"\n\"I- saw.. I SAW... I know I saw something!!!\" she rubs at her one visible eye. But she's drawing a blank. Whatever it was she saw made her feel like ascending to heaven. Or hell. She doesn't know. It felt like such an out of body experience that she's left befuddled at the end of it all. Under the Captain's worried gaze, she must sound like a rambling maniac right now and she tries to reel herself back into some level of normalcy.\n\"Are you.. sure you didn't dream all of that up?\" Gran offers her a sheepish smile and a concerned pat on the shoulder. \"I know you're working hard on your manuscript but you really need to look after yourself more.\"\n\"Y..yeah\u2026 A dream.. I probably..\" she laughs nervously and bows low. \"I'm so sorry for the trouble!\"\n\"Don't worry about it. Here, I got you some warm milk. Make sure to get some proper sleep, okay?\" Gran sets the glass down on the night stand. \"Do your best tomorrow.\"\nCaptain is so nice and understanding. She feels her heart grow three sizes. She's really grateful to him for being one of her most avid supporters. \"Thank you, Captain. Y-you're the best!\"\n\"Anything for my crew members.\" he smiles and politely bids her goodnight as he closes the door behind her with an audible click.\nGran sighs heavily then turns to the two waiting for him outside. He folds his arms over his chest and stares them down with a look of dry disappointment, \"A giant wing, huh..? I don't suppose you two know anything about that?\"\nThe pair visibly flinch at the same time.\nA\/N: Uh oh. (ugly cries.. because writing this made me remember that Sandalphon never got to hear Lucifer actually choosing to retire from his position so he can be equals with him.) Also, I tried to clean up the tags a bit. It drove me crazy for a while how it wouldn't go in the order I wanted it to. But I finally got it to work.\nEdit: And yeah. The whole thing about Cygames making a statement about how there's no mistake in the photos and signatures they sent out for the Valentines gifts. In the end I'm still convinced they're trying to keep the player guessing about the the 3 Luci's. I'm sticking to my theory and the intended path I wanted this story to take.\nChapter 8: Serenity\nBeing the captain and more importantly, as their trusted friend, Gran easily finds himself falling into the role of watching over his crew members. Ever since Lucifer's passing, he's been constantly worrying about Sandalphon's state of mind and how he'd react to the eccentric and mysterious Lucio, who joined their crew under strange circumstances before he did.\nTheir first meeting was anything but stellar. Gran knew right away that Sandalphon would pick up on his striking resemblance to Lucifer immediately. Even if... everyone else onboard did not. He finds it odd that even Lyria and Vyrn don't seem to make the connection, but he is also aware that Lucio has some form of mind and reality distortion ability that he should find both unnervingly suspicious and disturbing. But Lucio does not hide this from him, so he plays along to see where this all leads.\nLucio has his own reasons for doing what he does and they're not in any way malicious. There must be some reason as to why he allows him of all people, to be aware of the extent of his powers. And Gran can only allude it to him needing his help to further his original goal of safeguarding the realm from the horrors of the otherworldly and Pandemonium.\nCall it intuition but.. Gran also believes that Lucio isn't a villainous entity. So he doesn't question him for now. But once Sandalphon is involved.. it's when it becomes a little more complicated.\nGran noticed the gradual change. Lucio initially secluded himself from the rest of the crew with minimal interaction as necessary. But ever since Sandalphon's arrival, Lucio has been more... visible as of late. Gravitating towards the Supreme Primarch, Lucio began to approach him regardless of whoever was watching.\nGran wasn't sure if it was in his place to intervene or if it will have adverse effects on Sandalphon. Lucifer did entrust him to watch over him\u2026 in a dream of sorts. But despite the rocky start, their interactions have become more or less cordial. If their morning routine of being in the ship's galley to have coffee together is any indication. And it isn't only Lucio who is changing, Sandalphon is too. To what Gran perceives as a more positive way.\nBeing around Sandalphon now seems less daunting than before. Like he's softened up around the edges. And he can only conclude it's partly because of Lyria's insistence on helping Sandalphon feel more included in the crew but also, partly Lucio's presence and companionship.\nA relationship that he's almost certain is leading towards physical intimacy... with the way Lucio touches him, even when others are present. Seemingly casual but lingering touches to the shoulder, hand, lower back, and Percival was seething with irritation that morning when he reported a play by play as he recounts the shameful public display had Siegfried not intervened. The redhead's exact words were, 'they were brimming with over familiarity and pheromones' . And then, he snapped at him to do something about it.\nGran admits it does sometimes makes him feel a little embarrassed just by being in the same room as the two sometimes. And that's not all, he's not the only one that's been noticing it.\nLyria thinks they're adorable. Vyrn says he can feel the \"lovey dovey beams\" they're shooting at everyone within radius. Katalina is a little disapproving but mostly because they need to be more mindful of their surroundings. Rackham and Eugen say it's like they're in a honeymoon stage and find it amusing. Rosetta just giggles and teases that she'll tell him when he's much older. Which leaves Io even more curious and pouty. Among others.\nIt's been 3 years since he first set out on this journey and he'd like to think he's already of age at 18. But he never once thought in his wildest dreams, he'd land himself in a situation where he is tasked to have a heart to heart talk with an ancient, several decades old primal about his private life. He's not particularly religious but. Gods above. Strike him down with lightning. Right now. Please.\n\"Lucio.\" Gran addresses as casually as he can. He clasps his own hands in front of him to rest at his table, unsure of where and how to begin broaching the subject matter.\n\"Am I... perhaps, causing trouble, Captain?\" he smiles and asks good-naturedly.\n\"Oh. No.. No. It's just that I got a few complaints that you've been a little too ah, open with your affections for Sandalphon. Not that it's a problem. Um, first I'm glad you two are getting along really well. I think you're really good for each other. But there's also- when it uh, comes in excess.. so.. I need to set a few boundaries..\"\n\"Oh...\" his wings droop a little.\nWhy does he feel like the bad guy all of a sudden? He'll try to make this as painless for them both as possible. No guarantees. Drawing out his best Lancelot impression, he starts out as diplomatically as he can manage, \"Affections in public are alright to a certain extent. As long as you don't.. you know..\" trying very hard to ignore the disdain in Percival's tone replaying in his head with his exact words of, '..attempt to mount him in public..'\nNo. He is not going to say that.\n\"...engage in inappropriate behavior in a shared community space. Like what happened the other day.\" Gran tugs at his collar a little. \"Actions that are deeply intimate by nature uh, should probably be done privately. Preferably in the privacy of your rooms.\"\n\"I understand. I shall be.. more discreet and more aware of my surroundings. I did not mean for others to feel uncomfortable, I was merely swept away by the moment.\" the moment of which, Lucio is most likely recalling right now. If that faraway, fond smile had anything to say for itself.\nHe doesn't look remorseful at all! Gran clears his throat. \"Okay. So that's pretty much all I called you in for today. I only want for both of your happiness. As long as you're doing it with safety and protection in mind. Not that I don't think either of you are anything but.\" Nor did it ever cross his mind before to be in a position to contemplate on the details of primal beasts copulating or whether he's correct to assume they're created with the same set of parts as regular people do.\nLucio tilts his head slightly to the left in what Gran perceives as a vague but puzzled look. \"Of course, it is a given that I will ensure Sandalphon's safety and wellbeing in mind. My blades are ever at the ready, you need not worry.\"\nGran pauses. \"I'm.. I'm not talking about when we're fighting.\"\n\"Then, pray tell.. be more specific.\"\nThere's a slight but persistent suspicion at the back of his head. Gran hopes it isn't so but the slow realization dawns on him and Gran feels his soul attempting to flee his body. \"W-when you are in bed together.. do you, at least use protection?\"\n\"Protection? From what?\"\n\"Lucio...!\" Gran can't help but raise his voice in frustration. But the angel only maintains that same puzzled look. He can't fault a how-many-thousands-of-years old being who only started exploring more intimate physical relations to understand what he means- \"Sorry. Sorry for suddenly yelling. I'm not mad but.. e-excuse me one moment. Could you wait here? Let me get someone more well versed in explaining this. Don't go anywhere.\"\n\"Very well.\" Lucio nods in understanding.\nGran makes his exit and closes his door behind him. He looks up at the ceiling as if he is praying for strength before he makes a beeline to the one person he has confidence in that can assist him on this with a more mature demeanor and outlook.\nHe silently hopes Siegfried can free up his schedule.\nSingularity had given him a task he couldn't refuse. Not after what happened the other day. He begrudgingly went along with it because he dislikes the feeling of being indebted. So he had him assist the very same girl with the eye-patch from the day before. As expected, she didn't recognize him but that didn't make him feel any less awkward about the whole ordeal. He just made sure to keep eye contact and interaction to a bare minimum. They were much too engrossed to pay attention to him and the day passed quickly, thank his lucky stars for small blessings.\nSomething topples out of his side pocket and Sandalphon bends to pick it up from the floor. Oh this . Sandalphon received a complimentary copy of an earlier book she made on as thanks for his support.\nIt started off with him curiously looking at the first few pages. Much to the horror of the artist who flipped out when she saw him reading it. He remembered telling her, '...it's your story right? You should have more confidence in your work.'\nShe asked him if he doesn't mind illustrated storybooks like that. He shrugged, reading isn't exactly one of his pastimes but something to do when idle. That and.. Lucio does seem to like reading. The Harvins were all looking at him expectantly as the one named Lunalu offered it to him as a sign of thanks. He didn't think too much of it and accepted.\nHe stops in front of Lucio's room and checks the hallway for anyone passing before taking the key from his pocket. Once inside, he flops unceremoniously on the once immaculately, tucked mattress.\nThe room that was once seemingly barren of any tenant is gradually being filled. Books are stacked neatly on the desk. A tea set carefully stowed away in one of the compartments. The closet has some plain black and white shirts, pants, small clothes, sleepwear to name a few. A lint roller, bug spray, and some cleaning supplies. It looks more lived in than before. But they are mostly Sandalphon's things that he carried over from his room.\nA temporary arrangement because Singularity arranged the repairs while the Harvin girl and her friends were away on the book fair. It just needed one more day to sit in before he can move back. Lucio was ecstatic of course, but it seems Singularity dragged him off for some skyfarer mission or other and he hasn't seen him in days.\nLucio owned little to no belongings of his own. Until the day Sandalphon insisted they shop some spare clothes for him to wear with the money they receive from completing missions. Although Lucio has always refused receiving monetary rewards and shies away from possessing anything material, Singularity did end up giving his share to Sandalphon by way of association and that he might be able to put it to better use for Lucio's sake.\nWhat is he, Lucio's caretaker now?\nSandalphon shifts to make himself more comfortable. He holds up the open page to his face with one hand as he tugs his boots loose with the other. Using the pillow to prop his head, he watches the story unfold before him. He can't deny the hard work being invested into making the book seeing the finished product himself.\nIt's a love story. His mouth curls in sardonic amusement but he continues reading to see where it goes from there.\nHe clicks his tongue. For a prince, Popol sure was a pushover. Mikhail is a cocky little shit. They're best friends, aren't they? Why is he being such a jerk..!? Sandalphon grumbles to himself as he flips the next page. Oh. It was a ruse. It's for his safety so he won't be targeted by the assassins. BUT why the fuck would you play with his feelings you bastard!?\nSandalphon is fuming. Mikhail is getting on his nerves. Didn't mean to hurt him!? BULLSHIT. Punch him Popol! He deserves it! Oh shit. He got knocked over. His musing comes to a complete stop. They're. Oh. Kissing. Well. Ok? That escalated quickly... whathehell. .!? He squirms a little, almost feeling that ghost of a brush on his own lips and the loving caress of eager hands on his body. He shivers and his thoughts drift unconsciously towards... He should stop but part of him is curious and can't stop himself from continuing.\n'...Look how greedily you're sucking in my fingers.' Sound effect text reads squelch, squelch. 'Ah, ah..! Mikhail! It feels so strange. Ah! It's in so deep.' I can feel his fingers exploring my insides, stretching, filling. It's nothing I've ever felt before. It's strange but I'm starting to feel so good-\nSandalphon's eyes go round as saucers. WHAT THE FUCK\u2026. WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY IS THIS BOOK SO EXPLICIT!?\nDid those group of girls really take the time to sit down, draw and ink down everything to the most minute details for several hours? He didn't exactly see what it was they were working on while he was serving coffee but- he finds some strange mixed admiration? and worry? for their dedication to the male physique.\nNO WONDER THEY WERE ACTING THE WAY THE DID WHEN HE CASUALLY PICKED IT UP AND STARTED READING IT. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL HIM!?\nWhen he hears a voice behind him make a pondering hum, Sandalphon jumps a few centimeters off the bed and almost chucks the book at the wall out of reflex- only to remember how much work was poured into it- and he ends up clutching it into his chest instead.\n\"Oh, no need to stop on my behalf.\" Lucio settles himself behind Sandalphon peering at what he's so engrossed by that he didn't even notice him come in. \"You were getting to a good part, no?\"\n\"Yes- no..! NO . I was- That was-\" Sandalphon curls in on himself and stubbornly faces the wall. \"I.. didn't hear you come in.\" He feels his heart skip at the feel of the mattress dipping when Lucio shifts more of his weight on it.\n\"I didn't have the heart to interrupt, seeing as how it holds your attention so.\" he laughs airily and nuzzles his bare shoulder with fond affection. \"You're a blessed sight to return home to. I've been deprived like withering foliage in a dry rainless desert-\"\n\"Y-you don't have to say so much! Limit it to five words or less!\" Sandalphon maneuvers himself around to face him. But when it comes down to it, seeing that expectant look on his face. He just can't bring himself to do it. Not without wanting to implode on the spot. So instead he covers half his face with the book he's holding.\nHe gingerly leans in and gives him a chaste peck on soft, unguarded lips. \"I.. I missed you. Welcome back.\"\nWhen he does lift the cover off him, Lucio is rosy cheeked and the look he's wearing is one of starry eyed enchantment. And Sandalphon isn't sure if the before or after is worse. He is SO bad at this. \"F-forget it.\" but Lucio stops his floundering by embracing him wholeheartedly. Sandalphon's hands slowly move to rest on his back to return his embrace.\nThey stay like that a while, just reveling in each other's presence. And while doing so, Lucio deftly lifts the discarded book up for inspection and flips open a random page. \"So... it's something of romance erotica in full illustration and narrative. I see.\"\n\"WH-!?\" Sandalphon lunges as he tries to snatch it from his grasp but Lucio's arm reach is much further than his. \"You tricked me!\"\n\"Hehe, I would never. I merely saw the opportunity to satiate my curiosity.\" Not to mention he just put it up against his face. He really is adorable when he's flustered. \"Pray tell what's gotten you so panicked, Sandalphon.. It's only a book with some risque imagery. It's nothing you haven't seen before.\" Lucio casually flips the next page with his thumb.\n\"T-that's..\" Sandalphon hesitates. \"...there are actually some things in there I've never seen before.\"\n\"Oh? Show me?\" he gestures for him to settle himself more comfortably.\n\"Why should I?!\" But Sandalphon bites the inside of his cheek and unwittingly answers his beckoning by moving to rest against his chest as he indicates the page number in a soft mumble. This kind of sitting position is not necessarily the most convenient but there's something comforting about the warm press of clothed skin and feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat. Surrounded by everything that is Lucio, reminding him that he's really there in the flesh. That he won't be spending his night alone in this room with only his fading scent on his pillows and sheets as his companion.\n\"Ah.\" Lucio's gaze turns dark and contemplating when they arrive at the aforementioned page. \"This\u2026 you'd like me to..?\"\n\"I-I never said that! I just\u2026 I- I don't know. It.. it probably doesn't feel as good as how the illustration makes it look??\" Sandalphon admits reluctantly. This is a mistake. He should have never brought it up. He should have-\n\"Ah. It should ease the pain. If you have this.\" Lucio produces a vial from his satchel.\nSandalphon looks at him dubiously. There are other things in the satchel too. By the looks of it. He knows what those are but.. \"How do you even have that? And those!?\"\n\"A friend, although... 'mentor', seems more appropriate, gave them to me for occasions such as this.\" Lucio's eyes seem to glint with what seems to be, newfound admiration.\nSandalphon has questions. But he doesn't know where to begin. They've never ventured there before and he's feeling uncertain and nervous.\nAlmost as if he's picking up on his apprehension, Lucio threads his fingers over soft brown hair in reassurance. \"But\u2026 if you don't feel ready to take it there, I can wait. First and foremost, I need your full consent. That was the first lesson my wise friend imparted to me.\"\n\"Huh.\" Sandalphon's voice comes off a little on the higher octave end but he doesn't seem entirely adverse. He twitches hesitantly under his gaze. \"Will it hurt?\"\n\"I'm told it's uncomfortable and it can be painful but.. with proper preparations, I'm told it can be quite the pleasurable experience for both parties.\" Lucio explains. \"But we don't have to do that today. I'm just happy to be with you.\"\nThat. That, being something he's never once considered being an option before. He was just fine with how they can both bring each other to completion without.. That. Lucio's not exactly modest\u2026 in size. He's not sure if he can even fit i-inside. Sandalphon shivers at the thought. It both excites and terrifies him. But Lucio would never do anything to hurt him or suggest something if it only brought pain.\nHe considers it with himself for some time and when he finally steels his resolve, he mutters. \"...Okay.\"\nHe receives no response so he repeats it, louder this time. \"I... I said, okay. We can tod-\" he glances up only to find Lucio's head drooping to rest on his shoulder. Eyes closed peacefully with his breathing steady, Sandalphon sends him a half-hearted glare.\nHe. Fell asleep on him. And after he mustered his courage to give him his answer.\n\"Hopeless.\" he sighs audibly. He slips out of his arms carefully. He moves to unfasten his boots and sash if only to help rearrange him to a more comfortable position. And pries the vial from his hand so he doesn't crush it in his sleep to store it into a nearby closed compartment, among other things.\nThat done, he makes his way back and seats himself by his bed. A rare chance has presented itself before him and his fingers itch at the thought of satiating the burning curiosity that has haunted him since he first laid eyes on them. They tentatively reach out and brush against the visible wing tips that adorn his back. They flutter reflexively from his touch but Lucio shows no signs of waking.\nFeeling bolder, he repeats the same motion of sweeping a finger down his wing span. His other fingers join in the fray and he's not the least bit surprised when he finds them soft and delicate. And fluffy. So. Fluffy. He lies down behind him and lightly nuzzles the tip of his nose against the feathers experimentally before burying his face in them. He rests his forehead against his back with his eyes slowly coming to a close in quiet contentment.\nMeanwhile Lucio can scarcely keep himself perfectly still. He may have dozed off a little while earlier but not deep enough not to stir awake from that. And the corner of his mouth barely twists as he suppresses the urge to smile. But there's no concealing the pink tinge on his cheeks and the warmth gathering in his chest.\nA\/N: It has been a while.. but here's another chapter that has been sitting in my drafts for a while until I found the ending I liked for it. Fluff. I just really wanted to write luciosan fluff. Thank you for reading~\nThe next chapter is WIP atm and it's a glimpse of belifaa... I'll probably put labels on the chapter if it's not a luciosan centric one.\nChapter 9: Call My Name (Belifaa)\nBelial.\n\"I created you with a natural aptitude for lies, and a silver tongue for deceit. From henceforth, you, my little trickster, will preside over cunning, one of the facets of knowledge. You are however, loyal to no one but me.\"\nAt his first drawn breath, he's enshrouded in pitch black darkness. Enveloping and all encompassing void, seemingly endless as though he mindlessly drifts in these planes of nothingness. This is the voice that reaches into that darkness, beckoning, summoning forth his consciousness. Lights, colors, shapes, they blend and mesh as they slowly come into focus. He shuts his eyes once more and drifts back into the embrace of darkness for comfort.\nBut something is different. If he was drifting before, he's stilled now. Unmoving and heavy. There's an abrupt sting that makes his eyes fly open. The surroundings are dark with only but a single illumination. Something is deposited on the silver tray on the side. A gloved hand returns to his arm to apply pressure where he's just been punctured. \"Are you suure you should be touching me like that? Are you trying to stir me up?\"\nIt's the first time crimson pupils meet azure. Wispy pale hair frame that beautiful, androgynous face. The light and shadows caress the planes and contours of his cheek and jaw. An angel can't exist in this darkness... is the first thing he thinks of when he lays his eyes on him. \"You're finally awake. Belial.\"\nHe remembers it clearly but it's nice to put a face to that voice. Upon hearing him speak, there's a brief pause before he melts into pleased recognition. \"And you're breathtaking , my Creator.\"\n\"It's Lucilius. You will address me only as such. And you're directly under my care from now on.\" Lucilius clears his throat and corrects him dryly. He meets his gaze head-on as Belial helps himself get a better look at him by getting up from where he had just lain. They stare down each other, one determined not to be swayed by a primal beast's influence and the other meaning to find an opening or a sign of weakness in him to exploit.\n\"The pleasure is all mine, Lucilius. To serve such a beauty is one of the ideals I strive for.\" His sensual voice rolls off his tongue naturally. Still keeping a firm grip on his gloved hand, he brings it close to himself to brush his lips against the curve of his knuckles. \"I like the sound of that. I can be under you, or on top of you.. Against the wall, on my knees work just as well. I can be creative ...with the right incentive, of course \u2661.\"\n\"Is there nothing that comes out of that mouth but constant vulgarities?\" There's no change in his placid expression. He attempts to bring his hand back to himself only to find that Belial's not too keen on letting go. \"Not interested. Release me.\"\nHis flat tone causes Belial to bark out a laugh. \"I'd be more than happy to. Ask me again, much sweeter this time. And I just might.\"\nLucilius very calmly slides his free palm up between his legs and latches onto the source of his lecherous perversion in a vice grip. And the primal is caught off guard, if Belial's yelp is any indication. \"If you persist on defying me, I might suddenly decide you don't need this part of you anymore.\"\nThe dark chill of his threat sends spikes of euphoria through him. Belial makes a low, keening noise, \" Ooo-h .. yess, that is kinda turning me on- Mnngh, okay- that's... T-too.. aah.. Point taken , \" He catches his breath as soon as they both break contact. \" Damnn. Didn't think you'd go right for the goods. I am never washing this part of me again.\"\n\"I strongly insist that you do.\" The researcher can only scowl at him in disgust. Taking a mental note to wash this hand later. Thoroughly. \"I trust you know how to get yourself cleaned and dressed. There is work to be done and time waits for no one.\"\n\"Mmm, It sounds so stimulating when you put it like that.\" the smile he wears is laced with playful mischief. \"But\u2026 it's a little too boring, isn't it? Giving me orders and expecting me to do everything you want me to do. That's no fun, 'cilius. A little incentive goes a long way, you know. I can be more creative when I put my mind to it. But I need some inspiration to get the job well done.\"\n\"In short, you want a reward for your efforts.\" Lucilius concludes for him. He makes a short huff, whether it is of amusement or annoyance, one can't really tell. \"Hm. Very well so long as the task matches the reward. What 'reward' are you seeking..\"\nRising up to full height now, Belial finds he easily towers over the astral. He leans in if only to daringly brush his finger over surprisingly soft, pliant lips. \"You.\"\nAn unsettling pause lingers before Lucilius sighs harshly and swats his hand away, \"I find your humor in bad taste.\"\n\"Heeh, I've never been more dead serious over anything in my life.\" Belial interjects, feigning offense.\n\"And what a short life it has been till now.\" He sneers in that condescending tone. \"Very well. I'll humor you this one time.\" For now, he brings up his proposition. \"Seek out the archangel, Lucifer. Kill him and bring me his body as proof. Do that for me and I'll listen to what you have to say.. But\u2026\" he holds a finger up. \"If you fail, you have to subject yourself to me for an experiment.\"\nBelial lets out a loud, unrestrained cackle. \"It's going to be that kind of task. You're really something, 'cilius, but you don't disappoint. How do I find him?\"\nThere's a ghost of a smile on his lips. \"When you see him, you'll know.\"\n\"You're still here? I thought you'd have fled by now. Or that you conveniently forgot your end of the deal.\"\n\"That's what I'm here for, right? Give me some credit here.\" Where else could he run to? And he'd really rather not be sent down to the labs to be the plaything of some other sadistic prick. Not that he minds a little bdsm play now and then but he derives no pleasure from being subjected to the whims of anything or anyone less...\nLucifer, who happens to be in the same room giving Lucilius a report of what had just transpired, watches the pair interact with that same impassive expression on his face. He had risen from his seat upon his entry with his guard up and his armaments at the ready. \"... I was not told you two are acquainted with one another.\"\n\"Don't think too hard about it.\" Lucilius says dismissively. \"I'll speak to you again later. For now, I have business with Belial.\"\nThere is hesitation and mistrust in the gaze he directs at him. But at Lucilius' behest, he stands down. \"...Alright. I will return to my duties.\"\nFrankly it's almost hauntingly disturbing to see them both together engaging in conversation, looking the way they do. One, a primal beast, and the other an Astral with the exact same face and voice. And when the door closes behind Lucifer. Belial should have listened to his gut instinct to follow suit. But he's already entangled in the web that Lucilius has laid out especially for him.\nThere is no escape. Has never been one. The sound of the door closing echoes in the spacious room.\nLucilius falls back, leaning against the back of his seat as he assesses him. And then, he breaks into a slow clap. \"Hn. To even get Lucifer to raise a hand against you, is a miraculous feat in itself. I am mildly impressed.\"\nBelial shrugs. \"That was real naughty of you, 'cilius. You already knew how strong he was and you still had me tease him enough to make him crack. Figured your first task was going to be an impossible one.\"\nThere's a hint of amusement in the small quirk of his mouth. He places his elbows on his table and leans forward to let his chin rest between his loosely, interlocked fingers. \"But why go through with it if you already knew what I was planning.\"\n\"Who knows. Maybe I wanted to check his power for myself. Seeing as you regard him oh-so highly. Or maybe... I do want you to put your hands on me. To break and shape me in accordance to your desires.\"\n\"Hmm. Is that so?\" Lucilius now stands in front of him. \"Then, I don't need to explain anything else. Shall we begin then.\" And with a gloved finger, traces a line down his bare neck to the lowest point of where cloth and skin meet. \"Strip.\"\nBelial shivers in anticipation. \"Ohhh, so forward. I don't mind a little foreplay before the main event.\"\nHe slides the buttons off their loops slowly with one hand revealing pale, muscled tone underneath, all the while keeping his gaze fixated on Lucilius' own. He lets the silk underlining help slide the fabric off his shoulders to pool down his wrists. His pants follow not long shortly after.\nThere's a strange flicker of emotion in Lucilius' face. \"Yes. This will do nicely.\" he mutters to himself, averting his gaze to his journal. \"Stand up straight and present yourself.\"\n\"By all means. Look all you want, Master .\" he's not the least bit shy standing there in all his glory to be appraised from top to bottom. He revels at the attention from such a beautiful man. Even if said man is assessing him as a test subject than an actual living being with its own self-awareness. \"Like what you see?\" he winks suggestively when they make eye contact.\nLucilius rolls his eyes. \"Take it out.\"\n\"My dick's already out.\"\n\"Do you want me to cut you.\" There's an annoyed pause in between. \"...Wing. Out.\"\nHe muffles an incoming snicker and his summoned wings spread out behind him adorned with gray feathers.\n\"Hm.\" Lucilius makes a contemplative hum after he circles around behind them. \"They'd look better black.\"\n\"So you DO get it. I think so too.\"\n\"I know just the thing.\" his gloved hand reaches out and--\n--there's an ice-cold caress on his lower back. Belial stirs awake, half wondering if some backdraft somehow drifted into this place. Granted this isn't exactly the Jewel Resort but the dregs of a lost civilization. In this place there is only darkness. When Beelzebub isn't using the lab, most of everything goes into backup power to conserve their resources.\nThe room's only illumination is the light blue glow from Lucilius' containment unit. He fixes his stare on the glass chamber that contains his Creator. The readings indicate he's still in stable stasis. Drifting weightlessly and lifelessly with tubes and wires all reading his vitals.\n\"'cilius\u2026 did you call for me?\" Three times. He heard someone call his name.\nBut now. He hears nothing but the hum of the machines. Unresponsive and quiet.\nHe's perplexed at the feeling of frustration that wells inside him from the other side of the glass. He couldn't have just imagined it, right?\nA\/N: This underwent a number of revisions but I think I'm happy with this one.\nChapter 10: 6.5 - Mice\nA\/N: This chapter takes place between Ch6 and 7. You know the one. I hope you enjoy.\nl v o)\nSandalphon hears the door lock audibly click behind them. The finality of it echoes loudly inside the room. His pulse jumps with it. And when their lips part, a trail of saliva stretches and dissipates between them. Sandalphon finds himself licking his lower lip of its remnants.\nHe hears Lucio let out a ragged breath. His voice murmurs against Sandalphon's ear about how he tastes like the sweetest wine and Sandalphon urgently guides his mouth back to him to keep him from talking before he combusts on the spot.\nAlmost as if everything around them melts out of existence, he feels more than sees him with vivid clarity. Nothing else at this point of space and time mattered, only the desire to chase after the warmth and closeness he's offered.\nHe feels like he's floating as Lucio carries him further inside. He tightens his grip on him as though he might drift away if he didn't. And to affirm that he's solid, he's real and he's not gripped by some kind of illusion or dream. And with it comes a strange sense of lingering familiarity. He's not too hard pressed to investigate as to why exactly, but it's not the first time he's come across this feeling.\nHe's lowered onto the bed. The cotton sheets feel cool against heated skin. But it's not enough and too much all at once. Lucio reaches down to the hem of his shirt and slides the fabric higher, revealing the smooth skin underneath. Sandalphon shudders from both his warm touch and the cool air he's exposed to.\nSandalphon adjusts himself up so Lucio can lift it over his head. His fingers move towards Lucio's armor plate, easily finding the small latches to dismantle them. The clang of Lucio's armor follow as it noisily clatters on the floor and they both wince. He should probably be more careful with that.\nLucio laughs airily against his neck. He doesn't seem too bothered by it. \"Clumsy..\" he says with fond affection.\nInstantly irked, Sandalphon has words he wants to say but they remain in his throat. His pulse jumps when he feels the press of Lucio's lips against the bare skin there as it trails a path downwards. Not wanting to be the only one on the receiving end, his own hands explore the contours and curves of lean flesh. His irritation fades as he can feel Lucio shiver and let out sighs of encouragement.\nDrawing Sandalphon closer in his arms, Lucio dips his head lower to taste the rest of him.\nHis body stiffens when he feels the hardness of Lucio's knee brush between his legs where he's aching. It sends a spike of electricity up his spine and he finds himself wanting more of that same sensation. \"L-lucio...\" he squirms, pushing himself against that hardness. Jolts of pleasure have him repeating the same motion of grinding his hips against him like he was no more than a wanton beast of instinct.\nLucio grips his hips and the Supreme Primarch rumbles a noise of complaint. \"Let me.. I promise it will feel good.\"\nSandalphon can't get his pants off fast enough. The damn thing is skintight and troublesome, stubbornly hugging the curve of his legs.\nHe struggles to shake it free off his ankle, that Lucio eventually pries it off him with some level of amusement. Sandalphon is about to say something crass when his trail of thought is effectively cut off by the sweep of something warm and wet up his length. He almost bites his own tongue.\nHe's not serious..!? He's going to.. The head of his cock slips between willing lips and it has Sandalphon throwing his head back and gripping soft hair between his fingers. A shout in the form of his name is ripped from his throat.\nDamn. That was loud.\nHe's not sure if anyone else heard it. And he has no time to worry because his thoughts scatter when Lucio slides him back out, only to let him sink back into that warm orifice. And the cycle repeats itself. This pleasurable torment renders him writhing, core thrumming with life. He cants his pelvis slightly in an unconscious plea for more, deeper.\nLucio complies and lifts one of his knees to rest on his shoulder.\nHeartbeat thundering in his ears, Sandalphon manages little gasps of air between hitched, unintelligible cries that he can't hold in. Not wanting to actually pull Lucio's hair out, he claws at the bedsheets until warm palms meet his own and threads their fingers together. Sandalphon grips him hard, nails dig into the soft flesh of Lucio's hand.\nLucio doesn't seem the least bit fazed when he drags his length in and out. Sandalphon can almost feel him smiling like the smug bastard he is even as he moves and he tries to glare down at him, at that stupidly beautiful face between his thighs coming into view.\nLucio mouths at his inner thigh with a devious look that should never grace an angel's. His lips swollen, pupils dilated in unfiltered rapture as though he were taking his pleasure as his own. He hums as he runs his tongue over the vein of his underside to lap at the leak spilling down his slit. All the while, drinking in the sight of Sandalphon's unraveling under the curtain of long lashes.\nHis core starts to hum and Sandalphon's hips stutter involuntarily. \"Lu-lucio, I..!\" He tries to warn him but he can't even form words, much less sentences. Toes curling, he sees stars behind his eyelids as he starts with a defiant growl that melts into a drawn out moan. He almost doesn't recognize it. A part of him refuses to acknowledge something so needy sounding is coming from himself.\nWhen he regains some clarity and focus, his seed paints over Lucio's face and hair like the finishing touches of a debauched masterpiece. Needless to say, he's beyond mortified. He quickly grabs one of their shirts and tries to sit up to wipe his face. He hopes he didn't get any on his eyes-\nLucio allows Sandalphon to help him with that. When he finally tosses the piece of cloth aside, Lucio asks, \"Was it good for you?\"\nSandalphon's cheeks only darken in color. \"C-couldn't you tell..?!\" then his eyes move down to Lucio's own, straining against his pants in a not so subtle manner. His hands move with a purpose, thumbing the hem and slipping it down the curve of his rear. It springs free, almost slapping his lower belly as it proudly juts up to attention. Sandalphon feels his throat go dry.\nLucio observes him with some trepidation. The brunet went white as sheet. He's not sure how to gauge that reaction other than interpret it as a mixture of fascination and fear. \"Sandalphon.. You need not stare at it with so much intensity.\" The last thing he wants to do is frighten him. \"I can take care of myself.\"\nNot even caring about where his mouth had just been, Sandalphon pulls him in to kiss him fiercely. Eager to return the favor, his fingers drift down his torso to ghost over the taut muscle of his stomach until they brush further down his waist.\nBut they are not alone.\nPeering at them from a secluded corner of the room, there is a slit between the wood. An impassive lone eye watches the scene unfold before them. The sound of the door shutting behind him has him almost leaping out of his seat. He turns to hiss at the intruder for their impudence.\nA girl with flowing copper colored hair rests her hand on her hip with an expectant look in her eyes, \"Well? Is there anything to report?\"\nHis lips twist to an annoyed scowl and he grumbles. \"Not really. Why am I even doing this? It's an absolute waste of time. I'm not interested in what they do in their private lives.\"\nOlivia tries her best not to let her temper flare. She's hard pressed to find allies within enemy lines as it is. And to her misfortune, she's been acquainted with this absolutely useless excuse of a fallen who is under some odd delusion that he's a demon fighting against human slavery. \"I only need you to let me know if he's taking advantage of his position. And if there's a chance we can talk to the Supreme Primarch without him in the way.\"\n\"Unless you count having his way with him in bed, as taking advantage of him-\"\nIt took all of her restraint not to yell. This is what she was trying to avoid. \"And you just sat there and let it happen..!?\"\nAzazel shrugs in a matter-of-factly kind of way. \"You told me to just sit and watch.\"\n\"Move aside.\" Clearly if she wants something done right, she will have to do it herself. She positions herself at the small opening and peers inside. Just as she did, the nearly inaudible sound of a sharp whistle is the only warning she receives before something is hurtling towards her vision, blindingly bright and white.\n\"W..what was that?\" Sandalphon looks over his shoulder. He thinks he heard something like a squeak. Faint as it was.\n\"I wonder.\" Lucio tilts his head a little in feigned innocence. \"...Perhaps just some curious mice?\"\nA\/N: I have not written this kind of scene in a very long time so I'm probably a bit rusty. (I'm also kind of embarrassed DSHGKDKSH ) I want to thank my friend who beta'd for me but she wants to remain anonymous and assured me that I shouldn't be too worried to submit content of this nature, lol.\nUm. So.. Thanks for reading!\n...does this fall under rated mature or explicit.. (. _ . ; ) Also. Olivia is okay. At most she'd probably get pink eye in one eye for three days. But that's about it.\nChapter 11: Summer with You\nThe pungent smell of flowers permeates the air the closer they climb towards the summit. The amount of purple blossoms and vines increase in foliage as well, as though they adorn the landscape with shades of purple and blues. But something feels off. It's quiet. Much too quiet. Not the sound of an animal from miles around. Sandalphon can sense that they are being watched intensely. The Singularity and his group have yet to arrive but the two of them take the pre-emptive measure to survey the area.\nAn old, dilapidated structure is the only thing at the top of the mountain. The paper on the screens are tattered and have yellowed in color. The grass and weeds grow wild all around, indicating it has not been maintained for a lengthy amount of time. During the day it's less imposing but something is definitely here. Watching and waiting.\nLucio doesn't seem to be the least bit worried, however. He casually strides towards this looming wisteria tree next to the shrine. And without warning, forcibly sinks his blade into the trunk.\nWhat follows is an unearthly shriek of agony and the mountain reverbates its cry. It sends vibrations down the slope. The branches and its blossoms quiver and start to thrash. They animatedly raise of their own volition and lash at the source of its pain. Sandalphon swoops in and cuts the spindly things easily enough before they can even touch him.\n\"You have my thanks. I can always count on you, Sandalphon.\"\nSandalphon can picture the carefree smile on his face even with their backs to each other. \"Maybe warn me ahead next time\u2026?!\" he yells over the noise as he fends off another wave of branches.\nThe tendrils drift to the floor and thin out until they resemble hair strands. Lucio then proceeds to slice the trunk clean off the tree in one swing. Ink black slime spurts from the gaping wound and spills onto the ground with a sharp hissing sound as it melts layers of soil and grass beneath it. The soil quickly becomes loose and crumble beneath their feet.\nBy the time Gran and his party reach the site, both primarchs are overlooking what appears to be a gaping hole on the ground where the wisteria tree once stood.\nEven though the sudden rumble of the mountain scared their half of the party to death, they're lucky no casualties occurred. But with the grim expression on their faces, their troubles appear to be far from over. Gran cautiously steps towards them, mindful of where he treads. \"Good work, you two. So.. what exactly are we dealing with here?\"\n\"Ah, Captain..\" Lucio rises from the ground where he was examining the ground near the edge of the deep pit. Soil of which have turned black. Dead soil where nothing is meant to grow from it ever again. \"To summarize.. What we're dealing with has retreated within. And it appears only Sandalphon and I can make that descent safely.\"\nHe's hesitant to send only two to the unknown depths but seeing as how they managed to hold their own against it just now, Gran agrees with his suggestion. \"Alright. I'll leave it to you. Stay safe. The rest of us will investigate up here for the missing people.\"\n\"And in case whatever it is comes up here, I shall be lying in wait.\" Vira volunteers herself to stand guard outside the shrine. \"Do make sure not even a strand of hair is frayed on my dear Katalina, Captain. \" she says this while deliberately ignoring Lowain's attempt at presenting himself as Katalina's shield.\n\"I'll give it my best shot.\" A bead of sweat rolls down the side of Gran's face.\nIt's pitch black and silent as night as they make their way down the seemingly bottomless abyss. Lucio's orbs of light gives them some illumination. But it also makes them easy targets. Still it's the better alternative than feeling their way in the dark while whatever it is has full advantage. The smell of flowers are also present but overripe to the point where it almost smells like decay. \"We're close.\" Lucio says, breaking the silence.\n\"We're not dealing with some primal.\" Sandalphon glances to him for confirmation. \"It feels more like\u2026\"\n\"The Otherworld. That they have manifested a physical form. It can only mean a gateway has been established.\" Lucio affirms on a solemn note. \"We must..\"\n\"Yes, yes.. I know the drill. Kick its ass. Send it back. Destroy the gate.\" Sandalphon recites in monotone. He doesn't mean to be rude but they've been over this. Lucio doesn't have to remind him every time on a long winded note.\n\"As expected of my Sandalphon. You summed it up quite aptly.\" he declares proudly, easily avoiding the incoming kick Sandalphon attempts in midair. He's still unused to responding positively to praises. But it was worth briefly seeing that embarrassed look cross his face. Ah, he's really is fun to tease.\n\"You\u2026\" The brunet scowls. This really isn't the time to flirt! \"J-just focus on the mission.\"\nA horrible gurgling noise comes further ahead from what vaguely appears to be thick roots. \"Speak of the devil\u2026\" Lucio's armaments take form around him. \"Oh Radiant Light, pierce this encroaching darkness..!\"\n\"Good work, everyone! If there's anyone within the sky realm who can get it done, I knew it would have to be your crew, Captain.\" Siero congratulates them upon their return to the Knickknack Shack. \"Here's the bounty.\"\nThe crate of heavy coins makes a resounding jingle and thud on the hardwood table. Also..!\" Siero's voice raised slightly as if she remembered something. \"The innkeeper is so grateful that his daughter came back home that he's offering you an extended stay in his best rooms. Why not take him up on his offer and stay for the night fair? It was supposed to be cancelled but now it'll be back in full swing. It'd be a shame to miss it.\"\n\"Sounds good.\" they can reschedule their boat trip to Cynast for another day. His crew members need their rest after today's grueling mission. They deserved that much. \"Gather around, everyone. I'm going to distribute our earnings for today. You're free to go about wherever you want for the week. The Grandcypher will be docked at port until then. But be sure to make it back before we leave, alright?\"\n\"Do you want me to hold onto it this time too?\" Sandalphon throws the question at Lucio.\nInstead of relinquishing it as always, Lucio peers inside the coin pouch as though he's seeing it for the first time. It's a hefty amount. He can balances the weight of it on his palm. \"Hmm.. maybe not this time. I have something in mind I'd like to exchange them with.\"\nThat was a first. \"Oh? And what's that?\"\n\"You'll see..\" Lucio smiles.\nSandalphon hesitantly pokes his head out of the curtain. The expectant faces of Lucio and the store attendant come into view.\nHe resists the urge to retreat back into the safety of the dressing room. But he stands his ground and eventually gathers his courage to step outside. The garment is a rich, indigo blue with striped patterns. The sleeves are wide, the fit just right and the textile, lighter.. It's different from his usual attire. And it leaves him feeling a little vulnerable.\nLucio's in a similar state of dress. But unlike his, it's plain black. Despite its simplicity, he looks natural and picturesque in it. Relaxed with his hands folded over his chest, disappearing inside the holes of the sleeves. It's almost as if he's worn this before. Hells, he'd look good even in a potato sack. Unlike him...\nYet those beautiful, blue eyes are fixated on him with this wide eyed expression. He can't tell if it's a good or bad thing. Sandalphon starts to restlessly fidget under his magnified scrutiny. \"What are you gawking for? It looks strange on me, right?\"\n\"Far from the truth. I think you look rather handsome.\" Upon his friend's recommendation, Lucio decided to bring Sandalphon to this store that sells this type of traditional summer wear from their array of textiles and patterns. There's certainly a charm to seeing Sandalphon don a different set of clothes. Clothes he had chosen for him.\n\"Hh..!\" his breath catches in his throat.. H-handsome...? Sandalphon is unaccustomed to be on the receiving end of these compliments. Even if Lucio effortlessly showers him with them. He could just be saying that but It doesn't do much to quell the butterflies in his stomach either. The one who looks handsome between the two of them is definitely not him. So he casts his eyes down to his loose sleeves instead.\nOf all the things Lucio could have done with his money, he didn't think giving him this as a gift would be the first thing he'd want to spend it on. \"Hmm.. \" Sandalphon quietly observes his reflection from the nearby full length mirror. The fit and cut looks good on his form. The longer he's in it, the less conscious he feels about wearing something he's not used to. He might even be able to sleep in one of these. \"It's\u2026 not bad.\"\nLucio releases a sigh of relief. \"I'm glad it's to your liking. I've tried to picture how it would look on you but my imagination is but a pale imitation to seeing you in it.\" he reaches in, if only to tuck strands of hair behind his ear.\nThe brush of his fingertips sends a warm jolt down his neck. But at the last second, Lucio seems to have realized what he had been doing and pulls away. \"Apologies... If that made you feel uncomfortable.\"\n\"Uh.. no, I..\" ...don't mind? Since when? His mouth clamps shut. His own thoughts surprise even himself. It's not as if Lucio held himself back before. So why is he hesitating and apologizing now..?\nHe can sense the eyes of the attendant and other patrons burning holes at them. \"Let's just go.\" Sandalphon ducks his head and walks brusquely out the store first. Lucio thanks the attendant and follows after him.\nSandalphon decides not to dwell on that strange, fleeting moment and focuses on everything else around them. Lucio may have come up with the same conclusion, seeing as he's animatedly more curious about anything and everything, making it easier to sweep that incident under the rug.\nThe city streets are lit up by colorful streamers and lanterns. Most folk are either in their beachwear or in their yukatas and are talking animatedly with their companions. There are game booths and food stands for miles lined up down the road. The various smells of the foodstuff for sale tug at festival goers in all directions. Children's laughter can be heard as they chase each other and amble up the game and food booths.\nFamilies, couples, friends\u2026 it's a gathering filled with smiles.\nThere's a small swell of pride that the job they took up contributed to restoring the festivities back to its intended course. It'd have been a shame to miss all of this. He's still not a big fan of crowds but he'll tolerate it this one time.\nThere's mystery takoyaki. Grilled squid. Various meat and seafood skewers. Shaved ice. Lucio is curious to try them all. He calmly blows at the piping hot surface before carefully sinking his teeth into the takoyaki without breaking a sweat. To the owner's amazement. Another customer who orders the same is screaming about his mouth on fire next to them.\n\"On fire? The things mortals say. I don't see actual flames. But this intrigues me. Naoise. Buy me one.\" another group from the crew are also making their rounds. Seruel give them both an acknowledging nod while Naoise attempts to dissuade the smallest of their group.\n\"Lady Scathaha, please. You'll give yourself a stomach ache later.\" but despite his complaining he's already pulling out the coins from his pouch. The piping hot mystery takoyaki is served in a paper tray of six.\nScathaha helps herself to one before offering it to the siblings. Seruel respectfully declines, despite Heles' ribbing. Instead he defers it back to Naoise and even attempts to feed him one, much to the knight's flustered protests that he can feed himself.\nLucio and Sandalphon excuse themselves of their company and continue on into the night.\nCloud Candy. They watched in strange fascination as the machine produced the threads of candy fluff that gradually gives it its cloud like appearance. Lucio samples a pinch of fluff from Sandalphon's. \"Wouldn't it be nice if actual clouds were like this?\"\n\"What nonsense are you sprouting? Then all the airships would crash...\" Sandalphon says but there's no edge to his words. It's kind of nice. Nice to let go and forget about everything else that exists outside this night. It goes against the nature of which they were created. Enjoying themselves here amidst the skydwellers with no defined purpose but to just immerse themselves in the moment.\nTo be able to think idly of illogical thoughts like that, is a luxury in itself. He looks up to the new moon shining brightly overhead. Would Lucifer forgive him if he foolishly wished this night could stretch on a little longer?\nLucio turns to him with an ice cone on his hand. \"Sorry for the wait. Are you sure you don't want one?\"\n\"No thanks. I've tried them before. But..\" Sandalphon pauses at the booth selling candied fruits. He's seen the little children carry them around, biting into them so he found himself curious. \"That\u2026\" he points to one of the sticks. \"I want one.\"\nThe old woman manning the booth smiles at him kindly and retrieves one for him in exchange for his coins.\n\"Want a taste?\"\n\"No thank you,\" Lucio says with a hint of reservation. \"I'm not really fond of apples.\"\n\"Oh..?\" It's the first time Lucio admitted to an aversion to something natural that doesn't lead to mortal greed. \" 's it the smell? The taste? You're not allergic to them, are you?\" he bites into the thin candy glazed surface and thoughtfully chews on the treat.\n\"No..? Or at least I don't think so.\" he says nothing more about it as they continue to walk and eat.\nSandalphon continues his query. \"What about apple flavored jelly or apple juice? And what would actually happen if you accidentally eat one?\"\n\"Why the interest in apples all of a sudden..?\" Lucio can't help but throw another question back at him.\n\"Is it strange to want to know more about you?\" he blurts out without thinking. Sandalphon's shoulders stiffens in alarm but it's too late to take back what he said. He diverts his stare while nervously playing with the longer tips of his hair.\n\"Sandalphon\u2026 No, it's not strange at all. \" The way Lucio regards him, that soft look in his eyes when he looks at him, it's like something is squeezing at his core. Then he turns his attention to his sweet treat.\nSandalphon hides a scowl. On the surface, they seem to be having a pleasant exchange between friends. But Lucio has been acting odd since the yukata shop. Once or twice, he'd glance down and see their hands align, only for the latter to withdraw and fold them or quickly revert his attention to something else. He even went as far as to purposely brush his hand with his pinky, only for the other to find some excuse to use that hand for something else.\nLike holding that damn ice cream cone.\nHe can't believe he's seething at an ice dessert. \"Lucio.\" How is he supposed to convey this into words without embarrassing himself. He started out fiery but now comes off as unsure. \"Are you... angry with me?\"\nLucio blinks in confusion. \"No...?\" but curious eyes remain on him asking the silent question as to why he'd ask him something like that.\nShit. Sandalphon didn't think this through, obviously. But he finds himself helpless how to explain what he started. The realization of what he's asking for shocks even him. He squeezes fabric in his free hand in an attempt to calm down.\nIn the silence, he hears Lucio shuffle to sit closer to him. \"Rather.. Is it, I, who has done something to upset you?\"\nSandalphon doesn't respond but his gaze averting to the floor indirectly answers his query. Oh.. no . Lucio isn't sure what he did wrong this time. He promised himself he'd be a proper gentleman and escort to give Sandalphon the perfect experience. But it seems to have backfired.\n\"...You easily say things to flatter me. But your actions and words don't match.\" Sandalphon mumbles under his breath.\n\"What... do you mean?\"\n\"I mean you're always in my face and so touchy feely but you won't even so much as take my hand- Am I that repulsive? Maybe you really don't want to be seen with me or....\"\n\"...You... wanted me to hold your hand?\" Is that the only thing Lucio deciphered from what he said? Given, when he puts it like that\u2026\n\"Y-eah! I do. Is that a weird thing to admit to someone you consider your l-lov...\" Sandalphon angrily admits but he's having a difficult time placing where exactly they are or what their relationship is. Is he presumptuous enough to assume Lucio even thinks of them as such..?\nLucio's bewildered expression melts into gentle understanding. He seizes Sandalphon's wrist because the latter looks like he's about to flee if he doesn't anchor him firmly. \"I hope I'm presuming correctly when you mean, lovers ?\"\nThe undignified squawk from the word alone, answers his question.\nIt's a human term, at best. Books describe it as some form of a pact, a bond between two souls in their limited time of existence together. Some easily shattered, some can withstand the test of time. It's a vague but limitless thing. But its meaning for primal beasts extends beyond a mere lifespan. It's a vast unexplored scope of life different for the love he feels for all living beings in the realm. He finds that he's willing to explore it with him. Lucio gently tugs him a little closer. \"..I'd really like it if you continue to see it that way.\"\n\"..O-oh. Right. Okay.\" Sandalphon hates that his erratically thrumming core renders him almost inarticulate. His mind is a swirling mess as the finality of his words sink in has him simmering a notch below boiling point. \"Just so we're on the same page.\"\n\"It's my deepest wish to make a memory with you of this night. And I wanted it to be a pleasant one. It's not my intent to make you feel neglected.\" Lucio professes with regret. \"I've been made aware that I can\u2026 come off as intense. It's trying but I'm on my best behavior. You don't have the slightest inkling how much I've been holding back.\"\n\"You do come on a little too strong.\"\nLucio's face falls at the blunt admission. \"As I've been made aware of.\" By multiple people. On several different occasions. He's trying his best.\n\"But\u2026 hand holding during festivals is.. okay.\" Sandalphon quietly admits.\n\"That can be easily arranged.\" Lucio laughs lightly.\nSandalphon receives a jolt when he feels Lucio's fingers brush over the bare wrist of his hand before they intertwine with his. He feels the combined heat of their palms spread slowly up his arm until it engulfs him. It's not the first time he's taken his hand and yet, it's because it's voluntarily done so without the pretense of being separated in a crowd. But there is no crowd here. Just the two of them and the moon as their witness.\n\"And... what else is permitted?\" Lucio is giving him another one of his sickeningly sweet looks.\nSandalphon gives into the impulse of averting his eyes anywhere else but him. \"H-how should I know..!?\"\n\"Sandalphon, look at me.\" His voice is low and intimate.\nHe can't help but to obey as though spellbound. And when their gazes meet, Lucio's eyes crinkle happily back at him. Eyes blue like the Auguste skies on a clear summer day hold him captive in their endless depths.\n\"Is this also okay?\" Lucio gently traces the line of his mouth, coaxing it to part for him.\nSandalphon's voice cracks in the middle of an indrawn breath. \"Un... just for a little while\u2026?\" eyes drift close when Lucio's nose brush against his. Warm breath sweep his parted lips with its light caress.\n\"Just for a little while.\" Lucio assures him in a whisper. At the edge of town, away from the bustle of activity, they revel in this quiet moment under the soft glow of the overhead lanterns.\nEarly next morning, Gran stifles a yawn when he makes his way down to the inn's shared kitchen. He sees a figure hovering by the coffee machine and is about to greet Sandalphon. Only to pause when the figure in question turns to face him with a cup in each of his hands. It's not who he expected. \"Lucio..?\"\n\"Greetings, Captain. I hope you're having a good morning.\" he addresses him cheerily.\nAs the sun shines through the windows behind Lucio's visage, Gran feels the inclination to shield his eyes from the near blinding, radiant light. \"Morning to you too. You seem really happy.\" He considers himself a morning person but even he can't hold a candle to Lucio's enthusiasm today. He's not sure if he's imagining it but he seems to be\u2026 glowing or actually emitting light?\n\"That I am.\" his smile becomes impossibly brighter than he thought it ever could.\nGran notes that he's still wearing the yukata from the night before. \"Not coming with us to Cynast Island?\"\n\"Ah\u2026\" Lucio appears to be caught off guard with the query. But he regains his composure just as quickly. \"Perhaps another day. After yesterday's festivities, Sandalphon is still resting. I'd hate to disturb him when he's sleeping so soundly.\"\n\"Oh. Sure, that's fair.\" Even primarchs party hard sometimes? He shrugs. \"You can stay here in town or come catch up to us. The Grandcypher will be docked here for another 5 days or so.\"\n\"Splendid. May you have a blessed journey.\"\n\"Thanks.\" Gran makes way for him to pass and trudges towards the pantry for a quick bite himself. He doesn't think anything of the encounter for a good, long five seconds. And then, pauses in the middle of rummaging for bread when it finally occurs to him and all the pieces click together.\n\"Wait a minute...\" but by the time he turns around, Lucio is already long gone.\nWater GW tired me out. But we won't be seeing one till Nov so I can take a much needed break. Unbeta'd because my friend is also tired from GW. I don't want to impose.. ^^;; In any case, hope you're all having a good summer and staying hydrated. Thanks for reading :D\nChapter 12: 11.5 Innocence Lost\nA\/N: Hello\u2026 this chapter is just self-indulgent smut with feelings. I want to thank Ari, my friend and fellow luciosan fan, who helped me beta this chapter.\nLucio's back is pressed up against the wall of their room.\nSandalphon has his hands clamped on the collar of his yukata. He tugs on it impatiently to will him to crane his head down to meet his. He's not short, this behemoth is just too tall for him to reach without at least arching his heels up for them to be on level. And he's not wearing his usual boots. He hears Lucio giggling between breaths. If he calls him cute one more time, he's going to bite him. And not gently either.\nIntent to prove how serious he is, Sandalphon slides his leg up an unguarded thigh. His grin is hidden under the veil of the night when he sees Lucio momentarily lose his composure.\nLucio's voice strains, \"Nngh... The walls here are paper thin.\"\n\"Not that it's stopped you before at the Grandcypher.\" Sandalphon scowls but he takes it as a sign of polite refusal and gradually backs down. \"Unless.. you really don't want to.\"\nLucio can almost see the gears in Sandalphon's head turning as he pulls away. He really shouldn't be doing this with his powers but. The possible effects are relatively harmless. Even for a little while. \"Sandalphon. Do you trust me?\"\n\"What kind of question is that?\" he pauses in mid sentence as an odd sensation passes through his body. It takes him a moment to make sense of it but Sandalphon sticks his head out of the window of their room for confirmation and sees nothing but endless night sky filled with brilliant, twinkling stars and other specks of floating celestial bodies. The room interior within appears just as it always has but the exterior\u2026 it's almost as if someone had neatly removed the inn floors above and below, leaving only their room to drift airily in this strange place.\nHe raises an eyebrow at Lucio. \"What did you just do?\"\n\"If I explain it, it might take a little over a day. But just know that it will take any person or monster thousands of years before finding this place.\" he says this a little too proudly as he sweeps his arm to gesture to the limitless skies outside. \"Of course it's only temporary. But i can guarantee complete privacy. Moreover...\" he sweeps his thumb suggestively down Sandalphon's jaw. \"You can cry out as much as your heart desires and not a soul will know.\"\nA spike of arousal shoots down his spine instantly. With a stuttering inhale, Sandalphon raises his gaze up at him, throat dry. He swallows thickly, his pulse flutters at the dark prospect. \"Are you trying to say, you can contain me here, for however long and whenever you want?\"\nLucio's breaks out of his reverie and wears a look of wide eyed bewilderment. The thought only occurred to him now. Flustered, he replies sheepishly. \"...I didn't think that far ahead. But subjectively speaking, yes. I can.\" He does have the power to entrap him in this space. Disappear with him and erase any memory the crew had of ever encountering them both. Steal him from the world, keep him all to himself. Mine. His insides lurch at how empowered he feels from the thought alone. There's a part of him that yearns blissfully at the thought of monopolising him completely and entirely.\nLucio's raises his voice in protest. It shakes him forcibly from that disturbing line of thinking. \"N-o! That's not\u2026 that's not why I brought you here.\" He'd never want to hold Sandalphon captive against his free will. He's appalled at himself for even thinking of him in that way. He's not an object to be possessed or owned. He breaks into cold sweat, casting his gaze down in shame at his own weakness.\nAn awkward pause passes before he speaks again, \"Does it make you feel ill at ease? I can take us back...\"\n\"UH-\" Sandalphon is at a loss of what to do. Lucio appears panicked. That is not the kind of effect he wanted his words to have. He reaches out to cradle his distraught face, the warmth of his palm helps keep him grounded, to get him to look at him again. \"Don't take it too seriously. You brought me here. So it's\u2026 safe.\"\nThe admission coming from his mouth makes him feel warm all over. Saying it out loud is still embarrassing as all hell, but with Lucio being its only recipient... maybe he can stand to be just a little more honest. Even though he hates how weak and vulnerable it makes him feel to have his soul bare. It's only fair isn't it? Lucio's always upfront and open to him. He could stand to do the same sometimes.\n\"Ah\u2026 of course.\" Lucio's affirms and his expression softens. His entire body slacks as he exudes relief. His eyes close when he exhales deeply and revels at the warmth of his hand resting on his cheek. He's moved by the great amount of trust Sandalphon bestows him with. He silently vows to strengthen his own resolve to be worthy of such a special privilege. \"Even if this body wastes away, I swear unto you, I'll keep you safe.\"\n\"Don't you dare. I'll kill you if you die for my sake.\" Sandalphon's grip on Lucio's cheek hardens and gives it a steady pull. He's had enough of deaths and regrets. \"No more of this self sacrifice nonsense. Do you hear me?\" he finally grants him mercy when he lets up.\n\" O-w-oww\u2026 my face. My beautiful faceee ~\" he laments as he rubs at his sore cheek. \"That doesn't even make sense.\" He is more than aware, it doesn't have to make sense, he has come to comprehend the sentiment behind the harsh words and treatment. It's just so Sandalphon not to be direct about these things.\n\"It will when the time comes! I mean it.\" Sandalphon growls and gives him a little nudge on the head with his own in mild warning.\n\"Alright, alright. I understand.\" Lucio says just to pacify him. He doesn't wish any more pain inflicted on his being. \"Believe me when I say I have no intention to ever leave you alone ever again. If that's what you wish.\"\nSandalphon continues to scowl but is gradually placated when searching lips press a light kiss to the furrow of his brow. Then, the tip of his nose, the corner of his mouth, until it finds its way back to his.\nLucio gradually leads him closer to the foot of the bed. He beckons him over with an outstretched hand. \"Come here, Sandalphon.\"\nThe hard glare the brunet sends his way is half-hearted. But he gradually complies, if only that it works in his favor regarding their height difference. He takes his offered hand and allows himself to be guided to press flush against the other's body, chest to chest with his legs on either side of Lucio's waist.\nHe settles in this gentle warmth encompassing him. Lucio's hand comes to rest on the small curve of his lower back. The steady beat of his core resonates with his. Fitting so perfectly like he's the missing piece, he feels protected, enveloped in his arms.\nTreasured. Cherished. Loved...? If this is what it means to feel like, this is the closest he can comprehend the warm feeling that furls in his core and continues down to where their fingertips meet, and where only layers of cloth separate them. Yet he can feel the heat radiating off him. He's warm. So very warm.\nUnlike the other times, there's a lack of urgency and Lucio takes his time to take him apart. He lets his fingers slide the sleeve down one shoulder. Lucio nuzzles his neck and presses his lips to the now exposed skin. But it doesn't linger there, it moves down to his jaw, to the line of his neck, mouthing that one place that he knows he likes. \"Let me hear your voice.\" He whispers hotly against his ear.\nSandalphon is on the verge of combusting when he feels the soft nibble on his earlobe. A shameful, pleading noise leaves him before he can stop himself.\nHis yukata parts and pools down his elbows when Lucio almost ceremoniously peels off his remaining sleeve. The brush of his fingers where skin and fabric meet is more exploratory and deliberate.\nSandalphon bites his lower lip, exhaling audibly in anticipation. He's a breath short of asking him to stop teasing and hurry up, but his voice comes out in a startled yelp when fingers barely graze over a hardened nub, leaving a tingling trail in its wake.\nLucio laughs airily. \"It's gotten more sensitive than last time, no?\"\n\"S-shut... Uh-aa..ahh..!\" Sandalphon's back goes rigid when the pads of his thumbs tease them taut. Lucio continues to mouth at his neck, sucking hard at one point that he's sure to leave his mark. If anyone sees it they'll know how it got there and who did it. He tips his head back unsure how long he can maintain this position.\nLucio smiles serenely and easily maneuvers him with his back on the mattress. \"Better?\"\nSandalphon's strength leaves him, leaving him pliant and open. He's splayed on the bedspread beneath him like a willing offering for him to partake. Hair tousled mess over the sheets. Body flush and coated with a thin sheen of sweat. Bathed in moonlight, half lidded crimson pupils beckon him to drown in their depths.\n\"So perfect, so beautiful.\" Lucio murmurs in adoration between open mouthed kisses intent on worshipping and tasting every inch of supple curves and firm lines within his reach. There is a sweetness to his voice, his smell, his body that he can't seem to have enough of. He's intoxicated. Roaming hands slip between the folds of his yukata. His knees shakily drift further apart in silent encouragement and Lucio lowers his head to mouth at the prominent shape of his arousal straining against the fabric of his small clothes.\n\"I-idiot, don't! I-if you keep doing that, I'm going to\u2026! A-ah..! I'm going to ruin Lucio's gift!!\" It hurts. He's so hard it hurts. At his behest, Lucio pulls away and he's almost tempted to lock his knees and trap his head there where he wants him to be. But not tonight. Tonight he wants something else.\nLucio smiles brightly. Touched at the sentiment. \"As you wish.\"\nThe remains of their clothing are left folded neatly on the floor. Sandalphon's clutching at the pillow over his head like he's bracing himself.\n\"Sandalphon, are you sure this is what you want?\"\n\"You're asking me this now...?\" After a moment his tone mellows, irritation giving way to the embarrassment underneath. \"Who do you think I'm doing this for? I want... \" is Lucio really going to make him say it? \"I want you , dammit! Don't keep me waiti-a-ahh.. haa !\" his fingers clench the pillows tightly at the tentative slide of his lubricant coated fingers inside. He's not sure he'll ever get used to the foreign feeling of intrusion. Those are Lucio's fingers. Inside. Inside him. But only partially, leaving him in a strange, suspended place where he's not sure if he wants him to pull out or slip further in.\n\"Y..you're squeezing me so tightly. Sandalphon, I need you to relax and breathe...\" Lucio attempts to soothe him by running a comforting hand down his side. \"Tell me if it's too much.\"\nSandalphon lets out a harsh exhale. It's too much as it is! The fingers of another person really are different. He has no control where or how he's being touched. He gradually wills himself to become more pliant, to accept the intrusion inside him.\nHe forces himself to watch as they pull out slightly only to disappear inside again with a lecherous squelch. His lower body lifts off the bed this time. He can't even begin to describe the feeling of being touched so intimately and deeply. And the feeling of discomfort gradually fades away to something else stroking the flames that lick in the corners of his consciousness. His voice, his body... his mind is becoming strange when he unconsciously tries to take Lucio's digits deeper inside him. And when he crooks his hips just so, the tip of Lucio's finger grazes against something that has electricity running up his nerve endings. It causes him to seize up suddenly that he barely registers what the hell it was when Lucio does it again.\nHe hears Lucio let out a soft laugh. \"So it's here.\"\n\"What's here!? A-ahh..!? Luci-aH-hh!?!\" his own yell interrupts him when Lucio returns to that spot and lightly traces random patterns on that hidden bundle of nerves.\n\"F-fuck..!\" Each caress has him writhing and he can't contain his voice. Sandalphon's body convulses involuntarily, unsure if he wants more of it or no more of his teasing. Tethering on the brink yet the stimulation isn't enough to bring him over the edge( ) has him twitching and pleading him with imploring eyes. \" Please. Lucio, please!\"\nLucio inhales sharply as he wills himself to retain control. There's a storm brewing in those azure eyes when they lock with his. \"Ahh\u2026 Why are you so \u2026.\"\nSandalphon thinks he heard him say something before he's pulling his fingers out completely. He makes a noise of protest in hopes he can convey his complaint. It's almost a sob at leaving him empty and bereft.\nThe bed springs creak in protest when Lucio moves to drape himself over him to kiss the lone tears pooling down his cheeks away. \"You're doing so well, Sandalphon. \"\nSandalphon brings an arm around Lucio's neck to draw him closer to meld and slide their eager mouths together until they need to breathe. They pant harshly when they break apart. Lucio gives him one last peck before he reaches down to align himself properly. \"Hold on to something.\"\nHe didn't need to be told twice. Sandalphon rests his hands on his forearms to help prop himself up slightly. He can see him hang heavy between his legs. Fuck. He doesn't remember it being that big before. He should know, he's had it in his mouth. And he couldn't even take all of him in. Gods above \u2026 is that going to be inside him in just a few minutes.\nSandalphon can't seem to take his eyes off him when Lucio prepares and coats himself generously with the same substance he used to stretch him out earlier. It's just not fair. Every part of him, he can say with confidence and certainty, is sculpted to flawless perfection.\n\"Don't look so scared.\" Lucio chides.\n\"I'm not.\" he insists firmly.\n\"Heh. Liar\u2026\" He leans down to give him a kiss on the forehead. \"If it gets too much, I need you to yell out something for me. Hmm, how about... \"\n\"What about, apple.\" Sandalphon suggests. Lucio's deflated expression makes it worth it.\n\"That again,\" he groans. \"Alright. That will most certainly get me to stop.\"\n\"That's for making me drop mine earlier. Don't think I didn't notice it was deliberate.\"\n\"I gave you my ice cream as an apology, did I not?\"\n\"And you did that so I wouldn't have the apple taste in my mouth.\" They pause for a bit, it's Sandalphon who covers his face with his hands. They're getting off track here, it's almost comical. And Lucio's making a sulking face. He can be petty and childish sometimes, now that he thinks about it. It was almost cute. Almost.\n\"Come here, you big baby.\" Sandalphon cups his face in his hands and gives him a slow kiss to pacify him.\nLucio wings seems appeased enough, if his wings fluttering animatedly behind him is any indication.\nThe observation is cut short, and his grin is wiped clean from Sandalphon's face when he feels the head of Lucio's cock nudging his puckered entrance. So much for thinking he had the upper hand\u2014it was good while it lasted. He vaguely remembers hearing Lucio reminding him to breathe and this time he shuts his eyes when he feels himself stretch to accommodate him. Bad idea, closing his eyes only makes it more intense. His eyes fly open and he can see Lucio gritting his teeth in concentration as he tentatively slips further into him.\nHe squeezes Lucio's forearms, fingernails digging into flesh. FUCK. It burns. His mouth falls open \u2014 o-h oh, gods \u2014 he's going to split him in half.\nLucio is halfway in but Sandalphon doesn't give him any indication that he should stop. He's so tight, his inner walls squeeze and greedily swallow him up in its welcoming heat. It takes everything for him to hold himself back. \"S-sandalphon..!\"\nThe brunet's gaze is unfocused and his voice cracks. It's so much all at once but he can take it. He knows he can take even a little bit more.\nLucio eventually stops, panting harshly and using all his willpower to remain still. \"A-re you alright?\"\nSandalphon nods. He's still alive as far as he knows. He peers down with some level of trepidation to see Lucio buried to the hilt. He's not sure if he imagines the outline of something protruding on his lower belly, and he can only let out a whimper. He doesn't think he has the capacity to form full sentences. His body is doing all it can to adjust to his sheer size.\nThe previous stretching only partially prepared him for this. He's not even sure if he can move. Lucio's length prods into more sensitive parts of his body his fingers couldn't reach. The pain by now has subsided to a degree and he's gradually getting used to the stretch.\nSandalphon mewls when he feels it throb. It's heavy inside him, big, and hot. Alive. And he's hasn't even moved yet. His mind spins at the thought of it rubbing inside him and a different kind of ache settles in like a slow prickling under his skin begging to be satiated. He experimentally rocks his hips and he instantly feels the slow drag against his prostate.\nThe needy moan that rips from his throat is embarrassingly honest. He is so, SO glad he's not going to wake up the entire inn because there is just no way he can stop himself. It's so good but also not good enough. He wants. He craves for sweet friction that can bring him to release. He almost wails, \"Lucio!!!\"\nLucio sharply sucks in a breath. The near desperate peal calling for him, needing him, agonising for him. Even as he shudders, the vibrations pass on where they're connected and has Sandalphon nearly begging him to move. He takes the cue to pull back slightly before thrusting in. Sandalphon cries out and arches his pelvis to meet his. Whatever remains of their restraint is broken.\nAn incredible swirl of building heat and energy starts to build within him. All Sandalphon can do is ride out wave after wave of being filled, the electric currents jolting his nerve endings. Lucio had started out slow at first. But when Sandalphon is snarling at him to hurry and to use his body as he pleases, Lucio complies his request in earnest. He meets him eagerly with each press of their hips.\nSandalphon's moaning becomes loud and feverish when Lucio's hand snakes down his abdomen to give him firm tugs and he bucks up into his loose fist in time with his thrusts. His body becomes taut like a bowstring ready to spring.\nAssaulted in the front and behind, Sandalphon loses himself in the pace Lucio sets. He rakes his nails down Lucio's back leaving light red trails on a once, flawless canvas.\nMore . Harder . Faster . He wants to say, but all that leaves his throat is his name until it becomes the only word he knows rising and falling in crescendo. Sandalphon is overcome with this euphoric, divine sensation just as it envelops Lucio at the same time. And for one moment, it's almost as though they've ascended into one and the same being. His white, luminescent wings burst forth from his back. They stretch far back all the way to the wing tips, only for them to go limp and lazily curl in on them both.\nLucio gradually moves to withdraw himself but Sandalphon keeps him place with a shake of his head and a small but content curl of his lips. His cheeks are wet. He had been crying. But it's not out of sadness.\nLucio returns the smile weakly and wraps his arms around him to bask in this beautiful, fleeting moment. His own wings fold over Sandalphon's, enveloping them both in their joined embrace.\nIt hurts. Everywhere hurts.\nThe dull ache on his lower body has him lying face down as he keeps to minimal movement as much he can. Sandalphon hears the door creaking open and the smell of coffee wafts in the air. He hears the clink of cups and saucers as they're being set up on the table. He groans into the pillows at the thought of being made to move, much less sit down.\n\"Are you still in pain?\" he feels a gentle brush of fingers on his lower back.\n\"...It's nothing. I can still\u2026\" his arms wobble when he attempts to lift himself up and ends up planting his face into the pillows again. \"No. I can't.\" He doesn't protest when he feels the warm tendrils of healing magic envelop him. Instead he sighs quietly in relief and entrusts himself in Lucio's care.\n\"Mm.\" Sandalphon slowly manages to sit up despite still being a boneless jellyfish.\n\"I hope it's not too presumptuous of me but I made something for you.\" He gestures to the table setting proudly.\n\"Oh.\" Lucio's coffee. Sandalphon's eyes are drawn to it and he tentatively takes the cup into his hands. He closes his eyes momentarily as he takes on its scent. This is nostalgic. He's once again reminded the first time Lucifer presented him with his first cup of coffee. \"I think I'll try some.\" He brings it to his lips and takes a sip.\nHis cheeks puff as a cocktail of sweetness with a bitter undertone assaults his mouth. It's like being forced to eat a spoonful of wet earth and a mountain of sugar. He doesn't swallow. He can't. But the look of bright expectancy on Lucio's face makes him steel himself from outright spitting the travesty out. Against all the living cells in his body protesting, he forces himself to swallow it only to turn to the side of the table and wheeze violently.\nWhen he finally finds his voice, it comes out in a rasp croak, \"Just how much sugar and milk did you use in there?\"\n\"I don't know.\" Lucio answers on a happy note.\nWhat follows is a direct hand chop to the head.\nA\/N: About the chapter title. Someone had to do it eventually. I am sorr- showsmyselfout\nChapter 13: Joining of Hands\n\"Pleased to formally make your acquaintance, Supreme Primarch. I am Mistress Gabriel's disciple, Europa. And this is my fellow disciple under Master Uriel, Alexiel. I look forward to working with you.\" her voice is refreshing and pleasant like the clear and gentle flow of a stream. Despite it being their first face to face meeting, word of her beauty is widespread throughout primarchs and astrals alike. There is none in the skies who don't know of the famed and most sought-after Europa.\n\"Ah. Likewise.\" Sandalphon says indifferently. Another dazzling creature has appeared and joined the ship's crew. Had he been a lesser man who is not constantly exposed to seeing the face of one beside him, he might have been blinded already. He's not sure what the Primarchs are scheming. Do they take him for an idiot that he needs to be monitored by their disciples because they can't approach him directly?\nWhile Sandalphon is preoccupied pondering their intentions, her line of sight shifts to the primarch at his side. \"Pardon my rudeness, and you must be?\"\nIt's true that most disciples haven't even seen Lucifer's face. So he's not at all surprised that they haven't noticed anything amiss with Lucio's appearance. Truth be told, he's not even sure if the four primarchs themselves are aware of his presence here in the Grandcypher or what it would mean if they did.\n\"Not at all. You may refer to me as Lucio. I've sworn to protect Sandalphon with my life. Moreover, my purpose is to bring joy, happiness, peace and prosperity. To be a beacon of light for this world and safeguard it from darkness and chaos.\" he smiles elegantly and dips his head in a graceful bow.\nSandalphon's eyebrows twitch. That's\u2026 so cheesy. No one is going to believe-\n\"My, that's marvelous.\" Europa beams warmly, eyes sparkling in admiration. \"I must say there is beauty in the purpose you aspire to fulfill.\"\nHearing this, Lucio's face lights up, pleased that finally, finally someone comprehends. \"And I stand by it proudly. This world of ours is fragile as it is beautiful. It deserves no less.\"\nThe two continue conversing about the world, its beauty.. before it turns into some odd competition of who can squeeze the most flowery, nauseating compliments back and forth. Sandalphon can't keep up with their animated chatter and decides to do what he does best whenever Lucio launches into this zone.\nTune it out.\nThe primarch next to him remains still and imposing as a statue. He's not sure if he's supposed to say something to her but she makes no move to initiate a conversation either. Her pupils catch him observing her and she returns it with an expressionless stare that's almost unnerving.\nHe's the one who breaks eye contact first. And they remain stone cold silent until one of the two, Lucio- notices that their companions have nearly perfected the art of assimilating with the walls.\n\"What are you doing all the way over here?\" Lucio walks over when he realizes Sandalphon has distanced himself from them.\nHe shrugs. \"No reason. Seems like you two get along well. I didn't want to be in the way.\"\nBut Lucio seems to have taken his sullen expression for something else when a self-pleased smile makes his way to his face. \"You needn't worry. In my heart, there is only you. I was only having a pleasant chat with a kindred spirit, nothing more.\"\nSandalphon's ears and face burn. The words creep under his skin and he can feel himself break into goosebumps. Right out in the open! There isn't a single bone in his body that has the tiniest shred of shame. Alexiel, being within hearing range, most definitely heard him! Sandalphon worriedly glances over his shoulder but even if she did, there's no change in her facial expression or manner.\nAlso-! That's not what he meant at all! The ridiculous notion almost made him want to vomit blood. All he can hiss out venomously between gritted teeth is, \"I'm. not. jealous..!\"\n\"Now, now..\" But his reaction only seemed to goad Lucio on. He places his hands on his shoulders and ushers the unwilling Sandalphon back into the fray.\nHe wants to wipe that stupid grin off his face so badly that had Lucio not been holding his shaking wrists to restrain him, who knows what he might do without a care for their impressions of him.\n\"I am sorry for taking too much of your time. It's good to know that the Supreme Primarch is in good company.\" Europa gives them both a light bow, looking immensely pleased at the outcome of this encounter. \"We only intended to introduce ourselves but perhaps next time we can all have tea together.\"\n\"Splendid. We look forward to it.\" Lucio calls over his shoulder as Alexiel and Europa excuse themselves to explore the rest of the Grandcypher.\nFrom behind the pair they can hear the Supreme Primarch sputter indignantly into the night followed by Lucio's carefree laughter.\n\"Hmph.\" A dark figure slips away from the shadows and flits down to the front of the ship. Olivia finds herself in deep contemplation. Staying with this crew might not have been the best of ideas, even if she initially thought it was a stroke of genius to pretend to be aligned with them. It's become harder and harder as months go by.\nFirst, Azazel called off their co-alliance and has taken it upon himself to seek the red dragon personally and is absent from the Grandcypher for the time being. Whether he decides to return or not remains to be unseen. Another is, members of the crew have seen her power over dusk in the course of summer events. It's true that they didn't bat an eyelash or think of her differently because of it. But that didn't make her position on the matter any easier because they easily approached her more now.\nAlmost as though those Primarchs have grown eyes at the back of their heads, they've added more eyes and ears into the mix! If the presence of Uriel and Gabriel's best disciples, Alexiel and Europa, is any indication. Who knows who else those damned Primarchs send next. Her only saving grace is that they are not aware of her yet. She should lie low and not act rashly for now.\nAdditionally, her budding friendship with Heles, Rosetta, and the other ladies on board has also made it more difficult to keep a steady surveillance on the two. Inviting her over for tea, shopping in new towns, coming with them during missions, and the like. It's as though all of the cosmos and beyond conspire to flush her plans down to the Crimson Horizon.\nLogic dictates she should maintain that cover of friendship to keep up appearances, but the more time she spends time with them, it becomes clear that it becomes less and less of a ruse and evolving into something she's looking forward to. Her original objective is becoming but a distant dream.\nStrangely she doesn't find herself adverse to it at all. Which only makes it more perplexing. She's here having tea parties and sharing gossip while her brethren trapped in Pandemonium are still suffering in the darkness. She bites her bottom lip to keep herself from crying out in frustration. Well played, Singularity. Her once solid, conviction wavers and she finds herself becoming less sure of herself everyday.\nWith all these odds stacked against her, this cannot go on. She can't continue pretending everything is alright and spin lie after lie like this. She's losing herself to this tranquil, peaceful environment while her spirit remains in a constant state of conflict. It is with a heavy heart that she's come to this decision.\nSpilling her innermost intentions from the beginning, she finds herself confronting the son of that man, the Singularity, at the bridge of the ship. \"...And that is why, I must leave this ship and crew. I cannot guarantee that I will not act in my own interests.\" now that the veil has been lifted and they are aware of her deception, she can depart in peace. She still hasn't given up but she will find means to fulfill her goal straightforwardly onwards.\nWith just two words, she's is stunned to silence. Ah. So he is already aware and has continued to let her stay. She doesn't understand their line of reasoning but neither does she like playing the part of a fool dancing in the palm of their hand either. She bitterly swallows her pride but maintains her composure with every intention to make her departure with her dignity intact. \"That makes things more simple then. This is farewell. The next time we meet, it will be on the opposing sides of the battlefield.\"\nBut just as she turns to leave with a heavy heart, she feels a tug on her hand. \"Wait, please\u2026\" she faces the blue haired girl who looks up at her imploringly. \"There has to be a way we can help you.\"\nHaving exhausted all her options, Olivia can only scoff at her overly optimistic attitude but maintains an air of aloofness when she looks upon her with cold eyes, \"Don't feed me with false hopes.\"\n\"We do have a common enemy. Those from the Otherworld and a force that threatens all living in this realm.\" a voice pipes up from behind Gran. They crane their heads to where the voice originates from. Lucio steps out of the shadows with Sandalphon, Alexiel and Europa behind him. And even more surprisingly, Alexiel shoves someone into the room. The familiar figure unwillingly, spewing curses and fire at the Supreme Primarch before he's pushed into the center of the room next to Olivia.\nNo matter what angle she perceives the situation, there can't be a good outcome from this gathering. Olivia steps away from Lyria. Her wings manifest and the sharp sound of her sword unsheathing rings throughout the closed space. The tension of the room escalates rapidly into a confrontational one.\nDespite being outnumbered, her steely glare narrows and dares them to try to back her into a corner and see what she wouldn't do. She planned to leave quietly but if they want a blood bath here and now, she's not going to go down that easily. \"What's the meaning of this?\"\nStill unarmed, Lucio remains unperturbed when he directly addresses the two fallen in the room. \"Dark Angel Olivia and Azazel. I am proposing a temporary ceasefire because we face a common, more immediate danger that threatens the very thread of existence of this realm.\"\nAzazel is the first to protest. \"Working with you backstabbing, two faced, Astral lapdogs? To save the humans?\" he spits with all the vitriol he can muster. \" Over my dead body! \"\nSandalphon has had enough of this grating noise. \"Say that to my face, you piece of-\" he moves to grab him by the collar when Lucio picks him up by the waist and leaves him struggling and clawing at air while yelling dark threats.\n\"Enough!\" Lucio's voice booms over the them. \"Despite how things turned out, we are all of the same origin, are we not? And this in-fighting amongst us is instigated by another party. The War is over. The Astrals have either died or gone into hiding. The instigators are still alive and well. And they have plans they intend to put into motion soon. We were never meant to fight each other. If we remain divided, naught can be accomplished. \"\nAzazel clicks his tongue but he's less reluctant than before. What he speaks is not entirely untrue but he's too proud to admit openly that he has a valid point. He wouldn't blink an eyelash if legions of humans perished. But what piques his interest is that he mentioned an instigator of this war. The one who started all this and put them through that hell and senseless fighting.\nNot once has Olivia let down her guard, her expression still holds mistrust. \"How do we know you won't wait for an opportune moment for us to let down our guard before striking us down behind our backs?\"\n\"If I may be frank\u2026 we won't get anything done if we still have our swords at each other's throats.\" Europa interjects. Even the usually quiet Alexiel has her own words to say. \"There is strength in numbers and allies for the trials ahead. What say you?\"\nWith great reluctance, Olivia sheaths her sword back into its scabbard. This outcome is unexpected but she didn't expect to be thrown a bone either. She would be a fool longing for a reckless death if she sticks to her pride and refuse them a second time. \"I don't speak for Azazel. Just know that my original objectives don't change in the slightest. For now. I can agree on this temporary ceasefire until this imminent danger no longer poses a threat.\"\nAzazel sneers. \"Tch. Never thought a day would ever come that I'd consider working with primarchs and their lackeys. Don't get any wrong ideas. There's someone I need to settle a score with, that's all.\"\n\"That can be easily arranged. The ceasefire effect is immediate. Let's all try to get along for the time being.\" Lucio didn't expect it to go as smoothly but luckily the other two ceded earlier on.\nLyria, Vyrn, and Gran on the sidelines, heave audible heavy sighs of relief. The commotion seemed to have drawn other primals and roaming crew members on board the ship to the bridge. Olivia is approached by Alexiel and Europa, both of whom have known her as the Primarch of Dusk and express their admiration for her tales of valor, much to her chagrin. Sandalphon and Azazel begin bickering almost immediately but Lucio isn't too hard pressed to separate them this time around.\n\"It's because both of you are so alike.\"\nTwo pairs of eyes glare at him at the same time. \"WHAT PART OF US IS ALIKE!?\" they roar in chorus.\n\"Stop copying me!\"\n\"Why the hell would I copy you !?\"\n\"So lively..\" Lucio laughs. He catches Gran's amused smile at the scene unfolding before them. He asks in a quieter tone. \"It turned out much better than I expected. Is this really enough, Captain?\"\n\"Yes. More than enough. Thank you, Lucio.\"\n\"Had you not suggested it in the first place, it wouldn't have crossed my mind.\" Whether or not their temporary coalition will bear fruit, remains to be seen. Perhaps that which has been lost can still be saved.\nA\/N: Un-beta'd. I wanted to post this in before the seasonal lines come out. This chapter carries my small wish. But it's not always that simple in the actual story. That's why it's an AU, right? Thanks for reading~\nChapter 14: Exception to the Rule\nA\/N: I realized it has been a year since I posted the first chapter. Oh. I have every intention of continuing this. Just a reminder that it's AU. So, to reiterate.. in this story Lucio has met Sandalphon earlier than the canon intended.\nThe rattle of the chains and echoing footsteps is the only sound between them as they descend into the mouth of Pandemonium. The dark energy within considerably weakens their kind and he can hear Lucifer's footsteps cease behind him. He turns around and that face remains impassive and unflinching as always. \"This is where you shall spend the rest of your days in atonement for your actions. And this is where we must part ways. Sandalphon.\"\n\"Heh.\" He scoffs. \"So be it.\" There isn't a hint of emotion on his face. That carefully crafted mask. Lucifer feels nothing for him, he concludes. Of course he would feel nothing as he sends him into the depths of a prison of terrible beasts and atrocities in the world. A place for him. Here for all eternity. Discarded like the trash he is, locked away in darkness.\n\"...Do you have nothing else to say to me?\"\n\"Not really. This is where he wants all the trash to go. It's just another cage to contain me.\" The blue skies he sees that day. It might be the last he sees it. It might be the last time they speak. But he doesn't let it show in his face. He will not allow himself to be vulnerable. He hardens his heart and walks forward.\nThere are no more words left to be said, Lucifer can only impart him with: \".... Farewell.\" as he seals the door behind him.\nSandalphon slowly rouses in the waking world. His vision blurs, blinking again only makes him aware of the pool of fresh tears trailing down the sides of his face. He can feel his core clench in anguish and he lets out a stifled sob.\nHe curls into himself, as though it would lessen the pain. But he's almost startled when he feels the arm around his waist tighten slightly. There's a warm breath against his ear and Sandalphon cranes his neck to the figure enfolding him. For a short moment, he thinks he almost sees a different entity of pure white and gold robes, and cascading long hair but when he focuses on the face of the other, he's met with Lucio's concerned gaze.\n\"I'm sorry.\" Sandalphon feels guilt prick him but when he feels the warmth leave him and in a flare of panic, his eyes fly open only to find Lucio shift him around so he can sink further into his embrace.\n\"You don't need to apologize.\" he feels a soothing rub run over his back and Sandalphon grips him harder as though he needs to affirm he's solid in his grasp.\nThe discomfort is not great, he is more worried about Sandalphon's state of mind. Even though he dispelled the nightmares plaguing him, he is quick to learn that not all of them were caused by Otherworldly beings. Some are induced by the host itself. All of the things Sandalphon holds inside. And while Lucio acknowledges that he is powerless to fight Sandalphon's inner demons, he is more than willing to let Sandalphon hold him. To remind him that he is here beside him as many times as he needs it.\nUntil he can find a way to restore that which is lost... he hopes Sandalphon will be patient a little longer. These powers\u2026 to be used for self serving purposes like this. Ah. Had he been his former self he'd disapprove of his own actions. But he had already long abdicated his position since the day he took hold of the other's hand. --So long as it did not endanger the realm and distort the world's balance, there shouldn't be dire consequences using his abilities in this way\u2026 since when did he allow such things?\nThese exceptions. He would never permit himself to make allowances before. As someone who had once taken pride in retaining a neutral stance, he is no longer a bystander. And. It seems he, himself is not immune to change. If it could make this one special being happy\u2026 he's not sure what other exceptions he's willing to make.\nWhile Lucio silently contemplates his thoughts, they remain tangled just holding each other. Sandalphon has gone back to sleep and Lucio is perfectly content just to have him in his arms until dawn breaks and light filters through the windows.\nSandalphon's eyebrows wrinkle in annoyance when the light of the sun pierces through his slumber. He buries his head stubbornly against Lucio's chest, eliciting a soft rumble from the man himself. When their gazes finally find each other, Sandalphon's frown deepens. \"...Did you watch me sleep the whole night? ...Again?\"\n\"I don't need that much sleep to begin with. Watching you has become one of my favorite past times.\" he playfully pinches the Supreme Primarch's cheek.\nSandalphon drowsily turns his face away and bats him on the arm without much strength. \"Mmphh.. Get other hobbies. What time is it?\"\n\"The sun's only just risen. But it will be another day till we arrive in Port Breeze. You didn't sleep well last night. And I'm not so cruel as to deny you a few more minutes\u2026 or hours of rest.\" he leisurely runs his fingers over that tangled nest of brown hair.\nSandalphon leans up towards the comforting touch. It sounds tempting to give in. Lucio makes it a habit to spoil him rotten like this. He's not entirely against it either. But if he's too good to him, he's eventually going to be more indulgent and demanding. \"Mm. What about you? Do you get nightmares?\"\nLucio idly plays with the tips of his wavy hair. \"No. Nightmares don't occur to me. I receive visions. And.. have been receiving them in greater frequency these days. It's nothing you need to be worried about. Some linger, some are fleeting.\"\n\"What... kind of visions?\"\n\"Hm, they're mostly about you.\" Lucio eventually admits.\n\"Oh?\" Sandalphon's grin turns coy. \"...So you're something of a seer now? Is this in one of your visions too?\" he traces random lazy circles on his bare skin with the pad of his index finger.\nFrom his messy nest of hair, to the sensual line of his collarbone, how he forms perfectly against him like the missing piece of a puzzle.. Those irresistibly, kiss swollen lips and beautiful, half-lidded eyes gleaming with mischief. He is aware that he's fighting a losing battle with his control.\n\"Are you sure you're not actually a devil\u2026?\" Lucio's lips curl with the beginning of a smile, hands creep underneath the blanket and find their intended target. He attacks his sides with light rakes of his fingers. \"I will not show mercy!\"\nSandalphon lets out a surprised squawk and flounders about with what little movement he can do without toppling over the bed. \"S-stop! Stop, stop..!\" he manages between snickering and growling, fending off his relentless attack with not much success. They collapse in a fit of soft giggles melting into lingering kisses.\nLucio nuzzles his neck in apology, and plants another kiss on his jaw. \"Don't worry your secret's safe with me. I rather like being the only one who has the power to fell the Supreme Primarch with my bare hands.\"\nSandalphon blows the hair from his face in one huff of breath. Then, he bites his shoulder.\nNeedless to say, almost half a day has gone by before they emerged from their room. Nobody questions this anymore as the pair do their share of chores around the ship.\n\"Do you really need to go?\" Sandalphon tries not to look as forlorn as he feels about it. But according to Lucio, he perceives that there is somewhere he needs to check for himself for a short period of time.\nLucio smiles helplessly. \"Unfortunately, it might be difficult for you to follow.\" He cannot tell him the place he intends to check is Pandemonium itself, given it used to be the place Sandalphon was imprisoned.\n\"So when?\"\n\"In a few days. Weeks, if\u2026 the problem might be more complicated than it is.\" Lucio takes Sandalphon's hands in his own. \"Then\u2026 I shall be leaving. Might you humor this selfish request of mine and give me a parting smile?\"\nSandalphon gives him an answering squeeze, as though it could keep him on the ground a little longer. \"Wh-!? It's not like I can smile on command-\" but he forces himself to. He's probably making a silly face. The longer Lucio stares, the more self conscious he gets. It isn't until Lucio is unable to hold in his laughter anymore that Sandalphon pounds his chest plate in frustration to cover his embarrassment.\nLucio can't contain himself and pulls him into his embrace. He does not want to let go. But for his sake, and this realm's sake. He must depart so he can return sooner. \"When I return and settle everything. I shall reveal to you all you need to know. This, I swear. So wait for me. I will surely return to you.\"\nSandalphon exhales the breath he had been holding as he takes two steps back. \"Come back safe.\"\n\"I will.\" Lucio climbs onto the Grandcypher's railing and gives Sandalphon one last look over his shoulder. And he takes the leap, turning into a blaze of white light heading past the blue horizon.\nA\/N: Thanks for reading~ ^^\nChapter 15: Line of Defense\nMichael's grip on her sword tightens as she continues to observe the current state of Pandemonium at a safe distance. At the moment, everything is deathly still but she does not let her guard down even at an instant. She knows he's in there. After the events in the Celestial Strait, she's exhausted almost every means on tracking him down.\nThat snake in the grass, Belial and the rest of the Fallen Angels. \"Why are they holed up at the summit of the cage? What do they hope to do from there?\"\nFor him to have a hand in Lucifer's passing, and even breaching the cage to use it as a stronghold... he can't have been without help. And that's all the more reason why she remains incognito to observe for any sign or activity within that can hint at their next move. Her network of intelligence informed her that they carry weapons that have the ability to kill immortals. She can't afford to be reckless. Yet she is forced into a complete standstill and her building impatience and frustration only make her more restless.\nAs she continues to contemplate, her attention is drawn towards something faint in the distance. \"Huh?\" almost akin to a shooting star at light speed, blinking in an upward ascent towards the skies above. She can't make out what it is but any suspicious activity needs to be investigated. Before she can make her move, however, she feels a core thrumming pulse rippling out of the very center of Pandemonium.\nAnd before her very eyes, a shield encompasses the entire structure. They've already made their move!!\nMeanwhile back in the Grandcypher... The archangels of information have just relayed Michael's summons. The ship has turned around and is now, en route towards Pandemonium. Even as the coming of the catastrophe draws near, Lucio is still nowhere in sight.\nSandalphon's gaze is impassive as he stares into the distance. Contemplating, worrying\u2026 he told him he was going away for a short while. He told him to wait. That he will return. And yet, he can't shake off the feeling that something is strange. Come to think of it.. Aside from what Lucio has been telling him, he's still not sure what his true identity is. He's asked on more than one occasion, but the response he receives is that the time is not right yet, and promises that he will reveal all to him eventually.\nThese were just words, weren't they? Had he been his former self, he wouldn't be this trusting of such intangible merits. And yet like he's holding onto those very words like a lifeline. Whatever it is Lucio has set out to do, he wonders if he's mixed into this somehow. He hates that all he can do is speculate. The uncertainty almost drives him mad. Damn it, Lucio. Why now, of all times? Where are you?\nThe howl of the passing wind is all the response he receives.\n\"Are you still moping? Pathetic.\"\nSandalphon turns to glare at the origin of the voice. \"Don't you have anything else better to do? Buzz off.\"\n\"Don't get me wrong. I'd never choose to do this. But he asked me to. So. It's not like I can say no.\" Azazel's arms are folded over his chest, staring down the former with a stubborn determination not to lose. \"Hmph! I may be a Fallen but I always pay my debts in full, Sandy.\"\nHe can feel his skin crawling. \"Ughh-! Don't you ever call me that...\"\nOlivia ignores them as she watches the pair of archangels flit off too and fro the ship, greeting everyone with brimming familiarity. \"So carefree even when the times are dire. I guess some things don't change.\" almost as though they heard her, they suddenly fly over to capture each of her arms in theirs. Rendering the archangel of dusk immobile and alert.\n\"Don't be such a wet blanket, Olivia.\"\n\"Yeah! We're on the same side now.\"\n\"Let's have some coffee and cakes. Sandy can brew us one, can't you?\"\n\"Do I have a choice?\" Olivia hangs her head.\n\"Nope!\" the pair chirp in unison and proceed to coax her to join them.\n\"Haa.. they're a handful.\" Sandalphon sighs. They only just got here and they've already bought into the idea of having a coffee break. It doesn't help that the other crew members overhear that he might be brewing. Resulting in a small gathering forming into a semi circle around him, each one wanting a share before the upcoming skirmish as well. Where did they all come from? With this number of people.. \"At this rate I'll have to make more than a pot.\"\n\"Hehe.. it's because you make it so well that it's in very high demand.\" Lyria chimes in.\nHis lips curve up in a small, ghost of a smile. \"Bah, you're all hopeless.\"\nIt isn't until they hear someone screaming that their attention is drawn to a black figure flickering in the sky. The once tranquil atmosphere shatters into pieces. As it draws close, it lets out a piercing shriek. The disfigured, winged creature saunters its way towards the upper deck with a black sword on hand.\n\"Wait..!!\" Halluel and Malluel's eyes widen in recognition and horror. \"Do you not recognize this aura? It's.. it's Azrael!\" trembling at the grotesque form of their friend who went missing two millennia ago, they can only fathom what she has been through. \"Don't you recognize us? It's Halluel and Malluel..!\"\nSandalphon yells, \"Fall back! That fallen angel's mind is gone! Those black swords are dangerous... it has the ability to slay immortals!\"\nOlivia and Azazel are paralyzed as they stare down the creature. This\u2026 this is a fallen angel? They can scarcely believe it. Surely there were experiments that did take place in Lucilius' laboratories but not something altered to this extent. At least...not to their knowledge.\nThe color is drained from Olivia's face. \"What has become of them..?\" The fallen angel before them now is warped and malicious, seeping with the maddening lust for destruction. She shivers to think that she could have almost shared its fate.\nAzazel, beside her is no better off. For someone who's always rebelled their kind being used as mindless drones and slaves, this is precisely what he fought against for. His lips twist in bitter fury, \"...We need to put her out of her misery.\"\n\"No! If there's a chance we can get her to snap out of it, we'll handle it. \" with great difficulty, Halluel and Malluel convince them to press forward and leave them to deal with their friend.\n\"Okay. I'm counting on you.\" Gran finally says as the archangels of instruction lead Azrael away from the ship so they could continue on towards Pandemonium where they can already hear the telltale signs of an intense battle and firearms being ignited.\nHaving just departed from the disturbing sight of what's to come, he silently prays that the two they left behind can handle the situation themselves. There's a complicated feeling in the pit of Sandalphon's stomach and it has nothing to do with the turbulent winds the ship has been wracked with as they, too, are on the way to join the alliance fleet positioned outside Pandemonium. Lingering just above the low altitude where an inexperienced helmsman may falter.\n\"Pandemonium\u2026 I never thought I'd come back here again.\" He shudders to think of what might have happened had he not escaped. He might have ended up as one of those soulless puppets. But this is also ironically perfect. \"It makes a fitting tombstone for all of these transgressors.\" that fallen angel they encountered earlier is only a taste of what's to come.\nHe braces himself for what lies ahead. If he can make it through this, he will be able to keep his promise to Lucifer if he fulfills this task. But he's not doing it merely for his sake now. He wants to live. He has a reason to continue living. A world and allies, he wishes to protect, and all the fallen angels they've wronged. A place he can return to with him when he comes back, he concluded. \"We'll put an end to this, once and for all.\"\nThe Grandcypher and crew converge with the fleet, hereby strengthening the alliance morale and overall firepower. The captains of the numerous fleets have all gathered for a strategic meeting as they try to plan their next course of action to break the current stalemate. Not to mention, the shield that encompassed the whole structure they also had to deal with.\nAfter reconvening with Gabriel, Cagliostro and Society's representative, Ilsa, a heavy air of dread sweeps through the conference room once they've come to realize the extent of Lucilius' ambitions. But they have little to no time to express their outrage over how very little he views life. It's clear the opposition is stalling for time as they continue to weaken the dimensional boundary within. Their next course of action is to go on a brute force offensive.\nThe meeting adjourns, each individual disperse with clearly defined strategic roles to fulfill. If they fall here, there will be no stopping the outpouring of chaos from the Crimson Horizon. The very fate of the sky realm depended on the success of this last line of defense.\nThose that remain on the Grandcypher are steeling themselves for the signal to push forward from the team that are steadily chipping at a single point to peel off layers of the protective shell encasing the structure. With intentions to create an opening large enough for the airship to traverse. Supporting fleets are protecting them while the horde of fallen angels rain down on them relentlessly. It's a battle of tenacity and endurance.\nMichael and Sandalphon stand together on the ship's bow, both conserving their strength for the upcoming confrontation. Michael eventually breaks the silence when she clears her throat. \"It seems like you've grown a little more insight since the last we've met. I never thought I'd see the day that we'd be fighting alongside, to be honest.\"\n\"Neither did I. I know we have our differences and you don't acknowledge me as Lucifer's successor. I'm more than aware of my own shortcomings as I am aware that the sins I've committed are anything but light--\"\n\"That's not it. I have no qualms over Lucifer's choosing. If I did, it is all in the past. I once saw you as a baby chick, blind to everything around you but your own self centeredness. But something's changed. I don't exactly know what it is, but perhaps the journey with the Singuarity has done you some good.\"\nSandalphon turns to look at her in surprise. Never did he think the day would come that Michael had some good things to say about him.\n\"But don't let it get into your head.\" she cautions. \"There's still more you need to learn. Let's get through this trial together.\"\n\"Understood.\" he acknowledges with a content hum. Then, he tilts his head to the side and loudly proclaims. \"...You can come out, Lyria. You're not interrupting.\"\nThe blue haired girl squeaks as her name is called. \"H-how did you know I was there?\"\n\"Heh. Stealth isn't exactly your forte.\"\n\"Ehe.. sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop.\" she grins sheepishly. \"But we have some food rations being passed around and I thought you two might want some. They've been especially prepared with a lot of love and care!\"\n\"Don't worry about it. And thank you, I think I'll take you up on your offer.\" Michael gives her a reassuring glance.\n\"Aye, hand it over here.\" And the remaining one is received by Sandalphon.\n\"Okay!\" she brings them over enthusiastically.\n...It's actually quite good. Sandalphon doesn't realize how hungry he is until he takes a bite out of this peppersteak drizzled in darkshroom sauce. Although primarchs in general have many other means to regenerate and regain their energy without partaking actual food as skydwellers do, there's nothing that can raise their spirits quite like taking in a good, homemade meal.\nHe digs in with more enthusiasm until not even a speck of rice remained.\n\"Let me put them away for you two!\" Lyria offers as she gathers the remains of their meal and runs off back towards the galley. Sandalphon can only smile vaguely at her retreating back.\nAnd in a voice toned down to a whisper, Michael asks, \"Is it because of her?\"\n\"Huh? What's 'because of her' ?\" he was just thinking that Lyria has a way of lifting the tense mood.\nHer enthusiasm and cheer gives him a faint reminder of a certain smiling fool. He had been idly wondering what Lucio's reaction would be if he were here. He'd noisily harp on about how it's the most delicious thing he's had, most likely. Inelegantly spilling food with cheeks puffed up like a hamster because someone's a little too excited to express how he feels that he forgets decorum.\nMichael almost looks perplexed that she has to spell it out for him, \"I've never seen you smile so gently towards another person besides Lucifer before.\"\nHis face instantly colors and he blurts out. \"This and that are two different things!\" and\u2026 he wasn't exactly smiling at her. He's not about to explain he was daydreaming just now about someone else.\nSeeing his reaction seems to have appeased her as she shakes her head in amusement.\nWhy does he have the feeling she's misunderstanding something? Sandalphon stares at her in horror when the realization hits him. \"Now hold on a minute. She's like a little sister to me! It's not what you're thinking!\"\n\"Then, who?\"\nIs this an interrogation? Sandalphon thinks glumly. Why is she particularly interested? He knows she can be strong willed but he didn't think she'd be this nosy too!\n\"Hmm, is it the Singularity?\" comes a melodious voice behind him.\n\"NO!! Don't guess!\" he whips his head around and sees Gabriel grinning at him like the cat that got the cream. \"Hehe, as much as I'd hate to interrupt such a juicy topic, I'm here to report that we're close to breaching the wall so you'd all best prepare to move out!\"\n\"OKAY, GOOD! \" Sandalphon stands upright immediately, and is about to shuffle off when she calls off after him.\n\"Don't think you're off the hook yet, Sandy~ We'll continue this topic later over tea!\" Gabriel sends him off with a wink.\nHe keeps going, pretending he didn't hear her. But under his breath, he's muttering, \"Give me a break...!\"\nA\/N: I'm living for all the archangels teasing Sandy because he was the littlest archangel.\nChapter 16: Pandemonium\nThe entire structure Pandemonium suddenly shakes violently from a massive force. The pieces of the chess board rattle with it and some have even toppled over.\n\"Oh? It feels like we just got rammed by something big and hard.\" Belial looks over his shoulder at the scenic view of pure chaos beneath them. The wind carries the wafting scent of sulfur, magic residue, and singed flesh. Yet from where they're leisurely enjoying a game of chess at the summit, the blazing red backdrop that reflects the Crimson Horizon seems to be spreading its influence further into the sky realm.\nIt won't be long until the last vestiges of the dimensional boundary disintegrates completely.\nBut like a beacon of hope, the Grandcypher forcibly passes through the crack in the barrier encasing Pandemonium. With the Singularity and Lucifer's heir leading the charge, it'll only be a matter of time before they make their ascent towards the upper levels.\nAll the players are making their way onto the stage. Belial is anxious for the show to begin. His unconcerned demeanor does not go unnoticed.\n\"What are you up to\u2026?\" Beelzebub regards the fallen angel sitting across him with guarded tension. \"It's almost as though they're suddenly aware of the grand finale.\"\nStill poised with his chin resting on his hand, Belial's eyelashes flutter in feigned innocence. \"Haha\u2026 you're seriously asking me this? What haven't I been up to these past 2000 years, Bubs?\"\nBeelzebub's aura turns menacing as his patience wears thin. \"I'm not in the mood for your mind games, beast.\"\nBelial doesn't even flinch. He has the audacity to even look bored as he plays with a discarded pawn in his hand. \"Then, maybe you should be more specific and ask the right questions, mm?\"\nNo matter. Even if they found out, they can't stop it from happening\u2026 but if they do manage to breach the shield, it's an entirely different matter altogether.\nSuddenly he's not so sure anymore.\nAnd if he's not mistaken, the Singularity of this realm is also spearheading the infiltration. Thoroughly throwing a wrench into his carefully laid plans. He already knew the boy would be a hindrance from the start. And the very person he sent to intercept them, at the time\u2026. is none other than this demon spawn grinning smugly at him.\nTo be ridiculed by something as primitive as his kind\u2026. Beelzebub grits his teeth but schools his expression to one of calm. He's so close to his objective that he can't allow this imbecile to get under his skin and ruin everything he's worked for.\n\"I asked you for one thing in exchange for my help to kill Lucifer, and that was to take out the Singularity. Shouldn't it be about time you fulfilled the end of your bargain? We might still be able to salvage this farce of a grand finale if you intercept them from climbing Pandemonium. I'll launch a surprise attack at them from here.\"\nBelial sighs melodramatically. \"I'm real disappointed in you, Bubs. It's not very nice to leave me hanging high and dry while you reach the climax alone. Did you really think I'd let you climb Etemenanki behind my back?\"\n\"You\u2026!\" Not even Lucilius could have known about the existence of that tower. It's classified information that only select High Council members are aware of. Beelzebub faces him with stifled apprehension. The crack of that normally stoic mask only affirms all that Belial needs to know.\n\"Etemananki, a mysterious structure of unknown proportion and origins\u2026 it possibly dates back during the time of creation. Its mysterious properties are neither for providence or chaos, making it invulerable to both. Making it near untouchable. Its location is not fixed at one point but you've come to calculate it appearing just above here on this day. And it makes it the perfect makeshift bunker to escape any sort of apocalypse, wouldn't you say?\" Belial helpfully supplies, his eyes flash dangerously red as dark energy begins to swirl as he draws them into his body. \"And after all this time, we've been working together, you've been planning to stab us in the back somewhere along the way. --Do I get a reward for full marks?\"\n\"Hah! So in the end, both of us ended up using each other. So what... I could care less about what happens to this world. Once it's gone, all its power will revert to me and it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the worlds follow suit.\"\n\"Ah- ah\u2026 not so fast.\" Belial wags a finger at him. \"Unfortunately, that goes against 'cilius and my plans. Our endgame is the total annihilation of life. Survivors will not be tolerated.\" Red summoning runes bring out his armaments. His featherless black wings effortlessly lift him from the ground in slow, steady beats.\n\"Hrm\u2026 try it if you can. Are your six wings even enough?\" Beelzebub's chaos matter tipped spear is poised into combat stance. He has the power of chaos and void in this tempered body. This confrontation will not end until the other is dead.\n\"Ohh, I know that much. But\u2026 that's why I saved a little something just for this occasion.\" Belial laughs gleefully as his body starts emitting an ominous glow. His body grows taut as an additional two wings break out of his shoulder blades followed by a pair of red horns curling and protruding from both sides of his head. His skin is riddled with cursed markings. Red pupils dilate as the cornea of his right eye turns completely black.\n\"Nghhh.. ahh \u2026 ha.. haa~\" his pained groan melts into one of overstimulated pleasure. Falling to his knees, he's panting, eyes half lidded in bliss. \"Mmmm, so this is the power of 'cilius' work. Circulating in my veins\u2026 stimulating my core.. swirling... deep inside me! \"\n\" Eight wings!? Bastard! when did you\u2026\" he's not about to give him time to rein in that power but just as he's about to thrust his spear into pale flesh, Belial shifts his body and evades effortlessly. It is his reflexes that save him from taking the full brunt of Belial's kick aimed at his side. He digs the end of his spear and his heels onto the ground to keep him from being propelled too far off.\n\" Ssssoo.. . impatient.\" Belial makes a noise of complaint when he ascends to full height. By now his aura has swollen to an even more oppressing level. The forced transformation makes him break into a thin sheen of sweat. But the power that overflows through him from absorbing Avatar's essence is taking effect almost immediately. \"Won't even give me the time to bask in the afterglow. This might be why your partners never answer your calls.\"\n\"Tsk. What have you done with the others?\" Beelzebub knew something had to have come in play when none of his pawns haven't been answering to his direct summons.\n\"Haha, it's nothing much. All I did was sever the little mind controlling node you implanted in the two strongest ones, juust in case you become unreasonable.\" Belial is having too much fun watching him squirm as his backup plans blow up in his face one after another. Heh. Lucilius' equal, he is not. Not by a long shot.\n\"So tell me, Bubs.\" his lips curl up into a full-fanged grin. \"How does it feel to be outsmarted by a beast?\"\n\"Why don't you tell me?\" Beelzebub gathers powers of the void into his palms. But instead of aiming it at Belial, he feigns his attack and shifts the target of that blast and hurtles that concentrated mass of dark lightning towards the casket lying defenselessly on the side.\nBelial's features sharpen with burning murderous intent as he accelerates to intercept the projectile. Only for the explosion to happen milliseconds before he could reach him. And for a fraction of a moment, he sees red and is about ready to charge into him in blind fury--\nBut as the dust clouds clear, a clear barrier obstructs the pathway of that destructive orb and soaks in the damage, rendering the lone figure and the casket behind him, untouched.\n\"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that.\" The calm voice is startlingly familiar. What follows is the sound of gravel being crushed underfoot as the young man steps forward towards them. Eyes of azure blue, short pale strands dancing with the wind's caress. There's no replicating this face or those wings. Even more damningly so, that divine aura he emits.\n\"Hey, hey... what the hell, Bubs? Did you plan this three way?\" Belial frantically glances at the only other conscious party present. He's 100% sure the body he gave Lucilius belonged to Lucifer. He couldn't have switched it for a more inferior vassal. The incompatibility wouldn't have made it past the transfusion tests otherwise.\nDid Lucifer's spirit go feral in the afterlife and decide to come take his revenge for desecrating his body? No?\nA hallucination, or a trick of the mind? A trump card that Bubs hid in his sleeve?\nCan't be. He's not faking that shock either.\n\"Soo\u2026 If he's not one of yours and he's not one of mine..\"\n...Who in the skies is this gate crasher?!\nThe primarch in front of them peers at the open casket wearing an expression filled with remorse. \"What have they done to you, Lucilius\u2026\" It pains him that he's staring down at this broken monstrosity pieced together from the suffering of so many. Unfortunate that, it no longer contains any semblance of the original body's soul. It's nothing but an empty, living shell that is soon to be controlled by the head crudely sewn onto it. This unnatural perversion goes against the laws of providence and the natural order.\nAnd yet he is the cast from which Lucilius has taken form. They may not have had the opportunity to encounter each other prior to his creation but he cannot stand idly by and let them violate what's left of him even further. His lower body and limbs have already been taken over corruption from the void. Only his face remains as he remembers it.\nBelial follows his line of sight and his irises narrow. A deep, near animalistic growl is produced from his own throat that he gradually stifles down back to his regular composure. Smiling broadly, he welcomes their distinguished visitor. \"Well, well\u2026 look who's here. The last person I expected to see in this little class reunion. Sorry we didn't send an invite, didn't think you'd still be alive and kicking!\"\nLucifer? levels him with an even gaze when he addresses him. That seemingly cold note devoid of emotion is dipped with an accusatory undertone. \"Serpent.\"\n\"Hahah, hey now\u2026. Don't tell me you're still sore about the whole beheading thing.\" he shrugs his shoulders offhandedly. \"You know what they say about an eye for an eye. Or in this case, a head for a head. But now we're even and it's all water under the bridge, amiright?\"\nThe primarch doesn't respond. He blinks out of his line of sight and suddenly reappears inches from his face with all six of his swords aiming for his throat.\nBelial's darkswords clang loudly when they block the incoming strikes. \" No? Fair enough.\"\nA\/N: Thanks for reading, as well as the kudos and comments. ^_^\nChapter 17: King of Ashes\nThe clash between light and dark erupt at the summit accompanying the darkening red skies bleeding further into the calm blue. A myriad of colors flash, the faint traces of a battle out of reach is visible from the joint forces. All present to witness this phenomenon are tense with an air of uncertainty from the events taking place above them.\nIt isn't until someone points out that the shield barrier surrounding Pandemonium is flickering, that the rest of the fleet takes notice that it has been taken down, leaving all of Pandemonium defenseless!\nWith hope and vigor renewed, the skydweller-primarch alliance valiantly push back against the fallen angels with rebounding momentum.\nUriel and Alexiel have joined forces and managed to subjugate a seemingly weakened Sariel. In the middle of the battle, he just simply stopped swinging his scythe and blathered about in confusion. They had to separate him from his weapon until they managed to calm him out of his battle frenzied state. In the meantime, an unconscious Azrael was brought to the alliance fleet by Michael, and is currently being treated by Europa and Raphael on-board on one of the ships.\nBut while it looks like their victory over this perilous battle is reaching its conclusion, the opposition seem to be growing even more desperate.\n\"Don't even let up for a second until every one of them are eating lead!!!\" Ilsa's voice rings above every able soldier within hearing range. A hail of steady gunfire increase in intensity decimating the waves of watchers and other Otherworld monstrosities. The outpouring of reinforcements are increasing in number as it spills over from the widening cracks between worlds. .\n\"It's no good. The dimensional boundary is on its last seams.\" Gabriel expresses her worry as the ominous quaking of Pandemonium is becoming even more erratic.\n\"We have to believe.\" Michael asserts. \"But this is much of our fight as is theirs, we can't let them face this battle on their own. If I hurry now, I might be able to catch up to them.\"\n\"The rest of us will hold them off down here. Also! Take these.\"\n\"When did you\u2026 \" she blinks back her surprise and then, nods in understanding, \"Alright.\" she spreads her wings and catapults herself up into the skies.\nGabriel clasps her hand in prayer, \"Godspeed, Michael.\nMeanwhile, the Singularity and Sandalphon's party are still on their way to the summit\u2026\n\"Huff\u2026 huff.. are we there yet!?\" Vryn wheezes.\n\"Almost.\" Sandalphon can't help but pause as he regards this room with some level of scrutiny. \"Odd. There should have been a gate here controlling the shield outside. But it's been reduced to rubble. ....Almost as if someone had been here before us?\"\n\"I'm hearing eruptions and discharges coming from above. Be careful, everyone.\" Gran glances up the ceiling where dust and loosening debris are raining down at different intervals.\n\"I'm sensing a jumble of auras...it's making my head spin.\" Lyria wobbles and almost loses her balance.\nGran grasps Lyria by the shoulder protectively before she topples over. She whispers her thanks and takes him up on his offer of support by hugging his left arm.\n\"It can't be.\" Sandalphon tenses. \"This aura is\u2026.\"\n\"Do you know whose it is?\" Lyria asks.\n\"I do.\" They can't waste any more time. His core thrums with burning impatience. He can hear the slithering and flapping of wings coming from Otherworldly beings coming up from behind and all around them. Seriously. Fuck stairs! \"Hey, you! Get down here and put those wings to good use!\"\nIsolated from the ongoings of the rest of the world, the ground at the peak of Pandemonium is nearly scorched black from the crossfire.\nThe mysterious Lucifer doppelganger narrowly dodges Beelzebub's spear. His steps agile and evasive as he parries his incoming heavy strikes with relative ease. His body and eyes seem to produce an ethereal glow to them as though he moves through a different time and space from them all. But before he could put more thought into it, the primarch's boot knocks him staggering onto the ground. He feels something warm and sticky on his cheek. He is no Lucifer but neither is he an ordinary primarch.\nThe sound of Belial's charging attack alerts him. The primarch lifts himself off the ground out of his attack reach and veers around Belial's Anagenesis, slipping just in between the laser beams with precision and agility. Each swing of his blades bear down on Belial harder than the last with an almost wrath like intent to kill.\nIt's enough to make his blood boil in excitement. He moans, \"So aggressive. Hells, I never thought the day would come that my pants would get so tight over Lucifer -- of all people . But you're not exactly him, are you? Aren't you running a little low on steam though? Using all of that up must be taking a toll on your body.\"\nThe silent primarch gives no indication of responding to his provocation or line of questions as they continue to exchange and deflect blows.\n\"Ignoring me?? Now that's just cold. Come to think of it, you remind me more of Lucilius, actually. With the way you're staring holes into me with lofty disgust.\" Belial sends him another shockwave for good measure, kicking up dust in the process. He follows it up with three of his blades stabbing inwards in an attempt to catch him unaware. He has fought Lucifer in the past, even under the guise of training-- actually attempting to draw out possible weaknesses. The longer he observes his attack patterns, the more he's sure they aren't one and the same.\nEven with Avatar's essence, this primarch is putting up a decent fight. And he's even dealing with both HIM and Bubs at the same time. This angel is out for his blood! But it's not enough to finish him off. He's regenerating faster than his damage output. It may look like he's giving it all he's got. But neither of the three has even laid all their cards on the table. \" Heeey~ How about you show me that true naked form of yours already? Or are you enjoying the foreplay a little too much, you tease.\"\n\"Enough. This is the end.\" something slinks its way outside of Beelzebub's cloak. The claw like appendage propels itself towards the primarch's defenseless back.\nThe angel barely turns his head to look over his shoulder when something blurs into vision and intercepts the attack with a loud yell.\n\" Like I'd let you!!! \" Sandalphon shouts himself nearly hoarse. He's panting hard to catch his own breath. He can still hear his core pulsating in his eardrums. That was close!\n\"Ah, you have my thanks. I can always count on you, Sandalphon.\" He can almost picture that same carefree smile on his face without looking at him. This has happened before, hasn't it?!\nIs that- Is that all he has to say!? After all that!?! Sandalphon's temper has reached his breaking point. \"This is why you need to tell me these things!!\" he punches him on the shoulder, not very hard but firm enough to let the other know he's upset with him . Always keeping secrets from him. Promising to tell him the truth later. He tries to be understanding, he tries to be patient but this is really pushing it!\n\"But- Sandalphon\u2026? \" he recoils from the contact. The stern, near inscrutable expression disappears from his face is replaced by a gentle smile followed by wide eyed confusion.\nThe shift in personality so abrupt that it leaves even Belial flabbergasted, ceasing all attack as the two continue their conversation as if they're the only two people present. Oh sure, carry on. The primarch of cunning that emerged from the shadows to be the harbinger of world's end is just another fly on the wall.\n\"Truthfully, I did not expect the situation to be this dire, so I..\"\nSandalphon cuts him off with a firm glare. \"Talk later. We need to throw out the trash first.\"\nPurposely ignoring that he was just referred to as trash, Belial greets him warmly with a wave of his fingers, albeit pleased that they finally noticed his presence. \"Sandyyy~ you look even more ravishing than the last time we met in Canaan. You look like you're doing very well.\" he gestures at the Lucifer doppelganger beside him with his thumb. \"This your new man? I honestly didn't expect you to be the type to move on so fast! Thought you'd be more loyal than that. What would Lucifer say if he knew~\"\n\"I'll rip that tongue off your mouth once and for all.\" Having reserved the Supreme Primarch's powers for this moment, Sandalphon's wings are charged to the brim with ethereal light in direct contrast to the slithering shadows that adorn Belial like a shroud.\n\"Aww, two against one, that's not very fair, is it?\" he bemoans but his mouth curls to a sardonic grin. \"But sure, I'll take you both on a ride you'll never forget.\"\nBeelzebub clenches his teeth. Dealing with one was bad enough. And now there are two. Thank his lucky stars that they're both focused on Belial at the moment. This whole thing is a failure. He knew he shouldn't have relied on a beast to do an Astral's work. But it's not entirely unsalvageable. If Belial can keep them distracted, the dimensional boundary will eventually unravel itself wide open and the events can continue as planned.\nWith this in mind, he decides to make a tactical retreat to Etemenanki.\nBut he barely takes two steps when his heightened senses warn him of an incoming hazard and he narrowly avoids a wave of shadow tendrils. A shallow crater appears where he once stood.\n\"Tsk. Missed.\" as he turns around a pair of fallen angels flank him from both sides. The one who clicked his tongue sneers at him. The copper haired beauty beside him carefully sets Lyria down behind her but that gentleness is lost when she sets her gaze upon him. She draws her weapon and stares him down with uninhibited resentment. \"You're not going anywhere, Astral.\"\nIn that moment, the aerial battle is taking place between two primarchs and a fallen.\n\"Hahaha\u2026 You boys sure know how to make me work up a sweat.\" Belial licks his lower lip. As much as working as a pair has its advantages, it's a double edged sword in itself. One that might work in his favor if he plays his cards right.\nThe sweet, coaxing lilt rolls off his tongue like velvet. \"Soo, Sandy... what's he like? He must be a real beast in the sheets. I can tell you're into the rough stuff considering how hard you're both doing me.\"\nSandalphon can feel his skin crawl with disgust at the insinuation as he unleashes another barrage of light rays at him. \"Would it kill you to shut the hell up in a fight for once!?\"\n\"Ahaha, I can't help it, It's been a while since we last had a proper 'talk'. Bubs isn't exactly the best conversation partner, you know. Is it bad that I want to know more about who you're fucking?\"\nIncensed, he puts more attack power into his slashes. \"That's none of your damned business.\"\nBelial barely misses one as it cuts off a few millimeters of hair. \"Whoa! So you two HAVE fucked. I'm so proud!\" he dabs a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye, \"Belated congratulations on losing that v-card.\"\n\"FUCK. OFF!\" Sandalphon's hackles are raised and would have charged in blindly, had it not been for the fact that Lucio firmly presses a hand to his shoulder. They exchange undecipherable looks and Sandalphon mumbles something like, 'I know..!'\nHe may have been temporarily subdued but Belial can feel the beginnings of a smirk forming. \"Awww\u2026 aren't you two sweet. So sweet I can feel my teeth rotting just looking at you.\" Belial coos. \"I mean...heh. It's not as though you held any special feelings towards Lucifer anyway, right? He puts the blah in bland. And boringly, self righteous to a fault. Never thinking about his own wants, desires. Never questioning orders. He was the perfect tool to fulfill a role he's been created for. He could never belong to just one person, they'd never be more important to him than the world. And wishing for such is sad and tragic. Why waste time on him when you can get someone who actually pays attention to you? Even better, he looks exactly like him! I'd say you netted yourself a pretty sweet deal, Sandy.\"\n\"Don't talk like you know about anything.\" Sandalphon is fully aware what Belial is capable of. But his core clenches in fury as he hears him continue to slander him and he charges in sword first.\nCLANG!\nTheir weapons connect, his ears are ringing with the scrape of metal against metal.\n\"Hahaha.. All that unbridled fury and hostility really suits you.\" Belial's irises dilate and then, narrow as his mouth splits to a collected grin. \"But I do know more about him than you think\u2026 aren't you even the least bit curious what Lucifer's last moments were like?\"\n\"His\u2026 last moments?\" Sandalphon's brows furrow.\n\"Sandalphon! You musn't give in to the serpent's temptations.\" Lucio reminds him but he might be too late to dissuade him when Belial has fully captured his attention with just three words.\n\"I'll handle this. You just stand back and regenerate already.\" he stills him. Lucio throws him a complicated look but he won't deny him this and reluctantly lowers his swords.\nBelial has him in the palm of his hand now. And with the way he's intensely hanging onto his every word, he knows that he used the right incentive. \"Heh. Back when Bubs ran him through with that spear of his, did you ever wonder why he didn't avoid the attack and just stood there to take the hit? You see. It's because he was standing in front of a seraphim's cradle like his life depended on it.\"\nThe light in his eyes starts to dim as the realization sweeps over him. \"A seraphim's\u2026 where I was sleeping after the cataclysms\u2026\" He never knew. He's always indirectly blamed himself for causing Lucifer's death. But being told that Lucifer had stood his ground with the pedestal behind him to take the hit to protect him. He's the guiding light of all. His position is important, so many depended on him. And for him to place his life above his- he.. !!!\n\"In all the 2000 years I've been trying to get him, he's never let down his guard. But our window of opportunity came along when you did. So I have you to thank for making all of this possible. It's just a pity that\u2026 By the time he eventually came into awareness of his own feelings for you and acted on it, it's already too late.\" Belial gradually approaches him, watching the fight in him leave his eyes. Even with the Supreme Primarch's powers, he clearly doesn't have the full grasp of its potential. And he's just that much easier to crack. \"And you want revenge on us? When you're the reason he died ?\"\nBelial takes his opportunity to narrow the gap between them to destroy that core in his ribcage. \"I'll help you end your miserable existence. You can join him on the other side!\" but before he could touch even a single strand, he suddenly finds himself defending from Sandalphon's sweeping slash.\nThe young primarch before him is not one who looked like he had been on the verge of a mental breakdown earlier. His eyes are clear and his strikes have not lost its strength. \"I'm the one who should be pitying you. You think he's the perfect tool chained by duty for all eternity. But to Lucilius, you're nothing more than the tool to be discarded once you've already served your purpose!!\"\nThe head on meeting of light and dark forcibly repels and separates them some few meters away.\nBelial's laugh is hollow, if not more resigned than anything. \"Oh, I know\u2026 But if ever it does come to that point, at least I can go quietly knowing that I fulfilled that very purpose. If it's for Lucilius, I will unconditionally do anything. Even be the doormat at his feet. You might call it pathetic. But I call it, by a different name: love.\"\nSandalphon isn't sure if he should even feel remotely sorry for the state the primarch of cunning has driven himself in. \"That isn't love. It's insanity.\"\nWhile this goes on in midair, the Singularity, blue haired girl and the red dragon had been carried over from the depths of Pandemonium thanks to the two fallen angels of their crew in haste to reach the top of Pandemonium. Now they're facing the mysterious individual who seems to have aided Belial in their previous encounter.\nGran cautiously approaches the hooded man. \"There's no way for you to win anymore. Tell us how to stop Pandemonium.\"\nBeelzebub breaks into mocking laughter. \"You think I'll tell you just because you asked? You're a little too green to start negotiating terms with me, boy.\"\n\"He's not asking.\" Olivia's obsidian-like blade shimmers dangerously. The man who responsible for the corruption of her brethren, of whom had been trapped in Pandemonium. Used and exploited, no different from lab rats. How they must have suffered under their hands. Unforgivable. As much as she wants to run her sword through him, it won't help alleviate their current predicament.\n\"Hmph, is that right?\" The utter fools. They think they have him cornered. He had been saving the immense number of cores he harvested from Avatar. What better way to make use of them in situations. \"It doesn't matter how many of you there are. I'll make sure you primitive lifeforms know your pla-- gh..GHCKK!! \" a mouthful of blood spurts from his lips.\nAll he remembers feeling is a sharp, digging pain and loss of breath that spreads throughout his body and then, numbness. He barely registers the tip of a blade sticking out of his chest coming from behind him. He strains to remain conscious but when it sword slides out of him, he's gasping as he slumps to one knee. \"Of\u2026 all the times\u2026 for you to revive\u2026.\"\n\"I was already revived and well aware of what you attempted to do just now. Rejoice\u2026 for you're about to experience it firsthand.\" Blood is flicked off his weapon with indifference. An even more menacing, suffocating aura is emitting from him in waves that has everyone within the vicinity drawn towards the scene where a sudden surge of immense, destructive force is taking place.\nA loud explosion rips throughout the skies, taking a chunk of Pandemonium's peak with it as nothing remains of where the hooded man once was but smoke and ash. The momentary diversion is a welcome one. Giving Belial the opening he needed, he catches the distracted Sandalphon off guard and has him taking the full brunt of Anagenesis.\n\"Sandalphon--!!\" Only to be swooped out of the line of fire before it turned fatal.\nHe smirks, having already expected the save. Belial wastes no time in diving in, a scythe materializing in his hands. He runs the blade clean through an expanse of white wings. A pained cry follows and he can already feel the aura of one of them diminishing.\n\"Perhaps, it is insanity. Nobody says our purpose or drive has to make any logical sense to anyone but ourselves.\" Belial sighs in satisfaction as he watches them both plummeting down to the Crimson Horizon, even as the injured one clutches the unconscious other protectively. He comforts himself in the fact that at the very least they'll all return to the nothingness together.\nA\/N: in the middle of working on the next chapter \u2026 o v o; \/hides\/\nChapter 18: Awakening\nA\/N: E-eh, yes I know. It's still April 1 for some of you. But it's technically April 2 where I'm in. This is not an April fools..! ^^;;;\nIt was merely a simple output test but the results are satisfactory. Lucilius experimentally crooks and stretches his now clawed fingers, quietly fascinated that he remains entirely unscathed from releasing such explosive power. Not even a semblance of a recoil or rebound. The dull, hardened looking thing that now covers his forearms must have absorbed it. Yet he still retains his sense of touch. There's an underlying grogginess in his consciousness, which he attributes to the prolonged term of being in a dormant state. But despite being partially corrupted by chaos and void, his vitals seem to be sufficient and regulatory.\nHe now faces the petrified company before him. Blue gray eyes that hold a stoic cruelty in their limitless depths, devoid of the warm sky blue eyes that both Lucifer's and Lucio share. He looks past them as though they are merely part of the backdrop of this grand stage. His searching gaze takes in the crimson skies since he regained his sight.\n\"Morning 'cilius~ Glad of you to finally decide to join us,\" Belial's leather soles touch down the ground next to him. His head lowered in a subservient manner as he presents himself before his one and only master. He looks proud and a touch expectant, eager for some form of praise.\nLucilius, however, does nothing of the sort. He merely gives the fallen angel a once over. Noting his disheveled appearance before meeting his eyes. His voice is lined with haughty impatience. \"I see you bestowed me with Lucifer's body. But why is the world still here. What has become of my grand finale?\"\nI'm doing quite well. Thanks for asking. Belial almost says but he stills his tongue. Lucilius is not in the mood for this type of banter. But when is he ever in the mood for those? He knows full well how adorably temperamental he's like first thing in the morning. And jokes of sarcastic nature will most definitely net him a guaranteed spot at the end of another one of his output tests. Nevertheless, his timing couldn't have been more perfect. And to finally hear the sound of his voice after all these years stirs a vigor in him that has long been hidden in the recesses of his very being.\n\"It's just about to go off. There've been some\u2026 ah, complications. But it's been taken cared of and it's still proceeding as planned.\" Belial retains that unmoving, reverent look. \"How long did you think you were asleep? It's been over 2,000 years, you know.\"\n\"2,000 years\u2026hm,\" Lucilius murmurs under his breath. He is mildly aware of the heated look fixed on him but proceeds to ignore it in favor of more pressing matters. \"Give me a status report of the current stage of the plan, as well as a summary of historical changes. But\u2026\" his line of sight wanders over the motley crew assembled before them as though it's the first time he's taken notice of their presence. \"...Who are these insects ?\"\nLucilius looks them over until his gaze rests upon a young boy at the center of the group, \"Am I seeing things\u2026 or is that actually the blue haired girl and the red dragon together flanking the Singularity of this realm before me\u2026\"\n\"I wonder? Maybe this Singularity is different from the others,\" Belial hums airily before casually adding a little more of his achievements into the conversation. \"Well. I wouldn't worry about them too much. After all. They've just about run out of moves to make. I'm also happy to report that the Supreme Primarch and his spare have already perished. An inferior vessel can't hope to amount to much, even with outside help.\"\nLyria flinches, unable to hold in that heartbroken, anguished sob she had been bottling up. She doesn't sense Sandalphon or Lucio's auras anymore but having him confirm it with his own words only make it all real.\n\"Is that so\u2026? So that's the aura I felt earlier. Impressive. I suppose you deserve a little recognition for all your efforts.\" Lucilius muses with an acknowledging nod.\n\" BELIALLL!!! What\u2026 just what the hell did you do to Lucilius!? Why did he\u2026 turn out like this!?\" Azazel cuts their conversation short.\nThe pair of fallen angels among those who stand with the Singularity wear conflicted expressions. The Astral who granted them life, gave them a sense of purpose, their Creator, stands before them in a starling contrast to the Astral scientist they've served under who merely defended himself from a rebellion sparking from Lucifer's side. Lucifer ended up the victor and killed him before turning on them and imprisoned the rebels in Pandemonium. That is what they believed.\nBut now he's here before their very eyes, and Lucilius' aura is unmistakably of similar strength to Lucifer's. Just what is going on!?!?\n\"Ah, if it isn't the Primarch of Dusk and\u2026\" Belial pauses for a moment, trying to put a name to that face. \"...sorry, who are you again?\"\nAzazel loudly swears up a storm, vowing to carve his name into his head.\n\"Silence.\" his voice is quiet and steady but the underlying threat effectively returning the tense stillness to their surroundings.\n\"Lucilius,\" Olivia steps forward with a heavy heart. Her Master. Her sword which she wields for him. She's still in a state of denial. The end of the world. His grand finale? This can't be true. \"I've served and fought for your cause and my brethren. Yet\u2026 I find it unbelievable you would align yourself with the likes of him who ridicule everything we stand for. To go this far, you're being manipulated by him, aren't you!?\"\nBelial throws his head back in a fit of laughter. \"ME? Manipulate 'Cilius? You give me too much credit. Oh, Olivia\u2026 you poor delusional little angel. You are so precious. It's almost cute.\"\n\"This is a waste of time.\" Lucilius coldly snaps, his body emits another surge of power to perform another blast. His arm extends in their direction and a ball of mass gravity starts to form in the center of his palm. This one will not miss and will obliterate everyone standing on this platform.\n\"'Cilius~ eaaasy there. Don't you want to save all that to destroy that tower up there?\" Belial slinks his way behind him, snaking his arms around his shoulders. He doesn't exactly plan on being turned into waste along with them before Lucilius and he could enjoy the fireworks. He gives those tense muscles an affectionate rub as he coaxes him. \"Put me to work, 'cilius. That's what I'm here for.\"\nLucilius' eyes narrow. The primarch of cunning is taking liberties in breaching his personal space. But there is some truth to what he says. He dissipates the charge. \"Point taken. But before you get too ahead of yourself...\" he adds without a change in tone, just moments away from where Belial's lips almost brush against his hair. He grabs him by the chin firmly. The sharp tips dig into skin, effectively stopping him from doing any more than that.\nBelial slightly winces but makes no sudden movements. The strength behind those elegantly shaped digits are strong enough to rip his jaw off if this beautiful creature wills it. He's getting overstimulated just thinking about it but he reigns himself in. It can't be helped. He had been prepared to end the world with Lucilius unconscious in his arms... so this surprising turn of events has gotten him just a little excited, is all. \"C'mon, I can be good. I'll be real nice and behaved.\"\n\"See that you do.\" Sensing that Belial has indeed calmed himself down, he relinquishes his hold as the other stumbles away from him. \"Now, sweep up the rest of your mess.\" Lucilius dispassionately steps away from the sticky child he raised. \"If there's nothing else, the final, divine obstacle awaits.\"\nBelial can only stifle that longing sigh but still looking every bit of smitten as he openly oogles the wonderful view from the back. \"Ookay~ have fun at the divine tower. I'll meet up with you later and we can watch it all burn to commemorate our final moments together.\"\n\"Of all the utter foolishness...\" Lucilius does grant him a last, scowling look but he catches himself and regains his composure. Six wings, startlingly black like it could absorb and block all light, extend down from his shoulder blades and back. He takes to the sky without looking back.\n\"We're not done with you yet!\" Vyrn yells at his withdrawing form.\n\"Divine tower.. I don't like the sound of this. We need to go after him.\" Lyria urges Gran.\n\"Hey now. You're thinking of going after Lucilius!?\" Belial cuts through their line of sight as he takes to the air. \"Can't let you do that. I saw him first- by 2,000 years!\" his eyes start to gleam as his lips split into a possessive smile. \"He's mine.\"\nSandalphon comes to in a familiar place. A shaded garden. The smell of grass and wildflowers are carried by a pleasant wind. The soft chirp of birds are complimented by the trickling coming from a nearby brook. From the grape vines crawling up the archways, the familiar uneven stone steps, to the exact same white patio chairs with the small round table. Everything in place is how he pictured it in his memory. He hears the tinkling of silverware and porcelain as he approaches and his heart skips a beat as the calming scent of roasted coffee beans comes from further within.\nA figure emerges from the kitchenette. Azure blue eyes staring back at him appear bewildered at his presence at first before he breaks into a fond, welcoming smile.\n\"L...luci..fer..??\" his voice is barely a whisper. He has many questions. But every one of them evaporates when Lucifer draws closer. The sound of his boots clicking against the wooden floors assures him he's neither a ghost nor a figment of his imagination. This is\u2026 this can't be real. But he's also afraid to act suddenly, lest he shatter the illusion.\n\"Ah, Sandalphon. I didn't quite expect to see you so soon. Had I known you'd be coming, I'd have been more prepared. The coffee isn't ready yet, you see...\" his demeanor turns mildly sheepish. \"Please, come in. And have a seat.\"\nSandalphon doesn't refute him and finds his bearings enough to sit across from him with his hands obediently resting on his lap. Just taking in his visage, exactly like how he remembers him. \"Um\u2026\"\nHe has so much to say but he doesn't know where to begin. There's a vague possibility that he could have just dreamt up everything that transpired before. That the cataclysms never happened. That Lucifer hadn't died. But that would have also meant\u2026 everything and everyone else up to this point would not have happened. He finds that he's also just as unwilling to let go and dismiss all the events as a mere passing thought he conjured up. It's very real. It's this place that isn't quite reality\u2026 is it from a memory..?\n\"Sandalphon?\" his voice rouses him from his stupor. He's still there in front of him. This isn't a dream either. If he reaches out, he's almost sure he can feel him solid under his fingertips. But something compels him not to touch him. He doesn't have the right. He hasn't done anything to deserve facing him right now.\n\"Sorry, I was only thinking.\" then huffs in quiet amusement at his own foolishness. \"I never thought I'd ever be here with you again in this shaded garden. After everything that has happened. All I ever wished for was for us to go back to those peaceful days. And yet, now that I am actually here\u2026 I keep thinking of everything else other than this moment.\"\nLucifer's smile is understanding and patient. Eternally lacking of any form of malice, warm as the rays of the sun. \"It's only natural. After all, there is still so much weighing on your mind, so much unfinished business you've set in your heart to accomplish yet.\"\n\"Unfinished\u2026\" Sandalphon closes his eyes as he gathers the remnants of his last moments before they open suddenly, out of panic and he abruptly stands upright. \"Wait. Does that mean- I'm.. I'm dead!?\"\n\"Pft..\" Lucifer stares at him for some few seconds before he cups his mouth and turns his head away. His shoulders are shaking.\nHe's\u2026 Lucifer is\u2026 he's laughing AT him!?\nWhen he finally recovers he's still smiling.\"Sorry. It's a very improper time to laugh but I don't think I've ever seen you look so purely bewildered for a long time. Forgive me.. I just found it nostalgic, is all.\"\nHe continues on to explain. \"This place is the first and last stop for every living soul. It is also here where those burdened with sentience may find rest. Right now, it would seem your soul has gotten lost, and has drifted here independent of your body. But no, you are not dead. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say you are in a state of limbo. One foot still in the realm of the living, and the other\u2026 well, it doesn't need to be said. What you intend to do now, of course, is up to you.\"\nEven if Sandalpon remains silent, Lucifer has come to appreciate the his unexpressed consideration. So he decides to offer him a little help. \"But you already have an answer, don't you?\" Lucifer looks over his shoulder with a touch of wistfulness. \"And someone waiting for you on the other side.\"\n\"Lucifer\u2026\" Sandalpon sounds hesitant but in the end, he acquises that he has the right of it. He can't seem to hide anything from him right now, it seems. If only they could have mutually come to understand each other back then as now. It had to take over 2,000 years of misunderstanding and separation to get to this point. He eventually gives him a resolute nod. He knows what needs to be done and the promise he has yet to fulfill. \"Right\u2026 I should get going now.\"\n\"Take care of yourself. ...You used to say that to me back then too.\" Lucifer smiles for him. There's a touch of longing poorly hidden behind his words.\nUnable to endure the meaning behind his expression any longer, Sandalphon turns away and breaks into a sprint towards this blindingly light slowly drawing further and further away from the garden. Sandalphon propels himself off the ground towards it with his hand outstretched reaching for it.\nBack at the peak of Pandemonium, the outcome appears bleak for the skyfarers. Olivia and Azazel are sprawled on the ground, having been easily defeated by Belial who still retains Avatar's essence within his body. Gran only manages to pull himself upright using his sword hilt by sheer willpower alone.\n\"Ah\u2026 this is getting boring you know. Why do you even still fight? All hope has been extinguished. It won't be long before the ether goes haywire again after the passing of the second Supreme Primarch. Lesser primal beasts will go on a rampage again. The skydoms will be overrun and if not by them, then the Otherworlders, after the alliance becomes overwhelmed by the infinite numbers that continue to invade your world.\" Having lost interest in playing with his prey, Belial no longer holds back his punches. He wants nothing more than to get this menial task over and done with so he can return to Lucilius' side as soon as possible.\nBut no matter what he throws at him, the Singularity stubbornly refuses to admit defeat, standing up each time he's knocked to the floor. \"Heeeey, Singularity. Aren't you in a great deal of pain right now? Why don't you do yourself a favor and stay down already!\" he gathers even more power into this next blast before discharging it right at the boy.\nUnable to move any more than this, he positions himself in front of Lyria and Vyrn and is prepared to take the full brunt of the damage to protect them when a figure in red swoops in and snatches them all from the explosion.\n\"Michael..!\" Lyria blurts out in surprise.\nHer expression is grim as she sets them down. \"I fear that I may have come too late.\" she also no longer senses the Supreme Primarch's aura. They're on their last legs now. They thought they were beginning to have the upperhand but many unfactored and unfortunate events have taken place. Yet it's never been in her nature to surrender. She will take as many of the opposition down with her as she falls.\nMost especially. Him.\nShe spits out the name with as much vitriol as she can muster. \"Belial.\"\n\"Mikey. Long time no see. As much as I'd love to chat, I'm in a bit of rush. End of the world, top view seats, you know how it goes. So could you pleaase let me go this once?\" Belial places his hands together in a mock pleading gesture. Then, he breaks into a smug grin. \"You still want to do this dance? Even if your spare Supreme Primarch already fell from the skies?\"\nMichael is glowering with fury. She points the tip of her sword in his direction. \"While I still breathe, I'll never let you have your way!!\"\n\"Wait\u2026 can you not feel that?\" Lyria turns her head towards the direction of this sudden upsurge of energy coming their way at high speed. They shield their eyes from the blinding white light that breaks through the clouds and smoke.\nA sharp whistling sound is all they hear at first before Belial is hailed with a sudden rain of light. It takes him completely by surprise that he didn't have time to shield himself from the attack at all. \"Oh, hells.\"\nEnveloped in divine aura, his body is outlined with a a white glow. For reasons unknown, he awakened in this state with all of the Supreme Primarch's power in full and even beyond that. Yet he finds the light suffused within him is still within his control and doesn't overwhelm him in fact, it's almost as if it's cradling him within its gentle embrace. Sandalphon places his hand over his core. And as though he's come to an understanding, he lifts his head and levels his piercing gaze back at Belial, who is clearly staggering to get back to his feet.\nBelial smooths his hands over his hair and dusts off some debris off his already torn up suit. \"We've gotta stop meeting like this, Sandy. While I'm flattered, truly, that you keep coming back for more, there's something to be said about being too overly clingy.\"\n\"I'm also sick of looking at your face and hearing your voice.\" Sandalphon retorts dryly.\nHe takes a quick glance at the Singularity and his party and is met with their worn, but relieved expressions. \"...Everyone okay?\" he gets assaulted by a face full of Vyrn's belly for his trouble. The little dragon grabs clawfuls of his hair, bawling loudly. \"You idiot! You had us all worried!!\"\nThey hear a throng of footsteps coming up from behind them. The rest of the Grandcypher crew have made their way to the top of Pandemonium. Io, Rosetta have already started to work on retrieving their unconscious allies and have begun healing them.\n\"It's not safe here. Withdraw the wounded back to the Grandcypher!\" Katalina steps forward next to Michael with her sword drawn, ready to cast a barrier if Belial attempts to land any attacks. Eugen has his scope locked into him in case he makes any sudden movements.\nBelial draws out a heavy, tired sigh. \"So the rest of the cavalry has arrived. Looks like I wasted too much time playing around. Lucilius will be livid\u2026 haha.\"\n\"Please. Belial. Give up your plans to destroy this realm. You won't have to fight anymore if you just surrender.\" Lyria softly pleads.Her eyes glow blue as she attempts to reach out to him with her ability. \"I know that it isn't what you want. Otherwise you wouldn't have placed so many loopholes for us to-\"\n\"Naughty girl\u2026 it's not very nice to peek into my thoughts without permission.\" Belial raises his defenses to effectively block her out. \"Don't fool yourself into thinking you can begin to understand the Primarch of Cunning. I'll show you just what I mean.\"\n\"Singularity. Everyone.\" Sandalphon emerges from the crowd as he lifts himself off the ground in preparation for a fight with all of their lives and the skydom's fate on the line. \"Let's settle this with him once and for all.\"\nA\/N: Thanks for reading o v o ~ Where is Lucio? Well.. uh...stay tuned for the next chapter! X'D\nChapter 19: Moment of Respite\nCornered, battered, and on his knees. Belial no longer has any strength to draw more power from Avatar's essence. He can neither summon his armaments nor his wings. There just isn't any more. The aftereffects of the grueling battle and the 2,000 years he spent hiding his presence is now taking its toll on his body. He has been completely defeated. \"I think you're all missing the point. This grand finale is also salvation for us primals.\"\n\"Your idea of salvation is to destroy everything? If you want to return to the nothingness so badly, you and Lucilius can meet your deaths by yourselves without bringing the everything else into it. Enough. Tell us how to stop Pandemonium.\" as much as Sandalphon doesn't want to hear another word coming out of that filthy mouth, they still need him to spill how to reverse the widening of the rift.\nBelial is aware of this, of course. They have no choice but to listen to him speak when he's teetering on the brink. He continues on as though he doesn't hear him. \"Your salvation especially, Sandy. We're created for the sole purpose of being tools to be wielded, caged in our allocated roles throughout our eternal lives. Behind all this awesome power we've been bestowed with, is an arduous, meaningless emptiness.\"\n\"You may be fine now. But what happens when these who sympathize with you die off one by one at the end of their short, mortal lifespans? All the good things you've done for the sake of the realm will soon be forgotten in history, but they never forget the disasters and the mistakes you've made. You'll be hated, misunderstood, alone till the ends of time.\" he sees their expression darken as they take in every word he says.\nA grim reminder that their views of skydwellers and primals co-existing in harmony is but a drop in time. Who is to say that primals will not run amok and destroy civilizations in a fit of uncontrollable rage again? Who is to say sons of man will not grow ambitious and attempt to wield power that does not rightfully belong to them and attempt to control primals for their own selfish gain? Who is to say another Singularity in another time will share the views as the Singularity they have now? Belial artfully plants the seeds of doubt in their hearts. He paints a bleak picture of their grim, uncertain future.\n\"That is only but one possibility of the many.\" a disembodied voice responds from seemingly all around them. Light begins to gather at a fixed point behind Sandalphon's back until it forms the outline of a humanoid-like silhouette. A divine aura brilliantly shining like no other, steps out from behind him. \"Such is the duality of the sons of man. But you're withholding something important. While surely there are those who undoubtedly hold malicious intentions and seek to only empower themselves for their own selfish greed\u2026\"\n\"There are also those that exist alongside them who walk in the path of light and virtuous who can set things right again.\" A young man with long hair near translucent in color solidifies in form among them. Draped in a flowing ivory white robe, slender neck adorned with a gold necklace, and gold bangles on each forearm complete the ensemble.\nThe crew appear just as befuddled and some as slack-jawed as Belial is, at the mysterious new addition to the cluster of people assembled on top of Pandemonium. More notable than the fact that his voice sounds exactly alike, he also bears the same face as Lucifer and Lucilius.\nTaking no notice of their shocked states, he gives the Supreme Primarch next to him a warm, steady look before continuing, \"You failed to account one other thing. That is\u2026 Sandalphon is not alone. And he never will be.\" he tentatively takes Sandalphon's hand in his and twines their fingers together.\nSandalphon's eyes widen for a moment before he returns the smile and gives him an answering grip of his own hand.\n\"Lucio...!?\" Lyria is the first to exclaim in recognition. Everything clicks into place. The crew members become abuzz with relief and renewed vitality at his return.\nBelial's words meant to sow seeds of discord have been completely plucked off its roots. Sandalphon caused the cataclysms yet somehow he not only got pardoned for his sins but also inherited Lucifer's position. Along the way, the very person who stopped him from causing mass destruction is the same one who is now one of his trusted allies. And even has the four Primarchs backing him. Moreso, adding salt to his wounds, despite losing his most important person and expected to fall into the depths of despair. Someone just happens to come along and lends him his strength and showers him with his unconditional love.\nWhat a life. He can't help but look on sourly at these two lovebirds gazing into each other's eyes. He did not toil endlessly and scheme for 2000 years just to watch someone he deemed unworthy and inferior come out with a better written ending than his. So this is the taste of defeat. Losing. It sucks. Belial laughs bitterly. \"Just end me already.\"\nIt's another massive quaking that cuts their early celebration short. Katalina braces herself, \"W-what's happening!? Pandemonium is shaking again!\"\n\"Probably the chaos starting to seep in.\" Belial props himself back up to his feet. With what remains of his strength, he trudges towards the edge of the platform. \"The skies turning crimson will be quite the sight to see. Well then\u2026 enjoy the grand finale. I'll be taking my leave.\"\n\"Wait! Is he going to-!?\" Gran is the first to attempt to stop him but he only ends up brushing his hand against air when he tries to reach for him. \"...Belial!!\"\nWhat was with that ridiculous expression? Did the Singularity think he could save him the way he saved Sandalphon?\nHe really is amusing.\nThere is\u2026 no redemption for someone like him.\n\"This really is goodbye.\" are his final words before they lose sight of him falling to oblivion amidst the clouds and smoke.\nAfter they lost their only means of attempting to find a solution for this urgent predicament, the other Primarchs finally arrived at the summit to receive news of Belial's fall. At the same time, they are crowding around this new form of Lucio's with a growing clamor mixed with awe, confusion, and mild apprehension.\nThis mysterious entity introduces himself as Helel ben Sahar. He has been referred to as the Speaker from the Divine Tower, Etemenanki. Once was an observer but now an active participant. He has been traveling with the crew as of late, and prefers being addressed as Lucio, and-\n\"I know proper introductions are in order, but the grand finale is still in motion. The boundary is reaching its breaking point and the otherworlders are only getting more riled up.\" Sandalphon reminds them of the more pressing matter at hand.\n\"He's right. We can settle this later. But does anyone have any bright ideas?\" Uriel shrugs helplessly. For the moment, everyone reaches the eventual conclusion that he's on their side. And that's good enough for him.\nRaphael ponders on it a while before suggesting, \"It may not be the most elegant solution but I don't think we have a choice. The four of us will have to use brute force to reseal it.\"\n\"And the Singularity, myself, and the crew will continue on to reach Lucilius at the divine tower.\" Sandalphon adds. He can't shake off the unease he feels leaving that nihilistic madman to his devices.\n\"If you're going after him. Take these. I should have given it to you earlier but I wasn't sure if you would be able to assimilate them yet. But after seeing your battle with Belial.. I think you've proven your strong will.\" in Michael's hands are a collection of wings. Their wings. The wings he had once tried to steal from them, now being presented to him of their own free will and trust.\n\"This is the hope and resolve of the Four Primarchs. We may not be able to follow where you fly but know that we are behind you every step of the way. For you are Lucifer's chosen, and we have come to put our faith in you, Sandalphon, the Supreme Primarch.\"\nSandalphon solemnly extends his own hands to receive their wings and blessings into himself.\nHis first order of business is declared. Sandalphon authorizes the Four Primarchs to halt the destruction of the dimensional boundary to prevent the grand finale. At the Supreme Primarch's command, the four primarchs take flight into cardinal directions around Pandemonium. Together, they form a ring of light as four of the distinct tetra element colors swirl rapidly around the axis.\nThe cracks are slowly but surely are closing up and the boundary is even strengthened.\nThe Grandcypher is seen taking its course above and beyond the skies where the crimson hues have yet to reach.\n\"Take about two of these and\u2026 you should be settled in a few minutes.\" the on-board Erune doctor advises through the doorway as he makes his rounds around the Grandcypher. He's murmuring something about, it can't be helped that the spiral maneuvering of Rackam's has gotten nearly half the crew members lying in the sickbeds.\nLucio eases Sandalphon to sit up and take the prescribed medicine with a glass of water. The Supreme Primarch is still looking a little green under the collar. He gradually returns to his prior position with his head on the Speaker's lap as the other idly combs his fingers over his hair in comfort.\nThe Supreme Primarch, forced into a pathetic state because of motion sickness. He'd be the laughing stock of the skies if the other primarchs find out about it. \"I'm warning you.. if word of this gets out...\"\n\"There is no one in the skies who has better kept secrets than I.\" Lucio assures him. \"Yours is safe with me.\"\n\"How could I forget.\" Sandalphon huffs and closes his eyes. \"Are there any more secrets I need to know about?\"\n\"If I tell you all of them, it could last a little over a few decades if we didn't need breaks in between. I have\u2026 witnessed many a passing an era, after all. Alone, in that tower as time continues to pass on by. But I've long abdicated the role on that fateful night. I suppose you could say I literally have fallen out of the sky for you.\"\nHis brow wrinkles. Considering what they had just been through, that's the worst, cringe inducing pick up line he's ever heard. But it's also so very Lucio. He groans in complaint. But can't fight the smile off his face.\nCrimson pupils slowly flutter open to meet azure blue ones gazing at him lovingly from above. Hair like fine silk curtains over him, not quite white, not quite gold..He's going to have to get used to seeing Lucio with this hair length. Sandalphon has seen countless beauties in his time but\u2026 they pale in comparison to this androgynous, ethereal being that doesn't need his ego inflated any further than it probably already is.\n\"I'm sure I have time to listen to all of them. Gradually, in moderation, and not all at once.\" he forewarns. Sandalphon doesn't like the idea of there being any more secrets between them but it's not entirely fair that he would demand this of him when there is one other thing he has yet to divulge. \"Lucio\u2026 that time when we were falling together. I met with Lucifer again.\"\nThe hand stroking his hair comes to a gradual stop. \"Ah. So that's what happened. For a moment, I thought I had lost you. You disappeared for a short moment and returned not long after. Would you like to talk about it?\"\nSandalphon takes a deep breath and moves to a seating position next to him. He's well enough now to feel that the medicine is taking effect. This could be their last battle and there is no telling what the outcome is. He would rather there be no regrets and things unsaid left behind. He takes Lucio's right hand into his own when he takes the leap to admit his innermost sentiments. \"I still love him. The feelings I have for him run deep. All the resentment, the insecurity, the need to be acknowledged as his equal. The mourning grief and the loss. It will always be a part of me.\"\nLucio takes in this confession of his in. He places his left hand over Sandalphon's. \"Of this, I am aware. Never has it crossed my mind to ever invalidate what you feel for him. As I've mentioned before, I am not Lucifer's replacement or substitute. I have no desire to take his place nor do I wish to refute what he means to you. I am here by your side because of the simple fact that, I love you.\"\nChoked with near bursting emotion that simple phrase can evoke, Sandalphon is the first to break free of their hands to embrace him. He clasps him tight like he's almost afraid he would dissipate or pull away from him. \"And I love you!\"\n\"So wherein, dear heart, lies the problem?\" he patiently asks.\n\"Do you not despise me? You\u2026 you deserve someone who loves solely you with all their being,\" Sandalphon becoming increasingly distressed and guilty.\n\"And... you would let go of me\u2026 because of this?\"\n\"I don't want to let go of either of you! That's the problem!\" he finally shouts.\nLucio sighs a breath of relief, then laughs softly. As if he was waiting to hear that from him, he eases Sandalphon to look at him before gently wiping his tears away. \"Then you won't have to.\"\n\"??? I don't\u2026 understand?\" Sandalphon can only look on in bewilderment.\n\"What is it that you don't understand? Neither of us want to let go of each other. And I wouldn't want you to let go of Lucifer either. He is a part of you, as you are a part of him. Remember that I've once said, If you cannot have faith in yourself, then.. Have faith in me. So if I say, you are deserving, if you are worthy, then, it must be. Because I say so.\"\nUnable to find a crack in that impenetrable defense, Sandalphon admits defeat. \"You're something of a tyrant yourself.\"\n\"That's the first time I've been accused of such. But it's worth it to see that smile again.\" he affectionately caresses the corners of his mouth with his thumb. \"Has the shadow upon your heart lifted?\"\n\"Mm.\" Sandalphon breaks into a smile as he abruptly wipes his face with his sleeve. He doesn't know what he did to deserve this man and his outpouring love and devotion. But the guilt and doubt that had been eating away inside him has been dispelled. Leaving behind only the fiery affection he feels for this primarch.\nLucio then, tilts his chin to give him that soft touch of his lips on his that speaks volumes of the adoration he feels for him.\nHe's wrapped in a daze that prompts him to return the gesture. Already half seated in his lap, he takes the initiative of trapping Lucio between him and the wall behind him.\nLucio sighs into the kiss. \"Say it again for me, please.\"\n\"I love you.\" Emboldened, Sandalphon whispers it with burning sincerity. His eyelashes flutter close as he feels Lucio cupping his cheek and deepening the embrace. And in answer Lucio replies, \"And I love you. Sandalphon\u2026 when we reach Etemenanki, there is something I must do. It is selfish of me to ask but will you\u2026 put your faith in me once more?\"\nImpatient to continue, he half-growls, \"You already know that I do\u2026\"\n\"Speaker. Sandalphon, we have -- hieeeek !!\" The door is flung open and their reverie is broken. They come face to face with the equally embarrassed Halluel and Malluel. Sandalphon can't find it in himself to make eye contact so he's frozen with his head buried in the crook of Lucio's shoulder. His other hand is gripping Lucio's arm tightly to keep him from going off balance.\n\"You bring news?\" Lucio seems unfazed when he addresses the blushing pair of archangels who are trying their best not to appear too flustered.\nIt takes a while for them to finally get around being tongue tied to eventually announce. \"We, um.. have come to report that the four Primarchs have successfully repaired the dimensional rift. And that Rackam says we're approaching the stratosphere.\" Halluel manages to say. They make notable quick glances at Sandalphon's near fossilized state with scorching curiosity yet still maintaining some semblance of sheepish countenance.\nHalluel takes Malluel by the arm as she inches them both back where they came from whispering sharply to not stare so much. \"\u2026 w-we'll knock next time. So sorry for the interruption!\"\nAfter he feels their aura drift off to some other parts of the ship, Sandalphon collapses in his arms. Lucio bursts into laughter and then, lovingly rubs Sandalphon's back with comforting pats.\nThe grand finale has been averted for the time being. With one less thing to worry about, the remaining threat to the world remains. They make their way back on the deck of the Grandcypher where the blues have become deeper and darker.\nThe unmistakable structure floating above them must be Etemenanki. The Speaker guides them to a place they can dock their ship. This holy place that appears in the creation myths is where god and the worlds' inhabitants could communicate. It also acts an an archive that dates back during the time of creation. But now that the god has fled, nowhere to be found, it has been floating through time and space, a forgotten relic of old.\nSeveral murals and unlit displays line the walls. Engravings of an ancient forgotten language are written on stone tablets. Lucio finally comes to a stop in front of the door that leads to their destination. He can feel Lucilius is just behind these close doors. He raises his head and lifts his hand to a panel. The door smoothly slides open with a hiss.\nAnd there in the midst of the divine chamber, the lone figure of Lucilius and his six black wings turn towards them.\nA\/N: We're approaching the finale. Outline draft of Ch20 is finished but i can't give a date when it'll be ready to post. COUGH. My siosanfer bias is rearing its head. I am wondering if I should change the tags. :')\nChapter 20: Finale (part1)\nIntriguing. Lucilius walks along the corridors of this mysterious space with a strange sense of familiarity. He remembers certain details of this area that he had noted down in a log he had kept for reference while he was building his theories. The overlap between reality and what his subconscious recalls align perfectly. Too perfectly, in fact, to be counted as mere coincidence.\nThe murals that adorn the walls can be manipulated to reveal historical records of the world's birth that are in line with the creation myth. Murals, of which, depict the Omnipotent splitting into two. One who fled to the skies and the other created the world of the Astrals. The two halves have been warring with the other in an attempt to become whole again. It establishes his convictions that the skydwellers and Astrals are merely used as tools leading towards homeostasis. A fate of which he'd rather eradicate down to the roots altogether until all that remains is nothingness.\nNow if he is to deconstruct the components that make up this structure, he must first analyze its composition. He is a firm believer that if something can be created, it can also be destroyed.\nUpon reaching the end of this corridor, he comes into a large expanse of space with a glowing mass lying in the center of it all. This is the divine chamber where the central core resides. The elemental condensation here is the strongest, which is optimum for what he has in mind. A sinister smile makes its way to his lips. He had only been contemplating on how he can destabilize this, so called nucleus, when his heightened senses catch on to a disturbance within.\nHis first assumption is that Belial finally caught up. But as it draws closer, it becomes clear to him that he might need to reevaluate his earlier deduction. He turns to face the assembly of skyfarers that have come with intent to thwart his advances. However, his eyes are drawn to an entity he's never encountered before.\nThe entity in question steps forward to address him with a face and voice he only knows too well, \"Lucilius. I would like for you to call off your grand finale. Not only your current plan but also, abandon rebellion entirely.\"\n\"Lucifer? You're just as disgustingly self righteous as I remember. But also, I'm familiar with my own handiwork well enough. You're\u2026 not him.\" Lucilius raises an eyebrow as he gauges this being with all the possible answers that would coincide with his identity.\n\"A defensive sentry?\" he ponders out loud before leveling him with cold eyes. \"Or perhaps, the only supposed possible inhabitant of this tower. Considering the garbs you wear, and the pretentiousness of your tone, you can only be, The Speaker. Although I don't quite understand the logic as to why you would wear my face.\"\n\"And if you're all here, that means\u2026 Belial must be dead?\" there's an odd flicker of disbelief as he takes on this information.\n\"That's right. He's finished. Pandemonium is under control, dimensional rift repaired. You're all that's left.\" Sandalphon declares abruptly as he stands alongside the Singularity and the Speaker.\nLucilius lets out an annoyed huff. \"That loutish barking. It can only be that mass of spare parts that Belial said already joined Lucifer in his death. Haa\u2026 why is it so hard to get good help.\"\n\"...Wear... your face?\" the Speaker parrots. His head tilts slightly in confusion with a matching idiotic look to go with it. One Lucilius would never even dare imagine on his own. But what the Speaker says next renders him to a full stop.\n\"It's only natural we have the same face. After all, you are a clone of mine.\"\n\"A clone\u2026\"\nLucio continues on to explain. \"You see\u2026 When the god of the stars created a new world, he based it on the one he left behind. From the building blocks of matter, to the fundamentals of ecology. This goes without saying the organisms that inhabit that world, as well as people's appearances. For example\u2026 one such as his Speaker.\"\n\"Surely you must have noticed you've acquired information that came from the very recesses of your mind. Visions you could not explain, experiences that you can retell with clarity yet recognize are not of your own. More telling is the primal beast you created in your own image. Because you instinctively seek the true form of God's perfect Speaker, you created Lucifer in your own image, to complete yourself.\"\nLucilius continues to draw a blank stare as he takes in this information. \"So you're implying that I am an imitation Speaker.. and you're the original\u2026\" Ridiculous. Is the first thing that comes to mind. And while his first action is to refute this baseless proclamation. The more he thinks about it, it isn't entirely unfounded...\nThe Astrals have always looked upon him with suspicion and disdain despite the fact that among all the other pea-brained, narrow minded researchers of whom the High Council consider the finest minds in the land, it was he, who contributed most of his knowledge and research that attributed to the progress of evolution. With terrifyingly accurate results that even led them to keep a watchful eye on him.\nBecause of this, he labelled himself an unrivaled genius for spinning theory after theory, hypothesis upon hypothesis, committed experiments that others would not have even dared venture for his endless thirst of knowledge-- and if the Speaker's words are to be taken as truth-- His identity, his very plane of existence, comes down to the fact that he's pre-made from a mold that already held all the answers. And that his deductions, findings and achievements are not entirely a product of his own brilliance.\nThe icing on the cake is, he's neither a primal beast nor is he an Astral. But a clone. One who does not even have his own identity but is actually a pale imitation of one. \"Heh.. ahahaha.\"\n\"Do you not believe me? If given the time, I can produce the evidence to verify-\" Lucio questions, unsure of what his reaction means. He can feel Sandalphon's fixated stare but he has said nothing at this point to interrupt, honoring his request to place his faith on him.\n\"No need. I'm sure you know what you're talking about. But I really couldn't ask for a more fortuitous turn of events. Here I was needing some extra power to destroy the divine tower.\" he extends his clawed hand. That once, indifferent gaze directed at him has now taken a different turn. \"If I'm imperfect... absorbing you into my core ought to rectify the problem.\" he summons his black wings to him. His aura emits a near suffocating malice so great that any lesser beings might be pressed to heel under the pressure.\nWhich includes almost everyone within the chamber, including Sandalphon. He grits his teeth as he struggles to lift his head. Facing Belial had nearly exhausted his Supreme Primarch powers. And although they had been given a period of rest, it isn't enough to recover that which was already expended. What the hell is this!? Why can't he will his limbs to move, much less stand!!\n\"I can't-- move..!\" next to him he can see with his limited peripheral is the Singularity undergoing the same struggle with Lyria and Vyrn next to him, lying prone on the ground. No doubt the rest of the crew are in the same state.\n\"I have no interest in the rest of the rabble.The original and the copy, which one will walk out of this alive. Can a modified clone surpass the original\u2026 I'd like to test my hypothesis.\" Lucilius states his intentions and draws his blades into an attack stance.\nBeing the only sole individual left standing, Lucio steps forward. He has already foreseen this very moment in a vision that continued to plague him these past few moons. The collapse of Pandemonium, the rise of the fallen angels, the confrontation in the divine chamber. All had played accordingly and yet, the prior two had been thwarted through Sandalphon and the Singularity's hands.\nBut in this third and final trial\u2026 he also foresees his coming death.\n\"Lucio!! Don't...!\" Sandalphon yells at the figure moving further and further away from them. The tiles beneath his hands crack from the pressure he applies on them but he still isn't able to stand.\n\"Sandalphon\u2026 \" Lucio pauses to look over his shoulder, he mouths something to him and reluctantly continues on despite his growing protests.\nAs much as Lucio seeks a peaceful resolution, a confrontation is what Lucilius desires to the point where he forces his hand like this. Even if he is his clone, he is completely resistant to his will. Becoming enthralled with his obsession to unravel what the Omnipotent has created, to both affirm and damn his own existence. Turning to the imminent threat, he calmly speaks. \"If it is an assessment you want, then you shall have it. If they are as insignificant as you claim, then there is no need for this show of power. Release them.\"\n\"It will be dispelled only if either you or I fall to make sure you're entirely committed to this. Worry not. I have no intention to dilute results. I want a full analysis of this body's capacity and as it stands, you're my only equal.\"\n\"Lucilius... can nothing dissuade you from your rebellion against the gods?\" knowing it may be futile, Lucio asks just once more.\n\"Nothing can stop me from dragging god down his throne.\" he rapidly narrows the distance between them brandishing his weapon on hand, with every intent to cut him open.\nFully aware that Lucilius cares not for who gets caught in the crossfire of their inevitable battle, Lucio intentionally draws him away from Sandalphon and the skyfarers. He flies upwards with Lucilius in pursuit.\n\"Lucio..!! Dammit!\" Sandalphon clenches his fists. He's in possession of the wings of the Four Primarchs but in this state he is unable to activate them. He closes his eyes tries to regulate his breaths in an attempt to calm himself despite the destructive sounds of the skirmish exploding above them.\n'I'll be fine. Don't lose sight of the promise.' are the words he imparted him with.\n\"Lucio, you\u2026 you're really going through with this!?\" He's internally shaken from that vague statement. There is nothing 'fine' about this!!?! The fate of the world, this deciding battle, it all leads to this point. The realm and all the lives in it hinge on this very moment.\nStand..!\nHe refuses to abide by Lucilius' restrictions. Stand up, dammit!\nDid he come all the way here just to be forced to be a bystander!?\nGet up and fight!! He needs to get up and fight with him! For the skies he's come to love so dearly, for the friends and comrades he made along the way, for the primarchs who entrusted him with their wings, for the skydwellers who fight their hardest to continue living!!\n'Please..! Give me the strength to protect everyone important to me\u2026!!!'\n\"T-the feather..!\" Lyria exclaims in surprise as the pure white feather in her possession starts to illuminate a bright light. It starts to float, gravitating towards Sandalphon's outstretched fingers.\nHe is instantly filled with a sense of warmth and peace. An aura he knows all too well assimilates with his, granting him a renewed vitality that breaks what control Lucilius once had over him. And if the exclamations of the nearby crew members are any indication, they've also been released from Lucilius' hold.\nThe Four Primarch wings naturally sprout behind him alongside six other wings that once belonged to Lucifer, hereby granting him a total of twelve multicolored wings adorning his back.\nBy the time he is ready to take flight and face Lucilius, the sounds from above have eerily ceased. A dark shadow looms ever closer as a lone silhouette descends from above. A being bearing twelve lustrous, black wings. He indifferently flicks a dark red substance off his blade. \"What a disappointment. In the end, he's merely an obsolete model.\" he peels what remains of a bloodied white cloth off himself and it drifts lifelessly down towards them.\nSandalphon catches onto it and stares at the blood soaked thing. Dark shadows hide his expression but he clutches the fabric tightly in his palm.\n\"The Speaker, he's\u2026\" Io can't find it in herself to say anymore.\nEugen curses under his breath. He knew that when they climbed up here, there would be casualties but it doesn't make it any easier seeing it happen before their very eyes. None of them could have stopped it from happening.\nIf they're this devastated, Rosetta can only imagine what Sandalphon must be feeling at this moment. A primal beast's life relies on their core. If all that remains of him is this- it can only mean that Lucilius has already taken his core and absorbed it into himself.\n\"Sandalphon. We can't\u2026 we can't give up hope here.\" Gran is aware what he's asking for is the impossible. It's hard enough for him to manage to say something while his heart weighs so heavy with anguish. \"Lucio would have wanted us to keep going. To end this!\"\nSandalphon lets out a heavy exhale. His expression is unreadable as he places a hand on Gran's shoulder, \"I know. It's not over yet.\"\nUnfortunately, dire circumstances barely give them the time to grieve when the divine tower begins to quake. Their attention is drawn upwards just in time to see Lucilius breaking through the protective membrane of the tower's power source. He then, proceeds to sinks the tip of his blade into the center of the building's nucleus and gives it a wide, clean sweep across, shattering the solid mass into pieces.\nEtemenanki begins its plummet from the heavens, straight down towards Pandemonium!! Even if the dimensional boundary has already been repaired. The structure of this magnitude falling from this height will obliterate it completely, rendering all their efforts to moot. The grand finale is still in motion!\n\" Lucilius..!!! \" Sandalphon raises his voice above the chaos.\nThe silver haired fallen turns to look at them as though he had only just remembered their existence. He takes in the visage of Sandalphon with his twelve wings with a contemptuous upturn of his lips. \"I see. So you have assimilated the four primarch's wings alongside the Supreme Primarch's. What a mismatched collection of borrowed plumage. Befitting a spare primarch.\"\nMass of useless reject, spare parts, spare primarch. Lucilius really doesn't let up on in referring to him as incomplete and inferior. He's almost sure it's because he's trying to compensate for being called a clone. But he's long stopped caring what Lucilius thinks of him. And this distinctly colored plumage he so mockingly looks down upon, he wears them with full pride. \"They may be borrowed finery, but it's the shared will of everything and everyone that stands against you and your rebellion.\"\n\"Hmph, no number of wings will make you my equal.\" he raises an arm to bring about a torrential rain of dark rays. \" Paradise Lost! \"\nThis time, Katalina is ready for it and forms a barrier over the crew before it pelts them.\nSandalphon sharply propels himself up and breaks through the resulting smoke from the explosions. His blade connects with Lucilius' own at the last second. He hears him grunt in surprise as he only narrowly deflected the incoming attack.\n\"Insolent.\" Lucilius snarls, balls of fire strengthened by the bite of a wind are launched towards Sandalphon only to be doused by ice magic coming from below. Vines shoot out and grasp his arms and legs, intent on dragging him back to the ground below. \"Just die!\" the field around him breaks free of them as though they were no more than paper. He returns the favor and shoots out jet black beams of dark energy towards them to deal with.\nLyria manages to summon a primal that specializes in negating damage but the clear hissing sound from the black residue as it touches his boots has Gran calling out to the rest of the crew not to stand in them.\n\"Tch.\" They're more of a pain that he thought. Having fought several hard earned battles, their coordination and teamwork is tight knit and covering where one is faltering, becoming each other's strengths. With Sandalphon on the aerial charge and the crew on the ground, Lucilius finds that he's gradually becoming overwhelmed. They say the more cornered the animal the harder they fight for their survival and he is experiencing this firsthand.\n\"Enough. This ends now.\" Lucilius takes to higher ground. The sharp whistling sound that indicates him charging up most of his power has everyone bracing for another barrage covering wide area of attack. None of their barriers are ready to withstand another wave this soon.\n\"For once, we agree on something!\" Sandalphon is on his trail, his entire body is also charging with light comparably as intimidating as his counterpart. They both fire off at the same time. The impact of both light and dark meet halfway. The air is abuzz of both energies whipping and colliding violently.\nLucilius forces his hand in injecting more of his power into the attack. Not to be outdone, Sandalphon does the same with a hoarse yell. Suddenly, he notices the faint outline of a pair of hands coming from behind him to rest on top of his. He can't afford to turn around now to see who it is but he doesn't have to. He can hear their voices overlapping as the light from his palms increase their power by two fold.\n\"Paradise Lost!!\"\n\"I-mpossible..!\" This unprecedented increase in output plows through his own and he all but braces himself from the impact of the light that consumes him in its blinding brilliance. Even now as he lays in a pathetic, crumpled heap on the floor. He just can't be sure if it was an illusion but for the briefest moment\u2026 he thought he saw him.\nThat he saw Lucifer looking back at him.\nThoroughly spent and out of options, Lucilius finds himself at the humiliating mercy of the Singularity and the skydwellers.\nHaving spent every last ounce of the Supreme Primarch's powers and the Four Primarch wings, they have withdrawn back into Sandalphon's body. But just as his knees are about to give way from exhaustion, it is Gran and Lyria who catch his fall. Gran takes more of the bulk by supporting him up with an arm over his shoulder.\nIt is only through sheer power that Lucilius forces himself off the ground with his elbows. He bares his teeth to dare anyone who has the nerve to try approaching him. But there's one thing they overlooked. \"You're too late.\" he manages to rasp out. \"Even if you did manage to defeat me, we're all still plunging to our deaths. And the realm's end, as we know it.\"\nSandalphon hates to admit it but he's right. What good was their triumph if none of them had the capability to halt an entire building from its destructive path. But just when they thought all hope is lost\u2026like a switch had been flipped open, Etemenanki begins to slow its descent to a full stop. The core that Lucilius thought he destroyed, lights up with life once again, its components swirl, self repairing the damage he had once wrought on it.\nBy whatever miracle, Etemenanki is once again operational, the chances of a purported tragic descent is no longer a possibility. For now it seems the skydwellers have completely thwarted the world's end. Lucilius clicks his tongue and hangs his head silently.\n\"We\u2026 we did it..?\" Sandalphon could scarcely believe it himself. His own hoarse, tired voice sounds almost foreign to his ears. It is only now that he allows his stream of tears to fall. It's all over. He fulfilled his promise. Lucilius and his legacy are finished. He clutches the only thing that remained of Lucio with his free hand. He had faith until the end, didn't he? He gave it all he had. \"Lucio, are you watching\u2026?\"\nThe sudden, unexpected answer almost has Gran and Lyria dropping Sandalphon out of fright.\n\"Inconvenient as it is, I apologize that I can only address you all in this form. But you've all done well to save the realm from destruction. I am sending Lucilius to a place where I can ensure he will no longer be a threat to this world. But you must all make haste and escape before I begin the shift .\"\nThe rest of the crew who are able, are assisting the others back to where their ship had been docked. Sandalphon's struggles begin anew as Gran nearly grapples with him to keep him from toppling both of them over.\n\"Lucio..! Wait!!\" not knowing where else to look, Sandalphon raises his head to the ceiling of the chamber. \"What's going to happen to you!?\" no longer with a physical body, he can only assume his spiritual form has taken control over Etemenanki. But after that\u2026 what then? Is this it? Is this the last time they'll speak to each other again? Is he sealing himself alongside Lucilius?\nThe uncertainty festers inside him. Would he really be willing to the rest of his immortal life without the trace of that smile, the gentle touch of that hand, the assurance of that voice, held in his embrace that radiated tranquility. How cruel must fate be to show him what it means to be loved only to rob it after grasping the warmth it readily offered. \"Please..\"\nThe first time he felt this devastated and lost, it was like being in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. He never thought he could laugh or smile again. He had been ready to cast his life aside if it meant stopping Lucilius, if it meant fulfilling a promise.\nAnd then in the Singularity's care, he met him. He may have been a nuisance when they first clashed. He distrusted him, despised him, even.\nBut he doesn't know when it all started to change or how it all started but slowly, Lucio had gradually broken the chains he had bound himself with. Warmed him until all the ice encasing his core melted. Taught him how to love and be loved in returned. Healed not just his wings, but also his sense of self.\nHis journey with the Singularity has also taught him many things. Of a world beyond the research laboratory and Pandemonium. Working with others, learning skydweller customs, and participating in festivals. Unexplored lands that extend far off the horizons. There is so much this realm has to offer still alongside troubles and dangers neverending even past the mortal years of the Singularity and his crew. And the world will have it's Supreme Primarch, but he can only plead for this one selfish thing. \"Stay with me. I'll do it. I'll come with you, wherever you want to go after this journey ends. Just don't..\" he grits his teeth, biting out the words he has always meant to say. \"Don't leave me..\"\n\" Sandalphon\u2026\" Lucio's responds with heartfelt earnest, \"Know that, I will do no such thing...\"\nAnother violent convulsion plows through the entire structure, and has Lyria notifying them. \"I don't sense him anymore. Let's hurry..!\"\n\"C'mon!! We're getting closer to that thing in the sky that's sucking the tower in!\" Vyrn supports the back of Sandalphon's head and starts flapping his wings as they push though, as though the gesture would help them move faster. But it's the thought that counts, right?!\nJust as they cross the hallway. They come across the fatigued form of someone they never thought they would cross paths with again. Sandalphon's guard is raised. \"You're still alive, you scum!\"\nThere, leaning against the wall in the most storry state he has ever been, is the archangel of cunning. Belial lifts the corner of his mouth. \"I'm just as surprised as you are, really. I thought I was done for back there. But I managed to hitch a ride on this airship and take the trip on over here.\"\n\"Why you... ! It's over, learn when to quit already!\" Vyrn raises his fists.\nBelial throws up his hands in a half hearted gesture of surrender. \"Simmer down, Scaly. I think you've all seen to it to wring all the fight out of me. I'm only here to pick up Lucilius. As you can probably tell from my aura, I'm at my limit. Look, I'll even let you land a punch in as a gesture of goodwill if it'll get you to just leave me to do what I came here to do.\"\n\"Let's just go...!\" Gran urges them on as they turn their backs on Belial and resumed their way back to the ship as fast as they are able to.\nHalfway towards the dock, a couple of crewmates rush down the ramp to help haul the three of them onto the deck. The engine of the Grandcypher guns to life and Rackam steers them further away from the faint outlines of the divine tower as it's being swallowed up by the crack in the dimension. In the blink of an eye, the tower, along with the rift, disappear entirely without a trace.\nThreat finally averted, all of the adrenaline that had carried him this far is replaced with a heavy feeling of weariness. Having used up the last of his strength, Sandalphon passes out on the deck of the Grandcypher.\nA\/N: It started out as one chapter but\u2026 I decided to cut it here. And the other half will be uploaded shortly.\nChapter 21: Finale (part 2)\nWhen Sandalphon regains some semblance of consciousness. He's once again in that familiar shaded garden awakened by the smell of roasted coffee beans. There's a clink of porcelain as a filled cup is being placed neatly in front of him. Lucifer sets down another cup across him before seating himself.\n\"You're just in time. I started to wonder whether it might grow cold by the next I see you again.\" Lucifer greets him with a relaxed smile. \"You're not in any danger of your soul leaving your body, so we can finally take our time sharing this long awaited cup of coffee.\"\nUnlike the first instance, Sandalphon is more calm as he takes the cup in his hands as it is the only natural thing to do.He takes a cautious sip and lets that familiar bittersweet taste settle on his tongue. He wholeheartedly welcomes it like the warm embrace of home and sighs in contentment. \"It's perfect. I could never get it to taste like this. No matter how many times I attempt.\"\n\"Is that so? But does it really have to be the exact same?\" Lucifer takes a satisfying sip of his own before he continues. \"I don't think I'm doing anything different from what I've taught you. I'm much more interested if you've already made your own special blend.\"\n\"My own special blend..?\" Sandalphon absentmindedly traces the rim of the half empty cup with his finger as he ponders on this. It's true that he had been experimenting with different ingredients catering to the different preferences and tastes of the different crew members on board the Grandcypher but\u2026 True. He had been so focused on recreating the taste Lucifer imparted him with that he has only come to realize that there are several other pathways and doors for him that have yet to be opened. It can never be exactly like Lucifer's. He isn't him nor is he a copy. He shouldn't limit himself to what he perceives as perfection and find one unique to his own. Sandalphon smiles as he comes to understand his meaning. \"Haha, that's not a bad idea.\"\n\"Would you like another cup?\" he offers when he sees his nearly empty.\n\"Ah, yes.. Please. But let me.\" Sandalphon hurriedly stands up but Lucifer motions for him to remain in his seat.\n\"You are my guest here and you've all done so very well. It's the very least I can do\u2026 after all, I've placed such a heavy burden on your shoulders.\" Lucifer stands to retrieve the pot only to circle around Sandalphon's side to pour him more.\nSandalphon rests his hands on his lap. He stares down at his knuckles with reserved nervousness. \"No, I..\" And in a more resolved state of mind, he discloses what he had been keeping inside for so long, \"...I should be the one to apologize. For having joined the rebellion, for causing the cataclysms. I blamed you for my own actions because I only saw my own pain. For that I\u2026 I truly am sorry for all the people I've hurt. Including you.\"\nLucifer stops at mid pour as he takes in Sandalphon's apology. Setting the pot down first, he casts his pensive gaze elsewhere. \"I have hurt you as well. The fault is not yours alone to bear, Sandalphon. I overlooked your feelings. And I never realized how vast the void that you once occupied\u2026 until the very day we parted on such terms.\"\n\"Lucifer\u2026\" Sandalphon begins to say but is stopped when he feels the palm of Lucifer's hand rest upon his shoulder. He looks up to see his face and immediately balks internally. He can't even recall the last time he's looked upon him so fondly like this, that it's making him even more flustered. \"W...what is it? Why are you\u2026 \"\n\"It has been a while since I last had a good look at you. You've gotten much stronger. The darkness that once muddled your eyes have dissipated. They're clear, unwavering. And\u2026 radiant. I'm glad. It has always my most sincere wish for you to find your happiness.\"\nOne that he could not readily provide him with at the time. But if he had known then what he knows now\u2026 ah , Lucifer inwardly sighs. There is little point to wishing for time to stand still or to turn back the clock. It is something not within the realm of possibility he should be entertaining because it changes nothing. All the decisions and chosen paths they have taken all lead up to this moment and they can only take responsibility for the consequences.\n\"I am\u2026 happy. But I also, wish for your happiness.\" Sandalphon answers genuinely. As much as he hates acknowledging that serpent's words, he wasn't entirely sprouting nonsense. Lucifer had dedicated his very existence in peacekeeping the realm. Never venturing too far the scope of his duties. Always putting every living thing's existence above his own. It personally frustrated him to no end how little he values himself over others.\n\"Thank you, I will carry your words close to my heart.\" Lucifer readily accepted his death as divine punishment for Sandalphon's transgressions. But lately he began questioning as to whether he should also graciously accept the eternity that lay beyond the rest of his time in this garden tending to coffee trees.\nAt some point Lucifer had thought about waiting for him to come join him in this place. But unless under unusual circumstances, such as being forcibly destroyed or fatally wounded by a weapon that can kill immortals, a primal's life continues on for eternity. And bringing harm into Sandalphon's life, is not a fate he would ever wish upon him. Moreover, he has someone by his side now to make sure it will never come to pass. Knowing that, he feels more assured that he can fly free even with the heavy weight of his wings on his back.\nLucifer turns to face him after finally coming to his own conclusion. \"Now that I've had my last wish granted, I can go in peace knowing you're in good hands.\"\n\"Go.. in peace? But where are you going?\"\nLucifer's contemplative stare drifts towards the mountains. \"To the Stream of Souls. The next step beyond this realm. I had been given a most generous choice to remain here for all eternity and live out the rest of my days in this tranquil place. Free from the malice, conflict, and hardship of the world. But\u2026 I declined. \"\n\"Declined?\" Sandalphon doesn't mask his confusion. The way Lucifer described it made it sound like a paradise that others would aspire to reach, and yet\u2026 \"...Why?\"\nLucifer lets out a light laugh. His hand reaches out to brush a stray lock of hair from the Supreme Primarch's bewildered face. \"Why, do you think?\"\nThe gesture leaves Sandalphon flabbergasted on the spot, that he hasn't moved at all even as Lucifer slowly withdraws and starts walking ahead of him towards the pathway leading outward. The wind picks and brings with it the scent of wild grass and small stray tufts of dandelion puffs. He doesn't look back as he lifts his head to the skies . \"Perhaps someday, if fate allows it, we might meet again in my next life.\"\nThat they are able to even have the chance to talk like this even after his passing, is a miracle in itself. Still, he never thought he'd live to see the day that Lucifer finally chose to do something for himself. \"Yeah, I'd like that.\"\n\"Then, I shall be leaving first.\" Lucifer takes the first step and finds that it becomes easier for him after the next two as his hesitation melts away with the building promise of a new morrow.\nLike he had done so many times before, Sandalphon cups his hands around the corners of his mouth as calls after him with all the spirit he could muster. \"Have\u2026 a safe journey!\"\nLucifer gives him one last smile over his shoulder, and acknowledges him with a wave before continuing his way into the heart of the forest. Sandalphon continues to watch his retreating figure until he could no longer see him.\nHaving left the shaded patio, Sandalphon quietly retraces his steps back to where he remembered the light that brought him back to consciousness should have been. But in its place, he sees a familiar figure in white idly reclining against the trunk of a tree. The ancient being listens to the serenade of a sparrow that finds its perch on his outstretched fingers.\nIts song abruptly comes to a halt and it flits away when it hears the trample of grass that accompanies his approach. \"Lucio? You're here too?\"\n\"I came here because I knew I'd find you here.\" He pats some the loose grass from the folds of his robe, before gesturing to the empty spot next to him in an offer to join him. \"Are you returning already? I thought you'd want to spend more time with Lucifer?\"\nSandalphon wordlessly squats next to him and immediately envelops him in a tight embrace, burying his face in his chest. His face is lowered and Lucio can't clearly see his expression. But when he sees tears tracking down the brunet's face, the Speaker becomes visibly shocked and distressed. \"Did the meeting not go over well?\"\nSandalphon shakes his head as though he were saying, 'That's not it'. The feeling of release from the pain, the guilt, the darkness that clouded his heart is bittersweet. Having already fulfilled his promise and that he made his peace with Lucifer, he can say with certainty that he's come to accept all that has happened, acknowledge Lucifer's forgiveness, and.. finally, forgive himself.\nHe mourns the loss of someone he has cared for deeply, but from the bottom of his heart, he truly is glad that Lucifer has been granted a new lease in life.\nLucio says nothing but he no longer feels Lucifer here and has come to understand what has taken place. He chose to be reborn unto the world again. Perhaps in another form, in another time. But a part of Lucio believes that even if Lucifer comes to forget his previous life entirely, the bonds that have been set so deeply are not so easily severed. With this in mind, he raises a hopeful smile to the skies and continues to stroke his back.\nAfter a while, Sandalphon lifts his head to give him a more resolute look. \"I think I found my purpose.\" Lucio gives him his full, undivided attention as he continues. \"...I want to make sure the world and time period he appears in is during a time of peace. Of course, not just only that period but.. indefinitely,\" and he readily adds without giving him an opening to protest. \"And you're going to help me do it.\"\nThere's an exhilarated glint in his eyes as he dips his head in a light bow of acknowledgement . \"If the Supreme Primarch wills it, I am only happy to serve.\"\n\"Let's go home. And continue our journey with our friends.\" Sandalphon helps them both up to their feet. He feels as though all the weight has been lifted from his shoulders. His soles haven't even left the ground yet he already feels like he's soaring.\n\"Yes.\" Lucio tangles their fingers together as a gentle light begins to enshroud them both.\nThe light is becoming too bright that he can tell how glaring it is even with his eyelids shut. Sandalphon makes a small groan of complaint as he turns over and slowly comes to a waking realization that he's lying flat on a mattress in his night clothes. He groggily wipes his bleary eyes as he takes in his familiar surroundings. The faint smell of citrus and lavender... the little knickknacks on the shelves collected from their travels and gifts from friends. Each one contains fond memories. He's in the.. \"Grandcypher\u2026\" He nudges the stolen pillow he had been lightly drooling on and noticed the bedside next to him is empty but there's still creases and traces of warmth left there.\nLucio.\nSuddenly jolting awake, Sandalphon staggers out of bed. His balance still slightly askew, he takes a short tumble over the bed frame and quickly picks himself back up. He rushes out of the room in just a pair of pajama pants. He very nearly runs over the Singularity and Lyria who jump aside to avoid the collision.\nThe blue haired girl asks, \"S-sandalphon? Oh, thank the skies, you're finally awake. Are you feeling better?\"\n\"Ssorry.. Lucio. Where's\u2026 Lucio?\" he's probably urgently babbling and his nest of hair is in disarray. But he doesn't care about that right now. All he can hear is the pulsating of his core in his ears as memories of their last battle begin to piece itself together. Of Lucio taking over the divine tower, said tower getting sucked into the rift between dimensions, And the echo of his last assurance before they parted. He wants... no, he needs to see him with his own eyes.\n\"Lucio?\" Gran scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, \"I think I saw him on the upper de-\"\n\"Thanks.\" Sandalphon doesn't let him finish and he weaves by them in his hurry.\nThere in the midst of the white sheets being hung to dry. He sees a familiar silhouette.\nNo longer concealing his true form, Lucio's hair spills down his shoulders but they're tied back into a braid with little flower clips unevenly distributed throughout. Some of the children on board just went to town with it and he doesn't want to put their hard work to waste. The weather is good, the wind is pleasant. He just about finishes this batch and lifts the basket of the now, dry and clean fabric in his arms with intentions to bring it back inside when-\nSandalphon lunges at him at full force, knocking him flat on the ground and sending all the sheets and loose flower clips flying skywards.\nA\/N: --Followed by the ensuing screams of other crewmates because the laundry has gone overboard.\nAnd that's the end of the main story. I want to thank the readers wholeheartedly for accompanying me on this journey. One that I originally started because I was extremely thirsty for siosan content. (And obviously still am.) The kudos and comments have been encouraging.\nSo thank you again.\nThere's still an epilogue I plan to write after this. But it might be a while before that gets posted as GW is here.\nA little disclaimer that Cygames owns Granblue Fantasy, its plot, its settings, its characters, and ...part of my soul that continues to wait for Lucio's 5* uncap. Q A Q; sobs\nmaihimes, Halphares, klv, gayjellyfish, darkenergies, YatogamiKushina, dennaismissing, kaineko11, shiroe_sachou, pplus, yokiedokie, Argen, jetlagged, Ignas, rainsonata, oubastet, Sakamaki_Suzuku, Sayachka, DeenKei11, Kanelis, TeaFlowers, Librantu, phoenixdirge, Sadalsuud, razal, OniZenmaru, Vykat, Ruruchi, RyuichiroSakuraba, AiriShirokane, AnimaEl, AnimaEl, chibi_heights, ayaMASO, vens_93, PSIDontKnow, VenniLumous, NyxEclipse, intertwingular, askaray, Lunar_Hikari, Muddie202, Jun_Crow, engdilys, AnIdealistAtHeart, sacredwings, defverse, Rhosin, naniwanospeedman, uLT1MATUM, and 130 more users horatora, mariti, Caithdean, ShineLight, cheereese, N_A_N_O, luvx, Matzuri, icekitsune13darkfire, Einv13, Lyraxia, nymt, ThatTurtle, sacredhell, azure_mist, Vilbread, Knockoutroundabout, Keitorin, goatdemort, cactass, Spark_Envoy, toxins, Ichigo_Kitsune, devilsfuge, dell, Zerendalus, rinrin0, Reikosama7716, sonyasty, Rollamas, eicaliix, Rum, Viridienne (Vilbread), sockpal, Red_CELEBRATION, hikikomori_aria, suzukaze, JinxedSoda, rlyns, artificial_Laboratory, bunshima, gattai, RikuNanase, NANAhashi, mikadukki, siscarilia, dramaturgy, eru_iru, stardustspeedway, Pyrothesis, StoneOcean, howardlink, Choukane, trickstarbrave, Marquis_Black, casflew, hanamakotoba, Lyrecho, positron, jyushimatsu, Frozenblade, BandagedRabbit, edellium, RandomInCommon, DiegoonNio, unhappyrefrain, iorikus, yorimitsu, Aurumis, caninegrin, Irrational_Illogical, BloodySilverKitsune, sugacube, NotYunu, LilyAu, suzakushimon, rubyserpent_720, Leialeii, Sosoya, HappyHellandHeaven, nyahnyah, skysedge, licerianelle, avaselm, beepboopmeow, kaorihikari, erisual, Cagliostro, LootsLogic, lambdadelta, Onus_Probandi, GelatoChan, autonomie, Othello, DQueenie13, yueru, Youngie, Kuranoa, elefseus, Grettle_chan, azureforest, bewitchingtheatre, aithusas, AmkiTakk, akitsukun, BlueFlameSakura, kyubei, 2wink, 2wink, Lyka_Mandia, Tendrilsvein, inaho, Aliases_Clients, RoSeLapucell, Pity, yuzukisuoh, Alt_reaYoon, waynesani, Blairuru, lucisan, Vandaliska, reneelric, cloudwatch, Koayyy, narukamis, Keriancal, bookoftheazuresky, daddygod, onyasumi and ShadowMellow as well as 483 guests left kudos on this work! (collapse)\nLyka_Mandia on Chapter 1 Tue 13 Mar 2018 07:40AM EDT\nThat was beautiful, dear lord I love the way you write the two, please continue this! I would love to read more of your take on Lucio and Sandy's relationship since there's such a jarring lack of it in the game.\nI need my angels to survive.\nmazeoflife28 on Chapter 1 Wed 14 Mar 2018 09:25PM EDT\nThank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. ^^ I will try! No promises though, haha. *stares at all the unfinished drafts* *wheeze*\nCaithdean on Chapter 1 Sun 20 Jan 2019 02:49AM EST\nThank you for the story! I look forward to the next update! :)\nOnus_Probandi on Chapter 2 Sun 25 Mar 2018 11:43PM EDT\nYOUR HANDS WERE ENOUGH, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO USE YOUR MOUTH!!!\"\nExcuse me while I die omg these two are too much for my heart I can't. I really love the way you portray them as sort of dancing around it and Lucio's own protectiveness stemming from feelings of desire he's not supposed to have and AHHHHHHH you're so amazing\nKueSusu on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 03:15AM EDT\nReading 2nd chapter, I'm blushing. Madly. Lucio, you just... just...\nThank you for this entertaining, deep and funny fic. please write more of their dynamic as Lucio is too sly for everyone heart. I like the end. Makes anyone wonder what they did... well, it was ambiguous.\nKeep writing and I'll wait for your other works.\nlucisan on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 03:15AM EDT\nHFSJFJDJF THE ENDING SANDAL OH NOOOO\nluciosan deserves so much more content,, this is so cute i..!!!! im really liking how you write lucio too Gosh I Am Weak\nApple on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 04:41AM EDT\n-uses a rope and pulls you back- NU WAIT PLEASE YOU CAN'T JUST RUN OFF I NEED TO HUG YOU-\nHonestly though I'm amazed at how well you've written this. Lucio is definitely so \":3c\" and \">:3c\" and I feel like you've really captured that! Sandalphon's reaction is amazingly gold too and so very sweet I JUST CAN'T AAAAAAAA!!!!!\nbookoftheazuresky on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 10:03AM EDT\nLucio uses Confusion! It's supereffective!\nyuzukisuoh on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 11:28AM EDT\nT-T-T-This is...!!! \/\/\/\/\/\n*runs away blushing*\nLei on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 11:58AM EDT\noh my god, this is so sweet and fluffy... Thank you for sharing this with us, I can't wait to read more!!\ncloudwatch on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 03:30PM EDT\noh my god this was PERFECT lucio's protectiveness and sandalphon's embarrassment and I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS i adore their relationship in this series, especially how forward lucio is being\nAurumis on Chapter 2 Mon 26 Mar 2018 10:15PM EDT\nAwwww I'm dying of happiness this is so good! I love their dynamics so much pls don't end it there!! Haha I really would like to read more of it omg I love your Lucio ;;\nbookoftheazuresky on Chapter 3 Mon 02 Apr 2018 10:13PM EDT\nHonestly, I can't think of a prank more likely to stab Sandalphon in his sore spots. (Well, I can, but those involve malice aforethought)\nlucisan on Chapter 3 Mon 02 Apr 2018 10:46PM EDT\nGOD this fic makes me so ... so tender i love how you write their relationship so much its the cutest thing FHDHFHFJ... the prank was perfect fitting as well!! i think i physically melted when i read this,\nKuranoa on Chapter 3 Tue 03 Apr 2018 03:29AM EDT\nThis was so ridiculously sweet in a way that only Lucio could achieve with him I'm crying tears of happiness right now thank you so much wtrekr;wirohiutet\nMik on Chapter 3 Tue 03 Apr 2018 09:30AM EDT\nOh no, it was giving me some anxiety to Lucio act that way and then I felt so foolish when he revealed the truth. Poor Sandy but the resolution was adorable.\nApple on Chapter 3 Tue 03 Apr 2018 02:09PM EDT\nIt tore me so much at the beginning to see Lucio act that way and when it got to the part he had been willingly ignoring Sandalphon I ALMOST WANTED TO WHACK THE ONE IN MY TEAM- (Jk I love him so much I've given him like 3 rings already)\nAs much as I love Lowain and his bros the second hand embarassment they give me is too much and I was slightly satisfied at their punishment :^3\nAurumis on Chapter 3 Tue 03 Apr 2018 10:22PM EDT\nThank you so much for another chapter. My heart is full again, but this story even if little makes me so happy. For real I don't know if it's the actual ending but I just keep wanting more of it.\nI really love how you write this two, so natural.\nI hope to see more of this two if not in this fic in another new one from you.\nThank you so much again for it! \u2764\ufe0f\naA on Chapter 3 Sat 14 Apr 2018 04:55PM EDT\nstupidly cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i couldnt stop smiling what the hexk!!!!!!!! and this is mg 3rd time reading it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im crhing i lovr the way you wrote theri relationships and jts so amazing\nso how do i sent kudos to you for 9999999 times\nAmkiTakk on Chapter 4 Fri 27 Apr 2018 04:29AM EDT\nAaah they're so sweet to each other~\n(also is that a wingman gran i see? haha nice~)\n\u2605 on Chapter 4 Fri 27 Apr 2018 08:37AM EDT\nohhhh my goodness this is so tender the way u write lucio as so sincere and sandalphon getting flustered jsjshdbdbsbd they're so cute. this is so soft and good thank u for posting","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Salads and First Courses\nCatering + Menu Design\nBeverages + Bar\nEntertainment + Music\nLighting + Production\nCorporate Event Gallery\nCommunity + Philanthropy\nWhat makes Jane Hammond Events unique is our genuine love for what we do and the working relationships we develop. We pride ourselves in treating our clients, as well as our venue contacts, vendors and staff with personal attention and respect. Many of our dedicated employees have worked with us for over 10 years, demonstrating their long term commitment and loyalty. As most of our chefs and service staff have worked with us for such a long time, we have created a close knit and cooperative dynamic that adds to the professional and friendly feel of your event. Additionally, we have built partnerships with many well loved and trusted Bay Area vendors to complement our event planning services.\nJane Hammond, Owner and Planner Extraordinaire\nJane grew up in England and has a background in the sciences. She went on to train at the Cordon Bleu in London, and started her catering career in England before moving to America in 1975. Jane taught cooking in the U.S. for several years, and then began her professional catering career. Jane Hammond Events has been growing ever since and under her kind and careful direction has expanded into the highly respected full service company it is today.\nAmy Trapp, Senior Event Manager\nAmy has worked for JHE for over 20 years and is involved in every aspect of running the company. Prior to joining JHE, she graduated from St. Lawrence University, traveled extensively and worked in the political arena. Amy began working in our kitchen and serving at events and has evolved into our senior events coordinator and manager. Amy brings incredible attention to detail and personal warmth to all our events and clients.\nNaomi Ages, Senior Event Manager\nNaomi is a graduate of UC Berkeley, and has lived abroad in Central America and Chile. She loves speaking Spanish, volunteering as a doula, and hiking the East Bay hills. She joined the JHE team in 2005, initially as the staffing manager, and soon made herself indispensible to every aspect of the business. Naomi considers JHE to be like her family; she is proud to be part of a team that provides warm and personalized attention to each client. She currently serves as an Event Planner and Manager.\nCeanna Stephens, Senior Event Manager\nCeanna joined the JHE team in 2006. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in International Studies. Ceanna spent many years working in the non-profit educational field and traveled extensively internationally. It was her love of trying foods around the world and taking many cooking courses along the way that led her to the catering industry. Ceanna manages many of our corporate events and weddings.\nOlivia Rick, Event Manager\nOlivia grew up cooking with her mother but fell in love with food while studying sustainable food ideologies and movements in Italy. After receiving her B.A in International Relations from the University of Minnesota, she decided to get hands on culinary training, which included Gather Restaurant, in Berkeley. She first joined the JHE team in 2010. In her free time, she volunteers teaching cooking and nutrition classes to children and families.\nJames Timpanaro, Staffing Manager and Event Designer\nJames originally hails from the East Coast, but has been a San Francisco denizen for the last 13 years. He joined the JHE team in 2016 and brought in fresh energy to our event design, as well as taking over the role of staffing manager. James is known for his incredible attention to detail and eye for creative design. Outside of work he is a dog enthusiast and world traveler.\nJason Echols, Executive Chef\nJason has been professionally cooking for 20 years, both in restaurants and the catering industry. Outside work he enjoys live music and spending time with his son Milo.\nKent K.\nKent graduated on the Dean's list from both the California Culinary Academy ('95) and Johnson and Wales University ('00.) His experience is in fine dining, including the Cypress Club, Carnelian Room and the St. Regis Hotel. Kent has competed in and received several awards from various culinary competitions. His love for food brought his travels to over 15 countries, which helped to shape his palate and cuisine.\nYolanda and Beatriz\nYolanda and her daughter Beatriz have been a part of the JHE team for over 20 years, keeping our kitchen organized and sparkling for every event\nDan Rosenbach\nDan Rosenbach is our in-house DJ, lighting designer and electronics guru. Dan also serves as the Emcee for many of our events, and additionally runs our photobooth operation. He has worked with JHE since 2011. Dan graduated from Rutgers University in 2000 with a BS in Management.\nContent \u00a9 Jane Hammond Events | Design \u00a9 | Technology \u00a9","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Acting CEO of Serbia's power utility EPS quits after several major outages\nActing director of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) Milorad Gr\u010di\u0107 resigned from his post following five outages and fires in Serbia's coal power industry in the past month. The thermal power plant collapse on December 11 even threatened the stability of the European grid. Gr\u010di\u0107 has held the position since 2016 in breach of rules on the management of state-owned enterprises.\nAn excavator that deposits mine tailings in the Kolubara coal mining basin caught fire on January 10. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Zorana Mihajlovi\u0107, it may take up to one year to repair the machine, bought in 2018 for almost EUR 19 million. Acting director of state-owned coal and electricity producer Elektroprivreda Srbije Milorad Gr\u010di\u0107 submitted his resignation, but he also accused Mihajlovi\u0107 of trying to destroy the company.\nIt was the fifth major incident in EPS since December 12, when the two biggest thermal power plants shut down as the lignite was laden with mud. The outage forced the country to turn to emergency imports.\nThe collapse at Serbia's biggest coal-fired power plants a month ago resulted in emergency imports of electricity at high prices\nENTSO-E \u2013 the European Network of Transmission System Operators, later said it registered frequency deviations since the same date due to a drop in production in the southeast and urged for the issues to be resolved. They were exacerbated by December outages in coal-fired plants in Kosovo*.\nPresident Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 recently said Gr\u010di\u0107 needs to go, after the TENT B plant broke down again because of a fire and a damaged coal mill.\nThe acting director was appointed in 2016 and his term expired after one year, but he was left at the helm of the dominant power producer until now in breach of law. Program Director of Transparency Serbia Nemanja Nenadi\u0107 has noted that Gr\u010di\u0107 actually didn't qualify to become the head of EPS in the first place. He explained the chief executives of state-owned enterprises must have at least five years of relevant experience but that Gr\u010di\u0107 got a university diploma only four years before he was appointed.\nChief executives of state-owned enterprises must have at least five years of relevant experience but Gr\u010di\u0107 got a university diploma only four years before he was appointed\nThe domestic media and EPS union chief Milan \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107 learned that Executive Director for Electricity Generation Technical Affairs Miroslav Toma\u0161evi\u0107 is the most likely successor.\nThe combined costs of emergency power imports and repairs of the damages suffered in the past month are estimated at several hundred million euros. The consequences of the latest fire on electricity production are yet to be seen.\n* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244\/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.\nTags: electricity, Elektroprivreda Srbije, EPS, Milorad Gr\u010di\u0107\nHome \u00bb News \u00bb Electricity \u00bb Acting CEO of Serbia's power utility EPS quits after several major outages","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"NBA Star Danny Green Talks NBA-Level Training, Working With Puma, and Why Core Strength Is Important for Basketball Players\nby Matthew Jussim\nNBA guard Danny Green is thriving with the Toronto Raptors. After spending the previous eight seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and establishing himself as one of the top 3-point shooters in the league while winning the 2014 NBA championship, Green was traded to the Raptors alongside All-Star Kawhi Leonard. (Update: Green is now with the Lakers.)\nBasketball Is Back: The Minimally Informed Man's Guide to the 2018-19 NBA Season\nWhile the trade was a major change for Green, the guard has been playing as well as he ever has on the court. Through 25 games since going North of the border, Green is putting up career-high numbers in numerous categories, including field goal percentage, 3-point shooting percentage, offensive rebounds, and 3-pointers made per game.\nGreen's play\u2014along with Leonard's strong play\u2014has the Raptors off to a franchise best start and thinking about making a run to the NBA Finals. Green's been relishing his time with the Raptors, and has been enjoying his experience with the fans in the city.\n\"It definitely helps to adjust easier when you're winning,\" Green says. \"The organization of people, teammates they've done a great job helping me feel at home, myself and Kawhi, it's been great. City has been amazing, always loved this city even before I became a Raptor. Fans have been awesome embracing me, and making me feel like I've been there for years. Winning makes it comfortable, but it's been great so far.\"\nGreen has also started working with PUMA, partnering with the brand earlier this season on a multi-year deal. The company announced the deal with a pretty awesome video featuring Green and, yes, some actual pumas.\n#Repost @pumahoops with @get_repost \u30fb\u30fb\u30fb IT'S OFFICIAL. We here at @thetorontozoo introducing @greenranger14 to the extended family. WELCOME to the #pumafam \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a #bigcats\nA post shared by Danny Green (@greenranger14) on Oct 9, 2018 at 3:55pm PDT\nGreen is excited to get to work and is looking forward to the collaboration and partnership going forward: \"It's been amazing, I've had a great time getting started with Puma, they've done a great job of giving me everything I need,\" Green says. \"They're very stylish and new. The shoes are very comfortable and they've been great for me. They help a lot with everything I'm doing on and off the court. I'm excited to partner with them and working with them for years to come.\"\nGreen spoke with Men's Journal about his training routine, how he prepares for the NBA season, his excitement about working with PUMA, and what it's like playing in Toronto.\nWhat's your workout routine like in the offseason?\nIn the summer we do a lot more heavy loads and workouts. I'll do two-a-day training sessions, lifting and on the court work, for more hours than I usually will during the season. When the season is going on, it's not as much heavy stuff, it's more correctives and stuff to maintain strength and make sure no injuries happen. Preseason is about conditioning and getting into basketball shape, because there's no real way to prepare for that except for playing. During the year it's taking care of your body, treatment, shooting, a lot of corrective work and activation of your muscles, and making sure you're staying on top of your health and staying on top of your body.\nWhat are some of your favorite moves to use in your training?\nI enjoy lifting, whether it's squats, benching, all that stuff. The feeling of being sore isn't the greatest thing, but it makes you feel the way you're supposed to be. And once you get used to it and take care of that soreness, you get into a good flow of training. This summer I did a lot of stuff with the CoreX, Alex McKechnie [The Raptors' Director of Sports Science] invented it, and it did a great job for me helping my core.\nWhat types of workouts do you enjoy doing most?\nI like doing game situation-type workouts and game simulated workouts, where you're not just running in place on a treadmill, but you're out there on the court or in the gym, going through the same moves you'd do on the court. Coming off screens, running around cones and changing directions, moves to the basket. I try and get a lot of repetition on those moves, it's the better route to getting in shape than running on a track or running on treadmill because you're putting your body through the same movements you'll be doing on the court during the season. You have an end result in mind. I'll do a lot of shooting on the move, running and shooting, because that's a big part of my game. It puts you in situations that are game-like.\nYou've joined up with PUMA. What's the partnership been like so far?\nIt's great to be part of the team. I'm excited about working with Puma. They have a great group of people at Puma, and the guys with them on their roster from the league are great as well. I'm excited to be part of that and excited to see the new shoes and gear they put together as we move forward. It's been great to start, and I'm ready for even more moving forward.\nIT'S OFFICIAL. We here at @thetorontozoo introducing @greenranger14 to the extended family. WELCOME to the #pumafam \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a #bigcats\nA post shared by PUMA Basketball (@pumahoops) on Oct 9, 2018 at 3:48pm PDT\nIf you could use only one type of workout to train for basketball what would it be?\nFor me, I'm a shooter. The game has changed so much, and everyone needs to be able to shoot beyond the perimeter, even the bigger guys who play power forward or center. Working on your ball handling is important, but I think those game-situation drills, perfecting your shot, your form, and your touch with the ball are really important for players. You don't have to be the tallest guy, if you can shoot it well, you can get very far in the game of basketball.\nWhat's your recovery routine like?\nAfter games I definitely have to ice, I do a foot bath for my calves, Achilles, and feet, and an ice bath or an ice tub. I do some stretching, I have a NormaTec I use as well. That helps me recover. I'll get some treatment and massage to help my body and muscles recover. It takes me a couple hours, if you're taking things seriously with your body and recovery, you have to stay on top of it and put in the time. It should take you at least an hour or two hours if you're putting the right focus on it.\nWhat other workouts have you used in your training?\nDuring my time in San Antonio we did some boxing workouts, we did some yoga, pool workouts, we did pilates as well. I think all those things are great. Especially in the summertime and preseason I'll do a lot of that. During the year I don't do that as much, but I'll try and do some yoga. Yoga and Pilates translate to the court to me by keeping my body loose, and they both help with injury prevention. That's key for us, you need to feel right game in and game out, and the only way to do that is to do your recovery and keep yourself loose. It also helps make me feel stable.\nWhat are some of the things you enjoy doing most off the court?\nI love watching movies and TV series, I watch all types of genres. I'm trying to branch out and learn off the court and learn what I want to do when my career is over. Broadcasting is something I'm interested in. I love to hang with the dog, chill with the family too. I watch a lot of different sports, different games, a little bit of everything. I like bowling, and enjoying the sites of the city wherever I'm at, whether it's a new restaurant or something new to do.\nSkiing Champ Gus Kenworthy Becomes Backcountry.com's First Sponsored Athlete\nWatch 'Lightspeed': First Tracks in Japan Featuring Brandon Semenuk\nHard Rock Stadium Using 'Infinitely Recyclable' Cups at Super Bowl LIV\nSkier Killed in Inbounds Avalanche at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort\nChiefs vs. 49ers: The Minimally Informed Guide to Super Bowl 54\nCheck Out These Dream Powder Runs in Utah With Griffin Siebert\nTopics: basketball sports\nTrials Bike Phenom Fabio Wibmer's Freeriding Tour of Israel\nThis Photo Gallery Is Guaranteed to Make You Crave Powder\nHow an Inspiring Program Gets Rural Students Onto the Slopes","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Panthers sweep SDSU at Frost\nspkoob\nUNI showed the Jacks what a mid-major power can do on the courts.\nSDSU's 3-0 loss to UNI at Frost Arena on Nov.7 featured a program at the top of their game and another searching for answers to a lost season.\nThe 12th-ranked Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set one and never really looked back, sweeping the Jacks by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-18.\nSDSU didn't have an answer for UNI setter Bre Payton, who posted 32 assists along with 11 kills in only 14 attempts. Blocking UNI's Krista DeGeest was also a problem for the Jacks. DeGeest recorded a .571 attack percentage and finished the night with a match high of 13 kills.\nPhil McDaniel, SDSU head coach, had the scouting edge for the match, having coached at Drake against UNI in the Missouri Valley Conference the previous three seasons. That edge didn't seem to factor much into the final decision, though.\n\"Obviously UNI's a very good team,\" McDaniel said. \"I've known that group for four years now, coming from the Valley, and they're well coached and very athletic and move the ball around very well.\"\nBattling from behind the whole first set, the Jacks pulled within one point but couldn't get past the fast-paced UNI offense.\nSet two was close to the same story. Instead of playing from behind from the get-go, the Jacks held a slim lead during the first half of the set, but UNI wouldn't go away and ended the match with four straight kills. The Panthers picked up right where they left off in set three, and the Jacks really didn't have much of a chance for a comeback.\nThe Jacks have suffered from mental mistakes and inconsistent play all season long and last Monday wasn't any different.\n\"I don't think we did terrible,\" Kelli Fiegen said. \"We could've done better, kind of sloppy and we just weren't engaged the whole time.\"\nFiegen nailed a team high of 10 kills, followed by Kelly Herrmann and Kaitlin Klingemann with nine and eight kills, respectively. The Jacks finished the night with a .164 attack percentage for an offense that looked out of sync most of the match.\nWhat's the biggest difference between the two programs that battled in Frost Arena on Nov. 7?\n\"They've got the complete group there and I'd say we're missing a couple pieces,\" McDaniel said.\nUNI extended its winning streak to 17 games while the Jacks fell to 13-18 overall. The match showed what tradition can do for a program and what SDSU needs to work on.\n\"The [tradition] is passed down from year to year with new freshmen coming in knowing that they have to work hard,\" Fiegen said. \"I think we could do a better job of taking a little bit more pride in our game and playing for South Dakota State.\"\nIssue: The Metaverse is Meta-stupid","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Semoball Awards\nSoutheast Missourian\nSikeston Standard Democrat\nDelta Dunklin Democrat\nStories Blogs Comments Photos Everything\nC3D1 girls soccer championship: Cape Central vs. North County\nJacob Wiegand\nThe Cape Central Tigers defeated North County High School 2-0 to win the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau.\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4), holding plaque, celebrates with Emma Winkler (11), right, and other teammates following the Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nOrder this photo\nCape Central's Emma Huff (1) goes up for the ball during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4) goes to kick the ball next to North County's Jillian Wruck (26) during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nNorth County's Erin Gantz (11), Emily Veach (2), Kayleigh Winch (40) and Ashlyn Moore (1) form a wall for a kick during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. Cape Central earned a point as a result of the kick. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4) and Emma Winkler (11) celebrate a goal during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Emma Winkler (11), center facing forward, and Bradyn Pittman (7), right facing forward, celebrate a Tiger goal with Abigail Clippard (14), center, Emma Huff (1), left, and other teammates during the Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Emma Winkler (11) goes up for the ball during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Emily Spinner (15) kicks the ball during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Anna Mattison (23) goes after the ball near North County's Ashlyn Moore (1) during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nNorth County's Erin Gantz (11) and Cape Central's Abigail Clippard (14) go up for the ball during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Emily Spinner (15) and North County's Gabriella Gant (19) go after the ball during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Abigail Clippard (14) goes up for the ball near North County's Gabriella Gant (19) during the Cape Central Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4) accepts the championship plaque near Mattie Huff (2), Emma Winkler (11) and other teammates following the Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4) holds up the championship plaque near Emma Winkler (11) and other teammates during the Tigers' 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nTigers have their picture taken following Cape Central's 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nCape Central's Payton Alexander (4) and Mattie Huff (2) hold up three fingers with other teammates following the Cape Central's 2-0 win over North County High School in the Class 3 District 1 championship Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)\nRust Communications\n\u00a9 2021 Rust Communications","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Meta-analysis of cardiovascular superiority trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine to elucidate the concept of superiority margin\nNanda Gamad,\nNusrat Shafiq,\nhttp:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6049-1628Samir Malhotra\nDepartment of Pharmacology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India\nCorrespondence to Professor Samir Malhotra, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India; smal.pgi{at}gmail.com\nObjective To show that overpowered trials claim statistical significance detouring clinical relevance and warrant the need of superiority margin to avoid such misinterpretation.\nDesign Selective review of articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2018 and meta-analysis following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist.\nEligibility criteria for selecting studies and methods Published superiority trials evaluating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus with positive efficacy outcome were eligible. Fixed effects meta-analysis was performed using RevMan V.5.3 to calculate overall effect estimate, pooled HR and it was compared with mean clinically significant difference.\nResults Thirteen eligible trials with 164\u2009721 participants provided the quantitative data for this review. Largely, the primary efficacy endpoint in these trials was the composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina requiring rehospitalisation, coronary revascularisation and fatal or non-fatal stroke. The pooled HR was 0.86 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.89, I2=45%) which was lower than the mean clinically significant difference of 0.196 (19.6%, range: 0.09375\u20130.35) of these studies. There was a wide 95%\u2009CI in these studies from 0.56 to 0.99. The upper margin of CI in most of the studies was close to the line of no difference. Absolute risk reduction was small (1.19% to 2.3%) translating to a high median number needed to treat of 63 (range: 43 to 84) over a follow-up duration of 2.95 years.\nConclusions The results of this meta-analysis indicate that overpowered trials give statistically significant results undermining clinical relevance. To avoid such misuse of current statistical tools, there is a need to derive superiority margin. We hope to generate debate on considering clinically significant difference, used to calculate sample size, as superiority margin.\noverpowered trials\nhttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1136\/postgradmedj-2019-136569\nSuperiority trials test if one drug is better than the other. This information is mostly used by busy clinicians who want quick information and are in search of new treatment for the unmet needs of their patients.1 The design of such trials facilitates determination of the smallest difference in the primary endpoint between the study arms. Traditional null hypothesis statistical testing is used to decide the statistical significance of two-sided tests using p value and CI. Progress towards such informative trial design and analysis has been slow and this method of testing carries a high chance of misinterpretation and misuse.1\u20133 The smallest difference to be detected is usually made a priori and used to calculate sample size. Currently, there is no consensus or scientific formulae to choose the smallest difference that is clinically meaningful and important for public health decisions.4 Over the years smallest difference is taken for granted for a realistic difference that can be identified with the available sample size,5 which raises two issues: smaller than an ideal sample size increases type II error while larger than required sample size increases the power of the study ('overpowered trials') and decreases the magnitude of the smallest difference required to produce statistical significance.\nCriticisms have been raised by us3 6 7 and other authors2 4 8 regarding the conduct and interpretation of superiority trials. We have raised our concerns on the results of trials such as EMPA-REG3 and CANTOS7 the HRs of which are 0.86 and 0.85, respectively. Its 95%\u2009CIs are 0.74 to 0.99 and 0.74 to 0.98 and the clinically meaningful differences used to calculate its sample size are 0.77 and 0.80 (20% risk difference translates to HR of 0.80), respectively. Since the upper limits of 95%\u2009CI of these studies is close to line of no difference, there is a small improvement over the control arms. Had the authors considered clinically meaningful difference while analysing their study results, both the studies would give statistically non-significant results. Such interpretation of results has the potential of misuse of data as the drugs may not be sufficiently beneficial to obtain regulatory approval. Few methodologies have been put forth to evaluate the statistical significance such as lowering p value to 0.005,9 Cohen's rule of thumb10 and number needed to treat (NNT),11 but none of them work as well as non-inferiority (NI) margin for NI trials in justifying both statistical and clinical significance.\nIn this meta-analysis, we consolidate our suggestion about superiority margin for superiority trials akin to NI margin for NI trials, with some evidence. We have analysed superiority trials with significant outcomes and have assessed the clinical relevance of their results. The analysis made in this study may impact on the considerations to be taken while conducting and also while interpreting the results of superiority trials.\nThis is a selective review and meta-analysis of all the superiority trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) between 1 January 2015 and 31 December, 2018.\nWe followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses consensus statement for the design, implementation and reporting of this study.12 All trials published in NEJM between 2015 and 2018 were hand-searched for the type of study design. Articles were selected based on our inclusion criteria.\nStudy selection, inclusion and exclusion criteria\nWe included all blinded or open-label superiority trials with pharmacological intervention conducted in adults that had positive primary outcome with a continuous or categorical variable. We set a 4\u2009year search limit of studies published in NEJM because we thought this was sufficient to show the trend of conducting and reporting of superiority trials practiced worldwide by eminent researchers. We chose to include studies conducted in populations with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus because these disease conditions encompass large sample size trials, owing to high prevalence and chronicity, and also because several drugs in this section receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval every year claiming superiority over the existing drugs. Studies conducted in paediatric population, or in populations with venous thromboembolism, bleeding, cardiomyopathy and shock, were excluded. We also excluded trials involving any non-pharmacological intervention such as (but not limited to) lifestyle modification, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting and pacemaker implantation. Studies which expressed their primary endpoint in mean difference,13\u201323 OR24 and risk ratio25 26 and also studies which had non-significant primary efficacy outcome were excluded. This eligibility criteria largely yielded an uniform primary outcome, that is, the composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina requiring rehospitalisation, coronary revascularisation, fatal or non-fatal stroke,24\u201339 except for one study40 which had safety endpoint as its primary outcome. So although it met our eligibility criteria, we excluded this study to maintain uniformity and generalisability of our results.\nIndividual journal volumes and issues were hand-searched for superiority trials. All the selected articles and their supplementary materials were searched for clinically meaningful difference or effect size used to calculate the sample size.\nNG did the search and independently screened the titles and abstracts yielded by the search against the inclusion criteria. Full reports for all titles and abstracts that appeared to meet the inclusion criteria or where there was any uncertainty were obtained. NG and SM then screened the full-text reports and decided whether these met the inclusion criteria. We resolved disagreements through discussion with our third author NS. Reasons for excluding trials were recorded. The review authors extracted the data on study characteristics such as (1) trial design, population and sample size; (2) intervention details; (3) duration of treatment and median follow-up; (4) outcome measures; and (5) study results for the primary efficacy outcome.\nData abstracted included endpoints for decision-making, that is, HR in the primary efficacy endpoint along with their CI, p value and NI margin or clinically significant difference, if present.\nRisk of bias within and across studies\nTwo authors (NG and SM) independently assessed the risk of bias of each included trial. If risk of bias was not clear from the main manuscript, we obtained records from the articles' supplementary materials. Cochrane's risk of bias tool was used to assess risk of bias among included studies. We assessed overall risk based on the description of randomisation methods, allocation concealment, blinding of participants, investigators and statistician and attrition and reporting biases. As per tool input, biases were recorded as low risk, high risk or unclear (either lack of information or uncertainty over the potential for bias). Any disagreements in the risk of bias were discussed and resolved by consensus of all the authors.\nResults for all primary efficacy outcomes are expressed as HR with 95% CIs, calculated from end of treatment values. For data expressed in person years, we calculated incident rate for the total duration of the study. Overall effect estimate of the meta-analysis was calculated using RevMan V.5.3 with fixed effects model of heterogeneity and Observed-Expected (O\u2013E) and variance statistic as per Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions41 and Tierney et al.42 Two studies34 35 had two coprimary efficacy outcomes. In the fixed effects model, HR of only the first coprimary outcome is used, as HR and its CI for second coprimary outcome were almost the same. For the same reason, we used only the single-dose analysis values from the study by Bonaca et al,39 for the final assessment. Sensitivity analysis including these values did not differ significantly from the reported result. Further, descriptive statistics were used to describe sample size, duration of the studies and overall clinically significant difference. Absolute risk reduction (ARR) and NNT were also calculated from the end of treatment values.\nDuring the search limit period, a total of 840 original articles were published in NEJM. The selection process of the articles is outlined in figure 1. Studies reporting results of subgroup analysis or combined analysis were excluded as duplicates. Filtering the articles based on disease-specific criteria yielded 171 potentially relevant articles. Further, 113 studies were excluded as they were either not a superiority trial or involved any non-pharmacological intervention. Full text of the remaining studies were retrieved and assessed. In total, 16 superiority trials were eligible for the final analysis. Out of these, three trials26\u201328 had to be excluded as they reported results as OR or risk ratio (RR). Since OR and RR evade time-dependent factor, in contrast to HR, it was considered inappropriate to club trials reporting OR\/RR with HR. However, sensitivity analysis including these three trials was conducted, it yielded similar pooled estimate but with increased heterogeneity (result not shown).\nPRISMA flow diagram for selecting studies.PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.\nStudy characteristics\nOverall, 164\u2009721 participants were included in the 13 trials that provided the quantitative data for this review (for individual study details, see table 1). Largely, the primary efficacy endpoint in these trials was composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal MI, unstable angina requiring rehospitalisation, coronary revascularisation and fatal or non-fatal stroke. Two studies had two coprimary outcomes: composite of death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal MI or non-fatal stroke (first coprimary outcome) and the composite of these events plus resuscitated cardiac arrest, heart failure or revascularisation (second coprimary outcome). HRs for each coprimary outcomes were similar and hence for pooled analysis, HR and CI of first coprimary outcome were used. Sensitivity analysis including both the primary outcomes did not vary the final effect estimate considerably.\nSummary of study characteristics and calculation of ARR and NNT\nOut of 13, only 9 (69.2%) studies mentioned the clinically significant difference used to calculate their sample size. The range of these clinically significant differences was between 9.375 and 35 with an average value of 19.6. Studies which used annual rate of primary event or NI margin to calculate their sample size were excluded from calculating average of differences. Further, the primary hypothesis of four studies was to test NI with the use of NI margin and conclude superiority when the upper boundary of 95%\u2009CI was <1.0.30 32 33 36 Overall, lower boundary of 95%\u2009CI of the included studies ranged from 0.56 to 0.89, while upper boundary of 95%\u2009CI ranged from 0.86 to 0.99. Incidence of the primary event was described as HR in all the 13 studies.\nSynthesis of results\nThe overall effect estimate (pooled HR) was 0.86 with 95%\u2009CI of 0.84 to 0.89, p<0.00001. The test for heterogeneity, I2 in our meta-analysis was 45%, which indicates that there was moderate heterogeneity or inconsistency in the studies included, which conflicts with the fixed effect assumption. According to fixed effects model assumption, each study included in the meta-analysis is trying to estimate the same quantity of intervention effect41 (figure 2).\nMeta-analysis of primary efficacy endpoint of included trials using fixed effect model.\nOn an average, the sample size in each included study of our meta-analysis was 12\u2009671 (range 3297\u201327 395). These participants experienced an ARR of 1.19% to 2.3% in the primary outcome which translated to a median NNT of 63 (range: 43\u201384) over a follow-up duration of 2.95 years. This follow-up duration was taken from the calculated median NNT (of 63) that corresponded to studies by Schwartz et al 25 and the Zinman et al,36 who had a median follow-up duration of 2.8 years and 3.1 years, respectively (table 1), yielding a median duration of 2.95 years (midpoint of above studies) for the said NNT.\nRisk of bias\nFull details of the risk of bias are outlined in figure 3. All the included studies described their randomisation methods and were considered as low risk. Information about allocation concealment was unclear for two trials, rest of them used either interactive voice response or web response or generated unique number to conceal allocation. All the included trials were double-blinded except for two, in which one was single-blinded30 and the other one was open label.37 Only in one trial39 even biostatisticians were blinded until analyses. Seven studies clearly mentioned that statisticians were not blinded, while it was unclear in rest of the studies. We did not look for incomplete outcome data and selective reporting as our study objective was to look for primary outcome of these studies.\nRisk of bias summary.\nThe main objective of superiority trial is to determine the smallest difference in the primary outcome between the study arms.43 Therefore, they are designed in such a way that they have enough power to detect those differences. However, in this meta-analysis, we debate on assigning meaning to the smallest difference making it clinically significant and more specific. Currently, the clinically significant difference is used to calculate the sample size but it is not considered at the time of analysis of findings.\nIn this study, the effect estimate of the included studies is 0.86 with 95%\u2009CI 0.84 to 0.89. It means that there is ~14% decrease in risk of having the primary outcome, if the patient consumes experimental drug. This 14% may not be clinically significant as the estimated mean of clinically meaningful difference of these studies is 19.6%. Nine (69.2%) out of 13 included studies did not meet their own respective marks for clinical significance, despite obtaining statistical significance (clinically meaningful difference was not mentioned for other four studies). Either their pooled HR was beyond their own clinically meaningful difference25 29 31 34 35 38 39 or their 95%\u2009CI27 37 included this value, which means had the authors considered clinically meaningful difference during their analysis, the null hypothesis would be accepted and superiority of experimental drug would be rejected. This leads us to think whether a statistically significant result is clinically relevant. In one of the included trials,34 the investigators intended to evaluate 35% of lower risk with experimental drug.\nFurther, the effect estimate translates to a median NNT of 63 which means 63 patients need to be treated for a median duration of 2.95 years to prevent one extra outcome from happening. It is debatable whether such high NNT for the said time period is acceptable for a new, rather expensive medication with potential and unknown adverse effect profile, even more so because trial-based NNT often underestimates NNT in clinical practice.44\nThere are also critics highlighting that with the existing design of superiority trials, even the borderline effect will become statistically significant if we test with large sample size.45 In our study, the average sample size was ~12\u2009600. In 11 of 13 included studies, the upper bound 95%\u2009CI crossed 0.90 and in two of 11 such studies, the upper bound 95%\u2009CI was 0.99,36 38 which is very close to line of no difference. We believe that the large sample size has given enough power to rule out null hypothesis in these studies. Such 'overpowered or oversized trials' have been criticised earlier by many researchers.2 46 47\nIt is a known fact that CIs offer predictive information about treatment effects that can be expected posttrial use. Narrow confidence intervals suggest little variability within the population and assure that even a wider interval, which we are bound to get once the drug is marketed, may provide similar difference in treatment effect in general population.48 Given the wide CIs and their close approximation to line of no difference in most of the included studies, there is an uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of such drugs after being marketed.\nNevertheless, as stated before, while analysing the results of the study, it is important to assess the relevance of difference between the means of two drugs. In NI trials, inclusion of NI margin addresses the issue of clinical relevance.49 We have earlier proposed the need for superiority margin for superiority trials similar to NI trials.3 6 With this study, we emphasise fixing the clinically meaningful difference for that particular outcome (suppose say '10%' for 'composite of death from coronary heart disease, non-fatal MI, fatal or non-fatal ischaemic stroke or unstable angina requiring hospitalisation') as a 'superiority margin'. It makes sure that only when 95%\u2009CI is beyond this margin, the experimental drug will be deemed superior. The proposed margin can be contemplated based on research question and entire active control effect, similar to NI margin.\nWhether there should be a guideline to the difference to be detected in a trial is debatable. Some authors argue that each research question is unique and deserves special consideration. They believe that guidelines encourage the same approach being used and enough attention may not be paid to individual differences towards all study designs.5 However, absence of guidelines may invite carelessness and engage investigators in playing with sample size, CI and p-value.\nThis study has a few limitations: First, we included articles published in NEJM only, hence, we cannot generalise the study conclusion for trials published in other journals. However, we believe that NEJM is sufficiently representative of leading medical journals and these results should be quite robust. Second, since a single journal was selected for review, only one author did the initial screen followed by all three authors. Third, we did not register our study protocol in PROSPERO which is typically recommended for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Fourth, we did not include effect size of four studies to calculate average clinical meaningful difference as the effect size in these studies was not mentioned. They have used either annual rate of events or NI margin to calculate sample size. Owing to similar primary efficacy outcome in all the included studies, we presume that the authors would have considered similar effect sizes ranging from 9.375% to 35% to calculate sample size.\nThis study also raises some important questions such as, 'Is there a need of superiority margin for superiority trials? Which is the best parameter that can be used to derive superiority margin? and What are the pros and cons of choosing clinically significant difference as superiority margin? Or should it be modified?'\nIn the absence of a superiority margin, the current practice leads to a situation where overpowered superiority trials provide statistically significant results with effect size so small that they may be of little clinical relevance. This meta-analysis shows that this practice is widespread in cardiovascular diseases and diabetic trials published in NEJM. We hope to generate debate on such practice.\nMain messages\nOverpowered cardiovascular trials provide statistical significance but may have little clinical relevance.\nSuperiority margin must be taken into account while interpreting results of such trials in order to avoid scientific misinterpretation.\nClinically significant difference used to calculate sample size may be used as the superiority margin.\nCurrent research questions\nIs there a need of superiority margin for superiority trials?\nWhich is the best parameter that can be used to derive superiority margin?\nWhat are the pros and cons of choosing clinically significant difference as superiority margin? Or should it be modified?\nWhat is already known on the subject\nSuperiority trials use traditional null hypothesis statistical testing to decide the statistical significance between one or more experimental arms. Such analysis has the potential to misinterpretations and scientific misuse of superiority trials.\nSackett DL\n. Superiority trials, noninferiority trials, and prisoners of the 2-sided null hypothesis. ACP J Club 2004;140:38\u20139.doi:10.1136\/ebm.9.2.38\nBhardwaj SS ,\nCamacho F ,\nDerrow A , et al\n. Statistical significance and clinical relevance: the importance of power in clinical trials in dermatology. Arch Dermatol 2004;140:1520\u20133.doi:10.1001\/archderm.140.12.1520\nShafiq N ,\nMalhotra S\n. Superiority trials: statistical trickery or mass blindness? Postgrad Med J 2016;92:118\u20139.doi:10.1136\/postgradmedj-2015-133769\nKeefe RSE ,\nKraemer HC ,\nEpstein RS , et al\n. Defining a clinically meaningful effect for the design and interpretation of randomized controlled trials. Innov Clin Neurosci 2013;10:4S\u201319.\nGayet-Ageron A ,\nAgoritsas T ,\nCombescure C , et al\n. What differences are detected by superiority trials or ruled out by noninferiority trials? A cross-sectional study on a random sample of two-hundred two-arms parallel group randomized clinical trials. BMC Med Res Methodol 2010;10:93. doi:10.1186\/1471-2288-10-93\n. Superiority trials: raising the bar of null hypothesis statistical testing. Evid Based Med 2015;20:154\u20135.doi:10.1136\/ebmed-2015-110280\nGamad N ,\n. Effect size in CANTOS trial. BMJ Evid Based Med 2018;23:44.doi:10.1136\/ebmed-2017-110881\nVasileiou K ,\nBarnett J ,\nThorpe S , et al\n. Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in Interview-Based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. 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N Engl J Med 2017;376:1430\u201340.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1615758\nRidker PM ,\nTardif J-C ,\nAmarenco P , et al\n. Lipid-reduction variability and antidrug-antibody formation with bococizumab. N Engl J Med 2017;376:1517\u201326.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1614062\nCalkins H ,\nWillems S ,\nGerstenfeld EP , et al\n. RE-CIRCUIT Investigators. uninterrupted dabigatran versus warfarin for Ablationin atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2017;376:1627\u201336.\nGarg SK ,\nHenry RR ,\nBanks P , et al\n. Effects of Sotagliflozin added to insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2017;377:2337\u201348.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1708337\nGraham MJ ,\nLee RG ,\nBrandt TA , et al\n. Cardiovascular and metabolic effects of ANGPTL3 antisense oligonucleotides. N Engl J Med 2017;377:222\u201332.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1701329\nPerkins GD ,\nJi C ,\nDeakin CD , et al\n. A randomized trial of epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 2018;379:711\u201321.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1806842\nSchwartz GG ,\nSteg PG ,\nSzarek M , et al\n. Alirocumab and cardiovascular outcomes after acute coronary syndrome. N Engl J Med 2018;379:2097\u2013107.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1801174\nBowman L ,\nHopewell JC ,\nChen F , et al\n. Effects of anacetrapib in patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease. N Engl J Med 2017;377:1217\u201327.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1706444\nMafham M ,\nWallendszus K , et al\n. Effects of aspirin for primary prevention in persons with diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 2018;379:1529\u201339.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1804988\nEikelboom JW ,\nConnolly SJ ,\nBosch J , et al\n. Rivaroxaban with or without aspirin in stable cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2017;377:1319\u201330.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1709118\nEverett BM ,\nThuren T , et al\n. Antiinflammatory therapy with canakinumab for atherosclerotic disease. N Engl J Med 2017;377:1119\u201331.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1707914\nNeal B ,\nPerkovic V ,\nMahaffey KW , et al\n. Canagliflozin and cardiovascular and renal events in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2017;377:644\u201357.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1611925\nSabatine MS ,\nGiugliano RP ,\nKeech AC , et al\n. Evolocumab and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2017;376:1713\u201322.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1615664\nMarso SP ,\nBain SC ,\nConsoli A , et al\n. Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2016;375:1834\u201344.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1607141\nDaniels GH ,\nBrown-Frandsen K , et al\n. Liraglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2016;375:311\u201322.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1603827\nYusuf S ,\nLonn E ,\nPais P , et al\n. Blood-Pressure and cholesterol lowering in persons without cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2016;374:2032\u201343.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1600177\nBosch J ,\nDagenais G , et al\n. Cholesterol lowering in intermediate-risk persons without cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 2016;374:2021\u201331.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1600176\nZinman B ,\nWanner C ,\nLachin JM , et al\n. Empagliflozin, cardiovascular outcomes, and mortality in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 2015;373:2117\u201328.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1504720\nWright JT ,\nWilliamson JD ,\nWhelton PK , et al\n. A randomized trial of intensive versus standard blood-pressure control. N Engl J Med 2015;373:2103\u201316.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1511939\nCannon CP ,\nBlazing MA ,\nGiugliano RP , et al\n. Ezetimibe added to statin therapy after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med 2015;372:2387\u201397.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1410489\nBonaca MP ,\nBhatt DL ,\nCohen M , et al\n. Long-Term use of ticagrelor in patients with prior myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med 2015;372:1791\u2013800.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1500857\nOldgren J , et al\n. Dual antithrombotic therapy with dabigatran after PCI in atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2017;377:1513\u201324.doi:10.1056\/NEJMoa1708454\nHiggins JPT ,\nGreen S\n. Cochrane Handbook for systematic reviews of interventions version 5.1.0. The Cochrane collaboration, 2011. Available: www.handbook.cochrane.org [Accessed Mar 2011].\nTierney JF ,\nStewart LA ,\nGhersi D , et al\n. Practical methods for incorporating summary time-to-event data into meta-analysis. Trials 2007;8:16. doi:10.1186\/1745-6215-8-16\nRehal S ,\nMorris TP ,\nFielding K , et al\n. Non-Inferiority trials: are they inferior? A systematic review of reporting in major medical journals. BMJ Open 2016;6:e012594. doi:10.1136\/bmjopen-2016-012594\nMcAlister FA\n. The \"number needed to treat\" turns 20\u2014and continues to be used and misused. CMAJ 2008;179:549\u201353.doi:10.1503\/cmaj.080484\nDahiru T\n. P-value, a true test of statistical significance? A cautionary note. Ann Ib Postgrad Med 2008;6:21\u20136.doi:10.4314\/aipm.v6i1.64038\nHochster HS\n. The power of \"p\": on overpowered clinical trials and \"positive\" results. Gastrointest Cancer Res 2008;2:108\u20139.\nTavernier E ,\nGiraudeau B\n. Sample size calculation: inaccurate a priori assumptions for nuisance parameters can greatly affect the power of a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2015;10:e0132578. doi:10.1371\/journal.pone.0132578\nLandow L\n. Current issues in clinical trial design: superiority versus equivalency studies. Anesthesiology 2000;92:1814\u201320.doi:10.1097\/00000542-200006000-00042\nOpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science\nLesaffre E\n. Superiority, equivalence, and non-inferiority trials. Bull NYU Hosp Jt Dis 2008;66:150\u20134.\nContributors NG and SM hand-searched the articles and independently reviewed the articles. Disagreements were discussed with NS. All three authors contributed in data analysis and manuscript preparation.\nPatient consent for publication Not required.\nData availability statement There are no data in this work.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"'Ass Kicker' Coffee Exists, And It Will Do Just That If You Drink Too Much\nby Hope Schreiber\nHey, buddy. How's your heart holding up lately?\nOh, no, I don't mean after your recent breakup -- those come too often for you ever to be repaired, you broken shell of a human.\nI mean like physically. Because if your heart isn't strong, you should probably steer clear of \"Ass Kicker\" coffee at an Australian cafe called, fittingly, Vicious Coffee.\nA cup of Ass Kicker iced coffee boast 80 times more caffeine than a shot of espresso and 50 times more than a regular cup o' joe.\nLet's put this into perspective. That amount of caffeine is half the amount of a lethal dose.\nIt is recommended you take your time drinking a large, which should you should sip over four hours. Otherwise? RIP.\nThe \"high\" will last you 12-18 hours.\nAccording to the USDA, a fluid ounce of espresso has 64 milligrams of caffeine and 95 milligrams in an 8-ounce cup of coffee. Ass Kicker, however, has 5 grams of the good stuff.\nThe drink was originally made for a nurse working a night shift in the emergency department. It took the nurse two days to finish the coffee and she remained awake for three days. The version at the cafe now is more toned down.\nThe owner of the cafe, Steve Benington, told Adelaide Now,\nSome people love it and some are broken by it but it's all in the name of fun.\nBianca De Marchi\nThe brew is made by combining four shots of espresso, four 48-hour brewed cold drip ice cubes, 120 milliliters of 10-day brewed cold drip and wrapped up with four more 48-hour brewed cold drip ice cubes.\nJust typing that gave me a caffeine headache.\nPeople with heart or blood pressure issues should stay far away.\nA general practitioner at Marion Domain Medical Centre in Oaklands Park and two southern area paramedics warned Benington after they all personally drank the Ass Kicker.\nAs you would suspect, teens take it as a challenge. Benington says,\nI talk to them first, make sure they understand what they are doing, and people often think I'm trying to talk them out of it. It's pure coffee, it's good quality, and that's the only problem, it tastes so good that it's hard to make it last as long as it should.\nApparently it is possible to overdose on caffeine -- it is a drug after all. It would take nearly 70 cups of coffee to kill a person, but your stomach may not even be able to hold that much liquid.\nYou would start to experience mania and hallucinations before getting that much coffee down.\nCitations: http:\/\/brobible.com\/life\/article\/ass-kicker-coffee-caffeine-espresso\/ (Bro Bible)\nCalling It Now: The Kir Royale Is The Drink Of 2023\nYou Can Eat This Viral TikTok Drink As A Cookie Now\nThese Super Bowl Snack Recipes On TikTok Will Make Game Day So Tasty\nBy Rachel Chapman and Olivia Cigliano","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Hotels near Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York\nFind the best deals for Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York hotels.\nThe High Line Hotel\n180 Tenth Avenue, New York NY - 10011\nLocated 1 Minutes' Walk From The High Line Park, This Historic Hotel Is Located In The Chelsea Neighbourhood In New York. The Nearest Underground Station To Hotel Is 23 Street. Wifi Access Is Available.Each Room At The High Line Hotel Will Provide You With A 46\" Flat-Screen Tv, A Jawbone Minijambox And A Mini Bar. En Suite Bathrooms Feature A Bath Or Shower And Complimentary C.O. Bigelow Bath Amenities.At This Hotel You Will Find A 24-Hour Front Desk, A Garden And A Bar. The Hotel Offers Shinola Bicycle Rentals.The High Line Hotel Is 6 Minutes' Walk From Chelsea Market, 10 Minutes' Walk From Shopping And Dining In The Meatpacking District, And 28 Km From Newark Liberty International Airport.\nRIFF Chelsea\n300 W 30th St, New York NY - 10001\nProperty Location With a stay at RIFF Chelsea, you'll be centrally located in New York, within a 10-minute walk of Penn Plaza Pavilion and Manhattan Mall. This hotel is 0.6 mi (1 km) from Macy's. Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 43 air-conditioned rooms featuring flat-screen televisions. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and digital programming is available for your entertainment. Conveniences include phones and safes, and housekeeping is provided daily. Amenities Take in the views from a rooftop terrace and a garden and make use of amenities such as complimentary wireless Internet access. Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include complimentary wired Internet access, a computer station, and a 24-hour front desk.\nHudson River Hotel\n442 West 36th Street, New York NY - 10018\nFree Wi-Fi And Breakfast And A Hell'S Kitchen Locale Within Steps Of Penn Station And The Subway Light The Way To The Non-Smoking Hudson River Hotel. The 15-Story Hudson River Hotel Welcomes Guests With A Selection Of 56 Rooms Featuring Free Wi-Fi, Flat-Panel Tvs, Coffeemakers And Desks. Wake Up With Breakfast Each Morning. Fax And Copy Services Come In Handy For Business Guests. The Hotel Also Provides Additional Convenient Services Including Laundry And Dry Cleaning As Well As Concierge. At The Hudson River Hotel, Guests Discover A Hell'S Kitchen Setting In Manhattan, Less Than Two Blocks East Of The Jacob K. Javitz Center And A 10-Minute Walk Northwest Of Penn Station, The Subway And Madison Square Garden. Within One Mile, The Lights And Action Of Times Square Shine Brightly And Guests Ooh And Aah Over Views At The Empire State Building. Enjoy A Leisurely 20-Minute Stroll East For A Lunchtime Picnic With The Locals At Bryant Park. Guests Are Also Around A Mile Between The Chelsea Market And Central Park. Laguardia Airport Is Less Than 10 Miles Away.\nFairfield Inn & Suites New York Midtown Manhattan\/Penn Station\n325 W 33rd St, New York NY - 10001\nForget About Taxis, As Many Of The City'S Most Desirable Destinations Are Walking Distance From The Non-Smoking Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Midtown Manhattan\/Penn Station. Perks Here Include A Rooftop Bar And Lounge, A Fitness Center And Extras Like A Free Continental Breakfast And Internet Access. Built In 2013, The 23-Story Fairfield Inn & Suites Has An Ultramodern Glass-And-Steel Facade That Ensures That You'Re Always Checking Out The View. The 225 Rooms And Suites Are Done Up In Contemporary Shades Of Lime And Plum And Have Lots Of Light Streaming Through The Wide Windows. Look For 37-Inch Lcd Tvs With Premium Movie Channels, Beds Covered With Crisp Linens And Coffee And Tea Service. Work Desks With Ergonomic Chairs And Safes Big Enough For Laptops Emphasize That This Hotel Means Business. Free Wired And Wireless Internet Access Is Another Plus. After Working Out In The Fitness Room, Reward Yourself With A Trip To The Rooftop Bar And Lounge Overlooking The City Skyline. Complimentary Coffee Is Available In The Lobby For Whenever You Need A Jolt, And A Free Continental Breakfast Is Served Every Morning. Same-Day Dry Cleaning And Laundry Service Keep You Looking Spiffy. Parking Is Available. If You'Re Catching The Big Game At Madison Square Garden, You'D Be Hard-Pressed To Find A Hotel Closer Than The Fairfield Inn & Suites. Also Less Than One Block Away Is Penn Station, The City'S Main Train Station. If You'Re In The Mood For Shopping, Macy'S Is Two Blocks Away. A 15-Minute Walk From The Front Door Takes You To The Empire State Building. Depending On Traffic, Laguardia Airport Is A 22-Minute Drive Northeast, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 24-Minute Southwest, And Kennedy International Airport Is A 31-Minute Drive Southeast.\nGEM Hotel - Chelsea\n300 W 22nd Street, New York NY - 10011\nBoutique Rooms With Free Wi-Fi And Flat-Screen Tvs, A Swank Chelsea Address, And 24-Hour Fitness Center Pamper Our Guests At The Gem Hotel - Chelsea, An Ascend Collection Hotel, Located Two Blocks From The Subway. The Hotel Is An Intimate Boutique Inn With 81 Stylish Rooms. Accommodations Include Plush Beds, Ample Baths With Soft Towels, Wide-Screen Flat-Panel Lcd Tvs And Complimentary High-Speed Wireless. The Hotel Also Has A Concierge, And Parking Is Available For A Fee. The Gem Is Located At West 22Nd Street And 8Th Ave In Fashionable Chelsea, Home To Shops And Galleries. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, Jfk Is 30 Minutes And Newark Liberty International Airport Is 25 Minutes Away. Penn Station Is Nine Blocks North, And Connects To Jfk Via Lirr Train. Take A Pleasant Stroll Along The Elevated High Line Park, Two Blocks West. Other Nearby Attractions Are Chelsea Piers And The Scenic West Village. Two Blocks Away, The Subway Will Whisk You North To Times Square And The Theatre District.\nMidtown Convention Center Hotel\nComplimentary Continental Breakfast And A Convenient Location Near The Jacob Javits Convention Center Have Our Guests High-Stepping Their Way To The Non-Smoking Magnuson Convention Center Hotel. The Non-Smoking Magnuson Convention Center Hotel Is Set In An 11-Story Building And Has 83 Rooms, Each Featuring A Comfy Bed, A Desk, A Flat-Screen Tv With Cable And Satellite Channels And Wi-Fi. Start Your Day With A Carbfest At The Complimentary Continental Breakfast Of Muffins, Bagels, Waffles, Coffee, Juice And More. For Dinner, Head Out Into The Surrounding Neighborhood For Numerous Eating Options. Parking Is Available For A Fee. Located One Block From The Javits Convention Center, The Best Western Is 28 Minutes Northwest Of Jfk Airport, 21 Minutes West Of Laguardia Airport And 28 Minutes Northeast Of Newark Liberty International Airport. Guests Walk 14 Minutes Southeast To Penn Station Or 11 Minutes West To The Port Authority Bus Terminal For Subway And Train Access. The Bright Lights Of Times Square Are Four-And-A-Half Blocks From The Hotel. Madison Square Garden Is A 15-Minute Walk Southeast. The Theater District Is A Six-Minute Drive.\nHoliday Inn Express - New York City Chelsea\nThe Non-Smoking Holiday Inn Express New York City - Chelsea Puts Our Guests In The Shadow Of Penn Station And Madison Square Garden And In The Heart Of Manhattan. The 15-Floor Hotel Offers 228 Non-Smoking Rooms With Cable Tvs, Work Desks And Coffeemakers. Stay Healthy In The Fitness Room, And Take Advantage Of Fax And Copy Services On-Site. There'S Parking Nearby For A Fee. The Hotel Is Centrally Located In Manhattan, Two Blocks South Of Penn Station. Several Major Subway Lines Are Within A Five-Minute Walk. You Can Walk To Herald Square And The Empire State Building. The Hotel Is 16 Miles From Jfk International Airport By Lirr Train, 10 Miles From Laguardia International Airport And 14 Miles From Newark Liberty International Airport.\nTRYP by Wyndham New York City Times Square South\n345 W 35th Street, New York NY - 10001\nHigh-Tech Amenities, On-Site Dining And A Location That'S A Stone'S Throw From Penn Station Make For A Hassle-Free Stay At The Non-Smoking Tryp Times Square South. All 173 Rooms At This 15-Story Non-Smoking Property Include 40-Inch Flat-Panel Hdtvs, Ipod Docks, Coffeemakers, Laptop Safes And Nightly Turndown Service. Guests Can Purchase Three Square Meals A Day At The Hotel Restaurant. Step It Up In The Fitness Room Or Stay Plugged In From The Hi-Tech Business Center That Features Free Wi-Fi And Portable Tablet Computers. Situated On 35Th Street Between 8Th And 9Th Avenues, The Tryp Is Two Blocks From Penn Station. Walk 15 Minutes West To The Javits Center Or The Hudson River Greenway And 15 Minutes North To Check Out Times Square. The Empire State Building Is 15 Minutes East On Foot. Lincoln Center Is Two Miles North And The Fresh Dumplings In Chinatown Are Three Miles South. The Nightlife On The Lower East Side And The Shops In Tribeca Are A 15-Minute Cab Ride Away. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles Northeast, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 15 Miles Southwest And Jfk International Is 20 Miles Southeast.\nEVEN Hotel Times Square South\nFitness-Minded Travelers Don'T Have To Leave Their Rooms To Get A Workout At The Non-Smoking Even Hotel New York Times Square South, Which Supplies Fitness Equipment In Each Room, In Addition To Free Wi-Fi. The Non-Smoking Even Hotel Has 150 Colorful Rooms Spread Across 24 Floors. Healthy Living Is The Theme At This Property, Which Offers All-Natural Eucalyptus Linens, Mood Lighting And Workout Equipment In All The Rooms. You'Ll Also Find A 24-Hour Fitness Room And A Market And Bar On-Site, Dishing Out With Healthy Meals And Organic Cocktails. Guests Stay In Touch Using Free Wi-Fi, And The Modern Rooms Also Feature Coffeemakers, Mini-Fridges And Flat-Panel Tvs. Pets Are Allowed For A Charge, And There Is A Parking Garage For A Fee Across The Street. Located On The West Side Of Manhattan Close To The Lincoln Tunnel, The Even Hotel Is Three Blocks From Penn Station And Madison Square Garden. Within A 15-Minute Walk You'Ll Find Times Square, Several Theaters, The Empire State Building And Bryant Park. Central Park Is Less Than Two Miles North, And Guests Can Head Downtown Four Miles To Reach The 9\/11 Memorial, Battery Park And Wall Street. The Nearest Subway Stops A Block Away, And The Closest Airport Is Laguardia Airport, Nine Miles East. The Even Hotel Inspires Priceline Guests, Who Love The Healthy Theme Of The Hotel And Make Special Note Of The Friendly Service And Good Location Close To Madison Square Garden.\nDoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York - Times Square South\nRooms With Complimentary High-Speed Internet Access, Mini-Fridges, Flat-Panel Tvs And Comfy Beds With Hypo-Allergenic Down Pillows Four Blocks From Penn Station Make The Doubletree By Hilton New York Times Square South A Comfortable Launching Pad For Living It Up In The Big Apple. The 26-Story Doubletree By Hilton Features 223 Rooms Adorned With Plush Bedding And Jumbo Hypo-Allergenic Down Pillows, Coffeemakers, Alarm Clocks With Mp3 Connections, Mini-Fridges And Desks With Ergonomic Chairs. Each Room Has Wi-Fi Access And A 32-Inch, Flat-Panel Lcd Tv. The On-Site Restaurant Serves Breakfast And Dinner. Rooms Service Is Available When You Feel Like Eating In. For Your Convenience There Is Also A Gym, Laundry\/Valet Service, A Business Center And A Lounge Where You Can Wind Down With An Adult Beverage. Parking Is Available For A Fee. Non-Smoking Rooms Are Available And Pets Are Welcome For A Fee. Located On West 36Th Street Between 8Th And 9Th Avenues, The Hotel Is Four Blocks From Penn Station, For Easy Access By Lirr Train From Jfk Airport (By Car, It'S 30 Minutes). Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive And Newark Airport Is A 30-Minute Drive Away (Depending On Traffic Conditions). A Subway Station Is Three Blocks Away At Penn Station. Within Walking Distance Of The Hotel Are Madison Square Garden, The Empire State Building, Times Square And The Theatre District.\nThe New Yorker A Wyndham Hotel\n481 Eighth Ave., New York NY - 10001\nWith Flat-Screen Tvs And A Location Across From Penn Station, The New Yorker, A Wyndham Hotel Gives Our Guests Good Value Just A Few Blocks From The Empire State Building. The Art Deco-Style Hotel Has 912 Rooms, All Equipped With Flat-Panel Tvs With Free Hbo And Pay-Per-View Movies As Well As Free Wi-Fi. High-Speed Internet Access Is Available. There'S A Spacious Art Deco Lobby And A Concierge Desk, And Guests Have Use Of Fitness And Business Facilities. The Hotel Also Has An On-Site Tavern And A Diner, And Room Service Is Also An Option. Parking Is Provided For A Fee. The Hotel Is On 34Th Street And 8Th Avenue, Across From Penn Station And Madison Square Garden. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, Jfk Is 30 Minutes And Newark Airport Is A 35-Minute Drive Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions). It'S Walking Distance To The Empire State Building, Macy'S, Times Square And The Theater District.\nHilton Garden Inn New York Times Square South\nOn-Site Dining, In-Room Microwaves, And Free Coffee And Wi-Fi Add Homey Appeal To The Non-Smoking Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square South, Located Steps From Madison Square Garden. All 250 Rooms At The 23-Story Hilton Garden Inn Come With Free Wi-Fi, Flat-Panel Tvs, Microwaves, Mini-Fridges And Coffeemakers. Free Coffee Is Offered Each Morning, And Treats Can Be Bought In The 24-Hour Market. There'S Also An In-House Restaurant Serving Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner. When Looking For An Exercise Fix, Make Your Way To The Hotel'S Fitness Room. The Hotel Also Provides A 'Round-The-Clock Business Center. The Hilton Garden Inn Offers A Manhattan Location That'S Five Blocks South Of Times Square And A Six-Minute Stroll North Of Penn Station, Madison Square Garden And The Subway. Major Conferences Take The Stage At The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Within A Half-Mile. For Spectacular City Views, Head To The Top Of The Empire State Building, Less Than A Mile Away. The Hotel Is 10 Miles From Flights At Laguardia Airport.\nDream Downtown\nDream Downtown Is A Boutique Hotel That Boasts An Enormous Sun Deck Replete With Imported Sand, Cabanas And A 50-Foot Pool With Views Of The Lobby Through Its Glass Bottom. The 12-Story, Non-Smoking Hotel Has 315 Loft-Style Rooms And Suites With Unique Decor That Include 40-Inch Flat-Panel Tvs, Custom Toiletries And 350-Thread-Count Linens; They Also Have Oversize Porthole Windows, Chrome-And-Teak-Accented Furniture, Oushak Rugs And Tech-Savvy Integrated Automation. During The Day, Access To The Glass-Bottom Pool And Surrounding Beach Is Exclusive To Hotel Guests; At Night The Pool Area Morphs Into A Fashionable Lounge. The Hotel Has A Bar And A Restaurant, Which Offers An International Steakhouse Menu And Provides Room Service. Additional Amenities Include Business And Fitness Centers, Meeting Space And Concierge Services. There Is No On-Site Parking; Valet Services Are Available For A Surcharge. Pets Are Permitted For An Additional Fee. The Hotel Is Between 8Th And 9Th Avenues In The Meatpacking District, Popular For Its Restaurants, Shops And Nightclubs. It'S A 10-Minute Walk From Hudson River Park And The High Line, And One Mile From Greenwich Village And Madison Square Garden. It'S 18 Miles To John F. Kennedy International Airport, And 10 Miles To Laguardia Airport.\nHomewood Suites New York\/Midtown Manhattan Times Square\nRooms With Kitchenettes And Freebies Like Breakfast And Wi-Fi Access Make The Homewood Suites New York\/Midtown Manhattan Times Square A Home Away From Home In The Middle Of New York City. The High-Ris Homewood Suites Has 293 Non-Smoking Studios And Suites Equipped With Flat-Panel Hdtvs With Cable, Kitchenettes With Stoves And Dishwashers And Free Wi-Fi. Some Units Have Sofa Beds. Start Your Mornings With A Free Hot Breakfast Each Day, And Pick Up Snacks And Quick Meals In The Hotel'S Sundry Shop, Located By The 24-Hour Front Desk. There Are Fitness And Business Facilities On-Site. Pets Are Welcome, And Parking Is Available, Both With An Added Fee. The Hotel Is In The Heart Of Manhattan'S Midtown, Five Minutes Away From Penn Station On Foot And Only Three Blocks From Times Square. Central Park And Grand Central Station Are Each Less Than A Mile From The Hotel. Kennedy International Airport Is 15 Miles Away And Easily Accessed By The Subway. Priceline Guests Rave About The Great Service And The Excellent Location Of The Homewood Suites In Midtown Near Times Square.\nThe Maritime Hotel\nFree Bikes, In-House Dining And A Seafaring Theme Sail High On The List Of Amenities At The Maritime Hotel, Located Steps From The Subway And High Line. The 12-Story Maritime Hotel Showcases 121 Nautical-Themed Rooms With Porthole Windows, Teak Furnishings And Marble Bathrooms With Rainfall Showerheads And Premium Toiletries. Free Wi-Fi And Ipod Docks Are Other Amenities, And Some Rooms Also Include Hardwood Floors, Deep Soaking Tubs And Flat-Panel Tvs. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner And Room Service Are Provided By The Hotel Restaurant. In Addition To 'Round-The-Clock Fitness And Business Facilities, This Hotel Offers Free Bike Rentals. Pets Are Allowed. The Maritime Hotel Lies In Manhattan'S Chelsea Neighborhood, Adjacent To The Chelsea Market. Walk Five Minutes To Reach The 14 Street Subway Station Or The Elevated High Line Pathway. In Less Than A 10-Minute Stroll, Guests Have Access To A Plethora Of Exciting Art Galleries. Guests Are Also Within A Half-Mile Of The Rubin Museum Of Art As Well As The Whitney Museum Of American Art. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles East Of The Hotel.\nStewart Hotel\n371 7th Ave, New York NY - 10001\nWith Huge Rooms Featuring Beds With Pillowtop Mattresses And Wi-Fi, The Newly Redesigned, Non-Smoking Manhattan Nyc-An Affinia Hotel Is A Conveniently Located Choice A Block From Penn Station And Madison Square Garden. The Updated Hotel Features A Stunning Lobby With A Stylish, Smart And Comfortable Design Infused With The Energy Of New York City. Built In 1929, The 28-Floor Property Has 618 Rooms With Flat-Panel Tvs, Ipod Docking Stations And Wi-Fi (Fee). A Six-Choice Pillow Menu Makes The Signature Affinia Beds, With Triple-Sheeted, Cotton-Rich Linens And Down Comforters, That Much Better. The Spacious Studios And One- And Two-Bedroom Suites Boast Kitchens As Well. The Hotel Offers Concierge Service, In-Room Spa Treatments, An On-Site Restaurant And A Complimentary Wine Hour. Valet Parking Is Available For An Additional Fee. The Hotel Is On 7Th Avenue And 31St Street In Manhattan, Nine Miles West Of Laguardia Airport, 15 Miles East Of Newark Liberty International Airport And 16 Miles From Jfk International Airport. Penn Station Is A Block Away. It'S A One-Block Walk To Madison Square Garden And Macy'S And Four Blocks To The Empire State Building.\nChelsea Savoy Hotel\n204 W 23rd Street, New York NY - 10011\nCourtyard New York Manhattan\/Times Square West\nWith Complimentary Internet Access, Coffee Service And Morning Newspapers, The Non-Smoking Courtyard By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Times Square West Also Offers Well-Equipped Rooms And A High-Tech Lobby Area. Brilliant Strips Of Red And Orange Distinguish The Facade At The Courtyard By Marriott, A 27-Story Tower That Opened In 2013. Done Up In Soothing Neutral Tones With Bright Pops Of Color, The 224 Non-Smoking Rooms And Suites Have Flat-Panel Tvs With Pay-Per-View Movies, Well-Lit Work Desks And Coffeemakers. Free Wi-Fi Keeps You Connected To Friends And Family. You Can Work Out With The Free Weighs And Cardio Machines In The Fitness Room. The Restaurant Serves Breakfast And Dinner. Enjoy Free Coffee And Newspapers In The Lobby, Which Also Has A Kiosk Where You Can Print Out Airport Boarding Passes, Media Pods For Business Meetings And An Interactive Video Screen Where You Can Catch Up On The News. Same-Day Dry Cleaning And Laundry Service Is Available. Parking Is Available Nearby. Located Off Eighth Avenue, The Courtyard By Marriott Puts You Five Blocks South Of 42Nd Street. Dozens Of Broadway And Off-Broadway Theaters Are Within A 10-Minute Of The Hotel. About Three Blocks East Is The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Less Than 15 Minutes Away Is Leafy Bryant Park And The Iconic New York Public Library. Laguardia Airport Is A 21-Minute Drive Northeast, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 25-Minute Southwest And Kennedy International Airport Is A 30-Minute Drive Southeast (All Dependent On Traffic Conditions).\nFour Points by Sheraton Manhattan - Chelsea\nWith Plush Beds, An On-Site Restaurant And A Cool Chelsea Location, The Non-Smoking Four Points By Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea Offers Plenty Of Reasons To Check In. The 22-Floor Four Points Features Clean, Uncluttered Design With Upscale Touches. The 158 Guestrooms Sport The Signature Four Points Bed Offering Nine-Inch Serta Plush-Top Sleep System Mattress With Shock Absorber Foundations. Rooms Also Have Lcd Tvs And Available Wired Internet (There'S Wi-Fi In The Lobby). The Hotel Hosts An Upscale Mexican Restaurant, Fitness Center And Concierge. Valet Parking Is Available For An Additional Fee. The Four Points Is On 25Th St At 7Th Avenue In A Low-Key Neighborhood In Manhattan'S Fashionable Chelsea District. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles Away, While Newark Airport Is 14 Miles Away And Jfk Is 17 Miles From The Hotel. From The Subway Stop That'S Three Blocks North, Trains Whisk Visitors To Glitzy Times Square In Less Than 10 Minutes. Penn Station Is Six Blocks North, And The Empire State Building And Macy'S Are Nine Blocks Away.\nHilton New York Fashion District\nPlush Beds And A Rooftop Bar With Views Of The Empire State Building Make Our Guests Feel Happenin' At The Non-Smoking Hilton New York Fashion District, Located Near Penn Station. The Modern Hilton Is In A 22-Story, Glass-And-Steel Building Tucked Away From The City Streets On A Private Driveway. The Lobby Features A Rotating Art Gallery. The 280 Non-Smoking Rooms, Many With Views Of The Surrounding Area And The Empire State Building, Feature Ralph Lauren Wallpaper, Lots Of Polka Dots And Pinstripes, Retro Tailored Lines And Hologram Photography. The Pillowtop Mattresses Are Dressed In Luxury Frette Linens, And The Rooms Have Lcd Tvs, Ihome Docks And Frette Bathrobes. Drink In Views Of The Sunset And The Empire State Building From The Rooftop Bar. The Hotel Also Has A Fitness Center, Concierge Service And A Gourmet Burger Restaurant With A Cool Curving Staircase. Valet Parking And Wi-Fi Are Available For A Fee. The Hotel Is In The Fashion District In Chelsea At 26Th Street And 7Th Avenue. Jfk And Newark Liberty International Airports Are 16 Miles From The Hotel, And Laguardia Is Nine Miles Away. The Subway Is A Two-Block Walk, And It Can Drop You At Times Square\/Theatre District Just A Couple Of Stops North. Penn Station Is Five Blocks North, And Madison Square Park Is Three Blocks East.\nHoliday Inn Express New York City Times Square\nFree Hot Breakfast With Cinnamon Rolls, Complimentary Wi-Fi And Times Square'S Bright Lights Five Blocks Away All Kick Up The Value For Our Guests At The Non-Smoking Holiday Inn Express New York City Times Square. The 36-Floor Hotel Allows Views Of The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building Or Times Square From Some Of Its 210 Guestrooms. Rooms Also Have Free Wi-Fi, Flat-Screen Hdtvs, Desks And Easy Chairs. Good Night, Sleep Tight On The Crisp, White Beds With Simmons Pillowtop Mattress And 200-Thread-Count Sheets. A Good Reason To Get Up: The Free Hot Breakfast Bar With Eggs, Turkey Sausage, Pancakes, The Trusty Signature Cinnamon Rolls, Coffee, Tea, Juice, And More. The Hotel Also Has A Business Center. Valet Parking Is Available For A Fee. The Hotel Is 39Th Street At 9Th Avenue, Five Blocks West Of Glittering Times Square. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles Away, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 15 Miles, And Jfk Airport Is 17 Miles Away. The Hotel Just Blocks From 16 Different Subway Lines.\nCandlewood Suites New York City-Times Square\nWi-Fi, Kitchens And A Times Square Location At A Wallet-Friendly Price Are What Keep Our Guests Returning To The Candlewood Suites Nyc - Times Square. Every Room At This Non-Smoking, 32-Story, 188-Unit Hotel Is A Suite. Here'S How Sweet They Are: Fully Stocked Kitchenettes With Cooktops, Microwaves And Full-Size Fridges And Dishwashers, A Seating Area, Wi-Fi And Access To An On-Site Laundry. There'S A Convenience Store For Quick Snacks, A 24-Hour Gym And A Business Center. Parking Options Are Available For A Fee. The Candlewood Suites Is Located In The Heart Of Times Square, Surrounded By Broadway Theaters, Shopping And Restaurants. It'S 18 Miles To Jfk International Airport And 10 Miles To Laguardia. Take A 10-Minute Walk To Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, The Shopping Of Fifth Avenue And The Famous New York Public Library, Among Other Attractions. Grand Central Station Is One Mile Away.\nINNSIDE by Meli\u00e0 New York Nomad\nAn On-Site Restaurant And An Excellent Location Close To The Subway Make The Non-Smoking Innside New York Nomad Appealing To Priceline Guests. The Non-Smoking, High-Rise Innside New York Has A Modern Feel, Featuring Neutral Contemporary Furnishings Accented By Bright Pops Of Color In The Public Spaces And All 313 Minimalist Rooms Outfitted With Flat-Panel Tvs And Coffeemakers. The On-Site Restaurant Innside New York Is The Place To Be For Modern Brasserie Dishes, Which You Can Also Enjoy On The Outdoor Terrace, As Well As A Daily Happy Hour And Dj Music On Thursdays, Fridays And Saturdays. Pets Are Welcome For An Extra Charge, And The Front Desk Is Open 24 Hours A Day. The Hotel Charges A Daily Fee That Includes Wi-Fi Connectivity, Daily Refreshments And Access To Business And Fitness Facilities. In Chelsea Near The Nomad (North Of Madison Square Park) Neighborhood, The Innside Is Less Than Two Blocks From The Nearest Subway Stop. No Matter Which Direction Guests Walk, They Find Plenty Of Shops, Galleries And Restaurants. The Iconic Empire State Building Is Less Than 15 Minutes By Foot. Within A 20-Minute Walk, Guests Reach Chelsea Market, Times Square And The Theater District. The 9\/11 Memorial Is Three Miles Away, And The Lush Paths Of Central Park Are Two Miles North. The Closest Major Airport Is Laguardia Airport, A Nine-Mile Drive. In Addition To The Comfy Beds And Contemporary Decor, Priceline Guests Rave About The Perks At The Innside, Especially The Free Minibar And Excellent Location.\nHampton Inn Manhattan\/Times Square South\nFree Hot Breakfast, Complimentary Wi-Fi And A Location Near The Pulse Of Times Square Thrill Our Guests At Hampton Inn Manhattan-Times Square, Located Within Walking Distance Of Countless Broadway Theaters. The Hampton Inn Offers 60 Comfortable Rooms With Fresh Beds Featuring Cozy Duvets, Ample Bathrooms With Hand-Held Showers, Flat-Screen Tvs Boasting Premium Cable Channels, And Free Wi-Fi. Mornings Here Start With A Free Hot Breakfast And, For Those In A Hurry, The Option Of Takeout On The Run Breakfast Bags. The Hotel Also Has A Fitness Center, Business Center And Concierge Service. Parking Is Available For A Fee. You'Ll Find The Hampton Inn At West 39Th Street And 8Th Ave In The Clinton District Of Manhattan, Just South Of The Theatre District. Times Square Is Five Blocks Northeast. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, Jfk Is 30 Minutes, And Newark Airport Is A 30-Minute Drive Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions). The Subway Stops Three Blocks From The Hotel. Penn Station Is Six Blocks South, And The Empire State Building Is Within Walking Distance.\nOn-Site Dining, Free Wi-Fi And A Happening Rooftop Deck, All In A Superb Herald Square Location, Lead Priceline Guests To The Non-Smoking Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel. The Renaissance Soars At 29 Stories And Features 348 Rooms With Pillowtop Bedding, Flat-Panel Tvs, Free Wi-Fi, Mini-Fridges And Coffeemakers. Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner Are Served In The Hotel Pub, And Room Service Is Also Option. Soak Up The Sun And City Views From The Rooftop Deck, And Take Advantage Of The Hotel'S Fitness And Business Centers. Valet Parking Is Available For An Extra Charge. Guests Find The Renaissance In Midtown Manhattan, Within Two Blocks Of Madison Square Garden And Penn Station. Shop Till You Drop Within A Five-Minute Walk At The Shops Of Herald Square. A One-Mile Journey North Leads To Carnegie Hall And Central Park. Guests Are Also Within A 10-Minute Stroll Of The Empire State Building As Well As Times Square And The Theatre District. Laguardia Airport Is A Nine-Mile Cab Ride Away. Priceline Guests Adore The Rooftop Bar Vibe, Elegant Touches And Uber Modern Amenities At The Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel.\nDistrikt Hotel New York City, Tapestry Collection by Hilton\nStay In The Center Of New York City At Our Midtown Manhattan Hotel. Each Room Features A Smart Tv Mini-Fridge And Triple-Paned Windows That Let In The Sights But Block Out The Noise. Distrikt Hotel Features -Free Wifi -Restaurant And Bar -Fitness Center Access -Business Center -Room Service -Car Service Dine On-Site At Collage Bistro - Bar. Our Cozy Hangout Serves It All From Grab N* Go Breakfasts To Late-Night Cocktails. We*Re Minutes From Times Square Hell*S Kitchen The Empire State Building And More. The Concierge Team Is On-Hand To Plan Your Itinerary And Transport Plus Distrikt Guests Enjoy Local Discounts.\nCourtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan \/ Chelsea\nFree Wi-Fi, In-Room Fridges And A Location Near Penn Station Are Highlights At The Non-Smoking Courtyard By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea. The 20-Floor, Non-Smoking Courtyard Adorns Its 256 Rooms With 42-Inch Flat-Panel Lcd Tvs, Mini-Fridges And Coffeemakers. Guests Work Out In The On-Site Fitness Room And Keep In Touch With Work Duties In The Business Center. Wi-Fi Is Free. Guests Have 24-Hour Access To Front Desk Reception. Laundry Facilities Are Also Available At The Hotel. Two Blocks From Penn Station And Madison Square Garden, The Courtyard Is In The Heart Of Manhattan. It'S Less Than A Half-Mile South Of Top Shopping At Herald Square And Is Within A 10-Minute Stroll East Of Hip Chelsea Art Galleries. A Half-Mile Walk Northeast Leads To The Towering Empire State Building. The Walk-Friendly Spot Also Lands Guests Within 15-Minutes Of Times Square And Bryant Park. Laguardia Airport Is Nine Miles From The Hotel. Priceline Guests \"Highly Recommend\" The Courtyard By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea For Its Super Location \"Close To Madison Square Garden.\"\nDoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square West\nLive Music, A Rooftop Bar And A Heart-Of-Manhattan Location Triple The Fun At The Non-Smoking Doubletree By Hilton New York Times Square West. Mini-Fridges, Coffeemakers, 40-Inch, Flat-Panel Lcd Hdtvs, Wi-Fi And Walk-In Showers Are Featured Within All 612 Rooms At This Doubletree; Some Also Include City Or River Views. Guests Can Dine On Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner In The On-Site Restaurant Or Order Room Service. From The Rooftop Bar, Sip Drinks And Enjoy Live Music While Looking Out Over The City. The Hotel Also Provides A Fitness Room And A 24-Hour Business Center. Pets Are Allowed For A Fee. The Doubletree Lands Guests In Manhattan, Within A 10-Minute Walk Of Bustling Times Square To The Northeast And Penn Station To The South. It'S Less Than A Mile To The Empire State Building'S Observation Deck And Big Events At The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. For A Trip To Central Park Or Down To Soho, Hop On The Subway, A Five-Minute Walk Away. The Hotel Is Within 10 Miles Of Laguardia Airport. Thanks To The Nice Rooftop Bar And Perfect Manhattan Location, Priceline Guests Have An All-Around Great Experience At The Doubletree By Hilton New York Times Square West.\nYOTEL New York\nLocated Less Than A Kilometre From Times Square, Yotel New York Offers Complimentary Wifi And Meeting And Event Spaces. Yobot, The Onsite Luggage-Storing Robot, Helps To Keep Your Luggage Secured.All Rooms Feature A Work Space And A Laptop Safe. Guests Will Have Access To Purified Water And Ice 24 Hours A Day. An Iron With An Ironing Board And A Hair Dryer Are Also Available.Concierge Services Are Provided At The Property, Which Spans Providing Airport Transfers, Sightseeing Tour Tickets And Show Tickets.The Green Fig Restaurant Is A Mediterranean Fusion Eatery That Offers Breakfast, Weekend Brunches, Dinner And Pre-Theatre Dining Options. The Terrace And Club Lounge Is Available For Guests Looking To Relax In The Evenings With A Drink While Enjoying A View Of The Skyline.Madame Tussauds Is 644 Metres Away And Bryant Park Is 1.1 Km From The Property. Guests Will Find 3 Subway Stations Within 804 Metres Of The Property.\nStaybridge Suites Times Square\n340 W 40 Street, New York NY - 10018\nSpacious Kitchen Suites With Free Wi-Fi And Complimentary Breakfast, Plus A Perch Near Times Square, Make For A Wondrous Stay At Staybridge Suites Times Square - New York City. The 32-Floor Staybridge Has 310 Studio Suites With Pillowtop Mattresses, Flat-Screen Tvs With More Than 150 Channels, Work Desks And Free Wi-Fi. Each Suite Has A Fully Equipped Kitchen With Stainless Steel Appliances, Including A Full-Sized Refrigerator And Microwave. The Staff Will Even Load The Suite'S Dishwasher For You. The Hotel Also Offers A Free Laundry Room, Complimentary Evening Reception And Business Services. You'Ll Also Enjoy A 24-Hour Fitness Center With State-Of-The-Art Cybex Equipment Including Treadmills, Ellipticals And Weights. Located On 340 West 40Th Street, The Staybridge Suites Is Very Accessible To Grand Central Terminal. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, And Jfk And Newark Airports Are 30 Minutes Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions). Guests Arriving By Car Receive A Discounted Price At A Nearby Parking Garage. The Staybridge Is A Short Walk From Times Square And The Lights Of Broadway.\nFairfield Inn by Marriott New York Manhattan\/Times Square\nA Times Square Location, Free Breakfast, Wi-Fi And Plush-Top Mattresses Make The Grade With Our Guests At Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Times Square. Overlooking The Hudson River With A View Of The Empire State Building, The 33-Floor Fairfield Inn & Suites Has 244 Rooms With Plush Mattresses And Crisp Linens. Rooms Have Flat-Screen Hdtvs, Wi-Fi, Coffeemakers And Well-Lighted Desks. The Hotel Has A Fitness Room, A Business Center And A Restaurant With Views Of The City. Parking Is Available For A Fee. The Hotel Is On West 40Th Street At 8Th Avenue, Eight Blocks From Penn Station, Where The Lirr Train From Jfk Airport Stops. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, And Jfk And Newark Liberty Are Both 25 Minutes Away. Times Square, Broadway, Macy'S Herald Square And The Empire State Building Are All Within Walking Distance, And You Can Hop The Subway Two Blocks From The Hotel.\nFour Points by Sheraton Midtown-Times Square\n326 W 40th Sreet, New York NY - 10018\nPlush Beds And A Rooftop Bar Two Blocks South Of Times Square Are Part Of What Make A Satisfying Stay For Our Guests At The Non-Smoking Four Points By Sheraton Midtown. The 33-Floor Four Points Boasts Views Of The Hudson River And Nearby Empire State Building From Its Rooftop Bar And Some Of Its 244 Rooms. It May Be Super Hectic Outside The Front Door, But Indoors You'Ll Sleep Like A Baby On The Nine-Inch Serta Plush-Top Sleep System Mattress, Topped With A Down Comforter. Watch Some Premium Cable On The Lcd Flat-Panel Tv, Plug Your Ipod Into The Ihome And Groove Away. The Hotel Also Has A 24-Hour Fitness Center, Concierge, Bistro With Classic Irish Dishes And Lobby Lounge With Global Beer Collection. Parking Is Available Nearby For A Fee. The Hotel Is In The Clinton District Of Manhattan, Two Blocks From The Times Square Action And The Theaters Of Broadway. Port Authority Bus Terminal Is Just A Four-Minute Walk Away And There Are Plenty Of International Restaurants Surrounding The Hotel. Laguardia Airport Is Nine Miles Away, And Newark Liberty International And John F Kennedy International Airports Are Less Than 20 Miles From The Hotel.\nHotel Hayden\nNestled In Between Chelseas Famed Fashion And Flower District Hotel Hayden Embodies A Diversive And Stylish Cross-Section Of Fashion Art And Business.\nHoliday Inn New York City - Times Square\nFree Wi-Fi, A Central Location Near The Theater District And An On-Site Restaurant Are Some Of The Perks Guests Can Expect At The Non-Smoking Holiday Inn New York City - Times Square. Thirty-Five Floors House 271 Comfortably Appointed Rooms At The Non-Smoking Holiday Inn. Home-Like Touches In The Modern Rooms Include Coffeemakers, Mini-Fridges And Microwaves, And Guests Can Stay Connected With Free Wi-Fi And Flat-Panel Tvs. The Restaurant Serves Meals All Day And Has A Bar. Additional On-Site Conveniences Include A Business Center, Fitness Room And Available Parking. Four Blocks From Times Square, The Holiday Inn Is Surrounded By Shops And Restaurants, Plus Multiple Subways Stops Within A Few Blocks. Several Theaters Are Within A 10-Minute Walk, As Well As Penn Station And Madison Square Garden. Guests Walk 20 Minutes To Discover Trails In Central Park Or Ponder Art At Moma. To Visit The Statue Of Liberty, Hop On The Ferry, Four Miles South. Laguardia Airport Is Nine Miles Away. Priceline Guests Like The Staff At The Holiday Inn, Saying Everyone Was Attentive And Cheerful, Which Also Impresses Guests With Its Central Location And Reasonable Price.\nManhattan Broadway Budget Hotel\nEconomically Priced And Full Of Amenities, The Non-Smoking Manhattan Broadway Hotel Is A Great Choice For Proximity To West Side Attractions, Say Our Guests. Its Garment District Location Makes It Easy To Get Around The City, While Its On-Site Facilities Mean Guests Have Everything They Need. The Manhattan Broadway Hotel Offers 43 Cozy Rooms Offering Wi-Fi (For A Small Daily Fee), A Work Desk And Cable Tv. The 24-Hour Front Desk Service Provides Security And Suggestions For Area Restaurants, Attractions, And Transportation. Located 10 Miles From Laguardia Airport On 38Th Street In Midtown, The Manhattan Broadway Hotel Is Just Two Blocks From The Subway And A Five-Minute Walk To Times Square. Convenient Parking For A Fee Is Available Nearby At An Independently Owned Garage. Walk To Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, The Theater District, And The Chelsea Neighborhood Easily From This Hotel.\nDoubleTree by Hilton New York City - Chelsea\nDreamy Beds And Flat-Panel Lcd Tvs Five Blocks From The Empire State Building Make Our Guests Fans Of The Non-Smoking Doubletree New York City - Chelsea. This 27-Story Doubletree Has 236 Contemporary Rooms, Many With Views Of The Surrounding Manhattan Skyline. Rooms Come With Flat-Panel Lcd Tvs With Premium Cable, Wi-Fi (For A Charge) And Beds With Custom-Designed Plushtop Mattresses, Baffle-Box Down Blankets, And High-Thread-Count Cotton Linens With Triple Sheeting. The Hotel Has A Fitness Center, Lounge, Grill Restaurant With Outdoor Patio Seating And Concierge. Don'T Forget Your Trusty Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookie. Self-Parking Is Available For A Fee Near The Hotel. The Doubletree Is Conveniently Located At 29Th Street Between Sixth And Seventh Avenues, In Manhattan'S Fashionable Chelsea. The Closest Subway Station Is Two Blocks Away. The Empire State Building And Macy'S Are Five Blocks From The Hotel, An Easy Walk. Madison Square Park, Also Five Blocks Away, Is A Nice Place For A Walk Or A Sit. Broadway Theaters Are 11 Blocks North Of The Hotel. The Hotel Is Eight Miles From Laguardia Airport And 17 Miles From Newark Liberty International Airport. Jfk International Airport, 17 Miles Away, Is Accessible Via Lirr Train, Which You Can Catch At Penn Station, Three Blocks From The Hotel.\nElement New York Times Square West\nFree Wi-Fi, A Complimentary Buffet Breakfast And Super-Comfortable Beds Make The Non-Smoking Element New York Times Square West A Winner With Our Guests. This 30-Story Hotel Has 411 Rooms, All With Signature King-Size Heavenly Beds, Kitchenettes That Can Be Stocked With Items From The 24-Hour Gourmet Pantry And Spa-Inspired Baths With Rainforest Showers And Big, Fluffy Robes. Bring Rover, Since He'Ll Be Welcomed With His Own Mini-Heavenly Bed Waiting. There'S A Free Daily Buffet Breakfast And A Gym, Too. Element New York Times Square West Is Located 17 Miles From Jfk International Airport And Eight Miles From Laguardia International Airport, Smack Dab In The Middle Of The Theater District And Times Square Shops, Dining And Shows. There Are Plenty Of Places To Hop The Subway To Anywhere In The City, But If You Want To Hoof It, Macy'S And The Empire State Building Are Less Than A Half-Mile Away, And You Can Walk To Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center And St. Patrick'S Cathedral In 10 Minutes.\nCambria Hotel New York - Chelsea\n123 W. 28th Street, New York NY - 10001\nA Lovely Rooftop Lounge And Free Wi-Fi Are Part Of A Convenient And Memorable Stay At The Non-Smoking Cambria Hotelnew York - Chelsea. This Non-Smoking, High-Rise Hotel Has 135 Bright Suites With Free Wi-Fi, Flat-Panel Cable Tvs And Microwaves And Mini-Fridges. Get In A Workout On The Machines Or With Free Weights In The Fitness Center. Knock Out Work At The Business Center, Then Treat Yourself To A Fantastic City View From The Rooftop Lounge. Dining Options On-Site Include The Hotel Restaurant, Which Also Has A Bar, And Room Service. The Hotel Is Right In The Heart Of Everything Manhattan. It'S A Quarter-Mile From Several New York Landmarks, Including The Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden And Penn Station. A 16-Block Walk Of Less Than 10 Minutes Gets Guests To Times Square. Jfk International Airport Is 17 Miles Away.\nHilton Garden Inn New York\/Manhattan-Chelsea\nSignature Beds, Flat-Panel Tvs, Free Wi-Fi And A Location In Ultra-Hip Chelsea Equal An Unmatched Value At Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea. The Hotel Has 169 Rooms In A 24-Story Building, Each With Hilton'S Garden Sleep System \u2014 Mattresses With Adjustable Firmness Settings, High-Thread-Count Linens And Comfy Duvets. Kick Back And Click On The Flat-Panel Tv. Update Your Facebook Status To \"On Vacation\" Courtesy Of Free Wi-Fi And Wired Internet In The Rooms. Wake Up To The Breakfast Buffet For Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Bagels, Coffee, Juice And More. There'S An On-Site Business Center And Fitness Center, And A Nearby Garage Offers Reduced Parking Rates. In One Of Manhattan'S Trendiest Neighborhoods, This Chelsea Hotel Is 27 Minutes Northeast Of Newark Liberty International Airport, 28 Minutes Northwest Of Jfk International Airport And 23 Minutes West Of Laguardia Airport. The 23Rd Street Subway Station Is A Six-Minute Walk From The Hotel, And Penn Station And Madison Square Garden Are Just Three Blocks North. Walk Four Blocks East To The Empire State Building, Where You Can Visit The Observation Deck On The 102Nd Floor For A Panoramic View Of The City. If You'Re Feeling Active, Head Over To Chelsea Piers (17 Minutes By Subway) Where You Can Bowl And Bat To Your Heart'S Content.\nCachet Boutique New York\n510 W 42nd St, New York NY - 10036\nA Nightclub, A Spa And A Cool Hell'S Kitchen Setting Make For A Rockin' Array Of Amenities At The Non-Smoking Out Nyc. The Three-Story Out Furnishes Its 105 Rooms With Premium Bedding, Ipod Docks, 40-Inch, Flat-Panel Tvs, Free Wi-Fi And Bathrooms With Rainfall Showerheads And Topnotch Toiletries. Dine On Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner In The Hotel Restaurant. The Wellness Center Is A Sweet Spot To Book A Massage In The Spa Or Enjoy Some Down Time In The Sauna And Hot Tubs. There'S Also A Fitness Center, Open 24\/7, Plus A Range Of Open Spaces For Chilling Out. Live Entertainment Can Be Found In The In-House Nightclub, While Art Exhibits Grace The Walls Of The Lobby. Pets Are Allowed. The Out Places Guests In Manhattan'S Hell'S Kitchen Area, About A Five-Minute Walk Between Restaurant Row And The Jacob K. Javits Center. Times Square And The Theater District Are Less Than 15 Minutes By Foot, While The Subway And Port Authority Station Are Within A Half-Mile. The Hotel Is 16 Miles From Newark Liberty International Airport And Within 10 Miles Of Laguardia Airport.\nHoliday Inn Manhattan 6th Ave - Chelsea\nFree Wi-Fi And Flat-Panel Tvs Eight Blocks From The Empire State Building Make Holiday Inn Nyc - Manhattan 6Th Ave A Good Fit For Our Guests Seeking Value Near The Subway And Shopping. The 24-Floor Holiday Inn Offers 226 Rooms With Large Desks And Ergonomic Chairs. Relax On The Large Chair With Ottoman To Surf The Free Wi-Fi Or Enjoy Movies On The Flat-Panel Tv. Guests Can Visit The On-Site Fitness Center Or Take Advantage Of The Discounted Fee At The Nearby State-Of-The-Art Fitness Center. The Holiday Inn Also Has A Restaurant, Bar, And Concierge Service. The Holiday Inn Is Located On 26Th Street Between 6Th And 7Th Avenues. Penn Station And Madison Square Garden Are Six Blocks Away. Walk Eight Blocks North Of The Hotel For The Iconic Empire State Building And Macy'S On 34Th Street. Those Seeking Greenery Can Check Out Madison Square Park, Two Blocks East, And The High Line Elevated Park, Four Blocks West. Laguardia Airport Is Nine Miles And Jfk International Airport Is 18 Miles From The Hotel.\nTravel Inn Hotel\nWith Free Garage Parking And One Of The City'S Few Seasonal Outdoor Pools, The Travel Inn Midtown Manhattan Is A Value-Driven Bargain Right On 42Nd Street. First Things First: The Travel Inn'S Parking Garage Is Billed As The Only Free Hotel Garage In All Of Manhattan, So Drivers Find A Bargain Here. Another Rarity For Manhattan Is The Seasonal Outdoor Pool With Sun Deck And Lifeguard. The Hotel Offers 160 Rooms Furnished With Flat-Panel Tvs. Most Rooms Also Have Microwaves And Mini-Fridges, And Some Even Have Outdoor Terraces. Wi-Fi Is Available Throughout The Hotel For An Additional Fee, And There'S A Fitness Center On The Premises. A Nearby Diner Delivers Room Service. The Travel Inn Is Located On 42Nd Street, Two Blocks From The Port Authority Bus Terminal And Three Blocks From The Lights Of Times Square. There Are Plenty Of Hot Restaurants And Bars One Block Away On 9Th Avenue. Conventions At The Javits Center Are Five Blocks South. Radio City Music Hall And Rockefeller Center Are A Five-Minute Taxi Ride Away. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles Away, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 15 Miles And Jfk International Airport Is 17 Miles From The Hotel.\nA Classic Hollywood Theme, Free Wi-Fi, Continental Breakfast And A Location In The Heart Of The Gallery District Help You Take A Bite Out Of The Big Apple At The Chelsea Pines Inn. Built In 1850, This Five-Story Walk-Up Is Decked Out With Original Hollywood Movie Posters. Each Of The Hotel'S 22 Uniquely Designed Non-Smoking Rooms Is Inspired By A Golden Age Film Star And Features Free Wi-Fi, A Flat-Panel Tv With Premium Cable Channels, Ipod Dock, Refrigerator, High-Thread-Count Linens, Upscale Bath Amenities, Safe And Desk. Enjoy New York Bagels, Fresh Fruit And Homemade Bread At The Continental Breakfast Each Morning, Served In The Greenhouse Or Garden. Guests Have Access To Coffee, Cookies And Snacks All Day In The Lounge And Staying In Touch Is A Breeze From The Business Center On-Site. Located On 14Th Street Between Eight And Ninth Avenues, The Chelsea Pines Inn Offers Easy Access To Both Greenwich Village And Chelsea. You'Re Within Three Blocks Of Two Subway Stations And There Are Dozens Of Art Galleries, Clubs And Restaurants Within Strolling Distance. Walk 10 Minutes To Check Out Highline Park, Chelsea Market, The Rubin Museum Of Art Or The Hudson River Greenway At Pier 57. Times Square And The Broadway Theaters Are Two Miles North And The Museums On The Upper East Side Are Four Miles North. The Lower East Side, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Tribeca And Chinatown Are All Within Three Miles And You Can Catch A Train From Penn Station, One Mile North. Laguardia Airport Is 10 Miles Northeast, Newark Liberty International Airport Is 15 Miles West And Jfk International Is 20 Miles East.\nFairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott New York ManhattanChelsea\nComplimentary Continental Breakfast, Free High-Speed Internet And A Fitness Room Are All Part Of The Package For Guests At The Non-Smoking Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea. The 18-Story Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea Has A Dashing, High-Rise Profile, And Its Common Areas Are Light And Airy, Such As The Glassed-In Dining Area Where Guests Enjoy The Daily Continental Breakfast. You Can Also Take A Seat At The Indoor Communal Table And Get To Know Your Fellow Travelers. If There'S No Time For A Sit-Down Meal, The Staff Will Prepare A To-Go Bag Of Morning Munchies. The Fitness Room Is Filled With Free Weights And Cardio Equipment. All 108 Non-Smoking Rooms Have Pillowtop Mattresses Dressed In Crisp Linens. The 37-Inch Flat-Panel Tvs Are A Nice Touch, As Are The Wi-Fi And Wired Internet Connections. If You Have Last-Minute Work To Finish, The Spacious Desks Make Ideal Virtual Offices. Room Service Is Available. Off-Site Parking Is Offered For A Fee. The Fairfield Inn Is A Few Blocks South Of Bryant Park And The New York Public Library. If You'Re Headed To A Broadway Show, Times Square Is About 14 Blocks North. At Least 10 Different Subway Lines Converge Nearby, So Getting Around The City Is A Cinch. Laguardia Airport Is Nine Miles East, Jfk Airport Is 17 Miles Southeast, And Newark Airport Is 15 Miles Southwest.\nHotel Pennsylvania\nLocated Right Across From Penn Station And Offering Bargain-Priced Rooms And A Fitness Center, Hotel Pennsylvania Gives Our Guests A Terrific Location Next To Macy'S And Two Blocks From The Empire State Building. The Hotel Pennsylvania'S 1,700 Rooms Feature Cable Tvs, Pay Movies, Hairdryers And Irons\/Ironing Boards. Wi-Fi Is Available In The Main Lobby And Common Spaces For An Additional Fee. Guests Can Get A Workout With Cardio And Weight Machines In The Adjacent Fitness Center And Savor A Juicy Steak At The On-Site Restaurant Or A Quick Bite At The Hotel Cafe. Parking Is Available Through The Hotel For An Additional Fee. Hotel Pennsylvania Is Across The Street From Penn Station, A Major Transportation Hub With Subway And Train Lines To Get Throughout The City And Beyond. The Famous Madison Square Garden, Home To The New York Ranges And Knicks, Is In The Penn Station Complex. Macy'S And Herald Square Are A Two-Minute Walk Away And The Empire State Building Is A Two-Block Stroll East. You Can Hoof It To Times Square In 10 Minutes. Laguardia Airport Is About 20 Minutes By Car And John F Kennedy International Airport Is 30 Minutes Away, Depending On Traffic Conditions.\nGansevoort Meatpacking\n18 9th Avenue at 13th street, New York NY - 10018\nStunning City And River Views, A Year-Round Rooftop Pool And Free Wi-Fi Make The Uber-Cool Gansevoort Meatpacking Nyc Hotel A Hot Spot For Our Guests, Who Also Love The Feather Beds And Carrara Marble Bathrooms. The Hotel Gansevoort Boasts 187 Spacious Guestrooms And 23 Stylish Suites, All With Stunning City Views And Hudson River Vistas. The Minimalist And Chic Rooms Offer Dramatic Sheets Of Backlit Translucent Glass Instead Of Conventional Doors. Sleep Comes Easily With Plush Featherbeds Adorned With Cotton-Rich Linens And Goose-Down Pillows. Bathrooms Offer Rich Ceramic Interiors, Custom Sinks, And Carrara Marble. Tech Amenities Include Free Wi-Fi, Ipod Docking Stations, And Oversized Lcd Hdtvs. Get A Jaw-Dropping View With Your Body-Soothing Swim In The Year-Round Rooftop Heated Pool. The Hotel Also Has A Fitness Center, Free Hotel Bike Use, And Luxury Day Spa. The Rooftop Lounge Offers Enticing Cocktails, Light Fare, And A 360-Degree View That Includes The Hudson River. The Well-Regarded Hotel Restaurant Serves Japanese Cuisine And A Choice Of High-End Sakes. Parking Is Available (Fee). Located On Ninth Avenue At 13Th Street In The Meatpacking District, The Hotel Gansevoort Is Set In A Trendy Neighborhood With Plenty Of Surrounding Nightlife, Restaurants And Shopping. It'S Three Blocks From The Subway.The Elevated High Line Park And The Vibrant Chelsea Market Are A Few Minutes' Walk Away. If You'Re Driving To The Hotel, Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, Jfk Is 30 Minutes, And Newark Is 25 Minutes Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions).\nHampton Inn Madison Square Garden Area Hotel\nComplimentary Breakfast, Free Wi-Fi And Comfy Beds Next To World-Famous Madison Square Garden Are Among The Perks Our Guests Discover At The Non-Smokinghampton Inn New York-Chelsea-Manhattan. The Hampton Inn Offers 136 Spacious Rooms With Modern Furnishings, Free Wi-Fi, Flat-Screen Tvs And Work Desks. No Reason To Miss Your Workout Routine \u2014 The Hampton Inn Offers A Fitness Center. Awake And Begin Your Day With Free Breakfast (Or A Grab-And-Go Breakfast Bag For Guests On The Run), And Then Ask The Friendly Staff For Advice On Sightseeing, Shopping, Restaurants And Plays. Parking Is Offered For A Fee. The Hampton Inn Is Near Madison Square Garden And A Block From Trains And Subways At Penn Station. The Empire State Building Is Just East Of The Hotel. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive, And Jfk And Newark Liberty International Are 30 Minutes Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions).\nHampton Inn Manhattan-Chelsea\nFree Hot Breakfast, Complimentary Wi-Fi And Fashionable Chelsea Location Make The Hampton Inn Manhattan Chelsea A Popular Destination For Our Guests. The Hampton Inn Features 144 Rooms With Cushy Hampton Beds, Flat-Screen Tvs, Compact Fridges And Work Desks. Additional Services Are Available In The Lobby Business Center. Guests Keep Up With Their Wellness Routines In The Fitness Center. After A Relaxing Night'S Sleep, Enjoy A Complimentary Hot Breakfast Or An \"On-The-Go\" Breakfast Bag. Pets Are Permitted, And Parking Is Available For A Fee. The Hampton Inn Is In The Fabulous Chelsea Neighborhood, Surrounded By Unique Shopping, Highly Rated Restaurants And Contemporary Art Galleries. Chelsea Market, A Favorite Gourmet Destinations Of Locals And Tourists, Is Within Walking Distance. Laguardia Airport Is A 20-Minute Drive From The Hotel, Jfk Is 25 Minutes, And Newark'S Airport Is 25 Minutes Away (All Times Dependent On Traffic Conditions).\nSpacious Rooms, Free Breakfast And A Walkable Location Near The Subway And Chelsea Market Are A Few Of The Grade-A Amenities Available At The Non-Smoking Hotel 309. Wood Floors, Kitchenettes And Satellite Tv Channels Are Featured Within All 28 Non-Smoking, Apartment-Style Rooms At The Five-Story Hotel 309; Some Also Include Sofa Beds, And Wi-Fi Is Available For An Extra Charge. The Front Desk Is Available To Guests 24 Hours A Day.. Set In Manhattan'S Meatpacking District, The Hotel 309 Offers A Convenient Location Adjacent To The Subway And Within A Five-Minute Walk Of Chelsea Market. Explore The Stunning Works Held Within The Whitney Museum Of American Art, Within A Half-Mile, Or Shop The Green Market Held In Union Square, A 15-Minute Walk East. Flights Can Be Reached 10 Miles Northeast At Laguardia Airport And 15 Miles Southwest At Newark Liberty International Airport.\nMoxy NYC Times Square\n485 7th Avenue, New York NY - 10018\nThe All-Season Rooftop Bar, Free Wi-Fi And Stellar Walk-Friendly Manhattan Location Near Madison Square Garden Set The Scene At The Non-Smoking Moxy Nyc Times Square. The 17-Story Moxy Furnishes 612 Rooms With Pillowtop Bedding, Free Wi-Fi, 43-Inch, Flat-Panel Hdtvs And Usb Outlets. Mingle Over Drinks Year-Round In The Indoor\/Outdoor Rooftop Bar Or Dine In One Of The Additional In-House Restaurants. Guests Can Also Stay In Check With Their Workout Drills In The Fitness Room And Exercise Their Retail Routine In The In-House Shops. Pets Are Allowed At The Hotel For A Fee. Guests Find The Moxy One Block North Of Macy'S In Midtown Manhattan And A Five-Minute Walk From Herald Square And Madison Square Garden. Head 10 Minutes North By Foot To Land In The Bustling Buzz Of Times Square Or Less Than A Mile East For Stunning Views Atop The Empire State Building. Guests Are Also Two Blocks From The Subway, A Seven-Minute Stroll From Penn Station And Within 10 Miles Of Flights At Laguardia Airport.\nHyatt House New York\/Chelsea\n815 Ave of the Americas, New York NY - 10001\nFree Breakfast And Grocery Services, A Terrace And Superb Subway Access Soar On The List Of Amenities At The Hyatt House New York\/Chelsea. All 150 Rooms At The 32-Story Hyatt House Offer Signature Bedding, Mini-Fridges, Microwaves, Coffeemakers And 43-Inch Flat-Panel Hdtvs; Some Also Include Full Stainless-Steel Kitchens. Non-Smoking Rooms Are Available. Guests Enjoy Free Perks Like A Daily Breakfast Buffet And Grocery Shopping Services. Head To The Second Floor For Sips And Savories In The Restaurant And Bar, And Soak In City Views From The 11Th-Floor Terrace. The Hotel Also Provides 'Round-The-Clock Access To A Small Market, As Well As Business And Fitness Facilities. Pets Are Allowed For A Fee. The Hyatt House Is Within One Block Of Two Subway Stations And Less Than A 10-Minute Walk South Of Manhattan'S Herald Square. It'S One Mile East Of Chelsea'S Galleries And The Stroll-Friendly High Line. Enjoy Spectacular Views From The Top Of The Empire State Building, A Half-Mile Away. The Hotel Is Also A Half-Mile From Penn Station And Within Nine Miles Of Laguardia Airport. At The Hyatt House New York\/Chelsea, Guests Enjoy On-Site Dining, In-Room Microwaves And A Stellar Location Near Herald Square.\nKimpton Hotel Eventi\n851 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY - 10001\nFloor-To-Ceiling Windows With Excellent Skyline Views, Plus A Location In Manhattan'S Historic Chelsea Neighborhood Are Reasons Guests Head To The Kimpton Hotel Eventi. This Boutique Hotel Has 292 Roomy, Upscale Rooms Decked Out With Comfy Beds Covered In Designer Linens. Each Room Sports Original Works Of Art, Marble Baths, 37-Inch Flat-Panel Tvs, Fully Stocked Gourmet Mini-Bars With Organic Selections And Ihome Stereos. Some Offer Views, And All Are Non-Smoking. Mellow Out At The On-Site Spa, Enjoy The Free Evening Wine Hour Each Night And Wake Up To Free Coffee, Tea And Newspapers. The Fitness Center And Room Service Are Both Available 24 Hours A Day, And The Hotel Restaurant That Serves Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner. Located In The Happening Chelsea Neighborhood Two Blocks From The Subway, The Eventi Offers A Great Address With Proximity To The Rest Of Manhattan. All Three Metropolitan Airports Are Less Than 15 Miles Away. Five Blocks Away, You'Ll Find Koreatown, Penn Station And Macy'S, While Times Square Is Ten Minutes From The Hotel Via Public Transportation. World-Renowned Art Galleries, Performance Venues, Shops And Restaurants Surround The Property.\n180 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY - 10011\nLocated 1 Minutes' Walk From The High Line Park, This Historic Hotel Is Located In The Chelsea Neighbourhood In New York. The Nearest Underground Station To Hotel Is 23 Street. Wifi Access Is Availabl...\n300 W 30th St, New York, NY - 10001\nProperty Location With a stay at RIFF Chelsea, you'll be centrally located in New York, within a 10-minute walk of Penn Plaza Pavilion and Manhattan Mall. This hotel is 0.6 mi (1 km) from Macy's. Room...\n442 West 36th Street, New York, NY - 10018\nFree Wi-Fi And Breakfast And A Hell'S Kitchen Locale Within Steps Of Penn Station And The Subway Light The Way To The Non-Smoking Hudson River Hotel. The 15-Story Hudson River Hotel Welcomes Guests Wi...\n325 W 33rd St, New York, NY - 10001\nForget About Taxis, As Many Of The City'S Most Desirable Destinations Are Walking Distance From The Non-Smoking Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Midtown Manhattan\/Penn Station. Perks Here Include A Roo...\n300 W 22nd Street, New York, NY - 10011\nBoutique Rooms With Free Wi-Fi And Flat-Screen Tvs, A Swank Chelsea Address, And 24-Hour Fitness Center Pamper Our Guests At The Gem Hotel - Chelsea, An Ascend Collection Hotel, Located Two Blocks Fro...\nComplimentary Continental Breakfast And A Convenient Location Near The Jacob Javits Convention Center Have Our Guests High-Stepping Their Way To The Non-Smoking Magnuson Convention Center Hotel. The N...\nThe Non-Smoking Holiday Inn Express New York City - Chelsea Puts Our Guests In The Shadow Of Penn Station And Madison Square Garden And In The Heart Of Manhattan. The 15-Floor Hotel Offers 228 Non-Smo...\n345 W 35th Street, New York, NY - 10001\nHigh-Tech Amenities, On-Site Dining And A Location That'S A Stone'S Throw From Penn Station Make For A Hassle-Free Stay At The Non-Smoking Tryp Times Square South. All 173 Rooms At This 15-Story Non-S...\nFitness-Minded Travelers Don'T Have To Leave Their Rooms To Get A Workout At The Non-Smoking Even Hotel New York Times Square South, Which Supplies Fitness Equipment In Each Room, In Addition To Free ...\nRooms With Complimentary High-Speed Internet Access, Mini-Fridges, Flat-Panel Tvs And Comfy Beds With Hypo-Allergenic Down Pillows Four Blocks From Penn Station Make The Doubletree By Hilton New York ...\n481 Eighth Ave., New York, NY - 10001\nWith Flat-Screen Tvs And A Location Across From Penn Station, The New Yorker, A Wyndham Hotel Gives Our Guests Good Value Just A Few Blocks From The Empire State Building. The Art Deco-Style Hotel Has...\nOn-Site Dining, In-Room Microwaves, And Free Coffee And Wi-Fi Add Homey Appeal To The Non-Smoking Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square South, Located Steps From Madison Square Garden. All 250 Rooms...\nDream Downtown Is A Boutique Hotel That Boasts An Enormous Sun Deck Replete With Imported Sand, Cabanas And A 50-Foot Pool With Views Of The Lobby Through Its Glass Bottom. The 12-Story, Non-Smoking H...\nRooms With Kitchenettes And Freebies Like Breakfast And Wi-Fi Access Make The Homewood Suites New York\/Midtown Manhattan Times Square A Home Away From Home In The Middle Of New York City. The High-Ris...\nFree Bikes, In-House Dining And A Seafaring Theme Sail High On The List Of Amenities At The Maritime Hotel, Located Steps From The Subway And High Line. The 12-Story Maritime Hotel Showcases 121 Nauti...\n371 7th Ave, New York, NY - 10001\nWith Huge Rooms Featuring Beds With Pillowtop Mattresses And Wi-Fi, The Newly Redesigned, Non-Smoking Manhattan Nyc-An Affinia Hotel Is A Conveniently Located Choice A Block From Penn Station And Madi...\n204 W 23rd Street, New York, NY - 10011\nWith Complimentary Internet Access, Coffee Service And Morning Newspapers, The Non-Smoking Courtyard By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Times Square West Also Offers Well-Equipped Rooms And A High-Tech Lo...\nWith Plush Beds, An On-Site Restaurant And A Cool Chelsea Location, The Non-Smoking Four Points By Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea Offers Plenty Of Reasons To Check In. The 22-Floor Four Points Features Cl...\nPlush Beds And A Rooftop Bar With Views Of The Empire State Building Make Our Guests Feel Happenin' At The Non-Smoking Hilton New York Fashion District, Located Near Penn Station. The Modern Hilton Is...\nFree Hot Breakfast With Cinnamon Rolls, Complimentary Wi-Fi And Times Square'S Bright Lights Five Blocks Away All Kick Up The Value For Our Guests At The Non-Smoking Holiday Inn Express New York City ...\nWi-Fi, Kitchens And A Times Square Location At A Wallet-Friendly Price Are What Keep Our Guests Returning To The Candlewood Suites Nyc - Times Square. Every Room At This Non-Smoking, 32-Story, 188-Uni...\nAn On-Site Restaurant And An Excellent Location Close To The Subway Make The Non-Smoking Innside New York Nomad Appealing To Priceline Guests. The Non-Smoking, High-Rise Innside New York Has A Modern ...\nFree Hot Breakfast, Complimentary Wi-Fi And A Location Near The Pulse Of Times Square Thrill Our Guests At Hampton Inn Manhattan-Times Square, Located Within Walking Distance Of Countless Broadway The...\nOn-Site Dining, Free Wi-Fi And A Happening Rooftop Deck, All In A Superb Herald Square Location, Lead Priceline Guests To The Non-Smoking Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel. The Renaissance Soars At 2...\nStay In The Center Of New York City At Our Midtown Manhattan Hotel. Each Room Features A Smart Tv Mini-Fridge And Triple-Paned Windows That Let In The Sights But Block Out The Noise. Distrikt Hotel Fe...\nFree Wi-Fi, In-Room Fridges And A Location Near Penn Station Are Highlights At The Non-Smoking Courtyard By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea. The 20-Floor, Non-Smoking Courtyard Adorns Its 256 Room...\nLive Music, A Rooftop Bar And A Heart-Of-Manhattan Location Triple The Fun At The Non-Smoking Doubletree By Hilton New York Times Square West. Mini-Fridges, Coffeemakers, 40-Inch, Flat-Panel Lcd Hdtvs...\nLocated Less Than A Kilometre From Times Square, Yotel New York Offers Complimentary Wifi And Meeting And Event Spaces. Yobot, The Onsite Luggage-Storing Robot, Helps To Keep Your Luggage Secured.All ...\n340 W 40 Street, New York, NY - 10018\nSpacious Kitchen Suites With Free Wi-Fi And Complimentary Breakfast, Plus A Perch Near Times Square, Make For A Wondrous Stay At Staybridge Suites Times Square - New York City. The 32-Floor Staybridge...\nA Times Square Location, Free Breakfast, Wi-Fi And Plush-Top Mattresses Make The Grade With Our Guests At Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Times Square. Overlooking The Hudson Riv...\n326 W 40th Sreet, New York, NY - 10018\nPlush Beds And A Rooftop Bar Two Blocks South Of Times Square Are Part Of What Make A Satisfying Stay For Our Guests At The Non-Smoking Four Points By Sheraton Midtown. The 33-Floor Four Points Boasts...\nFree Wi-Fi, A Central Location Near The Theater District And An On-Site Restaurant Are Some Of The Perks Guests Can Expect At The Non-Smoking Holiday Inn New York City - Times Square. Thirty-Five Floo...\nEconomically Priced And Full Of Amenities, The Non-Smoking Manhattan Broadway Hotel Is A Great Choice For Proximity To West Side Attractions, Say Our Guests. Its Garment District Location Makes It Eas...\nDreamy Beds And Flat-Panel Lcd Tvs Five Blocks From The Empire State Building Make Our Guests Fans Of The Non-Smoking Doubletree New York City - Chelsea. This 27-Story Doubletree Has 236 Contemporary ...\nFree Wi-Fi, A Complimentary Buffet Breakfast And Super-Comfortable Beds Make The Non-Smoking Element New York Times Square West A Winner With Our Guests. This 30-Story Hotel Has 411 Rooms, All With Si...\n123 W. 28th Street, New York, NY - 10001\nA Lovely Rooftop Lounge And Free Wi-Fi Are Part Of A Convenient And Memorable Stay At The Non-Smoking Cambria Hotelnew York - Chelsea. This Non-Smoking, High-Rise Hotel Has 135 Bright Suites With Free...\nSignature Beds, Flat-Panel Tvs, Free Wi-Fi And A Location In Ultra-Hip Chelsea Equal An Unmatched Value At Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea. The Hotel Has 169 Rooms In A 24-Story Building, Each With Hilton'S...\n510 W 42nd St, New York, NY - 10036\nA Nightclub, A Spa And A Cool Hell'S Kitchen Setting Make For A Rockin' Array Of Amenities At The Non-Smoking Out Nyc. The Three-Story Out Furnishes Its 105 Rooms With Premium Bedding, Ipod Docks, 40-...\nFree Wi-Fi And Flat-Panel Tvs Eight Blocks From The Empire State Building Make Holiday Inn Nyc - Manhattan 6Th Ave A Good Fit For Our Guests Seeking Value Near The Subway And Shopping. The 24-Floor Ho...\nWith Free Garage Parking And One Of The City'S Few Seasonal Outdoor Pools, The Travel Inn Midtown Manhattan Is A Value-Driven Bargain Right On 42Nd Street. First Things First: The Travel Inn'S Parking...\nA Classic Hollywood Theme, Free Wi-Fi, Continental Breakfast And A Location In The Heart Of The Gallery District Help You Take A Bite Out Of The Big Apple At The Chelsea Pines Inn. Built In 1850, This...\nComplimentary Continental Breakfast, Free High-Speed Internet And A Fitness Room Are All Part Of The Package For Guests At The Non-Smoking Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott New York Manhattan\/Chelsea...\nLocated Right Across From Penn Station And Offering Bargain-Priced Rooms And A Fitness Center, Hotel Pennsylvania Gives Our Guests A Terrific Location Next To Macy'S And Two Blocks From The Empire Sta...\n18 9th Avenue at 13th street, New York, NY - 10018\nStunning City And River Views, A Year-Round Rooftop Pool And Free Wi-Fi Make The Uber-Cool Gansevoort Meatpacking Nyc Hotel A Hot Spot For Our Guests, Who Also Love The Feather Beds And Carrara Marble...\nComplimentary Breakfast, Free Wi-Fi And Comfy Beds Next To World-Famous Madison Square Garden Are Among The Perks Our Guests Discover At The Non-Smokinghampton Inn New York-Chelsea-Manhattan. The Hamp...\nFree Hot Breakfast, Complimentary Wi-Fi And Fashionable Chelsea Location Make The Hampton Inn Manhattan Chelsea A Popular Destination For Our Guests. The Hampton Inn Features 144 Rooms With Cushy Hamp...\nSpacious Rooms, Free Breakfast And A Walkable Location Near The Subway And Chelsea Market Are A Few Of The Grade-A Amenities Available At The Non-Smoking Hotel 309. Wood Floors, Kitchenettes And Satel...\n485 7th Avenue, New York, NY - 10018\nThe All-Season Rooftop Bar, Free Wi-Fi And Stellar Walk-Friendly Manhattan Location Near Madison Square Garden Set The Scene At The Non-Smoking Moxy Nyc Times Square. The 17-Story Moxy Furnishes 612 R...\n815 Ave of the Americas, New York, NY - 10001\nFree Breakfast And Grocery Services, A Terrace And Superb Subway Access Soar On The List Of Amenities At The Hyatt House New York\/Chelsea. All 150 Rooms At The 32-Story Hyatt House Offer Signature Bed...\n851 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY - 10001\nFloor-To-Ceiling Windows With Excellent Skyline Views, Plus A Location In Manhattan'S Historic Chelsea Neighborhood Are Reasons Guests Head To The Kimpton Hotel Eventi. This Boutique Hotel Has 292 Roo...\nMap of Aperture Foundation Gallery Hotels\nView all Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York hotels, motels, lodging and attractions on Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York location map.\nWeather Forecast for Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York\nIf you planning to travel to Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York, here is your 6-day travel weather forecast to make sure you have all the essentials needed during your stay. Start your day when the sunrises at 12:15 PM. The temperature feels like 17.1 with a humidity level of 65 so dress accordingly. Cloud coverage is 1 percent with visibility at 15 percent. Today's UV index is 4, don't forget the sunscreen if you need it! Today's winds are traveling west-southwest at a speed of 3 MPH. At the end of the day don't miss the sunset at 12:15 PM.\nClosest airports to Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York\nFind which airports to fly into and book Aperture Foundation Gallery airport hotels.\nFun things to do near Aperture Foundation Gallery Area\nTop tourist attractions and popular landmarks near Aperture Foundation Gallery.\nExplore unique neighborhoods around Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York\nVenture off the beaten path around Aperture Foundation Gallery to explore hipster, arts, dining and shopping districts.\nAperture Foundation Gallery Surrounding cities\nBest suburbs, counties and towns near Aperture Foundation Gallery, New York, New York.\nContinents > North America > United States of America > New York > New York (and vicinity) > New York > Chelsea > Aperture Foundation Gallery >","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"BOBBY BLAND 3 Titles\nBLAND, BOBBY\n36-22-36\/St James Infirmary\nJUKEBOX JAM SERIES\nJBJ 1077EP\n$11.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL\nPure rhythm and soul perfection from Bobby Bland, an uplifting, call-and-response number guaranteed to pack the floor. On the flip side, a solemn and soulful workout of the blues standard.\nHere's the Man!!!\nLP+CD\nDOK 329LP\n\"Here's The Man!!! was originally released in 1962 on Duke Records - Houston's legendary R&B label run by the infamous Don Robey - and is the second LP from Bobby 'Blue' Bland. Featuring one of his most enduring and classic hits, 'Turn On Your Love Light,' along with 10 other smoking R&B numbers - Here's The Man!!! is a fine showcase of one of the most influential and important R&B\/soul singers of the 1960s.\" Includes a CD copy of the album.\nTwo Steps from the Blues\nDOY 662LP\n\"Originally released in 1961, blues singer Bobby 'Blue' Bland's legendary Two Steps From The Blues has been repeatedly called 'one of the best blues albums of all time', and Bland one of the genre's greatest singers (and top sex symbols in his day), no small feat in a genre so crowded with amazing talent. Throughout '60s and '70s Bland placed over 50 songs on the R&B charts, including 'I Pity The Fool', which shot to No. 1 and 'Turn On Your Love Light', a song that shaped the history of both R&B and rock & roll. Bland got his start singing in the early fifties as a member of a loosely knit group of musicians that included Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and B.B. King that formed around Memphis' famed Beale Street. Together these giants forged the new sound of Memphis blues, a sound that would carry both blues and R&B into the next millennium. Includes two bonus tracks 'Close To You' and 'How Does A Cheatin' Woman Feel'.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Dutch Call Russian Ambassador to Hague Meeting Over Flight MH17\nTensions rise after Russia rejects conclusion that its missile brought down the flight, killing 298 people\nAn armed pro-Russian separatist stands where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in the Donetsk region in July 2014. Tensions are building after Russia rejected a Dutch investigation that concluded the missile that downed the plane, killing 298 people, was Russian, that it was fired from an area of eastern Ukraine that was under Russian control, and that the vehicle used to fire it was returned to Russia afterward.\nMaarten van Tartwijk\n@MvTartwijk\nmaarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com\nSept. 30, 2016 9:11 am ET\nAMSTERDAM--Tensions between the Netherlands and Russia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 deepened Friday after Dutch authorities called for a meeting with Russia's ambassador.\nNetherlands Foreign Minister Bert Koenders summoned the Russian ambassador to The Hague after Moscow slammed a Dutch-led criminal investigation into the July 2014 crash that killed all 298 people on board.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"News (new)\nFind Audition Songs\nLessons From Musicals\nAuna Kemp\nAudition Songs\nChat (New)\nChat Forums\nin Broadway, Video\nNerdy LOL OMG Angry LOVE\n#ThrowbackThursday: 9 Videos Of Musical Theatre Stars When They Were Young\nby Brianna Hand March 22, 2018, 11:08 am 4.7k Views\nIt's hard to imagine your favorite musical theatre star anywhere but filling an entire theatre with their resounding voice, but even top-notch talent had to start somewhere. Before they were forcing audiences to their feet, these stars were finding their footing as kids and teenagers.\nHere are our favorite childhood performances from our favorite Broadway superstars:\n1. Wesley Taylor in 'Footloose'\nWesley Taylor may be currently causing trouble as Plankton in \"SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical,\" but once upon a time, he was playing the role of Wren in his high school production of \"Footloose.\" In this clip, he releases the footage of him singing \"I Can't Stand Still\" as a teen before completely rocking the song at 54 Below. Note how Taylor is able to laugh at his not-so-smooth transition between his lines and his song. Hey, we've all been there.\n2. Josh Groban, 'Fiddler on the Roof'\nThis production of \"Fiddler on the Roof\" looks like any other high school show \u2014 if, you know, if they all starred vocal angel Josh Groban as Tevye. YouTube has a handful of clips from this 1999 production if your heart isn't fully melted after watching him dance around the stage in \"If I Were a Rich Man.\"\n3. Laura Osnes, 'Peter Pan'\nWe all thought we had an insider's look at the beginnings of Laura Osnes' career as we watched her climb her way to the top in \"Grease: You're the One That I Want.\" But this clip rewinds a bit further to Osnes' performance as Peter in \"Peter Pan.\"\n4. Laura Benanti, 'The Sound of Music'\nAt age 19, Laura Benanti took over the role of Maria in the Broadway revival of \"The Sound of Music\" after Rebecca Luker left the show. Benanti became Luker's understudy after attending New York University for only two weeks.\n5. Anna Kendrick, 'High Society'\nAt age 12, Anna Kendrick was nominated for a Tony Award in 1998 for her performance as Dinah Lord in \"High Society\" \u2014 and you can see why. She commands attention onstage and is a total icon in her ballerina costume.\n6. Jeremy Jordan, 'The Count of Monte Cristo'\nIn this clip, Jeremy Jordan shows off his classic belt in \"Chateau D'If\" in Ithaca College's production of \"The Count of Monte Cristo.\" Also, though the clip below isn't technically from when Jordan was a kid, he does do a pretty hilarious reenactment of his college audition and his accompanying nerves.\n7. Ben Platt, 'Les Mis\u00e9rables' and 'Mame'\nTINY BEN PLATT! In this clip, Platt (billed as \"Benjamin Platt\") wins hearts as 10-year-old Patrick Dennis in the 2004 Hollywood Bowl production of \"Mame.\" Below, Platt becomes less tiny (but just as adorable) as he sings \"Bring Him Home\" in the Kidz Theater's 2012 spring productuction of \"Les Mis\u00e9rables.\"\n8. Lea Michele, 'Les Mis\u00e9rables'\nLea Michele seemed destined for stardom at a young age, starring as young Cosette at age 9 in \"Les Mis\u00e9rables.\" There is nothing miserable about her performance of \"Castle on a Cloud\" on \"I'm a Kid & Already a Star!\" As Michele told Nylon magazine, \"I was a weird kid. I was eight years old saying, 'I don't want a day off. I'd like to work every day, please.'\"\n9. Nick Jonas, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'\nIt's impossible not to \"aww\" out loud at 9-year-old Nick Jonas leading the cast of \"Beauty and the Beast\" in the song \"Someday\" from \"The Hunchback of Notre Dame\" at the annual Gypsy of the Year competition.\n10. Natalie Weiss, 'Les Mis\u00e9rables'\nIn this clip, 8-year-old Natalie Weiss is literally every theatre kid since the beginning of time as she sings \"On My Own\" to her sick mother as her dad accompanies her on piano. Weiss has a great sense of humor about this performance, urging viewers to \"notice the shoulder shaking, fake vibrato, committed acting and amazing pitchiness.\"\nCheck out Weiss tackle this song again in 2011 below:\nWhich star performance was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below\u2026\nJoin The Prop Room FREE\nAudition Songs, Monologues, Drama Games & More.\nPrevious article Best Musical Theatre Youtube Channels (Open list)\nNext article 15 Of Our Favorite Contemporary Romantic Duets\nWritten by Brianna Hand\nBri Hand is a writer, editor, and theater aficionado based out of Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to performing in musicals throughout high school, Bri spends her time doing deep research on them to fuel both her writing and conversations.\nPopular Nerdy LOL OMG Angry LOVE\nin Broadway, Notes\n11 Musicals Heading To The Big Screen\nTrending Nerdy LOL OMG Angry LOVE\nin Broadway, Education\n10 Reasons Why You Should Expose Your Child To Theatre\nNerdy LOL LOVE\nShow This to Your Parents: The \"Real World\" Benefits of a Theatre Degree\nin Broadway, Business, Education\nLet Me 'Edu-tain' You\nMore From: Broadway\nby Nicole Mellion December 25, 2019, 9:32 am\nby TheatreNerds November 17, 2019, 9:56 am\nby Mara Jill Herman November 10, 2019, 11:53 am\n25 Spooktacular Musicals To Listen To For All The Halloween Feels\nby Robert Peterpaul October 18, 2019, 9:58 am\n10 Broadway Actors Taking Hollywood by Storm\nby Paige Gittelson October 18, 2019, 9:17 am\nNerdy OMG LOVE\nWaiting In The Wings: The Life of An Understudy, Swing, Standby or Replacement\nby Mara Jill Herman September 23, 2019, 11:03 am\nRegular Girls vs Theatre Girls on a Road Trip\nby TheatreNerds August 27, 2019, 1:00 pm\nWhich Hamilton Characters Are Best?\nby Cadi August 27, 2019, 8:20 am\nThe Ultimate Girl-Power Broadway Musical Playlist\nby Kailey Hansen August 27, 2019, 8:12 am\n10 Songs Cut From Contemporary Broadway Musicals That We Can't Stop Listening To\nEvery Musical 2019-2020 season (Open list)\nby Luc Jones August 27, 2019, 8:05 am\nNerdy LOL OMG LOVE\nYAS QUEEN! 'Six' Is Coming To Broadway And Here's Everything You Need To Know\n5 Emmy Nominated TV Shows For The Theatre Nerd\nby Isabelle Zuniga August 13, 2019, 8:05 am\n27 Memorable Lyrics From 'Les Mis\u00e9rables'\nby Kailey Hansen May 4, 2019, 10:26 am\nTop 10 Musical Theatre Moments That Give Us Feels\nby Hannah Crider April 22, 2019, 10:47 am\nAnd The Winner ISN'T: The Biggest Tony Awards Upsets In History (PART ONE)\nby Jeremy Scott Blaustein April 15, 2019, 1:11 pm\nBest Musical Theatre Youtube Channels (Open list)\n15 Of Our Favorite Contemporary Romantic Duets\n11 Dream Vacations For The Theatre Nerd\nFollow Theatre Nerds\nRecent Chat Topics\nSpecial gift for my theatre nerd significant other\nAudition etiquette\nHow to obtain Bitcoin\u2122 (BTC) in three steps?\nProfessional HP Printers Support to Fix HP Printer Issues\nHow do I set up brother printer Wi-Fi?\n\u00a92019 TheatreNerds\u2122\nImage Removal","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Out of Touch\n(Weird World)\nWords by Max Pilley\nFor too many people, the concept of living off the tech grid now induces a maddening lattice of anxiety, loss and fear. Not so for Jaakko Eino Kalevi; the Finnish songwriter has used the words \"blissed out\", \"essential\" and \"ideal\" to describe the sensation, and that halcyon ambience infuses every moment of this, his fifth solo album.\nNearly all of 'Out of Touch' is wrapped up in its own fireside glow, imbuing its tracks with memories of comfort and warmth that invite the listener to return to its embrace at the soonest opportunity. Drumbeats are couched, basslines muffled, whilst Kalevi's writing reminds us that personal human warmth is still an important currency, no matter how far apart we have begun to feel, no matter how tightly the constancy of life squeezes our skulls. 'People in the Centre of the City' more than any other sears to the heart of the matter, a tale of regular folks lost in the hyper-speed maelstrom of life.\nMore casual is 'Conceptual Mediterranean (Part 1)', its lazy Balearic energy presumably inspired by Kalevi's recent time spent writing in Greece. 'Night Chef' is the most playful number, with its dancing keys, popping synths and everyday tales of chance encounters. Staying in touch is a grim necessity, but choosing to fall out of touch every now and then is paradise itself.\nOriginally published in Issue 128\nAda Lea has taken an indie album and smudged it with her finger\nThe hooks are neither sharp nor sweet enough to make an impact on IDER's debut\nYou're not doing it right if you're not doing the new Flaming Lips LP inside a giant LED light show head","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Psychiatric Liberation\/History of Psychiatric Institutionalization\n< Psychiatric Liberation\n2 Anti-Mental Health and Anti-Psychiatry Politics\n3 Thomas Szasz\n4 CCHR\n5 Ron Paul\n6 I.W.\nPsychiatric Hospitalization has been around for a long time. The first psychiatric hospitals and insane asylums were built in the medieval Islamic world as early as the 8th century. Muslim physicians built the first ones in Baghdad from 705, followed by Fes in the early 8th century, and Cairo in 800. Other famous psychiatric hospitals were built in Damascus and Aleppo in 1270. Bethlem Royal Hospital (Bedlam) was the first known psychiatric hospital in Europe, founded in London in 1247 and by 1403, had begun accepting social outcasts, the \"crazy people\", \"lunatics\" and those who just couldn't stay hidden in society anymore. It soon became infamous for its cruel treatment of the insane, and in the 18th century would have outsiders pay a penny to come and watch their patients as a form of torturous entertainment. In 1700 it is recorded that the \"lunatics\" were called \"patients\" for the first time, and within twenty years separate wards for the \"curable\" and \"incurable\" patients had been established. Mental illness was now no longer an affliction, but a disease, to be diagnosed and potentially cured.\nAnti-Mental Health and Anti-Psychiatry Politics[edit]\nPsychiatric liberation can have various definitions or connotations, with the respective points of view or opinionations. As a barrier to liberation social stigma, prejudice and discrimination can harm the person seeking the liberation from psychiatry. In large those who are fighting the mental health system and against psychiatry often wash their hands of assisting the victims of the mental health system. It is apparent that the person liberated is not granted sanctuary by the hands of the anti-psychiatry groups. In Washington, there were official successes of the mental health lobby, although a deep distrust of psychiatry continued to be elsewhere in the nation in the late 1950s. This distrust became clear in 1956 when forces emerged to oppose an apparently innocuous bill introduced in Congress to allow Alaska, which had not yet achieved statehood, to build a public psychiatric hospital. Because Alaska had no hospital of its own, Alaskan residents who needed psychiatric hospitalization had to be sent to Portland, Oregon, an obviously confusing experience for a psychiatrically impaired Alaskan native from a rural village. Right-wing groups across the United States organized a campaign to oppose the hospital legislation, claiming that the proposed psychiatric hospital would really be \"a concentration camps for political prisoners under the guise of care and treatment of mental cases.\" A housewife in California labeled the proposed hospital \"Siberia, U.S.A.\" and this name became a battle cry mental health advocates were said to be part of a broad Communist conspiracy to subvert American liberties and seize political power. Many racists groups tied the alleged communist plot to a broader Communist-Jewish conspiracy. For example, John Kaspar, a racist agitator, segregationist, and prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Ezra Pound (who corresponded with Kaspar regularly from his room at St. Elisabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.) argued that the proposed Alaskan psychiatric hospital was another attempt by Jews to brainwash Americans: \"Psychiatry is a foreign ideology; it is alien to any kind of American thinking\u2026its history began with Sigmund Freud who is a Jew\u2026almost 100 percent of all psychiatric therapy and 80 percent of the psychiatrists are Jewish\u2026one particular race is administering this particular thing.\" The bill to build a psychiatric hospital in Alaska ultimately passed Congress, but an anti-mental health lobby had been established. Across the country, local initiatives to open mental health clinics ran the risk of encountering fierce opposition. In Delaware, thirty-five young men in black leather jackets disrupted an organizing meeting of a local mental health organization shouting that mental health was a Communist plot. In Utah, anti-mental health lobbyists packed a meeting of the state legislature that was considering setting up mental health services. In Wisconsin, opponents \"caused the defeat of some twenty mental health measures that seemed certain of passage.\" The magazine, of the Daughters of the American Revolution published a two-part series on mental health describing it as 'a Marxist weapon\" and alleging not only that 80 percent of American psychiatrists were foreigners but that \"most of them\u2026were\u2026 educated in Russia.\" The executive director of the Dallas Association of Mental Health received threatening telephone calls, and an academic symposium on mental health in Lubbock was picketed. The heartland of the anti-mental health movement, however, was Southern California. There the movement was adopted by some members of the John Birch Society and was well financed. Literature was widely distributed with allegations such as: \"Mental health programs are part of a Communist plot to control the people's minds\" \"\"Mental hygiene is a subtle and diabolical plan of the enemy to transform a free and intelligent people in to a cringing horde of zombies\" \"Do we want to be become a regimented nation, brain-washed and brain-fed through a powerful army of psychiatrists\" In the suburbs of Los Angeles a large billboard was erected in July 1958 : \"It is amazing and appalling how many supposedly intelligent people have been duped by such Communist schemes as fluoridation and 'Mental Health' especially since both the American Legion and the D.A.R. have publicly branded 'Mental Health' as a communist plot to take over our country\" When the Los Angeles City Council was asked to vote on a proposal to allow an unoccupied health center to be used as health clinic, the measure was defeated by 11 to o. One of the senators from California at the time was Richard M. Nixon, who had been elected in 1950 and would play an important role in opposing the mental health movement when he became president. It would become clear in later years that both Nixon and members of his staff (many of whom who also came from the Southern California area) were overtly antagonistic to psychiatry as well concept of mental health. Although the right-wing lobby was ridiculed as a lunatic fringe by the mental health establishment, some of its members were asking such cogent questions as 'What is mental health\" \"By whose standards can we deduce that one person is normal and another is not?\" They sensed intuitively what Kingsley Davis had described twenty years earlier, that \"the mental hygienist is really enforcing in a secular way and under the guise of science the standards of the entire society health professionals claimed that they had revealed truth regarding such things as child-rearing practices and interpersonal relations, and the anti-mental health forces were asking where the revealed truth had come from. Unfortunately, these questions were usually so mixed in with anti-Communist and anti-Semitic slogans as well as with other issues such as the fluoridation of water and conspiracy theories, that the otherwise legitimate questions about the nature of mental health are never heard.\nThe above article, while appearing to contain some truth, lacks references and bears the hallmarks of Scientology teaching as promoted by David Miscavige on the Nightline show [1]. CCHR (mentioned below) is a Scientology-based organization. Actual data on the events that took place in Alaska is provided here [2]\nThomas Szasz[edit]\nCCHR[edit]\nRon Paul[edit]\nI.W.[edit]\nRetrieved from \"https:\/\/en.wikiversity.org\/w\/index.php?title=Psychiatric_Liberation\/History_of_Psychiatric_Institutionalization&oldid=558319\"\nPsychiatric liberation\nWikimedia projects","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Art News Artists see red over cadmium ban\nArtists see red over cadmium ban\nDarko Topalski\nAlternative pigments \"lack the vibrancy of cadmium colours\", says Michael Craine, the managing director of Spectrum Artists' Paints\nA Europe-wide ban of cadmium pigments in acrylic, oil and watercolour paints is under consideration that, if successful, could be enforced within two years.\nThe EU is weighing a restriction on the chemical following pressure from Sweden, which argues that artists pollute the food chain when they rinse their brushes in the sink. Cadmium ends up in sewage sludge and is then spread on agricultural land, according to a report submitted by Sweden to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) last year.\nBut artists and paint manufacturers say they are being used as scapegoats. \"[Nickel cadmium] batteries are the real problem, it's just an easy fix to ban everything with cadmium in it,\" says Michael Craine, the managing director of Spectrum Artists' Paints. \"Artists are not rotters; they are not tipping this stuff down the drain, it's an expensive substance.\" Cadmium in its pure form is highly toxic, but the cadmium compounds used by artists' to create vivid yellows, oranges and reds are not hazardous according to Reach, an EU body that advises on the use of chemicals.\nArtists were encouraged to take part in a consultation on the Swedish report that ended on 19 September. A decision from the ECHA is expected in December. If the ban is successful, Craine says it will radically change artists' palettes. \"The alternatives are not replacement pigments,\" he says. \"They lack the vibrancy of cadmium colours, are muddy-looking and disappointing.\"\nPrevious articleGraduate education at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA): call for applications\u200f\nNext articleMEETING MASTERPIECES BELLINI, CARAVAGGIO, TIEPOLO AND THE TUSCAN AND VENETIAN MASTERS FROM THE BANCA POPOLARE DI VICENZA COLLECTION\nhttp:\/\/www.topalski.com\/\nDarko Topalski ... is an award-winning fine artist, painter. His work is widely collected both nationally and internationally...\nNew York City Grants $40.3 M. to Arts Organizations in Largest-Ever Allotment for Cultural Development Fund\nSecond Solo Exhibition by Cornelius Quabeck at Stephen Friedman Gallery\nJulien's Auctions to Hold Historic First Pop Culture Auction in Asia","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Newest Oldest Title (A-Z) Title (Z-A) Most Comments Most Views Most Followers Top Site Rated Top User Rated Awards\nWright's much-anticipated second feature follows two brooding strangers \u2013 ragged loner Henry (Harris) and criminal Mark (Edgerton) \u2013 introduced by\u2026\nLaura Blundell 8 October, 2022\nNicolas Cage stars as NICOLAS CAGE in the action-comedy THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial\u2026\nLaura Blundell 18 April, 2022\nOver one day across the streets of L.A., three lives will change forever. In this breakneck thriller from director-producer Michael\u2026\nPhil Jeng Kane 7 April, 2022\nFrom Warner Bros. Pictures comes Matt Reeves' \"The Batman,\" starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City's vigilante\u2026\nTravis Johnson 1 March, 2022\nFrom acclaimed writer\/director Janicza Bravo, Zola's stranger than fiction saga, which she first told in a now iconic series of\u2026\nLaura Blundell 10 November, 2021\nIn No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace\u2026\nPhil Jeng Kane 9 November, 2021\nNew Line Cinema's \"The Many Saints of Newark\" is the much-anticipated feature film prequel to the groundbreaking, award-winning HBO drama\u2026\nDarran 1 November, 2021\nNITRAM depicts the events leading up to one of the darkest chapters in Australian history in an attempt to understand\u2026\nBridget Moore 29 September, 2021\nWelcome to hell\u2014a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst\u2026\nJulian Wright 4 August, 2021\nThe Toll\nA darkly-comic thriller in the vein of THE GUARD and FARGO, THE TOLL follows Brendan (Michael Smiley, COME TO DADDY),\u2026\nBridget Moore 28 July, 2021\nDominic Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know\u2026\nLeith 20 June, 2021\nIn 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for\u2026\nSian 27 May, 2021\nTwist is a Dickens' classic brought thrillingly up to date in the teeming heartland of modern London, where a group of\u2026\nPhil Jeng Kane 4 May, 2021\nSometimes the man you don't notice is the most dangerous of all. Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The\u2026\nBridget Moore 31 March, 2021\nThree stories about the world of opioids collide: a drug trafficker arranges a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and\u2026\nKern County Deputy Sheriff Joe \"Deke\" Deacon (Washington) is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick\u2026\nSian 17 February, 2021\nSet against the stunning landscapes of 1930s Arnhem Land, HIGH GROUND chronicles young Aboriginal man Gutjuk, who in a bid\u2026\nLaura Blundell 25 January, 2021\nThe Xrossing\nWhen a murder remains unsolved, three boys suspect and harass a reclusive Indigenous man. But who is responsible? The wrong\u2026\nPhil Jeng Kane 6 January, 2021\nTwo con artists have spent 26 years training their only daughter to swindle, scam and steal at every turn. During\u2026\nPhil Jeng Kane 29 October, 2020\nA bank robber tries to turn himself in because he's falling in love and wants to live an honest life...but\u2026\nSian 23 October, 2020","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway\nDeborah W. Robin, Samer S. Hasan, Michael J. Lichtenstein, Richard G. Shiavi, Alastair J.J. Wood\nMeasurement of clinically relevant benzodiazepine drug effects at hypnotic and anxiolytic doses has been difficult because most measures are subjective, difficult to interpret, or relate to anesthetic doss. A potentially useful measure of drug effect is postural sway, which is a manifestation of the corrective mechanisms associated with the maintenance of upright posture. Postural sway was measured over 8 hours, with a biomechanics force platform, in six healthy male volunteers who received triazolam, 0.125, 0.250, or 0.375 mg, or placebo in a randomized double-blind study. Our results show a dose-dependent increase in pos tural sway measured as the elliptical area or the 95% confidence ellipse for the area covered by the subjects' sway. After triazolam, 0.250 and 0.375 mg, the area under the sway-time curve and peak effect increased significantly compared with placebo (p < 0.05). The number of losses of balance when subjects stood on one foot also showed a significant increase with increased dose (p < 0.05). The rate of loss of balance was positively correlated with the extent of postural sway (r = 0.802; p < 0.001). The extent of sway when the subjects were drug free predicted this increase in a subject's postural sway with triazolam. Thus at hypnotic or anxiolytic doses of triazolam, computer-assisted force platform measures of sway provide a clinically relevant measure of drug effect. Measurement of drug-induced postural sway may be useful in persons at risk for falls, such as the elderly.\nClinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\n10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nDive into the research topics of 'Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.\nTriazolam Medicine and Dentistry 100%\nPlacebo Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 80%\nMeasures Mathematics 80%\nDrug Effect Medicine and Dentistry 60%\nMeasurement Medicine and Dentistry 40%\nDrug Medicine and Dentistry 40%\nChemotherapeutic Agent Medicine and Dentistry 40%\nAnesthetic Medicine and Dentistry 40%\nRobin, D. W., Hasan, S. S., Lichtenstein, M. J., Shiavi, R. G., & Wood, A. J. J. (1991). Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 49(5), 581-588. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nDose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway. \/ Robin, Deborah W.; Hasan, Samer S.; Lichtenstein, Michael J. et al.\nIn: Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vol. 49, No. 5, 05.1991, p. 581-588.\nRobin, DW, Hasan, SS, Lichtenstein, MJ, Shiavi, RG & Wood, AJJ 1991, 'Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway', Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 581-588. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nRobin DW, Hasan SS, Lichtenstein MJ, Shiavi RG, Wood AJJ. Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1991 May;49(5):581-588. doi: 10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nRobin, Deborah W. ; Hasan, Samer S. ; Lichtenstein, Michael J. et al. \/ Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway. In: Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1991 ; Vol. 49, No. 5. pp. 581-588.\n@article{17a4ec1f1745478589bb1d6842ec5ebe,\ntitle = \"Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway\",\nabstract = \"Measurement of clinically relevant benzodiazepine drug effects at hypnotic and anxiolytic doses has been difficult because most measures are subjective, difficult to interpret, or relate to anesthetic doss. A potentially useful measure of drug effect is postural sway, which is a manifestation of the corrective mechanisms associated with the maintenance of upright posture. Postural sway was measured over 8 hours, with a biomechanics force platform, in six healthy male volunteers who received triazolam, 0.125, 0.250, or 0.375 mg, or placebo in a randomized double-blind study. Our results show a dose-dependent increase in pos tural sway measured as the elliptical area or the 95% confidence ellipse for the area covered by the subjects' sway. After triazolam, 0.250 and 0.375 mg, the area under the sway-time curve and peak effect increased significantly compared with placebo (p < 0.05). The number of losses of balance when subjects stood on one foot also showed a significant increase with increased dose (p < 0.05). The rate of loss of balance was positively correlated with the extent of postural sway (r = 0.802; p < 0.001). The extent of sway when the subjects were drug free predicted this increase in a subject's postural sway with triazolam. Thus at hypnotic or anxiolytic doses of triazolam, computer-assisted force platform measures of sway provide a clinically relevant measure of drug effect. Measurement of drug-induced postural sway may be useful in persons at risk for falls, such as the elderly.\",\nauthor = \"Robin, {Deborah W.} and Hasan, {Samer S.} and Lichtenstein, {Michael J.} and Shiavi, {Richard G.} and Wood, {Alastair J.J.}\",\ndoi = \"10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\",\njournal = \"Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics\",\nT1 - Dose-related effect of triazolam on postural sway\nAU - Robin, Deborah W.\nAU - Hasan, Samer S.\nAU - Lichtenstein, Michael J.\nAU - Shiavi, Richard G.\nAU - Wood, Alastair J.J.\nN2 - Measurement of clinically relevant benzodiazepine drug effects at hypnotic and anxiolytic doses has been difficult because most measures are subjective, difficult to interpret, or relate to anesthetic doss. A potentially useful measure of drug effect is postural sway, which is a manifestation of the corrective mechanisms associated with the maintenance of upright posture. Postural sway was measured over 8 hours, with a biomechanics force platform, in six healthy male volunteers who received triazolam, 0.125, 0.250, or 0.375 mg, or placebo in a randomized double-blind study. Our results show a dose-dependent increase in pos tural sway measured as the elliptical area or the 95% confidence ellipse for the area covered by the subjects' sway. After triazolam, 0.250 and 0.375 mg, the area under the sway-time curve and peak effect increased significantly compared with placebo (p < 0.05). The number of losses of balance when subjects stood on one foot also showed a significant increase with increased dose (p < 0.05). The rate of loss of balance was positively correlated with the extent of postural sway (r = 0.802; p < 0.001). The extent of sway when the subjects were drug free predicted this increase in a subject's postural sway with triazolam. Thus at hypnotic or anxiolytic doses of triazolam, computer-assisted force platform measures of sway provide a clinically relevant measure of drug effect. Measurement of drug-induced postural sway may be useful in persons at risk for falls, such as the elderly.\nAB - Measurement of clinically relevant benzodiazepine drug effects at hypnotic and anxiolytic doses has been difficult because most measures are subjective, difficult to interpret, or relate to anesthetic doss. A potentially useful measure of drug effect is postural sway, which is a manifestation of the corrective mechanisms associated with the maintenance of upright posture. Postural sway was measured over 8 hours, with a biomechanics force platform, in six healthy male volunteers who received triazolam, 0.125, 0.250, or 0.375 mg, or placebo in a randomized double-blind study. Our results show a dose-dependent increase in pos tural sway measured as the elliptical area or the 95% confidence ellipse for the area covered by the subjects' sway. After triazolam, 0.250 and 0.375 mg, the area under the sway-time curve and peak effect increased significantly compared with placebo (p < 0.05). The number of losses of balance when subjects stood on one foot also showed a significant increase with increased dose (p < 0.05). The rate of loss of balance was positively correlated with the extent of postural sway (r = 0.802; p < 0.001). The extent of sway when the subjects were drug free predicted this increase in a subject's postural sway with triazolam. Thus at hypnotic or anxiolytic doses of triazolam, computer-assisted force platform measures of sway provide a clinically relevant measure of drug effect. Measurement of drug-induced postural sway may be useful in persons at risk for falls, such as the elderly.\nU2 - 10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nDO - 10.1038\/clpt.1991.68\nJO - Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics\nJF - Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Category Archives: Fyi\nDWR (8): A Dialectical Journey from Religion to Politics and Elsewhere\nAs readers know, I have had an ongoing dialogue with my very dear friend, Ryan Neugebauer, whom I have known for nearly five years. In those five years, we have developed a remarkable friendship, uplifted by spirited intellectual engagement, mutual inspiration, support, and love through good times and bad.\nI'll have more to say about some of his future activities in the coming weeks, but today, I'm just pausing to say how proud I am of his newly published wonderful essay\u2014his first ever posted on Medium\u2014entitled \"A Dialectical Journey: From Religion to Politics and Elsewhere\". I'm not promoting the article simply because he describes himself as a dialectical left-libertarian, who places a high value on \"the art of context-keeping\", with an explicit nod to my \"conception of what dialectics is.\"\nWhat impresses me most is Ryan's intellectual honesty and vulnerability, his willingness to explore his intensely personal evolution that has shaped his attitudes toward religion and ritual, politics and culture, sexuality and social change. As he writes:\nIt would be easy for some people to wonder why they should trust my thinking after having admitted that I have changed and evolved so much. I'd first respond by saying that I'd be skeptical of the thinking of anyone who hasn't changed or evolved. No human has a synoptic or total view of everything, so we are all going to get plenty wrong and must engage in a life-long learning process. I also think that most people just go about their lives unreflectively and take whatever they think as \"the truth\", which takes little effort. So when they see someone who has changed a lot and expelled a lot of effort, they look down on it and pity the person. Well, much like Socrates, I think the unexamined life is not worth living.\nAs I briefly mentioned earlier, moving forward I hope to get better in touch with my principles and provide even greater evidence-based arguments in defense of them. I also hope to keep an open mind to conflicting information, which is why I watch content and engage with others that I don't agree with. It's unhealthy to stay in an echo chamber where you only hear arguments and commentary in favor of your positions. That's a sure way to grow callous toward those opposed to your views and to remain quite ignorant. That goes for strict Fox News watchers and MSNBC watchers alike, just as two examples.\nA good framework for moving forward would be to get in touch with your own perspectives and arguments. Know why you hold them and what their strengths and weaknesses are. There are no risk-free or negative-free options, as pretty much everything comes with a tradeoff of some kind or another. Know what tradeoffs you're willing to put up with and why (as one example, do you think that high economic inequality is worth putting up with in the pursuit of some rigid free-market perspective? Why?). Be open to hearing arguments opposed to your position and seek to buttress your position by taking into account criticism\/feedback. Be charitable to those who respectfully disagree with you and seek their best, most steel-manned argument to deal with rather than some weak strawman argument. Doing all of that is what I strive to do, even if I still fall short. I think it's the best way forward if we are to progress in any meaningful sense, personally and as a global community. So, let's get to it then!\nI can't think of a more refreshing approach to ideas\u2014and to life itself. Here's to many more articles and much future engagement!\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, Dialectics, FYI, Periodicals, Politics (Theory, History, Now), Religion, Sexuality\nJARS: Toward a 2023 Grand Finale\nIn the fall of 1999, The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies began publication as the only nonpartisan, interdisciplinary, double-blind, peer-reviewed, biannual periodical devoted to the study of Ayn Rand and her times. In 2013, JARS began a fruitful collaboration with Pennsylvania State University Press. Our reach has grown beyond anyone's wildest expectations. We are indexed, in whole or in part, by nearly two dozen abstracting services across the humanities and the social sciences and are reaching thousands of global readers due to our availability on a variety of e-platforms\u2014from JSTOR and Project MUSE to the new Scholarly Publishing Collective. And all its issues will always be on the Portico dark archive.\nOver these last 22 years, JARS has contributed to the expansion of Rand scholarship in a truly significant way. With the forthcoming December 2022 issue, we will have published 408 articles by 188 different authors. Thus, we have not merely reflected a growing interest in Rand's ideas; we have helped to spark a broader critical engagement with a thinker who was once viewed as outside the philosophical and literary mainstream. To this extent, we have accomplished one of our most important goals. Indeed, unlike the first year in which JARS appeared, articles about Rand are now being published regularly across the world in a wide variety of scholarly journals. And each year, more and more books are being published about her ideas and influence, and not even we can keep up with the demand for reviews of this expanding literature.\nThere comes a point at which one can look back at the achievements of a project and declare that it is time to move on. After more than two decades of what could only be termed 'a labor of love' by a group of editors, advisory board members, peer readers, and writers, this journal will be publishing its last volume as a double issue in 2023. We look forward to providing our readers with a truly grand finale. Our back issues will continue to be made available electronically and in print for as long as there are people seeking their contents.\nThis decision was made by the JARS Foundation Board of Trustees. This was not a publisher decision to liquidate JARS\u2014which has been one of the most popular periodicals in the Penn State University Press Journals Program.\nWe know that there is still much work to be done in this field of study, but we are proud to have made a trailblazing contribution to its long-term vitality and success. Above all, we thank our readers for having made this journey possible.\nToward that end, I should note that we have a full slate of articles for our final July-December 2023 issue and will not be accepting any additional submissions beyond those already in production.\nAs a personal aside, I have been asked by friends and colleagues about my own future in a post-JARS era. All I can say is this: It is no coincidence that the last book I published as an author was in the year 2000. It was the conclusion of my \"Dialectics and Liberty Trilogy\": Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism. Since then, I have worked very hard as a founding coeditor of JARS, publishing the equivalent of two anthologies per year for what will be nearly a quarter century. Aside from several reviews and historical-archival essays that I contributed to JARS, my only \"side\" project was as a coeditor of The Dialectics of Liberty: Exploring the Context of Human Freedom (2019). I fully intend to invest much more time and effort in expanding on this dialectical research project and its implications for human freedom and personal flourishing. But before I return to that project, I will be moving toward the completion of JARS. I'm proud of what this journal has accomplished and look forward to its graceful conclusion.\n*This has been announced publicly on Facebook and a link to it can also be found on the JARS home page. It was also announced by Stephen Boydstun on Objectivism Online.\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, Dialectics, FYI, Rand Studies\nNotablog: 20 Years, 3500 Posts\nOn July 26, 2002, I posted my first Notablog entry. It was to announce the New York Daily News publication on that date of my essay, \"From The Fountainhead: Howard Roark\", part of the newspaper's series, \"Big Town Classic Characters: New Yorkers of the American Imagination.\"\nToday marks the twentieth anniversary of that first post. And this just so happens to be my 3,500th blog post in two decades. And if you believe this is a total coincidence, I got a nice bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you!\nI started posting on Notablog when it was on the NYU server (archives of all those posts, July 26, 2002 to August 1, 2020 can be found here). On August 1, 2020, I migrated to my own Notablog.net.\nSpeaking of dates, it was back on May 14, 2022 that my long-time friend Roger Bissell said, tongue-in-cheek, \"Chris himself has a long-running internet presence he styles in delightfully quasi-Hegelian fashion as 'Notablog'.\" Though I clearly have my quasi-Hegelian tendencies, I have indeed long been asked why I call what is obviously a blog, \"Notablog\". As I explained on February 15, 2005:\nSome readers have wondered why I continue to call this site \"Not a Blog,\" even though it seems to become more blog-like with each passing week. Well, it's going to stay \"Not a Blog\"\u2014though from now on it will appear with closed spaces between the words: \"Notablog.\" That phrase can just as easily be viewed as an acronym for \"None Of The Above Blog\" (as suggested here) or \"Nota Blog\" (as suggested here), recalling the Latin phrase \"Nota Bene,\" featuring entries on topics of which one might take particular notice.\nIn any event, I'm happy that I've not let up in twenty years. I hope to continue blogging for a long time to come, and to continue sharing some of the blog's contents on Facebook as well!\nPostscript: Discussion of this post can be found on Facebook. Also: Much thanks to Tom Knapp for his kind congrats!\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, Dialectics, FYI\nWikipedia Adds New Profile Pic!\nYay! I'm very happy to report that The Mystery Photographer who took this pic of me with the Parachute Jump in Coney Island, Brooklyn as backdrop finally got clearance (since said photographer apparently held the copyright) to post this updated photo of me on my Wikipedia Profile Page, over which I have no control. I didn't even write it!\nAnyway\u2026 thanks Mystery Photographer! Much appreciated!\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, Frivolity, FYI, Politics (Theory, History, Now)\n#GoFundSki\nOn behalf of my sister, I am sharing this publicly\u2014and sending our appreciation to those who have continued to show their love and support. This is a GoFundMe for my sister. #GoFundSki to donate!\nThis is the kind of appeal that the family of Elizabeth Sciabarra (Ms. Ski to her students) never wanted to post. But we are facing some very difficult realities. My sister became seriously ill and nearly died in November 2020, which was followed by extensive spinal surgery in mid-March 2021. We nearly lost her again in mid-October 2021. Since that time, she has been receiving in-home hospice. As her devoted brother, I have been her primary caregiver\u2014despite dealing with my own lifelong medical issues. As my own health has been compromised over these many months, we have been compelled to turn to health aides to assist with my sister's in-home care.\nMy sister brings in a pension from her many years of service as an educator in the New York City public school system. She also brings in a Social Security retirement check. Given the state of American healthcare, she is in the unenviable position of being in that great \"middle\" ground where so many others find themselves\u2014not \"wealthy\" enough to cover all her medical expenses; too \"wealthy\" to qualify for Medicaid. As a woman who has worked for over fifty years, and paid millions of dollars in taxes to local, state, and federal governments, she qualifies for a single Medicare home health aide, 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, though she needs 24\/7 care.\nHaving maxed-out some assistance from the Council of Supervisors and Administrators for both the 2021 and 2022 calendar years, she is spending, on average, approximately $15,000 a month on aides and other non-insured medical supplies\u2014more than she earns with her pension and Social Security combined. She has sold her car, exhausted her savings, and cashed-in retirement accounts\u2014paying taxes on that too. Complete financial collapse can be avoided if my sister is placed in a Medicare-insured inpatient hospice, which would constitute a dramatic change to her quality of life. She wanted to remain at home, but without the financial capacity to do so, she will be compelled to make a decision that will break all our hearts. And hers most of all. Out of personal embarrassment and a sense of pride, she never wanted to make an appeal such as this. But after being in-and-out of hospitals and medical facilities for 17 months, even she realizes that this situation is financially unsustainable, threatening her ability to pay for even the basic necessities of life \u2026 food, clothing, and shelter.\nWe appreciate anything anyone can offer; we have no hope of paying anyone back. We only hope that a woman who, as an educator, devoted her life to helping thousands upon thousands of children and young adults, can raise enough funds that would allow her a level of dignity moving forward\u2014despite the serious health challenges she continues to face every hour of every day.\nChris Matthew Sciabarra (on behalf of my sister)\nMy dear sister, Elizabeth Sciabarra\nAlso see Facebook post here.\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, Education, FYI, Pedagogy, Politics (Theory, History, Now)\nDa Bomb Hits Brooklyn \u2026\nA \"Bomb Cyclone\" is hitting the Northeast. We're expecting continued high winds (50-60 mph gusts) and about a foot of snow here in Brooklyn, New York. A big snowfall typically covers the cars\u2014but the winds are simultaneously wiping them clean! Should be a lot worse for my neighbors in New England and out on Eastern Long Island.\nWell, this one doesn't come near the blizzards of 2006, 2016, and 1947, all in excess of 26 inches. Since they plow to the right, if you were parked on that side, you were lucky if you could move your car again by April!\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, FYI\nScholarly Publishing Collective Launches \u2013 JARS Free Till March 31st!\nA Major Announcement Today:\nThe Scholarly Publishing Collective (the Collective) is pleased to announce that its online content platform is now live, with content from over 130 journals published by Michigan State University Press, Penn State University Press, SBL Press, and the University of Illinois Press.\nThrough the Collective, managed by Duke University Press, publishers have access to resources that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive, such as a best-in-class web platform, proven customer relations and library relations teams, and a network of global sales agents with insight into university press content. Journals are hosted on the Silverchair hosting platform, which is home to Duke University Press's publications as well as publications from the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Wolters Kluwer, and many other distinguished publishers.\nThrough the Collective's partnership with Silverchair, publishers benefit from fully responsive journal websites that adapt to any display size and have a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate interface. Features of the platform include support for advance-publication articles; the ability for non-subscribers to purchase access to full issues and articles; the ability to search and filter results across journal, publisher, or Collective content; robust usage statistics; and support for supplemental data files, including media.\n\"Being part of the Scholarly Collective will take Penn State University Press's commitment to journals publishing to a new level. We're excited about this exciting growth opportunity for our society partners, our library friends, our contributors, and the editors of our journals,\" said Patrick Alexander, Director of Penn State University Press.\nThe Collective platform currently hosts the journals content of four publishers migrating from the JSTOR Journal Hosting Program, which is ending after 2021. All content is temporarily free to access until March 31, 2022.\n\"Duke University Press has developed infrastructure for our own publishing program that we can share with our fellow UP journal publishers and society publishers to support them at a time when sustaining their journals program is critical to sustaining their overall mission. Through the Collective, the partners expand their ability to disseminate, promote, and increase the impact of scholarship. More than fifteen years of investment and experience and skill-building have gone into being able to do this, and we want to leverage our experience for our Collective partners,\" said Allison Belan, Director for Strategic Innovation and Services at Duke University Press.\nWhat does this mean for The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies? Simple! Go here and check out our contents (going back to 2007; all contents going back to 1999 are still available on JSTOR)\u2014free till March 31, 2022. (And speaking for myself and my coauthor, Pavel Solovyev, check out \"The Rand Transcript Revealed\" in all its full-color glory on the site!)\nPosted in: Education, FYI, Periodicals, Politics (Theory, History, Now), Rand Studies\nA New FB Profile Pic\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Frivolity, FYI\nHonoring John Hospers\nThis Sunday, October 10, 2021, Jameson Books is publishing a wonderful collection in honor of philosopher John Hospers entitled Libertarianism: John Hospers, The Libertarian Party's 50th Anniversary, and Beyond, edited by C. Ronald Kimberling and Stan Oliver. As Tom Palmer writes in his Foreword to the book:\nJohn Hospers was a memorable man, with an influence far greater than his current renown. It's thus an honor to advance this collection, as well as to contribute to it. His ideas, his encouragement of his students, his friendship, and his scholarship are explored by the numerous articles and essays in this volume, which also provides primary documents for those interested in the growth of the libertarian political movement in the United States. It's a valuable resource for historians of ideas, for political junkies, and for anyone interested in the revival of libertarian thought in the United States\u2014a revival in which John Hospers played an important role. That preference for liberty, for escaping the cages of \"left\" and \"right\" that have so warped and degraded American political practice, is now a part of the American political scene.\nThe 400-page book includes more than 30 essays by a wide variety of writers, including yours truly. In my own essay, \"John Hospers: A Remembrance,\" I reflect on my discovery of John's work and my friendship with this gentle man with a remarkable intellect and wonderful sense of life. As I state in the essay:\nI had heard of John Hospers years earlier, when I was twelve years old. He was, after all, the first presidential candidate of the newly formed Libertarian Party. In 1972, he received, along with Tonie Nathan, his vice presidential running mate, one electoral vote, which was one less for Richard M. Nixon. Nathan became the first woman and the first Jewish candidate to receive an electoral vote in any US presidential election.\nBut it wasn't until years later, when I read \"Libertarianism\", that I came to appreciate the true significance of John Hospers, philosopher. This work revealed the remarkable breadth of the libertarian vision. Within it, I found a logically arranged, eminently readable introduction to all of the core issues with regard to economic and political liberty, both at home and abroad, the dangers of the interventionist state, and even a discussion of the debate between the advocates of minimal government and the anarcho-capitalists. Hospers's 1971 opus preceded Robert Nozick's seminal \"Anarchy, State, and Utopia\" by three years and introduced a young generation to a genuine \"philosophy for tomorrow.\" It was, in fact, one of the founding \"manifestos\" of an\nintellectual revolution in twentieth-century thought, deeply rooted in the ideals of classical liberalism adopted for a new age.\nAs the years passed, I made that new libertarian vision my guiding intellectual pursuit, and as I learned more, it seemed as if John Hospers was always a presence somewhere in that learning process. I discovered other works of his, and then, eventually, I had the courage to send him a copy of the working manuscript for my book, Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, seeking his feedback. With grace, he accepted the task of a critical reading of the manuscript and provided me with meticulous, insightful, and thought-provoking comments; whenever critical, they were constructively so, whether they were conveyed on the phone or in correspondence. There is no doubt that his input immeasurably improved the final product, for which I remain eternally grateful. In the end, his support of my work on Rand led him to provide a generous blurb that appeared in the first printing of its first edition.\nI finally met John at a Liberty conference in 1996, where I appeared on a panel with him and Barbara Branden to discuss the contributions of Ayn Rand. Three years later, he became one of the original founding advisory board members to The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies. When he passed away on June 12, 2011, the world lost a marvelous thinker; I lost a dear friend. This book includes essays coming from a variety of perspectives\u2014including some with which I disagree. But it remains an inspiring memorial to John's humanity and legacy.\nCelebrating John Hospers\nPostscript \u2013 On Facebook, some folks, who disagreed with John Hospers on many issues, found it odd that anyone would contribute to a book that would deify him. I replied:\nLet me make one thing clear: I contributed to this anthology not as a means of deifying the man, but as a means of recognizing his larger legacy, which has been underappreciated. I approach all learning the same way: I have drawn lessons from thinkers all over the intellectual map\u2014from Aristotle to Hegel, from Ayn Rand to Karl Marx. I do not believe in the deification of any of these figures, but I give credit where credit is due, criticize that with which I disagree, and move on.\nThe Marxist scholar Bertell Ollman, my doctoral dissertation advisor and mentor, remains one of the most important influences on my intellectual development; I would contribute to any anthology recognizing his contributions in the same way I have done for John Hospers. Both men had an immense impact on my growth, in addition to being remarkably generous, kind souls.\nBy no means did I agree with John on issues like abortion or the Iraq war, but heck, I have had major disagreements with thinkers inside and outside of libertarianism my whole life on issues across the board. Still. I have learned from so many, and I think it is important to recognize this. We never stop learning\u2014well, at least we never should stop learning\u2014and it's a good thing to be able to acknowledge those who have taught us. And I'd like to think that I pass this legacy onto those who have learned from me.\nAnother exchange on Facebook raised the issue of whether John Hospers would have supported civil disobedience, given his focus on the \"rule of law\". I replied:\nThe problem you raise is one that all folks\u2014who believe in any radical shift away from the status quo\u2014must face. As Rand once said, it's the problem of how to live a 'rational' life in an 'irrational' society. It is the problem of trying to change a society given the conditions that exist. In Libertarianism, the book published 50 years ago (in 1971), Hospers suggests that armed revolution against unjust laws would most likely lead to enormous loss of life and property and would not change things fundamentally. He also argued that the refusal to obey unjust laws could have a monumental effect\u2014but only if \"very large numbers of dissenters\" joined in the civil disobedience, say \"fifty million people\" refusing to pay their taxes or to be subject to military conscription.\nHospers cites Albert Jay Nock, who wrote: \"Inaction is better than wrong action or premature right action and effective right action can only follow right thinking\" (quoted by Hospers on p. 462 of Libertarianism). So for Hospers, the surest way to affect a change in laws was by a cultural shift in ideas through an educational process.\nGiven some of the conversations I had with him, I suspect he would have still left it to individuals to engage in resistance to unjust laws; respecting the rule of law is not the same thing as respecting the rule of laws that by their very nature coerce and oppress.\nPosted in: Culture, Elections, FYI, Pedagogy, Politics (Theory, History, Now), Rand Studies, Remembrance\nTaking out the Trash on Social Media\nAt one point, only a couple of months ago, I was nearing 5000 Facebook \"friends\", whom I was adding throughout the years without giving much thought to it. But the increasing toxicity over the last few years has been palpable. It led me to \"trim\" my FB \"friend\" list by over 4000 people.* I've even invited some folks to unfriend me if they didn't like what I had to say, and lo and behold, my wish was granted! THANK GOODNESS! I have had it with the toxicity and the nastiness in social media. I've seen it up close and personal for all too many years. Life is too short.\nTaking out the trash \u2026\n* And for the record, I still have over 940 FB \"friends\". We don't all agree! But there is a difference between having a disagreement and being disagreeable. (Actually, it's now below 940\u2026 so clearly, the approach is working!)\nBut more importantly, it's not just about taking toxicity out of the airspace; at root, it's about self-care, indeed. Nobody should have to devote one moment of their time to something that is as corrosive as that kind of interaction. It erodes us and it diminishes us. All the more reason to take the intiative and do what's right for yourself.\nPosted in: Blog \/ Personal Business, Culture, FYI, Politics (Theory, History, Now)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Liverpool Preseason\nKlopp Talk: I Should Have Known Better\nIt's a Beatles reference. Deal with it.\nBy Zachary Marx@80couches Aug 26, 2020, 9:26am BST\nShare All sharing options for: Klopp Talk: I Should Have Known Better\nPhoto by John Powell\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images\nAlthough we are playing preseason matches in unusual times, the 2-2 draw against RB Salzburg was a pretty typical preseason friendly. There were some disappointing performances from tired, post-training starters. And there were some exciting performances from youth and fringe players. Perfectly normal.\nLiverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits that he should have seen this performance coming.\n\"It obviously didn't look really good for big parts of the game, I have to admit that. I should or could have known because I know obviously what we did in training,\" Kloppo said to the club's official website.\n\"I should have known as well because being on the way home, having a game \u2013 I don't think it ever worked for me in my whole career as a manager! I wanted to have problems today, not exactly the problems we had, but I wanted to have problems that we fight against.\"\nOf course, there were positives as well. In particular, young English striker Rhian Brewster sure knows where the goal is.\n\"Then when the kids came on, when Millie was on, we didn't think about the problems we had,\" Klopp continued. \"We just had to find a few solutions.\n\"We scored the two goals, super goals from Rhian. The second one was brilliant from him, the first one was brilliant set-up from Taki and Millie. We made it too easy for the two goals they scored, they were of course very easy and gave the game a direction \u2013 they were now confident and defended deep and stuff like this.\"\nLast year, the Reds lost to Dortmund and Sevilla, and then got trounced by Napoli 3-0. They also drew 2-2 to Sporting Lisbon. The season turned out pretty well, in case you don't recall.\nThe next test comes against Arsenal in the Community Shield, and then we're back in action on September 12th.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"August Is Like The Sunday Of Summer\nIgniting the business by a bootcamp\nHow Pink Floyd constructed their music\nToday I found an interesting article How Pink Floyd's \"Comfortably Numb\" Was Born From an Argument Between Roger Waters & David Gilmour at the Open Culture website, describing how members of the Pink Floyd band worked together, when literally 'constructing' one of their most famous songs. It is really an impressive reading, even more a listening to explanations and musical results, which are all included in the article.\nThese are memories of events from almost forty years ago! A lot has changed in the world of music since that time. A lot of music nowadays is being produced by teams, so that \"construction\" process is nothing unique anymore. I wrote about in my previous posts about the Fourth Industrial Revolution in music and also about the ubiquity of music. But I see and hear a clear difference between then and now. And the Pink Floyd's process documents this nicely.\nIt is not my intention here to disparage the creative process of current musicians and music producers. I have been just amazed by differences in the approach and especially in the outcomes of producing successful music recordings then and now.\nA lot of current 'popular' music that now streams from all possible sources including the radio, Spotify, YouTube and many others, is literally manufactured by specialized teams of producers, technicians, DJs \u2026 and sometimes even \u2014 musicians(!). As most of the popular music has become a commodity, it is treated like that from the very first moment of its birth. The current business model is to mass-produce recordings in the fastest speed, to be monetized as much as possible. Music industry clearly wants to make profit, not art.\nWhat a difference from the process Roger Waters and David Gilmour described! Each one had his own opinion and was willing to fight for it so much, that their differences made any further cooperation impossible. But their fights were also a fertile soil of the supreme artistic creativity, which resulted in such timeless music.\nIf the current music industry constructs something, metaphorically, those are the bricks to pave a road to profit. Everyone listens\/walks on them without giving them too much thought and with each step further, the previous ones get almost immediately forgotten. The most important is to be constantly in the people's eyes and possibly minds \u2014 and valets.\nOn the other hand what the band Pink Floyd built, was a piece of grand musical architecture, based on the solid foundation of musical artistry and creativity.\nTo some this may sound like an exaggeration. Especially to those who don't like the progressive rock music, or to the younger audience raised on hip hop, rap or other more drums\/rhythm-heavy genres. But if you belong to those groups, can you imagine yourself in forty years, listening with pleasure to the music you consume now? (Maybe you could, because it would be a part of your adulthood nostalgia, if there would still be a space for something like that in the future world.)\nIf you have time, or if you are curious to learn a bit more about the creative process and the Pink Floyd's way in particular, read the article and click on videos included in the text.\nFirst, Roger Waters explains the arguments about the Comfortably Numb song. The main point of contention was how the rhythm track sounded. The big disagreement ended up in a compromise, when a part of the song has one rhythm track and other part has the different one. And as Waters acknowledged, today they would have a hard time to find out which is which.\nThe next video brings the original demo recording of the song, that David Gilmour made, inspired by the sound of his own invention of the \"high strung guitar\". If you know the final version of the song, you may be amazed to listen to its proto-version. The beauty and the energy is already there, only in a very rough form. As there is no lyrics yet, Gilmour sings only doo-doo. Many songwriters work in a similar manner, when they use only simple syllables, or their own made-up \"language\".\nIn the following video, it is David Gilmour who explains the song's genesis. He talks about how he changed strings on his guitar, not being clear about what the actual high strung guitar was about. Then he grabs a guitar and plays a few notes from the song's famous solo, explaining how they arrived at the final sound of the instrument.\nAfterwards, while listening to \"the work in progress\" variation of the song called The Doctor, you can appreciate the work done after the recording sessions. This work has been performed mainly by the co-producer Bob Ezrin and the orchestra arranger Michael Kamen, but included many other participating musicians and technicians.\nThe final version comes at the end and you can enjoy, again, the real masterpiece. It shows how a collaboration of two (often) opposing minds can give life to such a great music. The article will walk you from a rough demo on a strange sounding guitar, to one of the greatest song of the rock music history.\nYou may be asking, why am I writing about such a highly produced song here on the blog dedicated to the mindful music making. It is because, in my opinion, these are two opposing points on the music-making spectrum. And it is always great to learn and understand the whole 'thing'. Pink Floyd took many months to prepare, write, record and produce their recordings. Their creative process is unique, as are the outcomes.\nBut this is the extreme! There is just one Pink Floyd. You can enjoy listening to their music. You can also learn from them, or to copy their way of playing (watch out for a potential copyright issues! \u2026)\nOn the other hand, you can also decide to do your own music 'thing'. You can accept inspiration from every possible source and then translate it into your own music. And you can learn to do it without comparing yourself with others. Do it non-judgementally. Enjoying the moment. Being present. And thus you will be making music mindfully.\nIf you are interested, below is a video of Comfortably Numb, when original members of Pink Floyd reunited after 24 years and played it one last time together, for the Live 8 concert on July 2nd, 2005 in London's Hyde Park.\nphoto: concert screenshot\nPalo Beka","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Portland 3, Idaho 0; Top 25 scores\nBy Cindy Luis on September 8, 2018 | Rainbow Wahine volleyball, Volleyshots\nPortland (8-0) vs. Idaho (5-3), 3 p.m. HST\nGametracker click here\nCindy Luis September 8, 2018 3:28 pm\nPilots win Set 1 25-18. Was tied 17-17. finished it on an 8-1 run.\nPilots win Set 2 25-19. Started off with a 6-1 lead.\nNo. 3 BYU (A) def. No. 25 Marquette, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14\nNo. 5 Penn State (N) def. No. 18 Oregon, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19\nNo. 8 Florida (N) def. Southern Illinois, 17-25, 25-12, 25-10, 25-16\nNo. 10 USC (N) def. Syracuse, 22-25, 25-27, 25-14, 25-14, 15-13\nNo. 11 Illinois (N) def. UC Irvine, 25-14, 25-13, 25-23\nNo. 13 Pitt (H) def. No. 12 Washington, 25-18, 25-13, 25-17\nNo. 12 Washington def. Kennesaw State, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-20\nUT Rio Grande Valley (A) def. No. 15 Baylor, 25-14, 26-24, 16-25, 20-25, 15-10\nNo. 15 Baylor (H) def. Rice, 25-19, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21\nNo. 16 Kentucky (A) def. Texas State, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21\nTennessee at No. 16 San Diego\nNo. 19 Purdue (H) vs. Louisville\nNo. 20 Michigan (H) def. Colorado State, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18\nNo. 21 Utah (N) def. Temple, 23-25, 27-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-8\nNo. 21 Utah (N) def. High Point, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23\nNo. 23 Washington State (H) def. Stony Brook, 25-18, 25-13, 25-16\nNo. 24 Colorado (H) def. North Carolina, 25-14, 25-18, 25-20\nOther Big West\nFordham (N) def. CSU Fullerton, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22\nCSUN (A) def. Northern Arizona, 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 26-14\nSacramento State (H) def. UC Riverside, 17-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-20\nNevada (N) def. UC Riverside, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9\nUC Santa Barbara (H) def. Sacred Heart, 25-13, 25-13, 23-25, 25-18\nUC Davis at Santa Clara\nSeton Hall at UC Santa Barbara\nPortland (9-0) wins tournament title, 25-18, 25-19, 25-15\ndarkfire35 September 8, 2018 7:48 pm\nGood job Portland, deservedly so. Their quick attack was very successful against Wahine. Our high bump sets telegraphed our moves too much. It also seems like Akiu was encroaching a little more than what would be her immediate area of responsibility by getting in the way of the front line. JMHO. Would love to see the Wahine incorporate more of a quick set based our lack of size in the front. I still have a lot of faith that everyone will pull things back in order like when they played Coastal Carolina & Idaho.\nGO BOWS!\nCasual Observer September 8, 2018 10:23 pm\nWahine coaches got to step it up with better coaching. What is telling is the Wahines haven't beaten any ranked teams last year and probably won't this year. Obviously this isn't typical of Wahine VB expectations but its also a testament to Dave Shoji's legacy and the extremely big shoes Ah Mow has to fill. Nevertheless, Wahine results are related to coaching and Ah Mow has to find the keys raising the level of play back to the elite level.\nballerz September 9, 2018 8:00 am\nthanks for the update cindy. hoping for the sweep vs san diego st. #5 from portland should be on the all-tournament team. would also include iosia and granato.\nWarriorfan September 9, 2018 9:00 am\nNo maafala in the front row today please\nIn all losses she played front row and outside hitters ate her up she just doesn't jump well enough on the block.\nHope they get a win today and get confidence for Oregon.\nRon September 9, 2018 11:35 am\nI thought the match against Portland U. showed the Wahine to be very unorganized and without a plan or direction. They were wandering around the floor like they were meeting each other for the first time . It was a little embarrassing.\nIgnacioSaid September 9, 2018 12:32 pm\nagree strongly with 5,6,8 and 9. My feeling is RAMS going with a smaller team utilizing what she has. I cannot reason , why she does not try to utilize recruits (to develop cohesion and give them game experience). I may ruffle feathers , but there are players being used, that (I think) , brings down morale . Hey man , serving into da net\u2014come on! Norene and Faith on the floor can work (defense), but do not think it expands anything for offense. Looks like acing Big West might be only way to get in NCAA's\u2013Hoping for better!!\nhttp:\/\/www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com\/?p=46753\nnew thread up for Sunday\nsome comments.\nThe coaches prepared the team for Portland, they ran Portland's offense several times during practices. If the players don't follow the game plan, then what are you going to do.\nAgree with Ma'afala being a front-row liability.\nBut don't be surprised if they go to a 5-1 with Ma'afala setting.\nHawaii football QB Cole McDonald on Maxwell Award watch list July 15, 2019","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Debt Ratings Agencies: Their Role in the Global Debt Capital Markets \u2013 Past, Present and Future. Part I\nVIDEO February 29, 2012\nFebruary 29th Conference held at the Federal Bank of Philadelphia. Part One includes the Welcome by GIC Chair, Bill Dunkelberg, and the first panel on The Ratings Agencies Today, consisting of Jim Allen, Head of Capital Markets Policy for the CFA Institute, John Carbone, Principal at Vanguard, Natalie Cohen, Senior Analyst at Wells Fargo, and Pater Demirali, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Cumberland Advisors.\nSpeaker \/ Author\nBill Dunkelberg, Ph.D.\nChief Economist, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)\nWilliam Dunkelberg is professor emeritus of economics in the College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, where he served as dean of the School of Business and Management from 1987 through 1994 and as director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of Entrepreneurship. He served as the Global Interdependence Center's Chairman for 20 years. He currently serves as chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (300,000 member firms; since 1971). His prior appointments were at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and the Survey Research Center at the ... Read More\nHead of Capital Markets Policy at the CFA Institute\nJames Allen is head of capital markets policy for CFA Institute, where he manages the Capital Markets Policy Group. This group develops and promotes capital markets positions, policies and standards for CFA Institute. Mr. Allen also coordinates and supports related educational and public awareness activities. Mr. Allen has worked as staff liaison to the CFA Institute Capital Markets Policy Council since its founding in 2005. The Council helps CFA Institute develop global perspectives on market-related issues. From 2002 to 2004 he worked with the former European Advocacy Committee, responding to policy initiatives of the European Commission and regulatory proposals of financial ... Read More\nJohn M. Carbone\nPrincipal, Portfolio Manager, The Vanguard Group\nMr. Carbone is a principal and portfolio manager with the Vanguard Group which is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. John is a 25 year municipal industry veteran. His current management responsibilities include Vanguard's California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Tax-Exempt Money Market Portfolios. The collective assets of these three portfolios exceed $8.5 billion. During his 15 year tenure at Vanguard, Mr. Carbone has managed many of the state-specific, tax-exempt, long-term, intermediate-term and money market portfolios. Prior to joining Vanguard in 1996, John was employed by Fidelity Investments for nine years. Mr. Carbone received his MBA from Southern Methodist University, and his Bachelor ... Read More\nNatalie Cohen\nManaging Director and Head of Municipal Research, Wells Fargo\nNatalie Cohen is managing director and head of municipal research, a coverage area that launched in late 2010 as part of the Global Economics and Research group, at Wells Fargo Securities. She was previously president of National Municipal Research, Inc., an independent consulting company focused on state and local fiscal condition. Prior to National Municipal Research, she was managing director at Financial Security Assurance, a bond insurance company. She has also held positions in high yield municipal bond insurance at Enhance Financial Service Group, now Radian, and American Capital Access. In addition to bond insurance, Natalie was a vice president ... Read More\nPeter Demirali\nManaging Director, Cumberland Advisors\nPeter Demirali joined Cumberland Advisors in 2002 as portfolio manager for the Taxable Bond style, and became a managing director in 2011. Mr. Demirali was a senior portfolio manager at6 Smith Barney Asset Management from 1990 to 1999. In that position, he initiated a corporate bond component for taxable fixed-income portfolios. From 1999 to 2002 he was a partner in Anval, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage company, where he successfully developed new territories and clients for his firm. He traded zero-coupon bonds at Yamaichi International, a Japanese securities dealer, from 1987 to 1989. Mr. Demirali began his career at Chemical ... Read More","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Photoshoot goes wrong after men go overboard, boat strikes dock\nBy Storyful\nMen fall overboard and boat smashes into dock during photoshoot\nVideo by the Martin County Sheriff's Office via Storyful.\nAn unmanned boat struck a concrete dock on October 9th after its three occupants, who were reportedly doing a photoshoot, \"somehow fell overboard,\" leaving the 24-foot vessel spinning out of control, Florida officials said.\nThe Martin County Sheriff's Office released footage of the boat going airborne and smashing into the pier and dock in the St. Lucie River, just south of the Stuart Causeway in Stuart.\nThe three male occupants of the boat told the Sheriff's Office that they were \"forced to dive underwater numerous times because the boat continued to circle around nearly running them over.\"\nGET THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW: SIGN UP FOR FOX 35 NEWS EMAILS\nThe men were able to swim to a nearby sailboat and one suffered minor injuries, the Sheriff's Office said.\nAn investigation into the cause of the incident was turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigates boating accidents.\nStoryful contributed to this report.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"USA Triathlon\nMenu USA Triathlon\nUSAT for Me\nAthlete Resources\nSanctioning\nNCAA Emerging Sport\nNational Triathlon Week\nTogether We Thrive\nArticles & Releases\nMultisport Zone\nSanctioned Events Calendar\nYouth Splash & Dash\nEndurance Exchange\nIndoor Multisport\nLegacy Triathlon\nWorld Triathlon Championship Series\nNational Teams Program\nProject Podium\nTalent ID\nYouth, Junior & U23 Development\nElite Athlete Qualification\nCurrent Rankings\nRankings Criteria\nFinal Rankings\nLog in opens in a new window\nNeed Help? opens in a new window\nJoin \/ Renew opens in a new window Find a Race opens in a new window\nUSA Triathlon News Blogs Ordinary Mortals\u00ae My First \"One More T...\nMy First \"One More Tri\" Duathlon\nBy Dr. Steve Jonas | Aug. 31, 2021, 11:06 p.m. (ET)\nTalking Tri-\/Duathlon for Ordinary Mortals\u00ae: A Series, (No. 71, 2021\/00)\nOf course, all the races that I have written about in this series were special for me. But this race (the first of the two that I did in this series) was extra-special, partly because of where it is held. First of all, the \"One More Tri\" triathlon\/duathlon series is run in Asbury Park, New Jersey (although this year all the races will be relays and they will all be done virtually). Why is Asbury Park special for me? Well, if an event that took place in 1907 hadn't taken place, I wouldn't be writing this column. For it was sometime that summer, in the lounge of a hotel in Asbury Park (which hotel is likely long gone) that my paternal grandfather-to-be, Henry Jonas, and my paternal grandmother-to-be, Rena Bonheim, first met. The story goes that Grandma Rena was playing a piano that was set in the lounge, that Grandpa Henry came over to tell her how much he admired her playing (and surely, he also admired her looks, because from her photos, she was quite a beauty. And, as it happened, Grandpa Henry was a handsome young man). The rest, as they say, is history.\nMy next connection to Asbury Park is part of a much grander history that took place during the summer of 1942. The U.S. had of course entered World War II on December 8, 1941 --- the famous \"Day that Shall Live in Infamy\" of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's elegant prose. But as of that date the War was having little effect on the mainland of the United States. My father, Prof. Harold J. Jonas, son of Henry and Rena, at that time an older (34) married man with a child, would not be eligible for the draft to go into the Service until February, 1944. How different were the conditions of wartime for the U.S. and the nations of Europe and the Far East.\nAs it happened, for that summer, to get away from the heat of New York City where we lived, my parents rented a unit at the Deal Apartments, just north of Asbury Park. It sat on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. And it was from the bluff that, at the age of 5, I saw one or more U.S. merchant vessels being sunk by Nazi U-boats just about ten miles off the Jersey shore. That is how bad our coastal defenses were in those early days of the War.\nAt any rate, as I was looking for nearby races for the summer of 2016, the \"One More Tri\" triathlon\/duathlon set, to be held in Asbury Park (!), caught my eye. It was run by Special Olympics of New Jersey and featured fully-able athletes competing in the same events as special ones. The would be scored separately, but they would be on the same courses, both for the tri and for the du, at the same time. As you can imagine, there is quite a staff put together for these events, but the inspiring genius who brings everything together, and then holds it all together in one piece, is Ms. Jeanene Leppert, the Director of Special Events for SONJ. What a special person, for all of the special athletes, as well as for the rest of us. By the way, SONJ is so special that they have special athletes doing the swim, into the ocean waves, for the triathlon.\nBut by that time, the time had long past when I was doing triathlons with ocean swims. I had actually gotten sea-sick in the swim at a race off Jones Beach, N.Y. in 1998, and that was that(!) And so on Sept. 25, 2016, I did the du with two flat runs on the boardwalk and around the small lakes in a nearby park, and a virtually flat bike, north on a protected avenue, as it happened into Deal. I was first in my 80-84 age-group (of course because I was the only one in it[!].\nBut there was one more special element of this race for me. It happened that I had spoken with Ms. Leppert before the race, and had mentioned a couple of things: A) that it would by coincidence be my 250th race overall; B) taht I did have the special connection to both Asbury Park and Deal mentioned above; and C) in the context that many of the special athletes competing in the races of the day were beginners, that I had written Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals (1986) which, to my knowledge then and to this day was the first how-to-do triathlon book written specifically for beginners. Jeanene expressed a particular interest in the book and said that she would order a copy from you-know-where. So of course, I sent her one.\nI did not give any of the above details further thought until, just after a crossed the finish line, Jeanene presented me with a special personalized plaque that had obviously been made up for me before the race. It celebrates my 250th race, and my book. Oh, what a feeling! And let me tell you, that plaque hangs in a place of honor on the wall of my office, just behind my desk.\nAs it turned out, I would also be doing what turned out to most likely have been my last multi-sport race, my 256th, at the \"One More Tri\" meet in 2018. That will be the subject of my next column in this series.\nThis series of thoughts and recommendations about multi-sport racing by Dr. Steve Jonas is, over time, drawn in part from his book, 101 Ideas and Insights for Triathletes and Duathletes (Monterey, CA: Healthy Learning\/Coaches Choice, 2011), from which text is used with permission. The book can be purchased here and is available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.\nSteve's most recent multisport book is Duathlon Training and Racing for Ordinary Mortals\u00ae: Getting Started and Staying with It (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press\/FalconGuides, 2012), available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.\nHis first book on multi-sport racing, Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals\u00ae, 2nd Ed. (New York: WW Norton, 2006) also can be found at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.\nSteve has been racing tri's and du's since 1983. At the end of his 36th season in the sport, 2018, he had done a total of 256 races. He did not race in 2019 due to his own illness (from which he fully recovered), nor in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For obvious reasons, 2021 is a maybe.\nUSAT National Championships Calendar","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home \u00bb Julie Plec \u00bb Page 2\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"500 Years of Solitude\"\nBy SUE SCHNEIDER 03\/18\/2014\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino\nWriters: Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries, series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels\nDirector: Chris Grismer Network: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM\nOriginal Airdate: January 23, 2014 \"500 Years of Solitude\" is THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 100th episode\u2026so congrats CW and the stars of the show. At the end of the \"Fifty Shades of Grayson\" (Episode 10, which aired December 12, 2013), before the show took a winter break [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"Monster's Ball\"\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino\nWriters: Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Sonny Postiglione, series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels\nDirector: Kellie Cyrus\nNetwork: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM\nOriginal Airdate: October 31, 2013 (Season 5 \u2013 Episode 5) What a perfect night for THE VAMPIRE DIARIES to be on\u2026Halloween and to show an episode called \"Monster's Ball,\" where they get to dress up as someone from history and attend a society ball. The episode [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"For Whom The Bell Tolls\"\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino\nWriters: Brett Matthews & Elisabeth R. Finch Director: Michael A. Allowitz\nNetwork: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM\nOriginal Airdate: October 24, 2013 THE VAMPIRE DIARIES episode \"For Whom The Bell Tolls\" was so sad this week that it actually brought tears to my eyes. Okay I am a very sensitive person, but it was sad at the end! Plus, since I've watched the show since the beginning I am totally involved with the characters. Every year in Mystic Falls they have [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"True Lies\"\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino\nWriters: Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Brian Young, series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels\nDirector: Joshua Butler\nNetwork: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM Original Airdate: October 10, 2013 (Season 5 Episode 2) Life is changing for Elena and Caroline, or so they think on the latest episode of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 \"True Lies.\" Their roommate Megan who was killed in the premiere was listed as cause of death [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"Original Sin\"\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino Writers: Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Rebecca Sonnenshine, series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels Director: Jesse Warn Network: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM Original Airdate: October 17, 2013 (Season 5 \u2013 Episode 3) \"Original Sin\" was a spectacular episode in my opinion as it answered a lot of questions, finally! Who is Silas and how did the Doppelgangers come to light? It was great that they [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nExclusive Interview: THE ORIGINALS star Charles Michael Davis talks about Marcel\nIn the new vampire show THE ORIGINALS, a spin-off from THE VAMPIRE DIAIRES, Charles Michael Davis stars as Marcel, a vampire sired by Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), one of the original vampires, hence the name In the first episode, \"Always and Forever\", it opens where Klaus returns to New Orleans, a city that was built by Klaus and his family, but Marcel is now the King of the Quarter after the Mikaelson's had to leave the city so their father wouldn't find them. Sitting down with Charles at the CBS\/CW\/Showtime TCA Party in August to talk about his character and [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE TOMORROW PEOPLE \u2013 Season 1 \u2013 \"Pilot\" \u2013 Series Premiere\nBy RACHEL REITSLEFF 10\/11\/2013\nStars: Robbie Amell, Peyton List, Luke Mitchell, Aaron Yoo, Madeleine Mantock, Mark Pellegrino Writer: Phil Klemmer, series created by Greg Berlanti & Phil Klemmer & Julie Plec, based on the British series created by Roger Damon Price Director: Danny Cannon Network: The CW, Wednesdays @ 9 PM Original Airdate: October 9, 2013 THE TOMORROW PEOPLE was originally a British TV series, created by Roger Damon Price, that ran for sixty-eight episodes over eight seasons, 1973-1979, back in the days when the title didn't seem quite so silly. It was revived in 1992, and now writers\/producers Phil Klemmer & Greg Berlanti [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES \u2013 Season 5 \u2013 \"I Know What You Did Last Summer\" \u2013 Season Premiere\nStars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Trevino Writers: Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries, series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels Director: Lance Anderson Network: The CW, Thursdays @ 8 PM Original Airdate: October 3, 2013 (Season 5 premiere) The summer has ended and Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes are off to college, finally. Elena has broken the sire bond, and picked Damon as the love of her life. Stefan upset and hurting has disappeared, but as [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nTV Review: THE ORIGINALS \u2013 Season 1 \u2013 \"Always and Forever\" \u2013 Series Premiere\nStars: Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Claire Holt, Charles Michael Davis, Phoebe Tonkin, Daniella Pineda Writers: Julie Plec & Michael Narducci, series created by Julie Plec, based on characters created in L.J. Smith's THE VAMPIRE DIARIES novels Director: Chris Grismer Network: The CW, Tuesdays @ 8 PM Original Airdate: Thursday, October 3 at 9 PM (special premiere timeslot) The good news for fans of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES who will watch the premiere of its spin-off, THE ORIGINALS \u2013 the opening episode, \"Always and Forever,\" is almost all new material, rather than simply a reworking of the DIARIES episode \"The Originals,\" which [\u2026]Read On \u00bb\nExclusive Interview: Julie Plec vamps on THE ORIGINALS and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES\nJulie Plec has her hands full executive-producing series for the CW. She's still on THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, the series she and Kevin Williamson developed from L.J. Smith's novels, now entering its fifth season Thursdays at 8 PM. Plec is also one of the executive producers on THE TOMORROW PEOPLE, a thorough going revamp of a British series about teenagers with some powers that may indicate a change in human evolution, which premieres next Wednesday at 9 PM. Last but not least, Plec is both creator and executive producer on THE ORIGINALS, the VAMPIRE DIARIES spin-off that premieres Thursday October 3 [\u2026]Read On \u00bb","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Arts & Culture \u00bb Bad Sport\nSPARE THE ROD\nby Drew Garabo\nOne day when I was shooting some hoop, this sports dad a few feet away was berating his son for a severe lack of defensive prowess. Hearing a so-called man who had no problem loudly denigrating his own spawn was almost as depressing as seeing the shame and disappointment on the kid's fat face.\nAs a father, of course I would love for my son to choose a sport and try to excel in it. I'll never be the \u00fcber-dad, pushing and prodding my boy to heights I was too unmotivated to even consider trying myself. A father should stand by his son, but what should he do when the kid commits an act that is unimaginably stupid and selfish?\nTake the case of the Kellen Winslows Jr. and Sr. Dad had a prolific and revered career with the San Diego Chargers (still remarkably part of the NFL), son came from the University of Miami (Thug U.) and missed all but one entire game during his rookie pro season with the Cleveland Browns after breaking a bone.\nImagine how you'd feel if you had held out of your rookie camp until you got more money than any tight end in the pro game, and then had to face your teammates. You scramble through the preseason, and in your second game you break something. Highest-paid tight end now gets paid to sit the bench. You'd probably feel like you owed the team something, so you'd rehab like crazy and get ready for the upcoming season. I know if I were Kellen Winslow Jr. I would want to show the world how I could back up my claims to be \"the chosen one.\"\nOn a May day, Junior had more exhilarating things on his mind than preparing for the upcoming NFL season. He and his posse rolled up on a motorcycle shop to hang out and watch some dudes race. As a new bike enthusiast, Kellen probably felt the same way a lot of kids feel after watching their sports heroes. Remember when you couldn't wait to get home from a game so you could throw the ball yourself, just like Nolan Ryan did? Well, Junior had an Evel (or at least Robbie) Knievel-like moment, decided to pop a wheelie and, 100 feet later, hit the curb that may have ended his football career.\nHad young Kellen simply kept up on his sports news, he would have heard about Duke University stud Jay Williams, who had his pro contract with the Bulls waived after he shattered his share of bones in a motorcycle accident just a few years back. Athletes and performers in the public eye constantly have to make choices that could bring their gravy train to a screeching halt if not considered thoroughly. If Junior had gotten himself in amazing shape for the upcoming NFL season, he could have gotten to work at proving himself to be worthy of the millions he demanded. The \"chosen one\" made a bad choice of his own when deciding to speed on a motorcycle with a helmet loosely strapped on his chin.\nKellen Winslow Jr. was lucky to not break a single bone, but his luck ran out when it got to his anterior cruciate ligament, and that's going to put an end to his chances of playing professional football this season. Two seasons of pro football, one and a half games played, no touchdowns. Obviously, the Browns are exploring their options regarding what they'll have to pay the stupid kid, but he'll still get a few million nevertheless.\nHis dad didn't exactly take him out to the woodshed for a good old-fashioned ass-beating. Instead, Pops lashed out at the media for the way they chose to portray his namesake. \"I'm disappointed in the way you guys have handled it. Twenty-one-year-old people make mistakes,\" he whined. \"He made a mistake. You made it a circus. Remember when you were 21? A human being at 21 makes mistakes. He's not a piece of property.\"\nUm, you're kind of a little bit wrong, sir. He \u2013 or at least his ability to play \u2013 is technically the Browns' property, after a few million dollars in payments for services they're unlikely to receive. Common mistakes of the 21-year-old include (but are not limited to) snorting up the rent money, alienating family and friends, driving drunk and blowing off work for no reason. Winslow's mistake was a decidedly uncommon one. If someone demands to be paid better than anyone else at his position, they have an obligation to make good choices and commit themselves to excellence. Kellen Winslow Sr. had a great teachable moment here, but decided a feeble and desperate attempt to shift the blame from his bad seed was the right course of action.\nT.O. UPDATE\nBad Sport has an unquenchable thirst for news regarding possibly the worst sport ever, Terrell Owens, whose latest stunt is threatening to sit out next season rather than honor his current contract with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. Owens is claiming that he was coerced into the deal when he wanted out of last season's trade to Baltimore. He was forced to sign a measly seven-year, $49 million deal. Most reports say the Eagles are willing to play hardball and hold Terrell to the terms of his current contract. T.O., who earned an instant entry into the Quote Hall of Fame when he exclaimed \"I love me some me,\" responded by proclaiming that he doesn't have to play for the Eagles this year. He also took a page out of Kobe Bryant's book, How To Make Your Teammates Hate You, when he dogged out his own quarterback for not coming through in the clutch in last year's Super Bowl.\nOwens, along with recently hired super-agent\/scum of the earth Drew Rosenhaus, is going to put forth an effort to portray a 31-year-old egomaniac with a dinged-up ankle as worth drastically more than $50 million over the next six years. When and if Philadelphia management calls Team Owens' bluff, Rosenhaus and Owens will set forth on their journey through the rest of the NFL. Owens' former employers \u2013 the San Francisco 49ers (where T.O. homophobed that QB Jeff Garcia was light in the loafers), the Baltimore Ravens (where Owens didn't even let the ink dry on the deal before declaring it null and void) and the Eagles (see above) \u2013 won't exactly give him glowing references.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ari & Mia: Unruly Heart\n(independent release As broadcast on WVIA-FM 2\/23\/2011)\nPerhaps it's a reaction to the artifice of most contemporary commercial pop music, with its in-your-face, relentless sound, and highly processed totally phony-sounding electronically pitch-altered vocals, but there seems to be a significant revival of acoustic music with a traditional sound among younger performers -- musicians even whose parents are probably a bit young for the 1960s folk scene. While a number of these players are taking an interest in traditional songs, or the acoustic singer-songwriter-troubadour mode, there are quite a few others who are starting with traditional instrumentation and going in unconventional directions, using instruments like the cello. This week, we have another delightful recording that inhabits the eclectic acoustic mode and makes a distinctive hybrid that sounds like traditional music but has a lot of contemporary facets. It's the debut CD by the sister duo of Ariel and Mia Friedman, who appear as Ari & Mia. Their CD is called Unruly Heart.\nThe Friedman sisters are from the Boston area, and both have formal classical musical training. Ari mainly plays cello and wrote most of the original material. Mia plays a variety of instruments, banjo in clawhammer style, guitar, and fiddle. Instrumentally, they can resemble another Boston area group with the cello-banjo combination , Crooked Still, but even on first release, Ari & Mia have forged a distinctive sound with their very appealing vocals and sisterly harmonies. Most of the material is original, but like that of Crooked Still, Ari & Mia's new songs can sound like music from the 19th century or earlier, and indeed on a couple of pieces, they create new music for old poetry.\nAlso like the members of Crooked Still, the Friedman sisters comes from an academic background musically. Ariel is classically trained on cello, and both sisters are attending the New England Conservatory of Music in their Contemporary Improvisation program. And one can hear that facet of their background at times in their music, along with hints of jazz, old Gospel music, and their most prominent influence, old-time Appalachian folk. They are joined on the CD by a number of additional players, perhaps the best known of whom is Sarah Jarosz, whose own eclectic acoustic CD we reviewed in 2009. Frequently featured is Owen Marshall, who plays the guitar plus other instruments like bouzouki and harmonium. Also heard on guitar is Rebecca Wudarski, and a third Friedman sister, Shoshona does backing vocals.\nThe generous, nearly hour-long CD opens with a piece by Mia Friedman called Open Field that sums up the sound of Unruly Heart. It's an original song with a decidedly traditional texture, and contemporary-sounding lyrics. <<>>\nThe following piece is by Ariel Friedman. Hundreds of Ways is some ways a pop song in its structure, but with the group's traditional-sounding instrumentation. <<>>\nThe Friedman sisters do a couple of instrumental pieces on the CD. One is a pair of traditional tunes, Pig's Foot and Grub Springs. With just Ari on the cello, Mia on the fiddle and Owen Marshall on guitar, they create a very danceable sound. <<>>\nAnother facet of the sisters comes out on the title track, Unruly Heart, inspired by an e.e. cummings poem. They give it a vaguely jazzy, swingy sound. Ari and Mia's other sister Shoshona Friedman is heard on harmony vocal. <<>>\nOne of the most interesting tracks is an original piece by Mia Friedman called Across the Water. It's a kind of love song with an atmospheric sound, with the cello providing an Eastern-sounding drone at times. The piece can be quite striking in its distinctive sound and yet its simplicity. Shoshona Friedman again appears on the backing vocals. <<>>\nMia wrote a two-part piece called Montville and Rise Up. The first part is a cappella with the three Friedman sisters. <<>> Then it becomes an instrumental with a sound that conjures Eastern European or Nordic folk music. <<>>\nA bit more conventionally folky is North written by Ariel. It's a celebration of a favorite vacation spot. <<>>\nAri and Mia apply their own original music to some traditional lyrics. But there is one old song that they perform, words and music, the Elizabeth Cotton folk standard Freight Train. They do very nice job. Mia's pure-sounding vocals can remind one of a jazz chanteuse. <<>> There's aslo a section in which the Friedman sisters conjure Western Swing. <<>>\nAri and Mia's new debut CD Unruly Heart is a thoroughly enjoyable recording that marks another young group venturing off into eclectic acoustic material, about 180 degrees from the contemporary commercial pop one associates with Friedman sisters' generation. Like their slightly older contemporaries, Crooked Still, Ari and Mia mix cello with Appalachian-folk-influenced music with clawhammer banjo, sometimes Gospel-like textures, and throw in jazz and even classical influence. Sometimes, their music can remind me of classical composer Aaron Copeland's approach to traditional American folk music. The result is eminently listenable and quite appealing.\nOur grade for sound quality is close to an \"A.\" The acoustic instruments and the Friedman sisters' vocals are very well recorded, clean, open and often intimate. By contemporary standards, the recording is not overly compressed, making for a decent dynamic range.\nWhile it's hardly a dominant trend, it's nice to see growing numbers of younger generation performers venturing into eclectic acoustic music, groups like Crooked Still, Hey Mavis, The Punch Brothers, and Sarah Jarosz. Ari and Mia's new CD is another great example, with its fine musicianship, feeling for the traditional with a sense of adventurousness.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Go to page contentHomeAbout usPressTradeNewsletterEnglish\nHome Inspiring Germany Cities & Culture Nature & Outdoor Activities Royal Palaces & Castles Experience & Enjoy\nInformation on Germany\nTravelling to Germany\nInspiring Germany\nHesse \u2013 a region of contrasts\nFrankfurt: skyline \u00a9DZT (Francesco Carovillano)\nHesse lies at the heart of Germany and offers tourists a broad range of holiday options. Whether holidaymakers are looking for nature, culture, hiking, cycling, a spa break, a family holiday or a city break, there is something for everyone in Hesse. And it's quick and easy to get to, given that Frankfurt Airport is right in the middle of the region.\nThe most popular tourist destinations in Hesse are nice and varied, with the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region being the main port of call for visitors from all around the world. Culture vultures and night owls will be in their element here.\nAdventures in the great outdoors are never far away, with the Taunus, Vogelsberg, Spessart and Odenwald hills just a stone's throw away from Frankfurt city centre. Top Taunus attractions include the vast Hessenpark Open-Air Museum and the Saalburg, which is the only reconstructed Roman fort in the world, not far from the Roman Limes UNESCO World Heritage Site. The foothills of the Vogelsberg hills extend far into the surrounding area and the region is also home to little spa resorts, such as Bad Salzhausen, Bad Salzschlirf and Herbstein, and two of Hesse's flagship cycle paths \u2013 the Volcano Cycle Path and the Hesse Railway Cycle Route. The Kinzigtal Valley marks the point at which the Vogelsberg and Spessart overlap. Emperor Babarossa's Imperial Palace in Gelnhausen and Hanau and the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm await visitors in the Spessart hills. The area to the west of Frankfurt merges into the Rheingau, which is part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site that just so happens to be one of the finest wine-growing regions Germany has to offer. Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, also falls within the Rheingau. Here, visitors are treated to a striking historic cityscape.\nTo the south of the region lie the legendary Odenwald hills, the Hessische Bergstrasse wine-growing region around Heppenheim and Bensheim, and Darmstadt, a city of science and one of Germany's Art Nouveau centres.\nThe north of the Hesse region in particular boasts largely unspoiled natural scenery and is known as the home of the Brothers Grimm. The Kellerwald-Edersee National Park is a major highlight in the area, with its foothills joining up with Lake Edersee, one of Germany's largest reservoirs, to form a paradise for water sports fans. Mount Hohe Meissner, the home of Old Mother Frost from the Brothers Grimm fairytale, and the primeval Sababurg woods in the Reinhardswald forest are top spots for hikers. Kassel, the major city in northern Hesse and home to the documenta exhibition, has made a name for itself amongst art buffs in particular. Moving further south-west, the idyllic Lahn Valley is a hit with tourists. Historical towns like Marburg, Wetzlar, Weilburg and Limburg an der Lahn are popular destinations in the region and excellent spots for canoeing and cycling. The Rh\u00f6n Mountains and the Wasserkuppe, the tallest peak in Hesse at 950 metres, stand proudly in the far east of the region. From the plateaus where there is barely a tree in sight, a magnificent view extends over the peaks and valleys, revealing Rh\u00f6n as the \"land of endless horizons\". This really is a region of contrasts!\n\u00a9 HA Hessen Agentur GmbH\nhttp:\/\/www.hessen.travel\nInhabitants:\nArea in square kilometres:\n21114,93 square kilometres\nStay informed. Our newsletter.\nCities & Culture\nHistoric Highlights of Germany\nHanseatic Cities\nShopping and discover\nNature & Outdoor Activities\nNatural landscapes and islands\nGermany's islands\n16 highlights in Germany\nTop tips for special holiday experiences\nDine and sleep in regal style\nWhere world history was written\nA journey back in time to the Baroque era\nFrom medieval banquets to the Song of the Nibelungs\nExperience & Enjoy\nGerman gourmet cuisine\nWine-growing regions\nTraditional German cuisine\nCookies Data protection Legal notice","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"'Wild-flowering' at World Museum\nIt was early Spring when I last saw our City Wildflower Meadow, which grows in front of Liverpool's World Museum. Primroses, cowslips and native daffodils were in full flower and new plant shoots were emerging daily. Plug plants, lovingly grown at home, had been introduced and a lot of time had been devoted to digging-out invasive plants from the meadow borders. It promised to be a 'wild-flowering' year to remember.\nThat was ten weeks ago, and little did I realise then, just what lay ahead for us all. I don't think any of us did. The Covid 19 pandemic has been a time of unimaginable crisis and tragedy, turning all of our lives upside down. Suddenly growing wildflower plants at home and developing a meadow at work seemed irrelevant. And, so I stopped. Lock-down made visits impossible anyway and, for a long time, I hardly thought about our meadow \u2013 it was left entirely to its own devices.\nLike many of us over the last few months, even as a natural science curator, I have felt myself re-connecting with nature in new and different ways, especially on my daily walk and with time to spare and to look closely. I've re-discovered my childhood curiosity and found myself taking photographs of flowers on my mobile phone and making mental notes whenever I see a new butterfly. The living world is therapeutic and reassuringly calming in such tense and troubling times.\nSo, how has our meadow changed since I saw it last? How has it been coping left to its own natural 'wild-flowering' ways? Because the truth is, creating and managing a 'natural meadow', is much more time consuming and problematic than most conventional gardening. There is a fine balance to be struck between the colourful 'natural look' which is desirable, and the undesirable abandoned 'wasteland look', which isn't! Very quickly one can become the other.\nEvery year a new plant makes a bid for meadow supremacy. First it was white clover, then it was ox-eye daisy, followed by yellow-vetch and more recently it has been alexanders \u2013 a statuesque plant, with a head of delicate yellow-white florets that belie its extreme 'thug like' invasive tendencies. Sometimes these plants naturally decline and sometimes they have to be removed.\nFirst impressions, when I arrived last week were mixed. The grass paths had disappeared but were quickly mown and the smell of cut grass and herbs was pleasingly reminiscent of hay-making. These mown paths are important because they help people to get up close to individual plants and, because they visually 'tell' passers by, that the 'wildness' is deliberate. There were also a lot of thoughtlessly discarded tin cans and wind-blown plastic bags, which were easily tidied up.\nSome plants had been and gone without me even seeing them. Or, at least I hope they had had, their flowering moment in splendid isolation. Most notable amongst these is meadow saxifrage, one of my all time favourite wildflowers. It has a simple white flower that suddenly appears on a long stem and can be seen gently swaying in the breeze. It's hard to believe that such a delicate plant can survive amidst taller and more robust plants and grasses. But it does, and it thrives, forming clumps of rosette leaves at its base.\nAt the end of last year, we had sown some more yellow rattle seed, digging it into bare soil with the heel of our shoes. It had germinated well and there was an extensive carpet of this very special annual plant before me. The attractive yellow flowers were fading and the papery seedpods, which rattle when the seed is ripe, were everywhere. Yellow rattle is semi-parasitic, taking water and nutrients from surrounding plants, especially grasses. This makes it an excellent 'natural tool' in meadow management, helping to stop the growth of dominant grasses and allowing space for smaller wildflowers to grow.\nGardener's talk about the June 'flowering gap' and this appears to have come early this year. No doubt enhanced by the extended period of hot and dry weather that we have been experiencing. Many wildflowers, such as the wild strawberry in our meadow, were clearly struggling from a lack of rain and the fruits were shrivelled and un-appetising. Many grasses were also turning the colour of dry straw. But other plants, especially the knapweed, were clearly flourishing and providing a valuable pollen and nectar source for bees and other insects.\nI made a decision to water the struggling plants and spent a happy couple of hours, in the sunshine, with a hosepipe, spraying and noting the number of plant species in flower. Despite repeated attempts, I was unable to photograph the mini rainbows that this created.\nThe look of the meadow was subtle with few stand-out highlight colours visible from the road. In a couple of weeks' time, blousy cornfield annuals should help to rectify this and the meadow geranium and field scabious should soon cloak it in shades of blue and mauve. I counted while I watered, and saw over 70 different species of wildflower and grass in flower. But many, such as sainfoin, had to be looked for carefully.\nWithout doubt, the most impressive wildflowers were the large specimens of hoary mullein, spectacularly framed by the mellow sandstone walls of the museum. The four different types of wild rose were lovely to see, and the primary colours of hound's tongue and hawkweed very striking. But where were the buttercups that had been growing so well last year? Every year is different as the meadow changes and evolves.\nDuring lockdown, the meadow has provided a colourful home for wildlife in the middle of Liverpool's city centre. I hope that it has also brightened up the lives of people who live and work there, as they walk by.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Love\/Hate Relationship Artists Have with Tattoo Conventions\nBy Charlie ConnellTattoo Artists\nAt the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, we spoke with tattooists about how stressful the experience is, and why they keep coming back.\nFrom the very second that you walk through the doors of the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, you are overwhelmed by the sound of thousands of humming tattoo machines blending with the stereo systems of just as many tattooers. Looking around, hundreds of prints and flash sheets compete for your attention. When you add in the crush (and smell) of scores of eager people fighting to secure a tattoo with their favorite artist, it really makes you wonder why this was an event that you had been anticipating for months. By their very nature tattoo conventions are a blitz on the senses. Now imagine having to do your job in the dead center of all of that action.\n\"A really good quote that my friend Adam Hays told me, 'Conventions are where great tattooers will give you a good tattoo.' I feel like that's real,\" Jonathan Penchoff says. \"This isn't where you come to get an awesome, phenomenal tattoo. Nobody wants to do that here. The lighting is shitty, there are so many distractions. It's just hard.\"\nOver the course of the weekend, we talked with a bunch of tattooers about the pros and cons of convention life. If it's so difficult to work in that environment, why do it at all? We wanted to know every little thing that drove them insane, and every reason they pack their gear up to hit the road and do it all over again.\nHedwig and Hogwarts tattooed by Jonathan Penchoff at the Philadelphia Arts Tattoo Convention. (Via IG - earthgrapser) #harrypotter #illustrative #JonathanPenchoff\nThe Work Space\nAlmost universally, the tattooers we chatted with complained about the space in which they had to tattoo. Whether it was the lack of room to maneuver, the horrific lighting from fluorescent bulbs 70 feet above, or uncomfortable chairs, there are a ton of things that a tattooer has to adapt to in order to get the job done at a convention.\n\"See, my table is such a mess,\" Penchoff laughs while pointing to a tiny table covered with ink caps, ink containers, machines, and a Gandalf action figure. \"It's so fucking cluttered. Imagine if I had to split this with someone, it would be a nightmare.\" Audie Fulfer Jr., who was attending the Philly convention for the 8th year in a row, expressed a similar worry while tattooing a client's neck. \"It's definitely more challenging,\" he explains. \"Being cramped up in a corner, I've traveled for so many years that I can tattoo in a 1x1, 2x2 area and be content.\"\n\"Nothing is where it's supposed to be like when you are home, and you have these tiny little chairs and your knees start to kill you,\" Chad Lenjer says. \"The lighting isn't terrible here, at least. It's a little more stressful and it takes some getting used to. The first day is always like a learning curve. Then you have to figure out a flow, and you're good.\"\nClockwise from the top \u2014 Kate Collins, Shanghai Kate, Ivan Antonyshev and Chad Lenjer tattooing at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention.\nThe Crowds\nIt should go without saying, but the obvious difference between working in the shop and a convention is the audience of thousands milling around and gawking for three straight days. \"It's massive, it's crazy,\" Ivan Antonyshev says. \"There were just so many people here, I was tattooing all day, and every time I'd look up, I'd see somebody. Not somebody, but many people, and it would just multiply.\"\nWorking under a microscope can be really difficult and tattooers look to find ways to limit distractions, more often than not turning to a product hawked by Dr. Dre. \"I have to have headphones and my own music,\" Jamie Schene states. \"I have to have [his wife and creative collaborator] Laura with me, I need these things to be able to work.\"\nLady head tattooed by Ivan Antonyshev at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention. (Via IG - ivanantonyshevtattoos) #IvanAntonyshev #traditional #ladyhead\nEven though most artists were willing to list a myriad of reasons why tattooing at a convention can be a clusterfuck of stress, there had to be a reason for them to show up in the first place.\n\"It's stressful, but I like it,\" Antonyshev says. \"I can draw energy from it. Today I'll do some cool tattoos and then just chill for a little bit, take it easy.\"\n\"It's a reason to go somewhere new and make cool tattoos on different people,\" Lenjer explains. \"Mostly that and you get to go see friends that you don't normally get to see. Other than the fact that it's super difficult to tattoo and there is usually pretty bad lighting, it's a total blast.\"\nConsidering that people come from all over the world, the allure of reconnecting with friends is clearly a huge driving force for artists. \"It's cool to be part of something so large on this side of the country, and I get to hang out with more than a few friends while tattooing my clients,\" Fulfer says. \"That's my main reason, that and cheesesteaks. I like Jim's, extra whiz, the wetter the better.\"\nKate Collins, who tattoos out of Philadelphia's Seven Swords Tattoo, only had to trek a little over four miles to get to the convention. But she was still drawn to make an appearance. \"Everyone from all over the world is here, you have to be here to represent your town!\" Collins laughs. \"I always say, this is MY CONVENTION! Every time I'm here I get such a great showing of past clients, future clients, it's just a great way to connect. It's a nice way to mingle, put out feelers, see new faces.\"\nThe one-and-only Shanghai Kate.\nInsight from a Legend\nWhen you care so much about your craft, when tattooing is far more than just a job, conventions are something that you can't help but be drawn to. It's not the best way to do your work, but the energy and adulation from the crowd more than make up for that. The legendary Shanghai Kate has been in the business for close to a half century, and despite the exhaustion, she hits shows like Philly whenever she can.\n\"This is what I've done for 46 years, this is who I am,\" she says while tattooing her name on an adoring fan born long after she had become Shanghai Kate. \"I don't think I'm going to stop until my body actually prevents me from doing it. This work is so demanding, and so engrossing, that when we're doing it you don't think about time passing, we don't think about aches or pains or illnesses or depression\u2026 this saves me.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Union of India Vs. K. R. Tahiliani & ANR [1980] INSC 34 (26 February 1980)\nKRISHNAIYER, V.R.\nKOSHAL, A.D.\nCITATION: 1980 AIR 953 1980 SCR (2)1092 1980 SCC (3) 309\nCITATOR INFO :\nO 1987 SC1907 (3,5) RF 1987 SC1933 (6,10)\nFundamental Rules-Rule 56(j) (i)-Scope of-Government servant officiating in a class I or class II post-If could be compulsorily retired.\nOn the question whether a Government servant officiating in a class 1 or class II service or post could be retired compulsorily by exercising power under r. 56(j) (i) of the Fundamental Rules after he has attained the age of 50 years.\nHELD :\n1. Rule 56(j)(i) is meant to cover only those who are in a post on a regular basis, that is, in a substantive capacity and not on an officiating basis only.\n2. A government servant ordinarily holds service at the pleasure of the State which means pleasure canalised by rules. [1093H]\n3. An officiating hand has no right to the post and cannot be strictly said to be in that service or post as a member of that service. In short an officiating government servant does not really belong to class I or class II service until he acquires a right there on. The structure of the clause \"if he is in class I or class II service or post\" emphasises the nature of the service or post vis-a-vis the Government servant concerned. When a government servant belonging to class I or class II service or post on a regular basis has to be retired compulsorily rule 56(j)(i) comes to the rescue of the Government. But if he is only a temporary hand who has no right to the post he can always be reverted to the post, if any, on which he has a lien.\nSimilar is the position of an officiating hand. [1094B-D]\n4. Although the rule vests an absolute right in the appropriate authority to retire a government servant in public interest absolutism, and arbitrariness are contrary to the scheme of the rules of this kind. Even while exercising the power under this rule the State should take care not to act arbitrarily, misguided by the absolute expression in the rule. [1094F-G]\nCIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 850 of 1978 Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated 22-7-1977 of the Delhi High Court in L.P.A. No. 97 of 1977. Civil Appeal No. 2008 of 1978.\nAppeal by special leave from the judgment and Order dated 19-5-1978 of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Misc. Writ No. 1592\/76.\nG. L. Sanghi, R. B. Datar and Miss A. Subhashini for the Appellant in both the appeals.\n1093 M. K. Ramamurthy, G. D. Gupta and Miss Anita for the Respondent in CA No. 850\/76.\nShanti Bhushan and P. K. Pillai for the Respondent in CA No. 2008\/78.\nThe Judgment of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER, J.-Two government servants have been retired from service in exercise of the powers vested in the Central Government by Rule 56 (j) (i) of the Fundamental Rules. They have successfully challenged compulsory retirement by petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution and the Union of India has come up in appeal to this Court by special leave. The sole question to be decided is whether a government servant officiating in a Class I or Class II service or post can be retired compulsorily by exercising the power under Rule 56 (j) (i) after he has attained the age of 50 years.\nThe biographical details of these two officials in government service need not detain us because the facts are admitted and the only point at issue is whether Rule 56(j) (i) will apply to a government servant who is only officiating in a Class I or Class II post or service. We agree with the High Court that on a correct interpretation of that Rule, an officiating hand will not be caught in the claws of the compulsory retirement provision. The reasons may briefly be stated by us now although these have been elaborately set out by the High Court (in the Delhi case).\nWe may extract the relevant part of the Rule at this stage:\n\"56. (j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule the appropriate authority shall, if it is of the opinion that it is in public interest to do so have the absolute right to retire any Government servant by giving him notice of not less than three months in writing or three months' pay and allowances in lieu of such notice.\n(i) If he is in Class I or Class II service or post and had entered Government service before attaining the age of thirty five years after he has attained the age of fifty years.\" A Government servant ordinarily holds service at the pleasure of the State but in our Republic where the rule of law prevails even pleasure is canalised by rules. Viewed from this perspective security of tenure is a value in itself. In Government jurisprudence it is, 1094 however, open to the State to make rules under the proviso to Article 309; and Rule 56 (j) is one such rule. Assuming as we do, the validity of the said Rule, the question of construction causes little difficulty once the scheme of the provision is understood correctly.\nAn officiating hand has no right to the post and is perhaps a fleeting bird who may have to go back to the substantive post from which he has been promoted on an officiating basis. What is more to the point, a person who has been appointed de novo may begin his service on an officiating basis or on a temporary basis and it is obvious that he has no right to the post and cannot be strictly said to be in that service or post as a member of that service.\nIn short, an officiating Government servant does not really belong to Class I or Class II service until he acquires a right there on. Even viewed closely and meticulously, the structure of the clause, namely, \"if he is in Class I or Class II services or post\", emphasises the nature of the service or post vis-a-vis the Government servant concerned.\nWe need not go into the semantic shapes, lexical niceties or linguistic nuances but only go through the meaning and purpose of the provision. When a Government servant belonging to a Class I or Class II service or post on a regular basis has to be retired compulsorily, Rule 56 (j) (i) comes to the rescue of the Government. But if he is only a temporary hand, he has no right to the post and can always be reverted to the post, if any, on which he has a lien.\nSimilar is the position of an officiating hand. Thus, we have reached an inevitable conclusion that Rule 56 (j) (i) is meant to cover only those who are in a post on a regular basis, i.e., in a substantive capacity, and not on an officiating basis only.\nIn passing, we may make it clear that although the Rule vests an absolute right in the appropriate authority to retire a Government servant in public interest, yet absolutism and arbitrariness are contrary to the scheme of the rules we are concerned with. We, therefore emphasise the fact that even while exercising power under Rule 56 (j) (i) the State will take care not to act arbitrarily, misguided by the absolute expression in the Rule.\nWe dismiss the two Appeals and vacate the stay in Civil Appeal No. 850 of 1978. In each case, costs quantified in a sum of Rs. 2,500\/- (Two Thousand and Five Hundred) will be paid. The counsel for the respondents in both the cases have generously agreed that Rs. 1,000\/- (One Thousand), out of the said sum be paid over to the Free Legal Aid Society in each case.\nP.B.R. Appeals dismissed.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Armagnac Semp\u00e9 1951\nArmagnac age\nEye: Mahogany with golden highlights.\nNose: Complex and deep with notes of prunes, dried fruits, orange peel, Christmas cake and dried garden herbs.\nPalate: Full-bodied and seductive, with an attractive, refined fruity character. Spiced hints of cinnamon and nutmeg are accompanied by subtle coffee nuances and a persistent, heady aftertaste.\nThe Armagnac Semp\u00e9 1951 is one of life's treasures. This limited edition release harks back to the heyday of the House of Semp\u00e9, a flashback to the elegant and decadent 1950s. As the name suggests, it's a single harvest vintage from the year 1951, made with eaux-de-vie sourced exclusively from the Armagnac AOC. It has been produced from distillates of different varieties of white grapes and aged in Gascon oak barrels for over a half a century, developing a depth of flavor that only time can bring. There are precious few vintages left of this age, so make sure to savor it while you still can.\nArmagnac is a grape brandy produced in the Gascony region of southwest France, between the Adour and Garonne rivers by the foothills of the Pyrenees, as it has been since at least the 15th century. The terroir here is a mixture of sand and clay, spread across rolling hills drenched in sunshine during the long summer - resulting in dark, rich and rustic eaux-de-vie with concentrated flavors. The wood used for Armagnac casks is a particular wide-grained variety found in the Gascon forest, which has been toasted to a medium char to develop its sweetness and tannins perfectly. The wide grain allows for accelerated movement of the spirit in and out of the wood, creating depth of flavor and a well-developed aroma.\nThe House of Semp\u00e9 is one of the best-known trading houses in Armagnac, founded in 1934 by Abel Semp\u00e9, a Gascon who worked tirelessly in the service of his country and his region. Known as a member of the resistance for the Armagnac battalion, he later served as Senator for the Gers for many years. He spread the Semp\u00e9 Armagnac brand around the world in the 1950s and some of the stunning vintages he acquired can still be enjoyed today.\nShown in a classic 'Milady' bottle, this expression features a stunning label decorated with gold and a simple wooden presentation box emblazoned with the Semp\u00e9 name. This would make a wonderful gift for anyone with a 1951 birthday or anniversary.\nHow to Serve Armagnac Semp\u00e9 1951\nTo fully appreciate the complex depth of this vintage, we recommend serving it at a slightly warmer temperature of 20-22\u00b0C. Pour into a tulip glass and wait a few minutes for the spirit to settle and concentrate its full aromas. Take your time and savor the moment; after all, this is an Armagnac that has waited over half a century to be tasted.\nAndere Armagnac Produkte\nAlle Armagnac Produkte >>\nArmagnac Jean Cav\u00e9 Hors d'Age\nArmagnac Bas Veuve LaFontan & ses Enfants 60 ans Doyen d'Age\nArmagnac Duc Moisans XO\nArmagnac Semp\u00e9 XO","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Brandon Raub Speaks\nThis Former Marine Unlawfully Detained And Committed By Police Is Suing The Government\nMichael Kelley | Aug. 30, 2012, 11:02 AM\nYouTube\/TRIFreedomUnderFire\nRaub served as a Marine combat engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2005 to 2011, earning the rank of sergeant.\nThis Marine Veteran Was Picked Up By The Feds Over Facebook Posts About 9\/11\nThis Is How We Know The Shocking Facts About Spy Campaign 'TrapWire' Are True\nHere's What You Need To Know About The NDAA's Indefinite Detention Clause\nThe former Marine who was unlawfully detained and placed in a psychiatric institution by authorities is filing a civil lawsuit against government officials involved.\nBrandon Raub, 26, was detained on August 16 in connection to Facebook posts critical of the government after authorities from the FBI, Secret Service and local Virginia police questioned him at his home in Chesterfiled, Va.\nOn August 20 a judge ordered Raub to spend up to 30 days in a psych ward, but on August 23 a circuit court judge dismissed the government's case and ordered Raub's immediate release because the petition for his detainment was \"so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy.\"\nNow the decorated Marine veteran is suing the government officials who were involved in the unlwaful arrest and detention.\nIn an interview with his lawyer John Whitehead, Raub said that the experience \"made me scared for my country\u2014the idea that a man can be snatched out of his property without being read his rights should be extremely alarming to all Americans.\"\n\"Brandon Raub's case exposed the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that seems to be targeting Americans, especially military veterans, for expressing their discontent over America's rapid transition to a police state,\" Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said in statement. \"Brandon Raub is not the first veteran to be targeted for speaking out against the government, detained against his will. \u2026 Hopefully, by holding officials accountable, we can ensure that Brandon is the last.\"\nWhile in one of two psych wards Raub said he didn't know why he was singled out and that he found the situation \"extremely ironic\" because he was considering reenlisting in the Marine Corps.\nBelow is Whitehead's interview with Raub in which they speak about his military service, what he considers the problems of the U.S. government and the details of his detention:\nSEE ALSO: Judge Orders Release Of Detained Marine From Psychiatric Hospital >\nRead more: http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/brandon-raub-suing-government-2012-8#ixzz254VIWgKU\nBrandon Raub Speaks Out About His Imprisonment For Facebook Comments\nBrandon Raub's attorneys to file civil suit against government\nPosted on: 12:01 pm, August 29, 2012, by Alix Bryan\nCHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR)\u2014Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute are preparing to file a civil lawsuit against government officials who were involved in the arrest and detention of the 26-year-old Virginia resident, and Marine veteran Brandon Raub.\nRaub was arrested by FBI, Secret Service agents and local police on August 16, 2012, and detained in a psychiatric ward from Aug. 16-Aug. 23, for posting controversial song lyrics and political views on his private Facebook page.\nBONUS: Marine veteran Brandon Raub discusses detention over Facebook post\nJudge Allan Sharrett, a Hopewell County judge, dismissed the case. He said that the original petition for Raub's detention contained no facts. In other words, there was no information on why Raub was being held \u2014 and the judge deemed this violated his civil liberties.\nThe Rutherford Institute said that since coming to Raub's defense, military veterans across the country have contacted them and recounted similar incidents.\nBONUS: Full text, Brandon Raub's proclamation: Take our Republic back\nAccording to the press release, Rutherford Institute attorneys plan to take issue with the manner in which Virginia's civil commitment statutes are being used to silence individuals engaged in lawfully exercising their free speech rights.\nAnthony Troy and Brian Fowler with Troutman Sanders LLP of Richmond, Va., will be acting as affiliate attorneys for The Rutherford Institute in preparation of the civil lawsuit.\nCOMPLETE COVERAGE: Chesterfield Marine veteran detained over Facebook posts\nBrandon Raub to be transferred to Salem psych ward\nFull text, Brandon Raub's proclamation: Take our Republic back\nMother of detained Marine vet says he's a patriot, not a threat\nStatement from attorneys on Brandon Raub detention\nChesterfield police: Raub resisted officers, was taken for evaluation\nChesterfield Marine veteran to remain detained over Facebook posts\nChesterfield man, Marine veteran, detained over Facebook posts\nNew York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Assisted Vito Lopez In A Coverup By Giving Victims $103G Public Funds As Hush Money\nI'm posting political pieces such as the Silver-Lopez-Lippman stuff below just to show how education politics must be understood before anything really changes for the better in our public schools. My opinion: get the triumvirate out of New York State.\nSilver hit by 'hu$h' probe\nBy ERIK KRISS in Albany and JOSH MARGOLIN in NY POST\nLast Updated:3:26 AM, August 29, 2012\nPosted:12:50 AM, August 29, 2012\nNYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver\nA state ethics committee created by Gov. Cuomo has launched a potentially damning probe into the six-figure Assembly payout to two of Vito Lopez's alleged sex-harassment victims \u2014 a deal Speaker Sheldon Silver now admits he green-lighted, sources said yesterday.\nWith his role in the scandal facing intense scrutiny, Silver made a stunning mea culpa last night.\n\"I now believe it was the wrong one from the perspective of transparency,\" he said in a statement, referring to the decision to keep the settlement under wraps.\n\"I take full responsibility in not insisting that all cases go to the ethics committee.\"\nHe then laid out his mistakes in authorizing the $103,080 settlement:\n\"The Assembly (1) should not agree to a confidential settlement, (2) should insist that the basic factual allegations of any complaint be referred to the ethics committee for a full investigation and (3) should publicly announce the existence of any settlement, while protecting the identity of the victims,\" Silver said.\nThe rare admission by one of the state's most powerful lawmakers comes during the opening stages of an investigation by the independent Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), which \"will focus on the process'' that led to the taxpayer-funded settlement, a source said.\nProbers are interested in what led to the deal, who did the negotiating and how the final terms were hammered out, sources said.\nCuomo \u2014 who created JCOPE last year to police the state government \u2014 yesterday said investigators should probe Lopez's alleged sexual misconduct.\n\"What's really troubling here is a person coming forward and saying they were harassed by a public official,\" he said. \"If there were repeated instances of it, I think he should resign everything.\"\nStill, the governor defended the use of public funds to settle sex-harass cases.\n\"This would not be the first harassment case that the state settled . . . It's the obligation of the state to settle the claims, if you can,'' he said.\nThe costly deal involved two women, The New York Times reported.\nThe deal also was well-known to more state officials than previously thought, The Post has learned. A lawyer in Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office reviewed the settlement and made a recommendation on it, although neither the lawyer nor Schneiderman was involved in its approval, said a top aide to the AG. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office cut the check for it.\nLopez, 71, yesterday resigned as Brooklyn's Democratic Party leader, but vowed to hold on to his Assembly seat, despite calls for his ouster.\nHe was censured and stripped of his position as head of the Assembly's Housing Committee by Silver on Friday after the Assembly's ethics panel charged that Lopez groped at least two young female staffers.\nIt was then revealed that two other women claimed he had sexually harassed them \u2014 but Assembly leaders quietly dealt with them by negotiating the settlement.\nThe president of the National Organization for Women of New York City, Sonia Ossorio, said Silver's feet need to be held to the fire.\n\"This earlier complaint was never reported to the Assembly's ethics committee,'' she said.\n\"Sheldon Silver is now in the hot seat with Lopez, and he has a lot of explaining to do.\"\nA Silver spokesman previously said that the only time complaints aren't investigated by the ethics committee is when victims insist that they not be \"for reasons of personal privacy.''\nGloria Allred, lawyer for at least one of the women in the settlement, said in a statement yesterday, \"We have never requested or insisted that a legislative committee or other body not proceed with an investigation.\"\nLopez denied the charges in a statement yesterday, saying, \"I never sexually harassed any staff, and I hope and intend to prove in the coming months the political nature of these accusations.\"\nKevin Mintzer, the lawyer for the two other women whose complaints led to Lopez's censure, demanded that the Brooklyn kingmaker be immediately forced to give up his Assembly seat.\n\"The notion that Mr. Lopez will continue to be in a position to sexually harass other Assembly employees is intolerable,'' Mintzer said.\nLopez, in resigning his local party post, said he did so because of an \"onslaught of character attacks.''\nThey have \"put enormous emotional pressures on my family and close friends. I cannot sit by and allow that to continue,\" said the pol, who has a longtime girlfriend.\nBut a Brooklyn party source said Lopez doesn't want to give up his Assembly seat because he is still hoping to get rid of Lincoln Restler, a fellow district leader who could challenge Lopez's prot\u00e9g\u00e9, City Councilman Steve Levin.\nFormer Assemblyman Frank Seddio is said to be a front-runner to replace Lopez as party leader.\nAdditional reporting by Sally Goldenberg, Rich Calder, Fredric U. Dicker, Dan Mangan, Kate Sheehan\nFrom Betsy Combier :\nWe all remember Wayne Barrett's expose of the corruption inside our Unified Court System, right? Now President Obama has appointed Shelly Silver - oops, I mean Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman - to the Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute:\nPresident Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts\nWASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:\n\u2022 Jonathan Lippman \u2013 Member, Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute\nThe President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:\n\u2022 John F. Sopko \u2013 Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction\nPresident Obama said, \"The extraordinary dedication these individuals bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.\"\nPresident Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:\nJudge Jonathan Lippman, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute\nJudge Jonathan Lippman is currently Chief Judge of the State of New York and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a position he has held since 2009. Judge Lippman has spent his entire legal career in the New York State court system, serving for 40 years in a variety of roles. He was Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Department from 2007 to 2009; an Associate Justice of the Appellate Term for the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts from 2006 to 2007; a Justice of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District from 2006 to 2009; and Chief Administrative Judge of all New York State Courts from 1996 to 2007. Judge Lippman is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices, former President of the Conference of State Court Administrators, and former Vice Chair of the Board of the National Center for State Courts. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, which the National Center for State Courts awarded to him in 2008. He holds a B.A. from New York University in Government and International Relations and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.\nCuomo's on the case\nPosted:10:27 PM, August 28, 2012\nGov. Cuomo yesterday took effective custody of the Sheldon Silver-Vito Lopez sexual-harassment scandal \u2014 urging his hand-tooled Joint Commission on Public Ethics to work its way to the bottom of Albany's latest bubbling cesspool.\nJCOPE was Cuomo's idea, and six of the agency's 14 members \u2014 including Executive Director Ellen Biben \u2014 are Cuomo retainers of some standing.\nEllen Biben\nAs is Letizia Tagliaferro, named by Biben yesterday as JCOPE's director of investigations and enforcement.\nThese are people of considerable talent, as well. They're well-equipped to make quick work of the Silver-Lopez scandal \u2014 should they choose to do so.\nAnd if they don't \u2014 well, it's on Cuomo.\nLate yesterday, the governor publicly called on JCOPE to investigate the sexual-harassment allegations against Lopez.\nGood for the governor.\nBut any investigation that doesn't include a thorough public airing of just how the Assembly came to make a surreptitious $103,000, taxpayer-funded payment to make the Lopez claim go away will be no investigation at all.\nSilver, of course, had to be right in the middle of it all; no payment of any sort would have been made without the Assembly speaker's imprimatur.\nSo a serious probe by definition means that Cuomo and Silver are hell-bent for a major collision.\nFine by us.\nCuomo came to office promising \"a new day in Albany\" and a vow to \"restore honor and integrity to government.\"\nNot that he's in any way responsible for Lopez's misdeeds, of course. Nor for those of Albany's legion of legislative malfeasors.\nSilver, on the other hand, has been an enabler of misconduct for years \u2014 going back at least to when he used tax dollars to bail one of his own key aides out of a sexual-misconduct mess.\nAuthorizing Lopez's payout, in other words, was just another day at the office for the speaker.\nAnd, in that respect, getting to the bottom of Silver's behavior is \u2014 institutionally speaking \u2014 of far more importance than determining who Lopez groped and when he groped them.\nLopez, it appears, is just a pig.\nSilver is one of the most powerful elected officials in Albany \u2014 not someone who should be rolling around in the muck with all the other oinkers.\nSilver said yesterday that he believes the secret payout was \"wrong . . . from the perspective of transparency.\"\nSaid Cuomo: \"I think JCOPE should do an investigation of the allegations that have been made and let's have the facts.\"\nFrom his lips to Biben's ear.\nWe don't doubt that she's listening.\nFrom Betsy Combier:\nYou cant make this stuff up. Let's see how Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Governor Andrew Cuomo get out of this one. We, the public dont need any of these cheats, including Cuomo.\nSilver Lopez New York's Joe Paterno Sandusky\nPay to Play Sexual Abuse Cover Up\nAlbany's Blue Wall of Silence: No Outrage By Members\nLopez, as sketchy a pol as they come, now turns out to be a serial molester. And Silver has been an enabler \u2014 and, effectively, his paymaster. Vito Lopez needs to go. Shelly Silver needs to come clean. Now. .@nypostopinion calls Vito Lopez a \"serial molester\" & NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon SIlver his \"enabler\" * Daily News: Speaker Sheldon Silver's handling of case against Vito Lopez needs full probe\"A hushed up settlement with tax dollars is not in the public interest * Albany's enforcement mechanisms \u2014 supposedly bolstered by Cuomo \u2014 broke down badly when it came to Lopez.\" * Rumors of an Albany housecleaning have been greatly exaggerated * The Times urges Lopez to resign from the state assembly and demands the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics begin investigating the matter: * The Daily News calls for a full probe of the Lopez harassment incidents and the events that led the Assembly to settle one claim: * Newsday praises state officials for getting serious about cleaning up Albany, but worries that pols will continue to violate the law or breach ethical standards: * The TU says it's time for Lopez to go. *State Paid $103,000 to Settle Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Vito Lopez(NY Mag) * Vito Lopez Sexual Harassment Claims Settled By Sheldon Silver's Authorization Of Secret Payment(Huff Post) *\"this could be worse than the Michael Boxley affair\"--@Fud31 re: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's handling of Vito Lopez case.* Tax $ Settled Assembly Sex Claim: Report(NBC) * \"Vito Lopez is a sexual predator who should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law with both criminal and civil charges against him,\" Lincoln Restler said. \"His corrupt reign has, fortunately, come to an end.\" * Citizens Union would like JCOPE to take a look into the settlement with Lopez's first sexual harassment allegation. * Governor Cuomo agreed that the ethics panel needs to do something. * Cuomo Wants Facts In Lopez Investigation(YNN) * Gloria Allred, who represented at least one woman who settled with Lopez, said her firm has \"never requested or insisted that a legislative committee or other body not proceed with an investigation.\" * (Another Bragg piece): NYC Councilman Dan Halloran is campaigning for Congress on a shoestring budget, and was able to travel to Israel \u2013 in style \u2013 thanks to funding from a Brooklyn nonprofit, the World Committee.\nBloomberg Doing His Best Sargent Schultz \"I know Nothing\"On Lopez\n.@MikeBloomberg, asked whether @vitojlopez should resign, says \"it's up to the albany legislature to investigate\" .@MikeBloomberg, asked whether @VitoJLopez assembly payment was appropriate, said \"I just don't know what laws are\"* Bloomberg Declines to Opine on Vito Lopez's Woes(NYO)\nSilver Spokesman Victim Asked for Privacy\nA spokesman for Silver's office said that the only situation where a complaint isn't referred to the ethics committee is when a victim asks for privacy. (WNYC)\nGloria Allred Not True\nA statement Tuesday from Gloria Allred, an attorney for the woman, said they have \"never requested or instead that a legislative committee or other body not proceed with an investigation.\"\nThe DN editorial board says: Spill the Vito Lopez secrets\nThe New York Times called on Lopez to step down, while the New York Post and the Daily News put the heat on Shelly Silver instead.\nShelly buys silence(NYP) Was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's lightning-fast crackdown last week on a powerful colleague charged with sexually harassing two female interns meant to divert attention from his own misuse of public money? * Last night, in response to a FOIL request, the amount was disclosed: $103,080, paid two months ago. * Assembly Paid $103,000 in Harassment Case(NYT)Sheldon Silver, the New York State Assembly speaker, authorized the secret payment to settle sexual harassment claims against Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, according to Assembly records.Assemblyman Vito Lopez denied charges he sexually harassed female staff members and has \"no intention of resigning,\" but records showed Speaker Shelly Silver approved a $103,080 payment to settle his claim. Lawmaker Denies Sexual Charges(WSJ) *Looks like Vito's grabby tendencies cost taxpayers $103k(NYDN) * copy of \"Quick Pay Voucher\" suggesting there was a $100K settlement for a prior Vito Lopez case. * The voucher said the money was used for \"legal services.\" [Erik Kriss] * A Silver spokesman said alleged victims can request that sexual harassment cases not be referred to the Assembly's ethics committee. [Jon Campbell] Lots of Buzz about Lopez stepping down (NYO)\nFake Sheldon Silver \u200f@ShellySilver\nGevalt. The Senate is a mess. The press should focus on this... RT @nydailynews Queens Sen. Shirley Huntley indicted\nThere is precedent for such action.\nBack in 2003, Silver's chief counsel, Michael Boxley, plea-bargained his way out of a rape charge leveled by a 22-year-old legislative intern \u2014 after which it came to light that two years earlier, another staffer had charged Boxley with sexually assaulting her.he. The first victim subsequently sued \u2014 pocketing a $507,500 payment, plus legal fees, with all but $20,000 of the bill being borne by the taxpayers.\nDeep Throat: Follow the Money\nDaily News The $103,080 does not represent the full size of the settlement\"\nNYT leaves out Naomi Rivera when writing about the latest Albany scandals. Has never talked about Naomi Rivera\nThe Bronx establishment is going all-out to save Naomi Rivera.* The Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heastie is \"unwavering\" in his support for Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, who is the subject of four ongoing investigations. [Sally Goldenberg]\nLabels: Betsy Combier\nBrandon Raub Speaks Out About His Imprisonment For...\nNew York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Ass...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"GOLD LIST\nWomen Who Travel\nSUBSCRIBE AND GET 1 YEAR FOR $21.99 $10\nThe Best NYC Museums You've Never Heard Of\nThere's more to see below Chambers Street besides the typical tourist spots. Depart from the crowds (as much as you can, anyway) and visit these 10 museums exploring NYC's history, skyscrapers, and even its elevators.\nBy Jillian Anthony\nCastle Clinton\nThis stronghold at the tip of Manhattan has served the people of New York City in many different capacities. It was originally built to ward off the British in 1812, then adapted into a promenade and beer garden before converting into the first immigration station in New York. \"Many Americans who think their families came through Ellis Island actually came through Castle Clinton,\" says National Park Service's Chief of Operations and Visitor Services Liam Strain. The castle also housed NYC's first aquarium, which was the busiest spot in the city during the days when New York first became a tourist attraction.\nKnown as the birthplace of American government, Federal Hall has been the site of the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The original building, which was torn down and rebuilt as a Customs House with a grand Neoclassical Greco-Roman design, was where George Washington took his oath of office\u2014you can even see the Bible he swore on and the actual stone he stood upon while doing it\u2014and where the Bill of Rights was drafted.\nFraunces Tavern Museum\nStanding out against an endless backdrop of skyscrapers is Fraunces Tavern, a building that still looks just like it did in the 1700s when it served as a meeting place for America's forefathers like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams. The tavern houses paintings of revolutionary scenes and cartography buffs can peruse 27 maps of the United States from the 18th and 19th centuries; visitors can also dine at one of the building's eight restaurants and bars.\nMmuseumm\nAn only-in-New-York sort of gem, this teeny museum is located entirely within one elevator shaft. The museum displays contemporary artifacts that showcase the modern world and include a bag of Cable Car Gummy Worms, a bag of cheese puffs and, formerly, the shoe George W. Bush narrowly dodged as it flew toward him in 2008. The museum is currently closed to make way for a new installation but will reopen soon, so email info@mmuseumm.com to book a tour.\nMuseum of American Finance\nJust a few streets away from the selfie-magnet Charging Bull statue is a museum dedicated to what makes our capitalist society go round: money. Housed in the very appropriate setting of the historic Bank of New York, built in 1929, the banking hall showcases exhibitions on the financial guru of the U.S., Alexander Hamilton, as well as rare items like a 1792 Treasury Bond owned and signed by George Washington, ticker tape from the stock market crash of 1929 and a solid-gold Monopoly game set worth $2 million.\nMuseum of Jewish Heritage\nThis waterfront institution with sweeping views of New York Harbor and neighboring Battery Park is a reflective look into the Jewish experience, both past and present. The three floors of the core exhibition tell sobering stories of the Holocaust through more than 4,000 first-person testimonies and artifacts the time, while special exhibitions like \"Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism explore Jews' significant cultural contributions.\" \"Universal themes of heritage, humanity, hope, and renewal touch people of every background and faith,\" says director of marketing Lisa Safier. Make sure to take some time to meditate in the Garden of Stones, where trees bloom from the center of boulders each year in a powerful sculpture memorial.\nMuseum of the American Indian\nLocated inside the statuesque Beaux Arts-style Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, this 99-year-old institution offers a comprehensive look at the native groups of the Western hemisphere and the suffering they've endured at the hands of European settlers. \"This museum teaches not just accurate histories of Native peoples, but also highlights the present and illuminates the futures of the great many for whom this institution honors,\" says Public Affairs Specialist Joshua Stevens. \"We are in the business of correcting histories, and histories are corrected only if they are known.\"\nThough it's officially a place to learn about New York's history as a port city, the Seaport is really a sweet escape from the bustling madness of the metropolis. \"I'd characterize the museum as a hidden treasure,\" says Executive Director Jonathan Boulware. \"The buildings, the district and the museum itself are really Old New York.\" Head to Schermerhorn Row to learn about the shipping trade and Peter Schermerhorn's merchant business, see 19th-century letterpresses in action on Water Street, and finally, go to Pier 16 to see the Street of Ships and catch a ride on a 130-year-old schooner.\nCheapest Nicest: 10 European Cities to Visit on a Budget\nAnna Prendergast\nHow to Get Cheap Last-Minute Flights, According to the Experts\nMark Ellwood\nWhy 2023 Will Be the Year of the Airport Lounge\nCarly Helfand\nProtests in Peru: With Machu Picchu and Airports Closed, What Travelers Need to Know\nRachel Chang\nSkyscraper Museum\nLearn about the makings of New York's iconic and ever-changing skyline at this small museum that simulates its core subject matter through a \"vertical Versailles\" of reflective panels and a mirrored stainless steel ceiling. The current exhibition, \"Ten Tops,\" surveys skyscrapers with more than 100 stories worldwide and includes wind tunnel models, blueprints, and photos of buildings including the Burj Khalifa, Shanghai Tower, and the first-ever 100-story skyscraper, the Empire State Building.\nMore from Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler\nThe 13 Best Museums in Philadelphia\nBy Nancy DePalma\nNYC Hotel Week Is Here\u2014Save on Stays at The William Vale, The Beekman, and More Top-Tier Hotels\nBy Alex Erdekian\nThe 11 Best Spas in New York City\nBy Gabby Shacknai\nBy Anna Prendergast\nThe Best Airbnbs in New Jersey, From Beach Houses to Historic Estates\nBy Rachel Chang\nWellness & Spas\nThe 19 Best Spas in London, According to Our U.K. Editors\nBy Issy von Simson\nCond\u00e9 Nast Traveler does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published by Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.\n\u00a9 2023 Cond\u00e9 Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond\u00e9 Nast. Ad Choices","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"7th Regiment\nAmerican Colonial\nAntiquery\nBrass Barrel\nBrescian\nBritish East India Company\nCartridge Box\nDouble Barrel\nEnglish Gun Maker\nFirearms Guns Flintlock French & Indian War Revolutionary War British Military\nFlayderman's Guide\nFort Cumberland\nFrench & Indian War 1754-1763\nGeneral Braddock\nGun Maker\nHistoric Americana\nKepi.\nKing Frederick II\nKing Frederick William II\nKing George II\nKing George III\nMusket\nMuzzle-loader\nNapoleonic War\nNautical Antiques\nPercussion Cap\nPin Fire Revolver\nPlains Indian Wars\nPost-Revolutionary War to Civil War\nPowder Horn\nRiggs & Brothers\nSaddle Holsters\nSinclair Saber\nTwigg\nWW I\nantique 19th century\nantique cannon\nbelt dagger\niron cannon\npercussion pistol\npowder flask\n(PAIR) of 18th-early 19th Century English Military Cannon Powder Buckets, #2002\n(PAIR) of Large American Indian Wars Images, #1875 Militaria\n(PAIR) of Leather Saddle Holsters for a Brace of Flintlock Pistols, #2486\n19th Century Drum, #840 Militaria\nA Fantastic (PAIR) of Early 18th Century Iron Ship's Cannon\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21 \/ 22 \/ 23 \/ 24 \/ 25 \/ 26 \/ 27 \/ 28\nA Fine (PAIR) of Leather Saddle Holsters for a Brace of Flintlock Pistols, #3037 Militaria\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9\nA Fine Civil War Era Military Federal Snare Drum, #2803 Militaria\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12\nA Good 17th Century Italian\/Brescian Wheel Lock Mechanism\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11\nA Good American CIVIL WAR UNION Infantry Model 1855 Cartridge Box, 7th New York , #3215 Militaria\nA Good English Brass Barrel Flintlock Blunderbuss by TWIGG, LONDON\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17\nA Good European Battle Flail \/ Morning Star of Medieval form\nA Good European Battle Morning Star Mace of Medieval form\nA Good French Military Model 1822 Percussion Service Pistol, St. Etienne Arsenal\nA Good Late Civil War - Plains Indian Wars - WW I Era Binoculars by RIGGS & BRO, PHILADEPHIA\nA Good PAIR of Pistol Saddle Holsters\nA Rare 16th Century Breastplate, most likely Italian or German\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10\nA Rare British Military\/East India Company Brown Bess Officer's Flintlock Fusil by WILSON dated 1779\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13\nA Rare German 17th Century \"SHOT-PROOF\" Weight Breastplate from the Armory of Archduke Eugen\nA Spectacular Museum Quality (BRACE) of Massive French Double Barrel Flintlock Holster Pistols\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21 \/ 22 \/ 23 \/ 24 \/ 25 \/ 26 \/ 27 \/ 28 \/ 29 \/ 30\nA Very Rare American Colonial French & Indian War Powder Horn Dated 1759\nAmerican Leather Shot Dispenser, #1988 Militaria\nAn Interesting Belt Dagger\nAn Interesting German\/Prussian Military Hanger Reign of Frederick II - Frederick William II, King of Prussia\nBritish Military Tomb Stone Hat, 23rd Regiment, #2714 Militaria\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21\nCivil War Albany, NEW YORK Zouave Cadet's Kepi, #963 Militaria\nCivil War Kepi, #976 Militaria\nCivil War Period 7th NEW YORK STATE MILITIA Kepi, #2601 Militaria\nCIVIL WAR Period French 12mm PIN FIRE Revolver by E Le Faucheux\nCIVIL WAR UNION CARTRIDGE BOX, #2891 Militaria\nCivil War-Early Indian Wars Federal Kepi, #1778 Militaria\nColonial Period (Single) Flintlock Saddle Holster, #1523 Militaria\nDUPONT Black Powder Keg, #1884 Militaria\nEarly 19th Century American 2-Point Officer's Hat, #2624 Militaria\nEnglish 19th Century Drum and Leather Sling, 101 Regiment, #2680 Militaria\nEnglish Leather Shot Dispenser, #1987 Militaria\nEnglish William IV-Queen Victoria Period Personal Traveling Set, #1876 Militaria\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21 \/ 22 \/ 23 \/ 24 \/ 25\nEuropean\/Ottoman Leather Belt Pouch, #477 Militaria\nEXTREMELY RARE CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE CARTRIDGE BOX, S. S. COTTRELL & CO. C. S. ARSENAL RICHMOND DATED 1863\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21 \/ 22 \/ 23 \/ 24 \/ 25 \/ 26 \/ 27 \/ 28 \/ 29 \/ 30 \/ 31 \/ 32 \/ 33 \/ 34 \/ 35 \/ 36 \/ 37 \/ 38 \/ 39 \/ 40 \/ 41 \/ 42 \/ 43\nFEATURED ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S TV SHOW MASTER OF ARMS !!! A Good English Iron Barrel Flintlock Blunderbuss by John PARKINSON, LONDON\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15 \/ 16 \/ 17 \/ 18 \/ 19 \/ 20 \/ 21 \/ 22\nFrench Brass Napoleonic War Regimental Shako\/Haversack Plate, #776 Militaria\nFrench Military Artillery Cartridge\/Fuse Bandolier, #508 Militaria\nJapanese Edo Period Single Abumi (stirrup), #2582 Militaria\nLarge Colonial Wood Water Canteen, #856 Militaria\nMiniature On Ivory Painting of King Friedrich der Grasse (Frederick The Great) Framed In Tortoise & Ivory Dated 1779, #1469 Militaria\nPair of French Saddle Holsters for the Pistol., #988 Militaria\nPair of Saddle Holsters for the Pistol., #2721 Militaria\nImages \/ 1 \/ 2 \/ 3 \/ 4 \/ 5 \/ 6 \/ 7 \/ 8 \/ 9 \/ 10 \/ 11 \/ 12 \/ 13 \/ 14 \/ 15\nScottish Sinclair Saber, #1605 Edged Weapons\nU. S. Navy 2-Point CHAPEAU BRAS Cocked Hat, #2807 Militaria\nUnidentified Civil War Period ? Militia Kepi, #2675 Militaria","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"A tale of two hashtags\nMay 28, 2014by bbp adminin Blog\nIn the last week, for very different reasons, two particular hashtags got a lot of attention on Twitter.\nDuring the run-up to Thursday's UK local and European elections, the UK Independence Party tried to drum up visibility (though why they thought it was needed given the relentless media attention\u2026) by pushing the use of #WhyImVotingUkip. The goal was to get supporters sharing their motivations, presumably to open up a wider audience to the attractions of the party's position.\nI could be wrong, but I get the sense that Ukip's communications people don't really get what a tech-savvy userbase is able to do to a hashtag campaign by a controversial brand. Either that or they have uncommon faith in human nature \u2013 which is unlikely, given they rely so heavily on bringing out the worst in people.\nWere they, I wonder, surprised when the hijack happened?\n#WhyImVotingUkip because I heard they were going to take Britain out of Europe, so I'm hoping they move us somewhere hot like the Caribbean\n\u2014 Dominic McGregor (@DominicMcGregor) May 22, 2014\n#WhyImVotingUkip because Dracula was from Romania and we need to keep vampires away\n\u2014 Carlos Adama (@Carlos_Adama) May 21, 2014\nBecause I want any child in Britain whose parents aren't the same race is Nigel Farage to live in fear #WhyImVotingUkip\n\u2014 Tony Grew (@ayestotheright) May 21, 2014\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/loveandgarbage\/statuses\/468897025506172928\n#WhyImVotingUkip because if I don't we'll all be eating romanian gay-bombs while the EU makes my nan wear a burkha. Or something.\n\u2014 Jason Cook (@jasonmarkcook) May 21, 2014\nObviously in the early stages there were a number of very earnest Tweets by actual supporters delivering their personal viewpoint on why Ukip was going to be good for the country. But it was the sarcastic and undermining thread of messages that quickly dominated the hashtag and its media coverage, many using the opportunity to highlight the more extreme positions stated by the party's supporters.\nIt's astonishing that a brand almost defined by the extreme division between its followers and opponents should throw something like this out into the world with no thought as to how it could backfire. No doubt Ukip could argue that given the results it didn't damage their campaign, but given this is a party whose own spokeswoman acknowledged their difficulty in getting their message across to the \"more media-savvy, educated\" sections of the populace, you'd think someone would have flagged that giving that audience another stick with which to beat them wasn't necessarily the brightest idea.\nAt the other end of the scale, and showing how a hashtag that emerges organically is often more effective than a manufactured one, was the #YesAllWomen wave.\nWhen multiple-murderer Elliot Rodger's videos and online manifesto were discovered, his misogynistic attitudes and goal to target women who had not given him what he believed he deserved were quickly seized upon. (The complex system of motivation and circumstance that tipped Rodger over the edge is far beyond the outsider's ability to judge \u2013 here I'm only discussing the statements he made and the response to them.) It's common when male violence against women happens for some men to jump to their gender's defence by pointing out that \"not all men\" carry out these acts, which while true has become something of a clich\u00e8. The broad goal of #YesAllWomen is to counter that: Not all men behave like this, but all women have to live in a world where they could be a victim of this. Under the hashtag, women and men alike offered viewpoints and experiences highlighting the reality of their world:\n\"I have a boyfriend\" is the easiest way to get a man to leave you alone. Because he respects another man more than you. #yesallwomen\n\u2014 Ariel Filion (@ArielFilion) May 27, 2014\n#YesAllWomen because I was told \"don't wear that, guys will look at you\" but my brother wasn't told \"don't look at girls like that\"\n\u2014 Whats Good, Miley!? (@avonsloveaffair) May 26, 2014\n#YesAllWomen started in response to a mass shooting in CA but it's trending worldwide b\/c harassment of women is a problem everywhere\n\u2014 Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) May 27, 2014\n#YesAllWomen because Taylor Swift gets more hate from singing about her life experiences than Robin Thicke did for making a song about rape.\n\u2014 lexi (@LexayRaee) May 25, 2014\nThe cops who asked me \"Well, what were you wearing?\" when I reported an attack and attempted rape. #YesAllWomen\n\u2014 Aimee Mann (@aimeemann) May 25, 2014\nUnsurprisingly, many of the users employing the hashtag were attacked, which in many ways only served to illustrate the need for it in the first place. Even these responses only served to broaden the reach of the hashtag though, leading at least a couple of tools I've seen calculate its reach so far as over one billion impressions.\nA hashtag like this explodes because it taps into a very real experience shared by huge numbers of women, but sometimes it takes a catalyst, even a terrible one, to bring that experience into the open.\nIf there's one thing that the stories of each of these hashtags illustrate it's that very little beats passion and spontaneity when it comes to giving social media an impact. Which is why I suspect I'm not the only one who took the story of 45 days to plan and execute a single Tweet as satire when I first read it.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The first line of this book is a perfect introduction into how the rest of this book is going to go:\nTheoretically, Blue Sargent was probably going to kill one of these boys.\nWelcome to Dream Thieves, people! Where Blue Sargent owns 3 \u00bd boys who she loves but exasperate her to no end. There's also the quick recap about the whole true-love's-kiss-and-then-he-dies scenario, but we've talked about that extensively and you probably already know what's up.\nRight now, we're standing on a hilltop. It's windy. Gansey is busy being beautiful on top of the hill in his infamous yellow polo shirt, and Blue is busy thinking about him being turned into a statue outside a library so she can look at him all day long. That's love, folks.\nExcept that Blue has just decided it's not, because he made a stupid feminist joke. And, anyways, she already decided she's into Adam. Who cares about Gansey's \"nice mouth\" and \"gloriously tanned legs?\" Certainly not Blue Sargent.\nThey stood in a close circle: Adam Parrish, gaunt and fair; Noah Czerny, smudgy and slouching; and Ronan Lynch, ferocious and dark. On Ronan's tattooed shoulder perched his pet raven, Chainsaw.\nJust in case you forgot who you were dealing with. (I've been doing a lot of reading for my classics class, and these adjectives remind me of a lot of the epithets you get in epic poetry\u2014gaunt Adam and smudgy Czerny stood next to the war-painted Ronan).\nBlue joins the circle and Adam touches her elbow, which is supposed to be romantic, I think. Ronan is too busy opening up a small model plane to notice. Upon closer examination everyone realizes the battery hatch is empty, and so the plane shouldn't be able to fly. Adam points that out and Ronan makes fun of him for it. It's all very teenage boy.\nGansey takes a more scholarly approach\u2014there's an empty space in the plane, something should probably go in there, right? Ronan sleeping brain answered missiles but he didn't manage to take those, so Blue suggests grass seeds. Resourcefulness is one of her best qualities. Ronan thinks so, too, which is why he says \"good thinking, Maggot.\" Blue ignores him and compares the dynamics of their group to the plane's controllers, which has five buttons. Adam is the button off to the side, apparently. This part isn't very subtle.\nI have three things to say about this section: first, Ronan calling Blue \"Maggot\" is very important to me. Second, shut up about how Adam isn't \"as close\" as the others, Blue. He's not the only one who was involved in a ritual sacrifice; your dad popped out of the ley line only to pop back in at the moment of your birth. We all deal with shit. And third, they are so very excited about this plane and it's just a really cute way to start off the story. I kind of can't get enough of it.\nRonan pitched the plane left and right, looping it around the crest, Chainsaw close behind. When the plane passed back overhead, he hit that fifth button. Seeds cascaded from the open hatch, rolling off their shoulders. Blue clapped and reached out her palm to catch one.\n\"You incredible creature,\" Gansey said.\nSee? Cute.\nWith Ronan's superpower proved real, they gather up their stuff and resume their walk along the ley line.\nI've said it once and I'll say it again: what a lovely way to start a book! All of our favorite teenagers are back to making fun of each other in the Virginia countryside. After what happened at the end of the last book, with all those fraught conversations and angry looks, it's nice to see them doing magic that doesn't result in one of their teachers getting trampled.\nI mentioned this briefly in the summary, but I think it's worth repeating that it's only chapter one and I'm already tired of everyone singling Adam out. Blue is pushing this idea that because Adam sacrificed his freedom to the ley line, that he's somehow set apart from the rest of them, and that's just not true? Out of the four boys Blue is observing, one is dead, one died and then was resurrected, one of them inherited the ability to pull objects out of his dreams. But somehow, Adam's the only one who took it too far. It doesn't add up!\nI think it's just because Blue is so aware of Adam, in the same way she's aware of Gansey. And even with Gansey she's too busy picking out all the things about him that sets him apart from her, the things she doesn't like. She's so used to feeling a special kinship with Adam because of their shared past that she's not sure what to do about this divergence in future. Which, okay. I get that. But don't compare him to the fifth button on the remote control. That's just rude.\nOverall, though, this chapter was emotionally and scenically beautiful. I want it painted, so I can hang it above the fireplace I don't have.\nLooking forward, I'm excited for a lot of things. Ronan and Blue's relationship really takes off from here (Maggot was only the beginning), Blue learns to love more about Gansey than just his \"gloriously tanned\" legs, and we get more and more and more magic.\nAnd Ronan stood there with his hands on the controller and his gaze on the sky, not smiling, but not frowning, either. His eyes were frighteningly alive, the curve of his mouth savage and pleased. It suddenly didn't seem at all surprising that he should be able to pull things from his dreams.\nIn that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys.\nThey set off on the perfectly straight ley line, Ronan's gaze still directed up to his plane and to Chainsaw, a white bird and a black bird against the azure ceiling of the world. As they walked, a sudden rush of wind hurled low across the grass, bringing with it the scent of moving water and rocks hidden in shadows, and Blue thrilled again and again with the knowledge that magic was real, magic was real, magic was real.\nAction: It's chapter one, dude. 5\/10\nMagic: Need I remind you: magic was real, magic was real, magic was real. 100\/10\nComic Relief: Gansey making anti-feminist jokes was a little too annoying to rate this any higher than a 7\/10\nbook review dream thieves trc reread","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"GOJIRA Officially Sign With Roadrunner Records\nA few days ago, we reported that the studio where Gojira is recording their new album pretty much gave away that the band had signed to Roadrunner Records. People at the label were keeping quiet until the official announcement was made, which we now have. Here is the official press release touting the band's signing:\n\"New York, NY: Roadrunner Records announced today the addition of French metal behemoths Gojira to the label. The band is universally recognized as one of the most talented and extreme art-metal acts on the scene today. Gojira is one of those rare bands that comes along every couple of years and takes everything you know about metal, twists it, reimagines it and comes up with something wholly unique. It's doubtful you've heard anything like Gojira before. The band makes that much of an impact with its music and approach.\nGojira are comprised of vocalist\/guitarist Joe Duplantier, who has a previous relationship with Roadrunner, having played bass on Cavalera Conspiracy's debutInflikted, along with guitarist Christian Andreu, bassist Jean-Michel Labadie and drummer Mario Duplantier, who is also Joe's brother!\n\"We are so stoked to walk with the legendary Roadrunner,\" Joe said about the new partnership. \"We discovered Sepultura, Machine Head, Death, Fear Factory and so many other great bands thanks to these guys. Roadrunner has been a great source of inspiration for us as metal fans. It's an honor to be part of this family today as a band. We feel we'll get the right support at the right moment in our career. We cannot wait to release our new record and get back on the road.\"\nThe band's Roadrunner debut will be its fifth album overall. It was 2005\u2032s From Mars to Sirius and 2008\u2032s The Way of All Flesh which established Gojira as a metal force of nature and a key player in the scene. The band will record in New York City, also the label's headquarters, in November 2011, with a spring 2012 release date being eyed. Joe Duplantier will serve in a co-producer capacity along Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God).\n\"I've been a huge Gojira fan ever since their monumental From Mars to Sirius album and have been actively pursuing them ever since,\" Roadrunner Senior VP of A&RMonte Conner said. \"I am thrilled to finally be welcoming them to the Roadrunnerfamily. Gojira are one of the best bands in metal today, with a sound and style all their own. Their live shows are unreal, from the level of playing, to the intensity, to the Godzilla like stomp that hits you in the chest.\"\nGojira have kept busy in between albums. They recently recorded the four-song Sea Shepherd EP, with all proceeds from the EP benefiting the Sea Shepherd charity. Sea Shepherd is a Washington-state based non-profit marine conservation organization which employs direct action tactics to protect sea life. One of the songs, \"Blood And Salt,\" recently surfaced on a Metal Hammer UK sampler CD.\nRelease details on that EP, which is loaded with A-list metal guests like Mastodon'sBrent Hinds, Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe, Soulfly's Max Cavalera and Strapping Young Lad's Devin Townsend to name a few, are yet to be determined.\nIn other Gojira news, the band will perform as part of Australia's Soundwave Festival, which is slated for February 2012.\"\nMetal Injection Writer's Top 20 Albums Of 2021\nNow that we're all wrapped up with our year-end lists of 2021, it's time to look at how all the albums stack up across...\nMetal InjectionDecember 20, 2021\nJeff Podoshen's Top 15 Albums Of 2021\n2021 wasn't a great year for live music as many promising tours were cancelled due to the pandemic. But luckily there were a lot...\nJeff PodoshenDecember 16, 2021\nRolling Stone's Top 10 Metal Albums Of 2021 List Has A Few Surprises\nPanopticon and Skepticism were cool picks.\nGreg KenneltyDecember 15, 2021\nDillon Collins' Top 10 Albums of 2021\nWhat a year. Truthfully, I didn't even want to rank these, but tradition is tradition. I started with a long list of 35 records...\nDillon CollinsDecember 13, 2021","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"P.E.I. Heritage Buildings\nThis Blog is to inform and display the architectural heritage of Prince Edward Island!\nSkinner's Pond and Stompin' Tom Connors\nAs most of you know, well-known Canadian musician Stompin' Tom Connors died last week in Ontario at the age of 77. Stompin' Tom was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. When he was a boy he came to live with the Aylward family in Skinner's Pond, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island - a community filled with Acadian and Irish culture.\nIn the early 1970's Stompin' Tom bought the old Skinner's Pond School (No. 19) and opened it as a museum about the school and his life's story. Over the years it fell in to disrepair - a local group offered to take over the operations of it and with some help from government kept it going until a dispute between Tom and a neighbour saw it closed for good.\nSkinner's Pond School. The school was opened between 1859 and 1860. At the time it was an Acadian school. First teacher listed (1780): Alice Hughes. Information cf. Some Historical and Biographical Notes of the Community (Parish) of Palmer Road. Compiled by Members of the Community School. 1973. St. Louis, P.E.I. Page 18. Also from this book, pages 29-30. Stompin' Tom Connors. Tom Connors was not born on the Island, but he is the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Aylward of Skinner's Pond. Tom has once been named as the top folk and country singer of the year in Canada. During the summer of 1972, in a brief ceremony in Charlottetown, Premier Alex Campbell named him the Province's Good Will Ambassador as a token of recognition of the efforts Tom has made both on a national and an international level in the promoting of his adopted province. Tom has purchased the old school at Skinner's Pond and plans to turn it into a sort of historical showcase. He has had the school completely renovated, and has had erected on the school grounds a small monument with a plaque which was placed during the official opening in June 1973.\nIn the 1990's CBC P.E.I. did two stories on Stompin' Tom's visit to the Island - his tour to Summerside, a tour of the schoolhouse and UPEI presenting him with an honorary degree - http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/prince-edward-island\/story\/2013\/03\/07\/pei-stompin-tom-connors-memories-584.html\nImage above cf. http:\/\/steprobin.wordpress.com\/2008\/09\/16\/prince-edward-island-eastern-pei-king%E2%80%99s-county-july-14-qnd-15\/\nI grew up about 10 miles from Skinner's Pond and would occasionally travel the shore road through Skinner's Pond. On the old school property Stompin' Tom had his truck on display in the yard - the truck he used to travel\/tour Canada. I remember it sat there for years and became very dilapidated!\nSkinner's Pond Historic Sites & Interpretive Centres\nSkinner's Pond Schoolhouse\nThis is the oldest original schoolhouse on P.E.I. There are several displays about the school's history and also one about legendary Canadian singer Stompin' Tom Connors who was a student here. A gift shop with unique P.E.I. souvenirs is also at the school.\nhttp:\/\/www.pei.worldweb.com\/SkinnersPondPE\/SightsAttractions\/HistoricSitesInterpretiveCentres\/\nI never knew this old school claimed such historical value - more investigation is required. As Mark (a blog follower) noted Fanning School in Malpeque has the claim of being the oldest school still standing on Prince Edward Island. See my previous blog post about Fanning School - http:\/\/peiheritagebuildings.blogspot.ca\/2011\/08\/fanning-school-malpeque.html\nBelow is a plaque which can be observed on the front yard of the schoolhouse.\nImage cf. http:\/\/photo.net\/off-topic-forum\/00bQSq\nThere's alot of information on the web about Stompin' Tom - one such is Wikipedia. Check it out - http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stompin'_Tom_Connors\nSkinner's Pond. Where did it get its' names? Below comes from Geographical Place Names of Prince Edward Island by Alan Rayburn, page 114.\nSkinners Pond: Adjacent to Northumberland Strait, Lot 1. Said to be names for a captain shipwrecked there. Also said to be derived from etang des Peaux, \"skin pond\". In Bayfield 1847. Wyld 1845 Stephens Inlet. 4 mi W of Tignish in Lot 1. PO 1856-1861 and 1867-1914.\nPosted by Carter W. Jeffery at 5:35 PM\nLabels: PEI Schoolhouse, Place Names of PEI, Skinners Pond, Stompin' Tom Connors\nRANDY HICKS March 25, 2013 at 2:23 PM\nI sure would like to see a picture of Toms truck chained to the concrete pad. I visited it years ago and have told many about it but no one even rememnbers. Most folks think I dreamed it!!\nRest in Peace Stompin Tom.\nRandy Hicks\nBlogger December 27, 2016 at 12:00 AM\nBluehost is ultimately the best website hosting company for any hosting services you need.\n\"Heritage Designs P.E.I.\" Book For Sale\n$19.95 + $4.95 Shipping + HST Orders: cwj@bellaliant.net\nQualified Professionals for your Project\nDirectory of PEI Craftsmen, Tradespeople & Merchants\nCanada's Historic Places\nC.W. Jeffery\nPrince Edward Island CANADA\nEmail: cwj@bellaliant.net\nFinding Architectural Elements\nSmith Ridge Inc.\nChapel Street, Tignish - 1911\nDigitized Architectural Drawings from PEI Archives\nBagnall's Pond\/Dam Flooding today\nHarry T. Holman retires after years of preserving ...\nMrs. Bagnall's house burns, Charlottetown, 1812\nSt. Dunstan's destroyed by fire 100 years ago\nP.E.I.M.H.F. Logo\nPatterson-Richardson Homestead, Hunter River\nJeremiah Dalton House, Burton\nHERITAGE PRAYER\nWe keep forgetting all of those who lived before us.\nWe keep forgetting those who lived and worked in our communities.\nWe keep forgetting those who prayed and sang hymns in our churches before we were born.\nWe keep forgetting what our fathers have done for us.\nWe commit the sin, Lord, of assuming that everything begins with us.\nWe drink from wells we did not find.\nWe eat food from farmland we did not develop.\nWe enjoy freedoms which we have not earned.\nWe worship in churches which we did not build.\nWe live in communities we did not establish.\nThis day, make us grateful for our heritage.\ncf. Cumberland Historic Village, near Ottawa - in the vestibule of Vars Knox United Church -\nadapted from a prayer in the old Covenanters' Church - 1804, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia.\nCopyright. Simple theme. Theme images by andynwt. Powered by Blogger.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"EDITORIAL: Is the big stick stirring the hornets nest?\nA new law to deter rock throwers in New South Wales may be a lousy smoke screen. Severe laws already exist\nA new law to deter rock throwers in New South Wales may be a lousy smoke screen.\nSevere laws already exist which seemingly have no effect in stopping busses getting pelted with rocks and other projectiles.\nProjectile throwers already face tough penalties, including:\nMalicious damage, which carries up to five years in prison;\nMalicious damage with intent to cause bodily injury, which carries a sentence of seven years in prison;\nAffray which carries a sentence of 10 years in prison;\nMalicious damage with intent to endanger life, which carries a penalty of up to 25 years prison.\nRock attacks on buses have dominated the media of late with some suburbs declared no-go-zones.\nThe NSW Government will legislate to make the mere act of throwing a rock at a vehicle a crime, regardless of whether you hit it or not.\nThe offence tabled to NSW Parliament will apply to any person who intentionally throws or drops an object on or toward a vehicle or vessel on a road, rail or waterway.\nThe new offence will be introduced to the State Parliament in coming weeks and will carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.\nWe will now have five avenues in NSW to prosecute a rock thrower, which in theory is great for the perception of law and order but misses the mark because it still doesn't address the cause.\nHas anyone actually asked these people why they are throwing rocks at buses or other vehicles?\nThe government should be conducting a study to find the reasons and put in some preventative and educational programs.\nThe big stick obviously hasn't worked and only stirred up the hornets' nest.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Atom Spy Case\/Rosenbergs\nJulius and Ethel Rosenberg, on trial for espionage, ride with Morton Sobell (far left), a member of their spy ring, in 1951.\nThe government of the Soviet Union, as it was then known, publicly announced the detonation of an atomic bomb. Past experience taught Americans to treat Moscow pronouncements lightly. However, the White House, in a solemn statement in September 1949, related the disheartening news which startled and shocked the nation.\nThe Kremlin had finally come to understand the secrets of the atom. Russian ingenuity in the scientific field probably contributed considerably to this discovery. But what of the part played by American traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg? This is their story.\nIn the summer of 1949, the FBI learned that the secret of the construction of the atom bomb had been stolen and turned over to a foreign power. An immediate investigation was undertaken which resulted in the identification of Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs, a German-born British atomic scientist. British intelligence authorities were advised, and Fuchs was arrested by British authorities on February 2, 1950. He admitted his involvement in Soviet atomic espionage, but he did not know the identity of his American contact.\nThis contact was subsequently identified through FBI investigation as Harry Gold, a Philadelphia chemist. On May 22, 1950, Gold confessed his espionage activity to the FBI.\nInvestigation of Harry Gold's admissions led to the identification of David Greenglass, a U.S. Army enlisted man and Soviet agent, who had been assigned by the Army to Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1944 and 1945. Gold stated that he had picked up espionage material from Greenglass during June 1945 on instructions of \"John,\" his Soviet principal. \"John\" was subsequently identified as Anatoli Yakovlev, former Soviet vice-consul in New York City, who left the United States in December 1946. Interrogation of Greenglass and his wife, Ruth, resulted in admissions of espionage activity under the instructions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, brother-in -law and sister, respectively, of David Greenglass. Max Elitcher, a Naval Ordnance engineer and an admitted communist, was interviewed. He disclosed that Morton Sobell, radar engineer and former classmate of Elitcher and Rosenberg at a college in New York City, was also involved in the Rosenberg espionage network.\nBackground of Principal Subjects\nJulius Rosenberg was born on May 12, 1918 in New York City, the son of immigrants, both of whom were born in Russia. He had one brother and three sisters.\nEthel Rosenberg, nee Greenglass, was born September 28, 1915 in New York City, the daughter of immigrants. Her father was born in Russia, and her mother was born in Austria. Other members of her family included David, Bernard, and a half brother.\nEthel and Julius Rosenberg were married June 18, 1939 in New York City and had two sons, Micahel Allen, born March 10, 1943, and Robert Harry, born May 14, 1947.\nJulius and Ethel Rosenberg lived in the lower east side of Manhattan most of their lives and both attended the same high school, Ethel graduating in 1931 and Julius graduating in 1934. Julius Rosenberg attended the school of engineering at a New York college from September 1934 until February 1939, when he graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He also took various courses at other New York universities.\nAt the time of his apprehension he was operating a machine shop in New York City manufacturing all types of parts for various manufacturing concerns.\nInvestigation revealed that Julius Rosenberg began associating with Ethel Greenglass around 1932. Julius was disliked by Ethel's parents and was not allowed to visit her parents' home from about 1932 until 1935. During that period Ethel and her two younger brothers, Bernard and David, occupied an apartment on a floor above the home of their parents. Julius Rosenberg would visit Ethel frequently at this upstairs apartment, which was littered with copies of Communist Party literature and the Daily Worker. Julius and Ethel became devoted communists between 1932 and 1935, after which they maintained that nothing was more important than the communist cause.\nInformation obtained in March 1944 reflected that Julius Rosenberg was a member of the Communist Party. This information was furnished to the Security and Intelligence Division, Second Service Command, Governors Island, New York, in view of Rosenberg's employment by the War Department at that time. This investigation also established that his wife, Ethel, had signed a Communist Party petition. Rosenberg's position with the United States government was terminated in December 1945.\nA search of the Rosenberg apartment at the time of the arrest of Julius Rosenberg disclosed that Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were members of the International Workers Order.\nIn May 1940, the FBI's New York Field Office learned, after Ethel Rosenberg received an appointment as an employee of the Census Bureau in Washington, D.C., that she was a devout communist. Further, Ethel Rosenberg and another woman, alleged to have been communist sympathizers, had distributed communist literature and and signed nominating petitions of the Communist Party. Ethel Rosenberg had also signed a Communist Party nominating petition, dated August 13, 1939, in New York City.\nInvestigation reflected that Julius Rosenberg claimed to have joined the Young Communist League when he was 14 years of age. Also, he was secretary of the Young Communist League while in college.\nDavid Greenglass\nDavid Greenglass (pictured), younger brother of Ethel Rosenberg, was born on March 3, 1922 in New York, where he attended public schools. After graduating from high school in 1940, he began attending college for a short period, studying mechanical engineering. He attended another school for a short period in 1948, studying mechanical designing. While he was young, he worked in his father's shop.\nDavid Greenglass reportedly had come under the influence of his sister when he was about 12 years old and when the 19-year-old Ethel was being courted by Julius Rosenberg. At first David opposed the efforts of Ethel and Julius to convert him to communism and disliked Julius, but after Julius brought David a chemistry set, the two became very friendly and Julius was able to influence David considerably. Julius Rosenberg, until he married Ethel in 1939, continued to be a frequent visitor at David and Ethel's apartment. David became extremely fond of Julius. Having become fully converted to Communist ideals expounded by Ethel and Julius, David joined the Young Communist League at the age of 14.\nDavid Greenglass had admitted that he was indoctrinated with communist principles in his youth by Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and was a member of the Young Communist League in New York from 1936 to 1938. He continued his belief in communism, but never joined the Communist Party. He claimed to have become disillusioned with communism when Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia was expelled from Cominform, the Communist Information Bureau created to share information among communist parties, for defying Soviet supremacy. This incident, he said, brought home to him that communism was being used as a tool by the Soviet Union for the purpose of world conquest instead of a means of reaching a panacea.\nSoon after her marriage to Julius Rosenberg, Ruth Greenglass claimed she was converted to the principles of communism by her husband. A member of a branch of the Young Communist League for about one year in 1943 and president of that branch for about three weeks, she reportedly became disillusioned with communism following World War II, when it became apparent that Russia had embarked on a program of world conquest.\nMorton Sobell\nMorton Sobell was born the son of Russian-born immigrants on April 11, 1917 in New York City. He married Helen Levitov Gurewitz in Arlington, Virginia on March 10, 1945.\nA classmate of Julius Rosenberg and Max Elitcher, Sobell graduated from college in June 1938, with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. In 1941 and 1942 he attended a graduate school at a university in Michigan, from which he received a master's degree in electrical engineering.\nSobell was employed during the summers of 1934 through 1938 as a maintenance man at Camp Unity, Wingdale, New York, reportedly a communist-controlled camp. On January 27, 1939, he secured the position of junior electrical engineer with the Bureau of Naval Ordnance, Washington, D.C. and was promoted to the position of assistant electrical engineer. He resigned from this position in October 1940 to further his studies. While employed at an electric company in New York state, he had access to classified material, including that on fire-control radar. After resigning from this company, he secured employment as an electrical engineer with an instrument company in New York City, where he had access to secret data. He remained in this position until June 16, 1950, when he failed to appear at work. On that date, Sobell and his family fled to Mexico. He was subsequently located in Mexico City. On August 18, 1950, after his deportation from Mexico by the Mexican authorities, he was taken into custody by FBI agents in Laredo, Texas.\nMax Elitcher, an admitted communist, said that in 1939, when he roomed with Morton Sobell in Washington, D.C., Sobell induced him to join the Communist Party.\nSobell was reported to have been active in the American Peace Mobilization and the American Youth Congress, both of which were cited by the attorney general as coming within the purview of Executive Order 10450. Sobell also appeared on the active indices of the American Peace Mobilization and was listed in the indices of the American Youth Congress as a delegate to that body from the Washington Committee for Democratic Action.\nA resident of an apartment building in Washington, D.C., reported that Sobell and Max Elitcher were among those who attended meetings in the apartment of one of the tenants during 1940 and 1941. This individual believed that these were communist meetings.\nThe FBI's New York Field Office located a Communist Party nominating petition that was filed in the name of Morton Sobell. The signature on this petition was identified by the FBI Laboratory as being in Sobell's handwriting.\nContact with the instrument company where Sobell was employed showed that he failed to report for work after June 16, 1950. The company received a letter from Sobell on or about July 3, 1950, stating that he needed a rest and was going to take a few weeks off to recuperate. A neighborhood investigation by the FBI revealed that Sobell, his wife, and their two children were last seen at their home on June 22, 1950, and that they had left hurriedly without advising anyone of their intended departure.\nThrough an airlines company at La Guardia Field, it was determined that Sobell and his family had departed for Mexico City on June 22, 1950. Round-trip excursion tickets for transportation between New York City and Mexico had been purchased on June 21, 1950 in Sobell's name.\nDuring Sobell's stay in Mexico, he communicated with relatives through the use of a certain man as a mail drop. This man was interviewed and reluctantly admitted receiving and forwarding letters to Sobell's relatives. This admission was made after he was advised that the FBI Laboratory had identified his handwriting on the envelopes used in forwarding letters to Sobell's relatives.\nIn August 1950, the Mexico authorities took Sobell into custody and deported him as an undesirable alien. On the early morning of August 18, 1950, FBI agents apprehended Sobell at the International Bridge in Laredo, Texas.\nArmed with the information supplied by a man named Harry Gold, the FBI moved swiftly to bring to justice those responsible for stealing secrets of the U.S. government.\nAuthorities File Charges\nOn June 16, 1950, the Criminal Division of the Justice Department was advised of David Greenglass's admissions and authorized the filing of a complaint in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging him with espionage conspiracy to violate Title 50, U.S. Code, Section 34. On the same date, Greenglass was arraigned before a U.S. Commissioner of the Southern District of New York and was remanded to the custody of a U.S. marshal in default of $100,000 bail. On July 6, 1950, Greenglass was indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico and charged with espionage conspiracy.\nA complaint charging Julius Rosenberg with espionage conspiracy was filed on July 17, 1950. Rosenberg was arrested at his home in Knickerbocker Village, New York City, the same day and was arraigned that evening before a U.S. District judge, Southern District of New York. Rosenberg was remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal in default of $100,000 bail for further hearing.\nOn August 3, 1950, the U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, authorized the filing of a sealed complaint against Morton Sobell, charging him with espionage conspiracy.\nOn August 7, 1950, Ethel Rosenberg appeared before a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York pursuant to a subpoena. A complaint charging her with espionage conspiracy was filed on August 11, 1950. Ethel Rosenberg was taken into custody on the same day by FBI agents. Later, on the afternoon of August 11, 1950, she was arraigned before the U.S. Commissioner of the Southern District of New York and remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal, in default of $100,000 bail for further healing.\nOn August 17, 1950, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned an indictment alleging 11 overt acts. Julius Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg, and Anatoli Yakovlev were charged with violation of Title 50, U.S. Code, section 34.\nFollowing Morton Sobell's August 18, 1950 arrest by FBI agents in Laredo, Texas, he was arraigned before the U.S. Commissioner, Southern District of Texas, waived removal to New York and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal on August 23, 1950.\nThe Rosenbergs were arraigned before a U.S. District judge, Southern District of New York, and entered pleas of not guilty on August 23, 1950. Bail in the amount of $100,000 was continued for both of them.\nThe next day, Morton Sobell was arraigned before the U.S. Commissioner, Southern District of New York, and his hearing was adjourned. Bail of $100,000 was continued. On September 18, 1950, Sobell again appeared for a hearing before the U.S. Commissioner, which was adjourned to enable the government to present its case to a federal grand jury.\nOn October 10, 1950, a superseding indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York. Morton Sobell, Ethel Rosenberg, Julius Rosenberg, David Greenglass, and Anatoli Yakovlev were charged with conspiracy to violate the espionage statutes.\nOn October 17, 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg pleaded not guilty. Bail of $100,000 was continued for Julius Rosenberg; Ethel Rosenberg's bail was reduced to $50,000. They were remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal in default of bail.\nDavid Greenglass pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment on October 18, 1950. His plea was accepted by the presiding judge, and bail of $100,000 was continued pending sentencing.\nMorton Sobell entered a plea of not guilty on December 5, 1950. His plea was accepted by a U.S. District judge, Southern District of New York, and his bail was continued in the sum of $100,000.\nOn January 31, 1951, a federal grand jury handed down a second superseding indictment charging Julius Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg, Anatoli Yakovlev, Mortin Sobell, and David Greenglass with conspiracy to commit espionage between June 6, 1944, and June 16, 1950. This indictment was similar in all respects to the previous superseding indictment, except that it changed the start of the conspiracy from November 1944 to June 1944.\nOn February 2, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Morton Sobell entered pleas of not guilty before a U.S. District judge, Southern District of New York. David Greenglass entered a guilty plea to the above indictment and withdrew his plea of guilty to the previous superseding indictment. The judge directed that Greenglass's sentencing be postponed until the end of the trial.\nMorton Sobell applied for a writ of habeas corpus on February 5, 1951, claiming the indictment of January 31, 1951, was vague and that his incrimination was a violation of his constitutional rights. The application was denied.\nOn March 6, 1951, the Rosenbergs-Sobell espionage conspiracy trial on the superseding indictment of January 31, 1951, commenced in the Southern Distict of New York. At the outset of the case the U.S. Attorney moved to sever Anatoli A. Yakovlev from the trial, and the motion was granted. The selection of a jury of 12 with two alternates was completed on March 7, 1951. Counsel for the defendants made motions to dismiss the indictment on various grounds, which were denied by the court. A motion was then made and granted to sever David Greenglass from the indictment because he had already pleaded guilty.\nSome of the espionage activities of the Rosenbergs with their ramifications were brought out at the trial of the atom spies. Greenglass's testimony revealed that he entered the U.S. Army in April 1943 and in July 1944 was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He did not know at that time what the project was but he received security lectures about his duties and was told it was a secret project. Two weeks later, again being told that his work was secret, he was assigned to Los Alamos, New Mexico and reported there in August 1944.\nIn November 1944, his wife, Ruth Greenglass, who came to Albuquerque to visit him, told him that Julius Rosenberg advised her that her husband was working on the atom bomb. Greenglass stated that he did not know that he was working on such a project. He stated that he worked in a group at Los Alamos under a professor of a New England university and described to the court the duties of his shop at Los Alamos. He stated that while at Los Alamos, he learned the identity of various noted physicists and their cover names.\nGreenglass testified that the Rosenbergs used to speak to him about the merits of the Russian government. He stated that when his wife came to visit him at Los Alamos on November 29, 1944, she told David that Julius Rosenberg had invited her to dinner at the Rosenberg home in New York City. At this dinner Ethel told Ruth that they had not been engaging in Communist activities, buying the Daily Worker any more, or attending club meetings because Julius finally was doing what he always wanted to do, which was giving information to the Soviet Union.\nAfter Ethel told Ruth that David was working on the atom bomb project at Los Alamos, and said that she and Julius wanted him to give information concerning the bomb, Ruth told the Rosenbergs that she did not think it was a good idea and declined to convey their requests to David. Ethel and Julius remarked that she should at least tell David about it and see if he would help. During this conversation, Julius pointed out to Ruth that Russia was an ally and deserved to obtain the information that was not being provided for its use.\nAt first, David refused to have anything to do with the Rosenbergs' request, but on the next day he agreed to furnish any available data. Ruth then asked David specific questions about the Manhattan Project and David gave her that information.\nIn January 1945, David arrived in New York City on furlough, and about two days later Julius Rosenberg came to David's apartment to ask him for information on the A-bomb. He requested David to write up the information and said he would pick it up the following morning.\nThat evening Greenglass wrote up the information he had. The next morning he gave this material to Rosenberg, along with a list of the scientists at Los Alamos and the names of possible recruits working there who might be sympathetic to communism.\nGreenglass further stated that at the time he returned this material over to Rosenberg, Ruth Greenglass remarked that David's handwriting was bad and would need interpretation. Rosenberg answered that it was nothing to worry about because Ethel, his wife, would retype the information.\nA day or two later David and his wife went to the Rosenberg apartment for dinner where they were introduced to a woman friend of the Rosenbergs. After she left, Julius told the Greenglasses that he thought this person would come to see David to receive information on the atom bomb. They discussed a tentative plan wherein Ruth Greenglass would move to Albuquerque; this woman would also meet Ruth in a movie theater in Denver, Colorado to exchange purses. Ruth's purse would contain the information from David concerning Los Alamos.\nTo identify the person who would come to see Ruth, it was agreed that Ruth would use a side piece of a Jello box. Julius held the matching piece of the Jello box. David suggested that meeting be held in front of a certain grocery store in Albuquerque. The date of the meeting was left to depend upon the time that Ruth would depart for Albuquerque.\nDuring this visit, Julius said that he would like to have David meet a Russian with whom he could discuss the project on which David was working. A few nights later Julius made an appointment for David to meet a Russian on First Avenue between 42nd and 59th streets in New York City. David drove up to the appointed meeting place and parked the car near a saloon in a dark street. Julius came up to the car, looked in, went away, and came back with a man who got into David's car. Julius stayed on the street, and David drove away with the unknown man. The man asked David about some scientific information, and after driving around for a while, David returned to the original meeting place and let the man out. This man was then joined by Rosenberg, who was standing on the street, and David observed them leaving together.\nIn the spring of 1945, Ruth Greenglass came to Albuquerque to live, and David visited her apartment on weekends. On the first Sunday of June 1945, a man, subsequently identified by David as Harry Gold, came to visit him and asked if David's name was Greenglass. David said that it was, and Gold then said, \"Julius sent me.\" David went to his wife's wallet and took out the piece of the Jello box and compared it with the piece offered by Gold. They matched.\nWhen Gold asked David if he had any information, Greenglass said that he did but would have to write it up. Gold then left, stating he would be back. David immediately started to work on a report, made sketches of experiments, wrote up descriptive material regarding them, and prepared a list of possible recruits for espionage. Later that day Gold returned and David gave him the reports. In return, Gold gave David an envelope containing $500, which he turned over to Ruth.\nThe Court accepted copies of the sketches prepared by Greenglass at the time of the trial to describe the information Greenglass had turned over to Gold. These sketches were admitted into evidence.\nIn September 1945, David Greenglass, who was on furlough, returned to New York City with Ruth. The next morning Julius Rosenberg came to the Greenglass apartment and asked what David had for him. David informed Julius that he had obtained a pretty good description of the atom bomb.\nAt this point in Greenglass's testimony the government prosecutor reverted to Rosenberg's contact with David in January 1945. David reiterated that in January 1945, Rosenberg gave him a description of an atom bomb, which David later learned had been subsequently dropped on Hiroshima, in order that David would know what information to look for.\nGreenglass continued to relate what transpired in September 1945. At Julius' request, he drew up a sketch of the atom bomb, prepared descriptive material on it, drew up a list of scientists and possible recruits for Soviet espionage and thereafter delivered this material to the Rosenberg apartment. He stated that at the time he turned this material over to Rosenberg, Ethel and Ruth.\nAt the trial, Greenglass prepared a sketch of a cross section of an atom bomb to indicate what he gave to Rosenberg, an this was made government exhibit #8. At this point, Rosenberg's lawyer asked the court to impound the sketch of the bomb so that no one but the court, jury defendants, and attorneys would be able to see it. Rosenberg's lawyer stated the he was making this request in the interest of national security. The judge ordered the sketch impounded, pointing out that, inasmuch as the defense requested it, the defense would have no grounds for objection to the impounding in case of an appeal.\nGreenglass then continued his testimony as to the composition of the atom bomb, using the sketch for reference. He stated that he told Rosenberg how the bomb was set off by a barometric pressure device. Rosenberg remarked that the information was very good and it should be typed immediately. Ethel then prepared the information on a portable typewriter in the Rosenberg apartment.\nWhile Ethel was typing the report, Julius burned the handwritten notes in a frying pan, flushed them down a drain, and gave David $200. Julius suggested that David stay at Los Alamos after he was discharged from the Army so that he could continue to get information, but David declined.\nFrom 1946 to 1949, David was in business with Julius Rosenberg, and during this period Julius told David that he had people going to school and that he had people in upstate New York and Ohio giving him information for the Russians.\nLate in 1947, Julius told David about a sky platform project and mentioned he had received this information from \"one of the boys.\" Rosenberg described the sky platform as a large vessel which could be suspended at a point in space where the gravity was low, and that the vessel would travel around the earth like a satellite. Rosenberg also advised David that he had a way of communicating with the Russians by putting material or messages in the alcove of a theater and that he had received from one of his contacts the mathematics relating to atomic energy for airplanes.\nGreenglass testified that Rosenberg claimed to have received a citation and a watch from the Russians. Greenglass also testified that Rosenberg claimed to have received a console table from the Russians which he used for photographic purposes.\nIn February 1950, a few days after the news of the arrest of Dr. Fuchs in England was published, Julius came to David's home and asked David to go for a walk. During this walk Rosenberg spoke of Fuchs and mentioned that the man who had come to see David in Albuquerque was also a contact of Fuchs. Julius stated that David would have to leave the country. When David answered that he needed money, Rosenberg said that he would get the money from the Russians.\nIn April 1950, Rosenberg again told David he would have to leave the country, and about May 23, 1950, Rosenberg came to the Greenglass apartment with a newspaper containing a picture of Harry Gold and the story of Gold's arrest. Rosenberg said, \"This is the man who saw you in Albuquerque.\" Julius gave David $1,000, and said he would come back later with $6,000 more for him to use in leaving the country and that Greenglass would have to get a Mexican tourist card. Rosenberg said that he went to see a doctor who told him that a doctor's letter stating David was inoculated for smallpox would also be needed, as well as passport photos. He then gave Greenglass a form letter and instructions to memorize for use in Mexico City.\nUpon David's arrival in Mexico City, he was to send the letter to the Soviet Embassy and sign it \"I. Jackson.\" Three days later after he sent this letter, David, carrying in his hand a guide to the city with his middle finger between the pages of the guide, was to go to the Plaz De La Colon at 5 p.m. and look at the statue of Columbus there. He would wait until a man came up to him, when David would say, \"That is a magnificent statue,\" and tell the man that David was from Oklahoma. The man would then answer, \"Oh, there are much more beautiful statues in Paris,\" and would give Greenglass a passport and additional money. David was to go to Vera Cruz and then go to Sweden or Switzerland. If he went to Sweden, he was to send the same type of letter to the Soviet Ambassador or his secretary and sign the letter \"I. Jackson.\" Three days later, David was to go to the Statue of Linnaeus in Stockholm at 5 p.m. where a man would approach him. Greenglass would mention that the statue was beautiful and the man would answer, \"There are much more beautiful ones in Paris.\" The man would then give David the means of transportation to Czechoslovakia, where upon arrival he was to write to the Soviet Ambassador advising him of his presence.\nJulius further advised Greenglass that he himself would have to leave the country because he had known Jacob Golos (a member of the communist underground), and that Elizabeth Bentley (also a Communist Party member).\nSometime later, David and his family went to a photography shop and had six sets of passport photos taken. On Memorial Day, Greenglass gave Rosenberg five sets of these photos. Later Rosenberg again visited David, to who he gave $4,000 in $10- and $20-bills wrapped in brown paper, requesting Greenglass to go for a walk with him and repeat the memorized instructions. David gave the $4,000 to his brother-in-law for safekeeping.\nOn cross-examination, David testified he used the $1,000 he received from Julius to pay household debts and the $4,000 to pay his lawyer for representing him.\nRuth Greenglass also testified at the trial, and, in addition to corroborating her husband's testimony, gave the following information:\nShe stated that prior to her departure for New Mexico in November 1944, she had a conversation with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg at the Rosenberg apartment in New York City. Julius told her that he and Ethel had discontinued their open affiliation with the Communist Party because he had always wanted to do more than just be a Communist Party member. After two years, Julius had succeeded in reaching the Russians and was now doing the work he wanted to do. He requested her to enlist David's help furnishing information to him for the Russians about Los Alamos. Ruth declined at first, but Ethel urged her to approach David. Julius then gave her instructions for David as to the particular type of information he wanted. A few days later, he gave Ruth $150 to defray the expenses of her trip to New Mexico.\nOn her return to New York in December 1944, after visiting David, Rosenberg visited her apartment, at which time she informed him of David's decision to cooperate. She furnished Julius oral and written information that David gave her and informed him of David's impending furlough. Prior to her departure for Albuquerque in February of 1945, Julius visited her and gave Ruth instructions concerning a meeting with an espionage contact in Albuquerque.\nGold Testifies\nHarry Gold (pictured) testified that he was engaged in Soviet espionage from 1935 up to the time of his arrest in May 1950 and that from 1944 to 1946 his espionage superior was a Russian, known to him as \"John.\" He identified a picture of Anatoli A. Yakovlev, former Soviet Vice-Consul in New York City, as \"John.\" Yakovlev's picture was admitted into evidence.\nIn June 1944, Gold had an espionage meeting with Dr. Klaus Fuchs in Woodside, Queens, New York. As a result of this meeting, Gold wrote a report and turned it over to Yakovlev about a week or so later, when he told Yakovlev that at Gold's next meeting with Fuchs, the latter would give Gold information relating to the application of nuclear fission to the production of military weapons.\nIn the latter part of 1944, Gold met Fuchs in the vicinity of Borough Hall, Brooklyn and received a package from Fuchs which Gold later turned over to Yakovlev.\nGold's next meeting with Fuchs was in July 1944, in the vicinity of 9th Street and Central Park West, New York City. About a week or two later, Gold gave Yakovlev a report he had written concerning this conversation and told Yakovlev that Fuchs had given further information concerning the work of a joint American and British project to produce an atom bomb. Subsequently, Gold had a regularly scheduled series of meetings with Yakovlev, who instructed Gold how to continue his contacts with Fuchs. Gold stated that this was to obtain information from a number of American espionage sources and give it to Yakovlev. He pointed out he organized his meetings with these sources by using recognition signals, such as an object or a piece of paper and a code phrase in the form of a greeting, always using a pseudonym. He also stated that his sources lived in cities other than Philadelphia (Gold's home city) and that he paid money to these sources which he had in turn received from Yakovlev.\nEarly in January 1945, Gold met Fuchs in Cambridge, Massachusetts and received a package of papers which he later turned over to Yakovlev in New York City. He told Yakovlev that Fuchs had mentioned that a lens was being worked on in connection with the atom bomb. His next meeting with Fuchs was to be in Santa Fe on the first Saturday of June 1945.\nIn February 1945, Gold met Yakovlev on 23rd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City. At this meeting, Yakovlev indicated the Russians' interest in the plans mentioned by Fuchs.\nOn the last Saturday in May of 1945, Gold met Yakovlev inside a restaurant on 3rd Avenue in New York City, to discuss Gold's next meeting with Fuchs in Santa Fe. Yakovlev instructed Gold to take on an additional mission in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gold protested, but Yakovlev said it was vital, pointing out that a woman was supposed to go but was unable to make the trip. Yakovlev gave Gold an onionskin paper, on which was typed the name \"Greenglass,\" an address on High Street, Albuquerque and the recognition signal, \"I am from Julius.\" Yakovlev also gave Gold a piece of cardboard cut from a food package. He stated that Greenglass in Albuquerque would have the matching piece and that if Greenglass was not in, Greenglass's wife would give Gold the information. Yakovlev then gave Gold $500 in an envelope to turn over to Greenglass and instructed Gold to follow an indirect route to Santa Fe and Albuquerque in order to minimize the danger of surveillance.\nGold arrived in Santa Fe on Saturday, June 2, 1945 and met Fuchs, who gave him a package of papers. Gold left Santa Fe in the afternoon on June 2 by bus and arrived in Albuquerque that evening. He went to the High Street address, found that Greenglass and his wife were not in, and stayed at a rooming house overnight. The next day he went to the High Street address and David Greenglass opened the door. Gold said, \"Mr. Greenglass.\" David answered, \"Yes.\" Gold then said, \"I come from Julius,\" and showed Greenglass the piece of cardboard which Yakovlev had given him. Greenglass requested Gold to come into his apartment, then took a piece of cardboard from a woman's handbag and compared it with the piece Gold had given him. The pieces matched. Gold introduced himself to the Greenglasses as \"Dave from Pittsburgh.\"\nGreenglass told Gold that the visit was a surprise and that it would take several hours to prepare the A-bomb material. He started to tell Gold about possible recruits at Los Alamos, but Gold cut him short and pointed out to David that it was very hazardous and that David should be circumspect in his behavior. Gold left and returned later that afternoon, when David gave him an envelope which he said contained information on the atom bomb. Gold turned over to David the envelope containing the $500. Greenglass mentioned to Gold that he expected to get a furlough sometime around Christmas and gave Gold Julius's phone number in New York City in the event that Gold wanted to reach Greenglass.\nGold returned to New York City by train on June 5, 1945. While en route, he examined the material David had given him and put it in a manila envelope. He put the material he had received from Fuchs into a different manila envelope. That evening Gold met Yakovlev along Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn and gave him both envelopes.\nAbout two weeks later Gold met Yakovlev on Main Street in Flushing, New York. Yakovlev told Gold that the information he had received from him on June 5 had been sent immediately to the Soviet Union and that the information he had received from Greenglass \"was extremely excellent and valuable.\" At this meeting, Gold related the details of his conversation with Fuchs and Greenglass. Fuchs had stated that tremendous progress had been made on the atom bomb and that the first explosion had been set for July 1945.\nIn early July 1945, Gold met Yakovlev in a seafood restaurant. Yakovlev said it was necessary to make arrangements for another Soviet agent to get in touch with Gold. At Yakovlev's instructions, Gold took a sheet of paper from his pocket which had the heading of a company of Philadelphia. Gold tore off the top portion containing the name and on the reverse side of the sheet wrote in diagonal fashion, \"Directions to Paul Street.\" Yakovlev then tore the paper in an irregular fashion. He kept one portion and Gold kept the other. Yakovlev said that if Gold received two tickets in the mail without a letter, it would mean that on a definite number of days after the date on the ticket Gold was to go to the roadway stop of the Astoria Line for a meeting which would take place in a restaurant-bar. Gold's Soviet contact would be standing at the bar and approach Gold, asking to be directed to Paul Street. They would then match the torn pieces of paper.\nIn August 1945, Gold again met Yakovlev in Brooklyn and was told to take a trip in September 1945 to see Fuchs. Gold suggested to Yakovlev that since he was going to see Fuchs, he might as well go to Albuquerque to see David Greenglass. Yakovlev answered that it was inadvisable because it might endanger Gold to have further contact with Greenglass.\nIn September 1945, Gold met Fuchs in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On his return to New York City on September 22, 1945, Gold went to a prearranged meeting place to see Yakovlev, who failed to appear. About ten days later, Gold met Yakovlev at Main Street, Flushing, and turned over to him a package he had received from Fuchs. He told Yakovlev that Fuchs has said there was no longer the open and free cooperation between the Americans and the British and that many departments were closed to Fuchs. Fuchs also stated that he would have to return to England and that he was worried because the British had gotten to Kiel, Germany, ahead of the Russians and might discover a Gestapo dossier there on Fuchs which would reveal his strong Communist ties and background. Fuchs and Gold also discussed the details of a plan whereby Fuchs could be contacted in England.\nIn November 1945, Gold had another meeting with Yakovlev at which time Gold mentioned that Greenglass would probably be coming home around Christmas for a furlough. Gold said plans should be made to get in touch with Rosenberg in an effort to obtain more information from Greenglass.\nIn January 1946, Gold again met with Yakovlev and was told about a man Yakovlev had tried to contact who was under continuous surveillance. Yakovlev used this story to illustrate that it was better to give up the contact than endanger their work.\nEarly in December 1946, Gold received two tickets to a boxing match in New York City through the mail. The tickets were addressed to Gold's Philadelphia home incorrectly and too late for Gold to keep the appointment. At 5 p.m. on December 26, 1946, Gold received a telephone call at his place of employment. The voice said, \"This is John.\" Gold then arranged with John to meet an unidentified man in a certain movie theater that night. The man identified himself by handing Gold the torn piece of paper containing the heading which Gold and Yakovlev had previously prepared. This man asked Gold to proceed to 42nd Street and 3rd Avenue, New York City, to meet Yakovlev.\nHe met Yakovlev, who asked if Gold had anything further from Fuchs, apologized for his 10 months' absence and explained that he had to lie low. He stated that he was glad Gold was working in New York and told Gold he should begin to plan for a mission to Paris, France in March 1947, where Gold would meet a physicist. He gave Gold an onionskin paper setting forth information for his proposed meeting in Paris. During the conversation with Yakovlev, Gold mentioned the name of his employer, and, upon hearing this, Yakovlev became very excited. He told Gold that Gold had almost ruined 11 years of work by working for this individual because he had been investigated in 1945. Yakovlev dashed away, stating that Gold would not see him in the United States again.\nIt is interesting to note that the Soviet intelligence services, in utilizing Gold to contact Greenglass, made a mistake in security that ultimately led to the uncovering of the Rosenberg spy ring, a network independent of the one Gold was involved in. From FBI knowledge of Soviet intelligence activities, it is known that the Soviets with their stress on security will not usually allow a member of one network to know of the existence of another network so that in the event one network is detected, the other will not be compromised. It will be recalled that Gold's protest to Yakovlev about contacting Greenglass in Albuquerque went unheeded. The Soviets undoubtedly found good reason to regret this error in judgment.\nA nuclear chemist testified that from 1944 to 1947 he was associated with the atom bomb project at Los Alamos. He stated that his own work was related to implosion research and classified secret. He further stated that he would go to the machine shop, furnish sketches to the supervisor of the shop and determine what was needed. The nuclear chemist recalled seeing David Greenglass in the machine shop. He identified the sketches prepared by David Greenglass at the trial and entered as exhibits reasonably accurate replicas of the type of sketches he, himself, submitted to the machine shop. These specimens could have been of value to a foreign power, the nuclear chemist stated, and would reveal to any expert what was going on at Los Alamos and indicate to the expert its relation to the atom bomb.\nElitcher Testifies\nElitcher testified that he first met Sobell while both were attending a high school in New York City. He further stated that he and Sobell also attended college together in New York from 1934 to 1938. Elitcher graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and pointed out that Julius Rosenberg also studied engineering at the same college during this same period. Elitcher saw Sobell daily at school but saw Rosenberg less frequently. After graduating, Elitcher was employed with the Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., from November 1938 until October 1948.\nIn December 1938, Elitcher resided in Washington, D.C. During December of that year Sobell came to Washington and stayed at a house next to Elitcher's place of residence. In April or May 1939, Elitcher and Sobell took up residence in a private home, and in May of 1940, they moved into an apartment. During the period they lived together Sobell was also employed at the Bureau of Ordnance. In September 1941, Sobell left his employment to go to a university in Michigan in order to continue his studies.\nElitcher further advised that during the period he lived with Sobell they had conversations concerning the Communist Party and that, at Sobell's request, Elitcher joined the Young Communist League. About September 1939, Elitcher attended a meeting with Sobell at which there was a discussion about forming a branch of the Communist Party. This branch was formed and Elitcher joined the Communist Party at the end of 1939. Meetings of this group were held at the homes of various members and dues were paid to the chairman of the group. Elitcher stated that Sobell was the first chairman of the group. At meetings, discussions were conducted of news events based on the Daily Worker and literature such as The Communist. The group also discussed Marxist and Leninist theory. Suggestions were made to the members to join the American Peace Mobilization and to assist the American Youth Congress convention. Discussions were also held concerning the Hitler-Stalin Pact, and members were instructed to strive to get support of other people for the Russian position. Elitcher continued to go to these meetings until September 1941. In 1942, Communist Party branches were formed which contained groups of employees from particular government agencies, and Elitcher joined the Navy branch of the Communist Party.\nElitcher testified that around June 1944, he received a telephone call from Julius Rosenberg who identified himself as a former college classmate of Elitcher. At Elitcher's invitation Rosenberg visited the Elitcher home the same evening. Rosenberg told Elitcher what the Soviet Union was doing in the war effort and stated that some war information was being denied that country. Rosenberg pointed out, however, that some people were providing military information to assist the Soviet Union. Rosenberg asked Elitcher to supply him with plans, reports, or books regarding new military equipment and anything Elitcher thought would be of value to the Soviet Union, pointing out that the final choice for the Soviet Union of the value of the information would not be up to Elitcher, but that the information would be evaluated by someone else.\nIn September 1944, Elitcher went on a one-week vacation in a state park in West Virginia with Morton Sobell and his future wife. During this vacation, Elitcher told Sobell about Rosenberg's visit and request for information to be given to the Soviet Union. When he remarked that Rosenberg had said Sobell was helping in this, Sobell became angry and said that Rosenberg should not have mentioned his name.\nIn the summer of 1945, Elitcher was in New York on vacation and stayed at the apartment of Julius Rosenberg. Rosenberg mentioned to Elitcher that Rosenberg had been dismissed from his employment for security reasons and that his membership in the Communist Party seemed to be the basis of the case against him. Rosenberg had been worried about this matter because he thought his dismissal might have had some connection to his espionage activity, but he was relieved when he found out it concerned only his communist activity.\nElitcher also testified that in September 1945, Rosenberg came to Elitcher's home and told him that even though the war was over, Russia's need for military information continued. Rosenberg asked Elitcher about the type of work he was doing, and Elitcher told him he was working on sonar and anti-submarine fire-control devices.\nIn the early part of 1946, Elitcher visited an electric company in connection with official business and stayed at the home of Sobell in Schenectady. At the time, Sobell was working at this electric company. On this occasion Sobell and Elitcher discussed their work.\nLater that year Elitcher again saw Sobell, and Sobell asked about an ordnance pamphlet, but Elitcher said it was not yet ready. Sobell suggested that Elitcher see Rosenberg again.\nAt the end of 1946 or in 1947, Elitcher telephoned Rosenberg and said he would like to see him. At this time Rosenberg advised Elitcher that there had been some changes in the espionage work, that he felt there was a leak, and that Elitcher should not come to see him until further notice. He also advised Elitcher to discontinue his communist activities.\nElitcher testified that in 1947, Sobell had secured employment at an instrument company in New York City doing classified work for the Armed Forces. Elitcher saw Sobell there several times and on one occasion had lunch with him at a restaurant in New York City. Sobell asked Elitcher on this occasion if he knew of any progressive students or graduates and if so, whether he would put Sobell in touch with them. Elitcher said he did not know any.\nIn October 1948, Elitcher left the Bureau of Ordnance and went to work for the instrument company in New York City where Sobell was employed. He lived in a house in Flushing, New York, and Sobell lived on a street behind him. They went to work together in a car pool. During a trip home from work one evening, Sobell again asked Elitcher about individuals Elitcher might know who would be progressive. Sobell pointed out to Elitcher that because of security measures being taken by the government, it was necessary to find students to provide information whom no one would suspect.\nElitcher further testified that prior to leaving the Bureau of Ordnance, he had discussed with Sobell his desire to secure new employment during a visit Elitcher made to New York City in the summer of 1948. Sobell told Elitcher not to leave the Bureau of Ordnance until Elitcher had talked to Rosenberg.\nThereafter, Sobell made an appointment for Elitcher to meet with Rosenberg. They met on the street in New York, and Rosenberg told Elitcher that it was too bad Elitcher had decided to leave because Rosenberg needed someone to work at the Bureau of Ordnance for espionage purposes. Sobell was present at this meeting and urged Elitcher to stay at the Bureau of Ordnance. Rosenberg and Elitcher then had dinner together at a restaurant in New York City where they continued to talk about Elitcher's desire to leave his job. Rosenberg wanted to know where important defense work was being done, and Elitcher mentioned laboratories at Whippany, New Jersey. Rosenberg suggested that possibly Elitcher could take courses at college to improve his status.\nElitcher also testified that in July 1948, he took a trip to New York City by car during which he believed he was being followed. He proceeded to Sobell's home and told him of his suspicion. Later that evening, Sobell mentioned to Elitcher that he had some information for Rosenberg which was too valuable to destroy, and he wanted to get it to Rosenberg that night. He requested Elitcher to accompany him.\nElitcher observed Sobell take a 35-millimeter film container with him and place it in the glove compartment of Sobell's car. Sobell and he then drove to a building in New York City and parked on Catherine Street. Sobell took the container out of the glove compartment and left. When he returned, Elitcher asked him what Rosenberg thought of Elitcher's suspicion that he was being followed, and Sobell answered that Rosenberg thought it was nothing to worry about.\nElitcher testified that Sobell possessed a camera, some 35-mm film and an enlarger, and that all of the material Sobell worked on in his various places of employment was classified. He stated he last saw Sobell in June 1950.\nOn cross-examination, Elitcher recalled that during Rosenberg's visit to his house in June 1944, which was after D-Day, Rosenberg mentioned that he had a drink with a Russian in celebration of this event. Elitcher testified that Rosenberg contacted him at least nine times from 1944 to 1948 in an attempt to persuade him to obtain information for him, but that he always put Rosenberg off. In 1948, Elitcher told Rosenberg that he definitely would not cooperate with him.\nBentley Testifies\nElizabeth Bentley, a confessed former Communist, testified that she was a member of the Harlem section of the Communist Party from 1935 to 1938. In July 1938, she secured a job in the Italian Library of Information and for the remainder of that year was instructed to go underground and to pretend not to know other communists. While employed there, she came to know Feruccio Marini, a Communist Party official who handled Italian Communist activity in the United States. She knew Marini under the name of F. Brown. In October 1938, she met Jacob Golos through Marini. Golos was in the communist underground and operated World Tourist, Inc., a travel agency set up in 1927 by the Communist Party. Until his death in November 1943, Golos had been a member of the three-man control commission of the Communist Party in the United States.\nAccording to Bentley, the Communist Party of the United States was part of Communist International. After Golos died, Bentley had other contacts, the last one being Anatole Gromov, First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in the United States; her final contact with Gromov being in December 1945. She stated that the information which Golos had obtained was passed on to the Soviet Embassy.\nAfter Golos died, Bentley's duties consisted of collecting information from communists employed in the U.S. government and passing it on through communist superiors to Moscow. She stated that the Communist Party in the United States served the interests of Moscow. She revealed that she transmitted orders to Earl Browder from Moscow which he had to accept. Pointing out the close relationship between the Communist Party in this country and Communist International, Bentley stated that this close relationship was preached at Communist Party meetings. Any member who did not adhere to the Party line, as dictated by Communist International in Moscow, was expelled. She revealed that all of her contacts in her work were obtained from the Communist Party.\nIn the summer of 1945, Bentley reported to the FBI all her activities and was asked if she would continue her activities under FBI guidance, which she did until the spring of 1947.\nBentley stated that, during her association with Golos, she became aware of the fact that Golos knew an engineer, named \"Julius.\" In the fall of 1942, she accompanied Golos to Knickerbocker Village but remained in his automobile. She saw Golos conferring with Julius on the street but at some distance. From conversations with Golos, she learned that Julius lived in Knickerbocker Village. She also stated that she had telephone conversations with Julius from the fall of 1942 until November 1943.\nIn interviews with FBI agents, Bentley had described Julius as being about 5'10\", slim, and wearing glasses. She had also advised that he was the leader of a Communist cell of engineers which was turned over to Golos for Soviet espionage purposes. Julius was to be the contact between Golos and the group. Golos believed this cell of engineers was capable of development.\nInvestigation by the FBI disclosed that Julius Rosenberg resided in a development known as Knickerbocker Village, was 5'10\" tall, slim, and wore glasses. Bentley, however, was unable to make a positive identification of Julius.\nJulius and Ethel Rosenberg testified and denied all espionage allegations against them. They admitted having a console table, but denied it was a gift from the Russians, as claimed by David Greenglass and his wife. They stated that they bought the table at a New York City department store in 1944 or 1945. On cross-examination, they were asked questions as to their communist affiliations but refused to answer on the grounds of self-incrimination.\nOn March 28, 1951, counsel for each side summed up their respective case to the jury. On March 29, 1951, the jury rendered a verdict of guilty against the three defendants, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and Morton Sobell.\nOn April 5, 1951, the following sentences were imposed: Julius Rosenberg, death, such sentence to be carried out during the week of May 21, 1951; Ethel Rosenberg, death, such sentence to be carried out during the week of May 21, 1951; and Morton Sobell, imprisonment for a term of 30 years.\nCommunist Party Front Activities and Propaganda on Behalf of the Rosenbergs\nThe desperate legal struggle waged on behalf of the Rosenbergs was matched in intensity by an extraordinary propaganda drive to \"Save the Rosenbergs.\" Significantly, the communists' frenzied effort to rescue the Rosenbergs from what they termed \"legal murder\" was deferred for more than a year after their arrests and for more than four months after they had been found guilty in a trial which the communists later called a \"monstrous frame-up\" and \"a travesty of justice.\"\nAt first the Rosenberg trial went completely unnoticed in the usually vigilant Communist Party press. Not a word about the alleged Rosenberg \"frame-up\" appeared in the Daily Worker until the day after the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Moreover, the Party's first public recognition of the Rosenberg case gave no hint whatever of the tremendous propaganda storm that the communists would later raise over the Rosenbergs. Buried inconspicuously on page 9 of the March 30, 1951, Daily Worker, the Rosenberg conviction was reported in routine fashion.\nNo further notice appeared in the Daily Worker concerning the Rosenberg case until April 6, 1951, when it was announced under a feature headline as follows: \"Rosenbergs Sentenced to Death, Made Scapegoats for Korean War.\" The article, noting that the Rosenbergs were parents of two small children, appeared to be aimed chiefly at condemning the severity of the sentence, rather than the verdict itself. The word \"frame-up,\" later to become virtually synonymous with the Rosenberg trial in communist propaganda, was not yet used. In the same issue of the Daily Worker, a front-page editorial charging that American \"panic mongers\" were deliberately trying to create an atmosphere of war made several oblique references to the Rosenberg case without, however, directly questioning the verdict.\nIt was not until midsummer of 1951 that the propaganda campaign on behalf of the Rosenbergs began in earnest. Even at this late date, the Communist Party did not immediately commit itself to the task of vindicating the Rosenbergs and exposing the \"hideous plot\" against them. Instead, the campaign was initiated in the form of a series of articles in the National Guardian. This publication was described in 1949 by the California Committee on Un-American Activities as notoriously Stalinist in its staff, writers, management, and content.\nIt is evident that the clemency drive on behalf of the Rosenbergs was from the beginning a highly artificial affair and was carefully promoted rather than a spontaneous public reaction which the communist press sought to show. This was indicated from the mere fact that the Daily Worker was about to print the names and addresses of hundreds of clergymen and intellectuals who had written to the President asking for clemency. Unless the National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case (NCSJRC), or the Communist Party, had solicited such letters themselves, the Party press would have had no way of knowing who had written to the White House except in a few isolated incidents. At a number of rallies sponsored by the NCSJRC, individuals in attendance were handed telegrams, post cards, or letters which were completely filled out and addressed to the president and which lacked only a signature. In addition, it was reported that representatives of the NCSJRC conducted intensive house-to-house canvasses in an effort to obtain signatures for clemency petitions.\nFrom December 27, 1952 to January 17, 1953, a continuous round-the-clock picket line was maintained by Rosenberg sympathizers at the White House during the period that former President Truman was presumably studying a plea for executive clemency. This \"White House Clemency Vigil\" was called off on January 17, 1953, after more than 500 consecutive hours, only when it became evident that President Truman would not rule on the petition for clemency prior to his retirement from office. According to the Daily Worker, this affair climaxed on January 5, 1953, when more than 2,000 persons from 22 states arrived at the District of Columbia to take part in the \"vigil.\"\nAs the final legal moves were being made by the Rosenbergs' defense attorneys, thousands of pickets formed around the White House in June 1953. The majority of these pickets poured into Washington, D.C. from New York City, where the NCSJRC had arranged for several special \"clemency trains\" to carry these Rosenberg sympathizers to the Nation's capital.\nThe picketing at the White House began at approximately 1:30 p.m. on June 14; at 4:00 p.m. the pickets marched to Ninth Street and Constitution Avenue, Northwest, where the NCSJRC held a \"prayer meeting\" at which the Rosenbergs were eulogized by officials of the Committee and several clergymen.\nAn official count of the pickets by the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department indicated that there were approximately 6,800 persons involved in this attempt to pressure the President of the United States into granting clemency for the convicted atom spies. The NCSJRC's own estimate of the number of pickets was set at 13,000.\nFollowing this \"prayer meeting,\" the majority of pickets returned to New York City, leaving a small handful of pickets to continue the \"24-hour vigil\" at the White House. The picketing of the White House continued until June 17, 1953, when after the U.S. Supreme Court recessed for the summer, one of the Supreme Court justices announced that he had granted a stay of execution in order that new points of law brought before him by defense attorneys could be heard by the lower courts.\nUpon receiving the news that the government was successful in petitioning for an extraordinary session of the U.S. Supreme Court, the NCSJRC went into action and again sent pickets to parade before the White House. The picketing continued until the execution of the Rosenbergs was announced at approximately 8:45 p.m. on June 19, 1953, at which time about 500 pickets were on hand at the White House.\nThis case has been used by Communist Parties throughout the world for propaganda purposes against the United States. American embassies in Canada and Europe were flooded with petitions for clemency by various people and organizations. During the last few days prior to the execution of the Rosenbergs, demonstrations were held in major capitals of Europe, such as Paris, Rome, and London. In a news release on June 20, 1953, foreign reaction to the execution was reported as follows: \" 'Paris - Communist-led groups swarmed through European streets last night and early today in generally orderly demonstrations protesting the execution of atom spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. A French teenager was shot and wounded and 386 persons were arrested in Paris.\"\nCourt Action Following Convictions\nThe communists employed every conceivable trick in their efforts to aid the atom spies, including high-pressuring the courts by innumerable appeals. The case was dragged out for a period in excess of two years.\nOn February 11, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower denied the petition for executive clemency filed by the Rosenbergs. In denying this petition, President Eisenhower stated, \"These two individuals have been tried and convicted of a most serious crime against the people of the United States. They have been found guilty of conspiring with intent and reason to believe that it would be to the advantage of a foreign power, to deliver to the agents of that foreign power certain highly secret atomic information relating to the national defense of the United States. The nature of the crime for which they have been found guilty and sentenced far exceeds that of the taking of the life of another citizen; it involves the deliberate betrayal of the entire nation and could very well result in the death of many, many thousands of innocent citizens. By their act these two individuals have, in fact, betrayed the cause of freedom for which free men are fighting and dying at this very hour.\"\nPresident Eisenhower continued, \"The courts have provided every opportunity for the submission of evidence bearing on this case. In this time-honored tradition of American justice, a freely selected jury of their fellow citizens considered the evidence in this case and rendered its judgement. All rights of appeal were exercised and the conviction of the trial court was upheld after full judicial review, including that of the highest court in the land. I have made a careful examination into this case, and I am satisfied that the two individuals have been accorded their full measure of justice. There has been neither new evidence nor have there been mitigating circumstances which would justify altering this decision and I have determined that it is my duty, in the interest of the people of the United States, not to set aside the verdict of their representatives.\nOn May 29, 1953, the district judge set the date of execution of the Rosenbergs for the week of June 15, 1953. At the time, the usual execution date at Sing Sing Prison was Thursday night, which meant the Rosenbergs were scheduled to die on June 18, 1953.\nStill, additional appeals both to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court followed.\nFinally, on June 16, 1953, a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court requested the Rosenberg defense attorneys to submit their petitions for a stay of execution in writing. On that date, two attorneys appeared at the Supreme Court and attempted to file petitions for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the Rosenbergs. Their action in attempting to file these writs was opposed by attorneys for the Rosenbergs. These petitions for a writ of habeas corpus were heard by the Supreme Court Justice in his chambers.\nThe main issue made in the petition was that, under the 1946 Atomic Energy Act, the death sentence might be imposed only upon the recommendation of the jury and then only when the defendants were charged with intent to injure the United States. It was argued that, inasmuch as the conspiracy for which the Rosenbergs were convicted commenced in 1944 and existed until 1950, the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act applied to the sentencing, rather than the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917.\nOn June 17, 1953, a stay of execution was granted by this Justice in order that the question raised could be argued in the District Court and more evidence received in order to determine whether there was merit to the argument.\nOn June 19, 1953, a special session of the U.S. Supreme Court, which had been called by the Chief Justice, vacated the stay of execution granted two days previously.\nOn June 19, 1953, the President of the United States refused to grant executive clemency to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. In this refusal, the President stated, \"Since its original review proceedings in the Rosenberg case by the Supreme Court of the United States, the courts have considered numerous further proceedings challenging the Rosenberg convictions and the sentences imposed. Within the last two days, the Supreme Court, convened in a special session, has again reviewed a further point which one of the justices felt the Rosenbergs should have an opportunity to present. This morning the Supreme Court ruled that there was no substance to this point. I am convinced that the only conclusion to be drawn from a history of this case is that the Rosenbergs have received the benefit of every safeguard which American justice can provide. There is no question in my mind that their original trial and the long series of appeals constitute the fullest measure of justice and due process of law. Throughout the innumerable complications and technicalities of this case, no judge has ever expressed any doubt that they committed most serious acts of espionage. Accordingly, only most extraordinary circumstances would warrant executive intervention in this case. I am not unmindful of the fact that this case has aroused grave concern both here and abroad. In this connection, I can only say that by immeasurably increasing the chances of atomic war the Rosenbergs may have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent people all over the world. The execution of two human beings is a grave matter, but even graver is the thought of the millions of dead whose death may be directly attributable to what these spies have done.\"\nThe President continued, \"When democracy's enemies have been judged guilty of a crime as horrible as that of which the Rosenbergs were convicted; when the legal processes of democracy have been marshaled to their maximum strength to protect the lives of convicted spies; when in their most solemn judgment the tribunals of the United States have adjudged them guilty and the sentence just, I will not intervene in this matter.\"\nAt 8:05 p.m. on June 19, 1953, Julius Rosenberg was executed at Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York. At 8:15 p.m. on the same date, Ethel Rosenberg was executed at Sing Sing Prison.\nDavid Greenglass, who received a 15-year sentence after a guilty plea, was released from Federal prison on November 16, 1960. He was required to report periodically to a parole officer until November 1965.\n- FBI Records on Julius Rosenberg\n- FBI Records on Ethel Rosenberg\n- FBI Records on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg\n- FBI Records on Rosenberg Case\n9\/11 Investigation\nABSCAM\nAlcatraz Escape\nAldrich Ames\nAlger Hiss\nAmerithrax or Anthrax Investigation\nAna Montes: Cuban Spy\nBaptist Street Church Bombing\nBarker\/Karpis Gang\nBeltway Snipers\nBlack Tom 1916 Bombing\nBrian P. Regan Espionage\nBrink's Robbery\nCharles Ross Kidnapping\nD.B. Cooper Hijacking\nDuquesne Spy Ring\nDurkin - Murder of an FBI Agent\nEast African Embassy Bombings\nEmmett Till\nEric Rudolph\nEspionage in the Defense Industry\nFawaz Younis\/Operation Goldenrod\nFrank Sinatra, Jr., Kidnapping\nGeorge \"Machine Gun\" Kelly\nGerhard Arthur Puff\nGreenlease Kidnapping\nHijacking of TWA Flight 847\nHollow Nickel\/Rudolf Abel\nHurricane Katrina Fraud\nIva Toguri d'Aquino and \"Tokyo Rose\"\nJack Gilbert Graham\nJames Edward Testerman\nJoe Pistone, Undercover Agent\nJohn Dillinger\nJohn Elgin Johnson\nJoseph Edward Earlywine\nJudge Vance Murder\nKansas City Massacre\/\"Pretty Boy\" Floyd\nKKK Series\nKrupp Diamond Theft\nLester Gillis (\"Baby Face\" Nelson)\nLindbergh Kidnapping\nLudwig Spy Ring\nMaksim Martynov\nMelissa Virus\nMillennium Plot\/Ahmed Ressam\nMorris Worm\nMurder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills\nNazi Saboteurs and George Dasch\nND-98: Case of the Long Island Double Agent\nNussbaum and Wilcoxson\nOklahoma City Bombing\nOperation Greylord\nOperation Illwind\nOperation Innocent Images\nOperation Lemon Aid Spy Case\nOperation Senior Sentinel\nThe Neighborhood Spy\nOperation Stolen Dreams\nPalmer Raids\nPan Am 103 Bombing\nPearl Harbor Spy\nPizza Connection\nRESMURS Case (Reservation Murders)\nRichard Floyd McCoy, Jr.\nRobert Hanssen\nRoger \"The Terrible\" Touhy\nRumrich Nazi Spy Case\nThe Brady Gang\nThe Fur Dressers Case\nThwarted Sabotage in Zambia\nUnabomber\nUSS Cole Bombing\nVasilli Zubilin\nVelvalee Dickinson, the \"Doll Woman\"\nVonsiatsky Espionage\nWall Street Bombing 1920\nWeather Underground Bombings\nWeinberger Kidnapping\nWeyerhaeuser Kidnapping\nWilliam Jefferson\nWorld Trade Center Bombing 1993\nYear of the Spy (1985)\nCyber Criminal Forum Taken Down\nA Byte Out of History: $10 Million Hack\nThe Dixie Mafia\nInternational Cyber Ring That Infected Millions of Computers Dismantled","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Lost Connection\nMoving image & sound\nExploring themes of memory, family, trauma and heritage, Sarah Gaafar's film \"Lost Connection\" shows a prayer ceremony lead by the artist's great-uncle, Sheikh Abdul Moneim Al-Jaafari, a scholar who practised Sufism from 1948 in Luxor, Egypt till his death in 2009. The ceremony is loud and electric, and is gently interrupted by images of the artist's father, grandparents and other close Egyptian relatives growing up in Luxor. The final interruption is an image of the artist as a child sitting with her baby brother and father in Scotland, UK in 1995. \"Lost Connection\" is an intimate documentation of the artist's exploration of her own lost and found heritage \u2013 it is a record of the artist's conflict between longing and resentment \u2013 the longing for knowing oneself and family, and the resentment towards an absent father.\n\"Lost Connection\" was part of Something to Remember, an outdoor installation organised by Little Islands Festival on Sikinos Island in Greece, in August 2018.\nSarah Gaafar\n\u0633\u0627\u0631\u0629 \u062c\u0639\u0641\u0631\nExhibitions & Press\nMOVING IMAGE & SOUND:\nLet's go to lunch, habibi\nMy Second Home\nBody As Sahara\nMy Father's Favourite Song\nHorrified Woman (THX)\nSpit Film\nGhost of His Former Self\nPAINTING:\nI am You, Egypt, You\nCOPYRIGHT \u00a9 Sarah Gaafar 2020.\nContemporary Artist","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home > Faculty & Research > Faculty > Adjunct > Michael B. Friedman\nMichael B. Friedman\nOver the course of his 50-year career, Michael Friedman has served as a direct service provider, an administrator, a government official, and a social advocate. He retired in 2010 from his position as Director of The Center for Policy, Advocacy, and Education of The Mental Health Association of New York City, which he founded in 2003. He also retired as Chair of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York, which he co-founded in 2004, and as the Facilitator of the Veterans' Mental Health Coalition in NYC, which he co-founded in 2009. Since his retirement he has continued to teach at the Columbia School of Social Work and to write frequently about mental health, aging, and other topics.\nMr. Friedman previously served as Regional Director (Deputy Commissioner) of the New York State Office of Mental Health, Director of Network Development for The Department of Psychiatry of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Executive Director of The Mental Health Association of Westchester, Director of Operations of The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, and Program Director of The Bridge, Inc. In the late 60's and early 70's, he taught philosophy at several colleges in the NYC area.\nMr. Friedman has served on advisory and advocacy groups at the local, state, and federal levels. Among others, he served as President of the Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies, Chairman of the Hudson River Planning Advisory Committee of the Office of Mental Health, and Vice-Chairman of the New York City Public Child Fatality Review Committee. He also served on The National Institute of Mental Health Services Research Planning Panel, as a member of the NYS Geriatric Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Planning Council, and on the Health Care Policy Advisory Committee for the NYS Governor's Transition Team in 2006.\nHe currently serves as volunteer Chair of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York.\nMr. Friedman has presented at numerous conferences and has published approximately 200 articles, book chapters, and essays. His topics of interest include geriatric mental health, mental health policy and finance, health care reform, child mental health, social advocacy, family violence, stigma, creativity, and political philosophy. He is the co-author of a comic parody of America's system of psychiatric diagnosis titled The Diagnostic Manual of Mishegas. His writing can be found at www.MichaelBFriedman.com.\nMr. Friedman is also a semi-professional photographer who exhibits frequently in Westchester County and NYC (http:\/\/photography.michaelbfriedman.com). He is also a semi-professional jazz musician.\nMr. Friedman earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia College, a master's degree in philosophy from Columbia, and an MSW from the Hunter College School of Social Work.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"In this Section: International foundation year\nInternational foundation year: In this section\nAbout the International Foundation Year\nArriving in Leeds\nApplying for a visa\nTalk to a student\nOn this page you can find the English language requirements and the minimum grades required to enter the course. The grades you need to enter the International Foundation Year will vary depending on what qualifications you completed.\nThe normal minimum academic entry requirements for the course can be found below listed by country. For countries not listed please contact the International Foundation Year office by email on IFYAdmissions@leeds.ac.uk.\nFor entry to programmes below degree level we are only able to accept English language qualifications which are listed as UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELTs) and taken in approved test centres. View a full list of UKVI SELT's and test centres.\nDesign, Engineering, and Science programmes\nIELTS (UKVI) Overall score of 5.5, with a minimum of 5.0 in each component.\nArts & Social Science, Business, Nursing & Healthcare* programmes\n*Healthcare programmes: BSc (Hons) Nursing (Adult), BSc (Hons) Nursing (Child), BSc (Hons) Nursing (Mental Health) and BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science (Audiology).\nIf you don't meet these requirements, you could study with our Language Centre to improve your English to the level required.\nCourse specific requirements\nThe courses listed below require a course specific Personal Statement. For more information, please email us at IFYAdmissions@leeds.ac.uk\nCultural and Media Studies BA\nDigital Media BA\nJournalism BA\nCommunication and Media BA\nFilm, Photography and Media BA\nIf you're applying for the International Foundation Year Design route, please note that all courses within this route will require a Portfolio. For further information and to request our portfolio requirements and presentation guidelines, please email us at IFYAdmissions@leeds.ac.uk.\nIf you studied UK or international qualifications you can find details of entry requirements at the bottom of this page.\nAn average of 15\/20 in the Baccalaur\u00e9at de l'Enseignement Secondaire with at least 15\/20 in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 15\/20 in the Habilita\u00e7\u00e3o Literarias (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with at least 15\/20 in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 7\/10 in the Bachillerato Especializado in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 80% in the Grade 11 School Leaving Certificate with at least 4.0 out of 5.0 (or 80%) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Tawjihiya (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 3 in the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate with at least 2 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nObtain a score of at least 8 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme in the Certificado de Ensino Medio.\nGrade 2 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Secondary Education Certificate.\nAn average of 5 overall in the Licencia de Educaci\u00f3n \/ Ense\u00f1anza Media, with at least 6 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn overall average of 80% (grade B) with at least 80% (grade B) in relevant subject areas in Senior High School year 3. The same scores are also accepted from Year 2.\nAn average of 70% in the Bachiller Acad\u00e9mico, with at least 75% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 8\/10 in the Lise Bitirme Diplomasi (High School Leaving Diploma) or 16\/20 in the Apolyt\u00edrio Lyke\u00edou, with required grades in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 16\/20 in T\u00edtulo de Bachiller en Ciencias, with 16 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Grade 12 High School leaving examinations with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nGrade B average in the WASSC\/SSSCE with at least grade B in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 16\/20 in the Apolytirio Lykeiou (Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nFor students who have completed Form 5 of the HKDSE an average mark of at least 60% in their HKDSE Form 5 School Report with marks of at least 60% in relevant academic subjects. For students who have completed Form 6 of the HKDSE, Level 3 overall and a minimum of Level 3 in relevant academic subjects.\nAn average of 65% in the Standard XII Higher Secondary Certificate (All India Senior School Certificate, Higher School Certificate, Indian School Certificate, Intermediate Certificate or Pre-University Course) with at least 65% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 70% in Surat Tanda Tamat Belajar (SMA\/MA) with at least 70% in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 15\/20 in the High School Diploma with at least 15\/20 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Sixth Form Baccalaureat\/Certificate of Preparatory Education (Adadiyah) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 3\/5 in the Kotougakkou Sotsugyou Shomeisho (Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with at least 4\/5 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 4\/5 in the Attestat\/Svidetel' stvo o Srednem Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree.\nGrade B average in the Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) with at least grade B in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Shahadat-al-thanawia-al-a'ama (General Secondary School Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nA minimum of a Grade B (a score of 7) in the Latvian Atestats par Visparejo Videjo Izglitibu to include good scores\/grades in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 15\/20 in the Baccalaur\u00e9at G\u00e9n\u00e9ral with at least 15\/20 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 80% in the Secondary Education Certificate with at least 80% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of at least 8\/10 in the Lithuanian Secondary School Leaving Certificate in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of 75% overall in the Form 6 Certificate of Higher Secondary Education, with at least 75% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nWe may consider the Malawi School Certificate of Education with high scores.\nMalaysian Unified Examination Certificate (UEC): At least Grade B3 overall, with Grade B in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme. SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia): At least B overall, with Grade A in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 8\/10 in the Bachillerato General with at least 8\/10 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAt least 14\/20 overall (with 14\/20 in two relevant subjects) in the Attestation du Baccalaur\u00e9at.\nAn average of 65% in the Basic Education High School Examination (also known as Matriculation Certificate), with at least 70% in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nExcellent scores in the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) - Higher Level, with required grades in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nGrade B (or 3) average in the Senior School Certificate (WAEC or NECO) with at least grade B (or 3) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Thanawiya amma (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of Grade B (65%) in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) or Intermediate Certificate with at least grade B (65%) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 14\/20 overall in the Certificado de Educaci\u00f3n Secundaria Com\u00fan Completa, with at least 14\/20 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nA minimum of 85% in Grade 12 of the High School Diploma (Academic Track), with 85% in relevant subjects.\nAn average of 85% in the Shahadat-al-thanawia-al-a'ama (General Secondary School Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme or 90% in relevant subjects taken at Advanced level in grade 12 of the Qatar Senior Schooling Certificate (QSSC).\nScores of at least 4\/5 in the Attestat o (Polnom) Srednem Obschchem Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree.\nAn average of 85% in the Tawjihiyah (General Secondary Education Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nCambridge A Level with at least D grades in relevant academic subjects.\nAn average of 5 overall in the South African National Senior Certificate with at least grade 5 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nOverall rank of 4\/9 or at least 70% in the Senior High School Diploma, with scores of at least 75% in two subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 75% (grade B) in the Sudan School Certificate with at least 75% (grade B) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the General Secondary Certificate with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 75% in the Senior High School Leaving Certificate with at least 75% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAt least grade 3 in the Mathayom Suksa 6 examination taken by students at the end of their three years of upper secondary education in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nScores of 14\/20 overall in the Baccalaur\u00e9at, with at least 14\/20 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAt least 60% (3\/5) overall in the Devlet Lise Diplomasi, with at least 70% (4\/5) in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 4 in the sahadatnama orta bilim hakynda (Certificate of Secondary Education) with at least 5 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nGrade 3 average in the Uganda National Examinations Board (NEB) Secondary School Leaving Examinations with grade 3 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Tawjihiyya (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nCertificate of Complete General Secondary Education (Attestat) with an overall average of 9 and two relevant subjects at 9 (12 point scale).\nScores of at least 15\/20 in the Titulo de Bachiller in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree.\nAn average of 7.5 in year 11 with at least 7.5 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nAn average of 85% in the Al-Thanawiya (General Secondary Education Certificate) with at least 85% in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree.\nScores of at least 2 overall in Zambian High School Certificate, with 2 in subjects that are relevant to the intended undergraduate degree programme.\nUK and International qualifications\nAS Levels\nStudents who have completed AS Levels will be considered for the International Foundation Year if they have achieved a grade B in at least 2 subjects. Specific subjects will be dependent on the chosen degree path of progression.\nInternational Baccalaureate Certificate\nStudents who have completed the IB Certificate will be considered for the International Foundation Year if they have reached a minimum Grade of 4 at Standard Level or 3 at Higher Level in two subjects. Specific subjects will be dependent on the chosen degree path of progression.\nSATs\/APs\nScores of at least 600 in both of the SAT elements, or 25 in the ACT (American College Test), plus either: scores of at least 550 in two relevant subject-specific SAT Subject Test qualifications or scores of at least 3 in two relevant subject-specific AP (Advanced Placement test) qualifications.\nIf you are completing the American High School Diploma, please provide a copy of your latest transcript for us to consider with your application.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"American Alleges Abuse in Indonesia\nThe Property Brothers Point Out an Awful Kitchen Trend That Will Date...\nLELY T. DJUHARI\nAssociated Press Writer\nBANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) _ An American nurse said Tuesday she was struck in the jaw and stomach and a British colleague was threatened with a knife by Indonesian soldiers who arrested them.\nJoy Lee Sadler contacted The Associated Press from the police station where she is being held in the violence-torn Aceh province of western Indonesia.\nShe and British academic Lesley McCulloch were arrested on Sept. 10. They were charged with violating their tourist visas by contacting rebels of the Free Aceh Movement _ an offense that carries a maximum sentence of five years.\nSadler, 57, of Waterloo, Iowa, asked that details of how the interview was conducted not be divulged. She said soldiers repeatedly punched her in the jaw and stomach as she tried to help the 42-year-old McCulloch during their arrest.\nPolice say the women were carrying documents and digital photos of the Free Aceh Movement _ an assertion Sadler denied. An Aceh police spokesman contacted after the interview insisted the women were not mistreated.\nThe rebels in Aceh are fighting for independence of their resource-rich province 1,100 miles northwest of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. More than 12,000 people have been killed during a decade of conflict.\n\"The soldiers were yelling at us: 'Where have you been' and 'open your bag.' They were crazy,\" Sadler said, adding that at one point soldiers held a knife to McCulloch's neck.\n\"They pulled Lesley out of the car. They were manhandling her and I tried to stop them from hurting her,\" Sadler said. \"A soldier hit me with his elbow, and another repeatedly punched me in the stomach.\"\nSadler said a sergeant forced McCulloch into a long embrace and then fondled her body, including her breasts, while other soldiers watched, laughed and jeered.\nMaj. Taufik Sugiono, an Aceh police spokesman, said that in conflict zones, soldiers sometimes \"take strong actions\" and acknowledged it was possible a knife was brandished during the arrest. However, he denied that any beatings or sexual advances took place.\nSoldiers also arrested the women's Indonesian interpreter, Fitrah bin Amin, who was later released. She is now hospitalized for depression.\nSadler said she suffered severe chest pains on Sunday, was diagnosed with angina and is being treated with nitroglycerin.\nThe women say they have been deprived of sleep, given limited access to U.S. Embassy officials and endured long interrogations.\nPhotos Fire destroys home on Flock Road in Beaverton\nNews Johnny Thorington memorial postponed to March 12\n\"An embassy official told me the process could take months. I am so depressed,\" Sadler said, adding police have only allowed one visit by an embassy official.\nAceh police have said they want to put the women on trial, but national police say they should be deported. Under Indonesian law, police can hold the women up to 41 days or until they complete their inquiry.\nSadler said she expected her case to be limited to the alleged visa violation. McCulloch, however, could face more serious charges, she said.\n\"For Lesley, it could be tougher,\" Sadler said.\nMcCulloch has contacted her mother to say she feared being accused of espionage.\nSadler said she and McCulloch have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor in a windowless room.\nMcCulloch, who had just finished a year in Asian studies at the University of Tasmania, has said she was in Aceh to research a book on the separatist conflict.\nSadler told rights workers she and McCulloch intended to go to the resort island of Banyak. However, when they could not find a boat to go there, Sadler said she went to a nearby refugee camp to treat children and the elderly.\nFire destroys home on Flock Road in Beaverton\nFirefighters from Beaverton, Billings Township, Hope Township and Jerome Township work to control...\nDue to COVID and the expected large crowd at Johnny Thorington's memorial service, the service...\nNational quit levels reached a record high level of 4.5 million in November of 2021.\nTwitter - News\nTwitter - Sports","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Farm & Ranch Magazines\n< Previous12Next >\nWestern Horseman From $24.00 - $46.00 As low as $1.92\/issue You Save 61% Subscribe Now\nCountry From $17.98 - $35.96 As low as $2.57\/issue You Save 35% Subscribe Now\nRanger Rick Jr. From $24.95 - $39.95 As low as $2.00\/issue You Save 59% Subscribe Now\nHorse & Rider From $19.95 - $25.95 As low as $3.24\/issue You Save 78% Subscribe Now\nPro Rodeo Sports News $37.00 (12 Issues) As low as $3.08\/issue You Save 48% Subscribe Now\nEquus From $19.95 - $24.97 As low as $3.12\/issue You Save 79% Subscribe Now\nPractical Horseman From $19.95 - $29.95 As low as $3.74\/issue You Save 79% Subscribe Now\nHobby Farms From $21.95 - $36.95 As low as $3.08\/issue You Save 38% Subscribe Now\nFarm & Ranch Living From $17.98 - $35.96 As low as $2.57\/issue You Save 35% Subscribe Now\nCountry Extra From $17.98 - $35.96 As low as $2.57\/issue You Save 35% Subscribe Now\nThe Pioneer Woman From $18.00 - $36.00 As low as $4.50\/issue You Save 9% Subscribe Now\nThe Team Roping Journal $24.00 (12 Issues) As low as $2.00\/issue You Save 59% Subscribe Now\nAmerican Frontiersman From $19.97 - $32.97 As low as $4.12\/issue You Save 58% Subscribe Now\nAmerican Farmhouse Style From $29.95 - $42.95 As low as $3.58\/issue You Save 46% Subscribe Now\nAtomic Ranch From $29.95 - $52.95 As low as $4.41\/issue Subscribe Now\nFarmhouse Style From $24.98 - $44.98 As low as $5.62\/issue Subscribe Now","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home \/ Tel Rumeida: Continued Harassment at Issa's House\nTel Rumeida: Continued Harassment at Issa's House\nJuly 17th, 2007. At around 1pm at Issa Amro's house in Tel Rumeida, two people from the ISM got detained by police after a settler incident. While three people from the ISM were monitoring the house, they noticed a settler, around his mid 20's named David, sneaking around the house, circling the property and eventually trying to enter the property.\nSoldiers were observing the situation but did not intervene until the settler entered the barbwire surrounded area at which point the ISM team told him to leave the privately owned Palestinian property. After leaving for a short while he and an older settler returned, along with soldiers and shortly after followed by a police man. The settler accused one of the members of ISM of obstruction of public order and another of assault.\nThey were both taken to the police office in Kiryat Arba. After a couple hours of \"investigation\" one activist was released and another was bullied into signing an agreement not to return to Hebron for two weeks.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Please don't tell me to 'do the math'\nHypebot has invited a guest blogger, Bill Houghton, to run his eyes over the likelihood of advertising supporting the music industry online.\nHe's not encouraging:\nA quick analysis of both industries illustrates the point. Including P2P downloads, the online music industry has an estimated value of about $30 Qtraxbillion and rising. That number will only rise as in-store CD sales continue their slide. Free and subsidized distribution models also will increase the percentage of music distributed online.\nMeanwhile the total revenue from Internet advertising across all markets and platforms is about $20 billion as reported by MediaPost. Experts are predicting this number is approaching a plateau for various reasons. Online media accounts for only 20% of consumers' attention \u2013 implying that there's a limit of 20% market share that online advertising can hope for.\nThat's a clear shortfall of $10b billion and growing. Obviously the entire ad industry does not produce the revenues sufficient to subsidize the online music industry\u2026 and it likely never will.\nBill concludes than an all-advertising model is, thus, impossible.\nThe other possibility, which Bill doesn't entertain and won't provide any comfort to people running music operations for profit, is that the current 'market value' of music is unsustainable.\nMore from No Rock on advertising, other music blogs are available\nNeither ethical nor well-executed\nTwo days after the ship had sailed, Leona Lewis is still trying to buy her way to success in the Brits.\nMore from No Rock on brits, brits 2008, leona lewis\nBestival scoops the lot\nBestival - when it's not smiling gently at Glastonbury and going \"what happened to you, Dude, you used to be cool?\" - is actually managing to pull together a pretty impressive line-up, headed off with My Bloody Valentine.\nMore from No Rock on bestival, festivals, my bloody valentine\nWill Smith: Never loved Hitler\nThe World Entertainment News Network has apologised and paid damages to Will Smith after it reported him saying he thought Hitler was a good man.\nHis solicitor, Rachel Atkins, told London's High Court the article was \"deeply distressing\" to Smith and had caused him \"acute embarrassment\".\nMs Atkins said the star, who was not in court, was \"a highly-respected actor of international repute and a man of complete integrity\".\nShe said the I Am Legend star believed Hitler to be \"a vile and heinous man\".\n\"The article alleged that the claimant had declared in an interview that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was a good person,\" she said.\n\"The allegation is false and without any foundation.\n\"It wholly misrepresents the claimant's actual words, given in an interview to the Daily Record, a Scottish newspaper and website.\"\nWhat Smith actually said was the slightly more subtle 'Hitler thought what he was doing was good':\n\"Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil thing I can do today',\" said Will. \"I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good'. Stuff like that just needs reprogramming.\"\nActually, we're quite taken with the idea of Hitler waking up in the morning and deciding what he's going to do each morning; perhaps over a bowl of sugarpuffs.\nMore from No Rock on hitler, libel, wenn, will smith\nThat's what Michael should have done\nIf only Michael Jackson had followed the example of the Cowboy Junkies, Thirller 25 might not have been kept out of the charts. For the twentieth anniversary of The Trinity Sessions, the band have gone back to the same venue, and re-recorded each track. Pitchfork aren't impressed, mind:\nThe performance has been released on CD\/DVD as Trinity Revisited, and it is certainly an odd product-- redundant to anyone familiar with The Trinity Sessions and unconvincing to everyone else. This isn't a reinterpretation, but a re-enactment. The Junkies run through songs almost note for note, and when they go off-script, as on the overly dramatic reading of \"Sweet Jane\", they display only their limitations.\nWhich seems a little unfair - if you see the album as an attempt to see what difference twenty years makes, even if the answer if \"precious little\", that doesn't entirely make it a failure. It's like the way scientists have to explain to arts graduates that experiments which don't deliver the expected results haven't failed, but worked.\nMore from No Rock on anniversary, new releases, the cowboy junkies\nGovernment pushes ISPs to become the police\nIt's been trailed quite heavily, so it's not a surprise, but Andy Burnham's DCMS proposals to do the BPI's bidding and 'open consultations' on whether ISPs should be made to police their customer's online activities still bring something of a shudder.\nLeaving aside the issues of copyright and ownership and if it could work: Andy Burnham is proposing that private companies should not only be given the right to eavesdrop on your conversations, but could actually be legally compelled to do so.\nAnd what makes it even more frustrating is that even the BPI don't believe it'll make any difference to their sales. The record company cartel's spokesperson Matt Philips admitted as much to the Guardian's Technology supplement yesterday:\nBut imagine, finally, that a rigorous self-regulation procedure is in place, and that the internet populace knows about it. Does the BPI think its members' sales will grow? For once, Phillips hesitates. \"That's really hard to answer. But it would send out the message that copyright is to be respected, that creative industries are to be respected and paid for,\" he says. \"It would mean that the people who are paying for content wouldn't be subsidising those who don't. But I can't say to you now that it would make sales grow, or by how much.\"\nSo, this invasion of everybody's privacy - the treating of all broadband users in the UK as suspects, and as such open to the investigation of any corporation which provides ISP services - isn't even going to do anything other than \"send out a message\" about copyright. Let's hope they don't start publicising new records in the same way - \"we're asking the government publishes people's health care records online to promote the new Kylie album\".\nThe official announcement of the threat is part of a wide-ranging DCMS press release which tries to get away with hiding the unpleasant policy amongst some fluffier stuff. But it's in the fluff that you can see the little deals that have been done behind the scenes - clearly, part of the trade off has involved record companies doing little favours to prop up Burnham's weak creative industry 'stimulation' plans in return for being allowed to dictate government policy on filesharing:\n# securing 5,000 apprenticeships across the creative industries by 2013. BBC at mediacity:uk, Tate Liverpool, Universal Music Group and Monkeydevil Design are among the first to sign up to offer high quality training\n# working with the industries' most successful creators, including Aardman Animations, EMI, and the Royal Opera House to develop five new 'centres of excellence' in creative skills\n[Our emphasis]\nUniversal and EMI, eh? That's a strange coincidence, isn't it?\nThe government is trying to make it sound like it's merely encouraging a dialogue between ISPs and the BPI:\nThe Government supports current discussions between internet service providers and rights holders for action on illegal file sharing and our strong preference remains for a voluntary solution. However, to date no voluntary agreement has been reached, and we will shortly consult on options for a statutory solution, with a view to implementing legislation by April 2009. This consultation is in parallel with the voluntary discussions and we will stop the statutory \"clock\" if and when a voluntary solution is reached.\nAll very civilised. However, when the negotiations are taking place against a ticking clock, with the knowledge that if there's no agreement, the BPI will get what it wants anyway through legislation, you might wonder how fair the government is actually being.\nMore from No Rock on andy burnham, bpi, breaking news, department of culture media and sport, emi, file sharing, isps, universal\nWhat was the theme of the Brit Awards? 1970s sexism, apparently.\nThere was some confusion over the theme at this year's school prize giving. The presence of Ozzy, the giant skull, the apparently-straightfaced-use of Anarchist symbols on the onscreen graphics suggested that this was an event with ROCK at its heart.\nBut then Kelly did say it was the year of pop when she was presenting. It's very confusing. Who can adjudicate on such matters?\nHow about the Official website? Rock or Pop, Brits - what were you?\nThe theme of this year's BRIT awards is Glam Rock and every last bit of the BRITs is dripping with glamour.\nGlam rock? GLAM ROCK? In what way was the theme of that event glam rock? Did someone do a T-Rex cover we missed? Was that Ian Hunter rather than Paul McCartney getting the lifetime achievement award? Was the event so poorly conducted that Elton John's pieces got dropped from the running order?\nOf course, the glam rock angle was just an excuse to explain why the BPI had taken money from Agent Provocateur to let them have space backstage. Anyone who thinks that the inherent sexism of the music industry and the marginalisation of women into the limitied roles of groupies or girlfriends is a thing of the past, look away now:\nAnd what's more rock 'n roll than half naked girls? Accordingly, Agent Provocateur, who have built a special boudoir booth to showcase their new skin care and fragrance have their very own scantily clad vixen.\nEsme's acting skills won't be heavily called upon this evening as all she has to do is hand a mike over to whichever presenter is mounting the stage. She's one of a quartet of glamorously dressed girls who are here for the sole purpose of \"adding some beauty and some boobies\". \"The presenters will run through a gamut of girls who're there to escort them to the stage, they can take their pick\".\nPicking from a bunch of mute women - sorry, girls - who are just there to add some tits to the proceedings. Doesn't the British music industry make you proud?\nMore from No Rock on brits, brits 2008, sexist\nMika Bomb make a bomb\nSimon out of Sweeping The Nation emails to alert us to the unlikely presence of Agi from Mika Bomb on the BBC News website, reporting on the different shape of the music industry in China.\nWe have to raise a curious eyebrow at this:\nThe singer made about $2000 (\u00a31,000) a month from music royalties and live shows with her band Mika Bomb when she lived in London.\nBut in China, her band Long Kuan Jiu Duan can almost double that by singing just one song at a commercial gig.\nThe singer from Mika Bomb was raking in a grand's worth of royalties every month? Really?\nAlthough the article is headlined 'Chaos' Of China's Music Industry, the piece is less about chaos and more about an industry that's accepted that the shape of the world has changed and it needs to explore different approaches to selling music. Is an industry where an artist can make a couple of thousand pounds for doing one song at a corporate gig in more than chaos than one where - having spent a couple of years trying to sue its customers - they're now trying to make telephone companies check every bit of data for illegal filesharing?\nYou might not like some of the conclusions China's music companies are reaching - the reliance on sponsorship money raises a slew of questions - but at least they're not desperately trying to find a thousand ways to preserve a business model that's more extinct than an all-male species of impotent monkeys with intimacy issues.\nMore from No Rock on agi, china, long kuan jiu duan, mika bomb, music business\nWhat I did at the Brit Awards by Ricky Wilson, aged 13\nRicky Wilson has a permanent record of his day at The Brits in The Times. He had an exciting time, hanging out with famous people:\nYou get to spy people like David Tennant and proper celebs, such as Simon Pegg. He told me that he'd just been filming the new Star Trek - he's Scottie, for gawd's sake. You don't get that kind of chat by a portaloo in a boggy field.\nReally? You don't think you could talk to Simon Pegg backstage at Glastonbury?\nAware that he's sounding a little over-excited about hanging out with James Blunt, Ricky attempts to justify his enthusiasm:\nI get angry now when I see bands acting like they don't care about the Brits. I just think of all the bands that would love to be asked. Everyone wants to go. It's the biggest and best awards ceremony - our Oscars - and I'm so glad that it's music, so we are invited. I'm even more glad that we're relevant enough to be asked to perform. And be nominated, even if we were robbed.\nEveryone wants to go? Really? And yet they have to fill up the front rows with kids from the Brits School.\nMore from No Rock on brits, brits 2008, kaiser chiefs, ricky wilson\nPop stars have drinks; Mail outraged\nThe Daily Mail is fuming with rage at the drunken antics of pop stars & hangers-on after the Brits had finished (possibly even as soon as they'd switched to ITV2) and is so upset it feels compelled to share photos with the public so you, too, might be upset:\nIf you thought that they looked bad before the Brit Awards started then these pictures of Britain's finest pop stars as the night wore on are even more shocking.\nAmongst these 'shocking' pictures are Beth Ditto with her mouth open, and Peter Kay yawning. The most shocking photo of all, though, is one of Mark Owen leaning on a trolley - shocking as in 'of a quality so low it's not worth printing in a national newspaper, surely' as he's got red eye.\nThe Mail's Richard Price, though, is most exercised by a snap of Sarah Harding kissing a girl:\nToo much 'kiss and make-up' for Sarah Harding?\nAt the Universal Records party in Bayswater, Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding was seen being driven away looking clearly worse for wear, even sharing a kiss with a female companion before collapsing in the back of her car.\nDid he just say, effectively, 'she was so drunk she turned into a lesbian'?\nMore from No Rock on beth ditto, brits, brits 2008, daily mail, girls aloud, sarah harding\nJennifer Lopez: It's twins\nOh, apparently everyone knew it was going to be twins. One of each, mind. Oh, you'd heard that too?. Oh.\nNo word yet on which one will be the evil one.\nMore from No Rock on birth, children, jennifer lopez, marc anthony\nGordon in the morning: Cheryl's ignored his advice\nHaving spent a week getting excited at the prospect of Cheryl divorcing Ashley, preparing to share his drawer-full of young men's phone numbers and making it clear only a split could satisfy him, how does Gordon react to, erm, Cheryl Cole giving her marriage a second chance?\nBy castigating Cheryl, of course, and telling her off.\nSorry, we mean giving \"pals\" the space to tell her off:\nCheryl's a fool to forgive Ashley\nIt's not clear if he means Cheryl's friends, or just Gordon's - the byline suggests the latter:\nBy RICHARD WHITE and GORDON SMART\nConsidering there's two people writing it, nobody seems to have given too much attention to the writing:\nUntil Wednesday, Cheryl, 24, had not seen Ashley, 27, since The Sun revealed he bedded blonde hairdresser Aimee Walton, 22 \u2014 then offered her cash for an abortion.\nThe Sun offered Aimee cash for an abortion? Or did The Sun offer the money to Cheryl?\nNo, we know what happened, but since the paragraph is written on the asusmption of no background knowledge of the story, you think it might be clearer.\nElsewhere, Gary Barlow's moaning that Take That only win Brit Awards voted for by the public and not the Academy is given more space than it deserves because Gordon was able to run the picture of him with the band above it. Barlow could have been calling for Murdoch to be run out of town on a stick and, with that picture, it would have appeared in the paper.\nGordon also has a bizarre little rage at ITV for shifting the last couple of McCartney songs to ITV2:\nI FEEL for the viewers who missed out on the full MACCA set from The Brits.\nITV shunted Sir Paul on to ITV2 towards before some memorable tunes.\nViewers on ITV1 did see him sing Dance Tonight and dedicate classics Live And Let Die to his beloved first wife LINDA and Hey Jude to JOHN LENNON.\nYou feel for them, do you, Gordon? You share the pain of... who, exactly? As long ago as last September, 85% of UK households had digital TV (and it's fairly safe to say many of those that don't aren't that arsed about watching television anyway) so, effectively, you're shedding tears for people who couldn't be arsed to change the channel on their digital remote control. Will you be offering them counselling?\nMore from No Rock on ashley cole, brits, brits 2008, cheryl cole, cheryl tweedy, gary barlow, girls aloud, gordon smart, itv, itv2, paul mccartney\nBobby Gillespie's there\nWhile it's not entirely untrue, we're amused that the latest episode of Soft Foucs is billing its guest as \"Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream \/ Jesus And Mary Chain\" - obviously, it's factually correct but seems a little bit odd to give a few months banging a single drum equal weight with Bomb The Pentagon and Crystal Crescent and Kate Moss and Screamadelica and... you get the point.\nThis is the first episode (and, no, we don't know when Gillespie turned into Ian McCulloch):\nFurther chunks on VBS.tv.\nMore from No Rock on bobby gillespie, interviews, primal scream, the jesus and mary chain, vbs.tv\nArgos angry at enforced sales\nEddie Argos and his gang have released a single. Apparently without knowing it, according to the Art Brut website:\nAttention, the Internet!! It seems Art Brut have accidentally released a single. Yes, the rumours are true. But how could this happen, you may ask? Why were we not informed? Why was it not available in my local record shack, thrust pride of place along side the latest View recording? Well, my friends, pick up any thread of incompetence and it will usually lead you to a record company. That's right, it seems EMI have decided to release Pump Up the Volume without informing either the band or myself, making any kind of wide scale promotion rather difficult. Adding to this curious new marketing stratagem of discouraging sales, EMI have chosen to make the song available via download only. So no luck in the record shacks either.\nHowever, there is a video! Again, curious, as it is accompanied by what could quite possibly be the opposite of marketing but nevertheless it is available for your viewing pleasure. Recorded live for Australian television, no less.\nOf course, the record labels only do what they do in the artist's best interests. It now turns out not only do the artists not know what's best for themselves, but they don't even need to be told what's happening to them.\nMore from No Rock on art brut, eddie argos, emi\nPerhaps mentioning Thriller's age in the album title wasn't a good idea?\nMichael Jackson is grumpy that old album Thriller has been kept off the Billboard album charts because it's an old album.\nFor reasons that we can only conclude are to do with being kind to Nickelback new releases, Billboard have a separate chart for catalogue releases, upon which Thriller 25 sits, like a shop-soiled colossus. Jackson's current people are upset:\none source says, \"It has six new songs. Michael went into the studio and recorded with Kanye West, Fergie, Akon, Will.i.Am - and there's a brand-new song from Michael, and videos. It beat Grammy winners Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock, with 167,000 crossing the counter. Yet for reasons unfathomable to folks in the music industry, Billboard has decided to relegate it to the catalogue chart. Catalogue makes it look like same ol' same ol', but with a new cover.\n\"Michael expected it to be on the Top 200 chart.\"\nActually, this 'source' underestimates what the chart does - it doesn't even look like it's got a new cover, just the old one with a big number slapped on it.\nThe protests might have a little more weight if the official product description didn't call the thing a reissue. It can't be simultaneously a reissue and a new album, can it?\nBillboard's call is fair enough - after all, it's not like anyone is buying the record because it's got some godawful wibbly Fergie nonsense slapped on it.\nWhat is interesting, though, is the revelation that it's outselling Hancock and Winehouse - and yet has managed just a smidge over one and a half hundred thousand, which puts Amy's sales at somewhere shy of that figure. It might be a nice sounding chart position, but in sales terms, with the bounce of the Grammys telecast, it's not that good for either Amy or the US music industry as a whole, is it? A few tens of thousands of sales after all that exposure is an American public yawning and scratching.\nMore from No Rock on amy winehouse, billboard charts, michael jackson\nGrohl takes on Wolverine\nThe Foo Fighters are launching a legal attack on Marvel: apparently Dave and the boys are unhappy that Marvel slapped some Foos music on the trail for the Wolverine and The X-Men cartoon series. It's not clear what recompense the band are seeking, but our legal expert suggests that Dave could force Wolverine to hand over some haircare tips as compensation.\nMore from No Rock on dave grohl, foo fighters, legal, marvel comics, soundtracks, wolverine\nIrish music could be in trouble\nAn alarming headline from Gigwise:\nSnow Patrol To Speak On Behalf Of Irish Music\nAt Stormont today...\nGood lord, how did they land that gig? I mean, were they elected? Or was it an evil trick by Welsh music to make its rival across the sea look bad?\nIt turns out they're only talking on behalf of an Irish music project:\nLightbody is expected to show how the project, Oh Yeah, has helped Irish musicians across the country.\nOh Yeah was set up by Ash's Tim Wheeler in a bid to establish a dedicated music centre in Belfast.\nWhich is a lot less alarming than it first appeared.\nMore from No Rock on ash, belfast, gary lightbody, northern ireland, snow patrol, stormont, tim wheeler\nChester Bennington's stalker inside\nThe sad detail in reports of the Chester Bennington's stalker being sentenced is that she's being given mental health care rather than punishment. Devon Townsend has sixty days to surrender herself to a low-security prison (although we can't help wondering why someone with mental health issues is being told to leave them for a couple of months - perhaps they're hoping she'll wean herself off Linkin Park first?)\nMore from No Rock on chester bennington, linkin park, mental health, stalkers\nBrits: Audience drifts away slowly\nITV is, apparently, quite happy with the audience figures for the Brits last night, posting a headline 6.1 million viewers, up 800,000 on last year's figures.\nDoubtless many people will be suggesting it was their magic element which helped the audience rise, although the key factor (\"not being on at the same time as BBC One showing an FA Cup replay\") it's hard for anyone at ITV to take credit for.\nThe 800,000 extra viewers figure is interesting in its own right - because that's the number of viewers who deserted the programme during its two hours on air. The first fifteen minutes of the show were watched by 6.5 million; by the time McCartney came on, only 5.7 million were still tuned in. It's unclear if those figures include viewers watching from behind their sofas.\nMore from No Rock on audience figures, brits, brits 2008, ratings\nEven more darkness at 3AM: Which awards did they go to?\nWe're surprised to read on the 3AM website how well the Osbourne's performance went off last night:\nWe were expecting four-letter outbursts and presenting skills worthy of Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood's Brits nightmare.\nBut Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne's performance was worthy of a Brit in itself.\nDrafting in Kelly and Jack to help them with the proceedings, it was a blunder-free and faultless display.\nHelped by slick scripts and even slicker autocue, there wasn't a fluffed line in sight. The highlights included Sharon leaving daughter Kelly speechless by introducing fat DJ Chris Moyles as \"my future son-in-law\".\nShe then drew an equally pained expression from hubby Ozzie when introducing Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as \"a man who is so gorgeous he needs a good licking, and I think I'm the woman to do it.\"\nBe scared, Jonathan, very scared...\nYes, not only do they keep mis-spelling Ozzy's name throughout the piece, but they somehow have managed to miss all the fluffed lines, Ozzy introducing Paul McCartney about five minutes too early, that odd bit where Sharon screwed up and Kelly filled with a panicky 'ho-ho, we're all having fun' laugh... it's almost as if they filed the story just after the event had begun, isn't it?\nMore from No Rock on 3am girls, brits, brits 2008, ozzy osbourne, sharon osbourne\nMore Darkness at 3AM: Don't be rude to the school, boys\nThe 3AM site has just been updated with a curious story about last night's Brits which tries to suggest that being mildly sarcastic about the Brits School gets you censored:\nAngry TV bosses pulled the plug on the Arctic Monkeys after they unleashed an abusive tirade.\nAn 'abusive tirade'?\nAfter winning Best British Group, frontman Alex Turner sarcastically dedicated his win to the Brits school - the performing school which benefits financially from the awards ceremony.\nHe snarled: \"I'd like to thank the Brit school, of course, which I graduated from.\"\nBut before he could dig himself in any further over the school, whose past students include the Kooks, Adele and Will Young, ITV bosses blasted out fake cheering from the speakers, turned off their mikes and cut to the backstage interview with Fearne Cotton.\nHmm. Isn't actually the case that Sharon Osbourne and Vic Reeves had spent so long in drunken bickering and yelling 'pissed' that the event was in danger of having its timings screwed, and the hustling of the Arctic Monkeys offstage wasn't because they were going to upset some school in Croydon, and more to ensure that Paul McCartney wasn't crashing the News At Ten bongs?\nStill, why let the facts, etc etc?\nMore from No Rock on 3am girls, arctic monkeys, brits, brits 2008\nDaily Mail: it's about the skirts and thugs\nWhile most people's reaction to seeing Amy Winehouse look almost human on-stage was one of relief, the Daily Mail was not so soft as to fall for that sort of thing. This morning, the paper barks:\nAnd at the end, she yelled: 'Make some noise for my husband Blake'. A reference to her incarcerated husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who has been remanded in Pentonville prison on charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.\nWe love the way they explain carefully who Blake is, in case you've not heard of him before.\nThis looks like they'd left some space open to run a 'Winehouse collapses on stage\/ doesn't show' story, and had to fill it with whatever was to hand.\nThe rest of their coverage is of the red carpet:\nGirls Aloud won the fashion honours at the Brits last night as they sashayed down the red carpet in a selection of daringly short skirts.\nThat Kimberley was wearing a skirt down to her knees doesn't seem to have bothered the Mail team.\nThe boys, meanwhile? Why, they were typical:\nDJ and producer Mark Ronson looked typically immaculate in black tie dress while singer Mika arrived in typically flamboyant style wearing a silver jacket.\nTypically so.\nAnd you know who else was there? Some people who have sex with footballers. The Mail can barely contain its excitement:\nThe outright winner of the contest to find the shortest, tighest, most revealing outfit was Liverpool football star Peter Crouch's girlfriend Abi Clancy, 22.\nOh, and apparently Paul McCartley or someone was also there.\nMore from No Rock on amy winehouse, blake fielder-civil, brits, brits 2008, daily mail, girls aloud\nDarkness at 3AM: Leave her aLeona or something\nOver at 3AM, they also headline their Brits coverage with the non-winning of Leona Lewis. As if it wasn't bad enough being passed over four times, we're sure that Leona will be delighted to see her not winning is the key theme of this year's prizes.\n3AM's pun is even blunter than Smart's:\nLEONA LOSER\nCharming.\nWe consoled a disappointed Leona who got nothing after being nominated for four awards - including Female Solo Artist, Album, Single and Breakthrough Act.\n... and then went home to call her a Loser. Charming.\nApparently, Paul McCartney's performance was like scrubbing the world's minds with minderasers:\nBeatles legend Sir Paul McCartney had the last laugh on money-grabbing Heather Mills in his Brits performance last night - by erasing her from his life.\nSir Paul dedicated his Outstanding Contribution finale to his late wife and love of his life, Linda. But he completely ignored Mills in a video montage of his life. The cheeky ex had been begging to come to the ceremony but Brits bosses were warned to keep her away.\nReally? How odd he didn't choose to feature the woman he's in the middle of fighting in an acrimonious divorce in his best bits clips show.\nIt's not quite \"erasing her from his life\", though, is it? Not until the cash transfer goes through.\nMore from No Rock on 3am girls, brits, brits 2008, heather mills, leona lewis, paul mccartney\nGordon in the morning: Brits ahoy\nOf course, for the papers, the live transmission of the Brits is a bit of a nightmare - the morning titles are now sent for publication so early, the presses start rolling before the ceremony finishes, which means that the paper version of Bizarre is quite lucky to have any shots of the event at all - although the sharp-eyed will spot that the onstage shots come from the very start of the event. Given the chance to pick from all the live performances, would they really have chosen Ditto and Mika rather than, say, Kylie or Rhianna?\nThe Sun gets some coverage onto the news pages under the headline Leona Lewses, which is both a rubbish pun (unless she's planning to move to the county town of East Sussex out of shame) and a really odd angle to take.\nAs Pete Samson points out, though, the much-predicted \"Pop hits back\" story for the event proved to be a duff sell, with the Monkeys, Foos and Nash scooping armfuls of prizes for the rock-ish tendency.\nWith deadlines working against him, Gordon fills his spread with Cheryl Cole, of bloody course, burbling esxcitedly about a \"secret summit\" between Cole and Cole \"just hours before\" the Brits. Once again, though, Gordon's lead story points out that his big claims on Tuesday were useless, as it turns out that not only was Ashley not in the UK on C-Day, but, erm, neither was Cheryl, as she flew in yesterday:\nYet just hours earlier she held the secret summit with England and Chelsea ace Ashley after he begged her to see him when she jetted back from Los Angeles yesterday afternoon.\nSo, the big C-Day summit and the participants weren't even on the same continent. Still, it's apparently finally happened.\nSo, what was the outcome, Gordon? (Actually, we say Gordon - he shares the byline on the story with Richard White, but we suspect Gordo's bits are the gossips nuggets from the Brits.)\n\"Cole knew this was his last chance, but he still hasn't been forgiven. Just a couple of hours before the Brits they had a showdown and Cheryl was a wreck.\n\"All the recovering she has done in the last three weeks was blown away by seeing Ashley again.\"\nSo, nobody really knows.\nThe actual interesting part of the story isn't anything to do with the Cole circus:\nCheryl's band-mate NADINE COYLE failed to attend the lavish Brits ceremony in Earls Court.\nShe was expected to claim she had lost her passport, preventing her from flying in from LA.\nBut band sources said it was her way of saying she wants no more to do with Girls Aloud, who were up for Best Group.\nPerhaps she just didn't want to be on the plane with Cheryl running through her speech for Ashley over and over.\nMore from No Rock on brits, brits 2008, girls aloud, gordon smart, nadine coyle, splits\nWouldn't you rather be watching Torchwood? The Brits liveblog\n\"Tomorrow's tabloids in the making\" promises the continuity announcement, with what we can only assume are fingers crossed.\nMika's up first, then, doing a song that feels about four years old already. The giant finch hanging from the stage is a nice touch, mind. For some reason he's dressed as a matador. This year's Scissor Sisters, isn't it?\nMika opens a small door, and out pops Beth Ditto - like a faux indie version of Hearsay Its Saturday. She's wearing one of those silly little perching on head hats; they attempt to meld Love Today and Standing In The Way Of Control into one song - with limited success. This really does feel like I Love 2006. Mika's still going on - Ditto's disappeared, and so has the giant cutout finch.\nTom Baker is doing the voiceovers again - another warm-twenty-four-months-ago touch.\nSharon and Ozzy have come on stage, with the kids - nepotism, nepotism. Sharon is screeching like she's never been on stage before. Ozzy is stood looking lost.\n\"If you think this is over the top, wait to see what we've got in store for you later\" screeches Sharon. It's not over the top, dear, it's struggling to rise to the occasion.\nAward one: best live act. \"A very naughty man\" is presenting - \"he gets loads of complaints, but let's face it, all the best people do these days\" says Sharon. Eh? What does that mean? Talent is no longer capable of entertaining without offending? Isn't that a bit sad.\nIt's Moyles, who's come out. Oh god, Kelly and Jack are apparently sticking around for the whole show. Why?\nActually, Moyles seems to be auditioning for hosting the show - he'd actually have been better at it than the gaggle who got the gig.\nSo, best live act, then - sponsored by Radio 2 (but don't say it out loud). If it's sponsored by Radio 2, shouldn't Terry Wogan be presenting?\nObviously, the prize goes to Take That.\nThe prize, apparently, is a sign that \"pop is back\", which seems to have been decided is the official line of the show. (Although why have a rock icon presenting them, then?)\nTake That are very polite. Mark Owen appears to be wearing some sort of lady's neckerchief and matching blouse. It's very fetching.\nJason thanks the riggers and truck drivers - see, very polite indeed.\nKelly and shambledad come forward to introduce the heavily-trailed Rhianna\/Klaxons duet.\nThey're in a giant pyramid - it looks a bit like a offcut from the Crystal Maze.\nOh. It's not a very happy marriage, either; less a collaboration, more Rhianna singing her hit despite what the Klaxons are doing. Oops.\n(The tabloids will tell you this is amazing tomorrow.)\nThis is going to bemuse the people who like the song, while not really persuading people to sample The Klaxons. Maybe they should have tried a different song? But then celebrating 2007 without having Umbrella would miss the point a little.\nFearne is backstage, padding out the show with backstage interviews. Mark Owen seems to suggest the That got last year's awards copied down the arcade by the bloke who cuts the keys from a stall outside Marks and Spencers.\nThe Hit40 stations get a clear mention for their support on the Best Single prize. Jesus - The Hoosiers made the shortlist? No wonder Ricky Wilson was annoyed at being left off.\nFirst break: Jack Black's done one of his wacky films, then. Oh good.\nYikes... it's that bloody scary Lloyds TSB advert. That gives me nightmares, it really does. And since when did Lloyds and trains go together?\nAnd we're back. Sharon's STILL EXCITED. It's no surprise, she tells us, that Adele's won the \"critic's choice\" award. She's a lovely girl, apparently. Jack is settling into a thousand yard stare.\nSharon makes a lame gag about Will Young being gay, which is met with a slightly stunned silence.\nWill tries to explain the critic's choice award - he can tell us what it is, but not why. What's the point?\nBlah blah blah Brits school blah roll of honour blah Amy Winehouse...\nAdele has celebrated by getting an even bigger bun for the back of her head. \"I'm not gonna speak for too long cause I think big speeches are borin'\". She instead churns out a long list of thanks instead. Because that's much more compelling.\nWhat is Sharon talking about? What?\nJonathan Rhys Myers is presenting - ten years since Velvet Goldmine, you know.\nRadio One has supported the breakthrough act; this is probably the only interesting competition of the evening. Unless it goes to Mika.\nIt goes to Mika.\nMika bellows like a man who has caught his penis in a revolving door.\nHe's beaten Bat For Lashes, Kate Nash, The Klaxons... and yet it feels like his career has already peaked.\nPresumably the parachuting in of Kelly and Jack must have been a result of some terrible rehearsals? Kelly never mentioned she was presenting during the nominations.\nEw, what is Kylie wearing? It looks like one of Carol Vorderman errors from mid-period Countdown. The presence of Daft Punk style blokes in tinfoil suits doesn't disguise that Wow is probably her weakest single since... well, The Locomotion. And the 'wow wow wow wow' bit sounds like when you put your hand over your ear and open and close it quickly.\nKylie's hair seems to have been inspired by the Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe photoshoot.\nOoh, she's got some half-hearted glitter, like she's won quarter of a million on deal or no deal.\nBackstage, Fearne asks Adele if winning has sunk in yet. \"I found out in December\" points out Adele. I'm warming to her.\nAnother break: Weetabix this time - try it with some fruit on. Yeah. It's like advertising toilet roll with advice to \"have a go with it doubled it\".\nWhy have Cadburys brought back the Crunchie advert from so long ago? It looks horrible on modern high-def television.\n\"Welcome back\" screeches Sharon, stumbling over her speech. It's one of Destiny's Child! Oh, but it's only Kelly Rowland. And she's only presenting a prize, but neither Sharon nor Kelly O bothered to mention what the award was for. Kelly picks up the slack. It's International Male time.\nKanye West has won. He's sent a tape because he can't be arsed to plod over to London to get the statue. He does some mildly amusing business about being humble, before thanking Westwood. And \"most importantly the fans\".\nSharon's confused about the next category. Kelly laughs in panic. Neither woman has a clue how to get back to where they should be. It's falling apart.\nSo they wheel on Beth Ditto with the British male prizes. Ditto also stumbles over the category name.\nAnd the winner is... Mark Ronson. Well, if they still did a best producer prize he'd have won that, and at least it's not Mika. Is it entirely fair for the soloist prize to go to someone who isn't a soloist.\nRonson does a gag about having \"some notes\", waving around sheafs of paper. Old, but at least he's making an effort. And he admits that he's not really a soloist, too.\nWe commend to you at this point David Hepworth's piece in the Independent on the Brits, where he points out that its twin aims are efforts doomed to fail - nobody outside the UK is interested in an event where 'Cumbawamba throw water over John Prescott' is considered to be a highlight, and in the always on, instant reaction world of scrobbling and blogging, celebrating the songs from last year in February is a little late.\nJack Osbourne takes the lead in introducing the Kaisers - although Ozzy does get to say \"Iwaaarryouuallltogacraaaeeforthekaissercheeese\".\nThey're doing Ruby on what Fearne Cotton had promised would be the \"craziest\" Brits set ever. It's some scaled down models. It looks like the opening credits to The House of Tiny Tearaways.\nThey're off key, too.\nBeth helpfully points out that Mark Ronson has won loads of awards and so, effectively, a Brit ain't so much. Mark mumbles something to try and take the sting from that rude-but-true observation.\nAnother break?\nOh, they're trying to push Kinder chocolate as an adult chocolate still, are they? That's never going to work, unless they put porno toys in the eggs.\nOver on the Guardian liveblog (from within the event - get them), Rosie Swash reveals that Missy Elliott's guest of honour is Lulu. Which is more interesting than the show itself.\nAs if on cue, Kelly O says that this where the show gets interesting - as if admitting the first hour has been a bit ho-hum.\nAh! Here's David Tennant, with an internation female prize. Now, a cynic would expect Rhianna to win this, what with her doing the show and all.\nAh, but Kylie is also up for it. She gets the prize, too - how many more times are Tennant and Minogue going to share stages?\nGod, it takes Kylie an age to get to the podium. Could they not have sat the nominees nearer the front? Trevor starts at Ten sharp these days with the news, you know.\nSharon mentions the X Factor to remind us that she's not always rubbish on live tv and to try and suggest that, somehow, Leona Lewis owes it all to her. A \"fabulous talent\", apparently.\nSorry for not mentioning the commenters, by the way: Sharon\/Harry Hill very apt, anon. And, yes, Mat, you've nailed the thing that's been bugging me. Expensive hair, wide mouth - Kelly is Shami Chakrabarti tonight, isn't she?\nLeona Lewis actually turns out to be not so very good - it's a nice backing vocal, but it's all screeching otherwise. Still, she gets more glitter than Kylie did. Probably to make up for losing that prize to Mika earlier.\nThe kids are having a go now - Kelly struggles with \"Olivier award\", as if she'd never heard of Sir Larry. Andrew Lloyd Webber has come on - he'd be BBC1's answer to Sharon Osbourne, if you think about it - and done some business with Denise Van Outen. (She'll work with anyone - Vaughan in the morning, Milord Webber at night). They're doing the big International Award, none of whose nominees have been bothered to turn up.\nIt goes to The Foo Fighters, under the well known 'Dave Grohl's a nice chap (apart from the AIDS business)' rule governing awards ceremonies.\nJames Nesbitt is now dragging himself up on stage - somehow even more out of place than on Buzzcocks - but reminds everyone the football is on Sky before the British female prize.\nSomething else David Hepworth said is that the British\/International distinction is meaningless in the 21st century - and wouldn't you want to see Bat For Lashes take on Feist instead of Leona Lewis?\nKate Nash wins. Another Brits school winner for this award, points out Fearne, which makes the whole thing seem even more like a closed shop than an open competition.\nExtemporising, Kate Nash is a lot less fascinating than she is on record. She even thanks Virgin Publishing.\nGood lord - in a bid to try and shore up ITV2's purchase of Bionic Woman (a buy-in that doesn't seem quite so smart now) Michelle Ryan is on with the winner of International Album.\nThe Foo Fighters have been judged to be better than The Eagles. In this context. Dave Grohl mildly takes the piss out of Kula Shaker on his taped acceptance.\nIt's the kids again, barking up the \"very special\" bit - Mark Ronson and... Adele. Not... you know, Amy Winehouse, then? Because it's not like she'll be backstage to come on and surprise everyone halfway through, is it?\nConsidering how humble Mark Ronson seemed picking up his award, it's hilarious the stage consists of giant marquees with his name on them.\nWhy, who's this? That's not Winehouse. It's the Stop Me bloke again. Nobody stops him, unfortunately. And the 'You Keep Me Hanging On' snatch isn't clever when the meandering last longer than the actual song you were supposed to be singing.\nAnd now, here's someone else. Surprise! (Not, you know, actually surprising) Yes, its Winehouse. Not doing it that well - like a child in a karaoke competition, to be honest - but (like the dog on hind legs) it's amazing you're seeing it at all. The trouble is she's clearly TRYING for it now. The one thing she always used to have was an air of effortlessness.\nBut perhaps that's just the nerves at coming back. And, seriously: Better her here, doing that, than to be covering her funeral.\nYet another break. This is, after all, commercial television. They're showing the advert for Heinz Microwave Beans - the ones which imply that, somehow, opening a ring-pull can and hearing on a stove is somehow a complex operation.\nMikey: assuming you come back at 9.50 and don't turn over for the next episode of Torchwood on BBC3... marks out of ten for tonights 'Wood?\nAnd Random - an eight year old boy's haircut on a thirtysomething woman is an expensive undertaking indeed. Have you any idea how much it costs to scalp a child these days?\nDaniel Merriweather. That's the bloke who did Stop Me. ON THE BRITS STAGE. Why? Why? It's like the BAFTAs giving stage space to a bloke from Hollyoaks.\nUh-oh - looks like Sharon just swore, and the seven second delay involved just slowing the tape down so she sounded like she was Godzilla. Some gag about Simon Cowell.\nIan McKellen off Coronation Street comes on, and does a joke about wanting to meet Mika. It falls rather flat.\nBut at least they don't have to slow it down.\nThe Arctic Monkeys have shown up to accept their award. Sell-outs! Sell-outs!\nThey're dressed as country gentlemen - To The Manor Born chic - although the joke actually makes them seem like they're the Kaiser Chiefs for some reason.\nThey've got a duck call and a decoy with them. If someone rushed on stage with a gun and a labrador, thay'd make it funnier.\nKelly is now introducing \"my dera friend\" Amy Winehouse - according to Mitch Winehouse and Closer, it's the Osbournes who are getting her straight. But would you really choose to kick heroin just to turn into Sharon? Hard to credit.\nDoing Love Is A Losing Game, she looks quite awkward - not in the drug-era, about-to-topple-over way, but in a 'how does this work again' way? And she looks more like Gaynor Faye than ever.\n\"Make some noise for my husband, my Blake\". Uh-oh.\nSharon's been allowed to introduce Alan Carr all on her own. She delivers the words - some joke about Ding Dong, obviously - with the panache of a 1980s text-to-speech programme.\nSo, who's got single of the year - voted for by the people who are watching this programme? (The world's most sophisticated electorate, expect for those voting for Man of the Match on Sky One.)\nIt's Take That - but apparently only just ahead of Leona Lewis; paradoxically, then, appearing live seems to have hurt rather than helped her.\nTake That are now a little more drunk. But still quite polite. What is Alan Carr doing in the background with the two Osbourne women?\nSharon chases Take That off the stage - at least she's handy when you need to pick up the pace. Until she starts talking and goes waffling off again.\nVic Reeves has come on with what I think is the fifteenth prize that Sharon has described as the \"big one\". Reeves hasn't actually thought his bit through. And doesn't seem to know where he is. In these circumstances, its important to have a host who can smooth things over.\nOsbourne Mere screeches and yells. Sharon keeps telling Vic to piss off as they fight over the winner. The Arctic Monkeys look a little frightened at having to go onstage while Osbourne shouts \"pisshead\" and Reeves tries to grab the card back.\nThis is how the BPI thinks they can sell records in the emerging markets.\nThe Monkeys roam about while Osbourne shouts \"bloody hell... get a move on... what have they come as?\" - apparently unaware she's wearing a microphone, and on live television.\nThe producers give up and cut from the stage to Fearne in a bid to try and keep to some sort of timings. It turns out they're keen to make sure that Paul McCartney's set splits nicely betweent ITV and ITV2. The one night of the year that News At Ten might stand a chance of giving the Ten O'Clock a run for its money, and they're scuttling its chances by pied-piper like leading away of half the audience.\nAnother break. Let's hope it's long enough for them to sort Sharon out. And maybe see if someone can find out what's happened to Ozzy, who we don't think we've seen for about an hour.\nOoh, there's a trail for the Tens - a desperate appeal for a missing child... full details after the Brits. That's not too tacky, then.\nPaul McCartney's being lined up - and even Ozzy is back to introduce \"Mr Sir Paul McCartney\". As everyone else panics \"not yet... not yet...\" Yes, Ozzy's had one thing to do in sixty minutes, and fucks it up.\n\"She's a survivor like me...\" - yes, Sharon's trying to introduce Kylie as if they're sisters under the skin. Kylie is the closest thing to a safe pair of hands the show's had on stage in a while (why hadn't she been asked to present the whole thing?).\nHere's Macca, then, getting his first Brit Award, more or less. He's wearing a sensible coat, fully-buttoned up. Must be feeling the chill at his age.\n\"Thats it from us\" says Kelly Osbourne; Sharon explains who Paul McCartney is like a headteacher forced to do a religious bit in assembly, and claims that Ozzy has played Paul's music every day she's known him. Considering he was off his skull for a large chunk of it, that seems a little unlikely - \"I'll have some drugs, but I'll pop on Band On The Run first\"?\nMacca takes the stage to show why he's picking up the lifetime achievement award - and launches into recent fab-wacky-by-numbers plodder Dance Around. It's like DaVinci getting an innovation award and saying thank you by inventing a trouser press or something.\nIn other words: McCartney has, inarguably, written some bloody brilliant songs in his time - so why isn't he doing one of those instead of trying to push his most recent album?\nThis is a bit more like it - and by \"it\", we mean \"that set he did at Glastobury a few years back\" - Live And Let Die. He appears to have some fireworks for it, but mostly film of fireworks. Live And Let The Guy From Health And Safety Have A Look At The Plans, then.\nAnonymous commenter - if the Osbournes had been any more over the place, they'd probably have announced McCarthy, and I think under the rules they'd have been obliged to play.\nHe's onto Hey Jude, now. You might have trouble hearing it over the sound of Yoko grinding her teeth. What's the betting in a couple of years they'll have to create some way of giving John a balancing prize, to be presented to, ooh, shall we say his widow? Not next year - that'd look too like a tit-for-tat. But we're betting on 2009.\nSo, what have we learned - as McCartney splits the audience into men and ladies for some singing of rounds, like at a church picnic? That the Osbournes were as bad as we'd feared - not wild, out of control, did-you-see-that-brilliant-thing wild, just half-arsed, bad-choice bad. Whoever parachuted Kelly and Jack in to prop them up probably deserves to be sent a box of thank you muffins from ITV - and how bad must something be if the presence of Kelly Osbourne makes things better?\nThe prizes didn't really go to anyone that surprising, but then the shortlist was uninspiring so that wasn't very surprising at all.\nKate Nash is less than we'd hoped; Mark Ronson is more charming than we'd expected; and Vic Reeves is never going to work again.\nThat wooshing sound you can hear? It's the 2008 Brit Awards ceremony vanishing into a vacuum. It felt less like the biggest night of music in the year, and more like that thing they do at kids parties where they show you some unrelated things on a tray, cover it up and see how many you can remmeber.\nThere was a duck... and, erm, a... was there a joke about bingo?\nBy Simon Hayes Budgen 36 comments\nMore from No Rock on brits, brits 2008, kelly osbourne, mika, ozzy osbourne, sharon osbourne, take that\nEMI shows off its digital plan. Oh, dear.\nHopes that Terra Firma were at least grasping the future for music companies is providing content under licence, embracing the idea of an arms-length world where it doesn't need to be the distributor any more have just died. Not simply died, but died in a horrible way. With a nasty noise.\nEMI has decided that it actually wants to be a webpublisher instead of a music company.\nNo, really. It thinks that's a good idea.\n'EMI has long been a pioneer in the digital space,' said a company spokeswoman. 'We will unveil more of our digital strategy as it develops.'\nThe thing is, they probably believe this, although if you asked EMI to name any evidence of this pioneerng spirit, they'd have to spend a bloody long time before they could come up with something. \"One of the first companies to sue Napster\", perhaps?\nPlans are at an early stage, but EMI is believed to be developing a series of branded social networking sites to provide consumers with fresh platforms for interacting with artists across its labels, which include Angel, Addictive, Parlophone and Relentless.\nThe decision is intended to allow EMI to replicate the success enjoyed by stars such as Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen on MySpace and Bebo.\nNow - leaving aside the question of how far the Monkeys and Allen were dependent on the existing social networking sites - what sort of logic is it that looks at the propostion 'The kids hear about new music on MySpace and Bebo' and concludes the best idea is not looking to get your artists onto MySpace and Bebo, but instead to try and build an inhouse version of MySpace.\nWe could just about see it almost working, if there was something unique about the access this EMMySpace could offer to, say, Kylie. But if all we're talking about is a couple of ghostwritten blog entries and the odd remix download, it's impossible to see why the company is wasting its money when, for about one sixth of the price, they could put the same content in front of a much bigger audience by using the existing networks.\nThe overriding logic of the music industry: never take a scheduled flight if you can get to the same place, at the same time, by chartering your own jet for ten times the cost.\nMore from No Rock on emi, marketing, myspace, social networking, terra firma\nComing delight\nUnless Relocation, Relocation is especially compelling, we'll be live blogging the Brits from 8pm this evening.\nOf course you have better things to do.\nMore from No Rock on housekeeping\nVivendi launches Zaoza. No, really, that's what it's called.\nThe people who are trying to shore up what's left of the Virgin retail empire can allow themselves a small smile this lunchtime - Zavvi is no longer the worst name in the music business.\nThat honour goes to Zaoza, a new service from Vivendi which manages to be both unpronounceable and unspellable. The idea is a pan-European subscription service providing ringtones, music and computer games. Which makes sense from their point of view, as they make all those things, but is harder to see as being a compelling offer to a customer. Why would I want to pay a subscription for three things when I only want one of them?\nEven Vivendi isn't making any great claims - estimating it'll have half a million subscribers across the continent by Christmas. At that rate - and having blown ten million Euro on it - they expect to be in profit by Autumn. Good luck with that, then.\nMore from No Rock on subscriptions, vivendi, zaoza\nHart breaks Pink's heart\nWhen splits happen, thank god there's a publicist there to make it all better. Pink's woman at the press conference, Michele Schweitzer, puts a brave face on the split between her boss and Carey Hart:\n\"The decision was made by best friends with a huge amount of love and respect for one another,\" Schweitzer told People magazine. \"While the marriage is over, their friendship has never been stronger.\"\nAlthough, presumably, the sex is no longer anything like as good.\nPink will continue to concentrate on her musical career; Hart will continue to... what was it? Skateboards or pogo stick competitions or something... let's just say avoid getting a proper job.\nMore from No Rock on carey hart, pink, relationships, splits\nHot topics! Le Tigre spin-off ahoy\nJD Samson and Johanna Fateman from Le Tigre are taking advantage of a very, very long break from the band to do something different. Something DJ-led. Something called Men:\n\"We were kind of burned out after the tour promoting 'This Island,'\" Samson tells Billboard.com. \"Everyone wanted to do their own thing -- Johanna opened a salon, Kathleen (Hanna) went back to school and I was on tour with Peaches for a year.\"\nAfter Le Tigre decided to take a break, Samson began DJing in clubs around the world as an income supplement. In the spring of 2007, Le Tigre was invited to DJ at the opening of WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Hanna, who fronts the group, couldn't appear because of school obligations, but Samson and Fateman jumped at the opportunity.\n\"As time went on, we kept DJing together and talking about writing original material that lent itself more to the club atmosphere,\" Samson says. \"One day I just texted Johanna and said, 'I'm ready, let's make a record.'\"\nFor continuity purposes, and (we'd imagine) to help carry across some fans, they're mashing up some Le Tigre stuff.\nSee them on tour in the US, and at SXSW; sample them at their MySpace.\nMore from No Rock on jd samson, johanna fateman, le tigre, men [DJ project]\nBono returns to one of his many dayjobs\nGood news for the Dutch exchequer: U2 are back in a recording studio shaping some noises into a new album.\nYes, it's hardly good news for anyone else. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are there:\n\"We're going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece,\" Lanois tells Billboard.com. \"The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all charged up with a lyrical angle.\"\nBreaking new sonic ground? Presumably with some sort of guitarry-steam-hammer? No, apparently with a springboard:\n\"We've had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions,\" he continues. \"Now we will pick our favorite beginnings and say, 'OK, that's a lovely springboard. Now what are we trying to say?' The springboards are sometimes melodic, sometimes riff-based, but I can assure you they are exciting.\"\nAha. Can you also assure us that it's not a load of pomp-besplattered stadium rock that's just in need of a black and white video to finish? Mr. Lanois? Hello?\nNope, the line seems to have gone dead.\nMore from No Rock on bono, brian eno, daniel lanois, in the studio, u2\nLily Allen makes new friends\nGood news for Lily Allen: her 'look at what we've found on YouTube' programme might not have been very popular in its launch week, but the audience has rallied for the second week. Yes, 7,000 extra viewers plonked themselves down to watch Lily Allen And Friend this week. Might not sound much, but when you're scraping quarter of a million, every few helps. It's actually a lower audience rating than that programme about the girl with four legs was getting on Channel 4's hour-later catch-up service.\nMore from No Rock on bbc three, lily allen, ratings\nMySpace plans step-up in music services\nThere's nothing exactly new about MySpace planning a service which allows free streaming of music - or, indeed, downloads of tracks. It's arguable that the streaming of music, while not the foundation of the service's success,is the reason for it managing to maintain much of its position.\nHowever, Rupert Murdoch's home on the internet is currently in talks to upgrade its offering. The FT reports prep work on an ad-supported free streaming service filled from the major label's catalogues, complete with a download store for people hungry for takeaways.\nThe moves are slightly - though not entirely - foxed by Universal's current lawsuit against MySpace (blah blah stealing our music blah blah getting fat off our investment blah blah give us some money). The possibility of a service a bit like SpiralFrog, but which has a userbase and might, therefore, work, is probably going to be too tempting for the labels to walk away from.\nIf MySpace does carve out a niche as a major music retailer, it'll be interesting to see what this means for Rupert's newspapers and how they report the doings of the artists whose work their boss is trying to flog.\nMore from No Rock on downloads, major labels, myspace, streaming\nA difference of opinion from the Winehouse house\nWhile Gordon is playing fantasy divorce courts and claiming that the Winehouse family don't believe that Blake would get a penny because Amy was drug-addled when she hooked up with him, Mitch Winehouse has given an interview to Closer which is a lot more understanding of Blake's position, and - crucially - claims that she hated hard drugs before she met Blake. That would seem to offer a suggestion that Winehouse entered the relationship clear-eyed.\nIt's also clear that Mitch, at least, isn't pushing for a divorce at any cost. Not at the moment, anyway:\nMitch said: \"He had a problematic upbringing, he moved out of home at 16 and was homeless in London at 18. That's why I do have sympathy for him.\n\"Blake's got the chance now to prove how much he really loves Amy by staying drug-free. Their marriage can't survive if they're together on drugs.\n\"One or both will die, that's all there is to it.\"\nNot quite the hard-faced viewpoint Gordon was suggesting. Perhaps he hasn't had his Closer delivered yet.\nMore from No Rock on amy winehouse, blake fielder-civil, closer [magazine], mitch winehouse\nNo Good Advice\nAs if things weren't bad enough for Cheryl Cole, now she's got Liz Jones weighing in with \"advice from a woman who's been there.\"\nPresumably Jones doesn't mean \"there\" in the sense of Ashley Cole's \"there\", although that particular there seems to have had more visitors than Chessington World of Adventure, with most leaving at with a similar sense of disappointment.\nActually, Liz Jones doesn't offer that much advice, filling most of the column with a story-so-far and some half-arsed psychology:\nLet's look at the woman Ashley Cole decided to \"allegedly\" cheat with.\nAimee Walton is not a Brit-nominated popstar, but a hairdresser.\nNot that there is anything wrong with being a hairdresser, just that Cole's choice of paramour is proof that men always, always, always want to have sex with a woman who is of a lower status than his wife.\nEh? Really? But since Liz clearly believes that being a pop star is quite top-drawer, the question would be 'if Ashley Cole was going to have sex with someone of higher 'status' than Cheryl, what sort of job would they have to do?' Minor royal? Presenter on Woman's Hour?\nOf course, like every Liz Jones column ever, this really isn't anything to do with what she's supposedly writing about, and all about her:\nWhen I found out my husband was continuing a relationship with a woman he had met while travelling, what made me see red was that he had seemingly fallen for someone who was a travel agent and who couldn't, given her missives via e-mail, even spell.\nMore recently, and even though we are now divorced, I railed at him for seeing a woman who is \"a secretary! How could you!?\"\nWe've just taken a straw poll, and 'travel agent' and 'secretary' both turn out to be held in higher esteem than 'one-note Daily Mail columnist. But Liz is still going on with her, erm, advice:\nAnd as for the fashion sense of these worthless trollops, looking at the photos he had lazily left on my camera of one particular woman, I couldn't help wailing: \"But how could you find a woman who wears a white broderie anglaise maxi skirt attractive?\"\nLiz! You're meant to be helping Cheryl, remember, not getting yet another bloody column out of your split.\nReading e-mails from lots of different women to my clearly then very-married husband made for illuminating reading, allowing me a glimpse into how the predatory female mind works.\nWomen are alarmingly forward. \"Why don't you come over and we can Fuck\" read one e-mail to my husband.\nLiz... Cheryl? Remember?\nI suppose my advice to Cheryl is that, no matter how many Brit Awards you are up for, you will have to play your own success down a notch if you want your husband to be dominant in bed, and to feel good about himself. You may, like me, decide the level of ingratiation necessary is simply not worth it.\nLet's not even bother with the quality of the psychological basis to the advice, and just ask: how would you do this, when you're in a pop group? It's easy if you write for the Mail - nobody worth having sex with would read it - but is Tweedy supposed to somehow create a double life, switching off the radio when the chart rundown starts to edge into the top ten? \"Shall we watch the Brits, Chezza?\" \"No... let's watch whatever's on Channel Five, instead?\"\n\"Cheryl... what's this gold disc in the living room?\"\nTake it from someone who has done all the things you are doing, and then some. Nothing will work. Get out now. While you still can.\n... before you start turning into someone who is only capable of writing about your failed relationship over and over and over and over and over and over and over...\nMore from No Rock on cheryl cole, cheryl tweedy, liz jones\nGordon in the morning: Amy not at the Brits\nSo, that was the big upset of the night, then: the no-show of Amy Winehouse at the Brits... hang on, it hasn't happened yet, has it? Turns out it was a rehearsal she didn't show up for.\nGordon happily takes credit for the disaster:\nThe singer missed a crucial awards show rehearsal on Monday after learning her jailbird hubby BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL was trading her signed pictures for hits of heroin.\nDistraught Amy thought he was swapping the snaps for cigarettes from other lags in London's Pentonville Prison.\nHer friends believe his sordid deals, which I revealed on Monday, has pushed her \"closer than ever\" to ditching the junkie loser.\nWe imagine the detail about \"swapping signed photos for tobacco\" is meant to try and - belatedly - plug some of the gaps in the original story back on Monday. It doesn't, of course (wouldn't it have been simpler to give him some cigarettes instead of signed photos to barter with?), but it's nice to see Gordon getting excited by the prospect of another divorce for the second day running:\nAmy's family are already prepared for what will happen if she and Blake divorce. Despite fears Blake will try to get his grubby mitts on a big chunk of her music fortune, they reckon he hasn't got a hope.\nThey are convinced he will not be entitled to anything, arguing Amy was addled by drugs when they married last May.\nSo, not only has Gordon got the divorce going, but he's decided that Blake will want large sums of cash, and created the line that the Winehouse family will use to fight claims for money. Oh, and:\n\"He will be offered a one-off payment and told if he goes to court to get more he will end up with nothing, as Amy was not in a fit mental state to marry him.\"\n... also come up with outcome of the hearing that would happen. Quite an impressive extrapolation from 'woman fails to show up for a run-through of a song'.\nWhat about the other divorce? Cheryl Cole, Gordon reported yesterday, was flying back to go eyeball to eyeball to Ashley Cole. Despite him being in Greece. Amusingly, not only is there not a word about the Coles in Bizarre this morning, for the first time in days, but links to yesterday's big story have vanished - and Gordon (or a nominated adult) has done some subtle, unacknowledged editing of yesterday's story, which now reads:\nLOVE rat ASHLEY COLE will come face to face with wife CHERYL for showdown talks on their crumbling marriage this week.\nOf course, this time yesterday that opening read:\nThe cheating Chelsea star will come face to face with wife CHERYL tonight for showdown talks on their crumbling marriage.'\nIt means that Gordon has had to abandon his \"C-Day\" conceit - as \"C-sometime-this-week\" made even less sense, which means that he's also had to lose his bit of business about D-day (\"Divorce day\", you'll recall.)\nTrouble is, whoever tried to tidy up the story to remove the obvious howlers missed one, as the story as republished yesterday still makes the claim that the big showdown was coming \"tonight\", the 19th:\nShe stopped eating after The Sun revealed the England footballer cheated on her with hairdresser Aimee Walton.\nCheryl has told Ashley she will go back to their Surrey mansion and hear him out tonight.\nPresumably whoever did the corrections couldn't bring themselves to wade all the way through the piece, and hoped nobody else would bother, either.\nIt's good that Gordon has admitted his original story was rubbish, and there's nothing wrong with correcting webpages when you've printed something that couldn't possibly have been true. What's shady, though, is to try and do it without anyone noticing. Everyone makes mistakes, Gordon. But big ones like this you should at least make some mention of when you're tidying them up.\nOr perhaps just keep to the safer 'writing about what you can see in a photograph'. Today, Gordon has a photo of Kate Moss which shows her knees. In the cold, you can make out her kneecap. This sends Gordon a little odd:\nModel's knees are Jaffa Kates\nIT might be chilly in London but that didn't stop KATE MOSS getting her orange knobbly knees out.\nShe's just back from a holiday in the Maldives with boyfriend JAMIE HINCE and Kate's pins reminded me of one of my favourite snacks \u2013 the Jaffa Cake.\nI told you last month how EVA LONGORIA's knees look like Tunnock's Tea Cakes \u2013 the finest biscuit\/cake combo.\nI'd choose Tea Cake with Eva over a Jaffa Kate any day...\nWhoever produces the index page for Bizarre seemed to have trouble understanding what the hell Smart was on about when producing the one-line teaser, plumping for:\nMoss has snack attack as she gets her knobbly knees out in chilly London\nBecause 'actual newspaper columnist decides whose legs he'd rather eat' might just look a little strange.\nMore from No Rock on amy winehouse, ashley cole, blake fielder-civil, brits, brits 2008, cheryl cole, cheryl tweedy, gordon smart, kate moss\nDrumkit, set it up, packet of three\nI don't understand. I've tried to make sense of why anyone would bother to market a range of condoms under the name of Marky Ramone but... no, I don't understand. Not even Joey, mind. Marky.\nI'm not sure I'd trust Marky Ramone to save me a seat on the bus, never mind saving me from syphilis and unwanted pregnancy, and I can't imagine that anyone who is sexually active would place a Ramones drummer above the London Rubber Company as a quality mark.\nHow did it come about? Did Marky always have a desire to see his name on a Johnny? Or was it someone at Ready 2 Go, the company responsible, getting back the testing reports think \"the best way to target these new condoms at the market would be, um, getting a fifty something punk replacement drummer in to use as the brand champion\"?\nMore from No Rock on celebrity endorsement, marketing, marky ramone, the ramones\nNo Depression; no more publication\nAmerican heart country magazine No Depression is ceasing its print edition after thirteen years, explaining the editor's decision in a letter to readers:\nBarring the intercession of unknown angels, you hold in your hands the next-to-the-last edition of No Depression we will publish. It is difficult even to type those words, so please know that we have not come lightly to this decision.\nIn the thirteen years since we began plotting and publishing No Depression , we have taken pride not only in the quality of the work we were able to offer our readers, but in the way we insisted upon doing business. We have never inflated our numbers; we have always paid our bills (and, especially, our freelancers) on time. And we have always tried our best to tell the truth.\nFirst things, then: If you have a subscription to ND, please know that we will do our very best to take care of you. We will be negotiating with a handful of magazines who may be interested in fulfilling your subscription. That is the best we can do under the circumstances.\nThose circumstances are both complicated and painfully simple. The simple answer is that advertising revenue in this issue is 64% of what it was for our March- April issue just two years ago. We expect that number to continue to decline.\nThe longer answer involves not simply the well-documented and industrywide reduction in print advertising, but the precipitous fall of the music industry. As a niche publication, ND is well insulated from reductions in, say, GM's print advertising budget; our size meant they weren't going to buy space in our pages, regardless.\nOn the other hand, because we're a niche title we are dependent upon advertisers who have a specific reason to reach our audience. That is: record labels. We, like many of our friends and competitors, are dependent upon advertising from the community we serve.\nThat community is, as they say, in transition. In this evolving downloadable world, what a record label is and does is all up to question. What is irrefutable is that their advertising budgets are drastically reduced, for reasons we well understand. It seems clear at this point that whatever businesses evolve to replace (or transform) record labels will have much less need to advertise in print.\nThe decline of brick and mortar music retail means we have fewer newsstands on which to sell our magazine, and small labels have fewer venues that might embrace and hand-sell their music. Ditto for independent bookstores. Paper manufacturers have consolidated and begun closing mills to cut production; we've been told to expect three price increases in 2008. Last year there was a shift in postal regulations, written by and for big publishers, which shifted costs down to smaller publishers whose economies of scale are unable to take advantage of advanced sorting techniques.\nThen there's the economy...\nThe cumulative toll of those forces makes it increasingly difficult for all small magazines to survive. Whatever the potentials of the web, it cannot be good for our democracy to see independent voices further marginalized. But that's what's happening. The big money on the web is being made, not surprisingly, primarily by big businesses.\nND has never been a big business. It was started with a $2,000 loan from Peter's savings account (the only monetary investment ever provided, or sought by, the magazine). We have five more or less full-time employees, including we three who own the magazine. We have always worked from spare bedrooms and drawn what seemed modest salaries.\nWhat makes this especially painful and particularly frustrating is that our readership has not significantly declined, our newsstand sell-through remains among the best in our portion of the industry, and our passion for and pleasure in the music has in no way diminished. We still have shelves full of first-rate music we'd love to tell you about.\nAnd we have taken great pride in being one of the last bastions of the long-form article, despite the received wisdom throughout publishing that shorter is better. We were particularly gratified to be nominated for our third Utne award last year.\nOur cards are now on the table.\nThough we will do this at greater length next issue, we should like particularly to thank the advertisers who have stuck with us these many years; the writers, illustrators, and photographers who have worked for far less than they're worth; and our readers: You.\nThank you all. It has been our great joy to serve you.\nGRANT ALDEN\nPETER BLACKSTOCK\nKYLA FAIRCHILD\nSo, it's not the move of readers online which has killed the magazine so much as the advertisers finding their funds drying up and sales outlets disappearing. It's easy to forget that the music industry is an ecosystem like any other, and extinctions can speed other changes. Disheartening news.\nMore from No Rock on closures, no depression, pop press\nWoman rides bus\nWhile we support Chrissie Hynde and the campaign to ensure that public transport in Akron is properly funded and accessible to all, we're not entirely convinced that her publicised bus trip is quite the way to go about things.\nAfter all, going \"woo-hoo, look at me - I'm on a BUS for charity\" doesn't exactly suggest that going by bus is a normal, everyday event for Hynde. People who travel the bus every day don't exactly issue press releases about it. It's like a slightly-less-cringeworthy version of those celebs who sleep out on the streets for a night to raise \"awareness\" of homelessness.\nAnd, although we believe in public transport with every fibre of our being, we're not sure that Hynde's quote makes much sense, either:\nIf you feel you have to have a car, you feel trapped,\" she said, adding that people who rely only on cars \"forget what it is to walk and enjoy the city.\"\nThe second half, yes, unquestionably. But do car owners really feel trapped? We think she probably meant something less soundbitey - along the lines of 'in a city with no public transport, if you can't afford a car, you feel trapped', but instead she wound up making it sound like one of the few unquestionable positives of car ownership - the power to go anywhere tarmac and gasoline prices will let you - is outweighed by the car ownership itself.\nMore from No Rock on akron, buses, chrissie hynde, ohio, public transport\nIs there something sexist - as well as unpleasant - in the gossip media's coverage of falls from grace asks Alex Williams in the New York Times, suggesting that women who stray get more coverage than men who do the same things. We're not sure Williams is completely wrong, but we're not sure we can fully agree:\nA VIDEO of Heath Ledger hanging out at a drug-fueled party two years before his death would seem to constitute must-see material for a tabloid entertainment show.\nRelatively speaking, the late Heath Ledger has been treated gently by the news media.\nBut when such a video ended up in the hands of the producers of \"Entertainment Tonight,\" the program declined to broadcast it, a spokeswoman said, \"out of respect for Heath Ledger's family.\" The 28-year-old actor died on Jan. 22 from what the medical examiner called an accidental overdose of prescription medications.\nAmy Winehouse did not merit the same discretion. Images from a video that showed her smoking what a British tabloid, The Sun, said was a pipe of crack cocaine, as well as admitting to having taken \"about six\" Valium, were widely disseminated in the news media around the same time.\nThe trouble is, Williams knows they're not comparing like with like. Firstly, Winehouse hadn't just died - she was still happily alive, and not even admitting her problems, which meant that rather than upsetting dead relatives, The Sun could at least argue that it was trying to help her worried family by revealing the \"real\" Amy.\nMore importantly, there's a world of difference between US network television and the Murdoch UK tabloids. Because The News Of The World happily ran the video on its website.\nAnd, finally on this one: Pete Doherty's a bloke. He's hardly had his drug problems treated gently by the papers.\nWilliams offers another instance for our consideration:\nWhen Owen Wilson was hospitalized in August after an apparent suicide attempt, his plight was the subject of a single US Weekly cover story. Not so Britney Spears, recently confined in a psychiatric ward, who has inspired six cover stories for the magazine during the same time span.\nBut Owen Wilson went into hospital, and came out, and disappeared into mundane behaviour - Spears, meanwhile, has been charging about, shaving hair, going to court, having people fight over who will be her custodian. There's been more coverage of the Spears story because there's been more to cover.\nAnd it's not like Owen Wilson is particularly interesting - the public appetite for Britney stories was there before she started to get so seriously ill.\nWilliams tries again:\nWhen Kiefer Sutherland was released from the jail in Glendale, Calif., after serving a 48-day sentence for a drunken driving conviction, the event merited little more than buried blurbs.\nContrast this to Paris Hilton's return to jail last year after a brief release to serve the rest of a 45-day sentence for a probation violation involving alcohol-related reckless driving. The event invited a level of attention that evoked the O. J. Simpson trial. Hordes of cameras enveloped the limousine that ferried the tear-streaked heiress to jail.\nBut, again, it's not quite so simple: Keifer Sutherland coughed, and went off to do his time more or less uncomplainingly. Hilton's return to jail was the culmination of a botched release from a man who had received campaign funds from her grandfather followed by an order from above that she go back to jail; the story was of a different order entirely not because Paris was female, but because she'd been given a soft touch and then had it taken away.\nThere is, of course, more coverage of women going wrong - but that's rooted more in there being more coverage of women not going wrong in the same magazines and on the same websites. Which might be a more valid starting point for Alex Williams' investigations.\nMore from No Rock on amy winehouse, heath ledger, keifer sutherland, new york times, owen wilson, paris hilton, pete doherty, tabloids\nIs KT Tunstall credible?\nWe know it's meant to make us think \"wow, KT Tunstall is one cool woman - we were so wrong about her\" but, as we listen to the Bloc Party cover she's done [RealPlayer download], we just think \"there's been a marketing meeting dedicated to trying to make us think that KT Tunstall is one cool woman\".\nMore from No Rock on bloc party, cover versions, downloads, kt tunstall\nGrooverider: Not so Fabio\nGrooverider has pleaded guilty to taking drugs into the United Arab Emirates, and is now settling down to a four year sentence in Dubai. His defence was the drugs had been in his pocket and forgotten about, rather than actively smuggled:\n\"It's ridiculous. I must have forgotten the spliff. It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted,\" he said last month in an interview from his prison cell.\nNot, perhaps, the most diplomatic language to be using prior to a trial for possession in a famously drug-sceptic nation - it's a bit like shouting at the judge \"I am an opium eater and in my decadent homeland we'd be smoking crack out of your children's lunchboxes\".\nFabio is going to continue to present the Fabio and Grooverider show, while Grooverider considers an appeal and hoping nobody misunderstands his nickname on the cell block.\nMore from No Rock on drugs, dubai, grooverider, prison, united arab emirates\nHucknall: \"Beams? What beams?\"\nMick Hucknall thinks that music in Britain is in a bit of a terrible state, truth be told, and he blames Simon Cowell. While taking no personal responsibility, of course:\n\"Our culture isn't supporting recorded music in the same way it did 10 years ago.\n\"The X Factor's done an incredible amount of damage. It's benefitted one or two individuals - like Slimy (Simon) Cowell - who've made a fortune, but I wonder how much the actual artistes will make or if anyone will know who they are in 10 years?\n\"It's great family entertainment for people who don't give a toss about the recording industry, but for us as artists it's very damaging.\"\nOf course, endless 'Greatest Love Of All' compilations with I'd Give It All Up For You and Something Got Me Started, churning out every time we hit a gifting season, choking up the dumpbins of Woolworths and the aisles of Tescos - that wouldn't be a problem, would it?\nMore from No Rock on mick hucknall, simon cowell, simply red\nAll we are saying is give peace a chance, and let us have a go on those guns\nExcitement over the discovery of a card which suggests John Lennon might have been in the Air Training Corps:\nHe once sang \"Give Peace A Chance\" but it seems the teenage John Lennon might have been less of a pacifist.\nThe man, who returned his MBE because of Britain's links to the Biafran War, was possibly an air cadet.\nA card showing Lennon's apparent Air Training Corps membership was found when The One Show staged a Beatles memorabilia roadshow in Liverpool.\nWe're not so sure that this is quite the act of rank hypocrisy that it's getting dressed up as, though - it does date from a good few years before he sent back his MBE and he was still at High School at the time. Added to which, it's not like the ATC is quite on a par with the Hitler Youth as youth groups go - it's more the scouts with gliders, isn't it?\nAnd who's to say that John joined out of bloodlust and a desire to bomb people? Our understanding of the ATC was that most of the kids who joined up were attracted by the access to planes rather than the chance to wear a uniform. In the Liverpool of the time, it must have been quite an attraction.\nOh, and it might not even be genuine.\nThe story of how it came into its current owner's possession is bemusing, too:\nIt now belongs to firefighter Tom Mills following a fire at the city's Speke Airport in the 1970s.\nNo, we don't quite see how a fire at an airport suddenly leads to a transfer of title, either.\nIt's nice to note that the airport is now named after John Lennon.\nOne further thing that catches our eye: When the story was first published, BBC News Online described Lennon as a \"peacenik\", which has since been softened to \"pacifist\".\n[Thanks to Jim McCabe for the link]\nMore from No Rock on bbc news online, john lennon, liverpool, the beatles\nGordon left floundering by the subs' bench\nJames alludes to this in the comments, and thanks also to Barry S who emailed us the link to Football365's Mediawatch column:\nMediawatch would like to make a couple of suggestions to The Sun's 'Bizarre' columnist Gordon Smart.\n1) Please crawl back into the vile, putrid gutter from whence you came and never darken our door again, but before that, 2) Do a spot of research.\nFrom today's 'column':\n'TODAY is C-Day for love rat ASHLEY COLE.\n'The cheating Chelsea star will come face to face with wife CHERYL tonight for showdown talks on their crumbling marriage.'\nThat might come as something of a surprise to Cashley himself, as he is currently with the rest of the Chelsea squad in Greece, preparing for their Champions League game with Olympiakos tonight.\nBut hey, they put 'TODAY' in capitals, so it must be true.\nTomorrow, it will still be in capitals, but with underlining.\nMore from No Rock on ashley cole, cheryl cole, cheryl tweedy, football, gordon smart\nMail explains non-settlement for Mills\nHaving confidently informed its readers that McCartney and Mills would shake hands on a \u00a355million divorce package, is the Daily Mail feeling sheepish this morning, as the divorce hearing ends without any agreement at all?\nNot a bit of. It was right, it maintains - it's just, erm, Paul must have changed his mind at the last minute:\nPaul McCartney attempted to pull off a high-risk legal stunt yesterday by abandoning a record \u00a355million divorce deal just hours before it was due to be signed in the High Court.\nThe turn-around came late on Sunday evening after Fiona Shackleton and Nicholas Mostyn QC - Sir Paul's legal team - advised him he could save millions by letting High Court judge Mr Justice Bennett decide on a payout for Heather Mills.\nWhy, even Heather seems to have read about the done deal in the Mail:\nMiss Mills turned up fully hoping the deal would be signed shortly after 9am yesterday.\nSoon after that she learned that there had been a major change of tack and that Sir Paul would not be coming to court to sign the settlement after all.\nMiss Mills, who sources say had been celebrating the imminent deal all weekend, was said to be \"incandescent with rage\" after realising Sir Paul and his legal advisers had \"stood her up\" at court.\nInsiders - it's not clear if they're inside the legal teams, or merely inside the Mail's staff canteen - reckon that the McCartney team have seen \"the worst\" that Mills has to throw at them, and so aren't bothered by the prospect of a public appeal. Probably.\nMore from No Rock on daily mail, divorce, heather mills, paul mccartney\nGordon in the morning: Cheryl Cole again?\nThere's a shock in store for Gordonwatchers this morning: Cheryl Cole, who should be looking too thin, is actually looking \"much happier\".\nAware that his column has been inconsistent to the point of insanity on Cole, Smart tries to explain the flip-flopping perspective by suggesting it's been a long time:\nCheryl's smiles are a big turnaround from the situation just a few weeks ago\nAnd, apparently, last Thursday and Saturday.\nAs Cheryl prepares to talk to Ashley, and reveal words and feelings known only to her and her heart, Gordon does some wonderful fudging to suggest he knows what's going to happen:\n[S]he will dish out her decision before she goes to the Brit Awards tomorrow night \u2014 giving him one last chance to beg for forgiveness.\nSo, he's getting one last chance. Or is he?\nI reckon she is about to give him the red card.\nNo, he isn't.\nThere's something really nasty about Smart's keeness for the marriage to end terribly - however you feel about the Coles, watching someone stand on the sidelines chanting \"divorce, divorce, divorce\" like it's a spectator sport is a little unedifying:\nI just hope it will be tough Geordie love on C-Day with tomorrow being D-Day \u2014 for DIVORCE.\nPerhaps Gordon is too busy to read the rest of his paper, but he seems unaware that the editorial line amongst the grown-ups is that family breakdown is one of the signs of endtimes:\nThis rampant gang culture claiming teenagers' lives all over Britain is born of bad education policies and family breakdown.\nThe paper, surely, can't expect families to stick together when one of its writers treats an impending divorce as a lark, can it?\nSmart then offers to help Tweedy out:\nChezza, you're a beautiful, successful woman, send Ashley packing.\nI've a drawer full of phone numbers from lads around the country offering you a shoulder to cry on ...\nGordon keeps a drawer full of young men's phone numbers? I wonder if he scores them on the back.\nElsewhere, Agent Provocateurs have decided not to use Lily Allen in their advertising:\nLily, 22 \u2014 snapped in a corset and stockings with a whip \u2014 is said to be \"gutted\".\nYou can see why.\nMore from No Rock on cheryl cole, cheryl tweedy, divorce, gordon smart, lily allen\nI predict a pouty sulk ill-disguised as good natured joshing\nMost of the right-thinking world was surprised that the Kaiser Chief's Ruby made the longlist for the Brits single of the year. Ricky Wilson, though, was more surprised that it didn't win through to the shortlist:\n\"Apparently we were in the nominees and then (someone handed me a piece of paper) with five nominees and we were not in there. Everyone knows Ruby is the best single, if you are gonna whittle them down to five, you'd think Ruby would be in there wouldn't you?\"\n\"(The final five have) all got their merits, but I am just a bit annoyed. There is no point making enemies with these people cos they will all be there.\"\nOh, come on, Ricky - \"Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby Do ya do ya do ya do ya\" - it's clearly something you tossed off in a weak moment. Would you really be able to accept a prize for that without having the weight of it hang on your conscience?\nMore from No Rock on bitter men of pop, brits, brits 2008, kaiser chiefs, ricky wilson\nBoston asks Mike Huckabee to stop\nMike Huckabee - now, we believe, officially the ickiest of all those left in the Presidential race - has got a letter from Boston. Tom Scholz has asked him to stop using More Than A Feeling at campaign stops:\n\"Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and will all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for,\" wrote Scholz, adding that he is supporting Democratic Senator Barack Obama. \"By using my song, and my band's name Boston, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed. In other words, I think I've been ripped off, dude!\"\nThe Huckabee campaign has - rather than reacting with quiet, good grace - launched a broadside:\nFred Bramante, who was chairman of Huckabee's New Hampshire campaign, called the allegations ridiculous. He said he attended dozens of Huckabee rallies in New Hampshire and other states and never heard Huckabee play \"More Than a Feeling,\" other than when [former member of Boston Barry] Goudreau campaigned with him in Iowa in October.\n\"Governor Huckabee plays 'Sweet Home Alabama.' Does that mean Lynyrd Skynyrd is endorsing him? He plays 'Louie Louie.' Does that mean the Kingsmen are endorsing him? To me, it's ridiculous,\" he said. \"Never once has he said, 'The band Boston endorses me.'\nMmm. That's exactly the sort of belligerent over-reacting defensiveness that most people hope to see in a potential White House team.\nMore from No Rock on barry goudreau, boston [the band], mike huckabee, tom scholz","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Preview every Shomer Mitzvot podcast in iTunes\nMore Teachings RSS\nSearch GraftedIn.com\nIntroduction to the Series\n(Listen to the MP3 of this Introduction)\nThe Hebrew word \"shomer\" means \"keeper of,\" or \"to be observant\"; in the Qal stem, the root word \"shamar\" suggests the idea of \"safeguarding.\"[1] The Hebrew word \"mitzvot\" is the plural form of the word \"mitzvah,\" meaning, \"command\"; thus, \"shomer mitzvot\" (say: show-mair meets-vote) means \"keeper of the commands,\" or more generically \"Torah observant.\"\nMany believers\u2014specifically Jewish believers without a formal background in Judaism, and Gentile ones who wish to identify with the Scriptures of Isra'el\u2014have questions about what it means to be \"Torah observant.\" Pursuing the Torah as the Master Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) modeled it for his followers is sometimes referred to as \"halakhah,\" coming from the Hebrew word \"halakh\" for \"walk.\"[2]\nIn Judaism, safeguarding and keeping the Torah is central to performing the will of HaShem.[3] Indeed, as properly understood from HaShem's point of view, the whole of Torah was given to bring its followers to the \"goal\" of acquiring the kind of faith in HaShem that leads to placing one's trusting faithfulness in the One and only Son of HaShem, Yeshua HaMashiach.[4] To this end, the Torah has prophesied about him since as early as the book of Genesis (3:15), and continues to speak of him until its conclusion in Revelation (22:20). In this capacity, the Torah acts like its etymological counterpart \"yarah\"[5] (an archery term) in that it \"teaches\" its adherents how to properly identify with HaShem by helping them to \"reach the mark.\" To be sure, one of the most common Hebrew verbs used to identify \"sin\" (chetah) literally means, \"to miss the mark.\"[6]\n[1] Brown, Driver, Briggs (BDB), shamar.\n[2] Ibid, halakh.\n[3] Deuteronomy 5:1.\n[4] Luke 24:27, 44-47; Romans 10:4.\n[5] BDB, yarah.\n[6] Ibid, chatah.\n*The Shomer Mitzvot series is ongoing, with content added as time permits.\nRecommended Studies: Exegeting Galatians: A Messianic Jewish Commentary\n01a. B'rit Milah (Part A)\n01b. B'rit Milah (Part B)\n02a. Ouch Factor: \"Why the Male Reproductive Organ?\"\n02b. Decrypting Paul: Proselyte Conversion: \"Works of Law\" (Part One: Understanding the Background)\n03-04. Proselyte Conversion; Covenantal Nomism\n05-06-07. Works of Law (Part Two); Lesson from Acts 10; Under the Law\n08. Questions and Answers\n09a. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 1:6, 7, 13)\n09b. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 2:3, 14)\n09c. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 2:15, 16)\n9d. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 2:19, 21)\n09e. Excursus: Additional Tough Phrasing Review (Part A)\n09f. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 3:2, 3, 5)\n09g. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 3:6)\n09h. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" Review (Part B)\n09i. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 3:10, 11, 12)\n09j. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 3:13, 14, 17, 18)\n09k. Excursus: Additional \"Tough Phrasing\" (covers 3:19)\n10-11. Summary; Conclusions - Torah: Negative, Neutral, or Positive?\n12. The Promise\nNEW! JOIN TORAH TEACHER ARIEL SATURDAY EVENINGS FROM 7 PM TO 8 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME FOR A LIVE INTERNET STUDY FROM VARIOUS SHORT QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS\n(*Link opens at Ariel's TetzeTorah.com website)\nCommentary Links\nweekly parashah\nmajor festivals\niTunes Previews:\nArchive Torah Commentaries\nLeviticus Vol. I\nLeviticus Vol. II\nDeuteronomy Vol. I\nDeuteronomy Vol. II\nExegeting Galatians\nGalatians Study (Updated)\nSign up with your email address to receive Ariel's Weekly Messianic Newsletter plus the email-exclusive Haftarah commentary\nWe respect your privacy. Your email will only be used to receive the Weekly Messianic Newsletter.\nAbout Ariel\nSQSA Live Series: What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?\nOctober 20, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\nTo read this answer on eBible.com, follow this link:\nhttps:\/\/ebible.com\/answers\/22145?ori=492502\nOctober 20, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\/\nAriel HaNaviy\nSQSA Live Series: Is the \"New Perspective on Paul\" biblical?\nSQSA Live Series: Why is faith without works dead?\nSQSA Live Series: What does Paul mean when he says to not let anyone judge us in regard to keeping the Sabbath?\nSeptember 30, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\nSeptember 30, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\/\nSQSA Live Series: What is the Feast of Tabernacles?\nSQSA Live Series: Should Christians observe the day of atonement?\nSQSA Live Series: What is the prophetic significance of the fall feasts in the Old Testament?\nSQSA Live Series: Is it \"unlawful\" for Jews to keep company with Gentiles (per Acts 10:28)?\nSQSA Live Series: What is a Gentile?\nAugust 26, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\nAugust 26, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\/\nSQSA Live Series: What is the law of Christ?\nSQSA Live Series: What is the New Covenant?\nSQSA Live Series: What does it mean that Christ is the end of the Law?\nSQSA Live Series: What does the bible mean when it refers to a remnant?\nJuly 29, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\nJuly 29, 2018 \/ Ariel HaNaviy\/\nSQSA Live Series: What is the Hebrew Roots Movement?\nSQSA Live Series: What does Leviticus say about the cleanliness or uncleanliness of some creatures?\nhttps:\/\/ebible.com\/answers\/22068\nSQSA Live Series: Will there be animal sacrifices during the millennial kingdom?\nSQSA Live Series: Why did God require animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?\nTowards Understanding Sacrifices and Atonement (WK14)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Chapter 0623: Border City's Familiar People\nSupporting Taro Star, within the Kun Zhuo Celestial River was the only non-drifting planet. Ning Cheng immediately stood up when he saw the planet within the Starry Sky Wheel's Starry Sky Positional Chart.\nHe was somewhat familiar with this planet; rather, this was the only familiar planet within the Kun Zhuo Celestial River for him. Moreover, he also had a connection with the Celestial Lord of this star, called Mu Pu. Mu Pu and Ning Cheng shared a grudge with each other because of Mu Pu's son, the scarlet-robed young noble, died at his hands. Later, when Ning Cheng reached Orchid Borough Star's Revolving Jade City, the feud between him and Mu Pu deepened even further when he saved Lan Ya.\nHowever, because that place was still within Orchid Borough Star, that fellow could not act against him openly; at the same time, he also could not act against Mu Pu at that time. Now that he arrived outside of Supporting Taro Star, Ning Cheng naturally immediately thought of Mu Pu. Ning Cheng realised that this place should be somewhere close to the Rootless Black City, and might even be the first stop for the cultivators coming from the Rootless Black City. The cultivators who want to step into the actual starry sky would most likely arrive here first.\nThinking till here, Ning Cheng immediately felt excited. When Rui Baishan accompanied the cultivators from the Graceful Star Mainland, they should have also come to this planet. That also meant that his sister Ruolan should have also reached this place with Rui Baishan.\nNing Cheng had just walked out of the room when he found Shi Qionghua standing up and following him out.\nNing Cheng immediately stopped, holding Shi Qionghua's hand, he spoke up in a pleasantly surprised voice, \"Qionghua, are you all right?\"\nHowever, Shi Qionghua remained silent, she neither spoke nor took her hands back.\nNing Cheng immediately understood that although Shi Qionghua had recovered significantly, she still hadn't gained consciousness and acted in purely out of her subconscious. Because she had remained by his side for a long time, so the moment he stood up, Shi Qionghua also automatically stood up.\n\"Qionghua, I will definitely help you recover.\" Ning Cheng held Shi Qionghua's hand and spoke with conviction. In any case, he would do everything in his power to heal Shi Qionghua.\nShi Qionghua only stared at Ning Cheng with a calm expression over her face, without any ripples.\nNing Cheng gave out a sigh in his heart. Pulling Shi Qionghua a little closer, he spoke up softly, \"Don't wander too far away from me from now on.\"\n\"Master, has Mistress woken up?\" Chasing Bull saw Ning Cheng coming out and quickly came forward to ask.\n\"I'm going to put away the Starry Sky Wheel, so you should also enter the Miniature World.\" Ning Cheng spoke while dodging Chasing Bull's question.\nHe had long since returned to his original appearance. He also knew that Chasing Bull should have already made some headlines at the Immortal Jade Star, which means that some of the cultivators most likely had guessed some of the treasures that he might have acquired. Therefore, he did not want to expose himself needlessly because of a stupid bull.\nNing Cheng held Shi Qionghua's hand and stood outside a big city while gazing at it for a long time. This was the largest city within the Supporting Taro Star and the most significant gathering place for cultivators within the Supporting Taro Star.\nAlthough this city looked grand, compared to the Lucky Heaven City, the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City or any other top-notch starry sky city, the difference was like heaven and earth. It did not give off that kind of mystifying feeling and felt slightly more lofty and towering compared to ordinary True Cultivation Cities.\nHowever, what made Ning Cheng's heart a bit more emotional was the name of the city. This city actually had a very familiar name, Border City[1].\nNumerous cultivators arrived and departed through the Border City's entrance. However, Ning Cheng did not see any cultivator in the Heaven Seated and above realms amongst them. Even cultivators with three Celestial Wheels were not many. Most of the cultivators had only one or two Celestial Wheels. At the same time, most of the population comprised of ordinary cultivators without any Celestial Wheels. Of the rest of the cultivators, most were in the Domain Realm or the Plundering Life Realm; however, each of them had strong starry sky aura surrounding them. From this, one could make out that most of these people lived and wandered the starry sky all year round.\nBecause Shi Qionghua had sealed away her vitality, her Celestial Wheels had long since disappeared, while Ning Cheng simulated two Celestial Wheels behind him. At the Border City, cultivators with two Celestial Wheels were already considered as powerhouses. Gently pulling Shi Qionghua's hand, he passed through the gates. As for the guards, instead of cross-examining the two, they actually bent down slightly at their waist.\nNing Cheng gave a sigh in his heart. Strength prevailed everywhere. Although his power could be considered as the lowest within the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City, in this place, it was enough to stand high above most of the population.\n\"Stop\u2026\u2026\" The guard's obtrusive call caused Ning Cheng to look back subconsciously.\nLooking back, he saw five or six starry sky wanderers stopped by the guards at the entrance. He then heard the guard speak up, \"The smell of blood on you all is too thick. You will need to stay out of the city for a few days before you are allowed inside.\"\nNing Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness had long since noticed the smell of blood coming from these starry sky wanderers, indicating that these wanderers had just returned after a brutal slaughter within the starry skies. However, when these seemingly ferocious-looking starry sky wanderers faced the guards' reprimand, they could only bow their heads down and retreat outside of the city instead of resisting.\nNing Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness followed them out and saw a row of makeshift shelters on the west side of the city's exterior. These shelters had many cultivators that had returned from experiencing slaughter within the starry skies. They had to stay here, outside of the town, temporarily till the smell of blood dissipated from them.\nA familiar face flashed past Ning Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness, almost causing Ning Cheng to call out Zhuzhu's name. He immediately pulled Shi Qionghua out of the city and quickly headed towards the makeshift shelters.\nSoon Ning Cheng arrived outside an unadorned and straightforward cave. He reached out and touched the restriction covering the entrance.\nA somewhat tired-looking female cultivator came out and looked at Ning Cheng in doubt before shifting her gaze to Shi Qionghua. However, she quickly realised that the two cultivators were far stronger compared to her and hurriedly bowed before speaking, \"Can I ask why the two seniors have come to seek out this junior.\"\nNing Cheng felt sure that he had not perceived things wrong. The woman in front of him looked a lot like Yi Zhuzhu. Moreover, the degree of similarity between the two had already reached the 90% mark. If she were Yi Zhuzhu, she would have no reason not to recognise him. In any case, both he and Luofei treated her like their little sister, so there was no reason for her not to remember him, did she?\nThe only other possibility was that this woman shared some unusual relationship with Yi Zhuzhu. Thinking back to how Yi Zhuzhu's parents were forced out of the Receiving Heaven's Stone, this woman most likely was Yi Zhuzhu's mother.\n\"Are you Yi Zhuzhu's mother?\" Ning Cheng had just thought of this when he immediately asked.\nWhen the woman in front of Ning Cheng heard those words, her eyes immediately turned red before she fell to the ground, \"Junior Chang Manyin is indeed Zhuzhu's mother. Senior, do you know where my daughter is? Please, Senior, tell me\u2026\u2026\"\nNing Cheng raised his hand slightly, and Chang Manyin stood up involuntarily. He somewhat lamented the fact that when Yi Zhuzhu's parents had come to the Receiving Heaven's Stone, they were already in the late-stages of Crucible Transformation Realm. However, even after all these years, Yi Zhuzhu's mother had only reached the Plundering Life Realm. From this, he could easily make out that she definitely faced a lot of difficulties while cultivating.\n\"When you left the Receiving Heaven's Stone, Zhuzhu was held captive in the basement of a rest stop on the Receiving Heaven's Stone. When my wife Luofei and I came to the Receiving Heaven's Stone later and learned about this, we rescued Zhuzhu and killed all your enemies. Currently, Zhuzhu is with Luofei. I came back this time to head back to the Rootless Black City to see them.\" Ning Cheng, on seeing Chang Manyin's anxious expression, quickly explained.\nSince Chang Manyin was in this place and she hasn't seen her daughter, then it also suggested that Yi Zhuzhu and Ji Luofei had not come to Border City yet.\n\"Many thanks, senior, for showing such kindness\u2026.\" Chang Manyin immediately knelt down again while speaking.\nNing Cheng quickly stopped Chang Manyin and asked with a somewhat eager tone, \"I'd like to ask about the female cultivator who was forced out of the Receiving Heaven's Stone together with you that year. That female cultivator's name was Yan Ji. Do you know where she is currently?\"\n\"You're Ning Cheng?\" Chang Manyin immediately blurted out.\nNing Cheng immediately understood that Yan Ji had most likely had told Chang Manyin about him. Hearing that response, he quickly nodded and replied, \"Yes, I am Ning Cheng.\"\nChang Manyin was not a fool. When Ning Cheng affirmed that he was truly that Ning Cheng, she immediately understood why this cultivator had tried to save her daughter, Yi Zhuzhu. Apparently, it was because the couple had helped Yan Ji. Sure enough, virtue has its reward, while evil has its retribution.\nChang Manyin, on knowing that her daughter was safe, felt as if the mountain pressing over her heart for all these years had finally crumbled. She immediately spoke up with a relieved voice, \"Junior Apprentice Sister Yan Ji had much better qualifications compared to us husband and wife. When we reached Border City, she quickly advanced to the Domain Realm. Then following a successful crossing of the thunder tribulation, she managed to advance to the Celestial Novice Realm. After stepping into the Celestial Novice Realm, Junior Apprentice Sister Yan Ji finally decided to leave the Border City. She should have gone to the Second Revenant Star.\"\nNing Cheng felt relieved to hear that Yan Ji was doing ok. In any case, he knew about the Second Revenant Star. It was the premier star within the Kun Zhuo Celestial River. If one wanted to head outside of Kun Zhuo Celestial River, then one would have to go through the Second Revenant Star. Either that or control a top-grade flight-type weapon like him.\n\"In that case, you can come to the city with us.\" Ning Cheng did not continue asking about anything else.\nAlthough he wanted to pass through Border City quickly, he had to first purchase a clear route map from the Supporting Taro Star to the Rootless Black City, before finally heading to the Rootless Black City. With the speed of the Starry Sky Wheel, Ning Cheng estimated that he would only have to travel for around ten days from the Supporting Taro Star to the Rootless Black City. Maybe it might not even take ten days, he might just reach his destination in only a few days.\n\"This junior is waiting for her husband to return. He and his team had not yet returned from the starry sky.\" Chang Manyin quickly spoke up. She wanted to take the initiative to speak with Shi Qionghua; however, Shi Qionghua remained silent, so she did not dare to initiate a conversation with Shi Qionghua.\nPreviously, Ning Cheng did not want to use his Spiritual Consciousness to probe the female cultivator in front of him. However, as they conversed, Ning Cheng realised that Chang Manyin had an exceptionally well-concealed injury.\nNing Cheng took out a medicinal pill and handed it to Chang Manyin and spoke, \"This is a medicinal pill for healing internal wounds. It should be able to help you heal all your internal injuries.\"\nChang Manyin felt even more shocked when she heard Ning Cheng speak about her injuries. Even ordinary Celestial Shatterer Cultivators couldn't notice her injuries without actively probing her with their Spiritual Consciousness, and yet this Ning Cheng in front of her had actually seen it. Even Yan Ji with her heaven defying qualifications did not have such keen vision. Didn't this also imply that Ning Cheng was also a lot stronger compared to ordinary cultivators?\n\"Many thanks, senior.\" Chang Manyin quickly received the medicinal pill and thanked him.\nNing Cheng was just about to ask her to stop calling him as a 'senior' when he saw Chang Manyin quickly rushing out without even swallowing the medicinal pill in her hand.\nA moment later, Ning Cheng saw her supporting a middle-aged man covered in blood. His aura felt highly unstable, apparently due to the severe injuries.\n\"Brother Jin, what happened to you?\" Chang Manyin's voice sounded so anxious that she immediately put the medicinal pill, still in her hands, directly into the middle-aged man's mouth.\nOnce the medicinal pill dissolved in his mouth, the middle-aged man looked at Chang Manyin in shock and asked, \"Manyin, what kind of medicinal pill is this?\"\n\"Not bad, it's even a Grade 3 Celestial Pill. And yet you dare say that you never took anything else?\" As the voice ended, another cultivator descended near to Chang Manyin and the middle-aged man.\n\"Song Tong, my husband got hurt again because of you, right? How many times have we said that we have not done anything that you accuse us of doing. Why do you want to pester us, husband and wife, again and again?\" Chang Manyin's tone turned hoarse due to the stirrings of her emotions.\n[1] The actual Chinese characters are \u8fb9\u57ce, which is 'Bian Cheng' in English words, that translates to Border Town\/City. Somewhat similar to Ning Cheng's name.\n[\u2026] Chapter 0623 \u2013 Border City's Familiar People Translated By \u2013 DemonKiller Checked and Edited By \u2013 Livewidsmile Proofread By \u2013 DemonKiller [\u2026]","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Another Pivot on Impeachment\nWith Democrats stepping slowly away from claims that President Trump's call with the Ukrainian president is an impeachable offense, the press once again is relying upon unspecified, unimaginable, and surely nonexistent evidence of presidential misconduct.\n- October 16th, 2019\nWe are living through a phantasmagoric psychodrama generated by the dishonest national political media. This is the media whose Joe Scarborough of MSNBC did not show some of President Trump's responses to his enemies because of \"concern\" for the president's family, as he \"seems to have lost his mind.\" This is a new frontier in American journalism, where a television news commentator who hates the president wishes to spare the president's family a rerun of his entirely rational denunciations of his enemies.\nThe House of Representatives began considering impeachment because an anonymous Democrat and former political associate of former Vice President Joe Biden received a hearsay account of a conversation between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in which Trump encouraged the newly elected leader to find out if Biden and his son had done anything inappropriate in Ukraine. The president quickly made the transcript of the conversation public.\nPartisan Democrats and formerly sensible commentators have portrayed Trump's request as a demand for incriminating evidence on Biden, failing which he would not resume U.S. aid to Ukraine. In other words, this was a solicitation for a benefit of value to Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. The reference to a resumption of aid was 500 words earlier in the transcript, and not connected at all to the Biden question.\nWhen Biden was mentioned, it was to request to know what happened\u2014a neutral request for the facts. Yes, Trump said the appearance of the former vice president's son $50,000-a-month sinecure as a director of a Ukrainian gas company, along with the elder Biden's boast of having a Ukrainian prosecutor fired, was \"horrible.\" And so it was. But there may be uncontroversial explanations. If the Biden allegations are unfounded, Americans will want to know. If the facts are corrupt in themselves, Americans\u2014and Democrats especially\u2014will want to know that, too.\nScrambling for Scapegoats\nIn reality, the whole episode is nonsense, a farce. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) won't hold a vote on a formal impeachment inquiry because she couldn't win the vote. If there were such an inquiry, where the Republicans called and examined witnesses and subpoenaed documents, it would collapse as quickly as the Russian collusion fraud did when former special counsel Robert Mueller stumbled through his congressional inquiry.\nHouse Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)\u2014who is usually lying when his lips aren't moving and always is when they are\u2014says we will not be hearing from a non-whistleblowing leaker, to give his hearsay evidence of a conversation that any person in the world can read and see has no legal implications whatever. But the investigation indomitably continues. It is like the last government of the German Third Reich, meeting in the week following the death of Hitler on the few thousand acres they still governed on the Danish border, discussing agriculture and immigration.\nWith no evidence of wrongdoing by the president, the Trump-hating media is now scrambling after Rudolph Giuliani, formerly one of the nation's toughest prosecutors, as if they can pin something on him while he acted as the president's private attorney. With Hunter Biden in hiding, this ludicrous mockery must end. Pompous commentators who don't like Trump but have learned to live with their underestimation of him cannot go on indefinitely with wagging heads and furrowed foreheads, discussing the president's \"crisis.\"\nSeeing Past the Illusion\nFox News, which is generally well-disposed to the president, published a poll last week that 51 percent of Americans believe the president should be impeached and removed from office.\nFox's polls aren't very accurate, though their news coverage and comment are quite professional. But this one is bunk. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans may wish there was a reason to remove Trump, or hope that he won't be reelected. That figure is insufficient to change congressional votes on an impeachment resolution, given that about 45 percent of the country is militantly pro-Trump and probably 10 million others will hold their noses and vote for his substantive performance despite his stylistic foibles.\nBut a substantial part of the anti-Trump vote is a levitation, sustained by the unprecedented hostility and dishonesty of almost all the national political media, which has been confirmed in independent studies by Harvard University and the Pew Research Center and others.\nNot all the hostile media is shrill. My rational and moderate friend of many years, Fareed Zakaria (CNN), wrote in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on October 11 that he now favors \"an impeachment inquiry\" because Trump's \"efforts to pressure the new Ukrainian government, including his phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, were profoundly wrong;\" and because of Trump's \"far more troubling . . . refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry.\"\nImplicit in this explanation is the retreat away from the Trump-Zelensky telephone call, which is effectively conceded not to be probative evidence of any impropriety. Instead, Democrats are returning to the justification that impeachment is warranted based upon unspecified, unimaginable, and surely nonexistent evidence of presidential misconduct. The pitiful squeak that is meant to be a clinching argument is Trump's refusal to cooperate with an impeachment inquiry based on an illusion.\nThe Democrats are stuck with this clunker. Maybe Pelosi wanted to humiliate the young Marxist congresswomen and Schiff and the porcine Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who chairs the House judiciary committee. Maybe she wanted to get this out of the way now before it caused the Democrats more embarrassment, and before the long-awaited indictments of a number of prominent members of the previous administration for its unconstitutional confection and promotion of the Trump-Russian collusion fraud. It is not for me to read Pelosi's mind, but she must have had some reason to let this anemic, spavined cat out of the bag. But this cat can't purr and has no whiskers, let alone claws. In Monty Pythonese, \"It's a dead Cat!\" (and it won't even bounce).\nThe Democrats' presidential nomination candidates are a rag-tag of extremists, kooks, dolts, and bumbling geriatrics, (Hillary was back last week with her autocue squib that Trump's \"an illegitimate president\"). But it is a national party because it has tens of millions of traditional supporters who are reasonable people. Their aversion to Trump enabled most of them to endure the bone-crushing defeat over the Russian fiction. The allegation a few weeks ago of a 30-year-old act of sexual misconduct by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which had most of the candidates screaming for his impeachment in the 24 hours before it was exposed as a completely unfounded charge, must have caused unease to many thoughtful Democrats.\nBut when this stinker implodes, after they have got the faithful to the edges of their chairs and exhumed John Dean and Carl Bernstein, the bloodless assassins of Richard Nixon, and the full gallery of their unctuous homelists and pietists who demean the occupation of commentator, sensible Democrats will disembark. The best way Democrats can serve their party now is to try to get a plausible semi-moderate like Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, no world-beater but Walter Mondale in drag-she can lose with honor and dignity, and turn off the CNN-MSNBC-main network hate machine.\nTrump can't be removed from his office; he deserves and will gain reelection on his record; the Democrats will be back-both parties always are. But the sooner the country tunes out this dishonest, evil media putschism, the better for the whole country, especially the national political news outlets themselves.\nConrad Black has been one of Canada's most prominent financiers for 40 years, and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world as...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"What are the principles of moral reasoning?\nThere are many different principles on which to draw in moral reasoning about specific environmental problems. This lesson reviews three basic pairs of principles: justice and sustainability; sufficiency and compassion; solidarity and participation.\nWhat do we gain from literature?\nWhen students study Literature, they learn to appreciate words and their power. They travel to other realms and times through the texts they read. They understand about their own culture and others'. Importantly, they learn to consider multiple perspectives and understand the complexity of human nature.\nWhat is moral reasoning example?\nMoral dilemmas are challenging because there are often good reasons for and against both choices. For instance, one could argue that it is okay to kill one person if it would save five, because more people would be saved, but killing itself is immoral.\nIs guilt a symptom of PTSD?\nPeople who develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also commonly experience guilt. 1 In particular, individuals who have endured traumatic events may also begin to feel what's known as trauma-related guilt.\nWhat is survivor guilt quizlet?\nOnly $2.99\/month. Survivor's Guilt. feeling bad about living through a disaster or war when others did not.\nWhat is Preconventional moral reasoning?\nDuring the preconventional level, a child's sense of morality is externally controlled. Children accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as parents and teachers, and they judge an action based on its consequences. People now believe that some laws are unjust and should be changed or eliminated.\nWhy do you think Survivors often feel guilty night?\nThose who survive may transform their feelings of guilt into a sense of increased meaning and purpose. They may also use survivor guilt as a way to cope with the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness that can occur in traumatic situations.\nWhat is the summary of the moral logic of survivor guilt?\nThe Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt Is the sense of responsibility soldiers feel toward each other irrational? High on that list of emotions is guilt. Soldiers often carry this burden home \u2014 survivor guilt being perhaps the kind most familiar to us.\nWhich statement best summarizes the central idea of the moral logic of survivor guilt?\nWhat is the central idea of \"The Moral Logic Of Survivor Guilt?\" Survivors often feel guilty about those who did not survive. \"Virtue is concerned with emotions and actions.\" To have a good character is to \"hit the mean\" with respect to both.\nWhat does Jane dream about?\nWhat causes a stimulus?","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Viral video shows large house party in Chicago amid coronavirus pandemic\nby: WGN Web Desk\nPosted: Apr 26, 2020 \/ 01:40 PM CDT \/ Updated: Apr 27, 2020 \/ 01:35 PM CDT\nCHICAGO (WGN) \u2014 Video of a house party Saturday night reportedly on the West Side has gone viral and caused concern among residents.\nThe video, uploaded by Tink Purcell, has reached over 50,000 shares in less than a day.\nChicago police could not confirm the location of the party, but many residents have told WGN it took place somewhere on the West Side.\nOn Sunday afternoon, CPD did issue the following statement.\n\"We are aware of a video circulating on social media depicting a large house party inside of an alleged Chicago residence. While we cannot authenticate the nature or location of the gathering, we want to remind everyone of the social distancing requirements in place. CPD will disperse crowds in violation of social distancing requirements, and if necessary, issue citations or as a last resort, enforce via arrest.\"\nThe top comment in the Facebook video mentions how there are too many people at the party. WGN received several tips from viewers expressing their dismay.\n\"This upsets me because everyone is thinking about themselves and not others that they may be spreading it to,\" said Chicago resident Jayna Lynn. \"Death just doesn't seem like something to be serious about to most during this pandemic.\"\nThe virus has disproportionately affected the South and West Sides with the African American community making up 46% of death in the city.\nFor the latest Chicago News, go to WGNTV.com.\n(Information from WGNTV.com)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"5 Famous Cases of Eminent Domain Abuse\nBy Purdy & Bailey, LLP\nWhat Is Eminent Domain?\nEminent domain is the government's right to purchase private property to complete a public project.\nIdeally, the government will offer you an amount that reflects or exceeds the value of your property. The offer should compensate for the fact that you had no plans to let go of the land or building they want.\nUnfortunately, eminent domain has a history of being abused and causing serious problems for property owners. The government does not always respect their rights, and many argue the system is inherently flawed in several ways.\nCall Purdy & Bailey at (858) 360-7080 or contact us online today to schedule a courtesy case review with an experienced San Deigo attorney.\nAccording to a report by the Institute of Justice, cities begin 80 public projects per year that use eminent domain to take property from residents or business owners. \"Our cities and states have become like real estate speculators, securing land owned by their own citizens on behalf of politically connected private interests,\" said one of the organization's officials, Scott Bullock.\nHere are a few examples of eminent domain abuse in the United States:\nIn the mid-90s, a widow inherited her husband's commercial building in Las Vegas. He left this property to her so rent from tenants could fund her retirement. But the city claimed the area was blighted (i.e. poorly maintained) to justify its use of eminent domain, despite the fact that no one was actually sent to evaluate the area or building. The woman lost her property because she failed to attend a hearing she didn't know about.\nIn 1999, Chrysler built a new manufacturing plant in Toledo, Ohio. The city borrowed a loan and granted Chrysler millions for the project, partially due to Chrysler's guarantee that it would employ nearly 5,000 employees. Because it was a fully automated plant, Chrysler only ended up hiring 2,100 people. In the process, Toledo declared neighborhoods of 83 well-maintained homes a slum in order to justify eminent domain and relocate the property owners, as well as 16 businesses.\nIn the early 2000s, a real estate company in Hurst, Texas expanded its private mall to over 127 homes. The city used eminent domain to remove the homeowners, but a handful of them resisted the offers and filed lawsuits. The judge overruled their claims and forced them off of their land.\nIn 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city of New London, Connecticut could seize private property for larger private development projects that would theoretically \"create jobs and increase tax revenues.\" Susette Kelo and other property owners had sued New London for taking their land, but the court decision emphasized that the constitution made no mention of \"literal public use\" as a requirement for seizing private property. According to the court, the constitution allows for a much broader interpretation of \"public purpose\" (i.e. the promise of economic growth in a community).\nIn 2019, the Iowa Supreme Court allowed the Iowa Utilities Board to condemn privately owned farmland and displace families in order to construct the Dakota Access pipeline. The court did, however, reject the 2005 Supreme Court decision because the trickle-down effects of economic development were not enough to justify New London's use of the eminent domain. The court argued that the pipeline, in contrast, served the public in a clearer and more impactful way than the private office buildings in the New London case.\nMany of the people in these cases who resisted the government's attempts to seize their land were severely ill, and lawsuits have blamed their subsequent deaths on their forced relocation.\nWhile the constitutional purpose of eminent domain is to improve communities and provide benefits for the public, the government has demonstrated its willingness to prioritize corporate interests in the name of economic development.\nResidents and small businesses, therefore, face a steep road of fighting for their property rights on their own\u2014unless they secure experienced legal representation.\nDon't Give Up on Your Property\u2014Call Us Today\nIf you have been served a notice informing you of the government's plan to take your land or real estate, you still have options. At Purdy & Bailey, LLP, we have an in-depth understanding of what it takes to end the threat of eminent domain. With 50+ years of combined legal experience, we are not afraid to take on big corporations and private interests in order to defend our clients' rights.\nLet us put our skills to work for your case. Call (858) 360-7080 or contact us online to get started right away.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Unique program helps UofL's adult learners earn their degrees\nBy Shelbi Glover -\nEarning a college degree can be challenging for non-traditional learners who balance a job, family duties and their course work.\nJoseph Hans, a student in the College of Education and Human Development, has plenty of first-hand experience with those challenges.\n\"I attended UofL for two semesters straight out of high school in the mid-1980s. The less said about that time, the better,\" said Hans.\nIt's a story many students know well \u2014 the temporary break made permanent as life gets in the way.\nAnd life did get in the way. Hans got married, started a family, learned new skills on the job and took UofL classes on and off for many years.\nIt was a struggle. But he never gave up.\nA turning point came in 2011 when Hans finished his general education requirements and turned to CEHD's Matt Bergman for help on what to do next.\nBergman told him about CEHD's organizational leadership and learning degree, which provides college credit for workplace experience. Hans was elated to learn that he could receive up to 45 hours towards his degree.\n\"I liked the overall approach. The professors were real-world practitioners, the students were all adult learners and the classes used off-campus facilities and after-work hours,\" said Hans.\nNow, Hans is on course to graduate cum laude in August at the age of 51. He is employed by Humana, where he says his managers have been more than willing to accommodate his busy schedule.\nHans credits his perseverance not only to his personal drive, but also to those who encouraged him.\n\"The standout professors, in my experience, in the program include Cathy Avdevich, Matt Bergman, Ray Klein, and Erin Mires. Amber Roberts, currently the program advisor, was also a huge help in getting me back in this past fall.\"\nAfter he earns his degree, Hans hopes to obtain a full-time marketing position with Humana.\nCEHD\nnon-traditional student\nOrganizational and learning degree\nShelbi Glover\nUofL Law student spending summer as a legal extern with the NCAA\nBeer with a Scientist: Immunotherapy is leading to longer life for more cancer patients\nUofL Law student spending summer as a legal extern with the...\nEducation & Leadership July 15, 2019\nCampus & Community July 15, 2019\nBeer with a Scientist: Immunotherapy is leading to longer life for...\nStaff Senate discusses UofL's shared governance framework\nInternal News July 10, 2019","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Tag: Niagara Square\nMillard Fillmore's downtown Buffalo addresses\nWhen our 1880 map of Buffalo was first printed, Millard Fillmore had died only six years earlier and was someone who would have been a familiar city father among the people of Buffalo.\nAs appeared in The Buffalo Sunday News, 1912.\nAfter moving as a teen with his father from central New York to East Aurora, Fillmore taught high school and was admitted to the bar. He was elected to the state Assembly, and after three terms, moved to Buffalo, where his burgeoning law practice could thrive. He moved to Buffalo in 1832, the year Buffalo became a city. Fillmore helped write the charter.\nAs Fillmore was elected to Congress, then to state comptroller and then, eventually, to vice president, he lived in the home pictured above on Franklin Street between Huron and Mohawk.\nEven for several years after leaving the White House in 1853, the Fillmores continued to live in the same Franklin Street home.\nIn a city sadly filled with parking lots where important buildings once stood, the house where Millard Fillmore lived while elected vice president was razed in 1929 to \"make room for a parking station.\" The Franklin Street YWCA Headquarters was built on the spot in 1952.\nIn 1858, Fillmore moved to a grand mansion a block south on Niagara Square. The larger Fillmore residence became the Castle Inn Hotel after his death in 1874.\nMillard Fillmore's final home, about 30 years after his death, during its time as the Castle Inn.\nThat building was demolished in 1921 to make way for the Statler Hotel \u2013 which was the largest hotel in the country when it was built.\nDuring the years that Fillmore lived in Buffalo following his presidency, he continued to follow the tradition of the time and not return to business. Instead, he became intricately involved in the affairs of building many of the great institutions of the growing city.\nAside from helping write the city charter, Fillmore also was one of the founding principals of UB, the Buffalo Historical Society, the local SPCA, the homeopathic hospital that eventually bore his name and dozens more endeavors.\nBut now, and even in his own time, many of Fillmore's accomplishments have been heavily overshadowed by his stance on slavery. While he was personally against slavery, he didn't feel the federal government had any jurisdiction in eliminating it. Moreover, as president, he signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which greatly hampered the ability for slaves to escape to freedom.\nFillmore's Niagara Square home made national news when Buffalonians showed their displeasure with the ex-president.\nAt the start of the Civil War, Fillmore solidly backed President Abraham Lincoln, even commanding a section of volunteers too old to fight at the front lines, but trained to protect Buffalo in the case of an attack.\nFillmore, however, lost confidence in Lincoln and eventually backed Democrat George McClellan for president, with the understanding that McClellan would have worked to reunite the country, even if it meant slavery would survive.\nWhen Lincoln was assassinated, homes and businesses in Buffalo and around the nation were covered in black bunting and American flags. Fillmore's house on Niagara Square was a notable exception. Pro-Republican newspapers around the country reported that in reaction to Fillmore's lack of decorum, a mob flung ink (or in some reports mud) on his home. Many of these reports were gleeful, a few just crude. But the partisan reports were \"fake news\" 150 years before the term was coined.\nThe Buffalo Morning Express \u2013 not a backer of Fillmore's \u2013 explained that the national press misunderstood a metaphor printed in another local paper and that mud that was flung was in the columns of the newspaper, not onto the columns of the Fillmore estate.\nDespite there not having been any actual mud or ink thrown at Fillmore's house, black bunting and a new American flag hung on his home's exterior by the time the Lincoln funeral train arrived in Buffalo and he laid in state at St. James Hall on April 27, 1865.\nPosted on August 29, 2018 March 21, 2020 Categories Buffalo Neighborhoods, Buffalo's Pop Culture HeritageTags Castle Inn, Millard Fillmore, Niagara Square\nPresidential hopefuls who visited Buffalo, ended up in footnotes of history\nIn 1900, William Jennings Bryan leaves his train to \"thousands of howling, hurrahing men\u2014insane with enthusiasm, some said they were\u2014to make those who saw the whole believe that never had Buffalo such a grand demonstration for a political candidate.\" (Buffalo Stories archives)\nWilliam Jennings Bryan speaks at the Broadway Market, 1900. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nAs soon as this evening, one of the two candidates for president will be written into the headlines of history \u2014 and the other will be written into the footnotes. On this Election Day, we take a look at some of the candidates who have come this close to the White House through the years, and the time they've spent here in Western New York.\n1900: William Jennings Bryan\nAs he campaigned against President William McKinley, Congressman (and later Secretary of State) William Jennings Bryan filled the streets of Buffalo's East Side as thousands jammed into the Broadway Market and surrounding streets to hear Jennings speak.\nBuffalo Courier, 1900. (Buffalo Stories archives)\n\"On the East Side it seemed as if the whole populace had turned out to shout and cheer for Mr. Bryan,\" wrote the Courier. It was estimated that 25,000 heard him at the Broadway Market, and another 8,000 heard an address at a convention hall. Another 40,000 lined the route between the two places.\n1936: Alfred Landon\nKansas' governor came to Buffalo in his bid to unseat Franklin D. Roosevelt after Roosevelt's first term in office.\nAlfred Landon waves his hat to Buffalonians lined up in Shelton Square and along Main Street in August, 1936. Today, this spot has One M&T Plaza to the left, and the Main Place Tower and Mall to the right. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nLandon rally at Offermann Stadium. The ballpark was one block east of Main Street at Michigan Avenue. The spot is now occupied by Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nAfter parading through the streets, Landon stopped at the Statler Hotel for a tea put on by Buffalo's Republican women. That night, Landon held a rally under the lights at Offermann Stadium, which was the home of the Bisons from 1924 to 1960.\n1952: Adlai Stevenson II\nStevenson was the man who took on Gen. Dwight Eisenhower for the Oval Office being vacated by Harry Truman in 1952. He then ran against the incumbent President Eisenhower in 1956.\nNamed after his grandfather \u2014 who was vice president during Grover Cleveland's second term \u2014 Stevenson was governor of Illinois and was later named ambassador to the United Nations by President Kennedy.\nAdlai Stevenson signs a campaign poster from the back of his train in Niagara Falls. Stevenson spoke to about 1,000 people just outside Niagara Falls New York Central Station.\n1964: Barry Goldwater\nThe Arizona senator joined his running mate, William E. Miller, in the congressman's hometown of Lockport for a September 1964 campaign stop.\nBuffalo Stories archives\nIt was declared \"Bill Miller Day\" in Lockport in honor of the candidate for the vice presidency. The crowds were compared favorably to four years earlier, when John F. Kennedy \u2014 then a senator and candidate for president \u2014 barnstormed through Niagara County, including a speech in Lockport.\nOne difference \u2014 despite the crowd's being made up of people who knew, loved and were proud of their neighbor and his accomplishments \u2014 as many as 100 Niagara County sheriff's deputies were there to keep order and protect the candidates. The stop was only 10 months removed from the assassination of President Kennedy.\n1968: Hubert Humphrey\nVice President Humphrey picked up the mantel of the Democratic Party following President Johnson's announcement that he wouldn't run for re-election, and then the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.\nHumphrey visited Buffalo many times during his time in the senate and during his time as vice president.\nHubert Humphrey speaks with anti-Vietnam War protesters, standing on Delaware Avenue, just off Niagara Square in front of the Statler Hotel in September, 1968. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nPosted on November 8, 2016 December 1, 2017 Categories Buffalo Neighborhoods, Buffalo's Pop Culture HeritageTags Adai Stevenson, Alf Landon, Barry Goldwater, Bill Miller, Broadway Market, Hubert Humphrey, Niagara Square, Offermann Stadium, Shelton Square, William Jennings Bryan\nBuffalo in the '30s: FDR campaigns in front of City Hall\nOnly weeks before he was to be elected to his second term as president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Buffalo to dedicate the city's new federal building on Niagara Square.\nPresident Franklin Roosevelt addresses the crowd at Niagara Square, Oct. 17, 1936. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nThe Oct. 17, 1936, Buffalo visit was Roosevelt's first as president \u2014 although he had visited Buffalo countless times during his four years as New York's governor. The courthouse was a federally funded New Deal project and was designed primarily by Buffalo architect E.B. Green.\nThe Depression was on the mind of the president and the thousands who turned out around Western New York to greet him and his train as he spoke in Buffalo and in Niagara Falls.\n\"I need not compare the Buffalo of today with the Buffalo as I saw it the last time I was here,\" Roosevelt said in Niagara Square. \"You will recall, I am sure, those years when I had the privilege of being the chief executive of this state. Already in 1930 the problems of unemployment and depression had become severe and you will recall also that it was in 1931 that I, as governor, called the Legislature of the State of New York into special session to provide relief for the distressed unemployed of the state and New York was the first state in the Union to definitely accept the responsibilities of seeing to it that as far as the state's resources could prevent it, none of its citizens who wished to work would starve.\"\nThe ceremony took place in front of the building which has been known as the Michael J. Dillon Courthouse since 1986. Federal offices started to move from Niagara Square to the former Thaddeus J. Dulski Federal Building (now the Avant) in the late 1960s. The remaining federal courtrooms moved across Niagara Square to the Robert Jackson Courthouse in 2012.\nThe president's dedication was carried on radio stations WKBW, WBEN and WBNY.\nThis print was backwards in The News archives, and has appeared backwards in print at least twice through the years. Here it appears with the proper orientation\u2014with the Statler Hotel to his left, and the new courthouse out of frame to the right.\nThis brief clip was not from Roosevelt's Buffalo speech, but it was typical of his talks throughout the 1936 campaign.\nhttp:\/\/blog.buffalostories.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/FDR-Let-Me-Warn-You-1936.mp4\nRoosevelt arrived in Buffalo at 10:30 p.m. the night before his speech, and left at 11:33 a.m. after the downtown Buffalo dedication and a speech at Hyde Park Stadium in Niagara Falls. The president slept in his special railcar, \"The Pioneer,\" as it sat on the tracks of the New York Central terminal, surrounded by 25 New York Central Railroad Police.\nThe day after the president's visit, an interesting side note about the campaign was the subject of an editorial in the Courier-Express, discussing the media presence of President Roosevelt and his opponent, Kansas Governor Alf Landon.\nIt is not late for the Democratic organization to show its fine sense of sportsmanship in campaign tactics. Hitherto it has pitted the perfect radio voice of Mr. Roosevelt against the more limited oratorical personality of Mr. Landon, proving Mr. Roosevelt a far superior air attraction than the less unctuous Kansas governor. If the election were to be decided on mere rhetorical counts, the Chanticleer of Democracy undoubtedly would have the edge.\nMr. Landon, however, is really a rather nice looking man with a smile of his own, not overwhelmingly ingratiating, of course, like Mr. Roosevelt's but still fairly easy on the eyes. The impression is that Mr. Landon, who does not broadcast as well as Mr. Roosevelt, might perhaps screen as well.\nThese considerations have reference to the campaign movie recently made at Hyde Park House, featuring the Lord High Chief Executive in a story designed to show a typical day at his home. The cameras ground, the sound trucks maneuvered, Franklin the Fair flashed smiles as he sat at his desk \u2014 in a word, politics went Hollywood. No release date was set for the attraction at the movies but it certainly should be billed soon now.\nWhat box-office following both candidates may have, if both are offered on their visual merits to the movie fans, could only be conjectured; but at least Mr. Roosevelt's undisputed radio advantage over Mr. Landon might thus be cut down in the interest of good emotional sportsmanship.\nPosted on October 6, 2016 December 3, 2017 Categories Buffalo Neighborhoods, Buffalo's Pop Culture HeritageTags FDR, Franklin D Roosevelt, Niagara Square, WBEN\nWhat it looked like Wednesday: The City Hall site, 1913\nNearly single handedly, and through the pig-headed will of his convictions, Judge Samuel Wilkeson essentially invented Buffalo.\nBuffalo News archives\nWilkeson was born in Pennsylvania and first came to Buffalo as a soldier defending the village as it burned in 1813. Following the war, he made his home in the village as it was being rebuilt. As a trader in various items like salt and whiskey, Wilkeson understood the importance of a good port \u2014 and knew for Buffalo to grow, the harbor had to be improved.\nDespite having never seen an artificial harbor in his life, in 1820, he started overseeing the construction of a new harbor in Buffalo. Two years later, with the widening and sandbar removal almost done, he argued that the planned Erie Canal should terminate in Buffalo, not in Black Rock as argued by future Niagara Falls pioneer and Secretary of War Peter Porter. Buffalo was chosen and the fate of the pioneer village was sealed.\nThe canal was completed in 1825, and the following year, Wilkeson built his stately home on Niagara Square. After holding a handful of elected offices and judgeships, Wilkeson was elected mayor of Buffalo in 1836 \u2014 four years after the city was incorporated.\nBut Buffalo was still barely a city.\n\"Buffalo was a pioneer settlement of rough hewn houses on the edge of a dense forest when Samuel Wilkeson had a vision of the important part the square was going to play in the upbuilding of the city,\" wrote Roy W. Nagle, one of the great collectors of Buffalo's history from the 1930s through the 1970s.\nIt was from this house that Wilkeson waged a national and international war against slavery \u2014 denouncing human bondage of any kind as un-Christian. He helped in efforts to colonize freed American slaves in Liberia, and the Florida plantation he owned and managed from Buffalo was one of few in the state which didn't operate using slave labor.\nThe future of this \"Father of Buffalo's\" home was decided when Judge Wilkeson's granddaughter, who lived in the home until her death in 1903, called for its demolition in her will.\nMost of Buffalo's still-surviving fine old mansions had met with a fate she did not want to befall her lifelong home. Mrs. Wilkeson wouldn't allow the place to become a boarding house or lodging house.\nShortly thereafter, one of Buffalo's oldest homes was razed, and Buffalo's first gas station was built on the spot.\nNote St. Anthony's church to the left, which is still-familiar outside the back door of city hall. (Buffalo Stories archives)\nWhen Buffalo's current city hall was built in 1929, designers lined up the building's pillars with those of the Wilkeson House.\nPosted on September 21, 2016 February 7, 2017 Categories Buffalo Neighborhoods, Buffalo's Pop Culture HeritageTags Buffalo City Hall, Niagara Square, Samuel Wilkeson, What it looked like Wednesday","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Premium Online Training\nHarvey Mackay Academy's Blog\nHarvey Maxims\nHarvey's Weekly Column\nLegendary Leadership\n2020 Resolution: Commit To Lifelong Learning\nUse Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door\nGet The Passion Again\nadvice Author Baseball book business Business Owners career communication community connections Creativity Customer Service Employee entrepreneurship goals gratitude growth Harvey Mackay hypnosis hypnotherapy innovation jobs leadership leadership development life life lessons marketing Network networking online education online leadership training Patience people perspective preparation relationships resolutions sales Sharing Success teamwork training volunteering work work place\nMeet Harvey Mackay | Part 1\n\/ Legendary Leadership\n\/ By\tHarvey Mackay, Founder & CEO\nAre you building a $100 million company? Even if you're not, check out the full video interview with Harvey Mackay. This two-part video series will give you instant insights into one of the most successful, influential, businessmen in the world, Harvey Mackay.\nWhen Harvey Mackay's book was released, Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, millions of business owners, CEOs, and sales professionals learned \"how to outsell, out-manage, out-motivate, and out-negotiate the competition!\"\nIn Part 1 of the series, you get the chance to meet Harvey Mackay himself. Harvey and Cliff Jones talk about what it was like for Harvey to grow up in St. Paul Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harvey shares how his parents created a lifestyle for him that made him the most popular kid in town.\nHarvey's mother, who died when Harvey was a young man, was a teacher, and a huge influence on his work ethic, quizzing him on a nightly basis before she passed. His father, a resourceful journalist and head of the Associated Press in Minneapolis for 35 years, always had tickets to the best games, making Harvey popular among his friends.\nHarvey's love and success with sports developed from his devotion to everything his father taught him about networking, sales, negotiation, and more. From tennis to baseball to golf, his dad came to all of his matches, showed him around Downtown and introduced him to all the big hitters. With his office at the state capitol, he even got to meet the governor! What an experience for young Harvey.\nAnother trick you want to hear about on the video is the secret to Harvey's father's networking success as a newsman in the 1930's, into the 1960's. These experiences, along with some God-given talents with athletics, sales, and networking, inspired Harvey to become the world-famous businessman, speaker, bestselling author, and \"hungry fighter\" he remains today.\nListen to the full episode to hear more about Harvey's love for sports and how that translated to his success in business and stay tuned for Part 2!\nAbout the Author\tHarvey Mackay, Founder & CEO\nSeven-time, New York Times best-selling author of \"Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,\" with two books among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time, according to the New York Times. He is one of America's most popular and entertaining business speakers, and currently serves as Chairman at the MackayMitchell Envelope Company, one of the nation's major envelope manufacturers, producing 25 million envelopes a day.\nArguments Help Innovation, Decision-Making\n10 Reasons You Need to Start Networking Today\nSign up for Harvey Mackay Academy updates\nPrivacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright 2018 by Harvey Mackay Academy. - Designed by Makingexperience.com\n<# if(ThriveComments.current_user.ID){#>href=\"https:\/\/harveymackayacademy.com\/wp-login.php?action=logout&_wpnonce=5d72051bb6\"<#}#>><#= ThriveComments.util.render_label('logout_change') #>\nPre-Order Harvey's Newest Book, \"You Haven't Hit Your Peak Yet!\" Before January 29th, 2020!\nBy using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of ServiceOk","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Book Review THE LAST TEN SECONDS: BOOK REVIEW\nTHE LAST TEN SECONDS: BOOK REVIEW\nTitle: THE LAST TEN SECONDS\nAuthor: Simon Kernick\nIf you are looking for a tightly paced battle against time then this British author should be your first pick. 'The Last Ten Seconds' is another nail-biting, race against time by Simon Kernick. The fifth book in the Tina Boyd series.\nThe book opens up with a scene where an undercover cop Sean Egan is bleeding on the floor, counting the last seconds of his much-awaited death, surrounded by bodies in an abandoned building.\nThis violent confrontation began 36 hours ago when 'The Night-Creeper', a brutal and ruthless psychopath serial killer, who has been terrorising the streets of London for the past two years was finally arrested by DI Tina Boyd.\nThough Tina and her team apprehended the serial killer, Andrew Kent, the suspect kept pleading for his innocence in no avail till he recalls that he has a cast-iron alibi for one of the five murders he's been accused.\nThough everything is on point and seemed seamless, Tina felt a tinge of dissatisfaction. Somewhere deep down, she felts that something is off and that she failed to put a pin on it. And Tina will not stop at any cost till she unravels the larger forces in the play.\nSean Egan, an undercover cop, who has infiltrated one of the ugliest gangs which are run by some real bad boys of London. Sean is on a personal mission and somehow finds himself being involved in the abduction of Andrew Kent who is in the police custody and is being escorted to the hospital.\nThe reason for Sean going on an unsanctioned undercover operation was because of his past. The gang he infiltrated had a hand in his brother's death some 12 to 15 years ago. Sean joined the gang just for some unfiltered vendetta which leads him in too deep and making him do things he shouldn't as a cop. Sean is okay with it though and is willing to go far further in the name of vengeance.\nSimilar to Tina in ethical terms, Sean wants to get to the truth while working on the ground and wants to get rid of the burden of his brother's death, once and for all.\n\"Will Andrew Kent be ever retrieved back by Tina to unwind the mysterious death in the serial killing\u2026?\"\n\"Sean is a man on a mission. Will he ever be able to avenge his brother's death\u2026?\"\n\"Will Tina and Sean ever realise that they are holding the same card from opposite ends\u2026?\"\n\"Is there a deeper conspiracy disguised as a case of serial killings\u2026?\"\nTo know more\u2026 Do Read\u2026 'THE LAST TEN SECONDS\"\u2026 by\u2026 Simon Kernick.\nMY OPINION: Simon, as always has successfully delivered another nail-biting thriller, standing with the reputation of best-selling thriller writers in the Kingdom. The book is tightly packed with action and a pile of murders that will make for a good neck workout.\nThe story proceeds from the eyes of two different people, Sean and Tina. The action and thriller in the book are so impulsive and realistic that it will keep sending chills down your spine, non-stop.\nThe character building, particularly of Sean and Tina is jaw-dropping. However, with many other side characters, you'll get a chance to exhale your long-held breath.\nA couple of incidents that came with many other characters don't tangle convincingly. They just add to the page count. It does bother much and won't be a major hindrance that will stop you from moving ahead with a string of curiosity to know what happens next.\nOverall, a really fast-paced, thrilling book which is definitely above any airport reads.\nPrevious articleHUNTER (THE RABBIT HUNTER): BOOK REVIEW\nNext articleTHE AMERICAN CRUSADE: BOOK REVIEW\nSimple Truth BOOK REVIEW","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Trivia\/WhiteDog\nTrivia \/ White Dog\nCreate New - Create New - Analysis Characters FanficRecs FanWorks Fridge Haiku Headscratchers ImageLinks Laconic PlayingWith Quotes Recap ReferencedBy Synopsis Timeline WMG YMMV\nBox Office Bomb: Budget, $7 million (estimated). Box office, $46,509. The film is noted for its especially Troubled Production, suffering from having its American release pulled courtesy of distributor Paramount because of accusations of being racist. The treatment of his film prompted Samuel Fuller to retreat to France (where his films were much better received) and never make another Hollywood film again. However, it was generally acclaimed by critics, and after it was finally released on DVD in 2008, the general public has repeatedly criticized Paramount for withholding its release, given that it teaches an important lesson on America's damning record of racism.\nCreator Cameo: Karl Lewis Miller, the film's dog trainer, plays Julie's attempted rapist.\nWhite Day: A Labyrinth Named School\n\u00ab Trivia \u00bb","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"You are here: Home > Football Tips > Pulis to experience defeat on his Selhurst Park return\nPulis to experience defeat on his Selhurst Park return\nOn Saturday Tony Pulis will coach against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park for the first time since he quit the Eagles on the eve of the English Premier League and one thinks that he will not enjoy his first visit to his old stomping ground.\nCrystal Palace, now under the leadership of former Eagles winger Alan Pardew, is one of the English Premier League's form teams, which is not an apt description for the West Bromwich side that is causing Pulis sleepless nights as it struggles to stay away from the dreaded relegation zone.\nWest Bromwich has lost to not one but two English Premier League strugglers in recent weeks and both defeats occurred at The Hawthorns and involved the Baggies conceding lots of goals. First, Queens Park Rangers \u2013 the English Premier League's worst away team \u2013 walloped West Bromwich 4-1 at The Hawthorns. Second, the English Premier League's bottom side, Leicester, came back from 0-1 and 1-2 to beat West Bromwich 3-2 and breathe new life into its fight against the drop.\nTony Pulis has decided that the way to get West Bromwich out of its English Premier League slump is to slam his players publicly, airing views that managers use keep behind closed doors. It will be interesting to see if Pulis gets the right response but one is not betting on it happening on Saturday.\nNever did Newcastle and Pardew look like a good fit but the man who scored the goal that sent Crystal Palace to the 1990 English FA Cup final has looked right at home since he took over from Neil Warnock as Eagles boss. Crystal Palace has accrued 25 points from its 12 English Premier League games under Pardew, a points-to-games ratio that is better than every team other than Chelsea. Yes, Crystal Palace's form under Pardew is that of a genuine championship contender.\n888Sport are offering odds of 1\/1 2.00 +100 1.00 1.00 -1.00 that Crystal Palace wins its fifth English Premier League match in a row by defeating West Bromwich. Not even the Pulis factor is sufficient to put one taking those odds.\nBetVictor is listing odds of 13\/20 1.65 -154 0.65 -1.54 0.65 about Saturday's English Premier League game between Stoke and Southampton at the Britannia Stadium going under two and a half goals and that rates as the next best betting opportunity on the coupon.\nEighteen of Stoke's 32 English Premier League matches have gone under two and a half goals, including eight of its 15 home games. But those numbers are nothing compared to those of Southampton. Twenty-two of Southampton's 32 English Premier League matches have gone under two and a half goals, including 11 of its 15 away games \u2013 both of those statistics are divisional highs. And the reverse English Premier League fixture resulted in a 1-0 win for Southampton in October.\nFinally, one would not touch Liverpool with a 10-foot pole at its odds to beat Aston Villa in Sunday's English FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium but Arsenal looks like a safe bet to get the better of Reading in the first tie 24 hours earlier. One has no concerns about backing Arsenal at odds of 29\/100 1.29 -345 0.29 -3.45 0.29 with several bookmakers, including Coral and Totesport, to lead Reading at the end of normal time.\nArsenal is England's form team having won each of its last eight matches across all competitions since it lost the plot at home to Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. Reading may claim that it has been distracted but its English FA Cup date with Arsenal but even that would not excuse its run of five English Championship games without a win. Arsenal has been making better sides than Reading look second rate in recent weeks and, provided that the Gunners do not produce a Monaco-like performance, they should beat the Royals easily.\nTips Summary\nPalace to beat West Brom\n18th April 15:00 GMT\nOdds: 1\/1 2.00 +100 1.00 1.00 -1.00\nWhere to Bet: 888Sport\nStoke v Southampton Under 2.5 goals\nOdds: 13\/20 1.65 -154 0.65 -1.54 0.65\nWhere to Bet: BetVictor\nArsenal to beat Reading\nOdds: 29\/100 1.29 -345 0.29 -3.45 0.29\nWhere to Bet: Coral, Totesport\nBritannia Stadium\nSelhurst Park\nMLB Predictions for April 16th 2015\nSampdoria to maintain unbeaten home record with a win","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Dr Knezevic - Featured in The Ophthalmologist Magazine By Macy Eye Center on January 06, 2023\nIt's true that building a successful career takes time. We spend years in college, medical school, residency, and possibly fellowship training. Despite the lengthy process, young ophthalmologists don't have to wait another decade to reap the rewards of hard work.\nContrary to popular belief, being a veteran in your field isn't the only measure of success. Rather, there are multiple levels of success for young physicians, many of which derive from an astute sense of self-direction and determination.\nSince coming out of fellowship and working in practice, I have learnt many timeless and invaluable practices that have fueled my own career moves. I believe that all young ophthalmologists can master the art of career strategy by being intentional with their first moves.\nPath one: maximize surgical volume\nUnless you are pursuing a non-surgical career, you will have a surgical growth phase as you transition from trainee to attending. This transition can prove especially challenging for young ophthalmologists who only perform a few surgeries a week. Maximizing surgery volumes not only helps ease this transition but also, as identified by Habib and colleagues, leads to fewer complications; for example, when measuring the relation of phacoemulsification procedure volume with patient health outcomes (1). Similar trends have been identified when researching final visual acuity in high-volume versus low-volume surgeons (2). Related studies point to similar findings in coronary angioplasty, colorectal surgery, and various cancer-related surgeries. It is clear that performing more procedures can sharpen skill sets and develop crucial surgical experience (3).\nThis is a true win-win scenario for ophthalmologists and their patients. As practitioners' experience and skill sets grow, surgery will no longer feel as daunting and stressful, but enjoyable and rewarding. Successful patients' health outcomes will increase as ophthalmologists improve their practice, which in turn helps to accelerate a trusted and established professional career in the field.\nPath two: maximize now\nThis move is catered towards young ophthalmologists who value stability and want to settle into their profession quickly. Typically, physicians find a sense of settlement after completing a residency or fellowship, or by finding the right job in the right city. Although settling down looks different for everyone depending on individual needs, the fastest way to achieve stability is by joining a large and established practice, a university, or a big healthcare system. A solid routine can provide practitioners with a contented and comfortable lifestyle, one in which everything falls into place.\nInevitably, the question is pressed: what now? Although work remains an integral part of day-to-day life, it is also important to schedule time off. Celebrating success and achievement in the form of a vacation not only provides well-deserved relaxation but can also motivate a practitioner to pursue the next stage of their career. Taking time off gives practitioners the opportunity to re-evaluate their next steps without the weight of professional pressure. So\u2026 why not take that dream vacation?\nPath three: maximize later\nCultivating your ideal career takes time, but the payoff may be better than you expect. With education, training, and medical technology being as advanced as ever, surgeons \u2013 at all levels \u2013 are empowered to become more efficient and better skilled workers. Under the right guidance and with wise career moves, young ophthalmologists have the opportunity to advance in their careers and achieve their professional goals.\nWhen discussing this path, it is helpful to use the \"look down the hallway\" test. When you look down the hallway and see your colleague sitting in the corner office, do you picture yourself in that same position one day? This analogy assumes that, although your job won't seem ideal in the near future, you have the ultimate goal \u2013 spanning anywhere between one and 10 years \u2013 firmly set. This path renders somes aspects of the job, such as salary, hours, pathology type, and vacation, as secondary to the larger goal set in your mind.\nWhen using this analogy, you must visualize what your \"hallway\" looks like. Is it a road leading to your own private practice? Is it pursuing an academic career? Is it working in med-tech? Or is it something that encapsulates your own idea of \"success?\" Maybe your ideal mix of surgery, medicine, and pathology type doesn't even exist yet and is out there for you to build on your own.\nThere may be jobs that combine each of these moves into one position. If you find one, grab it and hold on tight. Most people will have to be patient but also dedicated. Learn from your surroundings and apply wisdom from your senior colleagues into your own career strategy.\nThe Ophthalmologist Magazine\nThree Paths To Success\nMacy Eye Center\nDr. Jonathan Isaac Macy is considered a leader in laser cataract surgery and LASIK. A clinical professor of ophthalmology at both USC and UCLA, Dr. Macy provides his extensive expertise to patients in the greater Los Angeles, CA, area. He is affiliated with professional organizations, including:\nAmerican Board of Ophthalmology\nInternational Society of Refractive Surgery\nCalifornia Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons\nAmerican Healthcare Professionals and Friends For Medicine in Israel\nTo schedule an appointment with our ophthalmologist, contact us online or call (310) 657-2777.\n8635 W 3rd St\nSte 360W\n\u00a92011 - 2023 Macy Eye Center | Forever Website\u00ae 2.0 | Designed & Developed by Einstein Medical\nMeet Dr. Macy\nMeet Dr. Knezevic\nLASIK Cost\nGlasses & Contact Lenses\nNew Lens Technology","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"DW News - News : DW : March 22, 2018 10:00am-10:15am CET\nby DW\nhas been sentenced to life in prison he came to germany from greece where he'd already been released after serving two years of a ten year sentence for attempted murder then he killed a teenage student in the city of freiburg critics said the case showed the german government and the european union failed to adequately monitor refugees coming into the block. our political correspondent kate brady has been following the story for us hi kate so hussein kay was sentenced to life in prison tell us what this verdict needs exactly so life in prison in japanese actually fifteen he is so in favor he could have been released in fifteen years' time but actually that's already been rolled out he's also been sentenced to preventive detention and that largely comes off the back of this evidence that was given in court from a psychiatrist who said that he was likely to commit a similar crime again of course we also heard in that report that he had previously pushed another woman off of a cliff in call food a few years earlier but the important point here is that he was in fact sentenced and tried\nhas been sentenced to life in prison he came to germany from greece where he'd already been released after serving two years of a ten year sentence for attempted murder then he killed a teenage student in the city of freiburg critics said the case showed the german government and the european union failed to adequately monitor refugees coming into the block. our political correspondent kate brady has been following the story for us hi kate so hussein kay was sentenced to life in prison tell us...\nDW News - News : DW : March 28, 2018 9:00am-9:31am CEST\ngreece is money for greece more money sara indeed the eurozone bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euro loan installment and that after the greek government acted painful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds a first tranche of five point seven billion euros is due to be paid today the rest could follow in may athens has received financial aid from eurozone countries and the international monetary fund since two thousand and ten and the third rescue package amounts to eighty six billion euros it runs until august twenty eighth in greece's debt the total debt is around three hundred twenty billion euros and that's about one hundred seventy six percent of its economic output but the economy is growing for the first time in ten years for unemployment is down to twenty point nine percent still many greeks only work part time and they don't earn much that means that despite hopes of an upward trend the reality for ordinary people may not be improving but it appears that reforms taking hold so is greece finally on the mend that's what i asked andy car\ngreece is money for greece more money sara indeed the eurozone bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euro loan installment and that after the greek government acted painful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds a first tranche of five point seven billion euros is due to be paid today the rest could follow in may athens has received financial aid from eurozone countries and the international monetary fund since two thousand and ten and the third rescue...\nDW News - News : DW : March 22, 2018 6:00pm-6:16pm CET\nconcerns about immigration not least because the man was convicted of attempted murder in greece before arriving here judges though have sent a powerful message that germany won't be lenient with new arrivals. it's the most severe penalty a german court can impose a life sentence and preventive detention afterwards for the perpetrator the courtroom the f. gun migron plant the crime try to cover it up and accepted the likelihood of the victim's death her parents lawyer said he was satisfied with the verdict. as to determining the severity of the crime it was important to hear this it must be said that this is a murder case in which the severity considerably goes beyond that of other cases to put us in those key twists since. october two thousand and sixteen it was here at the riverbank in the city zero five book that the perpetrator attacked his victim he pushed the medical student off her bike sexually assaulted her then threw her into the river the case hiking to debate over germany's refugee policy someone seeking protection had committed murder the right wing populist alternative for\nconcerns about immigration not least because the man was convicted of attempted murder in greece before arriving here judges though have sent a powerful message that germany won't be lenient with new arrivals. it's the most severe penalty a german court can impose a life sentence and preventive detention afterwards for the perpetrator the courtroom the f. gun migron plant the crime try to cover it up and accepted the likelihood of the victim's death her parents lawyer said he was satisfied...\nhungry brazil. and mand of a get that revenge and i came right find out we're heading to greece there now are no revenge there in fact more funds for greece are of the euro zone's a bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euros loan installment that's after the greek government in active painful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds and a first tranche of five point seven billion euros is due to be paid today the rest could follow it may now athens has received financial aid from eurozone countries and the international monetary fund since two thousand and ten the third rescue package amounts to eighty six billion euros and it runs until august twenty eight hundred or a few more months greece's total debt is around three hundred twenty billion euros and that's about one hundred seventy six percent of its economic output but the economy is growing for the first time in ten years unemployment is down to twenty point two nine percent still many greeks only work part time and they don't much so that means that despite hopes of an upward trend the r\nhungry brazil. and mand of a get that revenge and i came right find out we're heading to greece there now are no revenge there in fact more funds for greece are of the euro zone's a bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euros loan installment that's after the greek government in active painful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds and a first tranche of five point seven billion euros is due to be paid today the rest could follow it may now athens has...\nBusiness - News : DW : March 16, 2018 2:02am-2:15am CET\nin greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know this means that this is proof the top policy to stabilize the has been a success. the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and odo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to have in this is ok for me. and that's good oh absolutely. now it's. one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep the balance budgets brought about by his predecessor. it is set up to be one of the biggest corporate takeovers ever but the tie of chemical giants buyer in monsanto apparently has run into a snag the news agency bloomberg reports that u.s. officials are increasingly worried the merger would be bad for competition talks between the two companies are ongoing and reportedly buyers working to ease concerns in washington from the companies are not commenting on the report. for more let's bring in our wall street correspondent so if so if china has given its thumbs up to the merger\nin greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know this means that this is proof the top policy to stabilize the has been a success. the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and odo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to have in this is ok for me. and that's good oh absolutely. now it's. one thing he's already revealed is that he'd...\nthe second phase the breakthrough comes only in december went to reason maybe a greece to a backstop solution for northern ireland the e.u. paves the way for phase two sufficient progress has not been made on the street terms of the people march two thousand and eighteen the u.k. has granted the transition face but on europe's thom's the final goodbye is pushed back by almost two years the deal was struck today should give us confidence that a good deal for the united kingdom and the european union is closer than ever before. but the clock is ticking and key issues are yet to be agreed. as the annual reports go a long and winding roads towards bragg's and want to add the key issues which still have to be dissolved. i would single out two key points here key sticking points number one is that the u.k. will have to realize at some point throughout this year that the deep and special partnership they seek will be a free trade deal if they stick to their red lines and that means that they will not have the same friction less relationship they currently have being part of the customs unio\nthe second phase the breakthrough comes only in december went to reason maybe a greece to a backstop solution for northern ireland the e.u. paves the way for phase two sufficient progress has not been made on the street terms of the people march two thousand and eighteen the u.k. has granted the transition face but on europe's thom's the final goodbye is pushed back by almost two years the deal was struck today should give us confidence that a good deal for the united kingdom and the european...\nget at first you know everybody was asking what happened with. whatever you want to do now greece go reading the printer we still amount will all go out one destination and later once he boarded the plane to get back in the airport there was again i don't know hundreds of stranded tourists and people who are trying to get to their homes or in the other destinations so yeah we just tried to talk to the airport. people from our area and that is the day and i was trying to board so we are asking what are we going to do it is that you know just break for now that what is going to force so we don't have any news gets there later we said they didn't know what we're just going to cancel this and we're back i mean after this incident happened i was scared and went for another two hours or at my luggage and get back. and of course it's a very difficult. to surrounded by very high mom on tunes. money thank you very much for sharing your story with us and you you're welcome the leaders of germany's conservative parties and social democrats assent to sign the coalition government agreement in ab\nget at first you know everybody was asking what happened with. whatever you want to do now greece go reading the printer we still amount will all go out one destination and later once he boarded the plane to get back in the airport there was again i don't know hundreds of stranded tourists and people who are trying to get to their homes or in the other destinations so yeah we just tried to talk to the airport. people from our area and that is the day and i was trying to board so we are asking...\nDW News - News : DW : March 12, 2018 10:00pm-10:16pm CET\nthe last ten years last week the club fired its c.e.o. and sports director. greece's top flight football league suspended its season indefinitely today hours after the owner of a top club invite. to the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt after i disputed gold in the match between title rivals a.j. athens and the power. nike owner i found sas savvy this alleged his bodyguards armed to the field when a gun in a holster service appeared to threaten the referee who had just disallowed a goal for his team of the game's about the police have issued a warrant for his arrest league official self injury matches will be played only well after what they called a new framework has been agreed. the fashion designer of o'shea who many saw as the very essence of french style has died aged ninety one general shane was recognised for his elegant designs especially those he created for audrey hepburn and some of her most famous films. who dared to shoot on she's seen him gracing the catwalk at the end of his last fashion show in one thousand nine hundred ninety five was part of an elite group\nthe last ten years last week the club fired its c.e.o. and sports director. greece's top flight football league suspended its season indefinitely today hours after the owner of a top club invite. to the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt after i disputed gold in the match between title rivals a.j. athens and the power. nike owner i found sas savvy this alleged his bodyguards armed to the field when a gun in a holster service appeared to threaten the referee who had just disallowed a goal...\nDW News - News : DW : March 5, 2018 12:00am-12:15am CET\nso this is very sad from a brussels view and italy is drifting in the same camp like greece to hungary which already governed by populist parties austria a populist parties in the government and italy of the third biggest economy in country in the eurozone this is a real danger seen from brussels the man that a lot of people seem to be looking at in this election silvio berlusconi the former prime minister this coalition is expected to have the most seats in parliament does this mean that we should expect to come back. that he already made a spectacular comeback because he cannot hold office because he's banned from not by a because he's convicted as a text fraud and now he's back and putting the strings in the in the right wing coalition and he also is not excluded that he will. govern as a prime minister after two thousand and nineteen when he's again for office and now he's a neck on neck raise with this right wing populist pati patni league which is openly xander phobic and resisting it could be that the league is even has even more votes than but as kone was his forte is a\nso this is very sad from a brussels view and italy is drifting in the same camp like greece to hungary which already governed by populist parties austria a populist parties in the government and italy of the third biggest economy in country in the eurozone this is a real danger seen from brussels the man that a lot of people seem to be looking at in this election silvio berlusconi the former prime minister this coalition is expected to have the most seats in parliament does this mean that we...\nbeing convicted for attempted murder in greece critics say checks on migrants are inadequate. european union leaders are heading to brussels for a busy two days summit that begins later today they'll be discussing the poisoning of the former russian spy and proposed u.s. trade talents but the main topic will be brags that joining me now is our correspondent matis who is in brussels can we expect from this summit clearly the tariffs issue will be top of the agenda in a lot of concerns for your leaders the trade commissioner of the european union just returned this night from the u.s. and brought back what looks like good news the e.u. could get lost with the exemption from these tariffs on steel and aluminum but it's not clear yet and so leaders today will have to prepare for a scenario where they will get no long term exemption or no exemption potentially at all and then of course the reason why isn't how she hopes to get signed off for a transition phase that the bracks negotiators have agreed to last week so bracks it and the steel tariffs the two key issues and what are the biggest\nbeing convicted for attempted murder in greece critics say checks on migrants are inadequate. european union leaders are heading to brussels for a busy two days summit that begins later today they'll be discussing the poisoning of the former russian spy and proposed u.s. trade talents but the main topic will be brags that joining me now is our correspondent matis who is in brussels can we expect from this summit clearly the tariffs issue will be top of the agenda in a lot of concerns for your...\nwe'll have to see to what extent that comes close to the deep and special partnership that greece amaze hoping to achieve matters in brussels thank you. well just a matter of months now are left for germany defend their world cup title in russia for the players who hope to be on coach and love squad list crunch time is now the battle for spots and germany's world cup squad is set to be more competitive than ever before making friday's friendly against spain a critical chance to stand out in a crowded field of hopefuls. it was best never wrist is the motto of the german football association has given to the national team's world cup title defense they could also be interpreted as a warning to the players vying for a spot in the squad for russia don't rest on your laurels demonstration my expectations from the players are as high as you'd imagine my talks with them have focused on that. they should prepare themselves after millie and focus on every training session not just for the national team but also with their clubs. by the nuts not much of on the right speaking of clubs gotten\nwe'll have to see to what extent that comes close to the deep and special partnership that greece amaze hoping to achieve matters in brussels thank you. well just a matter of months now are left for germany defend their world cup title in russia for the players who hope to be on coach and love squad list crunch time is now the battle for spots and germany's world cup squad is set to be more competitive than ever before making friday's friendly against spain a critical chance to stand out in a...\nBusiness - News : DW : March 17, 2018 2:15pm-2:31pm CET\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and schauble is taking the credit for us. you know this is where we're going to hear yesterday's your this is proof that our policy to stabilize the euro has been a success and that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone and despite some doubts to keep the euro stable so it's quite a good conclusion for me to hear. now it's all of show to turn one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep that balanced budget by his predecessor. now to a look at russia's economy on the part military spending plays into this engine production plant in the russian city of specializes in military machinery among its most important customers is the russian government and it has the money the economy grew by one point five percent last year. russia's economic growth is mostly down to the recovery in the global economy and the associated recovery in the price of commodities like oil and natural gas russia is heavily reliant on income from oil and gas forty to fifty percent of that\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and schauble is taking the credit for us. you know this is where we're going to hear yesterday's your this is proof that our policy to stabilize the euro has been a success and that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone and despite some doubts to keep the euro stable so it's quite a good conclusion for me to hear. now it's all of show to turn one thing he's already revealed is...\nBusiness - News : DW : March 28, 2018 3:15pm-3:31pm CEST\nin greece's total debt is around three hundred twenty billion euros that's about one hundred seventy six percent of its economic output but the economy is growing for the first time in ten years unemployment is down but still at twenty point nine percent and many greeks only work part time and don't earn much overall that means that despite hopes of an upward trend the reality for ordinary people may not be improving but it appears that reforms are taking hold. top stories saudi arabia and japanese electronics giant softbank group are joining forces to create a two hundred billion dollars solar power development both sides signed a preliminary agreement for a series of solar parks in the desert kingdom by twenty thirty it will have a capacity of two hundred gigawatts to give you an idea of the scale that's a hundred times more than the next biggest solar project in the world softbank your sunset ample sunshine as well as engineers and workers in the country make the for a into solar lucrative. prince mohamed bin salman has thrown his support behind the project which is expect\nin greece's total debt is around three hundred twenty billion euros that's about one hundred seventy six percent of its economic output but the economy is growing for the first time in ten years unemployment is down but still at twenty point nine percent and many greeks only work part time and don't earn much overall that means that despite hopes of an upward trend the reality for ordinary people may not be improving but it appears that reforms are taking hold. top stories saudi arabia and...\nwas heavily criticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and surely is taking the credit for it you guys you know this is over this is proof of the talking policy to stabilize the year i've been a success here the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. to modo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish this off for me you're going to go to our source now it's all up shots is. one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep the balanced budget brought about by his predecessor. so what can we expect from germany's new finance minister let's talk about that with peter brook a finance and banking professor at one harvey university good to have you with us well thanks joy blip was much criticised but it was also very much respected by the financial world how will that world receive. well with expectations that he won't change very much in this respect and all those these are social democrats and that might have a tendency towards bamidele ma\nwas heavily criticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and surely is taking the credit for it you guys you know this is over this is proof of the talking policy to stabilize the year i've been a success here the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. to modo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish this off for me you're going to go to our source now it's...\neuro tranche on wednesday remaining billion could be released in may if greece manages to make progress in reducing areas. folks are in my face an expensive lawsuit in yet another country more than fifty thousand british car owners are now taking legal action following the emissions scandal it could become the largest group action in british legal history this three day hearing now underway at london's high court will determine whether the claims can be managed collectively in the u.s. v.w. has already agreed to pay up to twenty five billion dollars to settle claims from v.w. all the world's biggest comic has come a come and if you let the software in around eleven million cars worldwide. i mean while impending diesel bans in german cities could shift the problem of air pollution to eastern european countries because german does alone is increasingly seek to sell their vehicles rather than sent them to the junkyard. smog in poland it's not just the cold heating that sends large amounts of microscopic pollution particles into the atmosphere many cars in eastern europe to diesels\neuro tranche on wednesday remaining billion could be released in may if greece manages to make progress in reducing areas. folks are in my face an expensive lawsuit in yet another country more than fifty thousand british car owners are now taking legal action following the emissions scandal it could become the largest group action in british legal history this three day hearing now underway at london's high court will determine whether the claims can be managed collectively in the u.s. v.w....\nconfirmed dead the migrants were trying to get to greece from turkey their bodies were recovered off the greek island of i got the neic near the turkish coastline several managed to swim to the coast and alert authorities. another high level firing by the trumpet ministration former f.b.i. deputy director enter mccabe has been dismissed the veteran official worked for the agency for over twenty years and questions are being raised over the timing of his removal we'll get full analysis in a few moments but first here's a look at what happened. as you know senator as deputy director of the f.b.i. and room mccabe played a key role in the investigations into hillary clinton's female affair and alleged russian involvement in the twenty sixteen election he stepped down in january but remained on the f.b.i.'s payroll he was fired twenty six hours before he would have become eligible for retirement the justice department released a statement from attorney general jeff sessions saying mccabe had quote made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor including under oath on\nconfirmed dead the migrants were trying to get to greece from turkey their bodies were recovered off the greek island of i got the neic near the turkish coastline several managed to swim to the coast and alert authorities. another high level firing by the trumpet ministration former f.b.i. deputy director enter mccabe has been dismissed the veteran official worked for the agency for over twenty years and questions are being raised over the timing of his removal we'll get full analysis in a few...\nDW News - News : DW : March 27, 2018 6:00pm-6:30pm CEST\npainful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds for greece the reforms included changes in tax policy privatizations of state holdings as well as tackling bad debt the european stability mechanism is due to pay the first five point seven billion euros on wednesday remaining billion could be released in may if greece manages to make progress in reducing a risk. first phase an expensive lawsuit in yet another country more than fifty thousand british car owners are taking legal action following the emissions could become the largest group action in british legal history three day hearing now in the way of london's high court will determine whether the claims can be managed collectively in the u.s. the ws already agreed to pay up to twenty five billion dollars to settle claims from owners the world's biggest comic the manipulated the software in iraq eleven million cars worldwide. meanwhile impending diesel bans in german cities could shift the problem of air pollution to eastern european countries german diesel owners increasingly seek to sell their vehicles rather\npainful reforms finally meeting the conditions to unlock those funds for greece the reforms included changes in tax policy privatizations of state holdings as well as tackling bad debt the european stability mechanism is due to pay the first five point seven billion euros on wednesday remaining billion could be released in may if greece manages to make progress in reducing a risk. first phase an expensive lawsuit in yet another country more than fifty thousand british car owners are taking...\nat the same time you have countries particularly greece. and hungary who have very close ties with russia and who are kind of playing a game between the e.u. and the potential they see in russia they have no interest of having the signatures on this paper and getting all sides that this is been the problem of the european union since day one really getting everybody behind any kind of foreign policy statement is always really pushing it but let's go to moscow then and really show russia making enemies of all over the world tell us about the latest russian response. well we don't even know what what russia's response will be to may's measure as we've been kind of waiting for a clear response on that all day in the morning the foreign ministry spokes woman said that it wouldn't take long for there to be a response the kremlin spokesperson miti of his golf said that putin would be the one to make the final decision on what the response would be but there have been very sharp words from russia we've been hearing that this is all a political show that these accusations against russia ar\nat the same time you have countries particularly greece. and hungary who have very close ties with russia and who are kind of playing a game between the e.u. and the potential they see in russia they have no interest of having the signatures on this paper and getting all sides that this is been the problem of the european union since day one really getting everybody behind any kind of foreign policy statement is always really pushing it but let's go to moscow then and really show russia making...\ngreece go reading the bridge interested in down all throughout one destination and later once he boarded the plane to get back in the airport there was again i don't know hundreds of stranded tourists and people you know trying to get to the whole world or in the other destinations so you know we just tried to talk to the airport. people are in line that is the board and i was trying to board so we are asking what are we going to do it is that you know just break for now that what is going to so we don't have anything against the later recently read know what we're just going to cancel this and we're back i mean after this incident happened and one for another two hours just written for it my luggage and get back. and of course it's a very difficult employer to kathmandu surrounded by very high mountains i shall begin in kathmandu thank you very much for sharing your story with us and you. now to colombia the voters have handed the key to critics of the piste with former leftist rebels in sunday's election it was the first election for the formal rebel group and voters sounding r\ngreece go reading the bridge interested in down all throughout one destination and later once he boarded the plane to get back in the airport there was again i don't know hundreds of stranded tourists and people you know trying to get to the whole world or in the other destinations so you know we just tried to talk to the airport. people are in line that is the board and i was trying to board so we are asking what are we going to do it is that you know just break for now that what is going to...\nsmaller ones which have interests like hungary and greece and austria special economic interest they say we don't participate but still they want to be. show some solidarity and that's why they use preparing further steps and also sanctions are not excluded among the way christmas hasn't finished yet we have finished with you thank you ben read it mitra storage claridge's and simon you thank you. strange most wanted to futures have spent the night in a german jail and is likely to stay there for a while longer german court says it will take at least a week to decide whether to extradite conestoga to move back to spain the catalan in the seventy's later was detained on sunday while travelling through germany on his way to belgium has been self-imposed exile but is being sought by spanish authorities for his role in catalonia is on the rise to independence vote now the arrest has angered many catalans gossip on the street protests erupted and some ninety people have been injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. bridge demands detention has ignited anger in catalonia suppo\nsmaller ones which have interests like hungary and greece and austria special economic interest they say we don't participate but still they want to be. show some solidarity and that's why they use preparing further steps and also sanctions are not excluded among the way christmas hasn't finished yet we have finished with you thank you ben read it mitra storage claridge's and simon you thank you. strange most wanted to futures have spent the night in a german jail and is likely to stay there...\nDW News - News : DW : March 1, 2018 8:00am-8:31am CET\nresidential properties banks are obligated to foreclose mortgages as part of greece's international bailout loan program demonstrators from the leftist popular unity party said the auctions are tantamount to stealing poor people's homes banks have repossessed many properties during years of austerity and increased taxation and in greece have been struggling to make ends meet the protests started in twenty sixteen now the government is introducing electronic auctions to bypass the protesters. and specter brian now and more on a terrorist attack that shocked germany right before christmas and twenty sixteen rather today kristoff german lawmakers are starting to look into exactly why authorities failed to prevent the deadly twenty sixteen christmas market attack here in berlin a total of twelve people were killed in that attack when a failed asylum seeker drove a truck into a crowded holiday market in the city's center a towering play shot and killed the tunisian perpetrator four days later in a shoot out in the long after he alluded german police a special parliamentary committee will\nresidential properties banks are obligated to foreclose mortgages as part of greece's international bailout loan program demonstrators from the leftist popular unity party said the auctions are tantamount to stealing poor people's homes banks have repossessed many properties during years of austerity and increased taxation and in greece have been struggling to make ends meet the protests started in twenty sixteen now the government is introducing electronic auctions to bypass the protesters....\nclever interested in washington thank you. dr winter is here now with good news for greece on its road to financial recovery is doing slightly better now phil which is even slightly better is a lot better than actually the full more cash for greece now the euro zone's bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euro loan installment the country has met the conditions for further forms after next to yet more painful reforms the payment is part of the third rescue package that amounts to eighty six billion euros overall creases total debt is a staggering three hundred twenty billion euros that's one hundred seventy six percent of its economic output that's the biggest in the wold japan. ordinary greeks may not like the austerity but the country's creditors say the medicine is working recently greased reese and now its first economic growth in a decade the state may be struggling but some great companies clearly have money to burn greek airline a g.m. has announced a four billion euro deal to buy a thirty new planes from airbus it would be the largest private investment deal\nclever interested in washington thank you. dr winter is here now with good news for greece on its road to financial recovery is doing slightly better now phil which is even slightly better is a lot better than actually the full more cash for greece now the euro zone's bailout fund has approved a six point seven billion euro loan installment the country has met the conditions for further forms after next to yet more painful reforms the payment is part of the third rescue package that amounts to...\nother news greece's top flight football league suspended its season indefinitely today hours after the owner of a top club invaded the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt after a disputed goal in the match between title rivals aka athens and paok besler new key owner eve on a savage beasts to lead his bodyguards onto the field where in the gun an all star he appeared to threaten the referee who had just disallowed a goal from his team the game was abandoned as you might imagine the police have issued a warrant for his arrest league officials say upcoming matches will not be played until a new framework is agreed. a quick reminder now of the top stories that we have been following for you here at g.w. germany's chancellor angela merkel has joined the leader of the social democrats to sign a new coalition government into existence it brings to an end almost six months of political uncertainty. and we leave you now with some memories of the work of a french still fashion designer. who has died at the age of ninety one he was recognized for his elegant designs he famously created the\nother news greece's top flight football league suspended its season indefinitely today hours after the owner of a top club invaded the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt after a disputed goal in the match between title rivals aka athens and paok besler new key owner eve on a savage beasts to lead his bodyguards onto the field where in the gun an all star he appeared to threaten the referee who had just disallowed a goal from his team the game was abandoned as you might imagine the police...\nDW News - News : DW : March 15, 2018 9:00am-9:30am CET\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know dozens of this is proof the top policy to stabilize the has been a success. the reason is is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and or do so it's quite a good conclusion from a user of and this is all for me. i'm going to go to our business now it's all of. one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep the balance budgets brought about by his predecessor. two markets think about the new man what reception all of shorts expect in the financial world let's cross over to corner of blues in a standing by and germany's financial center frankfurt what's the word back on iran . you know people i talked to here in frankfurt financial district reminded me that hamburg in germany is north is also a very important financial center it's a city with a long history of merchants and with a long tradition of conservative politicians from the social democratic party we\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know dozens of this is proof the top policy to stabilize the has been a success. the reason is is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and or do so it's quite a good conclusion from a user of and this is all for me. i'm going to go to our business now it's all of. one thing...\nsecurity guard had turned off the moans from. greece's outspoken former finance minister yanis varoufakis has launched a new political party he said it would be part of a europe wide leftist movement pushing for a new deal after eight years of austerity resigned in twenty fifty when greece signed up to its third successive international buy in. south africa's former president or jacob zuma has been ordered to appear in court next month on corruption charges prosecutors allege he accepted bribes in one thousand nine hundred ninety s. weapons to mr zuma resigned last month after losing the support of his party the a.n.c. . say they will challenge the case against him if. the case against him if found guilty he could be said since to jail. media reports say north korea's leader kim jong un has made an unannounced visit to china if confirmed it would be chems the first known trip abroad since taking power and twenty eleven dinars the north's main ally and has been involved in global efforts to pressure pyongyang over its nuclear program. thousands of who's the rubble supporters hav\nsecurity guard had turned off the moans from. greece's outspoken former finance minister yanis varoufakis has launched a new political party he said it would be part of a europe wide leftist movement pushing for a new deal after eight years of austerity resigned in twenty fifty when greece signed up to its third successive international buy in. south africa's former president or jacob zuma has been ordered to appear in court next month on corruption charges prosecutors allege he accepted...\nattempted murder in greece critics say e.u. checks on migrants are inadequate german lawmakers have authorized more troops for afghanistan the maximum number of german forces on the ground will rise to one thousand three hundred the expansion was approved because of the deteriorating security situation in the country the buddhist vary in afghanistan is part of the nato led mission resolute support which provides training and assistance to the afghan army. russia's ambassador to london says britain cannot be trusted in investigating the poisoning of an ex spy and his daughter alexander cold said that britain had accused russia of the attempted murder of sergei's cripple without presenting evidence he also said that russia could not take british accusations seriously because the british had a record of misleading the international community. we made mistakes that is what facebook boss mark zuckerberg has said in response to that data scandal involving his company and the data mining firm cambridge analytic of his statement on his facebook profile zuckerberg apologized yesterday and he\nattempted murder in greece critics say e.u. checks on migrants are inadequate german lawmakers have authorized more troops for afghanistan the maximum number of german forces on the ground will rise to one thousand three hundred the expansion was approved because of the deteriorating security situation in the country the buddhist vary in afghanistan is part of the nato led mission resolute support which provides training and assistance to the afghan army. russia's ambassador to london says...\nstance on austerity during the euro zone financial crisis was heavily criticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and she is taking the credit for it revised version of this and this is proof of the talk of policy to stabilize the year i've been a success here the reason is is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone and despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and odo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish this off for me. i'm going to go to our stores now it's all up shelters turned one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep the balanced budget brought about by his predecessor. after a decade of growth in the early two thousand to be only bad news coming from the brazilian economy especially after the financial crisis nepotism and corruption were rife the economy was shrinking but finally things are looking up again as the world economic forum meets in sao paulo this week analysts report a growing investor confidence in the world's eighth largest economy. this is south paolo known a\nstance on austerity during the euro zone financial crisis was heavily criticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and she is taking the credit for it revised version of this and this is proof of the talk of policy to stabilize the year i've been a success here the reason is is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone and despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and odo so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish...\nstruggling greece owes more so it's quite a mixed bag of economic indicators right before sunday's election what do italians make of it take a look. expect a change of pace on many important aspects of security equality and citizens' welfare. yes but i don't expect much so i hope whoever wins will do more. i think something could change but it depends on which coalition wins i'm not sure if they'll be a clear winner most likely they'll have to compromise and reach a broader agreement. will there be a clear winner could it take months for a new government to come together the italians are watching their smartphones the election is mostly being fought online all parties are promising more money some even proposing a universal basic income. but even the unions balk at that. frank i mean i personally find the idea to introduce a universal basic income exaggerated this would allow an italian citizen to have an income but it would be too expensive. italy is still feeling some of the effects of the global recession banks are still struggling with mountains of bad debt and whilst luxury apartments\nstruggling greece owes more so it's quite a mixed bag of economic indicators right before sunday's election what do italians make of it take a look. expect a change of pace on many important aspects of security equality and citizens' welfare. yes but i don't expect much so i hope whoever wins will do more. i think something could change but it depends on which coalition wins i'm not sure if they'll be a clear winner most likely they'll have to compromise and reach a broader agreement. will...\nThe Day - News in Review : DW : March 13, 2018 1:02am-1:31am CET\nhave seen in greece and in other countries about the depth we have to establish a really strong principle of the monetary union so that problems like we had in the last years won't happen again ok huggable and as of wednesday the chief of staff. thank you very much. as michel a customer reporting well this day is to be done but as i. ever the conversation will continue online you can five us on twitter either at d w news or at fill go there if we had to use a hash tag. going to leave you now with memories of the work of french fashion designer bert moshe who has died at the age of ninety one she was she was recognized for his elegant designs and he famously created the little black dress and designed outfits worn by audrey hepburn in some of her most famous films here are some pictures of your show's final show from one nine hundred ninety five. i think i'm i think i am i i i i led i. was. thankful. history up close. or limb has. shortage of locations where you can revisit the city's turbulent past. but if not but simply mentions best and finishing a player check mohicans a holi\nhave seen in greece and in other countries about the depth we have to establish a really strong principle of the monetary union so that problems like we had in the last years won't happen again ok huggable and as of wednesday the chief of staff. thank you very much. as michel a customer reporting well this day is to be done but as i. ever the conversation will continue online you can five us on twitter either at d w news or at fill go there if we had to use a hash tag. going to leave you now...\nafter the crisis we have seen in greece and in other countries about the depth we have to establish a really strong principle of the monetary union so that problems like we had in the last years won't happen again ok huggable as of wednesday the chief of staff. thank you very much. reporting well this day is to be done but as. ever the conversation will continue online you can find us on twitter either d w news or at phil go there forget to use a hash tag. going to leave you now with memories of the work of french fashion designer but as you've o'shea who has died at the age of ninety one she was she was recognized for his elegant designs and he famously created the little black dress and designed outfits ward but audrey hepburn in some of her most famous films here are some pictures of shore she's final show from one nine hundred ninety five. i mean. i mean i. live i live. thank you. when the fire gets sarka cobblestones. scientists and researchers from all over germany are at work using construction materials to filter out emissions. the air can be clean right at the pollution sourc\nafter the crisis we have seen in greece and in other countries about the depth we have to establish a really strong principle of the monetary union so that problems like we had in the last years won't happen again ok huggable as of wednesday the chief of staff. thank you very much. reporting well this day is to be done but as. ever the conversation will continue online you can find us on twitter either d w news or at phil go there forget to use a hash tag. going to leave you now with memories...\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know this is a this is proof of the top policy to stabilize the year right has been a success. the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and or do so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish this off for me you're going to go to our sources now it's. one thing he's already revealed is that he'd like to keep the balance budget brought about by his predecessor. well our markets buying that forthcoming was all of the financial world one person who knows that and that's of course. the frankfurt stock exchange corner what's the word there about all of shorts. you know get people i talked to here reminded me that how borg a city in the north of germany is a very important financial center as well a city with a long history of merchants and with a long tradition of conservative politicians conservative mayors who often come from the social democratic parties\ncriticized especially in greece but years later the greek economy does appear to be recovering and sure is taking the credit for it to buy stuff you know this is a this is proof of the top policy to stabilize the year right has been a success. the reason is that we've managed after eight years of crisis in the eurozone despite some doubts to keep the euro stable. and or do so it's quite a good conclusion for me to finish this off for me you're going to go to our sources now it's. one thing...\nDW News - News : DW : March 8, 2018 3:00pm-4:00pm CET\ngreece disparities and domestic violence and south koreans have been rallying in support of the me to movement against sexual harassment. and staying with the need to movement we want to get the views of several women around the world i have with me in the studio christina loon's she's the editor of the liberty magazine here in germany a magazine which refuses to put women into stereotypical boxes and categories in delhi we have covered krishnan she's a secretary of the all india progressive women's association and a leading spokeswoman on gender issues and violence against women and in france we have gloria friedman the sculptor who signed the controversial letter from actress catherine deneuve criticizing the me to movement but fust lives here about the kids three of the social media campaigns drawing attention to sexual assault and that's with social media editor sophie graham lind. that's right only down we've all heard about the me too but it's actually the first time that woman has used social media to draw attention to sexual harassment. it's actually been staying up ever si\ngreece disparities and domestic violence and south koreans have been rallying in support of the me to movement against sexual harassment. and staying with the need to movement we want to get the views of several women around the world i have with me in the studio christina loon's she's the editor of the liberty magazine here in germany a magazine which refuses to put women into stereotypical boxes and categories in delhi we have covered krishnan she's a secretary of the all india progressive...\ndefendant came to germany to be convicted for attempted murder in greece critics say e.u. checks on refugees inadequate. former french president nicolas sarkozy has hit out at allegations he illegally accepted funding from the libyan dictator moammar gadhafi says there's no physical evidence of any wrongdoing he was placed under full investigation on wednesday for allegedly accepting millions from gadhafi for his two thousand and seven election campaign. observed a minute of silence to mark the second anniversary of the bombings that left thirty four people dead belgian prime minister. lead a reception memorial at brussels airport where two suicide bombers struck a similar ceremony took place at a metro station with attack and set off explosives. a sale just as the european union leaders gather have gathered for a busy today's summit that begins later this afternoon the big two topics will be the us president dollars new tariffs on steel an aluminum and of course greg said carson and gov mathis is covering that summit for us and he joins me now from there that you think you need is\ndefendant came to germany to be convicted for attempted murder in greece critics say e.u. checks on refugees inadequate. former french president nicolas sarkozy has hit out at allegations he illegally accepted funding from the libyan dictator moammar gadhafi says there's no physical evidence of any wrongdoing he was placed under full investigation on wednesday for allegedly accepting millions from gadhafi for his two thousand and seven election campaign. observed a minute of silence to mark...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Aldon Smith forcing way into Defensive Player of the Year conversation\nThe San Francisco 49ers linebacker now leads the NFL in sacks after racking up 5.5 more on Monday.\nBy Peter Woodburn@wernies Nov 20, 2012, 5:55pm PST\nShare All sharing options for: Aldon Smith forcing way into Defensive Player of the Year conversation\nJed Jacobsohn\nEveryone in San Francisco knew linebacker Aldon Smith was good at what he does, but on Monday night's 32-7 victory over the Chicago Bears the whole nation bore witness as well.\nSmith was highlighting the defensive praise following the 49ers shut down of the Bears as the linebacker tallied up 5.5 sacks, seven tackles, two forced fumbles and seven quarterback hits - all done in 48 snaps.\nThe 49ers first-round pick of the 2011 draft has really come into his own in his second season in the league, and as Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area writes, should be on everyone's candidate list for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.\nSmith was certainly not alone, as far as defensive standouts, but he stood above the rest and should now be considered on any short list of candidates for NFL Defensive Player of the Year with six games remaining.\nSmith leads the league in sacks at 15.0 and set the Monday Night Football record for most sacks in a game against the Bears. He has especially turned it up as of late, averaging six tackles and three-plus sacks over his last three games. Smith has 29 total sacks in his first 26 NFL games, the most any player has ever compiled in their career.\n49ers vs. Bears: San Francisco dominant in 32-7 victory\nAldon Smith named NFC Defensive Player of the Week\nAldon Smith the best defensive player in NFL?\n49ers top five team, Raiders bottom five","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Sabyasachi Editor\nUpdated - Jul 2, 2020 8:01 pm\nShashank Manohar. (Photo Source: Twitter)\nShashank Manohar has been anti-Indian, he has reduced India's importance in world cricket: N Srinivasan\nShashank Manohar, on Wednesday, stepped down after two, two-year tenures as the head of the cricket body.\nAs per the ICC rules, Manohar could've stayed at the position for another two-year term.\nIPL 2020 likely to happen in Sri Lanka or UAE depending on the situation: BCCI official\nThe situation across the country has been quite stern due to a significant rise in COVID-19 cases.\nBut if the COVID-19 scenario across the country doesn't subside, the board will have no choice but to shift the tournament to a different country.\nWhen MS Dhoni came to CSK camp, he didn't look rusty at all: Piyush Chawla\nMS Dhoni hasn't played any competitive cricket since the World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand.\nHe was expected to retire after the mega event but the veteran surprised many going on a sabbatical.\nBowling well to MS Dhoni in IPL grew my self belief: Tabraiz Shamsi\nIndian Premier League (IPL) has proved to be a perfect platform for the cricketers across the world to prove their potential.\nA lot of Indian as well as foreign cricketers have represented their country after doing well in the cash-rich league.\nBabar Azam aiming to hit a double or triple century in England Test series\nBabar Azam, the talented Pakistan batsman, is looking to smash a triple century in the upcoming Test series against England.\nThe 25-year-old started his career, stamping his authority in ODI and T20I cricket.\nMeet Raj Mishra- Jasprit Bumrah's doppelganger in Hyderabad\nDoppelganger in cricket isn't a rare phenomenon these days. Even Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper across formats, has one.\nAfter being India's standout bowler in the 2019 World Cup, Bumrah shone in the Test series against the West Indies as well.\nBabar AzamMS DhoniTabraiz Shamsi\nCSK give an epic reply to a fan who claimed that the franchise would release MS Dhoni\nIndia can manage without MS Dhoni in the 2021 T20 World Cup: Aakash Chopra\nFelt like the worst captain on the planet: David Miller\nIPL 2019: CSK troll RCB ahead of tournament opener on March 23","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"latest disgrace\nso take a look at me now\nin the spirit of kenneth anger, i put a curse on you\nhe's mommy's little monster\nwe got it for cheap, that's the re-up anthem\nshout at the devil\ni'm rowdy like a package of white\nrap game ain't shit without the re-up gang\nnausea, bloody red eyes\ni wanna 'nother one like the last one\ncomplete control, lemme see your other hand:\nTo amplify what Yglz said, let me add an anecdote. In Mosul last March, the Provincial Reconstruction Team took me to a meeting of one of Iraq's new terrorism tribunals. Three judges were trucked up from Baghdad to preside over Baghdad-related terrorism cases -- all in Mosul, so the insurgents wouldn't, you know, kill the judges. Interesting idea, heavily billed as a rule-of-law achievement, but boring as hell to watch.\nThen at the end, as people are milling about and chatting on their way out the door, one of the PRT officials tells a judge how important it is to stand up against terrorism and promote equality and fairness before an impartial system of law. The judge nods at the platitude. \"Tell me,\" he says through a translator, \"is it true that in America, Bush can fire prosecutors he doesn't like?\"\nposted 10:35 AM |","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Jobs in Miami Beach, FL\nSr. Business Development Manager, Asymptomatic Testing Solutions\nThermo Fisher Scientific - Miami, FL\nPosition Summary Our Genetic Sciences Division (GSD) is at the forefront of innovation for genetic analysis research and clinical applications. The Genetic Testing Solutions Organization within GSD is a cross-platform organization designed to accelerate growth in the clinical space. The Asymptomatic Testing Solutions team within GTS is focused on developing product, technology, ...\nCareers at Thermo Fisher Scientific\nJobs in Miami, FL\nThermo Fisher Scientific Jobs in Miami, FL\nDemand Planner\nJob Title Demand Planner Requisition ID- 119988BR When you join us at Thermo Fisher Scientific, you'll be part of a smart, driven team that shares your passion for exploration and discovery. With revenues of more than $20 billion and the largest investment in R&D in the industry, we give our people the resources and opportunities to make significant contributions to the world.\nDollar Tree - Fort Lauderdale, FL\nJobs in Fort Lauderdale, FL\nDollar Tree Jobs in Fort Lauderdale, FL\nDollar Tree - Hialeah, FL\nGeneral Summary: As a Family Dollar Greeter you will be responsible for providing exceptional customer service by greeting customers, assisting with shopping needs and protecting store assets through observation of customers and Store Team Members under the Store Manager direction. Responsibilitiesinclude reducing losses, improving compliance, protecting company assets, and reviewing daily audi...\nJobs in Hialeah, FL\nDollar Tree Jobs in Hialeah, FL\nDollar Tree - Miami, FL\nJob Description Dollar Tree is seeking motivated individuals to support our Stores as we provide essential products at great values to the communities we serve. Summary of Position * Responsible for assisting with the complete operations of assigned store, in conjunction with assigned tasks and duties. * Assist in the merchandising of the store. * Fully cross-trained to assist wi...\nDollar Tree Jobs in Miami, FL\nFamily Dollar wants you to join our team of, energetic, and hard-working associates and leaders! We are seeking Full-Time Store Managers for full time opportunities in a fast paced work environment! Family Dollar Store Managers provide leadership, sales management and customer service in all aspect of managing a Family Dollar store. They are responsible for building st...\nGeneral Summary : As a Family Dollar Assistant Store Manager you will responsible for providing exceptional service to our customers. A key priority includes assisting the Store Manager in the daily operation of the store. Under the direction of the Store Manager, you will also be responsible for maintaining inventories, store appearance and completing daily paperwork. Principal Duties & Respon...\nCare Assistant- 3 East (Full Time, Night shift)\nNCHS - Miami, FL\nJob Summary Responsible for maintaining a clean, organized, safe patient environment and assists with patient care activities such as taking vital signs, feeding, bathing and daily living activities. Collaborates with the healthcare team and provides compassionate and empathic family-centered care for the patients and families. Works under the supervision of a RN and ...\nCareers at NCHS\nNCHS Jobs in Miami, FL\nRN- PICU (Part Time, Night shift)\nJob Summary: Responsible for the planning and delivery of care utilizing nursing processes: assessment, implementation and evaluation. Oversees the plan of care, utilizes effective problem solving strategies and applies evidence based practice. Supports and upholds quality standards of a Magnet designated hospital and Patient Bill of Rights. Practices under the supervision o...\nDollar Tree - Hollywood, FL\nJobs in Hollywood, FL\nDollar Tree Jobs in Hollywood, FL\nFamily Dollar wants you to join our team of, energetic, and hard-working associates and leaders We are seeking Full-Time Store Managers for full time opportunities in a fast paced work environment Family Dollar Store Managers provide leadership, sales management and customer service in all aspect of managing a Family Dollar store. They are responsible for building strong teams to support the co...\nWatson Health Program Manager (Intern)\nIBM - Hialeah, FL\n**Introduction**At IBM, work is more than a job - it's a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better, but to attempt things you've never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world's most challenging problems? If so, lets ...\nCareers at IBM\nIBM Jobs in Hialeah, FL\nIBM - Miami, FL\nIBM Jobs in Miami, FL","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Joseph Amprey, MD, PhD\nCEO, Founder\nDr. Amprey has been in health care for over 23 years. Most recently, he was the VP and Head of US Medical Affairs at Lupin Pharmaceuticals, playing a key role in the launch of Solosec for the US market. Prior to Lupin, he was a co-founder of Symbiomix Therapeutics, Inc. Symbiomix was a venture-backed company that was acquired by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2017 after achieving NDA approval for Solosec\u2122. While at Symbiomix, he served initially as the Chief Business Officer with additional responsibility over time to serve as Head of Medical Affairs as well. Before Symbiomix, Dr. Amprey co-founded Zyngenia, an antibody-based drug development company focused on developing new therapeutics for breast cancer and autoimmune diseases. His passion for drug development was fueled by his previous experience as a venture capitalist funding biotech start-ups. Prior to Zyngenia, Dr. Amprey ran a $300M corporate venture fund called MedImmune Ventures which would ultimately become the corporate venture arm of Astra Zeneca during Dr. Amprey's tenure. Dr. Amprey came to MedImmune Ventures from Carrot Capital (CCHV) where he was responsible for deal sourcing and had operational roles within CCHV's portfolio companies. Prior to that, Dr. Amprey completed his internship in internal medicine through a joint residency training program at both New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Amprey earned his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and received both a Doctorate of Immunology and a Medical Degree from Cornell University's Weill Medical College through the NIH-funded medical scientist training program (MSTP). He also obtained graduate training from Harvard's Brigham and Womens' Hospital and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.\nHelen Pentikis, PhD\nCSO, Founder\nDr. Helen Pentikis has more than 25 years of experience in the development of new drugs and therapeutics. She has participated in more than 75 FDA regulatory meetings, representing scientific interests in pharmacology\/toxicology, clinical pharmacology, biopharmaceutics, and regulatory strategy. Dr. Pentikis has authored more than 80 abstracts\/publications and has been involved in more than 150 clinical studies in adult and pediatric patients, including Phase 1-3 studies with a concentration in anti-infectives, women's health products, CNS, oncology, and oncology supportive care. Most recently, Dr. Pentikis was the CSO and Co-Founder of Symbiomix Therapeutics, a venture-backed company that was sold to Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in 2017, after achieving NDA approval for Solosec\u2122. Prior to Symbiomix, Dr. Pentikis served as Head, Clinical Pharmacology at AkaRx Inc., with oversight for all clinical pharmacology activities and management for the company's lead oncology product. Dr. Pentikis' work and position on the senior management team was instrumental in the $300M acquisition of AkaRx. Dr. Pentikis also is a founder of SAJE Consulting and SAJE Pharma, previously worked as Global VP, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics at ICON plc, was a Senior Research Fellow at Sanofi-Aventis, and an FDA Reviewer in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Pentikis received a B.S. in Biology from Wake Forest University, a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Maryland, and completed a Pharmacokinetics Fellowship at the FDA. She serves as a grant reviewer for the Maryland Innovation Initiative and has served as a board member for Metrum Research Group and Redivivus Therapeutics. In addition to her scientific interests, Dr. Pentikis serves the community as an Executive Board Member of the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church and a mentor for pharmacy students at the University of Notre Dame in Maryland. She consistently supports The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance, the Hampden Family Center, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.\n\u00a9 Copyright 2023 Zero Point Five Therapeutics","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Storm Falls To Chicago Sky 91-88\nFiled Under:chicago sky, seattle storm, sue bird, WNBA\nFILE PHOTO - Sue BIrd (Photos by Chris Covatta\/NBAE via Getty Images)\nSEATTLE (AP) \u2014 Elena Delle Donne made a 3-pointer with a second left to give the Chicago Sky a 91-88 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday night.\nDelle Donne scored Chicago's final nine points and finished with 35 on 14-of-24 shooting. She also had 11 rebounds.\nCheyenne Parker had career highs with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Cappie Pondexter scored 15 points, and Courtney Vandersloot added 11 for Chicago (10-12).\nSeattle's Sue Bird made a short jumper and then a 3-pointer to cap a 14-2 run that made it 88-all with 18.9 seconds left, but Delle Donne dribbled the clock down before pulling up, in front of the out-stretched arm of Breanna Stewart, from near the top of the arc to win it.\nThe Sky, ranked sixth in AP WNBA power poll, shot 68 percent to take a 36-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 3 by Delle Donne gave them their biggest lead, 59-34, with 9:22 left in the third.\nThe 10th-ranked Storm scored 56 points and shot 67.6 percent in the second half to tie it.\nBird scored 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and Stewart had 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots for Seattle (8-14). Jewell Loyd added 12 points and 10 assists.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Lunenburg: Town Awaiting URB Power Rate Final Approval\nThe town of Lunenburg has determined power rates will rise by 7.5 per cent for residents in the new year. However, the province's Utility and Review Board still needs to sign off on the figure. The URB recently approved an average rate increase for the five different classes in the town. Mayor Rachel Bailey says its never easy to raise power rates.\nBailey says residents still pay about nine per cent less than Nova Scotia Power customers. The URB will confirm the exact numbers affecting Lunenburg by January 1st.\nBeware Of Christmas Tree Nabbers\nHere's something to think about if you're a South Shore Christmas tree vendor selling your product in parking lots or on street corners. In Saint John, vendors there are guarding their firs and pines from thieves who lurk near their lots at night, trying to steal them. For instance, someone stole 15 Christmas trees in one night from a lot that was unattended. Now, more tree vendors are moving heated trailers into their lots as living accomodations so they can be on guard 24-7 during the Christmas-season. Police say its difficult to trace a stolen tree because they do not have serial numbers or any kind of identification.\nSledge Hockey Coming To Bridgewater\nPeople are getting the opportunity to try sledge hockey in Bridgewater. The Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs are working with Parasport Nova Scotia and Sport Nova Scotia to host the initiative. There will be roughly 20 sledges for use, which were donated by local recreation directors and the Easter Seals program out of Halifax. Mustangs assistant coach Andrew Caines says the idea grew after he found out the Clearwater Seafoods Arena supported sledge hockey use.\nThere will be four half hour sessions when the event is held from 6-8pm on December 21. People are encouraged to donate money to try sledge hockey, with proceeds going towards Parasport Nova Scotia, Lunenburg-Queens Special Olympics, and the recreation director association.\nFerry Fares Yarmouth To Portland Revealed\nThe fare schedule for the new ferry service between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine has been released by the company that will operate it. Nova Star Cruises says the fares for the 9 hour trip aboard the 161-metre long cruise ferry \"Nova Star\" will range from $79 to $129 for adults and between $39 to $64 for children ages 5 to 12 depending on the travel dates, while children under 5 will travel for free all season long. The fares will change with lower fares at the beginning and at the end of the season and higher fares during the peak summer months. Special combination rates that include round-trip passenger fare, plus a cabin and auto transportation both ways, range from $299. to $449. per person based on double occupancy. For more details about the fares includingdiscounts for seniors and military personnel, go th this web address: www.NovaStarCruises.com.\nGas Price Hike Expected Tomorrow\nBe prepared for a boost in gas prices at South Shore pumps tomorrow morning. In New Brunswick today, drivers there are paying about 4 cents more per litre. Regular self serve is at $1.28,9. Diesel is also more expensive in New Brunswick. Its up by a couple of cents to about $1.44.4 a litre.\nUPDATE: Highway Re-Opened Following LaHave Fire\nHighway 331 in LaHave is now re-opened to traffic between Mount Pleasant Road and Hughey Lake Road. It was closed and traffic rerouted earlier following a house fire. The road was caked in ice from all the water used by the pumper trucks in fighting the blaze. Highway crews spent several hours salting and trying to remove the ice buildup. As for the fire, no one was hurt. The newer-style house at 3250 Highway 331 in LaHave was destroyed though. LaHave fire chief John Mulock says the blaze broke out around 2:30am.\nSeven fire departments were involved in battling the flames.\nThe fire is believed to have started in the chimney.\nLunenburg: Town Awaiting URB Power Rate Final Appr...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Public and Political: General: Private and Personal: Correspondence with President Eisenhower., 04 Feb 1952 - 22 Aug 1959\nScope and Contents Correspondence between WSC and Dwight Eisenhower, President of the United States, on subjects including the 4-Power Summit at Geneva, American foreign policy, particularly on the Far East, former relations between Eisenhower and WSC, the declassification of war records, the defence of Formosa [later Taiwan], a medallion for WSC's 81st birthday, Western unity, Eisenhower's health, his relations with Sir Anthony Eden [later 1st Lord Avon] and Harold Macmillan [later 1st Lord Stockton], atomic...\nSpeeches: House of Commons and Non-House of Commons: Speech notes and source material., 26 Feb 1949 - 29 Dec 1950\nReference Code: GBR\/0014\/CHUR 5\/38A-C\nScope and Contents Danish proofs for WSC's speeches (9 - 11 October, Copenhagen [Denmark]). Also includes letter from Paul Monrad, publisher of the speeches in Denmark.Speech notes for WSC's speech (10 October, Copenhagen University) entitled \"Honorary Degree Conferment\" (of WSC's honorary doctorate of philosophy) on Britain's debt to the ancient Danes, WSC's own perseverance after the academic failures of his youth, the privilege of university education, the balance between sciences and arts, the advantages...\nDates: 26 Feb 1949 - 29 Dec 1950\nFound in: Churchill Archives Centre \/ GBR\/0014\/CHAR and CHUR, The Papers of Sir Winston Churchill \/ Churchill Papers \/ Speeches\nSpeeches: Speech notes., Jan 1949 - 01 Apr 1949\nReference Code: GBR\/0014\/CHUR 5\/24A-E\nScope and Contents Includes speech notes for WSC's speech (31 March, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston [United States]) entitled \"The twentieth century - its promises and its realisation\" on subjects including: the teaching of engineering and science in the United Kingdom contrasted with the situation in the United States; the role of science and the use made of scientific discoveries for military purposes; Great Britain's hopes for the twentieth century; WSC's early political career and...\nDates: Jan 1949 - 01 Apr 1949\n(Untitled), [Oct 1945]\nReference Code: GBR\/0014\/CHUR 2\/3\/105\nScope and Contents Copy of a message from WSC to Prime Minister [Clement Attlee] marked \"personal and secret\" about the text of a draft message for [Harry Truman, President of the United States, from Attlee] in which he questions what [Attlee] wishes the Americans to do about sharing information about atomic weapons with the Soviet Union and a reference to an \"Act of Faith\"; discusses the importance of security in world policy and the timing of a United Nations conference; WSC's agreement with President...\nDates: [Oct 1945]\nFound in: Churchill Archives Centre \/ GBR\/0014\/CHAR and CHUR, The Papers of Sir Winston Churchill \/ Churchill Papers \/ Public and Political: General \/ Public and Political: General: Political: correspondence and papers on a number of immediate post-war issues (includes copies of wartime documents).\nMore about 'Science'\nNames: United Nations X\nChurchill, Winston Leonard Spencer, Sir, 1874 - 1965 (Knight, statesman and historian) 3\nConservative Party 3\nEisenhower, Dwight David, 1890 - 1969 (President of the United States) 1\nLabour Party 1\nLiberal Party 1","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"BBC APOLOGY\nPosted on 24th October 2008 by philgen\nEmbassy of the Philippines\nBBC apologizes to the Philippine Embassy in London\nIn a letter dated 10 October 2008 to Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James's Edgardo Espiritu, BBC Director General Mark Thompson apologizes for the offence caused by the episode of the UK comedy series Harry and Paul.\nThe letter, which the Philippine Embassy received only on 20 October says, \"\u2026please accept my sincere apologies, on behalf of the BBC, for the offence that this programme caused you.\"\nThe apology came following a letter of 3 October from Ambassador Espiritu to BBC Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons expressing the former's dismay over an episode of Harry and Paul, initially shown on BBC on 26 September and replayed on BBC 2 on 29 September. The episode made an insulting reference to Filipino women, typifying them in a dual role as domestic workers and sex toys of their British employers.\nAmbassador Espiritu also wrote a similar letter to the BBC Complaints Centre, copy furnished Mr. Mark Pritchard, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group \u2013Philippines and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Sir Trevor Phillips, head of the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission; the Office of Communications (OFCOM|), the independent regulator of the UK communications industries; Sir Christopher Meyer KCMG, head of the UK Press Complaints Commission; London Mayor Boris Johnson; and the Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman MP, UK Secretary of State for Women and Equality.\nThe episode angered a large number of the 200,000-strong Filipino community in the United Kingdom and led to some leaders of the community to put up an online petition where Filipinos could lodge their protest against BBC and the show's producer, Tiger Aspect Productions. The online petition gathered more than 2,000 supporters within three days.\nA silent vigil was also held simultaneously on 17 October in front of the BBC Office in White City, just outside central London, and Tiger Aspect Productions in Soho in central London.\nTiger Aspect Productions Chief Executive Andrew Zein, issued an apology before the members of the Filipino community who joined the Soho vigil.\n\"We're sorry to anyone who was in any way offended by the programme. This certainly was not our intention,\" said Zein.\nAndrew Zein, BBC, Filipino Maid, Harry and Paul, Harry Enfield, London, Mark Thompson, OFW, Paul Whitehouse, Philippine Embassy, Philippines, Tiger Aspect","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Business For Sale | Romulus, Michigan\nDiscover business opportunities, in or around Romulus, with well-established brands, who are looking for people like you to help them grow.\nAs of the 2010 United States Census, Romulus, located in The Great Lakes State, had a total population of 23721 people.\nCity Statistics and Other Information About Romulus\nFrom a total population of 23721, Romulus has a median age of 35.7. The average age of males, in Romulus, is 35.0 while the average age of females is 36.4. When you compare this to median age of Michigan, Romulus is 3.6 year younger.\nThe median income of individuals, in Romulus, is $20,021 while the average household income is $44,525. When comparing the median income of people living in Romulus to the rest of Michigan, the average income in Romulus is $6,122 less.\nCounty Name : Wayne County","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home\/Entertainment\/This is how Gavi reacted when asked about Princess Leonor, clarified the rumors\nThis is how Gavi reacted when asked about Princess Leonor, clarified the rumors\nThe player of Barcelona, \u200b\u200bGavi, He has had a peculiar reaction when he was questioned live about the princess eleanorwith whom he has been linked several times.\nThe player of the Spanish team has had a crush on the princess of 17 years for some time, because some folders where he keeps photographs of him have been discovered.\nHowever, nothing had cleared up the rumors, until recently when the player was intercepted by some journalists who questioned him about his affair, his response stunned the audience.\nA program known as Telecinco was in charge of revealing that the King Philip I would have asked for a shirt from him with his autograph, and apparently this would be a gift to the princess. This same medium captured the athlete's arrival after the World Cup, and at that moment he was interrupted with some clarifying questions.\n\u00abHow would you like to be the future King of Spain? How do you deal with the jokes that say you are called 'The Little Prince'? What is it like to have the boyfriend of the Princess of Asturias in the dressing room?\", were the questions of the journalist towards him.\nand although Gavi He never took the microphone, his silence said more than a thousand words, a silence that the journalist also narrated, \"First reaction, put on the hood, he wants to go unnoticed. A smile escapes him when I mention Leonor, so what? We confirm or we don't confirm, who was that shirt that you signed King Felipe for?\u00ab.\nHe clarified that according to his gestures it is known that he dying to talk about itwhich leaves fans very confused as to whether or not there is a romance between them.\nRomeo and Juliet syndrome: what is this condition of falling in love with who we shouldn't?\n\"Don't stretch it so much anymore\"\nWWE: Several rivals for Roman Reigns would be ruled out\nPHOTOS | From behind, Issa Vegas raises the temperature by sunbathing in a bikini\nVIRAL VIDEO: Singer hired by accident at the wedding of her unfaithful ex humiliates him in front of the guests | News from Mexico\nGiovagnoli, the person in charge of 'spying' on Argentina \u2013 David Medrano\nHeir to huge fortune arrested for 'sleeping in the wrong house'\nThe warning signs of gastritis and what to do if it gets out of control\nSpinal cord stimulation allows paralyzed patients to regain mobility\nLa Jornada: Digital platforms: the dark side","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Why the spotlight is on the new Shining Hill community in Aurora\/Newmarket\nComing October 26, 2019, Regal Crest Homes has the ideal location for those dreaming of a life in Aurora\/Newmarket! Located in the beautiful area at St. John's Sideroad and Yonge Street, Shining Hill will showcase beautifully designed traditional and rear lane townhomes, semis and single detached homes on the border of Aurora and Newmarket. Imagine living in the Shining Hill community where you can easily access the best of two towns!\nAurora is a desirable, affluent, town that prides itself on community and the charming character that only a small town can offer. It is in top 10 Ontario towns and cities to live in Ontario by recent 2019 Maclean's ranking and in top 10 communities to raise a family. Aurora is home to Magna International, the largest manufacturer of automotive parts in North America.\nNewmarket has consistently been named one of the Best Places to Live in Canada by MoneySense Magazine 2018 and has garnered an international reputation for being one of the country's most dynamic, diverse and desirable towns to live and work in. Newmarket is also widely considered a progressive place with a reputation for innovation, particularly in its environmental projects.\nBoth towns offer access to many schools, including French Immersion, International Baccalaureate and private schools like St. Andrew's College in Aurora. You are closely situated to the beautiful Oak Ridges Moraine, a preserved geological area that runs through the town of Aurora, giving you access to lots of trails in the area, which you can enjoy all year round. There a number of local parks, notably the just started Wildlife Park, community centres, like the Stronach Aurora Recreational Complex and the Aurora Family Leisure Complex which has skateboard park, pool, and arboretum. The state-of-the-art Magna Centre recreation complex in Newmarket offers hockey rinks, a pool and indoor gym.\nShops and restaurants are just some of the amazing amenities that will surround you. Having access to big box stores in both Aurora North and Newmarket along with Upper Canada Mall can make shopping a breeze. There are also plenty of dining establishments both large and small. The new homes in Shining Hill will be within short driving distance to both Highways 400 and the 404 making commuting to neighbouring towns like Richmond Hill and King City convenient and easy.\nLive brighter at Shining Hill! Don't miss out on this fantastic location and opportunity for this new community on the border of Aurora\/Newmarket, coming October 26, 2019. Be sure to register today for Shining Hill in Aurora\/Newmarket or call at 905.669.5003.\nRegal Crest Homes is an established builder for over 50 years, where quality and integrity have gone hand in hand. Attention to detail and stellar customer service have made Regal Crest one of the most successful builders in southern Ontario. They are currently selling new homes in the following communities:\nAnchor Woods in Holland Landing\nCleave View Estates in Brampton\nMayfield Village in Brampton\nObservatory Hill in Richmond Hill\nUpper West Side (Inventory) in Vaughan\nVales of the Humber (Inventory) in Brampton\nAbout Us Communities D\u00e9cor Centre News\nQuick Closing Gallery Promotions Contact\nPlaces We Build New Homes\nAurora \/ Newmarket\n171 Basaltic Road, Unit 1 Concord, Ontario L4K 1G4\nTerms and Conditions \/ Privacy Policy \/ Accessibility\nCopyright \u00a9 2021. Regal Crest Homes","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand to continue receiving rains, scattered activity in Himachal Pradesh\nJune 23, 2019 11:39 AM | Skymet Weather Team\nDue to being approached by one after the other Western Disturbances in quick succession, scattered places of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand have experienced light to moderate rain and thundershower during the last 24 hours. While Himachal Pradesh remained mostly dry.\nAs, the Western Disturbance which lies over Pakistan and adjoining regions would be moving in East-northeast direction, hence light to moderate rain and thundershowers would be affecting the Western Himalayas at many places during the next 48 hours. These rains would be accompanied with strong winds.\nThe state of Himachal Pradesh will only receive rains at scattered places. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir will receive rains at multiple places.\nSimultaneously, Uttarakhand is experiencing moisture laden easterly winds along the foothills blowing all the way from Bay of Bengal. These winds associated with the Western Disturbance will give rain and thundershowers at many places over Uttarakhand during the next two to three days.\nMajor places like Srinagar, Banihal, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Udhampur, Dharamshala, Shimla, Uttarkashi, Nainital, Chamoli, Almora etc will receive these light to moderate rain and thundershowers during the next 48 hours.\nThe southern parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, however, will continue to remain dry and warm.\nAll these weather conditions will bid adieu to the Western Himalayas June 26 onward. While the weather in Uttarakhand will not improve until June 27.\nImage Credits \u2013 The Lonely Planet\nAny information taken from here should be credited to Skymet Weather\nHimachal Pradesh Rains\nJammu and Kashmir rains\nRain in Shimla\nRain in Uttarakhand\nRains in Pahalgam\nRains in Udhampur\nUttarakhand Weather\nWeather Forecast for Himachal Pradesh\nWeather in Banihal\nweather in Dharamshala\nWeather in Gulmarg\nWeather in Jammu and Kashmir\nWeather in Srinagar\nMonsoon 2019 Live Updates: Monsoon moves ahead, to take more time to cover entire country\n16 \u091c\u0941\u0932\u093e\u0908 \u0915\u093e \u092e\u094c\u0938\u092e \u092a\u0942\u0930\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0928\u0941\u092e\u093e\u0928: \u092a\u0942\u0930\u094d\u0935\u0940 \u0909\u0924\u094d\u0924\u0930 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0926\u0947\u0936 \u0935 \u092c\u093f\u0939\u093e\u0930 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u092c\u093e\u0930\u093f\u0936 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0906\u090f\u0917\u0940 \u0915\u092e\u0940, \u092a\u0902\u091c\u093e\u092c \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u092d\u093e\u0930\u0940 \u092c\u093e\u0930\u093f\u0936\nWeather Forecast July 16: Heavy Monsoon rains in Punjab, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala\n[Marathi] \u092a\u093e\u0935\u0938\u093e\u091a\u0940 \u0924\u0942\u091f \u0935\u093e\u0922\u0923\u094d\u092f\u093e\u091a\u0940 \u0905\u092a\u0947\u0915\u094d\u0937\u093e, \u0915\u0943\u0937\u0940 \u0915\u094d\u0937\u0947\u0924\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0935\u0930 \u0905\u0928\u093f\u0936\u094d\u091a\u093f\u0924\u0924\u0947\u091a\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u0935\u091f\nMumbai Rains Live Update: Mumbai rains to remain on the lower side\n\u0939\u0935\u093e\u092e\u093e\u0928 \u0905\u0902\u0926\u093e\u091c 16 \u091c\u0941\u0932\u0948: \u0926\u0915\u094d\u0937\u093f\u0923 \u0915\u094b\u0902\u0915\u0923\u093e\u0924 \u092a\u093e\u090a\u0938 \u0938\u0941\u0930\u0942\u091a\nMonsoon 2019 Progress: Monsoon advances further, misses deadline to cover entire country\nWeather Forecast for the week in India from July 15 to July 21\n[Hindi] \u092e\u0949\u0928\u0938\u0942\u0928 2019: \u092c\u093e\u0930\u093f\u0936 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u092d\u093e\u0930\u0940 \u0915\u092e\u0940 \u0915\u0940 \u0906\u0936\u0902\u0915\u093e, \u092b\u0938\u0932\u094b\u0902 \u092a\u0930 \u092a\u0921\u093c\u0947\u0917\u093e \u0928\u0915\u093e\u0930\u093e\u0924\u094d\u092e\u0915 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u092d\u093e\u0935\n[Hindi] \u092e\u0949\u0928\u0938\u0942\u0928 2019: \u0938\u092e\u094d\u092a\u0942\u0930\u094d\u0923 \u092d\u093e\u0930\u0924 \u0915\u093e 16 \u091c\u0941\u0932\u093e\u0908 \u0915\u093e \u092e\u0949\u0928\u0938\u0942\u0928 \u092a\u0942\u0930\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0928\u0941\u092e\u093e\u0928\n[Hindi] \u092d\u093e\u0930\u0924 \u0915\u0947 \u0936\u0939\u0930\u094b\u0902 \u0914\u0930 \u0930\u093e\u091c\u094d\u092f\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u092c\u093e\u0930\u093f\u0936 \u0914\u0930 \u092e\u094c\u0938\u092e \u0915\u0940 \u091a\u0947\u0924\u093e\u0935\u0928\u0940- 15 \u091c\u0941\u0932\u093e\u0908, 2019","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Israeli media caught passing old video as Damascus attack footage\nPosted on 30.08.2019 30.08.2019 By lena-mozya\nIsraeli media outlets have been caught attempting to use an old video as footage of Israel's latest missile attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital city of Damascus.\nSyria's official news agency, SANA, said on Sunday that the Israeli journalist, Shimon Aran, published a video of an Israeli attack which took place in 2018, and claimed that it shows the aftermath of the latest Israeli missile attack on the outskirts of Damascus which occurred on Saturday night.\nThe video, which claimed that the missile hit their targets successfully, was soon picked up by pro-Israel media outlets and went viral.\nSANA described the video as an attempt to cover up the Tel Aviv regime's failure after its missiles missed their targets as the Syrian air defense systems have intercepted and destroyed most of them.\nAnother footage\nMeanwhile, the Israeli military posted a black and grey blurred video to its Twitter account claiming to show Iranian forces in Syria preparing to launch \"killer\" drones against Israel, a claim that Tel Aviv used as a pretext for attacking Damascus.\nThe blurred footage shows four figures carrying something, with the Israeli military claiming that it was filmed on Thursday.\nIsrael has repeatedly made such claims of targeting Iranian forces in the Arab country that later appeared to be unfounded.\nOn Sunday, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, dismissed as mere \"lies\" the Israeli regime's claims that Iranian targets had been hit.\nLater on Sunday, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, said the Israeli attack hit one of Hezbollah's civilian structures in the Damascus outskirts, killing two of the group's members.\nHe dismissed Israeli officials' allegations that the projectiles had hit an Iranian site there.\nIran has frequently announced that it has no forces operating on the ground in Syria and has been only offering military advisory support to the country at the request of the Damascus government.\nIranian advisors, in coordination with Russian forces and Hezbollah fighters, have helped the Syrian army speed up its gains on various fronts against foreign-backed terror outfits.\nIsrael has launched recurrent attacks on Syria in defiance of all international laws and regulations.\nThe regime claims the attacks are targeted at Iranian positions but such raids are widely viewed as a means of support for the Takfiri terrorists, who have been taking stinging blows from the Syrian army in recent years.\nThe latest such attacks came amid the Syrian military's major advancements in the northwestern Idlib Governorate, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces are taking back control of more territories from terrorists.\nSyria has condemned the Israeli attacks while rejecting the regime's claims about the presence of any Iranian forces in the country.\nTrump, Iran Coordinated De-escalation\u2026 for Now\nThe ultimate symbolic video? (MUST SEE)\nMr. President, Please Take the Road to Emmaus Not the Road to Damascus!\nThe fox in the hen-house\nTrump considering military aid suspension to Ukraine\nWhat the Jimmy Savile case proves","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Selected make & model:\nJaguar Change Make +\nMark Iv Change Model +\nPopular Jaguar models:\nE Type (195) Xj (104) Xj6 (47) Xjs (82) Xk (69) Xk120 (34) Xk150 (36) See all JAGUAR Models +\nHome > Jaguar > Mark Iv > 1948 JAGUAR MARK IV 1 1\/2 Litre\n1948 JAGUAR MARK IV 1 1\/2 Litre - \u00a324,000\nOnly 17,000 miles from new (stored for most of its life)\nRegistration Number FHM 53 (which is transferable, valued at \u00a32500 but will not be sold separately)\nI am selling this beautiful car on behalf of my 90 year old Father who has owned this car from 1951 when he was serving in the Royal Air Force as a Motor Transport Engineer. He acquired the car from a Squadron Leader when it broke with a down seized engine upon returning from a 2year tour in RAF Gibraltar; my father recovered the car for him and stored it for a while. Eventually the Officer decided not to repair the car and sold it to my Father for the sum of \u00a310 (which also accounted for the recovery costs owed). In 1951 the Car registration rules changed and my Dad registered the car in his name on 9th October 1951 He shows as the first owner on the current V5C. He put the car in the garage with a view to rebuilding the engine and it there it stayed until 2004 when he decided to lovingly restore it following the death of my mother. Far too much to list but there is an A4 file full of receipts and also photos of the work carried out along with old MOTs and some memorabilia such as the Post war Petrol ration book and original registration book.\nThe car was manufactured on 11th May 1948 and fist purchased on 4th August 1949 from Bassadone in Gibraltar which specialised in New tax free car for the Forces based there.\nThe car is registered with the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and the certificate number is 9063. The link to their contacts page is https:\/\/www.jaguarheritage.com\/about-us\/contact-us\/.\nThis car is fully roadworthy and legal although definitely not a concours vehicle it is in excellent condition for its age. The paintwork (although looks great from a short distance) does have some blemishes now and could do with a refresh in my opinion.\nIt starts on the button every time my Father rarely drives it any more covering only a few miles per year but he does start it and run it at least once a week.\nUp until a few years ago my father would regularly take this car to many shows (some photos are available) during the summer months but unfortunately it is just too much for him to drive any distance any more. This is genuinely a deeply regrettable sale and to be honest I am dreading seeing him part with it, but we have to face reality.\nIt is fitted with a full stainless steel exhaust which sounds great.\nHopefully the pictures will give you a good feel for this car but you have to view it to appreciate it. Viewing is strictly by appointment only and I will need to be present at the time of viewing as well as my father.\nThis really is a great opportunity for someone with the capability to bring this to a concours car with very little effort in my opinion.\nOther Classic Jaguar Mark Iv Cars for Sale\nJAGUAR MARK IV 3.5\nThis is a truly wonderful find and most certainly a car for the discerning buyer who understands ...\nOriginal RHD car just arriving back from the USA. More details on request. Rust free & very origi...\nGRU 575 was manufactured on the 7th May 1947 and was supplied new by Henlys, London to Harold Str...\nJaguar MK IV Berlina Manual Left Hand Drive\n1946 Jaguar Mark Four 31\/2 Litre\nFor security reasons, do not select \"Remember my details\" if you are using a shared computer.\nPlease see our Privacy Policy to find out more\nThanks for submitting the form < Back to search results Sorry Your form has not been submitted, Try again after Few minutes < Back to search results\nHas this sold?\nCan I arrange a viewing?\nSeller Address\nKidderminster, Worcestershire, United Kingdom\nModel Select Model2.4 240 3 1\/2 Litre 340 420 C Type D Type E Type F Type Mark 1 Mark 2 Mark Iv Mark Ix Mark V Mark Vi Mark Vii Mark Viii Mark X Mk2 Pirana Replica S Type Series 3 Xj12 Sovereign Ss Ss2 X Type Xf Xj Xj220 Xj6 Xj6 Sport 3.2 Auto Xjs Xk Xk120 Xk140 Xk150 Xks\n1948 JAGUAR MARK IV 1 1\/2 Litre\nE Type\nMark Ix\nSeries 3 Xj12\nXj6 Sport 3.2 Auto\nXks","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Australian ministers lose veto power over territory laws\n27 November 2020: Wikinews interviews Craig Farquharson, Liberal Democrat candidate for 2020 Groom by-election\n27 November 2020: Wikinews interviews Sandra Jephcott, Sustainable Australia candidate for 2020 Groom by-election\n22 October 2020: Wikinews interviews 2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor Candidate Wayne Tseng\nLocation of Australia\nMinisters in Australia's federal government have lost the power to veto laws in the nation's two mainland territories after legislation passed the national parliament. The legislation requires for both chambers of the parliament to strike down laws made in the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) parliaments.\nWe've never felt that overturning the laws of a democratically elected government at the swipe of a pen was a fair situation\n\u2014Katy Gallagher\nPreviously government ministers could veto laws unilaterally. \"What that means is that it is no longer the case that the minister can step in with the stroke of a pen and dismiss territory laws as we've seen many instances before,\" Greens MP Adam Bandt said.\nThe legislation is the first piece of Australian Greens-proposed federal legislation to be signed into law. Greens leader Senator Bob Brown said \"[this is a] very important milestone for democracy in the territories,\" he said.\nACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher welcomed the law change, saying that while the ACT government would continue to call for a joint territory-federal review into the self-government legislation, there was no need for a delay to \"sensible\" veto law changes. \"We've never felt that overturning the laws of a democratically elected government at the swipe of a pen was a fair situation.\"\nThe opposition attempted to change the legislation to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the territories, but Government frontbencher Craig Emerson told parliament that federal marriage laws made the amendment unnecessary.\n\"Ministers lose power of veto over territories\" \u2014 ABC News, November 1, 2011\n\"Territory rights bill expected to pass\" \u2014 ABC News, November 1, 2011\nRoss Peake. \"'Good day' for democracy in ACT\" \u2014 The Canberra Times, November 2, 2011\nRetrieved from \"https:\/\/en.wikinews.org\/w\/index.php?title=Australian_ministers_lose_veto_power_over_territory_laws&oldid=4576832\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ontario Government names Deborah Leckman and Bob Plamondon to OPTrust Board\nTORONTO, February 8, 2019 \u2013 The Government of Ontario named Deborah Leckman and Bob Plamondon to the Board of Trustees in January 2019.\nMs. Leckman is a senior investment professional with over 30 years of experience in the pension fund and retail wealth industries. Most recently, Ms. Leckman completed a six-year term as Commissioner, Director and Adjudicator at the Ontario Securities Commission, whose mandate is investor protection, promoting fair and efficient capital markets and contributing to financial stability. Ms. Leckman was responsible for the $15 billion public equity program at OMERS and held the role of Senior Vice President at TD Waterhouse prior to that. She is a trustee of various other pension plans and life health trusts.\nMs. Leckman is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a B. Comm and an MBA from McGill University.\nMr. Plamondon is a consultant, board member and author. He has extensive expertise in strategic planning, organizational transformation, performance management, finance and public policy. Mr. Plamondon's recent projects include developing and delivering on a plan for the Professional Development Institute for the University of Ottawa where he serves as the Director of the Comptrollership and CIO institutes.\nMr. Plamondon was the Chair of the Audit Committee, Member of the Executive Committee and Interim Chair of the National Capital Commission. He sat on the board of Sportstats and was one of the longest-serving board members of the Sierra Club of Canada. Mr. Plamondon has led governance evaluations for VIA Rail Canada, Export Development Canada and the governance regime for Canada's national debt under the shared authority of the Bank of Canada and Finance Canada. He's a current board member of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Canada and bestselling author who supports school literacy programs.\nMr. Plamondon holds a Masters of Management Studies and a B. Comm from Carleton University, and has taught at three Canadian universities. He was awarded the honour of Fellow (FCPA) by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in recognition of his distinguished career. In 2012, Mr. Plamondon was the recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal.\nOPTrust's Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for the administration of the OPSEU Pension Plan and the management of the assets to ensure OPTrust can pay pensions today and preserve pensions for tomorrow to its over 92,000 members and pensioners.\nWith net assets of over $20 billion, OPTrust invests and manages one of Canada's largest pension funds and administers the OPSEU Pension Plan, a defined benefit plan with over 92,000 members and retirees. OPTrust was established to give plan members and the Government of Ontario an equal voice in the administration of the Plan and the investment of its assets through joint trusteeship. OPTrust is governed by a 10-member Board of Trustees, five of whom are appointed by OPSEU and five by the Government of Ontario.\nManager, Public Affairs","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Academic Admissions\nCurrent: Academic Admissions\nAs a private university, the University of Richmond can use its resources and independence not only to meet the educational needs of traditional age college students, but also to provide enriching and meaningful undergraduate and graduate experiences for adult students and working professionals. We provide these learning experiences through the School of Professional & Continuing Studies.\nGraduate Admissions Review admissions requirements for our graduate programs, including master's degrees and graduate certificates.\tMaster's Degrees & Graduate Certificates\nUndergraduate Admissions Review admissions requirements for our undergraduate programs, including bachelor's degrees and undergraduate certificates.\tBachelor's Degrees & Undergrad Certificates\nApplication Forms Application forms for admission to future terms for bachelor's degrees, undergraduate certificates and graduate programs, including certificates and master's degrees.\tAdmission to Upcoming Terms\nInternational Admissions Learn more about requirements for international students applying to undergraduate and graduate programs of study.\tRequirements for non-US Citizens\nRequest information about our degree programs\nAttend an upcoming information session\nMake a pre-admission advising appointment\nDiscover benefits of studying in SPCS\nTake the next steps to become a Richmond Spider\nOur History of Serving Adult Learners\nEstablished in 1962 as University College, SPCS has been serving working professionals for nearly 60 years. We know and understand the needs of adult students. We've been serving adult learners in Richmond since before the Virginia Community College System was established in 1966 and before Virginia Commonwealth University was established by the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968.\nThe University of Richmond is the only top-25 national private university with a school dedicated to professional and continuing studies. As a result, when you study at SPCS, you're part of a vibrant and inspiring traditional college campus. Walk the paths between our collegiate Gothic buildings, cross the footbridge over our lake, attend an upcoming information session and imagine yourself as a student here.\nAttend an Info Webinar","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"IAN SWEET on Trust, Transitions, and Her New Short Film\nBy Amy Garlesky\nWe tend to commend the artist who pours everything into their work\u2013searching to the depths of their heart and soul to deliver work representative of their experience. Deciding to twist this tradition, LA-based artist Jilian Medford took a different approach for her third full-length record as IAN SWEET\u2013she chose to leave space.\nIt's a process Jilian found liberating when writing Show Me How You Disappear. Rather than aiming to fit her personal experiences into her work, the collection of tracks find a new sense of intention and take on a life of their own\u2013supporting one another's stories and carefully bracing their commonalities. The result is a record incredibly resolute in its healing and determined in its personal exploration. It's one where, even in its more surprising and dizzying moments, we can feel guided through Jilian's memories and struggles\u2013maybe to even find, in the end, bits of our own reflections too.\nEarlier this year, Jilian picked up a disposable film camera to show us the behind of the scenes of her new short film for Show Me How You Disappear. In our subsequent conversation, we discussed the lead-up to her album and the influences and themes behind it. Read our exchange and watch her new film below.\nSlumber: If you could describe Show Me How You Disappear in three words to someone who's never even heard your music, what would you say?\nJilian Medford: Transparent, Restless, Freeing\nSlumber: This album cover is very different from your past releases but still reminds me of how colorful and vibrant Shapeshifter was. How do you see this album cover compared to your past albums? What inspired it & the decision for you?\nJilian: It was difficult for me to land on the cover. I wasn't sure at first if I wanted it to be a photo or something more graphic\/hand-drawn. I decided not to have a photo of myself for this one because this album feels like so much more than that. I didn't want a single picture stamped in time to be what this album feels like (to a viewer) forever. This album is chaotic, restless, entangled, freeing, and so fucking honest. I wanted a piece of art that felt like all of those things\u2013so it made sense for it to not just be one solitary image but rather a blend of multiple.\n\"My intention with the record aligned with my intentions in outpatient therapy\u2013\u2013to heal, transform and find a new beginning with myself. I will always be working on those things ... but this record made me dive headfirst into them.\"\nSlumber: Speaking of color, what colors do you most associate with this release? What are the colors that embody it and remind you of its process & completion?\nJilian: This release feels both dark and then also very neon to me. I see black and bright, bright \u2026 almost blinding green.\nSlumber: Inklings of this record began over two years ago in 2018. What has changed during the process of creating this mix of new songs\u2013did you find yourself having different feelings, intentions, and goals at the end of the process than when you started?\nJilian: Definitely. I was in a big transition period in my life while writing the record. I was finding things out about myself and then writing the songs in real time. Processing the feelings with each new lyric or chord. This record was very emotional for me to make, sometimes overwhelming and emotionally taxing but I pressed on because I knew I wanted to document these feelings as I was feeling them!\nMy intention with the record aligned with my intentions in outpatient therapy\u2013to heal, transform and find a new beginning with myself. I will always be working on those things, it's a never-ending cycle but this record made me dive headfirst into them.\nSlumber: The pandemic is over and life returns to normal\u2013where's the first place you want to perform this record?\nJilian: I think I just want to play it for my close friends to start. But then I'd love to play outdoors somewhere maybe at a festival. This record and these songs need a big space I think! I want the music to be loud as fuck haha!\nSlumber: Is there anything sonically distinct about this record? Did you try any new recording techniques, gear, anything that defined its sound for you?\nJilian: There are basically no live drums on this record so that was very different for me. Worked hard on programming drums and building a lot around that! That wasn't totally my plan but then the pandemic hit and had to adapt.\nSlumber: How have you been spending your time during the pandemic? Have you started any new hobbies, or more generally, any new part of life you've discovered that excites you?\nJilian: I got a dog!! His name is blueberry and he's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I spend a lot of time with him, hiking and running around. I picked up crocheting and have been knitting hats and bags and all sorts of things! I love it so much.\nSlumber: You make a lot of references to nature on this record\u2026bodies of water, clouds, wilderness. Was that an intentional choice or was there something, some experience, or some place inspiring that motif?\nJilian: I think I was manifesting those things. Wanting to become the body of water or relating a relationship to drowning in it. During the pandemic, I was doing a lot of camping and it felt amazing. I just like to relate my body and my emotions to nature\u2026since we are all made up of crushed-up rocks anyway.\nSlumber: What's something you like your listeners to gain, learn, or feel after they listen through this release. How is it different from your past releases?\nJilian: I want listeners to feel connected to themselves, powerful, brave, safe, and held. This release is different from others just because I was going through very specific and difficult things that led to the music being more honest and open than ever before.\n\"This album is chaotic, restless, entangled, freeing, and so fucking honest. I wanted a piece of art that felt like all of those things...\"\nSlumber: And to turn it back around, what have you gained or what lessons do you think the album has instilled for you moving forward to your next project?\nJilian: This record has helped me to trust myself and my instinct. I have struggled in the past to be proud of what I make, I have always been my own worst enemy and super harsh critic (who isn't) but I have been very hard on myself in the past, like almost intentionally hurting my own feelings before anyone else does. But on this record, I felt proud, strong, intentional and it has, in turn, helped me feel confident in what I've made.\nSlumber: Lastly, for those planning on listening to Show Me How You Disappear once it's released: what's the ideal setting for listening? Feel free to be specific as you like.\nJilian: For some reason, I feel like maybe in a parked car? Outside of your house? At dusk?\u2013Haha\u2013Or driving somewhere? \u2026 with windows down, without distractions.\nWatch IAN SWEET's short film for 'Show Me How You Disappear' out today below:\nListen: Stice \u2013 Stice's Satyricon\nSlumber Surveys: Halloween Edition\nListen: Rachika Nayar \u2013 Our Hands Against The Dusk","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Religion in Zimbabwe\nAfrican Indigenous Churches\nAfrican Traditional Religions\nAnglican Church\nEvangelical Churches\nIslamic Community\nLutheran Church\nPentecostal and African Initiated Churches\nReformed Churches\nOther Christian Churches\nMajor Religions in Botswana\nHealthcare Programs\nPrison Ministries\nSpecial Ministries\nSecondary and Primary Schools\nTheological Colleges and Centres\nNdebele Religious Materials\nShona Religious Materials\nReligious Newsmakers\nReligion & Society Blog\nIn the Churches Blog\nSpirit of the Arts Blog\nRelZim.org articles about the Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe\nRelZim.org articles about the AIC in Zimbabwe\nPentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe are almost always evangelical in character (and so are sometimes called \"Evangelical Pentecostal Churches\"). Accordingly, most churches of pentecostal character in Zimbabwe belong to the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, founded in 1962.\nThese churches typically emphasize the \"African gifts of the spirit\", including healing. The term \"African Initiated Church\" (AIC) is used of any of a number of Christian churches started in Africa by Africans and not directly by missionaries from another continent. Often they contrast themselves with the so-called missionary churches and emphasize traditional gender roles and social structures. Most pentecostal churches (with the exception of the Apostolic Faith Mission and Celebration Church) fall into the AIC category.\nA variety of overlapping terms exist for these forms of Christianity: African Initiated Churches, African Independent Churches, and African Instituted Churches. Note: Religion in Zimbabwe uses the term \"African Indigenous Churches\" for a separate group of churches which almost exclusively target Africans and are often concerned with local customs.\nSome large Pentecostal churches or movements include:\nApostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe\nBethesda Apostolic Church\nCelebration Church\nChrist the Rock Ministries International\nChurch Team Ministries International\nElim Pentecostal Church\nFaith Ministries\nFull Gospel Church of God in Zimbabwe\nGospel Assembly Church\nGrace Unlimited Ministries International\nHarvest House International Church\nImpact Christian Centre\nNew Life Covenant Church\nRiver of Life International\nSpirit Embassy\nTabernacle Pentecostals\nUnited Family International Ministries\nZimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA)\nRelZim.org articles about AFM\nThe Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe Church (AFM) is one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in Zimbabwe. Until independence in 1980, it was part of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, which is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church.\nFaith Alive assembly is a church of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Zimbabwe based in the Adylin section of Westgate in Harare. From humble beginnings with a congregation of less than 12 people,it has since grown to more than 1300 people. AFM Faith Alive church building was officially opened on the 4th of July 2009 by the former President of AFM in Zimbabwe, Reverend Manyika, on a colourful occasion that was attended by believers from different churches, as well AFM leaders from Zimbabwe and South Africa.\nSee also Apostolic Faith Mission International and the Apostolic Faith Mission of Africa (Bulawayo), a branch of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Africa based in Masvingo.\nBethesda Apostolic Church was founded in 1952 after Loveless Matarirano Manhango received numerous visions near Chegutu (formerly Hartley). The farm is situated 8km from Chegutu towards Kadoma town.\nThe women's fellowship, named Ruwadzano, wears a blue-red-white uniform revealed in a vision to the founder. The Church maintains a current website with numerous photos and downloads.\nCelebration Center in Harare.\nRelZim.org articles about Celebration Church\nFounded since Zimbabwean independence by Senior Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle from America, Celebration Churches have created a wide network of ministries and enterprises with a contemporary media awareness. There Celebration Churches in Harare, Kadoma, Bulawayo, as well as South Africa.\nChrist the Rock Ministries International frequently organises seminars and workshops that are aimed at equipping believers with competence in subjects to do with business and finance from a Christian perspective. It was established in 1998 and has churches in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. CTRMI's Head ministry office is located in Harare, Zimbabwe.\nChurch Team Ministries International (CTMI)\nAfter more than 20 years of working in the Indian Ocean Islands, Africa, Europe, India, and America, CTMI has united men and women from diverse cultural backgrounds who work together to equip and encourage church leaders. As a result, a growing network, made up of leaders and churches sharing the same vision, has been established in over 22 countries.\nCTMI Countries : Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Republic, DR Congo, France, India, Kenya, La R\u00e9union, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe.\nSelbourne Park Christian Church in Bulawayo.\nA local branch of the Elim Pentecostal Church founded in Ireland in 1915, Elim Zimbabwe runs a hospital, schools and over 50 churches. Elim is headed by Pastor Pious Munembe. The Mutare Memorial church, which also houses the Headquarters of Elim Zimbabwe, was built with funds raised following the Vumba massacre. On 23 June 1978, twelve people were slaughtered at the Elim Mission station in the Vumba Mountains, northern Zimbabwe. The first Elim Missionaries to Zimbabwe were Mr and Mrs Jessie Williams who went in February 1949 and were based at Penhalonga, located 18 km north of Mutare.\nFaith Ministries is a charismatic, Bible-based ministry with communities in Zimbabwe and the UK. It was started in 1976 by a Scotsman called Alastair Geddes.\nThrough its amalgamation with the Church of God which is represented in 162 Countries, the Full Gospel Church of God in Southern Africa is an International Church. In the year 1909 George Bowie came to South Africa as a missionary sent from the Bethal Pentecostal Assembly, under the leadership of Minnie Draper, Newark in New Jersey, U.S.A It was in the month of April 1910 that the Pentecostal Mission was started, and this Pentecostal Mission was to become The Full Gospel Church of God in Southern Africa, a bilingual Church\u2014 in 1995 there were 82 congregations and 7,200 members; 14,400 people were affiliated with the church.\nGospel Assembly Church is a non-denominational Pentecostal Church with branches all over the world. In Zimbabwe they have branches in all major cities of the country. Gospel Assembly Church Bulawayo is located in the suburb of Romney Park. The Bulawayo Assembly is pastored by Rev Eddie E. Gatsi with his wife, Joyce Gatsi.\nBishop Langton Kanyati and Bishop Florence Kanyati co-founded Zoe Life Changing Ministries and Grace Unlimited Ministrie, which are active in Harare through teaching and healing crusades. Bishop Langton's publications include Building a Great Home \u2013 Establishing a Strong Marriage, (review). Bishop Florence has also written a number of books on Christian marriage and her women's ministry is particularly visible.\nRelZim.org articles about HHI\nHarvest House International Church (HHI) is one of the leading Pentecostal Churches in Southern Africa. It has followers all over Zimbabwe. Outside the region, this Church has believers in Australia, Nigeria and England. Bulawayo community founded in October 1995 with just 8 people is, currently, building a 12,000-seater conference centre for its rapidly-accelerating congregation.\nImpact Christian Centre (ICC)\nImpact Christian Centre puts emphasis not only on praise and worship and teachings of the word of God, but also on achieving excellence by its members. The Impact Young Executives, is the Church's Youth Ministry where the ICC looks at how to groom youths to be ladies and gentlemen, as well as future leaders. ICC was founded in 2010 by Pastors Davison and Gwen Kanokanga.\nJubula New Life Covenant Church is a multi-ethnic Harare-based congregation with a large number of cell groups with a leader and a stable cell host. The activities of its 26 churches around Zimbabwe include intercessory prayer, leadership development, economic empowerment, social engagement, evangelism. Bishop Tudor and Pastor ChiChi became the senior pastors of what was then New Life Temple in 1982. In the years since they have assembled a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural congregation. New Life Temple became New Life Covenant Church in 1998.\nRiver of Life International is affiliated to the Faith Ministries family. River of Life was born on the 17th of December 1999.\nAfter serving with Victory Fellowship under the leadership of the Apostle Kenneth Eric Haskins, Pastor and Prophet Bothwell Tiger Phiri left to fulfill the call of God to start the ministry.\nRelZim.org articles about Spirit Embassy\nSpirit Embassy was founded by Prophet Uebert Angel on March 12, 2007. Spirit Embassy Church has 20 branches worldwide including cathedrals in South Africa, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.\nTabernacle Pentecostals (Branhamites)\nThe post World War II faith-healing movement founded by William Branham has several congregations in Zimbawe including Spoken Word Tabernacle and Eastlea Tabernacle in Harare.\nRelZim.org articles about UFIM\nUnited Family International Ministries (UFIM) comprises the United Family Interdenominational Ministries and The United Family International Church. It was founded by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa and operates mostly around Harare and in Mashonaland Central.\nUFIM charity work in Chitugwiza.\nThis ministry is one of the fastest-growing in Zimbabwe, largly due to the charisma of their leader. According to the UFIM site, an estimated 17,000 people joined them in 2010 in a period of three months.\nLaunched in August 2008 as a lunch-hour fellowship at the Anglican Cathedral in Harare, the fellowship was so popular, that after only a week at the cathedral, it moved to the State Lotteries Hall and subsequently to the City Sports Centre.\nZimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa\nRelZim.org articles about ZAOGA in Zimbabwe\nZimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA) is a large Pentecostal church known internationally as Forward in Faith Ministries International (FIFMI). As of 2000, there were 4,000 congregations and 539,683 members. ZAOGA is divided into 26 provinces in Zimbabwe. The movement was founded in the late 1950s by a group of Pentecostals from the Apostolic Faith Mission who gathered around the charismatic Ezekial H. Guti. He continues to lead the church and holds the titles of Dr, Apostle and Archbishop. Zimbabwe is the location of the ZAOGA-FIF headquarters and the host-nation of a number of international gatherings for FIFMI.\nZAOGA has schools in Zimbabwe including Grange Primary School in Chisipite, Denda Primary in Mutoko, Christ for Zimbabwe High School, a children's home in Mutare, as well as three bible schools in Harare, Chiredzi, and Bulawayo.\nAccording to an article posted on ZAOGA-FIF website in May 2012, \"In Waterfalls (a suburb of Harare) the church recently built a state of the art hospital. This medical institution also has a non-medical unit where those with spiritual needs will be ministered to through prayer and the Word.\"\nThe Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University (ZEGU) is currently under construction in Bindura on a 100 hectare property.\nDavid Maxwell, in his book African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism & the Rise of Zimbabwean Transnational Religious Movement, traces the transformation of Ezekiel Guti and his prayer band from small beginnings into the present day transnational enterprise, which is now ZAOGA. See review of this book.\nPlease send comments, corrections, additions to [email protected]\nRoman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe\nCatholic Religious Orders\nArchdiocese of Harare\nArchdiocese of Bulawayo\nSpecial Coverage of the Anglican Crisis in Zimbabwe\nAnglican Church of the Province of Zimbabwe\nJehovah's Witnesses Provincial Convention\nAll prayerful and peace loving Zimbabweans Welcome!\nGlobal Worship and Communion Miracle Service\nSpiritual Spectacles Night of Remembrance\nBig Sunday\nPHD stampede inquest postponed\nVideo: Mudiwa Mutandwa performs 'Ndaita Mari'\nVideo: Zim Anglicans return to Harare cathedral\nVideo: Shower Power's \"Subhalisile\" song\nVideo: A walk through St. Paul\u00b4s Secondary High School in Musami\nZimra guns for Magaya February 7, 2019\nMagaya fined $700 over Aids drug February 7, 2019\nMudzidzi Wimbo dies July 12, 2018\nProphet Freddy hosts prophetic conference June 26, 2018\nPastor in court for fondling congregant's private parts June 6, 2018\nMethodists International charity social ministry Emmanuel Makandiwa Anglicans Jesuits Education Robert Mugabe Pentecostals religion and media Harare African traditional religion Elections 2013 Nolbert Kunonga prophets Vapostori Roman Catholics gospel music Zanu-PF Bulawayo\nZimbabwe reads\nThe Zimbabwe Library Association\nGood News Organizations\nReligion in Zimbabwe \u00a9 2010-2019. All rights reserved.\nDeveloped by Webografica","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Training A Gamer\nAn old (ish) boardgamer plus an 8-year-old. What to do?\nPosts Tagged 'Catan Junior'\nThe 2013 Golden Game Award: Game-Off Number 1\nAugust 18, 2013 Rob\tComments off\nIt's time for this year's first game-off between contenders for the coveted Golden Game Award. The winner of this epic battle will win a place in the final and a chance to go down in history as a game that Miss B likes more than some other games on a particular day.\nMiss B introduces our contenders for the day.\nIn the Red corner, nominated by Miss B herself, we have a game that represents an entire family of boardgames that allow you to draw on the board with crayons. It's a game that is nowhere near as pretty looking as its competitors, but it's one that rewards strategy, planning and luck, and involves building a huge rail network in order to deliver goods throughout the North-east of the USA. Yes, it's Empire Express.\nIn the Blue corner, nominated by me and representing the hopes and aspirations of what is probably the biggest gaming franchise of the last 20 years, the Catan empire, we have a game that allows you to trade goats for cutlasses and swap stuff for parrots: Catan Junior.\nTo be honest, I'm a little surprised by the selection of Empire Express, but also very pleased by it. I like the \"crayon rails\" range of games, having played several of them in the past, though they are notable for being quite time consuming to play for fairly low complexity games. Empire Express cuts out some of the options and gives you the option of a flying start, and makes the whole game playable for the two of us in maybe an hour and a half now Miss B knows her way around the game. Still quite a long time for one game with a six-year-old, but it's just about manageable.\nThis play went well and really held Miss B's attention throughout. Thanks in part to some good card draws and me trying to be too clever for my own good (though it must be said, my track was beautiful, I just needed a longer game\u2026) Miss B won. Actually, she didn't just pip me at the post, she totally walked it, leaving me at least a couple of deliveries behind her. Well played!\nAs for Catan Junior, we always get on well with that one and it plays quickly, usually in the ballpark of half an hour. There was a little complaining when I built a pirate lair where Miss B wanted to go, but then she managed to get her own back soon afterwards. This time, though, her usual strategy of buying lots of parrot tiles (which give assorted bonuses) wasn't quite enough and I managed to win by the narrowest of margins.\nMiss B told me, \"Empire Express is really good because you have the crayons and you can do a bit of drawing. Catan Junior is a teeny bit worse because you can't have a draw in the game.\" (Actually, you can't get a draw in Empire Express either, but there you go.)\nBased on this assessment, Miss B has awarded Empire Express 16 out of 20 and Catan Junior 15 out of 20, and thus our first finalist for this year is Empire Express. Personally I think Catan Junior is a better kids\/family game, but I'm delighted because it means we'll get to play Empire Express again very soon.\nCategories: TaG Awards Tags: award, Catan Junior, Empire Express\nThe 2013 Golden Game Award (formerly the Golden Thingummy): The Shortlist\nAugust 15, 2013 Rob\t2 comments\nIf you've been reading this blog for a while (or have rummaged around in the archives), you may be aware that for the last couple of years Miss B and I have given a notional award for some game that we think is good. So, in what is definitely now an annual tradition, I give you the opening salvo in the 2013 Golden Game Award.\nIf you would like to maintain a sense of suspense, please don't look at this picture until you have read the rest of the post.\nThis is, of course, a change of name. As Miss B gets older and develops more sophisticated critical faculties, she seems to be developing a knack for spotting when I am talking absolute rubbish. As part of this she has decided that the Golden Thingummy is not a title suitable for such an auspicious endeavour as this (possibly not her exact words), so from now on we have a new, more sensible name.\nThe rules are this\u2026 We have a shortlist of four candidate games from those that we have played over the last year, two picked by Miss B and two picked by myself in a vain attempt to choose something that she might prefer to her own picks. The games, incidentally, must be ones for us to play with just the two of them, so Apples to Apples is off the cards. We then have two game-offs, playing one of her choices and one of mine back-to-back before discussing how the games went and getting Miss B to choose the one she preferred on the day. Then the two winning games go through to a grand final game-off to decide which will be awarded the prize of\u2026 Well, nothing, not even including prestige.\nIn 2011 the winner was Enchanted Forest, played with simplified rules.\nIn 2012 Miss B couldn't decide an outright winner, so Dominion and Robo Rally (also with some rule concessions to make it viable for a 5-year-old) shared the honours.\nThis year the shortlist has been drawn up and, if you have seen the picture at the top of this post, you will already know what the selections were. I seriously suck at this suspense thing. But just for the sake of form\u2026\nMiss B's choices were Empire Express and Enuk. Two more different games can hardly be imagined given the candidates, but they are both games that Miss B loves and Empire Express in particular doesn't get played as often as we would like due to it taking a comparatively long time to play (the box says 60-90 minutes, which is probably about right for the two of us).\nMy choices were Augustus and Catan Junior, both of which are quick, fun and work some of those Euro-gaming muscles a little. Catan Junior is a great game to have in the collection and one which we have, in the past, pulled out when a friend of Miss B's came for a play date.\nSo, over the next week or two I plan to post the gory details of our game-offs. Can you handle the suspense\u2026?\nCategories: TaG Awards Tags: Augustus, Catan Junior, Empire Express, Enuk\nMore goats? You should set up a farm.\nDecember 18, 2012 Rob\tComments off\nYesterday Miss B had a play date, bringing one of her friends from school, Miss A, home for a couple of hours. This sort of thing usually involves a lot of running around the house and shouting, but we know Miss A has Loot and Sleeping Queens at home, so Miss B wanted to try a board game with her. The one we chose was Catan Junior.\nWe took a few minutes explaining the main rules (with Miss B very keen to help) and then got started. To be honest, I don't know Miss A very well so wasn't sure quite how much was sinking in. Such is the way with six-year-olds. I shouldn't have worried as after two or three turns, Miss A was clearly getting the hang of things and working out what trades she needed to make to complete her next build. She took an early lead and, despite Miss B and I rallying to catch up, our guest managed to hold on to the win.\nI was really impressed at how well this game worked out for playing with a young visitor and held her attention. Catan Junior is not a deep game and probably would probably bore most adult gamers after not too many plays, but it is proving to have been an excellent purchase for us. And I'm more than happy to play it any time it is requested.\nCategories: Events Tags: Catan Junior\nIt would be good if we really had a parrot called Coco\nOctober 1, 2012 Rob\tComments off\nCatan Junior is pretty much what you'd imagine from the title: a version of Settlers of Catan, reworked with a younger audience in mind. I was a little wary of this, having heard less than stellar reports of an earlier attempt to shift the Catan franchise towards a younger audience (Kids of Catan), but over the last few months a steadily expanding body of positive reviews have built up. Then, while I was off at the highly enjoyable TringCon, I stumbled across a copy at a very reasonably price, so I laid my cash down\u2026\nPirates everywhere! (Though here we're forgetting to keep hold of our parrots.)\nI mean, there are pirates in this version of the game. Surely that's enough?\nActually, my early impressions of the game are great. The basic mechanics of the game are almost identical to the original Settlers, but trading has been tweaked (so you trade with a non-player market or the bank), resource cards have been replaced by gorgeous tokens (though the design of the gold counters leaves something to be desired) and the development cards are now \"Coco the parrot\" tiles which do something good for you when you buy them.\nWe've played this a couple of times so far, with three and two players, and both worked well. Actually, during our first play I rushed reading the rules and we ended up playing with unlimited trading and no bonus for collecting parrots. This actually worked out quite fun, mind, but we have shifted to the proper rules now. The game zips along quite quickly, even with Miss B getting distracted and singing a song or chatting about the fact she doesn't think there should be as much wood as it isn't as interesting as goats.\nIn some ways I think this is actually better than the original Settlers. It is certainly less likely that someone makes a poor or unlucky start and never recovers. This could really turn into a very good gateway game which I'd be more than happy to play with an adult group. I think the \"Junior\" label is a bit unfortunate as it makes the game sound like more of a kids' game rather than the great little family game it actually is.\nThe verdict from Miss B (aged 5\u00be): \"Catan junior was 10 out of 10 when you could get a lair onto Spooky Island because you had the most Cocos. I liked it because it was still part of the points because lairs score points when they're on the board.\"\nThe game: Catan Junior (Mayfair Games), 2 to 4 players, aged 6+.\nCategories: Games Tags: board game, Catan Junior, Klaus Teuber, Mayfair Games, pirates\nFour pairs of horses, three piles of food, two bags of gold and a highwayman!\nBack to the barn\nThis one actually has a necklace\nI think Thucydides missed this bit\nWhat was on the table in March?\nabstract adventure animals Asmodee Ave Caesar award blogs board board game Carcassonne card game cards Castle Panic cooperative deck building dice Dominion Dragonheart Empire Express Enchanted Forest Fantasy Flight games day Gamewright gender Ghost Party Giro Galoppo homebrew Kickstarter Kosmos Lego Loot maths Mayfair Games memory pirates race Ravensburger Reiner Knizia Rio Grande Robo Rally Sleeping Queens tiles treasure hunt what we played Wolfgang Kramer\nMaking Games\nMiss B's Posts\nMonthly Gaming\nTaG Awards\nBoard Games with the Family\nFirst Take Some Dice\nGrowing Up Gamers\nHiew's Boardgame Blog\niSlaytheDragon\nOoh, shiny!\nPink Meeple\nThe Appletree\nThe Board Game Family","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Group urges states to enact disability law\nBy Gordi Udeajah - Umuahia\n14 hours ago Nigeria\nSoyinka warns against imputation of pronouncement as attack on faith\nNigeria committed to good governance in Africa, Buhari insists\nCitizens with disabilities have urged states to enact laws to remove barriers that hinder them from enjoying equal rights as citizens rather than being discriminated against and marginalized on the basis of their disabilities.\nThe Executive Director of the Center For Citizens With Disabilities (CDD), Mr David Anyaele, who made the call in Umuahia Abia state capital commended the federal government under president Muhammadu Buhari for enacting the disabilities law and also setting up a Commission to implement its provisions.\nAnyaele decried that only about ten states have enacted this law noting that in the case of Abia, the bill has been undergoing legislative processes.\nHe urged the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission to provide people with disabilities the conducive environment\/facilities to participate in, vote and be voted for in the scheduled state Local Government poll December 18.\nAccording to him persons with disabilities should not be subjected to long time queuing before casting their votes.\nHis words: \"Election materials, campaign jingles and posters should be translated into forms they can easily read, interpret and comprehend.\"\nCDDDavid AnyaeleMuhammadu Buhari\u200e","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Works by Camil Ungureanu\n( view other items matching `Camil Ungureanu`, view all matches )\nCamil Ungureanu [14] Camil Constantin Ungureanu [2]\nReligion in Contemporary European Cinema: The Postsecular Constellation.Costica Bradatan & Camil Ungureanu - 2014 - Routledge.details\nThe religious landscape in Europe is changing dramatically. While the authority of institutional religion has weakened, a growing number of people now desire individualized religious and spiritual experiences, finding the self-complacency of secularism unfulfilling. The \"crisis of religion\" is itself a form of religious life. A sense of complex, subterraneous interaction between religious, heterodox, secular and atheistic experiences has thus emerged, which makes the phenomenon all the more fascinating to study, and this is what Religion in Contemporary European Cinema does. (...) The book explores the mutual influences, structural analogies, shared dilemmas, as well as the historical roots of such a \"post-secular constellation\" as seen through the lens of European cinema. Bringing together scholars from film theory and political science, ethics and philosophy of religion, philosophy of film and theology, this volume casts new light on the relationship between the religious and secular experience after the death of the death of God. (shrink)\nDemocracy, Law and Religious Pluralism in Europe: Secularism and Post-Secularism.Ferran Requejo & Camil Ungureanu (eds.) - 2014 - Routledge.details\nIn contrast with the progressive dilution of religions predicted by traditional liberal and Marxist approaches, religions remain important for many people, even in Europe, the most secularised continent. In the context of increasingly culturally diverse societies, this calls for a reinterpretation of the secular legacy of the Enlightenment and also for an updating of democratic institutions. This book focuses on a central question: are the classical secularist arrangements well equipped to tackle the challenge of fast-growing religious pluralism? Or should we (...) move to new post-secular arrangements when dealing with pluralism in Europe? Offering an interdisciplinary approach that combines political theory and legal analysis, the authors tackle two interrelated facets of this controversial question. They begin by exploring the theoretical perspective, asking what post-secularism is and looking at its relation to secularism. The practical consequences of this debate are then examined, focusing on case-law through four empirical case studies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political theory, philosophy, religion and politics, European law, human rights, legal theory and socio-legal studies. (shrink)\nDerrida's Tense Bow.Camil Ungureanu - 2013 - The European Legacy 18 (6):727-739.details\nThis essay explores both the appeal and the difficulties of Derrida?s ?democratic Romanticism.? Derrida?s broader philosophical project seeks to make explicit the paradoxes or aporias that are embedded in practical experience. In unveiling these aporias, Derrida pleads, particularly in his later writings, for a transformation of democracy and religion so as to make them hospitable to difference. However, I will argue that Derrida?s reduction of the great variety of moral-political and religious situations to one aporetic logic runs into conceptual problems (...) and risks undoing the moral tissue that makes hospitality possible in the first place. (shrink)\nDerrida: Value Theory in Continental Philosophy\nJacques Derrida in Continental Philosophy\nThe Post-secular Debate: Introductory Remarks.Camil Ungureanu & Lasse Thomassen - 2015 - The European Legacy 20 (2):103-108.details\nDerrida on free decision: Between Habermas' discursivism and Schmitt's decisionism.Camil Ungureanu - 2008 - Journal of Political Philosophy 16 (3):293-325.details\nSacrifice, violence and the limits of moral representation in haneke's cach\u00e9.Camil Ungureanu - 2014 - Angelaki 19 (4):51-63.details\n:This article revisits Michael Haneke's Cach\u00e9 as a filmic transformation of the traditional bond between sacrificial violence, morality and community building. By drawing mainly on striking correspondences with Jacques Derrida's view of the \"mystical\" origin of authority and of the limits of moral representation, the article aims to probe into Haneke's strategies of concealment. In so doing, the article proposes a \"postsecular\" interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the enigmas of the \"ghost director\" within the film, and of Majid's theatrical (...) self-sacrifice. (shrink)\nBourdieu and Derrida on Gift: Beyond \"Double Truth\" and Paradox. [REVIEW]Camil Ungureanu - 2013 - Human Studies 36 (3):393-409.details\nBourdieu and Derrida share a focus on the ambiguity of the practice of gift relationships already pointed out by Mauss. From Bourdieu's perspective, the question of gratuity is epistemically futile, as it veils the objective truth of gift-giving, yet ethically and politically relevant, as it refers to a hypocrisy which can be instrumental to enhancing civic virtue and solidarity. Bourdieu's \"scientific humanism,\" however, implausibly reduces this ambiguity to interest maximization, and aims to build a solidaristic democracy by means of the (...) generalization of the hypocrisy of gratuity. In turn, by interpreting gratuity as \"unconditionality,\" Derrida aims not at dissolving, but at dramatizing the ambiguity of gift relationships by turning it into \"madness\" and an \"impossible possibility\". Whereas I agree with Derrida's insistence on the salience of the requirement of gratuity, his approach can lead to counterintuitive and hubristic consequences. Instead, I suggest some elements of an alternative way of understanding gratuitous gifts as communicative acts irreducible to an economic calculation or circle. From this standpoint, a gratuitous gift can be constituted by certain forms of recognition, emotions, or convictions without for that becoming an \"impossibility\". (shrink)\nThe Contested Relation between Democracy and Religion.Camil Ungureanu - 2008 - European Journal of Political Theory 7 (4):405-429.details\nIn recent years, various European and UN documents have been advancing the idea of `open, transparent and regular' dialogue between religion and democracy. Is this the na\u00efve rhetoric of the `Good European'? This article will discuss this issue starting from the debate between Habermas and Rawls on the role of religion in the public sphere. My approach presupposes a passage from deliberation to democratic rhetoric, the correlative abandonment of some of the tenets of Habermas's secularism, as well as a greater (...) concern with the question of the power asymmetries underpinning discursive exchanges. (shrink)\nDemocracy in Social and Political Philosophy\nJohn Rawls in 20th Century Philosophy\nMulticulturalism in Social and Political Philosophy\nRights and Religion in Social and Political Philosophy\nSocial Relationships in Social and Political Philosophy\nCinema and Sacrifice.Costica Bradatan & Camil Constantin Ungureanu (eds.) - 2015 - Routledge.details\nCinema has a long history of engaging with the theme of sacrifice. Given its capacity to stimulate the imagination and resonate across a wide spectrum of human experiences, sacrifice has always attracted filmmakers. It is on screen that the new grand narratives are sketched, the new myths rehearsed, and the old ones recycled. Sacrifice can provide stories of loss and mourning, betrayal and redemption, death and renewal, destruction and re-creation, apocalypses and the birth of new worlds. The contributors to this (...) volume are not just scholars of film but also students of religion and literature, philosophers, ethicists, and political scientists, thus offering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between cinema and sacrifice. They explore how cinema engages with sacrifice in its many forms and under different guises, and examine how the filmic constructions, reconstructions and misconstructions of sacrifice affect society, including its sacrificial practices. This book was originally published as a special issue of Angelaki: journal of the theoretical humanities. (shrink)\nContemporary Political Philosophy and Religion: Between Public Reason and Pluralism.Paolo Monti & Camil Ungureanu - 2017 - London and New York: Routledge.details\nWhat is the place of religion in a pluralist democracy? The continuous presence of religion in the public sphere has raised anew normative and practical issues related to the role of religion in a democratic polity, generating spirited political debates in Western and non-Western contexts. Contemporary Political Philosophy and Religion provides an advanced introduction to, and a critical appraisal of, the major schools of political thought with a focus on the relationship between democracy and religion. Key features of this book (...) include: -\/- - Analyses of different political traditions: liberalism, republicanism, deliberative democracy, feminism, postmodernism, multiculturalism, and interculturalism; -\/- - Critical discussions of key contemporary philosophers, such as John Rawls, J\u00fcrgen Habermas, Richard Rorty, Charles Taylor, Susan Moller Okin, Martha Nussbaum, Will Kymlicka, Chandran Kukathas, and Bhiku Parekh; -\/- - A pluralist approach that questions the strict divide between analytical and continental political philosophy; -\/- - Discussion on the place of religion in politics from multiple perspectives by drawing on a plurality of political contexts, both Western and non-Western; -\/- - Analyses of legal and political cases related to different religious traditions, for example, Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. -\/- This comprehensive text will be of great use to students of religion and politics in the fields of political and legal theory, and religious and theological studies, while also offering critical insights and arguments that will be of interest to the experts in the field. (shrink)\nMulticulturalism, Misc in Social and Political Philosophy\nReligious Ethics, Misc in Normative Ethics\nJ\u00fcrgen Habermas: The Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy.Camil Ungureanu & Klaus G\u00fcnther - 2011 - Routledge.details\nJurgen Habermas is widely regarded as one of the outstanding intellectuals. This title focuses on the theory of law which can be distilled from his vast compendium of work. It places this theory in the context of Habermas' overall contribution to the theory of society, political theory and social philosophy.\nEl gusto por lo extremado: un an\u00e1lisis cr\u00edtico de Baudrillard y Derrida sobre el terror y el terrorismo.Camil Ungureanu - 2012 - Isegor\u00eda 46:193-213.details\nBaudrillard interpreta el \u00abnuevo terrorismo\u00bb como un intercambio simb\u00f3lico de regalo y contra-regalo: la muerte del terrorista es un contra-regalo irrefutable que rompe el c\u00edrculo coercitivo de las relaciones sociales \u00abimpuestas\u00bb por el sistema global. A su vez, la concepci\u00f3n de Derrida tiene dos dimensiones, explicativa y normativa: en primer lugar, Derrida considera el 11-S como un s\u00edntoma multifac\u00e9tico de una crisis autoinmune que tiene aspectos pol\u00edticos, religiosos y tecno-capitalistas. En segundo lugar, Derrida arguye que existe un \u00abmomento\u00bb de terror, (...) violencia y sacrificio que es constitutivo en las decisiones y en la responsabilidad \u00e9ticas. De forma cr\u00edtica, argumentar\u00e9 que la concepci\u00f3n de Baudrillard se basa en una noci\u00f3n extremada y partidista de un sistema que se interpreta como un inmenso mandato de un gobernante totalitario. Por su parte, Derrida convierte de forma innecesaria la observaci\u00f3n de que las acciones humanas pueden tener consecuencias perversas en una ley de la autoinmumidad inspirada en la biolog\u00eda. Al considerar el terror como algo constitutivo incluso en las relaciones \u00e9ticas m\u00e1s comunes, Derrida corre tambi\u00e9n el riesgo de convertir un fen\u00f3meno extremado en un concepto que lo abarca todo, y de perder contacto con la pr\u00e1ctica \u00e9tica corriente. Concluir\u00e9 que las concepciones de Baudrillard y de Derrida sobre el terror y el terrorismo comparten un \u00abgusto por lo extremado\u00bb que las hace en \u00faltima instancia poco convincentes. (shrink)\nMichel Houellebecq's shifting representation of Islam: From the death of God to counter-Enlightenment.Camil Ungureanu - 2017 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 43 (4-5):514-528.details\nMichel Houellebecq has, I argue, changed significantly his portrayal of Islam: in earlier novels, he advances a hostile view of it premised on the secularist belief in the death of God and the inexorable decline of monotheism. Houellebecq sets capitalism against Islam, and advances a vision of a godless 'religion positive' better suited for capitalist modernity. In contrast, in his last novel and interventions, Houellebecq makes a post-secular turn largely driven by the radicalization of positivist ideas relying on evolutionary biology. (...) This turn is opposed to modernity and favourable to a reconsideration of Islam as the religion of submission and a remedy to personal crisis and Europe's decline. I show that, evaluative differences notwithstanding, Houellebecq's stereotyping of Islam has remained constant in his literary work. (shrink)\nA note from the East.Camil Ungureanu - 2017 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 43 (3):345-346.details\nDworkin\u00b4s Last Word: Religion Without God.Camil Constantin Ungureanu - 2014 - Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 13 (38):220-228.details\nReview of Ronald Dworkin, Religion without God , (Harvard University Press, 2013), 180 pages.\nEthics in Value Theory, Miscellaneous\nHabermas on Religion and Democracy: Critical Perspectives.Camil Ungureanu & Paolo Monti - 2017 - The European Legacy 22 (5):521-527.details","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Hollywood vs. History\nCatching up with The Butler\nhttp:\/\/www.conradmblack.com\/380\/hollywood-vs-history\nFeeling somewhat mellow last week on my way home from London after my only daughter's wedding to a very bright and attractive Frenchman we have known and liked for several years, I yielded to the Satanic temptation of an in-flight film. The Butler, billed as the true story of Cecil Gaines, who served as White House butler under all eight presidents from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan, stirred my curiosity, as well as my antennae for Hollywood mangling of history and the prodromal symptoms of Hollywood mytho-nausea alert. But the lingering pleasures that attach to being father of the bride lulled me into Morphean complacency, and I pressed the fatal buttons. The stroke was committed and it was inexorable. I take no issue with the depiction of the eventual White House butler's mother's being raped by the plantation owner, leaving her in a stupefied state for the rest of her life, nor with the rapist employer's shooting the future White House butler's father dead; it might have happened, and even if it didn't, that segregated plantation life was an evil system and the rise of Cecil Gaines from a Macon plantation child-worker to White House head butler has all the makings of an uplifting tale.\nI braced myself, however, for a portrayal of America's leaders from 1945 to 1989, the whole extent of the Cold War, that could be a deadly ambush of character assassination, hagiographical myth-making, and equal-opportunity, no-fault, sure-grip treacle. My precautions were inadequate. If I had started on defibrillation as President Eisenhower came into view, I might have disembarked from the airplane several hours later without suffering glottal stops, suddenly walking in tight circles, repeating childhood prayers, and compulsively clutching my forehead, and would probably not still be hearing something approaching Jefferson's infamous \"firebell in the night\" ringing without warning in my ears several days later, after a good deal of annealing spousal and self-administered therapy.\nI started on this film adventure with teeth clenched in fear like Hansel and Gretel approaching the woods-cottage. As a public-service mental-health warning, I gently recount what followed. In the film, Dwight D. Eisenhower feared that, if he forced the integration of Little Rock Central High School, there would \"be another civil war.\" In fact, he had his reservations about the Supreme Court's desegregation decision but did not mistake Orval Faubus (\"just a po' boy from Greasy Creek\") for Robert E. Lee, and did not need lessons from Sherman Adams on the need to uphold a Supreme Court order over the outright defiance of the governor of Arkansas.\nThe saccharine presentation of John F. Kennedy, coming on the heels of Richard Nixon's distributing Nixon buttons in the White House kitchen, attacking JFK to the waiters and busboys there, and promising to take care of the White House staff if it voted for him in 1960, should not have surprised me, but it did. Nixon was brought up in a Quaker house where African-American school friends were invited home to dinner from school, a family that knew and tolerated no racial prejudices. Nixon warned Eisenhower of the dangers in the world of the United States'\u200b being portrayed by the Communist powers as racist, and advocated a Republican effort on behalf of civil rights all his public career, while the Kennedys were completely indifferent to the issue until they saw its potential, morally and politically, sometime after JFK was inaugurated. It does nothing for John F. Kennedy, an attractive and popular president, though not one who in his brief term was able to accomplish a great deal, to portray him as a saint that he was not.\nThe psychotic compulsion always to portray Richard Nixon as a thug of no redeeming characteristics or attainments (who in this case is claimed to have ordered the murder of the leaders of the Black Panther organization, which is complete piffle) would dishonor Hollywood, if that were possible. It is now generally recognized that Nixon was a very successful and distinguished president, and that there was only a very questionable basis for removing him from office, though he was in some respects a neurotic man and had some unattractive foibles. No possible purpose is served in presenting these Manichaean caricatures except to aggravate the contempt in which Hollywood is held by the overwhelming majority of people in the world who have any taste or recognition of the damage the American film industry does by its defamatory coarseness and myth-making and spurious distortion of American life and public policy. At least we were spared the usual cameo companion piece to the Nixon-demonization, of Henry Kissinger verbally abusing underlings while committing war crimes. By that point in the film, I was grateful for whatever relief could be found.\nOnly the most knowledgeable viewer would realize that LBJ had actually fought for and signed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, as he appears in this film as an unfathomably boorish man who did nothing but cling to the pristine coattails of the Kennedys. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter have the good fortune to appear in authentic newsreel segments in secondary roles, but Ronald Reagan, though portrayed as an amiable man \u2014 who, with his wife, invited the butler in question and his wife (the inevitable Oprah Winfrey) to a state dinner as guests \u2014 is also portrayed as a hag-ridden apologist for the apartheid white-supremacist regime of South Africa. He was nothing of the kind, but was not convinced that sanctions would assist in a solution by \"making things better by making them worse.\" The facts of the South African question are presented so as to make Reagan appear, despite his geriatric bonhomie, a tool of the racists, and in practice no better than the segregationists and murderers of the Black Panthers confected in previous Republican administrations.\nThe career of Eugene Allen, the real-life butler on whom Cecil Gaines is based, is quite dramatic and would easily sustain a full-length film without these monstrous distortions. And his views are very interesting. He gave an interview at the time of the election of Barack Obama, to a London newspaper, and explained that he liked all the presidents for whom he worked; that they were all courteous and considerate gentlemen, and that his politics were that he always voted for the president who employed him regardless of party and when there was no incumbent in the race (1952, 1960, 1968), his vote was a secret. He also said that next to the day of the assassination of President Kennedy, the saddest of all in his 35 years in the White House was the day of the resignation of Richard Nixon. Mr. Allen is obviously a fine man, discreet and thorough and well-disposed and exactly what one would hope for in such a role. His life is somewhat inspiring, whether the travails of his plantation youth are exaggerated, and whether he had a son who died in Vietnam or one who was a freedom rider, or not.\nOprah Winfrey is workmanlike as Mrs. Cecil Gaines. Other usual suspects are in the frame, including Harvey Weinstein \u2014 which prompts the question of why such accomplished people lend themselves to this bunk. There are now fairly frequent examinations of the Kennedys that present a fairly complete picture, including, but not overstating, some of that family's less salubrious qualities and quirks. Balanced appraisals of Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson are no longer hard to come by, and Nixon's chief accusers, especially Woodward and Bernstein, have been pretty thoroughly discredited. The burning question is why Hollywood continues into its second half-century feeding and fattening these false impressions of modern American history. In olden times, the desire for happy endings and for heroes was understandable, although it led at times to unrigorous history. War propaganda \u2014 even such hilarious whitewashes of Stalin as Mission to Moscow \u2014 was always excusable in the greater cause. But as I pull myself together from post-flight shock, I cannot imagine what rationale there could be for inflicting such a farrago of falsehoods as this upon the world. Eugene Allen deserves better, and so do all the presidents whom he served.\n\u2014 Conrad Black is the author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full, A Matter of Principle, and the recently published Flight of the Eagle: The Grand Strategies That Brought America from Colonial Dependence to World Leadership. He can be reached at [email protected].","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Blue Lotus: Rare Tintin painting sells for record \u20ac3.2m\nPublishedduration2 hours agoshareSharenocloseShare pagelinkCopy linkAbout sharing image copyrightReuters\nAn original painting by Belgian illustrator Herg\u00e9 has sold for a record \u20ac3.2m ($3.9m, \u00a32.8m).\nThe illustration was painted using gouache, ink and watercolour and shows Tintin and his dog Snowy hiding from a dragon in a porcelain jar.\nIt was initially intended to serve as the cover for Herg\u00e9's fifth book, The Blue Lotus, but was rejected due to reproduction costs.\nA simplified version of the illustration was later used instead.\nTintin and the vanishing murals\nRare Tintin art sells for $1.2m in HK\nIndia's undying love affair with Tintin\nThe painting was sold online by Parisian auction house Artcurial for a total of \u20ac2.6m plus fees. It had been expected to fetch between \u20ac2.2m and \u20ac2.8m.\nThursday's sale breaks the previous record for the sale of comic book art set by another Herg\u00e9 artwork in 2014. The two-page illustration, which dated back to 1937, sold for \u20ac2.65m including fees.\nThe Blue Lotus was first published in 1936 and sees Tintin travel to China during the 1931 Japanese invasion.\nAccording to the auction house, the illustration was a gift to the son of Herg\u00e9's publisher. But this has been disputed in French media, with experts arguing that the drawing did not include a dedication, unlike other artworks the illustrator gave as gifts.\nHerg\u00e9, a Belgian whose real name was Georges Remi, created Tintin in the 1920s. The series has been translated into dozens of languages and sold more than 200 million copies.\nThe comic book hero has been adapted by Hollywood and has even received an operatic makeover.\nAustralia: Man held after armed raid in search of cat\nCovid-19: France PM Castex announces tighter curfew\nDeliveroo backers serve up \u00a35bn valuation ahead of London float\nApp to tackle ill-fitting masks for Covid frontline workers to be trialled in NHS\nUnions turn up heat on Silicon Valley in fight for transparency","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Researches Time to reappraise how we interpret minerals\nTime to reappraise how we interpret minerals\nProfessor John Wheeler: \"These calculations show that we need to reappraise how we interpret minerals which grew within the Earth\"\nA study by the University of Liverpool has provided new insight into how minerals grow under the Earth's surface.\nUsing new calculations, a researcher in the School of Environmental Sciences was able to predict that the difference in stress acting on a rock in various directions has played a more significant role in influencing the growth of minerals in the Earth's crust and mantle than was previously supposed.\nBasis of our understanding\nMinerals are formed under the earth's surface as a result of geological influences such as heat, pressure and fluid interaction and therefore provide the basis of our understanding of the science of the earth.\nThey can be used to fingerprint the temperature and pressure at the time they grew. A diamond, for example, can grow only at pressures of greater than 40,000 atmospheres \u2013 in the same way that ice can form from water only below 0 degrees Celsius.\nLiverpool geologist Professor John Wheeler, who undertook the research, said: \"These calculations show that we need to reappraise how we interpret minerals which grew within the Earth\"\n\"It has previously been assumed the effects of differential stress on mineral growth are small. But now I have shown that changing the stress (applied force per unit area on which it acts) in\none direction by, say, 500 atmospheres might have an effect equivalent to changing the overall pressure by 5000 atmospheres\".\n\"These calculations mean that current estimates made by geologists for burial depths could be 20 km or more above or below their true values, and temperature estimates could be 100 degrees C above or below the actual values when minerals grew. So we need to revitalise our approach to what minerals tell us\".\nRecommended For You Geologists confirm oxygen levels of ancient oceans\nDensity differences\nStresses result from density differences within the Earth and movement of tectonic plates and can be hundreds of atmospheres different in value, depending on the direction of the stress. As stress is applied slowly over time, rocks deform and change shape forming aligned mineral textures which are very common.\nThe theory also has an impact on the understanding of metals which, like rocks, are interlocked crystals of different chemistries and are often processed by deformation which, as in rocks, occurs in parallel with chemical change.\nThe complete study is available online: geology.gsapubs.org\/content\/ea\u2026 5718.1.full.pdf+html\nNote : The above story is based on materials provided by University of Liverpool\nRare gas find solves African landscape puzzle\nRadar images show large swath of Texas oil patch is heaving and sinking at alarming rates\nGoing underground: Cambridge digs into the history of geology with landmark exhibition\nHundred-year-old law on fluid flow overturned by new research\nWhy does a Yellowstone microorganism prefer meager rations over rich ones?\nOrigins of Cu-Pb-Zn-bearing and W-bearing granites\nEbola's evolutionary roots more ancient than previously thought\nRising mountains dried out Central Asia, scientists say\nDid the Anthropocene begin with the nuclear age?\nAncient DNA shows perfect storm felled Ice Age giants\nA volcanic binge and its frosty hangover\nEarthquakes expose limits of scientific predictions\nNew solutions needed to recycle fracking water\nVolcanoes and glaciers combine as powerful methane producers","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"[ARCHIVED] City of East Lansing Waives Business License and Entertainment License Fees During COVID-19 Crisis\nEAST LANSING, Mich. \u2014 In an effort to assist businesses that are suffering financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis, the East Lansing City Council approved a resolution during its virtual meeting on Thursday, April 30 to amend the City of East Lansing budget to waive business license and entertainment license fees in Fiscal Year 2020.\nWhile these license fees have been eliminated, businesses that maintain business and\/or entertainment licenses are still required to submit a renewal application. The East Lansing City Clerk's office is preparing to mail renewal applications to businesses in early May and applications must be submitted to the City Clerk's office, 410 Abbot Road, by June 30.\nCommunity members with questions can contact the City Clerk's office at (517) 319-6914.\nOther Financial Resources for Businesses\nIn addition to the City of East Lansing waiving license fees, the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has allocated $250,000 in discretionary funds to launch a Business Relief Program (BRP) for DDA businesses that are suffering financial hardship during the COVID-19 crisis. Brick-and-mortar businesses located within the DDA boundaries can apply for a $2,500 business relief grant through the program. A total of 100 DDA businesses will be awarded grants. The BRP application is now open and will be available through Thursday, May 7 at 11:59 p.m. via a web-based form at www.cityofeastlansing.com\/businessrelief. It is anticipated that awarded grant funds will be delivered to businesses by close of business on Wednesday, May 20.\nThe East Lansing City Council will also be considering additional potential business and community support options at its May 12 and May 26 meetings, during which public meetings will be held on the FY21 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program budget and allocation of CDBG-CV funds.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"One Sheet\nAll Access Media Group\nSkywriting\nFMQB\nBillboard Interview\n92.3 AMP WBMP\nK104 WSPK-FM\n92.9 WBPM\nZ97.1 WZRT\nFly 92 WFLY\n100.9 WKLI-FM\nJammin 107.7 WWRX\nRadio 104 WMRQ\nThe Year-End Countdown Billboard Magazine\nPosted by Skywalker | Sep 25, 2014 | News | 0 |\nIt sounded so easy when we were sitting at home listening to a station's New Year's Eve (or Day) top 100 of the year just passed, and writing down every song. (Admit it, you did that too.) But even before year-end programs became research projects that were written and produced with amazing detail, it was still easy for things to go wrong, especially when 100 or more titles were involved. Songs played out of order or were listed twice. There were compilations with one song missing or one big hit just forgotten.\nWith stations just starting to get their year-end countdowns together for multiple airings during the holiday break, it seemed a good time to review some basics when creating what for most listeners is top 40's biggest show of the year.\nTop 40 observers like Alan Burns and Associates' Jeff Johnson (left) and WSPK's Skywalker have smart tips for creating year-end countdowns.\nSOUND 'BIGGER THAN LIFE'\nFor many stations, a simple live playback of the year's biggest songs in reverse order without a lot of information about artists, songs and what happened in 2013\u2014or leaving that to one of the syndicated countdown program's year-end editions to take care of\u2014will suffice for the end the year. But Jeff Johnson, senior VP at radio consultant Alan Burns and Associates, is a firm believer in local stations going out with a bang. \"Countdowns that sound 'bigger than life'\u2014with a ton of 'year in review' audio from news, movies, social media and local events\u2014should be an integral part of the end-of-the-year programming for [mainstream and adult] top 40 stations.\"\nThe idea dates back at least to the mid-1960s, when the Bill Drake- and Gene Chenault-consulted chain of top 40 stations (including KHJ Los Angeles and KFRC San Francisco) pioneered the idea of the larger-than-life year-end show, stopping the regular format and current songs altogether to count down the year's top hits, front-sell several songs an hour with sound bites of news events from the month of a song's popularity, and\u2014a very big draw at the time\u2014give away all 100 songs to lucky callers. Those stations were also the first to run the countdown multiple times through New Year's Day. Polling listeners about their favorite artists and songs of the year as the countdown played also began during this era.\nThese days, the year-end show is about much more than just the music, says the producer of WSPK (K104.7) Hudson Valley, N.Y.'s countdown, Assistant PD Skywalker. \"We use actualities from our prep services as well as from interviews we've done over the year, including at our summer and winter station concerts. Also, each jock is welcome to put their own spin on pop culture in review for their portion of the countdown. For example, I may cover slang used in 2013, like 'selfie,' while our morning show may report on the top celebrity scandals of the year.\"\nBOTH RANK AND FILE\nArguably, the list part of the year-end countdown is less of an issue, as there's no longer a need for a music director or intern to go through weekly lists and reverse-rank songs (explaining the missing or twice-listed errors cited earlier). At WSPK and likely most stations, the final rank is based on real spins, Skywalker says. \"We simply print out a year-to-date Selector report.\"\nWhile Johnson also recommends \"a list based on the number of spins over the course of the year, station monitors and any music research that is available,\" he stresses another key programming element beyond just a straight ranking. \"It is important to schedule the music for a countdown just like you would any other hour on the station. Watch for balance in song type, tempo and role.\" So if Nos. 45 and 44 both turn out to be ballads, it's perfectly fine if one of those swaps places with No. 46 or 43. We won't tell.\nScheduling is also important when planning the first hours of a countdown, especially one where total songs mirror a station's dial position and lower-ranked songs tend to be those that never really took off when they were added. \"I'm not a big fan of having the countdown be the 'top 107 songs of 2013,' Johnson says. \"You don't want the first hour or so to be full of marginal hits. And does anyone really care what song ranked No. 98?\" Many stations still airing a top 100, such as WHTZ (Z100) New York, have mastered the art by spicing the first hour with current hits on the rise and listener-reaction songs or club hits that may have aired only at night.\nWHEN, AND HOW OFTEN?\nIt's very simple: Live is good, but a pre-produced countdown is better, Johnson says, \"so you can get everyone on air involved with it and be able to work around holiday vacation schedules.\" That's how it happens at WSPK where, according to Skywalker, \"Each full-time jock hosts a portion of the countdown. Pre-producing lets some of the full-timers enjoy some well-deserved time off, as we have board ops run the show.\"\nWhile many stations may be booking studio time now, others prefer getting it done when the clock is running out on the year. \"I assemble it the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is probably the slowest week at the station,\" Skywalker says. \"It's a very time-consuming process production-wise, but the end product sounds great.\"\nSo your year-end countdown's ready to go: Songs perfectly ranked, content covering everything listeners remember from the year, with sound bites and artist interview clips. When, and how often, do you air it? Johnson at Alan Burns believes in \"running the countdown multiple times during the New Year's holiday period. I'd run it, at minimum, on New Year's Eve and a couple of times on New Year's Day.\"\nThat's how it runs on WSPK, Skywalker says. \"We air ours twice both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, beginning at 10 a.m.\"\nPreviousNew SkySky Media Affiliate\nNextNEW AFFILIATE!\nHOW TO GET INTO RADIO IN 5 \"E'-Z STEPS\nRadio Career C.P.R.\nMY WPLJ LOVE STORY\nPODCAST ADDED!!\nJul 10, 2021 | blog\nJULIA MICHAELS INTERVIEW\nDec 12, 2020 | blog, Home page slider\nSep 19, 2020 | blog, News\nSKYWALKER ADDED TO SUN BROADCAST PERSONALITY ON DEMAND\nMay 27, 2020 | News, Radio Stations, Skywriting\nAlicia Keys Underdog First Responder version\nApr 10, 2020 | News, Skywriting\nTweet to @skyskymedia\nTweets by skyskymedia\nSkySky Media \u00a92020 All Rights Reserved.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"You are here: Home \u2192 Sports \u2192 2021 07 19 \u2192 Article 1312141\nSports News of Monday, 19 July 2021\nSource: 3news.com\nLiberty and Dwarfs join Allies as relegated clubs from Ghana Premier League\nLiberty have been relegated from the GPL\nLiberty Professionals and Ebusua Dwarfs have joined Inter Allies as the relegated clubs from the Ghana Premier League as the 2020\/21 season concluded on Sunday.\nLiberty drew 0-0 with King Faisal at the WAFA Park in Sogakope. The result favoured the Isha Allahu Boys as the maintained their top-flight status while the Scientific Soccer Lads suffered relegation after 22 years.\nEbusua Dwarfs picked three points in their final game as they beat Bechem United 2-1 but it was not enough to secure their safety.\nThe two clubs along with Inter Allies, who were relegated three weeks ago, will compete in the Division One League next season.\nKotoko were handed 150,000 Ghana cedis dummy cheque and 40 medals for finishing second after they were beaten 1-0 by Elmina Sharks at Len Clay Stadium in Obuasi.\nSharks' victory ensured they beat the drop as they entered the last round of matches in the relegation zone.\nHighlights of Hearts of Oak's defeat to Medeama\n2021 AFCON: The Black Stars is scheduled to arrive in Cameroon on January 7\n2021\/2022 GPL: Great Olympics beat Gold Stars 2-0 to end winless run\nI had no boots when African Talent Football Academy approached me - Mohammed Salisu\nHearts of Oak believes start of GPL will strengthen them ahead of Confederations Cup play-offs\nI've been admitted to the hospital 41 times in 3 years \u2013 Veteran actress","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. Class A to Host Earnings Call\nNEW YORK, NY \/ ACCESSWIRE \/ February 11, 2019 \/ Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. Class A (NASDAQ: BBGI) will be discussing their earnings results in their 2018 Fourth Quarter Earnings to be held on February 11, 2019 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time.\nTo listen to the event live or access a replay of the call- visit https:\/\/www.investornetwork.com\/company\/C-C3FE3C2323C44\nInvestor Network (IN) is a financial content community, serving millions of unique investors market information, earnings, commentary and news on the what's trending. Dedicated to both the professional and the average traders, IN offers timely, trusted and relevant financial information for virtually every investor. IN is an Issuer Direct brand, to learn more or for the latest financial news and market information, visit www.investornetwork.com. Follow us on Twitter @investornetwork.\nhttps:\/\/www.accesswire.com\/534819\/Beasley-Broadcast-Group-Inc-Class-A-to-Host-Earnings-Call\nPalm Output Hit by Double Whammy of Floods and Scarce Labor\nU.S. Stock Futures Tick Up, Dollar Extends Decline: Markets Wrap\nGlobal Fund With 41% Gain Makes Climate Top Investment Priority\nGold Rises With Dollar Outlook in Focus After Yellen\n(Bloomberg) -- Wealthy investors rushed to offload stock in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. after China began an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices at billionaire Jack Ma's internet giant, according to Citigroup Inc.'s private bank.\"A large number\" of the bank's ultra-rich clients cut or exited their holdings in China's largest e-commerce firm after reports of the probe emerged, Citi Private Bank's Lab for Family Offices said in a report released Tuesday. China's stock market previously attracted significant inflows from the firm's wealthiest customers in the second half of the year, according to the report.Once hailed as drivers of economic prosperity and symbols of the country's technological prowess, Alibaba and rivals including Tencent Holdings Ltd. face increasing pressure from regulators after amassing hundreds of millions of users and gaining influence over almost every aspect of daily life in China. The $35 billion initial public offering of Alibaba's affiliate payments firm -- Ant Group Co. -- was abruptly halted last year, helping send Alibaba's American depositary receipts down more than a fifth since late October.Read more: China Halts Ant Group's IPO, Throwing Ma Empire Into TurmoilChina's central bank said last week that Ant Group is working on a timetable to overhaul its business while ensuring operations continue, underscoring the determination to rein in Ma's business and offering little clue on how far the firm needs to go to assuage Beijing. Ant Group makes up more than a quarter of Ma's $52.9 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Alibaba shares rose 1.2% at 9:55 a.m. in Hong Kong Wednesday.(Updates Ma's wealth in fourth paragraph, adds stock move in last)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.\u00a92021 Bloomberg L.P.\nHere's How Much Investing $1,000 In Bank Of America Stock 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today\nInvestors who owned stocks since 2016 generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) total return in the past five years is 120.4%. But there's no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.Bank of America's Big Run: One market leader of the past five years was Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC).Big banks were crushed during the worst of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Among the banks that survived the crisis, Bank of America was one of the hardest-hit. In fact, Bank of America shares dropped as low as $2.53 in early 2009 as investors questioned whether the company could avoid bankruptcy or total nationalization.By the beginning of 2016, Bank of America shares had worked their way all the way back up to around $16.45. Within months, the stock hit its low point of the past five years, dropping down to $10.99 following a bout of early-2016 volatility related to concerns over an economic slowdown in China.Bank of America then went on a tear for the remainder of 2016, more than doubling off its lows to around $23 by the end of the year. The stock made it to $33.05 by early 2018 before stalling out for roughly a year and a half.Related Link: Here's How Much Investing ,000 In JPMorgan Stock 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth TodayBank of America In 2021, Beyond: Bank of America shares broke out to the upside again in the closing months of 2019, surging to new highs of $35.72 before the COVID-19 sell-off pushed the stock back down to $17.95 in early 2020.Since then, Bank of America shares have regained nearly all of their lost ground and are currently trading at around $33.Bank of America investors who held on through a volatile few years were rewarded for their patience, and $1,000 worth of Bank of America stock bought in 2016 would be worth about $2,518 today, assuming reinvested dividends.Looking ahead, analysts expect Bank of America to take a breather in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 24 analysts covering the stock is $33.50, suggesting only 1.5% upside from current levels.Photo credit: Mike Mozart, FlickrSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Here's How Americans Are Spending Their Stimulus Payments * 5 Key Questions About The Federal Reserve's Approach In 2021(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.\nTREASURIES-Treasuries slip after Yellen says tax cuts should be repealed\nYellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, urged lawmakers to \"act big\" on the next coronavirus relief package, adding that the benefits outweigh the costs of a higher debt burden. Yellen said she believed some of the signature 2017 tax reform act should be repealed, such as the cut in corporate tax rates, though rates would not go back to their pre-2017 levels.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Moscow State art Gallery of A. Shilov\nPhone: (495) 697-54-00 (\u0430\u0434\u043c.), 697-73-10 (\u044d\u043a\u0441. \u0431\u044e\u0440\u043e)\nAddress: 119019, Moscow,\nArt Gallery of A. Shilov - W1518, official web site amshilov.ru\/\nAlexander Shilov is a popular russian artist, whose art belongs to modern school of classical art. In 1996 he decided to present his 355 paintings and graphic works to the Motherland. In 1997 on basis of this donation The State Duma and Government of Moscow resolved to found \"The State Picture Gallery of the People's Artist of the USSR A. Shilov\".\nThe gallery is constantly filled with new works and at present it's collection consists of more than 900 works. It is located in the historical center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin, in an ancient mansion, which was constructed by well-known Russian architect Y. Tyurin in 30s of the XIX century, and in a new building which was united with the first one by the same architectural style. The harmony of painting, architecture and classical music create a special atmosphere of Spirituality and Beauty in the halls. A.Shilov's portrait gallery will show you the diverse and complex picture of life of Russia. In the exposition are also represented lyrical landscapes and still - lives. A. Shilov's art activity is found on the best traditions of classical realistical painting and proves that eternal ideals of kindness, humanity, beauty and spirituality are still alive. On Saturdays concerts of classical music and Russian romances are held in the halls of the gallery. The comfortable cafe of the gallery will gladly open to you its doors\nMuseum's services:\nmuseum shop, museum's caffe, equipped for people with disabilities\n(495) 697-42-08, Fax: (495) 697-69-75\nHistorical,Painting art\npermament show rooms 1554,3\u043c2\nmuseum's store 23,1\u043c2\n86 (curators: 2)\nCollections volume:\n19721, rare collection's items: 1200\nCopyright (c) 1996-2021 Moscow State art Gallery of A. Shilov","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"\u2190 Some Simple Truths\nHypocrite Pelosi \u2192\nCesar PsyOp?\nAn excellent post at The Conservative Treehouse recalls to mind how many viewed the Cesar Sayoc \"domestic terrorist bombing\" affair as a potential false flag.\nFrom the post:\nEverything about last year's headline story just two-weeks before the mid-term election was weird; including the refusal of the FBI to state what 'specifically' was the material suspect Cesar Sayoc was accused of using to create his Acme-looking pipe bombs. [Full Indictment Here]\nYou might remember: FBI Director Christopher Wray outlined during his remarks that the devices consisted of PVC pipe, clocks, batteries, wiring and \"energetic material that can become combustible when subjected to heat or friction\".\nThe FBI director went out of his way to state: \"these were not hoax devices.\"\nWe also were skeptical. When things don't add up, they don't add up, and enquiring minds want to know why not.\nAs Judge Judy Scheindlin often astutely states,\nIf it doesn't make sense; it's not true.\nWouldn't you love to have Judge Judy adjudicating Sayoc's case?\nWe were immediately skeptical. It behooves everyone to recap the Sayoc affair, in light of the most recent progressive (false flag) hoax: The Jussie Smollett affair.\nWe discussed the Cesar Sayoc affair at length, beginning with comments at this link. What follows is a summary of facts we thought particularly suspicious:\nThe immediate attempt by the alt-left, progressives, Democrats, the media and even some of the alleged targets (Soros, e.g.) to blame President Trump for the incident(s).\nThat it happened only two weeks before the critical mid-term election, not to mention how deliveries were spread out over time to keep fresh incidents in the news until the elections.\nThe list of alleged targets: A veritable who's who of the anti-President-Trump \"resistance,\" including CNN's Jeff Zucker, George Soros, the Clintons, the Obamas, John Brennan, James Clapper, Kamala Harris, among others.\nHow it's questionable whether the packages were actually mailed: insufficient postage, stamps not canceled, no bar codes, packages not labeled with weight, for example.\nObviously nonfunctional devices. If a false flag, then perpetrator(s) wouldn't really want anyone on the list to be hurt.\nDevices were subsequently referred to by the government as IEDs (when perhaps they were actually sulfur-powered LED clocks).\nDeceptive photos that made the \"devices\" appear much larger than they actually were.\nThe obvious Hansel-and-Gretel-like \"bread crumbs\" lending false credence to the contention that Sayoc was inspired by Trump's rhetoric and other alt-right deplorables (e.g., note the \"parody\" ISIS flag, use of Larry the Cable Guy's slogan, Sayoc's ridiculously \"pristine\" photo-and-slogan-wrapped van, that conveniently plays into virtually every anti-Trump narrative and meme imaginable\u2013a vehicle that someone just happened to consider so curious that he or she took multiple photos of it before the event, for the media's use. A vehicle that was ostentatiously in public view but was never vandalized, unlike most vehicles sporting only a Trump bumper sticker.)\nThe alleged Trump-supporting alt-right perpetrator, Sayoc, who was historically a Democrat, according to this researcher.\nCesar Sayoc (a play on psyop?) isn't his name. His true name is Cesar Altieri Randazzo, or some combination, according to the same researcher. Sayoc's true ethnicity is also in question.\nThe many photos showing Sayoc at Trump events that seem obviously photoshopped, again according to the same researcher.\nThe anti-Trump Southern District of New York (where James Comey's daughter works) handling the prosecution of Sayoc (unfortunately, not Judge Judy).\nAs with most of the usual suspects in potential false flag events, Sayoc pleads guilty instead of having a trial where evidence is put to the test and where discovery and transparency occur. (Interestingly enough, Sayoc is now going back on aspects of his guilty plea, by claiming that the \"bombs\" were never intended to harm anyone and he knew it when he sent them, even though he previously told the judge otherwise, because his lawyer told him to.)\nSayoc's history of steroid abuse and financial difficulties, including bankruptcy, and the fact that he suddenly registered as a Republican in 2016, after having previously been a Democrat, as multiple screenshots show.\nThe MAGA hat. (Just like with Jussie Smollett. Just like with other fake hate incidents that turn out to be hoaxes designed to smear President Trump and his supporters and turn Trump's slogan into a \"dog whistle\" for hatred and political violence.)\nSayoc's long arrest record, despite which he mysteriously was not in jail and so was free to commit these crime(s).\nSurely there's a lot more that's curious about this affair that deserves notice.\nIf this was a false flag, as many suspect, is there more to it than just a desire by partisan persons unknown to influence the mid-term elections?\nOr worse, could it have been an illegally run psyop, within this country, by government actors unknown, designed to help oust a president that the Deep State dislikes or fears?\nWas this just another part of the insurance policy? If the players were ever exposed, would they claim \"justification\" based on a (false) \"sincere\" belief that the current president is a foreign agent? (See here for an explanation of what the Deep State may consider \"justification\" for any unconstitutional, illegal, or un-American activities.)\nThis entry was posted in Corruption, Elections, fake news, Hillary Clinton, Obama Shadow Government, Open Threads, Radical Groups, Terrorism and tagged Cesar Altieri Randazzo, Cesar Sayoc, clockboy, false flags, James Clapper, James Comey, John Brennan, Jussie Smollett, Kamala Harris, Larry the Cable Guy, MAGAbomber, open thread, psyops, SDNY, Soros, Zucker. Bookmark the permalink.\n85 responses to \"Cesar PsyOp?\"\nZenway | April 11, 2019 at 6:01 pm | Reply\nJUST \u2026\u2026N U T S !!!!! N U T S !\nhttps:\/\/www.michellesmirror.com\/2019\/04\/reparations-not-just-for-black.html#.XK_GFuhKiUk\nMiri | April 14, 2019 at 2:08 pm | Reply\nhttp:\/\/www.michellesmirror.com\/2019\/04\/reparations-not-just-for-black.html\nREALLY\u2026??? WOW \u2026.WTP \u2026.PONDER WHY WOULD that B? ha'\nhttps:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/news\/article\/Ocasio-Cortez-Omar-say-they-re-targeted-with-13757991.php\nAnd Jussie was a target of MAGA-hat-wearing, white Trump supporters.\nOK \u2026.NOW! \u2026.. JUDGE DAVID MORALES \u2026here-here!\nhttps:\/\/www.caller.com\/story\/news\/local\/2019\/04\/10\/south-texas-native-david-morales-confirmed-federal-judge-seat\/3429384002\/\nYouTube >>>>> Hides PragerU Video of Candace Owens' <<<<< !!!\nTestimony in 'Restricted PragerU\nannounced on Wednesday that YouTube has placed another of its videos\nin \"restricted mode,\" meaning that not everyone who visits the video-sharing website will be able to watch it. The restricted video is of Candace Owens' powerful testimony before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.\nThis time, the restricted video is of Candace Owens' testimony before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, which had created several viral moments, one of which has also recently become the most watched\nC-SPAN video of a House hearing on Twitter.\nThis is N O T the First of PragerU's videos to have ended up on YouTube's Restriction LIST. According to the organization's founder, Dennis Prager,\n80 of their 400 videos are on a restricted list, meaning that the videos are \"lumped with pornography & violence, so that kids in libraries & schools can't see them,\" said Prager.\n\"If you are not on the left, you are to be shut down,\" said Prager to Breitbart News in an interview on SiriusXM's Breitbart News Daily last February, \"We have never, ever had anything like this in American history.\"\n\"We are in a dark age because of the left's control of Silicon Valley, academia, & media,\" added Prager, \"It's a dark age that we are living in\nright now, & it is entirely left-wing induced.\"\nhttps:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2019\/04\/11\/youtube-hides-prageru-video-of-candace-owens-testimony-in-restricted-mode\/\n6. Laurene Powell Jobs: Being Steve's job widow means Laurene gets more than free iPhones for life: upon his untimely passing, Laurene inherited $18 Billion. Now, she strives for social justice and education reform through the Emerson Collective. \u2026\u2026 $18 BILLION \u2026..\nNADA ??? ha' \u2026. COMEY SPYS \u2026.. BIGLEY \u2026\nhttps:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2019\/04\/12\/disgraced-comey-denies-spying-on-trump\/\nWell now the good senator's position on gun control is coming into focus\nas we learn she means gun control for people Other than Her-Self. <>> \"I was a career prosecutor.\" !!! SO WHAT miz BIG-SHOT!!!\nDEAD is DEAD \u2026.no matter WHO & WHY it's DONE!\nYou're likely reading into that correctly. She Packs for Personal Safety, she says. Because she had a job that demands such a thing. People like her \u2014 Powerful People \u2013 have exerted their power in pursuit of truth & justice so they OF COURSE need firearms to ProtecT themselves.\nhttps:\/\/www.redstate.com\/slee\/2019\/04\/12\/kamala-harris-doesnt-hate-guns-carries-one-just-doesnt-want-one\/\n??? Why Are Democrats Upset at Illegal Aliens Being Sent to Their Sanctuary Cities? \u2026 EAT SHIT .. U FOOLS!!! REAP what ya SOW?\nhttps:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/45929\/ny-press-club-announces-truth-power-award-winner-hank-berrien \u2026pelosi slurs \u2026a LOT \u2026\nchoking over LIES? \u2026..such FOOLISH HUMANS \u2026..so SAD!\nSuch idiots.\n~ RUSSIA ~ RUSSIA ~ RUSSIA ~ .. wasted TIME & U$A's MONEY!\nTHEY ..PLAY STUPID ..because that is WHO they R .. SLY CHEATER\nhttps:\/\/drkatesview.wordpress.com\/2019\/04\/12\/they-all-knew-the-russia-story-was-fake\/#comment-101802\nPapoose | April 12, 2019 at 8:28 pm | Reply\nA blast from the past.\nCorruption and Fraud\u2026 to this day\u2026 AntiAmericanism in your face 24\/7\/365\nhttp:\/\/conservativefighters.com\/news\/maxine-waters-caught-illegally-spending-money\/\nWorse than a muslamic in our Hall.\nConfession of Treason\nhttps:\/\/www.conservativeinstitute.org\/privacy\/domestic-surveillance\/maxine-waters-obama-database.htm\nUh, huh.\nAnd she even admitted the political purpose, too. Very useful idiot.\nWe need a Funny section, Meer.\nI was the head of the FBI but I am totally in the dark. Umm I can't remember my lies from the forest\u2026 umm the trees?\nhttps:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/comey-says-he-had-no-idea-what-the-heck-barr-meant-by-saying-spying-did-occur-on-trump-campaign\nClown. He makes me sick. What a wimp and a weasel.\nPapoose | April 12, 2019 at 10:24 pm | Reply\nOmigosh. This is what I was thinking\u2026 Extradited to America for a Deal\u2026 you'regoing to be arrested grab the Gore Book\u2026\nTrump trumping, \ud83d\ude42\nI believe nothing the MSM says about Julian Assange . I'll tell you why. I don't believe A N Y T H I N G they spout. That's why.\nWelcome to the USA!\nalfy | April 13, 2019 at 5:32 pm | Reply\nimportant 1 and important 2\nThe Deep State had to shut him up. One way or another. He knows the truth. They trumped up an old charge, probably incapable of being proven, that has nothing to do with the First Amendment rights of Assange as a journalist.\nANGRY \u2026..NASTY \u2026. PEOPLE!!! \u2026.24\/7 \u2026. WHY?\nWhy are there so many UN-happy & ANGRY people in OUR world? Because they don't know What God's Purpose is for Their Life. They become AngrY when their Own view of what their life should BE doesn't Pan O U T \u2026 for them. Hollywood builds on this discontent, parading made up people with Phony lives (run by PR agencies) before us day & night. This bubbling anger is exploited for political gain & personal power by Big Media, Big academia & Big government.\nRead more at https:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2019\/04\/why-is-the-world-filled-with-unhappy-angry-people\/#MI71kF6ZjS5j2Std.99\nhttps:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2019\/04\/why-is-the-world-filled-with-unhappy-angry-people\/\neat SHIT \/ EAT CROW! .. big crappy stink-in' pack of pit-BULL wolves !\nThe Left's Hysteria over Trump's suggestion that the many Thousands of Illegals who have Invaded the country be sent to Sanctuary Cities would be Hilarious if it were not so unspeakably Hypocritical. It is the Democrats who have D O N E Everything in their Power to encourage these people to come, to Breach O U R Borders. But they do not want them in Their Communities. Trump, as usual, trolled them into Revealing who they REALLY R !!!! \u2026.. disingenuous, Elitist Snobs.\nOUR TRUMP\u2026. is a Genius, & he is the\n\u2026.. (be> ) \u2026 \"BEST\" President ( EVER EVER )\u2026.since Reagan. ?\nhttps:\/\/www.americanthinker.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/trump_trolls_the_democrats_to_highlight_their_hypocrisy.html#ixzz5l1JJ6vV1\n. MIS \u2013 LED \u2026BIG TIME .. & GETS AWAY with IT?.. So\u2026NASTY!!!\nO' BLACK MAN \u2026LOOK HOW FAR U ..ALL have COME!!! HANDS UP?\nhttps:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/45902\/jussie-smollett-purposely-misled-police-claiming-joseph-curl\nThe way they twist themselves into knots to try to avoid the OBVIOUS\u2013that this was a political scheme, a political false flag designed to harm Trump and probably orchestrated by his most infamous political enemies. Now we're supposed to believe that Jussie only said they were white to throw the cops off the trial of the Nigerian brothers? And that the addition of the MAGA hats was just to lend credence to the claim that the attackers were white? They really do think we're stupid. He claimed they were white MAGA-hat-wearing Trump supporters because that's exactly what the script required to falsely smear Trump and his supporters as \"white supremacists\" and \"white nationalists,\" all to help the DemoncRATS in 2020.\nhttps:\/\/theforensicator.wordpress.com\/2019\/04\/10\/sorting-the-wikileaks-dnc-emails\/\nAnalysis of the bogus \"hack\".\nhttp:\/\/www.michellesmirror.com\/2019\/04\/nimbys-by-any-other-name-are-still.html#.XLJvWuhKiUk\nhttps:\/\/www.prageru.com\/video\/build-the-wall\/\nTrump is THE MAN, is he not? Brilliant ploy. The DemoncRATS, you do notice, have made it a plan to plant all these illegals (who do and will vote) in RED STATES. All to turn them purple and then blue.\nBilly Maher To Democrats: If You Make 2020 A 'Woke Contest,' You Lose\nhttps:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/n\u2026\nhttps:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.powerlineblog.com\/ed-assets\/2019\/04\/Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-9.12.38-PM-1.png?resize=600%2C405&ssl=1\nHey, just so long as they lose. \ud83d\ude42\nfoxyladi14 | April 14, 2019 at 1:40 pm | Reply\nOh this is very good\u2026\u2026the communist, anticontitutionalist Comey! I love Diana West, a very talented source rich journalist.\nhttps:\/\/www.bing.com\/videos\/search?q=chris+farrell&&view=detail&mid=5CD9EC09A8601F8BC9DB5CD9EC09A8601F8BC9DB&&FORM=VDRVRV","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Tags Under Secretary\nTag: Under Secretary\nMichael Mink - January 2, 2021\nThe Catalyst for Stronger US-Taiwan Ties How Under Secretary of State Krach Became \"Taiwan's Number One Friend\" by Michael Mink On September 17th, 2020, U.S. Under Secretary...\nKeith Krach Confirmed as Under Secretary During U.S. Senate Confirmation Vote...\nStaff Writer - June 21, 2019\nWashington DC (Life & News) \u2014 At 2:30pm EDT on Thursday, June 20th, 2019, during the United States Senate's 116th Congress, 1st Session, Keith...\nBREAKING NEWS \u2014 United States Senate confirms Keith Krach by unanimous...\nKeith Krach has been confirmed by unanimous vote of the US Senate as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment and several other...\nLife & News names prestigious leadership award after Keith Krach\nStaff Writer - June 7, 2019\nLife & News is naming its Transformational Leader of the Year Award after the inaugural recipient of the award, Keith Krach. Beginning with the award's 2019 recipient,...\nA Conversation with Keith Krach: Transformational Leadership\nLife & News invites you to take a moment from your day and watch this exclusive, special and groundbreaking video mini-series about transformational leadership. It is...\n2018 Transformational Leader of the Year, Keith Krach, Receives Unanimous Endorsement...\nStaff Writer - May 7, 2019\nKrach Awaits Full Senate Vote to be the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Featured Video (above) - Keith Krach testifies...\nWhite House Announces Intent to Nominate Keith Krach to Under Secretary...\nThe White House has announced President Donald J. Trump's intent to nominate Keith Krach to become the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy,...\nThe start of high school doesn't have to be stressful\nStaff Writer - August 13, 2018\nDavid Yeager, University of Texas at Austin and Hae Yeon Lee, University of Texas at Austin This month, more than 4 million students across the...\nUntangling tattoos' influence on immune response\nDeep aversion to regicide means Labor is stuck with Ed Miliband\nThe US could have ended up with a British-style health care...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Deep Learning Startup, 42Maru to Participate in IFA 2019\nHOME News ICT\nAn AI Platform That Answers Questions\nBy Kim Eun-jin\nNAVERBAND\nNAVERPHOLAR\n42Maru, a Korean startup specializing in question answering (QA) artificial intelligence platform, will participate in IFA 2019, which is held in Berlin, Germany, from Sept. 6.\n42Maru, a question answering (QA) artificial intelligence startup, will participate in IFA 2019, which is to be held in Berlin, Germany, from Sept. 6. Its booth will be set up at Hall 26.\nIFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) is one of the top three global IT exhibitions along with the CES in Las Vegas and MWC in Barcelona. In order to participate in these three exhibitions, an applicant is required to pass the internal evaluation done by the organizing company. 42Maru has been successful in participating in all three exhibitions this year.\n42Maru will be introducing \"Deep Semantic QA Platform\" at IFA. The platform accurately understands the intention of a user's question and delivers a single correct answer from a massive unstructured data set. It is based on a deep learning-based \"natural language understanding (NLU) engine,\" a \"paraphrasing engine\" to detect and expand analogous expressions, and a \"machine reading comprehension (MRC) engine\" of the highest standard in the world.\nRecently, 42Maru was selected as an \"Intel AI Builder\" by Intel. Under the program, Intel selects and supports leading AI companies to promote AI innovation. Intel will provide diverse support for technology, marketing and investment.\n42Maru was also selected for NVidia's \"Inception\" program earlier. The selection by Intel and NVidia is meaningful in that 42Maru can now leverage support from global companies that have the core CPU and GPU technologies.\nDK Dong-hwan Kim, CEO of 42Maru, said, \"Deep Semantic QA Platform is being applied in various industries such as finance, automotive and telecommunication. Participation in IFA will be an opportunity for us to expand our European business from our headquarters in London to Berlin and many more cities.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Data shows proposed San Diego election change would help Democrats\nby Joe Yerardi August 15, 2016 August 11, 2020 Why you can trust inewsource\nCity Council candidate Chris Ward celebrates his victory in the June 7, 2016 primary election at San Diego's Golden Hall. June 7, 2016. Megan Wood, inewsource.\nData from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office suggests that Democrats could get a boost from a more liberal electorate under a proposed change to San Diego's voting format.\n\"https:\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/278376057\u2033\nTwo weeks ago, the City Council voted to put on the November ballot a proposal to send the top two candidates in June primaries to November general elections, regardless of whether any candidate achieves a majority.\nCurrently, candidates for mayor, city attorney and City Council win outright in June if they receive more than half the vote.\nThe 5-4 vote along party lines outraged Republicans who accused the council's Democratic majority of backing the measure for partisan gain.\nConventional wisdom says the electorate in November is more liberal than that in June, so forcing runoffs would boost the chances of Democrats winning.\nCity voting data supports that contention.\nIn the November 2014 general election, 41 percent of voters were registered Democrats, unchanged from the June primary. But the share of Republicans fell 4 points, to 33 percent of voters, while the share of independents rose 3 points, to 22 percent.\nIt was the same story for the preceding three election cycles.\nFrom 2008 through 2014, the Democratic share of the vote remained virtually unchanged between the primary and general elections. The Republican share consistently declined, anywhere from 3 to 7 percentage points. That drop was mirrored by a rise in the share of independents, which increased anywhere from 3 to 7 points.\nShare of voting population by party registration\n[iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"425\u2033 src=\"http:\/\/inewsource.org\/interactives\/highcharts\/sd_voter_turnout_chart.html\"][\/iframe]\n* Independents casting a Democratic ballot count as independent in this data\nSource: Office of the San Diego County Registrar of Voters\nThe change was fueled by a surge in voter turnout among independent voters relative to their party-aligned peers.\nFrom 2008 through 2014, turnout among independent voters rose by an average of 157 percent between the primary and general elections. That compares with an increase of 96 percent among Democrats and just 63 percent among GOP voters.\nThe year with the greatest jump in independent turnout between the primary and general elections was 2008 when it skyrocketed 250 percent, from 36,654 independent voters participating in the primary to 128,329 in the general election.\nVince Vasquez, a local independent elections analyst, said primaries tend to attract voters who are the most partisan, so independent voters often skip them.\n\"Clearly, you have on both sides, a large number of voters who do show up in these primaries. They are largely driven by partisanship,\" Vasquez said. \"That's really why you see more Republican voters and more Democratic voters and far fewer independent voters.\"\nPrimary-to-general turnout increase by party registration\n[iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"425\u2033 src=\"http:\/\/inewsource.org\/interactives\/highcharts\/sd_voter_turnout_chart_2.html\"][\/iframe]\nSo who are these independent voters?\nA Gallup survey released at the start of this year found that self-described independents split evenly between those who lean Democratic and those who lean Republican.\nIf San Diego's independents tend to vote similarly to their national counterparts, then that would provide Democratic candidates with a more favorable electorate in November than in June.\nVasquez said San Diego's independents tend to be younger and racially diverse, which helps Democrats.\n\"These are demographic groups that are more progressive, probably less likely to vote for Republicans, and I think that makes it probably even more of a blue wall when it comes to these election cycles,\" Vasquez said. \"It's going to be much more challenging, I would say, in the future for Republican candidates to win some election cycles here locally that otherwise aren't as competitive now.\"\n\"Political consultants and campaign managers are paid to work with the election they're given, not the one they want, right?\"-Vince Vasquez\nThe prospect of a challenging November electorate was part of the reason City Council District 1 Republican candidate Ray Ellis conceded his race to Democrat Barbara Bry last Friday, before a single vote had been cast.\nBut there's a catch. Because many of these independent voters are likely motivated by one or two particular high-profile candidates or ballot questions, there's no guarantee they'll bother to vote in races other than those that brought them out in the first place.\n\"I would have a strong suspicion you're going to see a significant drop-off in these precincts where you have a very large number of independent voters,\" Vasquez said.\nThat would temper the advantage Democrats might get from these voters.\nAside from that, Vasquez said local Republicans \u2014 including Mayor Kevin Faulconer and former Mayor Jerry Sanders \u2014 have been able to rack up wins even in a Democratic city by running campaigns that resonate with voters across the ideological spectrum.\nVasquez said success is ultimately about making a compelling case to the electorate you have.\n\"Political consultants and campaign managers are paid to work with the election they're given, not the one they want, right?\"\nTagged: Election 2016, elections, News in Numbers, san diego politics, Voter Turnout, voting\nJoe Yerardi\njoe.yerardi@gmail.com\nJoe Yerardi is a freelance data journalist for inewsource, where he worked between 2013 and 2016 as an investigative reporter and data specialist. To contact him with questions, tips or corrections, email joe.yerardi@gmail.com.\tMore by Joe Yerardi\nOne reply on \"Data shows proposed San Diego election change would help Democrats\"\nKeith M says:\nThe headline saying \"Data shows proposed San Diego election change would help Democrats\" would be just as accurate if it read, \"Data shows current San Diego election rules helps Republicans.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"LG (> 1200)\nMD (992 - 1199)\nSM (768 - 991)\nXS (< 767)\nLog in \/ Checkout \/ Items in cart\nView Speaker's Site\nAbdul Abdullah is an artist from Perth, currently based in Sydney, who works across painting, photography, video, installation and performance. As a self described 'outsider amongst outsiders', his practice is primarily concerned with the experience of the 'other' in society. Abdullah's projects have engaged with different marginalized minority groups and he is particularly interested in the experience of young Muslims in the contemporary multicultural Australian context. Through these processes and explorations Abdullah extrapolates this outlook to an examination of universal aspects of human nature.\nAbdullah was born in Bentley, Western Australia in 1986, and he graduated in 2008 from Curtin University. In 2009 Abdullah received the Highly Commended in the NYSPP at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and was named a Perth Rising Star by Insite Magazine. In 2010 Abdullah was included in the inaugural Triple J list of 25 Under 25 + Smashin' It. In 2011 he was a recipient of Kickstart funding for the 2012 Next Wave Festival and won the Blake Prize for Human Justice. Abdullah has also been hung as a finalist in the Archibald prize in 2011, 2013 and 2014. His works are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, The Gallery of Modern Art, Artbank, the University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, The Islamic Museum of Australia and The Bendigo Art Gallery. In 2015 Abdullah exhibited at Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), and at the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane (GOMA). This year Abdullah was a finalist in the WA young achievers award and will exhibit at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art (ACCA) and the Ian Potter in Melbourne.\nHalogen Australia\nLeadership Development Framework\nBooking & Payment Policy\n\u00a9 Copyright 2020 Halogen Australia. ABN: 23 619 487 982","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Goodbye, Pat\nDate Posted: Sat, 2 Jul 2022\nBlack Sheep Harmony are so sorry to have to say goodbye to our lovely baritone, Pat Nowell, who sadly passed away earlier this week.\nPat has been a key member of the chorus since she joined us in 2015 after she heard us singing our Christmas repertoire in a supermarket foyer in Yate. She was so moved by the songs and the harmonies that she got in touch to see if she could audition. She passed and, happily for us, became a member of the baritone section and sang with us at many subsequent Christmas events, helping to raise money for local charities. She even looked gorgeous in a Christmas pudding hat.\nIn 2019 she sang with us on Christmas Day to fulfil a bucket list wish for a local cancer patient.\nAt the Black Sheep's 3rd Birthday party, Pat joined in the fun with disguises.\nIn her youth, Pat worked as a Chanel rep and this had stayed with her as she always looked so youthful and beautiful with her flawless makeup and stylish clothes. She was never seen looking less than perfect.\nPat was so enthusiastic about her singing, but also great fun to be with, always happy to join in with singouts and afterglows. Events ranged from singing in the Radio Bristol Christmas Celebration to Making Music day's singout at Bitton railway, plus many others.\nPat came to convention with the Sheep in October 2017 where she helped us win the best Novice Chorus Award. In the dressing room before we sang, her make-up knowledge was invaluable as she helped members to \"look their best\".\nIn 2018, we held a vintage fair where everyone came along in vintage clothing, Pat stole the show and won the prize for best costume.\nWhen COVID struck, Pat was always involved in our Zoom rehearsals and parties, overcoming the technical difficulties and helping to keep the flock together in those difficult times.\nDuring lockdown, Black Sheep still found ways to perform. Here is a photo of Pat looking glamorous in our \"That Man\" video:\nPat took part when we used our cars for \"Carmony\" during the Summer of 2021 when we couldn't sing indoors.\nPat loved her singing and also sang in another choir called Nomine, which although no longer in existence, raised thousands of \u00a3\u00a3s for Children's Hospice South West, as well as other smaller singing groups.\nWe send our deepest condolences to Pat's family who were supporting her throughout her illness and were with her in her final days, surrounding her with love. We will miss you so much Pat, but you can now be at peace as you are reunited with your beloved husband, Alan, who you missed so deeply.\nRest in peace, Pat\nSue Davis\nMedal Haul for Black Sheep Members\nDate Posted: Fri, 13 May 2022\nAfter months of hard work with various mixed choruses, one life- and two current members of Black Sheep Harmony have recently picked up a hat-trick of medals each.\nAt the end of April, the national mixed chorus competition was held at the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) convention in Harrogate. Our chairman Noey, our MD Emeritus David and our Assistant MD Sue were competing in two mixed choruses, Endeavour and Bristol Mix. Both of these choruses have their own stories.\nEndeavour is an audition chorus with it's roots firmly in the (relatively new in the UK) tradition of Harmony Brigade. Under the direction of Lisa Robathan and Rae Watney, Endeavourers range from all over Europe and meet about 6 times a year for intensive weekend rehearsals with a social dinner thrown in for fun (and singing Brigade songs!!). Noey, David and Sue have sung with Endeavour almost since its inception in 2018 and were absolutely thrilled to achieve silver medal place at BABS, with a score of 75.7%.\nThe Bristol Mix is also an audition chorus with the original aim of bringing together singers from the six Barbershop choruses in Bristol. Headed by Linda Corcoran and Craig Kehoe, TBM were formed in 2019 and aimed to meet bi-monthly but after only a couple of rehearsals, the dreaded COVID struck. Like all choruses, TBM stuck together virtually until able to meet physically and have managed just five rehearsals since then. Despite all that, Noey, David and Sue were absolutely delighted to collect GOLD medals with TBM in the chorus's first ever singout (which happened to be on the convention stage!) with an excellent score of 78.8%.\nThen, the following weekend came the European Barbershop Championships 2021+1 held in Helsingborg, Sweden. EQ Rendezvous, one of the first mixed choruses formed in the UK, went on tour to Sweden as the 2017 IABS (Irish Association of Barbershop Singers) champions. Under the direction of Dick and Delyth Knight, EQR is made up solely of people from all over Europe who have taken part in either the Extreme Quartet stream of Harmony College or Harmony Brigades. Singing in an extreme quartet IS the audition for this chorus, and it has been in existence almost as long as mixed Barbershop has. The trio of Black Sheep were again delighted to pick up a medal with EQR, bronze this time with a score of 74.8%.\nWhat an exciting couple of weekends - three medals apiece in a space of six days!!\nMid-Somerset Festival Fun!\nDate Posted: Mon, 14 Mar 2022\nSaturday 12th March - an auspicious date for Black Sheep!\nWe've finally been let loose into the world for our first competition since the start of Covid\n- the Mid-Somerset Festival in Bath. And the first competition since Pete Nugent joined us as MD!\nNerve wracking of course, as always, we met up in the YMCA early in the morning to warm up and have a last minute practice. We'd already had a dress run at our usual rehearsal on Thursday, dressing up in our own black outfits with red corsages.\nThen it was off to St Swithin's Church at the top of Walcott Street for our first class - the Popular or Show Song Class. We were singing \"Anthem\" from Chess (very appropriate in the current world situation) and Queen's \"Bohemian Rhapsody\".\nAs this was the first festival since Covid struck, the classes were small, only 5 entrants in this class, however we were deemed one of the top 3 choirs to compete. We were praised by the day's experienced adjudicator, Rob Elliot, for our mix of voices (unaccompanied of course, unlike all the other choirs) especially the broad bass section, and our timing. So we didn't win the class but we did achieve a Distinction, with a score of 87-89\/100. An amazing achievement after the uncertainty of the last two years with all those Zoom rehearsals!\nA quick break for lunch and back we are again competing in the Female Voice choirs class, this time singing our latest song, Billy Joel's \"And So It Goes\" plus our ABBA medley. And another Distinction achieved! The comment from the adjudicator for \"And So It Goes\" was very complimentary: \"Lovely blend, and a warm tone produced a very attractive rendition of this great song\". Plus for the ABBA medley he said \"A very demanding opening, achieved with ease. You have to be focused to pull this off- and you did!\"\nDistinction in both classes we entered, we couldn't have asked for more - well, apart from winning the classes, of course! \ud83d\ude09\nA huge thank ewe to Pete for leading us up to and through the whole day. Despite our nerves he managed to keep us focused on the task and singing at our best.\nAnd not forgetting all the Sheep who have joined us in the last year and who were competing with us for the first time. Well done all of you!\nAfter the competitions it was time to let our hair down and we certainly did! Great fun had in Browns with the drinks flowing and singing of course, with people asking us to sing Happy Birthday to their friends and loved ones, we were all in our element. Thanks to Melanie for gathering in the birthday requests, that must be where you were when the photos were being taken!\nKathy Farrell\nDate Posted: Fri, 4 Feb 2022\nOur fab-ewe-lous MD Pete Nugent arrived back at rehearsal last night for the first time since Christmas, and he didn't come alone.\nWe were so proud to see him sporting a wonderful gold medal around his neck, won at the World 2022 International Seniors Quartet Contest, at the Barbershop Harmony Society's Midwinter Convention in Pasadena.\nHis quartet, One Foot in the Stave, performed brilliantly to not only win the Seniors competition, but also attain the highest score of everyone competing at the Convention. What an achievement! With the win, One Foot In The Stave also becomes the first quartet from outside North America to win the seniors championship in the event's 36-year history!\nOne Foot in the Stave: Rod Butcher, tenor; Brian Schofield, lead; Andy Funnell, bass; Pete Nugent, baritone\nTheir return was not all plain sailing as not only did Pete and the other members of the quartet arrive home with their precious metal, they also brought back the dreaded lurgy, Covid!! Hopefully they have all now recovered sufficiently to return to singing, and in Pete's case rehearsal, as he did last night. Boy, were we pleased to have him back in the flock!\nCheck out the video of One Foot in the Stave winning the gold medal and an enormous trophy (how did they get that on the plane home?!) and their encore performance:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5SjlXL9sdXk&t=60s\nBlack Sheep Harmony sing \"Queen\"!\nDate Posted: Sat, 6 Nov 2021\nWith the LABBS Convention yet again cancelled for 2021, we were tasked with creating a new video for the LABBS Showcase held in place of convention at the end of October.\nOur latest venture, a medley of Queen songs, seemed the most appropriate and in September we held a recording day when groups of up to 12 members came together in recording studio style to record the medley and also some other songs to be used for a future project. Pete had a very long day starting early one Sunday morning, setting up the mixing desk system and microphones, not finishing until the evening after the 3 recording sessions and then clearing the equipment. What a wonder he is!\nWhile sound editing continued, I started work on the video recording. We tried to involve as many members as possible with some different scenarios for the varied songs in the medley. \"Bicycle\" was one track so, with 13 members on bikes taking part both in the park and in their gardens, we had some great footage, even using a drone to get shots from the air.\n\"Another One Bites the Dust\" was also great fun, as members scouted around our rehearsal venue pursuing Sue (as Steve) with Nerf guns, provided by Sally's son - thank you, Joshua!\nSome other special effects, with an idea put forward by Cat, involved members flying through the sky and was hilarious to set up on the stage in our hall. And Chris played her part well as Lady Godiva with her sports car! Green screen technology can be a godsend but tricky to execute properly especially when it's windy!\nDebbie and I dressed up as Freddie Mercury and Brian May, and we also recreated the iconic Bohemian Rhapsody, albeit in daylight with no uplit effect.\nWe also thank Amersham A Cappella who kindly provided a photo of the Somerset Rose Bowl for us to use, tongue in cheek, for \"We are the Champions\"!\nEventually, after the mammoth edit, I was able to add in our finished sound track which has an amazing blend of our individual voices, thanks to Pete's magic!\nWe hope you enjoy the finished video which represents the individuality of our members and the fun we have together.\nBlack Sheep gain International Success!\nDate Posted: Sat, 24 Jul 2021\nRecently, two of our members, Noey and Sue, took part in two Mixed Virtual Harmony Brigades\nIn normal times, during a Harmony Brigade, a group of Barbershoppers from far and wide get together to sing. However, it's not as straightforward as just singing songs! Before the events, the participants are usually given three or four months to learn twelve songs in their chosen voice-part to performance standard.\nThere are two main aspects of a Harmony Brigade. The first is to sing one of the twelve songs in quartet with every other participant. If you sing with all the people in the other three voice-parts, marking them off on your \"dance card\" as you do so, you win a \"Tramp\" award. If you can learn a song in a second voice-part, you can also sing in quartet with those singing your own voice-part and achieve \"Supertramp\" status!\nThe second (and almost as important as the first) part is the competition. There is a draw where participants are randomly assigned three other quartet members and a song from the twelve. Everyone is given around ten minutes to come up with a quartet name and rehearse the song, probably for the first time in that particular quartet configuration. This is called Extreme Quartetting!! Following the short rehearsal, each extreme quartet then performs in front of everyone else and a judging panel. Fun but nerve-wracking!!\nTo qualify for participation, singers have to demonstrate their competence in each of three songs randomly chosen from the twelve. You can have five attempts, but if you don't eventually pass, you can't enter the draw for the competition or perform in the show.\nThe winning quartet gets to sing on the evening show, but everyone has a chance to perform in the Brigade Chorus along with guest acts, some of which will have been auditioned from members of the Brigade.\nDuring the coronavirus pandemic, Harmony Brigades have been very different, being forced online like so many other activities. Different formats have been used in the recent Brigades, but the rehearsals have all been the same, singing together in (almost) real time using Jamulus. This has been one of the joys of the brigades.\nOn the weekend of the 9th July, Noey and Sue attended the European Virtual Harmony Brigade, which would have been in Germany. Around 50 singers from America and Europe learnt six songs and the whole event actually took place live on Jamulus and Zoom over a weekend. The evening show was broadcast live on YouTube by WorldJam productions, and the weekend was huge fun. It was as near to the real Brigade experience as possible without leaving your home. \"Like a real Brigade, but without the hugs!\"\nThe following weekend it was the Mixed Virtual Harmony Brigade of New England, which would have been held in the USA, and also included singers from all over America and Europe.\nWe again learnt six songs in our chosen voice part, practising them during Jamulus run-throughs in the couple of months leading up to the event, then sent in recordings made at home of ourselves singing each of the songs.\nA week before the event, we were randomly assigned our quartets and a song picked from the six. Our previously recorded audio tracks were then mixed into competition quartet entries and the members of each quartet got together to agree a name and create a video for entry into the Harmony Brigade competition.\nDuring the competition, the resulting videos were shown to the other Brigaders who judged each other's performances. The members of Sue's quartet - \"Dear John\" - were thrilled to be judged in bronze medal position, 3rd out of 16 quartets, singing \"Angel Eyes\" by Earl K Brent, music by Matt Dennis, arr. Hal Maples.\nHere is a link to the video of Dear John's third placed competition entry:\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/GDlxIgcddJ4\nThe evening show featured various acts including Black Sheep Harmony's in-house quartet, The SongSmiths, singing Jim Croce's \"Time in a Bottle\" arranged by Joey Minshall. The audio track was mixed by our very own Pete Nugent and the video created by Noey McElwee.\nHere is a link to the SongSmiths' video: https:\/\/youtu.be\/qeIn-GMKMgs\nEarlier in the year, in February, Noey and Sue also took part in the UK Virtual Harmony Brigade, normally held in Nottingham. This Brigade was in the same format as the MVHBNE, using pre-recorded voice-parts mixed to make virtual quartets.\nThis time it was Noey's quartet, \"The Bristol Variant\", that was voted into second place by the other participants.\nThey were singing \"Fly Me to the Moon\" by Bart Howard, arr. Roger Payne:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DHE0looAVi8\nAll three events were great fun, but hopefully, the next one will be the real thing!\nBlack Sheep Penned In\nDate Posted: Fri, 5 Mar 2021\nBlack Sheep Penned In.\nSince March 2020, Zoom has become our greatest weapon against Covid! The pandemic has been especially challenging for Black Sheep Harmony as the initial lockdown coincided with our new MD, Pete \"Nooj\" Nugent's debut. He has yet to lead a physical rehearsal. He's done an amazing job, keeping us together and learning so thank you Pete. Our rehearsals are important to our members, and we've continued them throughout. Although unable to sing together as before, we can still warm up and sing along to our repertoire whilst muted (and we always sing beautifully!).\nBut at present, the social aspect of our meetings takes priority. We include items such as desert island discs; quizzes; show and tell, and our latest \u2013 \"Who are Ewe\" (we love a Sheep pun!) - we share something that nobody else knows! These items and the ability to chat together have been crucial, helping us feel connected and supported during this difficult year. We've even been able to continue recruitment, a real achievement in such challenging times.\nWe are especially proud of Zoom Into Christmas, our 5 week online course for women of all singing abilities in Nov and Dec 2020 which had 3 main aims \u2013\n- Teach two Christmas songs in four-part harmony to both the chorus and the course delegates and produce a Christmas Choir video;\n- Help attendees improve or even find their singing voice with a range of vocal techniques which they could take away;\n- Spread the joy of singing and encourage people to take it up.\nThe final week was a celebration of achievement with certificates being awarded. We had 80 registrants and many of the local ladies enjoyed it enough to return! We are delighted to have welcomed 7 auditionees directly as a result of the course, to add to the other 4 who have joined us during lockdown.\nTo see our Christmas Choir singing Little Saint Nick, click on this link\nhttps:\/\/www.blacksheepharmony.com\/HaveAListen\nBlack Sheep do Desert Island Discs\nDate Posted: Thu, 29 Oct 2020\nDuring our Zoom meetings, I suggested that we have a Desert Island Discs item. As it was my idea, of course I went first! My choice was Climb Every Mountain from Sound of Music. Not only is it an inspirational song, it reminded me of the time that my grandmother to took me to see it when my brother was born (he's now 51). Plus I was named after Julie Andrews .... Just wish I had her voice!\nLuckily other choir members contributed, (too many to mention here), but it was great to hear music which inspired and influenced people. Some were happy, others sad, but of equal importance in our lives.\nI had three favourites. They were from Sandra, Pat and Debbie C.\nSandra's song was 'Twist and Shout'. Back in the 60s, she saw the Beatles in concert at Weston Super Mare, spent 2 days outside their hotel and even sneaked into their bedroom when no-one was watching (don't try this yourself!). She 'pinched' a card from a pack of new Y-fronts in the wardrobe and even returned the following day to get the fab four to autograph the card. Sandra has that precious pants insert to this day.\nPat chose \"That'll be the day\" which was playing at her local youth club when Alan, (her husband to be), asked her for a dance. We saw photos of the young Pat and Alan, they made a very handsome couple. This song evokes wonderful memories for her, but sad ones too as it was also played at his funeral.\nFinally, Debbie C selected Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck. This reminded her of the time she was a teenager and went caravanning with her parents at Caravan Club rallies. In her words, she was bored and joined the youth club\/disco which became much more over the years. She developed lasting friendships and went on many holidays with the club. In Debbie's words \"It stopped her from being an unruly youth\". Who'da thought it!\nJulie Burley.\nBlack Sheep Show and Tell.\nBecause of the ongoing restrictions to singing due to COVID, our rehearsals are still all virtual. While online rehearsals are not in any way a substitute for singing together, they continue to keep us connected and Black Sheep Harmony members are still making the most of these challenging times.\nWe think that it is important to concentrate on the social aspect of our weekly meetings so although we do have a schedule of songs to practice, we are constantly coming up with new activities to keep things fun and fresh! One of the things that we enjoy is a weekly \"Show and Tell\" section during our Zoom rehearsals, with a different theme every week and there have been a wide variety to date. There is no obligation to take part, but many do and those that don't, enjoy the varied and interesting stories that accompany the items.\nThese have included -\n\"Hair Through Time\" where we were treated to many gorgeous of photos of members' youthful hairstyles (who knew that the bubble perm would go out of fashion) which showed the diversity of looks that people have had; Here are a few photos of Sue's varied hairstyles through the years.\n\"Souvenirs\" where many of us shared items which brought back memories of events or holidays, including a very special piece of Beatles memorabilia (a signed cardboard insert from a pack of Y fronts!).\n\"Guess the Owner\" a quiz where we had a slideshow of cats in hats and dogs in wigs, pets past and present, amusing and cute, but all well loved, who we attempted to match with their owners.\nThese included -\nCat's cat Merlin - Cat says \"In my office we used to have a 'secret Santa' at Christmas. One year I opened my present and was confused by two tiny Santa hats \u2013 I realised my giver knew I had two cats, and the hats were meant for them! So I tried it out with Merlin, who is not the most congenial or cooperative of cats - he was not impressed \u2013 he coughed and choked as if convinced I was trying to strangle him. He turned and glared at me, but wore it long enough for me to take this photo\".\nDrea's dog looks very soulful in a little wig\nRos's beautiful and much loved papillon, Ziggy\n\"Transport\" brought us a variety of much loved conveyances (including a white 2CV which was used in a wedding fleet and a Hillman Avenger with a papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 dashboard) most of which ended up on the scrap heap.\n\"Yellow Things\" brought us a singing banana in a fruity quartet - David, dressed as a banana in his quartet \"Chord in the Act\" when they performed to unsuspecting passers by during the launch of CBBC.\nKathy showed us a beautifully beaded flapper dress from the 1920s. She says \"My great aunt Betty's beaded Charleston dress from the 1920's. She was a professional ballet dancer and theatrical performer throughout her life and well into her 70's when she could still high kick! Her dress from that fascinating period has been passed down from her, through my mum and then to me. The intricate design of beads in amber and peach is stunning.\nUnfortunately over the years of performances it has lost many of its beads which is a shame and it would be lovely to get it restored to its former glory!\"\nDebbie showed us a family portrait of her Mum in the 1940s, holding a chicken while wearing a yellow smocked dress, a hand me-down from her cousin. The painting shows the Chilterns where her grandfather was landlord of a country pub following relocation from London. Debbie remembers it hanging above the fireplace in the family home and it remains with her Mum to this day.\nThere were also a couple of upholstery projects, an adorable handmade felt duck toy from the 1940s and a stunning yellow orchid which flowered after many barren years.\nLast but definitely not least was Kate's \"Yellow Submoorine\", a snorkelling cow! A competition winning design for a fibreglass cow in the colours of the Swedish flag which was exhibited in the public spaces of Stockholm.\n\"Fantastic Finds\"\nSophie showed us a lamp which she found at a flea market, only to be delighted when it turned out to be by a famous designer - \"It's the only thing I have bought at a second hand market that I was pleasantly surprised by. Turns out it is an Ingo Maurer design, I didn't know it at the time!\"\nKay amazed us with a stunning gold and uncut sapphire ring (AD 1219-1538) which she unearthed during an archeological dig in Stoke on Trent. It was found on the finger of a skeleton underneath Hulton Abbey and which went to the British Museum as it is treasure trove. It was subsequently purchased by the local Hanley Museum where it was put on display.\n\"Lockdown Projects\"\nRuth told us how she had trained and completed her 4th NHS Couch to 5K during lockdown despite battling with ulcerative colitis (well done Ruth).\nBlack Sheep Harmony are also lucky because another of Ruth's Lockdown projects was to revamp our Instagram account for which we are truly grateful as it looks amazing!\nNicky showed us before and after photos of her garden improvements - it is now a fairy grotto with lights, rock gardens and even a little pond for frogs! The perfect place to relax during lockdown - as long as the fairies don't mind...\nJulie's upholstery project also came into the \"yellow\" category. She told us \"It's an American Rocking chair which I bought for \u00a330. I stripped it back, sanded and varnished then re-upholstered. It was the first time I have used weaving. I was procrastinating for a while, then was motivated to finish during lockdown\".\nSue decided to take up patchwork again after a break of 30 years, but in miniature! \"In my 20s I started making a patchwork quilt cover, it was huge but I never finished it and it languishes in a cupboard somewhere. I thought I'd have another go at patchwork as it's the perfect thing to do when you can't go out, but to make it different, I'd keep it small and topical. I made a piece of fabric out of inch wide hexagons cut from a variety of scraps and then used it to make a mask - I was very pleased with it and no-one else has one the same!\".\nClaire took up cross stitch and sewed a variety of designs including this NHS Rainbow panel.\nBlack Sheep are keeping virtual rehearsals fun and sociable and as a result of items such as Show and Tell, we are probably finding out more about each other than we ever would if we were stood on the risers so every cloud has a silver lining!\nThank you everyone for your continued contributions.\nSue Davis.\nWe're ready with our singing masks. Please let us sing!\nDate Posted: Tue, 6 Oct 2020\nAs a chorus, we have really struggled with the lack of physical singing together, especially being a harmony chorus where hearing one another sing is so important. Zoom just does't hack it!\nPreparations are afoot to try to get back to some sort of normality with our Covid leaders, Sue & Joanna, sorting out the logistics of proper rehearsals. However, when we do meet, we will need to wear masks and normal masks just won't work - we wouldn't be able to open our mouths wide enough to sing.\nWith the help of a fantastic Facebook group \"Masks for Singing\" I explored the designs suggested on the page and copied and cut out the templates. Making an initial mask or two led to amending the design again with help from the group and we were ready for the off.\nAll the members of the chorus who intend to get together singing chose 2 cotton fabrics from the stash I had purchased. Noey helped tremendously at this stage by getting acrylic templates of the design made up. That meant the cutting out (using a rotary knife) became so much easier.\nThen the hard graft started. I decided to make the masks batch style, completing one stage on all the masks before moving on to the next. This meant the process became easier as it became automatic and I then didn't need to refer to the complicated instructions repeatedly.\nI added three internal strips of fabric so that wearers could add in an extra filter layer if they choose plus an external nose wire casing on the top piece of the mask and a buttonhole with adjustable elastic for the bottom. I felt this was necessary so that we achieve a good fit for the mask no matter what shape or sized face the wearer has.\nPutting all the pieces together I used the burrito method, where all the seams are enclosed - quite fiddly but a much neater and professional finish.\nSingers had the choice of ear loops or elastic going around the head, both adjustable for the same reason.\nThe form of the mask was created using plastic canvas - a flexible plastic with lots of holes in it making breathing less difficult than using an interfacing. The first design used long cable ties or corsetry boning to make the shape however this left the middle section prone to collapse after washing so it wasn't ideal.\nSo now a total of 34 have been made and I am about to start another smaller batch. We just need our rehearsal venue to open and we are ready to sing!!\nBlack Sheep LOVE \"That Man\"!\nDate Posted: Tue, 28 Jul 2020\nAfter finishing our successful video of \"Anthem\", we were all raring to go on another lockdown project. Anthem is an emotional ballad, so we felt a change of tempo and sentiment was needed and what better than the current song we were learning, \"That Man\", made famous by the wonderful Caro Emerald! We were loving the four part harmonies arranged by our very own Pete Nugent.\nFor \"Anthem\" we had combined both audio and video recording in one go but had found it so stressful trying to get not only the notes and words right but performing to the camera at the same time. Not to mention making sure our background was suitable! So this time we recorded the audio separate from the video, a much easier task for everyone. All our individual audio files were sent off to Pete for him to work his magic and then the fun began.\nI had no real conception for the video at that stage however I wanted to show people doing things they enjoyed and, with some lovely weather imminent, decided that garden shots would be ideal. As lockdown was starting to ease it was the perfect opportunity for some of us to gather in small socially isolating groups in several member's gardens, using individual's gardens for the rest. The brief was to think of something to do while the filming was taking place, and I was amazed by the number of different activities that the chorus came up with, from gardening in all sorts of forms, drinking tea and alcohol (pretend of course !), doing sudoku, throwing games, playing cards, painting (the artistic kind), cleaning windows and so the list goes on.\nThe hardest part for me was on the hottest day of June when temperatures reached the mid 30's and I was stuck in the sun for over 6 hours while filming 10 people at two venues. But I can say it was worth it as everyone stepped up to the mark and gave it everything. I'm the only one who has seen the complete videos of each singer at full size, and it was a delight to edit each individual performance.\nBut then the hard work began! Anyone who has edited video will appreciate the time it takes to produce just a few seconds of finished clip, however this project is five and half minutes long and I needed inspiration.\nOf course our \"That Man\" had to be Pete, and I had filmed him early on, on a day which promised to be a bit dreary and cool. Typically of British weather, after a rain shower the temperature soared leaving Pete having to carry on playing his part in his thick jacket \"for continuity\"!\nIn the edit I chose to turn him into a cartoon character, to give humour to the piece, and with his antics on the day of filming and the extra clip I asked of him later it proved to be the right direction. And certainly the ending with everyone's reactions to his \"phone call\" was a fitting finale to the song.\nThis screenshot gives a little bit of an idea as to how an editing screen looks during the process, although in realitiy it is a lot more complicated as each individual video has been incorporated into a grid.\nThe whole process has taken two months from start to finish, but I believe that the time spent was worth the effort, and hope that everyone who watches it will smile. On a personal note it was so lovely to meet up with each member, albeit for a short period of time, while we had fun filming. And a huge thank you to Sue F, Sandra, Lyn & Sophie who opened up their gardens for socially distanced filming of other members.\nClick the link below to watch the full video. If you would like to join us, we welcome new members at our Zoom rehearsals each Thursday.\nDate Posted: Sat, 30 May 2020\nEven though us singers are still unable to meet physically, we are fortunate to be able to meet virtually and this enables us to carry on not only with rehearsals but also with chorus administration.\nWe have recently held our 8th AGM but of course it was a very different meeting to the previous seven as it was held via Zoom.\nIt is traditional at the AGM to hear a report from our Music Director but this year it was different, we had TWO MDs to present reports! The first was from our outgoing MD David Proud and the second from the new MD recruit, Pete Nugent.\nDavid started his report by remembering how eight years ago he wanted to create a chorus where \"music is king\" and was based on a rich sound and simple friendship but was also low cost. With less than ten members, no music, risers or money, Black Sheep Harmony was born. The chorus quickly grew as the word spread locally and soon began to win prizes at music festivals and competitions.\nDavid mentioned several competitions and events where the chorus was praised for its rich, resonant sound. For him, amongst the most notable were the two singouts at Bitton Railway Station. Another was the Reception for the Chairman of South Gloucestershire Council where Black Sheep Harmony provided the after dinner entertainment and looked stunning in black dresses with eye catching yellow corsages. Although we didn't know it at the time, this was to be David's final singout as MD so it was doubly special as he felt that we had produced the best sound he had heard in recent years.\nDavid reflected it had been a difficult decision to retire but he was delighted with the appointment of Pete \"Nooj\" Nugent as his successor. He felt the chorus was very lucky indeed to have found Pete as he was \"top director material\" and he referred to Pete's fantastic baritone voice and many gold medals!\nPete then said he had been made to feel very welcome and mentioned it was a two-way process for everyone; both chorus and director learning and growing over time. He wanted to thank the chorus for the first few weeks and also to thank David for handing over the reins to him. He said he looks forward to the Zoom rehearsals each Thursday.\nPete is also looking forward to building on David's work with the chorus by further developing Black Sheep and taking us to new heights! Although we are in challenging times, he has been inspired by his Dad's approach to look for the good in any situation.\nAt the end of the meeting, we couldn't let David's achievements go unremarked so, as you can see in the photo, we all thanked him personally with our own individual thank you messages!\nThe Heard Immunity - Lockdown Chorus\nDate Posted: Tue, 12 May 2020\nEver since lockdown started in March, Black Sheep Harmony, like so many other choruses, have been meeting virtually on Zoom to rehearse. For us, it's so much more, as our founder MD David Proud stepped down just as the lockdown started to be replaced by an amazing new gent, Pete \"Nooj\" Nugent. Although Pete hasn't had a single rehearsal in charge, the transition has been b-ewe-tifully managed. Virtual rehearsals have included warm-ups from YouTube, singing through the four tracks of the week with each sheep muted. Breakouts into sectional rooms are next, giving us a chance to learn our two new songs and isolate problematic parts of older repertoire. After the 8 o'clock Clap for Carers there's the educational segment (Mongolian throat-singing anyone?) and finally a good old catch-up in How are Ewe? For some of us this is the highlight of a quiet week.\nDespite all this online fun, we've been missing singing together and performing, so the music committee decided to make a video, but not just any video. We are so lucky to have the combined talents of videographer Kathy Farrell and tech genius Nooj to make us look and sound fantastic. The LABBS polecat \"Anthem\" seemed to fit the mood of the times. However there was a fortnight's worth of anguish as sheep tried to get their heads round the technical challenges of playing a special track in one ear on one device whilst filming on another, with nothing distracting in the background and not chopping off your own head in the shot. Not to mention the difficulties of finding a quiet time and space in homes with children \/ pets \/ partners wanting to get in on the act. Then there were the camera-shy ewes, those who are trying to work full-time from home, and the new recruit who had to learn the song first. And finally, we had to abandon our PJs and get glammed up with make-up and presentable hair!\nThe grand unveiling at rehearsal this week was greeted with acclaim and cries of \"Let's do another one!\". Cue groans from our video editor and MD. So, I invite you to give the final product a watch - just pick 'Anthem' from our Have a Listen Page, or view on Facebook at https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlackSheepHarmonyLadiesChorus\/\nCoronavirus Challenges\nDate Posted: Sat, 25 Apr 2020\nThe world feels very different at present, but Black Sheep Harmony is still singing!\nIn a few short weeks, like most of the global population, we have gone from happy little sheep, wandering where we will to being penned up, unable to go anywhere or visit friends and family.\nWe have tried our best to keep in contact with each other on social media and sing \"together\" using video conferencing, and although it is great fun, it just isn't the same!\nIt's not a perfect situation but we are all grateful to this technology for keeping us connected, providing very welcome distraction and preventing us from feeling too isolated.\nAll singing groups are finding ways to cope with these challenges but for The Sheep, it has been a particularly difficult time. Our wonderful Director and founder member, David Proud was due, after eight years of dedicated leadership, to hand over the reins to our incoming MD, Pete \"Nooj\" Nugent. This was to happen at a special celebration evening, but then Lockdown happened!!\nOur first ever Zoom rehearsal coincided with Pete's first, what a difficult way to start, but he did a fantastic job.\nIt was a great success and as Pete hosted our first online get together, with input from the music team, the format for our Zoom meetings was established.\nWe are still learning, but we have had fun with highly topical warmups, practice of repertoire songs, sectional breakout rooms and educational segments. We even manage to have a mini break to celebrate the hugely difficult work of NHS and other essential frontline workers.\nThe evenings have been rounded off b-ewe-tifully with a \"how are ewe\" session. This social part of the evening is as much fun (at this stage, a tipple of your choice is an optional extra!), and as important as the singing part!\nWe are still open for business and although our current rehearsals are very different to normal ones, Black Sheep Harmony would still love to welcome new and even returning members.\nPlease contact us through the website or Facebook, we'd love to hear from you!\nAttachment (872.6kb, 4032x2268)\nVintage + PreLoved Fair - Cancelled\nDate Posted: Wed, 19 Feb 2020\nThis event has been cancelled due to the CoronaVirus pandemic.\nBlack Sheep Harmony are delighted to be holding their 3rd annual Vintage and PreLoved Fair on Saturday 6th June at Hanham Community Centre.\nLoads of stalls for you to browse and buy from.\nWe are running our hugely popular Vintage Tea Room served on vintage china and also there will be live entertainment from roving barbershope quartets throughout the day. Plus tombola and raffle.\nAvon Valley Railway 150th Gala Celebration.\nDate Posted: Mon, 5 Aug 2019\nThe Avon Valley Railway 150th year Gala Celebration, 4th August 2019\nThe Flock have done it again! Even with a substantial reduction in numbers due to summer holidays, The Black Sheep put on a great show at The Avon Valley Railway 150th Gala Celebration event.\nThe many happy visitors enjoyed lunch, evocative rides on a vintage train or bus, and the opportunity to browse local trade stands and displays from local museums. There was plenty of warm sunshine and cooling ice cream for all as they were entertained by The Sheep singing their hearts out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the line.\nIt was a busy, interesting and very rewarding afternoon at a lovely location which was enjoyed by all!\nCongratulations to Avon Valley Railway on holding such a successful event.\nThank You Pam\nBlack Sheep Harmony said a big thank you to Pam for all her hard work for the group as treasurer. Pam is a founder member of Black Sheep, and has been our treasurer since those early days.\nShe has worked tirelessly to keep our accounts in order, and has ensured a smooth transition by supporting our new treasurer, Cat.\nWe were delighted to present Pam with some gift vouchers for her to spend as she wishes. She intends to buy something special for her garden to remind her of her time as the Black Sheep Treasurer.\nThank you Pam, from all of us!\nBBC Radio Bristol Christmas Celebration 19.12.18\nDate Posted: Thu, 20 Dec 2018\nLast night, Black Sheep Harmony were thrilled to sing at the recording of the BBC Radio Bristol Christmas Celebration. A hardy few arrived in the afternoon to do a sound check which got us in the mood for the main event later in the evening.\nWe were sharing our green room with a fabulous young acapella group, The Bristol Suspensions, and during the evening were treated to a private performance of two of their songs. Thanks guys!\nThe concert, in aid of \"The BBC Radio Bristol Alive Appeal\" was performed to a large and very appreciative audience of around 500 people in the Anson Rooms in Clifton. A fantastic selection of excellent local talent was presented, and we were so pleased to be part of it. The appeal is aiming to raise \u00a350,000 to change the lives of older people where we live.\nWe performed two sets of two songs. In the first set, we sang \"O Holy Night\", as arranged by our own MD, David Proud, and \"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear\". In the second set we treated the audience to \"Carol of the Bells\" and finished on a high with \"Let it Snow\". Sadly, David was poorly with the Christmas lurgy and had to stay in bed with a hot toddy, so the chorus was directed by assistant MD, Sue Davis.\nIt was a great evening, the Sheep sang beautifully and it ended with everyone, audience and performers, singing a fun Christmas song together in a round. A rousing finale indeed!\nThe programme is due to be broadcast by BBC Radio Bristol on Christmas Eve at 6pm and again on Christmas Day at 9am. Tune in and enjoy!\nAttachment (3.8Mb, 2100x2866)\nFirst Christmas singouts 2018\nDate Posted: Tue, 11 Dec 2018\nIt's Christmas!!!\nThe Black Sheep have got the festive season off to a flying start with three very different, but all fantastic sing outs.\nFirstly, we sang at a special Christmas promotional event at Fonthill Garden Centre, Bitton. What a great evening! There were mince pies, Christmas treats from various local producers and a brass band to complete the festive feel. Thanks to the lovely staff and customers at Fonthill for a fab-ewe-lous evening.\nThen, on a rainy Saturday morning we were invited to sing at Tesco Staple Hill as part of the Christmas on the Hill event where we were able to raise money for our chosen charity, Young Minds. Thank you to all the lovely shoppers for their donations and to the Tesco staff for making us feel so welcome. The chocolate reindeer were a real treat!\nWe then decamped to Hanham where we had a stall at the Christmas Fair, then finished the day by singing for the Hanham Hall Residents and their children. The grownups loved the singing and the children were so excited to be visiting Santa in his grotto. Susie, the organiser said \"I just had to tell you how much I LOVED your choir this evening . What an amazingly enthusiastic choir you are, with beautiful strong voices and fantastic harmonies. I loved the whole 'oneness' of your choir and the diversity of your repertoire. You were all mesmerising and magical\".\nIt was a busy day and a lovely evening rounded off with mulled wine and mince pies.\nChristmas starts here!\nLearn to Sing In Harmony\nDate Posted: Fri, 21 Sep 2018\nBlack Sheep Harmony are pleased to invite any interested ladies to join our Learn to Sing in Harmony Course.\nThe course runs for three Thursdays, starting 4 October 2018\nvenue - Cadbury Heath Hall, School Road, Warmley - BS30 8EN\nVintage and Pre-loved Fair\nBlack Sheep Harmony are delighted to announce that we will be hosting a VINTAGE AND PRE-LOVED FAIR at Cadbury Heath Hall on June 2nd.\nThere will be vintage and pre-loved clothing and accessories, kitchenalia, china and glassware, bric-a-brac and gifts, and handcrafted items made from reclaimed materials. Local high street charities will also be well represented.\nCome and enjoy traditional refreshments served on antique china at the Black Sheep Vintage Tea Room whilst being entertained by one of our roving Barbershop ensembles..\nEnter the raffle to win one of our fabulous gift boxes.\nTables and\/or rails are available at \u00a310 each. To book a pitch, go to the upcoming events at the bottom of the page, or go to \"News and Events\" and click on \"Upcoming Events\".\nBlack Sheep say Farewell to Mary Williams.\nDate Posted: Sat, 13 Jan 2018\nMary Williams moves to Pastures N-ewe.\nIt was with very mixed emotions that Black Sheep Harmony said farewell to Mary at our first rehearsal of the year in January 2018. She leaves us to take up the exciting new role of Music Director at another Bristol chorus, Avon Harmony.\nMary is virtually a founder member of Black Sheep Harmony, joining three weeks after its inception with very little singing experience. Since then, she has grown so much musically, and has become a real driving force, with her novel ideas, huge input and capacity for learning. She has held various roles in the chorus, including Baritone section leader and Associate Director, as well as being a valued member of the management team, and taking almost sole responsibility for our website and social media. Of course, we will also miss her sunny smile!\nMary has sung in various quartets within the chorus. Brizzlechix was Mary's own project and her first real experience of Quartet singing. SongSmiths were very grateful that she was able to stand-in as baritone for several sing outs when Sophie was on maternity leave and she also competed at convention with BS4\nThe flock were determined to give her a good send off, so we filled a hamper with loads of gifts and wine, Noey made a unique card and Nicky baked a beautiful cake. Mary finished our rehearsal by directing \"For The Longest Time\" and \"Happy Together\" for the last time. It was a sad yet happy occasion as we said, not goodbye, but \"au revoir\"\nWe are very proud that one of our members is able to go on to direct a chorus of her own. We will miss her very much, but she goes with all of our blessings and very best wishes that her new venture is a success.\nGood Luck Mary!\nOur review of 2017. What a year!\nDate Posted: Thu, 4 Jan 2018\nA year in the life of Black Sheep Harmony. See and hear what we get up to as a matter of course!\nCrafty Sheep!\nDate Posted: Tue, 8 Aug 2017\nHere at Black Sheep Harmony, not only do we sing well but we craft well too.\nMany of us have handicrafts as our hobbies \u2013 everything from knitting, sewing, growing plants, making \"make it yourself\" kits, making fudge and homemade chocolates, homemade cordial, and gin making - not to mention the cakes! J\nSo, early in 2016 we decided to host our very own craft fair. We hired the hall, contacted stall holders, recruited volunteers to make cakes and sell teas and coffees on the day, had a huge banner made for outside the hall and decided we would sing a few songs on the day.\nIt was a huge success. We worked hard, getting to the hall early to set up the tables and organise the stall holders and help them set up. The doors opened at 10am and people drifted in and spent their money on unique handmade items. We all took a turn in the kitchen, selling refreshments and homemade cakes and we sang a few songs for the shoppers and stall holders. The feedback from the stall holders was excellent \u2013 some of them said it was one of the best fair's they've done. We packed up at 13.00 exhausted but pleased that it had gone well.\nAnd, we are doing it all again this year but bigger and better. This year we will be at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall and have 30+ stall holders booked for our event on 11th November 2017.\nOn a smaller scale, we have a craft table at our rehearsal on the first Thursday of each month. Members bring all sorts to sell \u2013 this month we had beautiful handcrafted sets of 3 tubes on wooden stands filled with sweets, bath salts and gin (Gin does feature quite prominently with us Sheep!), handmade cot blankets and tote bags, homemade fudge and handcrafted gin(see what I mean!) and home-grown vegetables and plants. Last month we had hand sewn aprons, bags and bunting. We raised over \u00a350 for our funds this month.\nSo it's not all about singing \u2013 it's about crafting too!\nAttachment (82.2kb, 960x720)\nThe Black Sheep Entertain in Chipping Sodbury\nDate Posted: Mon, 5 Dec 2016\nThe Black Sheep entertain Chipping Sodbury.\nOn a crisp and sunny winter Saturday in early December, the Black Sheep brought Christmas cheer to Chipping Sodbury. Our Christmas repertoire had its first public airing of 2016 at Barnhill Court where the lovely residents gave us such a warm welcome. We entertained them with a wide variety of Christmas arrangements, some carols, such as \"Silent Night\" and \"The Coventry Carol\", popular songs, \"Let it Snow\" being the chorus favourite, and even a Wassail thrown in for good measure! We were then treated to hot drinks and delicious cakes which helped keep us warm as the afternoon unfolded.\nAnd my goodness, did we need keeping warm! As we left Barnhill Court, the glorious winter sunshine had been replaced by threatening clouds and a very chilly wind! We then took part in the festivities of the Chipping Sodbury Victorian Day. There was so much going on, many stalls selling everything Christmassy, gifts, foods, treats, even mulled wine! There were a variety of working steam engines and steamrollers, all kept in tip-top condition, despite their age. There was even a Town Cryer! As darkness fell, the lights twinkled as the steam drifted by.\nThe Black Sheep followed some fabulous displays of dance and gymnastics from very talented young people, and we assembled on the trailer. As we sang our Christmas repertoire, wrapped in our Christmas scarves and hats, decorated with tinsel, the audience grew and became ever more appreciative. David, however, became ever colder as he was receiving the full blast of the icy wind! It is always challenging singing in the open air, but we rose to the challenge, and were very well received. It was a lovely, festive start to our Christmas season, and we are looking forward to many more sing outs in the coming weeks.\nBlack Sheep Harmony Ladies Chorus\nwww.blacksheepharmony.com\nAttachment (2Mb, 4032x3024)\nSinging Can Take Over Your Life.\nDate Posted: Thu, 1 Dec 2016\nIf there's one thing I've learned about singing it's that you need never stop learning about singing! There is always further to go, more to learn. When I first started singing it was in the chorus of a small amateur dramatics group. Productions are taken very seriously and much work goes in to learning words and tunes. When I was cast in my first principle role, acting and singing solo, I thought it couldn't get more serious than that. Singing solo is a different ball game, and holding a tune against an orchestra and chorus is challenging, even when it's s a well known melody.\nAs I became more comfortable with battling the orchestra alone, the next step was duetting with another character and it was then that I started being asked to sing simple harmonies. This awakened in me a love for singing in harmony which just cannot be satisfied by singing solo.\nFast forward a year or so and I joined a local choir. The leap from show tunes and old time music hall to classical and sacred music was exciting, and the choir sang in four part harmony, soprano, alto, tenor and bass (SATB) and singing alto, I was able to scratch that harmony itch! In both of the choirs I have sang in, singers are allowed to use sheet music, and whilst this is a useful crutch, it does mean that often the singers are not following the primary rule....\"Watch the Conductor\". Again, I thought that singing couldn't get much more challenging.\nThen it happened! A friend from my drama group invited me to join a small, newly formed group called Black Sheep Harmony Ladies Chorus. She told me that they were ladies who sang in four part harmony in the Barbershop style. Having only heard Barbershop on The Simpsons, I thought I knew what I was letting myself in for. I was mistaken. From the first chord I was hooked, it was completely different to anything I'd done before.\nThe learning is done differently, instead of practicing with music at rehearsal, the learning is done at home with teach track and sheet music, so that when you get to rehearsal, you can start singing the song straight away. All without any instruments, and eventually without sheet music!! Vocal lines are named after the male Barbershop lines of tenor (the highest harmony part), lead (usually but not always sings the tune), baritone (fills in all the fabulous harmonies in the middle) and bass (the lowest of the harmony parts). I was lucky to be asked to sing baritone, a vocal part as rewarding as it is challenging.\nBut if you thought that singing was just getting the right words and notes in the right order, then think again. There is so much more to it! Every week, we are given lessons in techniques to improve vocal quality, breathing, vowel matching, even posture. It all affects the sound made by the chorus.\nThanks to joining Black Sheep Harmony, I now have the absolute pleasure to sing with three other chorus members in a quartet called The SongSmiths, and we have competed on the national stage as well as singing at local concerts and events. I feel that maybe this could be the pinnacle of my singing, that my singing \"career\" has led me to this point, and yet, I still have so much to learn. I am still on my musical journey, along with all the other ladies in the chorus and quartet, and it is such a joy!\nSinging with others in close harmony brings people closer together, and the sense of achievement when it all goes right is incredible, it really does make you feel good.\nSue Davis, Baritone!\nOn becoming a Black Sheep!\nWell, who would have thought this time last year that I would have singing as a new hobby\u2026\u2026and be a sheep?! Certainly not me. I have always liked singing, but all I had done in my role as a nursery nurse in school was leading 3 to 4 year olds through rhymes and songs each with an average of four rhyming lines to learn. No great feat! In fact, I wasn't even sure I could sing grown-up stuff. Oh and I did get as far as grade 1 piano aged 7, but that really is as far as my musical knowledge went. So it is with great pleasure and surprise that I find myself immersed in this new pastime. It has be en an exciting challenge and revelation to find that, I DO have the ability to learn the words and sing the notes of the BlackSheep repertoire.\nThis is all due to the wonderful opportunity to join the 'Learn2sing' course last September. When I first heard BlackSheep sing, I was bowled over by the fantastic sound, complicated harmonies and a singing style which I had hardly ever come across before. As I loved what I heard, so my journey began. Under the exceptional encouragement of David. With the terrific support, time and patience offered by Kathy. Along with the welcome from all the chorus, I began to think that maybe I can sing a bit. So, with the aid of sheet music, teacher tracks and time spent very definitely alone in the kitchen, here I am enthusically learning all the songs and starting to make \"sheep puns\".\nI have found that becoming a BlackSheep (it is great to have a darker side when known as 'Mrs Sensible') has meant joining a group of people who offer friendship, laughs, fun, challenge and experiences that are often on the unusual side. I'm really pleased and grateful that I have had this opportunity to realise the joy of singing. This new world only opened up because of the huge amount of work, organisation and commitment the chorus made in starting the Learn2sing classes, and all the support offered since then.\nSue F\nWe sing for gin!\nDate Posted: Sun, 31 Jul 2016\nDidn't we have a luverly time the day we went to the Gin Festival?\nSix thirsty sheep (Nicky, Kathy, Ann, Sue D, Mary W and Noey) went along to the first Bath Gin Festival held at the Guild Hall (a place we know and love so well) and........, drank gin, strangley enough! But what do you get when you mix girls from the chorus with alcohol? That's right....singing!\nAs we started singing, one lady came up to us and said \"Are you from The Black Sheep?\" It would seem that our fame and noteriety preceed us whenever we go! It turned out that she had been along to our concert at St Stephen's, recognised our style and clearly loved us!\nBut that was not all! What started off as a cheeky little sing on the stair well, turned into a full blown performance in front of about 300 people! The host of the Festival got to hear us and asked us if we would sing to the whole massed assembly. Before we knew it, we were up onstage with two microphones in front of us, doing our thing. They even paid us in gin tokens!\nAll in all it was a fabulous, fun event and not only did we drink a lot of different gins, but found out a lot of information as well. Did you know that gin is made out of potato vodka? Then they add the 'botanicals' like juniper berries and other aromatic herbs and spices. Fascinating stuff!\nWe were all a little jaded by the end of the evening, but it was brilliant fun and I thoroughly recommend it to ewe all next year!\nNoey x\nOne gin and six straws!\nDate Posted: Fri, 29 Jul 2016\nWe had a luvverly time, the day we went to the Gin Festival.\nA small flock of six thirsty sheep met up on the train and went to Bath to take part in the Gin Festival being held in the Guild Hall. It was a very civilised affair and wh o knew there were so many gins? About 120 of them we were told were there ready and waiting to be tasted. So not wishing to disappont any of them, we set about the difficult task of choosing just four of them (\u00a320 bought you a four-drink card). A few free samples to start with got us well in the mood and soon we were learning all sorts of facts about gin apart from what it tasted like. Did you know gin is made from potato vodka, for example? So many different things are added to it to enhance its flavour (anything from anise to sweet violets) and we quickly worked out which ones were our favourites.\nNow, what do you get when you mix girls from the chorus and gin together? Well.....singing as it happens. Somebody (I wonder who that could be) produced a pitch pipe and off we went. We hadn't been singing for long when a lady came up to us and asked \"Are you from The Black Sheep?\". Our fame spreads far and wide it would seem. She'd been to the concert at St Stephen's and had recognised us.. She said we were just as great then as we were at the concert. She wasn't the only one to notice us as what started out as a cheeky little sing in the stairwell turned into a full blown performance to about 300 people.\nThe host for the event heard us singing and asked us if we could sing in the main hall, Before we knew it we were up on stage with two microphones in front of us, singing to the entire massed assembly. We went down a storm and we were given free gin tokens for our efforts. One girl who'd heard us sing was so impressed she came over and gave us her last gin token for us to share. Hence the caption - one gin, six straws!\nIt was a fabulous fun day, so many thanks to the 'gin singers': Kathy, Ann, Sue D, Nicky, Mary W and Noey (me!). Next year it's my intention to do it all again, this time with a full chorus. Get ready!\nMidnight Walk 2016\nOne warm evening on July 9th 2016, over a dozen Black Sheep took to the streets of Bristol after a busy day to raise money walking five miles. It was for St. Peters Hospice who nurse people who are dying from terminal cancer in their caring and loving environment.\nIt is a subject very close to our chorus' heart having lost our tenor friend Jill earlier this year. She was diagnosed less than a year before and sadly she passed away in the care of St. Peters Hospice. I was impressed by the devotion of the staff and helpers who nursed her to keep her comfortable and help look after the families emotional needs at such a difficult time. We did the walk last year when she feeling unwell and this year we tried to give something back and to ease the burdan of costs of this important charitable care.\nOn the day of the walk, it started with a few of us being asked to sing on BBC Radio Bristol. We had the crazy idea that this year we would dress as Sheep. So there we were at the BBC Bristol at 8am looking sheepish on the street. It didn't last long as one interview later and a song later live on the radio, our confidence had grown. Then we started busking in a cafe, on the street outside the charity shop and city museum.\nLater in the day, it was time for the walk. Some of us arrived just in the nick of time to be dragged straight onto the stage to sing to the crowd of a few hundred women in a sea of pink, flashing bunny ears and carnival gear who were also taking part. Lazy Day was the song of choice and the ladies loved us.\nThe walk was long going, up and down steep hills, singing as we went and it is not quite so easy when you should be tucked up in bed. However as someone aptly said she wasn't dead yet and for that we should be very greatful You can donate at the link below.\nFor more information, see: https:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/fundraising\/blacksheepharmony\nBlack Sheep Harmony are so sorry to have to say goodbye to our lovely baritone, Pat Nowell, who sadly passed away earlier this week. Pat has been a key ... more\nAfter months of hard work with various mixed choruses, one life- and two current members of Black Sheep Harmony have recently picked up a hat-trick of medals each. At ... more\nSaturday 12th March - an auspicious date for Black Sheep! We've finally been let loose into the world for our first competition since the start of Covid - the ... more\nOur fab-ewe-lous MD Pete Nugent arrived back at rehearsal last night for the first time since Christmas, and he didn't come alone. We were so proud to see him ... more","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"ual chaplaincy\nFaith Advisors\nStudent Faith Groups\nInclusive Mosque Initiative\n1.05pm CSM KX D107\n12.05pm Chelsea BLG08\n13.05 LCF (TBC)\n1.10pm High Holborn Activities Centre\nThursday 1 January\n1.10pm LCC (TBC)\nThe Anglican Chaplaincy to University of the Arts London is a partnership between the university and the Diocese of London (Church of England) as part of the University Chaplaincy Network.\nWe work within the Counselling, Health Advice & Chaplaincy team at UAL, which aims to support the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of student life. In addition, the chaplaincy is available to all staff.\nWe also work alongside the university's associate faith advisors, who support specific faith groups. However, as Anglican chaplains, we are here for people of all faiths and beliefs (including the non-aligned).\nIn accordance with the Diocesan mission to serve all the people of London, we actively support the university's Equality and Diversity Framework, seeking to address inequality and celebrate diversity, especially in terms of: age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender (or trans), nationality, race, religious belief (or no belief), sexual orientation, & socio-economic class.\nWe understand that religious practice and belief are complex and at times conflicted areas in our university, as in our city and our world, and we seek to do our part in engendering a spirit of open enquiry and mutual understanding.\nThis intention is reflected in our individual pastoral availability to all students and staff, and in our varied programme of activities, which includes specifically Anglican services, interfaith events and non-aligned spiritual provision.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"School of Architecture, Land and Environmental Sciences\nThe Vertical Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx: an Artistic Expression\nGeorgi, Neratzia Julia ; Vissilia, Anna-Maria (2016)\nThis paper aims to explore the vertical gardens designed by Roberto Burle Marx as an artistic expression of a common design feature, prevalent in landscape architectural discourse and practice since the 1930s. The contribution of Marx to the art of landscape design is his invention of an artistic, unnatural interpretation of the traditional concept of the vertical garden. Throughout his career, he experimented with innovative artistic ways and unique aesthetic vocabulary in his design schemes. An early concept of Marx's vertical gardens is that of the murals of azulejos, rectilinear or curving walls covered with polychromatic ceramic tiles. He used them as freestanding wall elements associated either with a reflecting pool or vegetation to create sensual contrasts. They provide a foreground boundary asserting Marx's ability to work out spatial arrangement beyond the layout of the ground plan as seen in the Walter Morreira Salles House (1951) and the Barra Shopping Business Center (1981). In other instances, massive walls become vertical gardens expressed through a variety of spatial arrangements, configuration of varying shapes, details and colors, water, plants and hard materials as seen in the vertical gardens of the Hospital Souza Aguiar (1966), the Rio Business Center (1981), the Safra Bank Headquarters (1982), and the Parque Cultural Paulista (1986). In later years, the water element became a major constant feature and one can notice the treatment of gigantic stone walls in complex volumetric compositions and rigorous geometry of lines and forms to act as vertical walls with groundcover plants intersecting within them. Conceived in 1979 and completed in 1990, the Vargem Grande Fazenda garden exemplifies this approach. Similar arrangements may also be encountered in the Raul de Souza Martins Residence (1983) and the Odette Monteiro Garden (1988). In later years, Marx developed a number of vertical gardens that form interlocking spatial compositions such as the Sitio Santo Antonio da Bica where two highly patterned panels set up a dialogue between themselves, the rectilinear pool, and the nearby pergola. The main garden panel separates the water garden from the driveway and is an abstract situ assemblage of advancing and receding planes of large blocks of granite reclaimed from demolished Colonial mansions in Rio whereas the other one is a stone water garden. This composite arrangement form a terrace which can be viewed from the deep shaded veranda of the house and seems to epitomize Marx's constant search for an interlocking fusion between architecture and landscape. A similar approach may be found in the Parque Burle Marx (1950, 1991). Finally, another innovative concept of vertical gardens is that of black steel columns and coconut bark, xaxims, covered with bromeliads or philodendrons. These living structures represent Marx's understanding of the importance of the vertical dimension combined with cultural identity, native tropical plant physiology and sculptural qualities. They often punctuate the ground paved surfaces of the gardens or the water surfaces and are engaged into a dialogue with the typical vertical panels, as exemplified in the case of the roof top garden at the Safra Bank Headquarters in 1982. The xaxim columns are used in many urban gardens in the 1980's such as the Xerox Brazil Building, Rio de Janeiro (1982), the Raul de Souza Martins Residence (1983), the Marina Barre Clube garden (1983), the National Economic and Social Development Bank (1985) and the Sitio Santo Antonio da Bica (1994). In conclusion, the vertical gardens of Roberto Burle Marx began as artistic explorations introduced into the modern Brazilian landscape. They are composite abstract constructions, usually of high patterned relief, either as a result of carving a flat surface or of assembling distinct parts, positioned in a way to define edges and boundaries of spatial arrangements, and are constructed of hard local material such as moulded concrete, roughcast concrete, granite blocks, stone, tiles, wood and the discarded fragments of old buildings along with earth and plants mostly bromeliads, epiphytes and parasites. They are conceived as highly artefact elements of the garden, immersive sculptures in space. They represent the first modern conception of vertical gardens regarded as an artistic version to the level of an enduring ecological art creation of the modern image of Brazil worthy to be documented, analyzed and preserved.\ndownload paper abstract (82.98Kb)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"November 15, 2019 by James Jardine Leave a Comment\nEp. 116: Chrome Retires XSS Auditor\nDo you rely on the browser to protect your application from Cross-Site Scripting? Over the years, many of the popular browsers attempted to create these XSS filters to help reduce the risk of the vulnerability. Unfortunately, over the years we have seen a lot of bypasses to these filters. Chrome announced they are removing their XSS Auditor. Hear some of our thoughts on the changes.\nhttps:\/\/www.chromium.org\/developers\/design-documents\/xss-auditor\nOn this episode James talks about Chrome dropping the XSS auditor, cross site scripting filter built in to the browser. Tackling the challenge to integrate security into the development process, looking for insights, answers, and practical solutions to avoid getting overwhelmed. Welcome to the DevelopSec podcast where our focus is your success in securing and improving development processes.\nHey, everyone, welcome to episode 116 of the DevelopSec podcast. I am James and today I want to talk a little bit about cross site scripting. Now with cross site scripting being the main topic, but if you've been watching the browser's over the past few years, maybe you've seen some of the built in cross site scripting protections or filters that some of the browser's have included in there. And we've kind of seen them drop off a little bit over the years as well.\nBut lately, we just saw that Chrome is now removing their built-in cross site scripting filter, also known as the XSS Auditor feature, Chrome 78, that feature has now been fully removed from the browser. So we no longer have it in there.\nSo I want to talk about why does that matter what it did, and how that affects us? If we go back years ago, browsers, it kind of all of them started building in these filters, I remember even IE seven, when it first got released, I think had a filter built into it, It was either seven or eight, because I remember actually working in an organization where we had a time clock type of application. And for some reason, this application decided that sending JavaScript through the URL was a good idea. And sure enough, we were actually being held back from updating our browsers to the next latest current version of browser for Internet Explorer at the time, because that application wouldn't work in the latest version, you had to actually go in and figure out how to turn off that filter. And it was kind of a big whoop dee doo trying to get it to work.\nThat was years ago, maybe like eight or nine years ago, it's good long time ago, right? And that same time Firefox was starting to put in some of these filters, and chrome put them in, I think safaris got, like everybody kind of started putting these cross site scripting filters in. And then what we found out was that people were bypassing them all over the place.\nFirst, these filters are not that sophisticated. Quite honestly, typically, what they do is they're looking for in most situations, reflected cross site scripting. So when we talk about that we're talking about it's in the URL, alright, it's in the request. And we're seeing that exact same string, showing up someplace within the actual source of the page. If for some reason I have a search query, and I put script alert nine, and the page actually has script alert nine in it, then the browser's going to detect that and assume and say, Hey, this might be cross site scripting, I'm going to go ahead and block this. And in most cases, what they would do is basically kind of change one of the characters or something to make it benign.\nSo it wouldn't actually execute. And it would just kind of be there. So we've got this capability. It's not super advanced, but it does provide a small level of protection, and I get it, I mean, I'm not a huge fan of the browser trying to fix my problems. But you know, I see it, this is a good way, or kind of a way to get the most effectiveness in trying to help mitigate a very common problem known as cross site scripting. So the browser's put this in, and then of course, we start seeing bypasses come up everywhere for these, you know, I found a way to bypass their filter. And people's names are built off of this. And you know, I don't know I've always hated the bypass of it, because let's be honest, ultimately, it's the application developer's job or responsibilities to actually be doing proper outputting coding, so that the browser shouldn't have to be putting these type of restrictions in there. Because the app should be taken care of that right? We should be knowing what we're sending down and if we're sending down untrusted input, it should be properly output encoded, so that way the browser will understand what it is because outside of reflective the browser doesn't know what's supposed to be there, what's not supposed to be there, when it all comes down from the server. That's all one big piece of source. Right?\nThere's no way for the browser to know the developer didn't intend for this to happen. Now, of course, we do have things like CSP or content security policy that we can do, which kind of replaces really what I guess they were trying to do with this. And CSP does a whole lot more than what this does. But, now we're seeing that sometimes these ideas don't work. So well, and Firefox pulled it a long time ago, I'm actually kind of surprised that Chrome took so long to actually pull it, and again, I understand the reasons why they're pulling this out. If we're developers, we're testers, stuff like that, then, we have to be looking at our application and understanding how our data flows. So we can protect that data when it comes down before making it the browsers problem.\nNow, of course, this isn't the only time we see browsers trying to help out like content security policy, let's be honest, I mean, that's a browser directive that's there to help us kind of solve this problem. You have got other things like, the secure flag, or the HTTP only flags that we set on cookies that are browser directives that are here, just sit there and say, Hey, we want the browser to handle this.\nSo it's not the first time we've ever seen this happen. But it is, I think, a little bit different, you look at a secure flag, and it's making a very simple of what it does. If it's a secure connection, I'll send the cookie, if it's not a secure connection, I won't send the cookie, right? It's one or the other. HTTP only, do I allow JavaScript access or not allow JavaScript access? These are very simple things to be able to control. And then if you get into like CSP, we're not getting down to hey, is this a script? Or is this not a script? Is this malicious or non-malicious, you're instead saying, hey, look, here's all the type of content I have. And here's I want to put restrictions about that content.\nI don't want to allow inline scripts within my page, it has to be referenced through a link and brought in so there's lots more control over that. That's much easier to verify, than trying to rely on the browser to say, hey, there's a script tag. Is it malicious is not malicious? Is it supposed to be there? Is it not supposed to be there? That's much more difficult, right? It's not cut and dry. When we start talking about CSP and stuff like that. Now it's becoming much more cut and dry, or say, Hey, we're only going to allow scraps from domain XYZ, or we're going to only do this from here. And it's just much more definitive, and what we're trying to do.\nWhen we talk about the XSS auditor, we see this disappearing, this was controlled by a response header, the X-XSS-PROTECTION header that we get set coming down, if you didn't set it, it defaulted to one, which is on. by default, your sites are protected from this, or not protected from it. But it's enabled, so that if the browser supports a built in access filter, it'll be enabled by default, unless we set it to zero specifically saying, Hey, we don't want to have this on.\nSo of course, over the years, our recommendations are best practices, all these guidelines all say, Hey, make sure you set X-XSS-PROTECTION to 1, it's also got reporting capability, although I don't know if anybody uses the reporting capability, but it does have that capability. But set it to one, right that we always want to make sure if you're doing response centers, make sure you have this header set. But does that change now? And I've always said, when I do my training classes, you know, hey, here's this header. But keep in mind, it's not really a solution. Because Firefox doesn't support it like other browsers might not support it. It's supported in Chrome. But that's only going to help you for the people that are in Chrome, or maybe it's a I think the browser compatibilities, that IE eight or something, it might be supporting this or might be supported in Safari, but it's not supported across the board the same way.\nWe can't allow us to kind of fall into that simplicity and say, Oh, I'm safe. I have this protection header. So we're going to use the filter, right? We're not going to do that. Yes, it's fine. We can set it. But just realize that that's really just kind of that fallback. I've added an extra layer, just in case something slips through. Maybe somebody is on Chrome, and maybe they'll get protected from it, or maybe it on this browser. It's just that okay, but now that we're seeing chrome drop it, there still are other browsers that support it. Like I said, I think Safari lists on the compatibility charts have already said show support, or old version of IE eight.\nAnd some of the mobile browsers are still supporting. I think it even said iOS Safari supports it. So there still are a couple things to do. So does that mean that we're not going to send them anymore, I wouldn't recommend not setting it, just because there are some browsers doing it. And you may still have people that are on older browsers. It doesn't mean hey, let's just stop that recommendation and do it, I still leave it in my guidelines, I still leave it in my training, that we're doing it. But it adds more discussion around the fact that, hey, here is this piece, they kind of reminds me back of when we just think SQL injection, like store procedures is your solution.\nThat's all you need to do. And I was like, No, that's not true, because stored procedures can be vulnerable as well. Same thing here, alright, we have something that can help reduce the risk or mitigate in certain situations, but it's not across the board. And if you can't implement CSP, if you're not to that point, hopefully new apps, you built it. So you can do CSP can't do that type of stuff, right, then you're still locked into. And even with CSP, you're still locked into, I have to properly output encode my data. So that way, I don't have cross site scripting flaws.\nSo number one thing, every time we're talking about cross site scripting is output encoding, these other things are just additional pieces that can help us that if for some reason a piece is missed, if there's something that's not there, then hopefully, we'll have a little bit of backup a little bit of protection. But ultimately, it's our responsibility as developers, to when we're sending output back down, understanding the context that output is in, and then properly encoding it for that context, to make sure that we're protecting everything going through.\nThat's not the browser's job, the browsers are great. And thank you for helping try to help mitigate some of this. But remember, ultimately, it's your job and responsibility to make sure that you're sending data down how it should be sent down. I think it's interesting that we see that this is being dropped. Again, I think it's overdue a bit, just because of kind of some of the ways it's handled, and that's nothing against the browser. I think browsers did a good job trying to implement something that would help reduce the risk around a flaw that, quite honestly, is one of the most seen that we see. So good that we're seeing something like that come out. But you know, things are changing things are, are going in different directions. And so now we're seeing that drop.\nI'm not recommending not setting that header anymore, still set it, you know, make sure that you're explicitly setting it to one just realize that it's not going to fully protect you, it never was going to fully protect you, right, we can't rely on the browser to try to perform all of our XSS protections, that's just not going to work. Check it out, I'll put some links in the notes talking about linking out to Chrome talking about this being removed, and maybe the browser compatibility, so you can see where it's also connected. But definitely check it out. Think about it, be aware that the changes are coming.\nIt really shouldn't affect too much to be honest. But this is definitely something we need to be aware of within our systems, to know what's there, what's not there and how things work. So I appreciate everybody tuning in, listening if questions, things coming up on your mind that you're not sure about anything appsec related. Feel free to reach out. I'm happy to try to answer any questions you have. You know if there's topics you have, that's great. Other information, just go out and check it out at developsec.com. And if you have questions, just reach out to me James@ developsec.com. Again, happy to have those conversations with you. So thanks again for listening, and we'll catch you on the next episode.\nYou have been listening to the developsec podcast with James Jardine. To find out more about how we can help you with application security. Follow us on Twitter @developsec, or check out our website at www.developsec.com\nFiled Under: Podcast Tagged With: application security, AppSec, cross site scripting, developer training, sdlc, secure code, secure development, secure sdlc, security awareness, training, xss","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"HomeSportWilder Won't Last 7 Rounds Against Me - Joshua Boasts\nWilder Won't Last 7 Rounds Against Me - Joshua Boasts\nTunde Lawal January 02, 2020\nJoshua may be defending against either Kubrat Pulev or Oleksandr Usyk next in April or May but his promoter Eddie Hearn thinks it'll be Pulev\nNigerian-born British IBF\/WBA\/WBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has been speaking on the possibility of meeting the WBC Champion, Deontay Wilder after he stopped his Mexican conqueror, Andy Ruiz Jr in a rematch in Saudi Arabia last December.\nJoshua, who has a 23-1 record with 22 of them coming in KOs is trying to rebuild his image in the eyes of the fans after the way he was blown out in 7 rounds by the chubby 268-lb Ruiz Jr. last June in New York.\nSpeaking to @SkySportsBoxing, Joshua, 29, said Wilder won't make it to the 7th round against him, as he would fight the talented 6'7\u2033 American with a record 42-0-1 and 41 Kos, in an exact opposite manner that he fought Ruiz Jr. on December 7.\n\"He wouldn't be there in the seventh round. I would go in to knock him out. This is a serious fight, I ain't going to go in there to try and outbox him for 12 rounds,\"said Joshua to skysports.com.\nJoshua may be defending against either Kubrat Pulev or Oleksandr Usyk next in April or May but his promoter Eddie Hearn thinks it'll be Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs), who Joshua ends up fighting next.\nThe 38-year-old Pulev is Joshua's International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger and boxing pundits say it seems like a big waste of Joshua's time to devote the first half of 2020 fighting a guy that few fans want to see him fight, but he values his titles and doesn't want to vacate any of them.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Today's Sports Stats: December 22, 2018\nBy Jerry Tapp on December 22, 2018\nMilwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon has played 152 games in his NBA career and is a couple months into his third season in the Association. He won the league's Rookie of the Year honor in 2016-17 and he is a starter and important part of the Bucks team that has one of the best records in the NBA this season.\nWith all that being said, Brogdon has certainly been a solid performer in his short career\u2026 but would you be ready to say that Brogdon is one of the best shooters in the league? Or, are you ready to call him one of the greatest shooters in NBA history?\nBefore you answer that, let me offer you a few stats that might affect your answer.\nBrogdon leads the NBA this season in free throw percentage by making 50 of 51, a .980 percentage (through games of December 21). His career free throw percentage is .893. Of all NBA players with a minimum of 250 career free throw attempts, Brogdon's.893 percentage ranks 11th all-time in the league.\nBut in addition to a stellar free throw percentage are a couple of other eye-opening shooting stats. First, Brogdon has a career .408 shooting percentage from three-point range and is a career .510 shooter in two-point attempts in his career. Add it all together and Brogdon's career shooting percentages are .408 (three-pointers), .510 (two-pointers) and .893 (free throws).\nThis is where Brogdon's shooting percentages might get your attention. Of all players with a minimum of 150 career NBA games, Brogdon is one of only seven players in history with a career three-point percentage above .400, a career two-point percentage over .500, and a career free throw percentage over .850.\nOf course Brogdon's career is in the early stages and those percentages have a lot of time (as long as Brogdon's maintains a long NBA career) to deviate up or down. But if you put stock in these shooting percentages, you would have to say that Brogdon has made a case that he is today one of the league's best shooters. If we say that years from now is another story.\nHere's a look at the seven players in NBA history with a career three-point percentage above .400, a career two-point percentage over .500, and a career free throw percentage over .850 (through games of December 21, 2018).\nPlayer, Career Games, 2-pt pct, 3-pt pct, FT pct\nWally Szczerbiak, 651 games, .505, .406, .860\nMark Price, 722 games, .501, .402, .904\nSteve Nash, 1217 games, .518, .428, .904\nJeff Hornacek, 1077 games, .515, .403, .877\nStephen Curry, 646 games, .514, .438, .905 *\nJose Calderon, 870 games, .507, .408, .872 *\nMalcolm Brogdon, 152 games, .510, .408, .893 *\nActive players: *\nThoughts? Opinions?\nOne other quick note: If he continues this pace from the free throw line, Brogdon has a good chance to break the Bucks' all-time record for highest free throw percentage in a season. Here is a look at the Bucks players who have the highest free throw percentage in a season (minimum of 82 free throw attempts in a season to qualify).\nKeith Van Horn, .945 pct, 91 attempts, 2003-04\nJack Sikma, .922 pct, 348 attempts, 1987-88\nRay Allen, .913 pct, 195 attempts, 2002-03\nLuke Ridnour, .907 pct, 140 attempts, 2009-10\nRicky Pierce, .907 pct, 311 attempts, 1990-91\nPosted in: Basketball\t| Tagged: Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"AVERY JAMES INC.\nEducational Advisory\nAvery James Inc. is a member of The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants.\nAvery James Inc. is a nationally recognized executive search firm offering executive-level and multidisciplinary technical recruitment services nationwide. We work exclusively on a retained basis, building trust and maintaining confidentiality, as we help clients build leadership and technical capacity within their organizations. In its 20-year history Avery James Inc. has served a diverse group of clients ranging from public agencies and publicly traded corporations with global business interests to small firms with a prominent regional presence.\nWe are committed to the success of every search engagement. Approximately 90% of our searches are repeat business from satisfied clients.\nOn a daily basis we are approached by high-profile executives and senior-level talent nationwide, from both the public and private sectors, who seek our guidance and counsel as they consider new opportunities. Whether you contact us to initiate a search for your organization, or are interested in personal career options, we are here to help.\nAvery James is a long-standing member of The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants.\nAll rights reserved 2017 Avery James Inc.\nAddress: 6080 Center Drive Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90045\nEmail: resume@averyjames.com\n\u00a9 AVERY JAMES INC. 2019","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"10740 - 110 Street, Edmonton, AB\nBuilding & Site Info\nSheraton Apartments is a twenty-two suite apartment building located at 10740 -\n110 Street in Edmonton, Alberta, in the neighbourhood of Central McDougall. It is\na two and a half storey walk-up, wood-frame construction building with balconies.\nIt was built in 1966. Parking is surface and paved.\nThe suite mix is 4 Bachelor suites, 12 One-Bedroom suites and 6 Two-Bedroom\nsuites.\nCentral McDougall is a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood in\nEdmonton, Alberta. The neighborhood is bounded by 111th Avenue, 105th\nAvenue, 101st Street and 109th Street. Kingsway Avenue and 109th Street\nare two major roadways that run through the neighborhood. Surrounding\nneighborhoods include Queen Mary Park, McCauley, Downtown and Oliver.\nAccording to Edmonton's 2016 Municipal Census, the population of Central\nMcDougall is approximately 4,911 residents.\nThe Kingsway\/Royal Alex LRT station is located in Central McDougall, giving\naccess to Edmonton's Light Rail and transit systems.\nThere are currently plans for new condo towers to be constructed in Centrel\nMcDougall. Once completed, the project will provide over 1,220 housing units\nand retail opportunities.\nRoyal Alexandra Hospital is located in the north east corner of the\nneighborhood. It is home to the Eye Institute of Alberta, the Lois Hole Hospital\nfor Women and other specialized medical centers.\nMacEwan University and NAIT are two of Edmonton's post-secondary\ninstitutions located in proximity to the neighborhood. The Victoria School of\nPerforming and Visual Arts offers an art-focused education for students from\nkindergarten through grade 12 and is located in Central McDougall.\nKingsway Mall is located to the north of the neighborhood and anchor tenants\ninclude Hudson's Bay and Sport Chek and over 200 other stores and services\nand Downtown and Oliver offer shopping, restaurants and entertainment in\nCentral McDougall.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"EXPLORE > PLANTS > ANGIOSPERMS\nFraxinus latifolia\nThis deciduous tree is a member of the olive family and is one of 16 species of ash in the United States. The ash can be identified by long, straight boles (trunks) topped with rounded crowns of foliage. The leaves in adult specimens are oval-shaped and relatively flat with an irregularly serrated edge. Bark in young trees is generally smooth and gray-green in color but becomes darker and heavily furrowed as the plant ages. Mature trees will reach heights of approximately 82 feet (25 m) with a trunk diameter of between 16 and 30 inches (40 to 76 cm).\nAt about thirty years of age, the tree will begin producing small nuts measuring about 2 inches in length. It will continue to produce fruit every three to five years for the rest of its life, or up to 250 years in age. The seeds are often consumed by birds and small mammals.\nThe Oregon ash grows in damp soils from sea level to 5,600 feet (1,700 m) in elevation. It is often found in riparian areas alongside or even dominating black cottonwood populations. It may be found growing in close proximity to red alder, bigleaf maple, Oregon white oak and various willow trees. The Oregon ash is common on the west side of the Cascade Mountain Range from southern British Columbia to central California.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Nathan Crowley \u2013 Public Enemies\nBorn in London, production designer Nathan Crowley began his career working as a set designer on Hook and has actually worked far more in the U.S. than in the U.K. He's been involved on a wide range of projects, moving up the ranks through action, period epic and comedic films like Braveheart, John Carpenter's Escape from L.A., Mystery Men, and Mission Impossible II. Crowley is probably best known for his four film collaborations with fellow Londoner, Christopher Nolan; those include Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, the latter two earning Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Art Direction. Clearly, the versatile and talented designer has a way with period movies, whether it's travelling back hundreds of years in the past to create a peat and fire village in the Scottish Highlands, or decades into the future for the wildly techno-noir Gotham City. It's no wonder detail freak Michael Mann selected Crowley to recreate 1930's gangland Middle America: his inventive approach to Public Enemies' set design included fabricating a removable rubberized cobblestone street and re-welding the steel bars in the dilapidated Indiana jail from which Dillinger made his epic escape.\nICG: What production design challenges did you face shooting Public Enemies digitally? Crowley: The sharpness [of shooting digital] in terms of clarity of image. I had been on other period pieces such as The Prestige, where we used depth of field to kind of wipe out the background where it wasn't required, and there was still a certain softness present in the quality of the image. With Public Enemies, everything had to be period in the background, and shooting digitally, everything was completely sharp. It's pulling away from a typically filtered period piece, so I had to be aware of everything in the image. Not that you don't always have to be, but in most cases, you can have a certain latitude with the background. Here, I had to be aware of every detail. I enjoyed the fact that both Michael (Mann) and Dante (Spinotti) wanted to put a sort of modernism to the image and not create the period film piece that we've become used to seeing.\nYou had a very short preproduction schedule on this film. I didn't come on board until the week before Christmas (2007). I know the prep time was crunched because we had this potential SAG strike and we had to be finished by June 30th, so we had to back into that. We ended up with 9 weeks preparation, which, especially with the holidays right there, was very short to get to Chicago and get set up. I don't know if you know Chicago but [the weather] can be pretty hostile in January!\nWhat kind of research did you do to replicate Chicago of the 1930s? I always work with a room of still images and try to put the film up in order visually. And then Michael and Dante would come down and go through it all. I call it \"walking the wall.\" We'd really discuss everything and the collaboration was incredible. So we find images that are from the period and place them in story order on the wall to give us historical ideas, location ideas, and design ideas. We basically create the film visually on the wall in story order. Then we'd all go together on the location scout.\nOthers I've talked with mentioned a number of period images Mann had collected, particularly showing lighting of the era. Are these the photos you used? Michael had a few key images that he was referring to when I first started, but we did a lot of additional research. Most of our images came from Francis Ford Coppola's incredible research library, at his Napa Valley winery. In the '70s Coppola bought RKO's library and there is loads of stuff up there. Anahid Nazarian, one of Coppola's producers, sent me a lot of material that I used for reference. When I did The Prestige they provided me with Victorian London research [materials]. Often I'll go up there and spend two days just looking around and photocopying stuff. For Public Enemies I didn't have the time, so I called Anahid and her assistant pulled everything together. I'm surprised more people don't use them. It's the best research library I've come across.\nDo you put these images into a \"storyboard\" format to take on the set? No. We sometimes scan every image and create a website and basically create our own library so everyone can access it. But once we start shooting, the wall becomes obsolete because hopefully we've figured it all out. The wall is only for the planning stage.\nPublic Enemies shot at a number of locations that were key elements in the Dillinger history. How difficult was it to remove modern elements from these older locations? We started with the Little Bohemia Lodge, in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, which is where the big shootout happened between Dillinger and the G-men. Ironically, that was fairly intact. In some of the rooms they still had bullet holes in the glass from the real shootout! They'd sandwiched the old glass between new panes to preserve the original bullet holes, so we had to take those windows out, being extremely careful, and then put in our own windows in so we could then shoot them out! We literally stripped their windows from two sides of the building, and replaced all the doors. It was a historical place, so the areas we shot up, we gave a second skin. We even added trees in the front because they had widened the parking area. We put dirt down on the ground to cover the tarmac. We pretty much destroyed everything we put in! The tricky thing about the Bohemia location is that the Lodge is still in perfect order, but all around it are huge new mansions, surrounding the lake; we had to go to another lake that was free of architecture for when they escape down the lake bank.\nDillinger makes most his most famous escape from the Crown Point Jail, in Indiana. You actually went to that jail and shot. Was that as pristine as Little Bohemia? No, it was a totally derelict jailhouse. We made the decision to rebuild the jail because it was such a unique escape. The roof was intact, but the place was a mess. All the bars were off and on the ground. Some of the brick walls had fallen down. There were no windows. There was trash and rubble everywhere. We couldn't obviously sandblast the entire place, but we tried to sandblast as much as we could and then repaint. But you need to be careful. Sometimes you clean places up and they look too clean. So we kept a weathered layer underneath that was really useful. Institutions typically repaint everything with oil paint, so you get this incredible buildup, which I like. Crown Point was a big cleanup job.\nSo you had to have the brick walls rebuilt? Yes, we had masons rebuilding bits of walls and re-plastering areas. We had steel guys to make all the steel doors work again. We had to re-hang the bar systems that open the doors, re-weld all that together, and make it all function because a lot of it was rusted shut. All the cell mechanisms had gone. We thought it was worthwhile, because the jail had such a strange layout, it would have been a shame not to show it in the film. I like to cheat as little real architecture as possible to enhance the realism of the period. That's hard to say, because our job in production is to cheat. But I like a film to be grounded in real places.\nHow long did it take to put Crown Point back together? Roughly four or five weeks \u2013 it doesn't seem that long in the real world, but it's a long time for a set. We had a lot of people in there. As we started doing it, Michael would come down and say it would be great to use the exterior too. The old garage of Crown Point, where they escaped from, didn't exist anymore. It had been converted into a carpet warehouse. So we had to cheat that. We shot down the road in a city municipal garage where they store all the trucks that put the salt or sand on the road in winter.\nHow did you return the Aragon Ballroom to its 1933 appearance? We used the Aragon because it was in good shape. We had to strip out the modern bar. The stage had been butchered; they had cut in a much higher stage for bands, so we dismantled their stage and had to patch up all the lower plasterwork, and then build the original stage, which was much closer to the ground. In our minds it was worthwhile work for the scope. We got a very good-looking location with a reasonable amount of construction.\nConsidering that some of these locations had other commitments, how did you accomplish the construction under the scheduling constraints? We would prefabricate elements and then go in very quickly with all the bits we needed, having measured and built them in the shop. When you go into locations, where you have to do a lot of stripping out, you prefabricate as much as you possibly can and then you just go for it.\nYou've shot four films now in Chicago. Aside from the winter weather, what stands out about the city for you? The thing about Chicago is that everyone there is so film friendly, it's always a great place to work. You get to film in some of these great old buildings. They really open the door for film companies.\nBy Ted Elrick\nNathan CrowleyPublic Enemies\nChris Lebenzon \u2013 The Taking of Pelham 123\nShooting Gallery 2009\nDouglas Trumbull \u2013 The Tree of Life","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Policy Name\nPolicy Category\nPolicy Approved By\nResponsible Division Head or VP\nSenior Vice President for Student and Campus Life\nResponsible Department\nThe unit under the Responsible VP with direct responsibility for implementing and maintaining the policy.\nResponsible AVP or Director\nDirector of Human Resources and Director of Public Safety\nOriginal Policy Date\nLast Known Revision Date\nCurrent Policy Effective Date\nRecommended Policy Review Date\nPolicy Applies To\nEntire Campus\nAdditional Authority\/References\nTeleworking Policy\nPOLICY PURPOSE\nThis policy provides guidance on how all types of weather schedule modifications should be handled by the campus community.\nAs a residential learning community, Albright College provides many services to its students and others on a 24\/7 basis. It is imperative that essential services be maintained and safety preserved. Given the wide variation in where College personnel live and the range of work activities they perform, it is not possible to have a one-size fits all inclement weather policy. Individual employees and the College collectively share an interest in and concern for both getting the work done and protecting the well-being of those performing the work. In this spirit, non-essential employees will be expected to work remotely, if they are able, keeping individual safety and personal obligations in mind. However, no mandatory meetings should be held during any suspension of on-campus operations. Essential weather personnel must contact their supervisor for instructions, even when normal on-campus operations are suspended.\nAll efforts will be made to ensure the overall safety and security of our total campus community. This includes the students, faculty, support staff, and administrators. Every effort will be made to minimize the concerns of all as we commit to providing essential services for those who rely on us.\nEssential Weather Departments\nDepartments that may be required to have staff actively working during a weather-related schedule modification, including, but not limited to, Facilities, Dining Services, Public Safety, and the Residential Life departments.\nEssential Weather Personnel\nDesignated employees within an Essential Weather Department, as specified by the respective departmental supervisors. An employee who is designated as a member of the \"essential weather personnel\" group will be expected to report to duty as specified by the College and his or her supervisor.\nThe Weather Response Team is a group of key Albright decision makers, led by the Director of Public Safety, who are charged in recommending schedule modifications for the College during times when inclement weather creates a condition that might raise questions about whether the College campus can operate safely on a normal basis.\nPOLICY TEXT\nDecision Making Authority\nWhen the weather forecast predicts inclement weather, Albright's Weather Response Team will convene to discuss current conditions and whether a suspension of on-campus business operations is necessary. The Weather Response Team is a group made up of key decision makers from various areas of the college. Led by the Director of Public Safety, the team meets when the weather forecast predicts inclement weather. If the anticipated weather event is expected to be minor, the Director of Public Safety may only convene a sub-set of the Weather Response Team. The Weather Response Team discusses current conditions and whether any modifications to the normal College schedule or operations are necessary. Depending on the circumstances of the inclement weather, all efforts will be made to have a decision rendered as early as possible. Ideally, announcements will be made by the College no later than 5:30 am for the daytime schedule and no later than 3 pm for evening activities. Decisions are relayed to campus as described in the Communications section below. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the supervisors of the Essential Weather Departments.\nThe Communications division will initiate communication for any inclement weather schedule modifications. The primary methods of communication will be e2Campus text messaging, the Albright website and college email.\nModifications to Normal Schedule\nWhen weather conditions become extreme, the following are some of the most common scenarios that would be in effect for all students and non-essential employees of the College. Essential weather personnel must contact their supervisor for instructions, even when normal on-campus operations are suspended.\nNo Schedule Change: If no schedule modification is announced by the College, all administrative and department offices will remain open and classes will take place as scheduled. On an individual basis, classes may be canceled, postponed, or moved online if a faculty member is unable to report to campus. Faculty members are required to notify their students, the Registrar's Office, the Provost's Office, and Public Safety of any cancellations or postponements due to inclement weather. All staff and administrators are expected to report to work, even if they are late. If, for safety concerns or personal reasons, an employee cannot reach the campus or will arrive late, the employee is required to contact his or her supervisor to report the situation and make alternative arrangements as described in the \"Pay Policies\" section of this policy.\nLate Opening: When the College designates a late opening for campus operations (such as 9:30 am or 10:00 am), all on-campus administrative and department offices will open at the modified time. Classes beginning before the designated time may be conducted on-line, or be cancelled, at the discretion of the faculty instructor, who must take responsibility for communication of this decision with students enrolled in the class. On an individual basis, classes starting later may be canceled, postponed, or moved online if a faculty member is unable to report to campus. Faculty members are required to notify their students, the Registrar's Office, the Provost's Office, and Public Safety of any changes in teaching modality, cancellations or postponements due to inclement weather. Essential weather personnel are required to report for duty at their regular time or other time specified by their supervisor. All non-essential staff and administrative employees are expected to telework during the delay, if they are able, however, no mandatory meetings should be held during the suspension of on-campus operations. Non-essential staff and administrators are expected to report to work at the modified opening time, even if they are late. If, for safety concerns or personal reasons, an employee cannot reach the campus or will arrive late, the employee is required to contact his or her supervisor to report the situation and make alternative arrangements, as described in the \"Pay Policies\" section of this policy.\nEarly Suspension of On-Campus Operations: When the College determines an early suspension of on-campus operations is necessary, all non-essential employees are expected to leave at the defined time for safety reasons, but are expected to telework from home for the remainder of the day, if they are able, however, no mandatory meetings should be held during the suspension of on-campus operations. All essential weather personnel are required to report for duty, unless otherwise directed by their supervisor. Classes that begin after the time announced for the early suspension of on-campus operations may be conducted on-line, or be cancelled, at the discretion of the faculty instructor, who must take responsibility for communication of this decision with students enrolled in the class.\nFull-Day or Evening Suspension of On-Campus Operations: If the College declares a full-day or evening suspension of on-campus operations, the type of suspension will be specified:\nDaytime Classes \u2013 Moved On-line or Canceled: All classes on the main campus normally scheduled from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. are either moved on-line or canceled, at the discretion of the faculty instructor, and administrative offices are closed for on-campus operations. Non-essential staff and administrators are expected to telework from home during the schedule modification, if they are able, however, no mandatory meetings should be held during the suspension of on-campus operations. Essential weather personnel should report to work. Please note: Because of changing conditions, evening classes may be held even when day classes have been canceled.\nEvening Classes \u2013 Moved On-line or Canceled: All classes on the main campus normally scheduled at 5 p.m. or after are either moved on-line or canceled, at the discretion of the faculty instructor. Information about classes at individual School of Professional Studies (SPS) sites will be posted to the Albright emergency weather website (https:\/\/www.albright.edu\/emergency-closing-information\/).\n*Other Activities and Events: Activities, events, or individual facilities may run on hours that differ from the adjusted college hours.\n**Status may change: For example, an initial modification to a 9:00 am opening may later be changed to a 10:00 am opening or a full suspension of on-campus operations. Late-afternoon and evening classes may be canceled, even if the college has been open all day.\nPay Policies During Weather Suspension Scenarios\nNo Schedule Change: If there is no schedule change, employees are expected to come to work. In cases where this is not feasible, the employee will need to talk to their supervisor to agree on a flex time option, as described below:\nSupervisors may allow their employees to telework, in which case the Teleworking Policy applies.\nSupervisors may allow their staff to modify their normal work schedule to accommodate weather conditions by coming into work late or leaving early and make up the lost time during the same workweek.\nEmployees may elect to be paid for hours not worked by using accrued vacation or personal time leave.\nNon-exempt employees may take hours off without pay and without the requirement of making up the time.\nLate Opening or Early Suspension of On-Campus Operations: On occasions where the College decides it is in the best interest of the community to announce a schedule modification, employees will be paid as described below:\nStudent Workers \u2013 should reach out to their supervisors to confirm they are not to report for their shift. Students will not be paid if their shift is canceled.\nExempt Employees (including exempt essential weather personnel) \u2013 will receive their normal pay for any part of the work schedule missed during the official suspension of on-campus operations, where they are unable to telework. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee's balance. Exempt essential weather personnel are encouraged to flex their time in the days after the weather event.\nNon-Exempt Employees (excluding non-exempt essential weather personnel) \u2013 will receive their normal pay for any part of the work schedule missed during the official suspension of on-campus operations, where they are unable to telework. Staff are only eligible for the Emergency Closure pay adjustment if they are normally scheduled during the schedule modification and are not on a previously scheduled day off. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee's balance.\nNon-Exempt Essential Weather Personnel \u2013 All non-exempt essential weather personnel that are required to work on-campus during the announced suspension of on-campus operations will be paid at the rate of 1.5 times their normal hourly rate. This additional 0.5 times is considered premium pay and is not eligible for retirement plan match. This applies to any hours in which their normally scheduled shift falls during the determined hours of the suspension of on-campus operations OR hours that the weather team deems eligible, if outside normal business hours. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the supervisors of the Essential Weather Departments.\nFull Day or Evening Suspension of On-Campus Operations\nNon-Exempt Employees (excluding non-exempt essential weather personnel) \u2013 will receive their normal pay for any part of the work schedule missed during the official suspension of on-campus operations, where they are unable to telework. Non-exempt staff are only eligible for the Emergency Closure pay adjustment if they are normally scheduled during the schedule modification and are not on a previously scheduled day off. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee's balance.\nNon-Exempt Essential Weather Personnel \u2013 all non-exempt essential weather personnel that are required to work on-campus during the suspension of on-campus operations will be paid at the rate of 2.5 times their normal hourly rate. This additional 1.5 times over their normal rate is considered premium pay and is not eligible for retirement match. This applies to any hours in which their normally scheduled shift falls during the determined hours of the suspension of on-campus operations OR hours that the weather team deems eligible if outside normal business hours. If essential weather personnel are required to sleep over night, they will be paid at the premium rate for those hours. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the supervisors of the Essential Weather Departments.\nNormally Scheduled Outside of Business Hours \u2013 For non-essential employees normally scheduled to work in the evening or weekend, outside of core business hours, when the weather schedule modification is still in effect, the employee are expected to telework, if they are able. If unable to telework, employees will be paid for those hours originally scheduled. If the schedule modification has been ended, staff scheduled to work in the evening or weekend should report to work as scheduled.\nASSOCIATED PROCEDURES LOCATION\nTimekeeping Procedures\nWeather Response Team Procedures\nDATE OF REVISION\n(Note: electronic copies of the former versions of the policy must be maintained within the unit, department, or division)\nMade significant policy format\/structure changes\nIncluded formation of Weather Response Team\nUpdated pay policy for essential weather personnel to be more detailed and consistent across all departments.\nSpecified that non-essential weather employees required to work during a delay\/dismissal\/closure by a Cabinet Member will earn comp time.\nAdded HRIS system specific requirements for Emergency Closure closing delays\/dismissals\/closures\nUpdated policy to reflect language that says employees are expected to telework if they are able during a suspension of on-campus operations, however, no mandatory meetings should be held\nClick or tap to enter a date.\nIMPLEMENTATION PLAN \u2013 For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.\nRevisions regarding encouraging employees to telework during schedule modifications will be communicated during the next weather event.\nDECISION \u2013 For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.\nDate of Draft Policy Review\nName of Reviewing Committee\/Individual\nSenior Vice President of Student and Campus Life\/Chief Health Officer took the policy to Cabinet for review.\nDate Approved\nDate Rejected\nDate Draft Tabled or Further Review Needed (provide comments including plan for re-submission)\nView this Policy as a PDF.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Lois J. Carrier Reed, 84\nLois J. Carrier Reed, 84, of Amelia, Ohio, passed away Monday, Nov. 7, at Hospice of Cincinnati Blue Ash.\nBorn July 7, 1932, in Lincoln County, Lois was a daughter of the late Joseph L. and Fanny Ann Moore Carrier. She was the widow of William O. Reed, who passed away in 2004. Lois was a devoted member of the Amelia Nazarene Church. She loved butterflies, but above all she loved her family.\nShe is survived by her sons, Greg Reed and Lynn (Sara) Reed; grandchildren, Katie and Laura Reed; sister, Mayme Lou Carrier; brother, Victor Moore Carrier; and several nieces and nephews.\nShe was also preceded in death by her siblings, Noreen Peck, Roy, Alfred, Joseph D., Richard and Dan Carrier.\nVisitation will be held from 9 a.m., until the time of the funeral service at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 at E.C. Nurre Funeral Home, 177 W. Main St. (SR 125), Amelia, OH 45102. Interment will follow at Graceland Memorial Gardens in Milford, Ohio.\nThe family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, PO Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home News Asia News What's Wrong With China?\nWhat's Wrong With China?\nPresident Xi Jinping at David Cameron inspect models of the Airport City Manchester China Cluster\nWhen China sneezes, the world catches a cold. UK economy is facing a 'Cocktail of crisis' as China's economy slip into a lower gear\u2026.writes Karishma Saurabh Kalita\nExperts forecast a slowing down of the giant Chinese economy during 2016 as Beijing has girded up to implement its decision to scrap the almost four-decade-old one-child norm in the face of an ageing population. China watchers also saw Beijing continuing to flex its muscles in the South China Sea where it has disputes with neighbours Japan and Vietnam while Sino-Indian relations were likely to see an upswing with cautious movements in the strategic and security domain.\nOne of the biggest milestones in China's history was the scrapping of the 37-year-old one-child diktat on October 29, 2015, and proposed implementation of a relaxed two-child principle later in 2016. The Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed this scheme in an attempt to balance population development and offset the burden of an aging population.\n\"This change was definitely important in the socio-political domain. The need to scrap the one child policy was absolutely necessary due to China's growing aged population. But the demographic dividend will be only seen after 25-30 years and not in the near future,\" noted strategic expert C. Uday Bhaskar, director, Society for Policy Studies (SPS), said.\nA final plan for the change will be ratified by China's top legislature in March after which it will come into affect officially. It has been estimated that it would raise the population from the current total of 1.37 billion to an estimated 1.45 billion by 2030.\n\"Data has shown that 64 percent of China's total population still prefer the one child policy. The country will need an absolute majority for this to become a total success,\" Professor Srikanth Kondapalli, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, said.\nChina's strength, its economy, took a beating when the yuan was devalued on August 11 by lowering its daily mid-point trading price to 1.87 percent weaker against the US dollar. The next day, it faced its second devaluation as it pushed down by another 1.62 percent against the US dollar. The devaluations resulted in Chinese exports getting cheaper and imports into China more expensive by that amount.\n\"China's economic slowdown will persist even in 2016. In 2010, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was a 10.8 percent. I expect at least a 6.5 percent rate or possibly even lower in 2016 as market confidence is decreasing. The yuan is coming back to its actual position, and even if it may not get devalued this year, the actual value will decline,\" Kondapalli said.\nAccording to Arvind Yelery, associate fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, the country's economic growth will also depend on how the country manages its excessive commitments that it has made to complete by this year in terms of trade, communications and science and technology. There is speculation that a lot of fluctuations will occur after the third quarter of 2016.\nOn December 1, the International Monetary Fund included the yuan in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket that will make it the fifth reserve currency after the dollar, the euro, the pound sterling and the yen. However, the final inclusion will take another six to eight months.\nChina's campaign of island building in the South China Sea has caused concerns among other regional contenders.\n\"China's claim towards the South China Sea is a matter of muscular assertiveness. The complex geo-political situation here will remain,\" Bhaskar said.\nChina claims most of the South and East China seas. Other countries in South East Asia have competing claims for the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands and Scarborough Shoal, which are thought to have resource-rich waters around them.\nAccording to Kondapalli, China will not agree to others asserting claim over the South China Sea. This tussle will continue and the issue will be clinched with military power.\nChina completed construction of two lighthouses in October and the government has reiterated that China's construction completely falls within its own sovereignty.\nIn 2015, China also moved closer in terms of bilateral relations with South Asian nations including India. A golden moment in cementing India-China relations was when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in May and inked a record 24 bilateral agreements, held summit level talks and signed 26 deals worth $22 billion.\n\"China and India have moved very cautiously in terms of bilateral agreements. The two countries will definitely engage more in the trade and economy sectors but when it comes to strategic and and security domain, issue will definitely prevail for China's support towards Pakistan,\" Bhaskar said.\nChina-Pakistan relations took a new turn with President Xi Jinping's visit in April 2015 to Islamabad, where he envisaged investments worth $45 billion and signed 51 agreements. The investments were expected for the projects that constitute the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.\n\"China-Pakistan relations will remain almost the same, but when Modi visited Islamabad on December 25, 2015, it did create a ripple effect. For China-India relations to flourish better, political investments are of the utmost importance,\" Yelery said, adding the economic front looks very optimistic as China will look to compete with the already existing and successful Japanese investments in India.\nPrevious articleSaudi Arabia to unveil Thatcherite Reforms\nNext articleRahul Rises As Modi Dithers\nBREXIT: BUMPY ROAD AHEAD FOR BORIS","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"\u2695 Are there any health benefits of poppy seeds and sesame seeds?\nAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds and sesame seeds?\nFAQ. Those who are looking for an answer to the question \u00abAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds and sesame seeds?\u00bb often ask the following questions\nThose who are looking for an answer to the question \u00abAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds and sesame seeds?\u00bb often ask the following questions:\n\u2695 Are there health benefits from poppy seeds?\n6 Emerging Benefits of Poppy Seeds 1. Rich in nutrients and antioxidants Like most seeds, poppy seeds are rich in fiber, plant fats, and various other... 2. May contain pain-relieving compounds The poppy plant contains morphine, codeine, thebaine, and other opium alkaloids... 3. May boost heart and ...\nWhat are sesame seeds health benefits?\nAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds ayurveda?\nAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds for health?\n\u2695 Health benefits of sesame seeds?\nSesame seeds are a good source of several nutrients crucial for your immune system, including zinc, selenium, copper, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin E (3, 47).\nWhat health benefits do sesame seeds have health benefits?\nAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds for skin?\nAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds for sleep?\n\u2695 Are there any health benefits of poppy seeds?\nWhat are health benefits of poppy seeds?\nWhat health benefits do sesame seeds have?\nWhat is the health benefits of poppy seeds?\nAnswered by Gay Schmidt on Thu, Jun 10, 2021 4:53 AM\nMix poppy seeds in sesame oi. Mix well and apply on the itching area. It cures itching. 10. Treats Voice problems-Boil poppy seeds with carom seeds. Give this to the patient for gargles. It cures hoarse voice. So, in this way we\nAnswered by Rozella Rice on Wed, Jun 9, 2021 4:05 PM\nFood & Nutrition By Michael Jessimy October 2, 2019 Poppy Seeds health benefits includes alleviating stress promoting good sleep, treating mouth ulcer, increasing energy level, enhancing psychological health, strengthening bones and lowering blood pressure.\nAnswered by Khalil Hintz on Thu, Jun 10, 2021 5:35 PM\nSummary Unhulled sesame seeds are especially rich in nutrients vital to bone health, including calcium. Soaking, roasting, or sprouting sesame seeds can improve absorption of these minerals.\nAnswered by Stevie Brakus on Fri, Jun 11, 2021 7:26 AM\nOne teaspoon of poppy seeds provides 2% of the recommended daily intake for men and 3% for women. On top of that, poppy seeds are a great source of copper, which is an essential mineral that helps the body produce red blood cells. In turn, it keeps your connective tissues strong and can aid in strengthening bones.\nAnswered by Retta Kihn on Sat, Jun 12, 2021 11:58 AM\nFind out the amazing health benefits of poppy seeds. 100 g seeds carry 525 cal, protein-17.99 g, Thiamin-0.854 mg (71% of DV), Calcium-1438 mg (144% of DV). The seeds obtained from the dry pods of the poppy plant, Papaver\nWe've handpicked 20 related questions for you, similar to \u00abAre there any health benefits of poppy seeds and sesame seeds?\u00bb so you can surely find the answer!\nWhat are the health benefits of sesame seeds?\nHere are 15 health benefits of sesame seeds. 1. Good Source of Fiber Three tablespoons (30 grams) of unhulled sesame seeds provide 3.5 grams of fiber, which is 12% of the Reference Daily Intake...\nWhat are the health benefits of black sesame seeds?\nBlack sesame seeds contain many important trace and macrominerals, as well as healthy fats that may help lower your risk of heart disease.\nWhat are the health benefits of eating sesame seeds?\nSesame seeds are high in magnesium, which may help lower blood pressure ( 20. Trusted Source. ). Additionally, lignans, vitamin E, and other antioxidants in sesame seeds may help prevent plaque ...\nWhat health benefits do sesame seeds have to kill?\nSummary Sesame seeds may aid blood sugar control because they're low in carbs and high in quality protein and healthy fats. What's more, they contain a plant compound that may help in this regard.\nPoppy seeds drug?\nHere are some common foods containing poppy seeds that you might want to avoid before a drug test: bagels, including poppy seed bagels and everything bagels, buns, and rolls cake or muffins, such as lemon poppy seed cake salad dressing poppy seed filling used for making desserts babka, a common ...\nWhat are the health benefits of eating sesame seeds everyday?\nSome studies suggest that regularly eating sesame seeds may help decrease high cholesterol and triglycerides \u2014 which are risk factors for heart disease (5, 6).\nWhat are the health benefits of eating sesame seeds hair?\nSesame seeds contain essential fatty acids such as omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 which promote hair growth. Sesame seed oil stimulates hair growth by nourishing, conditioning, and promoting a healthy scalp. The regular massage with warm sesame oil penetrates your scalp, thus increasing the blood circulation. It is comparable to a liquid vitamin that feeds your hair roots and shafts . [ Read: Sesame Seeds for Hair Growth ] 26.\nWhat are the health benefits of eating sesame seeds at night?\nWhat are the health benefits of eating sesame seeds with diverticulitis?\nThis included foods like nuts, seeds of all types and even corn. Conventional wisdom of the past was that these food granules could trap in the diverticula and cause blockage or irritation. Research never backed this notion up, however, and many doctors no longer believe that these foods cause an increased diverticulitis risk. Theories\nAre poppy seeds drugs?\nEating poppy seeds can introduce opiates into your body. Those little seeds come from the same plant, the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), that is used to make heroin. And the seeds themselves actually contain trace amounts of the opiates. Yep, these innocent-looking seeds:\nAre poppy seeds medicinal?\nPoppy seeds are used in baked goods and traditional dishes worldwide. Both the seeds and their oil are said to offer various health benefits, from treating headaches and coughs to curing asthma and...\nAre poppy seeds good for your health?\nPoppy seeds are rich in fiber, which may improve gut health and reduce constipation (18, 19). May safeguard against certain illnesses. The antioxidants in these seeds may protect your body from ...\nAre chia seeds like poppy seeds drug?\nLike poppy seeds or chia seeds, hemp seeds can be added to recipes like granola, smoothies, oatmeal, muffins, etc. Mustard seeds, which are used to grow mustard greens and make mustard oil, contain chemicals that act as natural antifungal and antibacterial agents. They help protect against infections.\nDo sesame seeds ever caused a false positive for drugs or do only poppy seeds do this?\nSesame seeds are fine to eat for people who can get tested for drugs. Poppy seeds are a different story. FWIW, some agencies have raised the cutoff for opiates to 2000 ng\/ml to eliminate poppy seed as a cause of a positive opiate screen.\nAre there health benefits for eating opium poppy sap?\nBecause heroin and opium are produced from the sap of its seed pods. But don't let that deter you from eating poppy seeds (a.k.a khus khus in Hindi). Because these tiny, crunchy black seeds are really good for your health. So, here are 10 health benefits of poppy seeds and some other interesting facts that you probably did not know.\nAre poppy seeds considered drugs?\nThe seeds do not \"have a drug effect on humans that are eating typical amounts of poppy seeds,\" Christopher S. Baird, assistant professor of physics at West Texas A&M University, told HuffPost.\nAre poppy seeds medicinal properties?\nThough these compounds may have pain-relieving properties, consuming unwashed poppy seeds is risky and should only be done under medical supervision. 3. May boost heart and skin health. Poppyseed ...\nAre poppy seeds medicinal uses?\nPoppy seeds and poppyseed oil may improve digestion, lower disease risk, and be used to make fertility-boosting medical products. Nonetheless, more studies are necessary.\nDo poppy seeds contain drugs?\nPoppy seeds are the edible nutritious seeds of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). The opium poppy is, of course, the source of opium as well as heroin, morphine, and codeine. Although the seeds themselves do not contain opiates, they are frequently contaminated with morphine residue during harvesting.\nDrug testing for\u2026poppy seeds?\n, up to 87 percent of tests considered positive for opiate use were due in part to poppy seeds in foods as well as prescription medications. When positive test results are proven to have been due to eating poppy seeds, they are overturned. More accurate measurement of opiate levels can be done by analyzing a blood or hair sample.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ireland's First X-Ray Commemorated\nBrother Potamian O'Reilly.\nBy Sean Ryan\nWhile it has been a matter of discussion for a number of years it is generally accepted that Ireland's first X-Ray was taken at De La Salle College in Waterford City in 1896.\nWhat is even more remarkable is the man who performed the first X-Ray, Brother Potamian, born Michael Francis O'Reilly in Baileborough in Cavan in September 1846. His parents took him to New York as a very young boy, where he was educated by the de la Salle Brothers and entered their novitiate in 1859. Michael Francis O'Reilly, a lifelong Christian Brother, had an equally lifelong career in Science with special interest in electricity and magnetism, and had an impressive record of papers published in these areas, some reflecting his keen foresight.\nAfter a teaching career, which took him to the US, Canada and latterly Clapham in London Br Potamian gained several qualifications including a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Doctorate of Science all of which had been achieved whilst teaching fulltime. Br Potamian arrived in Waterford City in 1893 as a professor of Physics. Of special interest to Potamian was that the new College building was furnished with well-equipped science laboratories; he wasted no time, for example, setting up a 60-foot pendulum to illustrate the rotation of the Earth. It was at Waterford that Potamian produced his famous X-ray image at the request of a local doctor whose patient was suffering from a steel splinter in her hand.\nBr Potamian explained in an interview \"a local general practitioner, Dr Atkins, who had heard about the \"new photography\", asked Potamian to assist him in treating his patient by producing an X-ray image, or radiogram, of the affected area. This was done at De La Salle College, Waterford, in the presence of many of Waterford's medical practitioners; Dr Atkins' operation to remove the foreign body from his patient's hand was successful\".\nCommenting on this in 1995, radiologist Professor David J Murnaghan described Potamian as: a scientist of some standing with a Doctor of Science Degree from London University and with limited means he was a significant contributor to developments in electricity and magnetism. It was thus an extraordinary feat that he carried out one of the earliest diagnostic X-ray examinations at Waterford on April 13th 1896''.\nIn August of 1896 the Order saw fit to transfer Potamian back across the Atlantic, to its prestigious Manhattan College in New York, where he would spend the remainder of his career. Later in 1896 he was appointed Dean of Engineering at Manhattan College, a University College run by his Order. He published a mammoth two-volume, 1000 page, annotated catalogue of the Wheeler Gift to the American Institute of Electrical Engineering, almost 7000 ancient documents on Electricity and Magnetism, mostly in Latin. This led to other works on history. Brother Potamian died in a New York hospital in January 1917.\nTo commemorate the famous taking of Ireland's first X-Ray two new blue plaques were unveiled in Waterford city to commemorate where Ireland's first x-ray happened on April 29th 2022. Eugene Broderick, Chairperson of the Waterford Civic Trust said \" the trust unveiled the plaques as a measure of the rich history and contribution of De La Salle College to Waterford''.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Listen to the instrumental version of Death Grips's new album\nYear of the Snitch minus the vocals.\nBy David Renshaw\nDeath Grips released its new album, Year Of The Snitch, last week. The group has now shared an instrumental version of the album with fans. Listen to the record above. Year Of The Snitch the band's 2016 album Bottomless Pit and features contributions from Shrek director Andrew Adamson. Tracks on the record include \"Streaky,\" \"Hahaha,\" \"Shitshow,\" \"Black Paint,\" and \"Flies.\"\ndeath grips, Hip-Hop","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"A Wet Decade Shifts To Drought In Southern Wisconsin\nFollowing the state's wettest decade on record, lower-than-normal precipitation in the spring of 2021 is leading drought conditions to emerge in agricultural areas reliant on steady rains.\nBy Kristian Knutsen\nJune 7, 2021 \u2022 Southeast Region\nThe grass is green, but dry weather is widening cracks in packed soil along a footpath at Blue Mounds State Park in southwestern Wisconsin. (Credit: Kristian Knutsen \/ PBS Wisconsin)\nA dry spring is steadily giving way to an arid summer as months of below normal precipitation so far in 2021 cause drought conditions across broad swaths of southern and western Wisconsin.\nIn a June 3 update for Wisconsin, the U.S. Drought Monitor indicated severe drought in the state's southeastern corner, with moderate drought across its southwestern and east-central stretches and abnormally dry conditions present in adjacent areas and reaching into west-central and north-central portions of the state.\nAccording to this service, a partnership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, increasing intensity of drought conditions can have meaningful effects on agriculture and water availability. Moderate conditions may lead to some damage for crops and pastures, with lower water levels in streams, wells and reservoirs and the potential for voluntary use limits. Meanwhile, the possible impacts of severe conditions include likely crop and pasture losses, with water shortages common and restrictions imposed in response.\nBased on data as of June 1, 2021, the U.S. Drought Monitor reports abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions across much of southern Wisconsin, with severe drought reported for the state's southeastern corner. (Credit: U.S. Drought Monitor)\nDry conditions have been holding pretty steady for the past month or so, said Christopher Kucharik, a climate researcher and professor of agronomy and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The longer they continue, though, the more intense drought becomes, with southeast Wisconsin moving from a moderate to severe level as June started and hot weather descended.\n\"We're running a three to seven-inch deficit of precipitation going back to springtime, and that's equivalent to an entire month to month-and-a-half of rainfall. It's difficult to make up that type of deficit,\" Kucharik said.\nAs dry as southern Wisconsin is becoming, conditions remain better in the northern part of the state. The portions north of a line running roughly between the Twin Cities and Green Bay \u2014 or the Hwy. 29 line often used as one shorthand for categorizing \"up north\" in southern Wisconsin \u2014 remain clear of moderate or severe drought as of the start of June thanks to higher precipitation levels over the past couple of months. That said, over the past eight months, nearly all of the state has been below normal for total precipitation, according to a drought update issued by the National Weather Service office in La Crosse.\nFrom October 2020 to June 2021, most of Wisconsin had total precipitation amounts below normal precipitation levels over the previous 30 years. For the two-month period from April 1 to June 1, 2021, though, some portions of northern Wisconsin had higher than normal precipitation. (Credit: National Weather Service-La Crosse)\nThose differences are expected, said Kucharik.\n\"I think this is pretty typical of how a lot of growing seasons go across not just Wisconsin but across the whole Corn Belt, or Midwest and Great Plains,\" he said. \"Every year, someone takes their turn as to having a significant deficit of precipitation and drought.\"\nFor farmers in southern Wisconsin, it's their turn in the kiln, and adapting to less rain is no simple matter. Irrigation is a common practice (and controversial due to the use of high-capacity wells) in the Central Sands region where potatoes and other vegetables are grown, but it's a different matter in the grain-growing and dairy-oriented areas to the south.\nKucharik noted most farmers in the southern half of the state don't have irrigation equipment. \"They generally don't need it because we usually get enough rainfall in this region to support crop growth and end-of-season yields,\" he said.\nNor is it simple for farmers to pivot to start irrigating.\n\"You just can't go out and get that equipment and get a permit to pump a high-capacity well,\" Kucharik added.\nIt's been nearly a decade since a serious drought last struck Wisconsin in 2012, which affected wide swaths of agricultural lands across the Great Plains and Midwest. In turn, those conditions elicited comparisons to a devastating drought in 1988 and 1989 (which was associated with La Ni\u00f1a water temperature conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which had also been in place over the 2020-21 winter).\nUsing data from the Midwest Regional Climate Center, Kucharik examined precipitation levels between March and May for Madison going back to the beginning of record-keeping in the 19th century. With 5.05 inches of precipitation in Madison, 2021 was the 12th driest spring on record going back to 1869. The most recent year that was drier was 1994. By comparison, the March-May total in 1988 was 4.77 inches and in 2012 was 8.65 inches.\nTotal precipitation between March and May in Madison was at its lowest level in decades for 2021, with a measure several inches below the drought year of 2012 and comparable to levels in the drought year of 1988. (Credit: Christopher Kucharik \/ University of Wisconsin Department of Agronomy)\nKucharik emphasized that each drought has its own timeline.\n\"The recent one in 2012 had a much wetter spring than we have had so far this year, so the onset of that drought was about a month later,\" he explained. \"It didn't start to take hold until June or early July.\"\nThat difference is one of Kucharik's concerns about the potential impact on agriculture in 2021.\n\"People will look back and say crops did better than people were anticipating [in 2012], but there's a lot less moisture in the soil [in 2021],\" he noted. \"I think impacts of this drought could happen quicker and be more severe given the time of year it's happening, when crops are going through their most rapid development stage.\"\nHowever summer precipitation unfolds, Wisconsin is experiencing weather whiplash. The 2010s were the state's wettest decade on record, while 2019 was the wettest year on record, with extreme precipitation causing severe flooding in multiple parts of the state. Farmers have always had to deal with weather variability, but Kucharik notes rapid shifts of this type are what climate research projects to become more commonplace in the future.\n\"Now we've flipped a switch, and these are the types of increased variability that coincides with what we think a changing climate will bring, not just to Wisconsin but to the Midwest and agricultural regions of the central U.S.,\" he said. At the same time, the western part of the nation continues to bake as its historic drought intensifies.\nMore details about impacts of 2021's drought conditions in Wisconsin are available from the National Integrated Drought Information System.\nThe uncertainties of week-to-week weather in the Midwest means Wisconsin could experience another shift on short notice, and there is potential for rain in the short-term forecasts for different parts of the state. However, what may feel just like a dry spell will require more than a brief shower here or there to remedy.\n\"I think things aren't going to get better any time soon without some pretty significant precipitation,\" said Kucharik. \"This isn't going to go away with a couple of days of rain.\"\nMore WisContext\nWPR's 'Central Time': Afghan refugees find new homes\n'I feel like I'm dreaming': Afghan refugees embark upon new lives in Wisconsin\nLegal complexities of resettling Afghan refugees\nAfghan families face culture shock, uncertainty about immigration status as they resettle in Wisconsin\nWarm welcomes, legal hurdles for Wisconsin's new Afghan refugees\nWhat's causing a gender gap in Wisconsin's covid vaccinations?","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Herman Berkemeyer\nby Obituaries | Oct 27, 2013\nHerman Joseph Berkemeyer, 90, of Lake Village passed away Sunday, October 27, 2013.\nHe grew up in St. Vincent, Arkansas where he farmed with his family. He later joined the U.S. Navy. After returning from World War II, Herman began farming in Ashley County and moved to Lake Village where he farmed and raised his family.\nMr. Berkemeyer was born on January 24, 1923 in Atkins, Arkansas, a son of Clemens Adolph Berkemeyer and Mary Elizabeth Wiedower Berkemeyer.\nHis family includes his wife of 64 years, Bernice Sponer Berkemeyer; one son, Ronnie Berkemeyer and wife Linda of Lake Village; and a daughter, Janice Berkemeyer Cummings and husband Johnny of Atkins. He had four grandchildren, Anna Berkemeyer Dunigan Martar and husband Jason, Elliott Berkemeyer and wife Kelsey, Bryce Berkemeyer and Brent Berkemeyer; and two great granddaughters, Gracie Dunigan and Adlee Dunigan.\nHe is also survived by one brother, Ray Berkemeyer of Morrilton and seven sisters, Marie Beck of Conway, Louise Sponer of St. Vincent, Rita Rehm, Helen Ward and Marilyn Riedmuellar and husband Buddy, all of Oppelo; Paula Patton of North Little Rock, and Pat Stout and husband Ed of Morrilton.\nIn addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by Bernard and John Henry Berkemeyer and sisters Herman Joseph and Anita.\nHe lived a wonderful and full life. He was very active in his church, community and state. He was an avid golfer and loved to play tennis. He was a member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church and 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.\nMr. Berkemeyer had a great love for the land and natural resources. He was appointed to the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission in 1981 by then Gov. Bill Clinton and served two terms. He served as chairman in 1984 and 1998. He received the Outstanding Conservation District Director Award for his work in Chicot County and throughout the state. He served his local district since 1960. He was also a representative on the Southeast region of the Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D).\nIn 1992, Bill Clinton awarded Mr. Berkemeyer a certificate of recognition as an outstanding Citizen of the State of Arkansas.\nHe was also a member of the Board of Directors for Southeast Farmers Association and Federal Land Bank and was one of the Founders of the First State Bank of Lake Village which was later acquired by Simmons First Bank. He then served on the board of directors.\nHe helped start the Lake Village Country Club. It was there that he spent many hours with his golfing buddies, took up tennis and played well into his eighties and danced for decades. He enjoyed a full and happy life. He loved his family and told everyone what a wonderful family he had.\nPallbearers are Donnie Clark, Jaime Mondragon, Oscar Mondragon, Alexander Vargas, Carl Hayes and Aaron Thompson. Honorary pallbearer is Kathy Clark.\nVisitation will be held on Monday, October 28, at Bishop Funeral Home in Lake Village from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Rosary will begin at 7 p.m. The funeral will be held at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church on October 29 at 1:30 p.m. Burial will be in Holy Innocents Cemetery under the direction of Bishop Funeral Home of Lake Village. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, P.O. Box 272, Lake Village, Arkansas 71653 or to Chicot Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 191, Lake Village, Arkansas 71653.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Editor's Choice: August 05, 2019\nby Erin Scott 05 Aug 2019\nASAP Rocky (back-R) reacts as he leaves the district court in Stockholm, Sweden by car on the third day of the rapper's June street brawl assault trial, August 2, 2019. TT News Agency\/Fredrik Persson via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWEDEN OUT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.\nDemocratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is seen at the site of a mass shooting where 20 people lost their lives at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 4, 2019.\nA boatman walks past the parked 'Shikaras' or boats for tourists on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar August 4, 2019.\nPeople in a costume of a double-headed eagle take part in a rally calling for opposition candidates to be registered for elections to Moscow City Duma, the capital's regional parliament, in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 3, 2019.\nMourners taking part in a vigil at El Paso High School after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 3, 2019.\nSoccer Football - FA Community Shield - Manchester City v Liverpool - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - August 4, 2019 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in action.\nGolf - Women's British Open - Woburn Golf Club, Milton Keynes, Britain - August 4, 2019 Japan's Hinako Shibuno celebrates by kissing trophy after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Women's British Open.\nA woman reacts after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 3, 2019.\nFormula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 4, 2019 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton gestures on the podium as he celebrates winning the Hungarian Grand Prix as Red Bull's Max Verstappen looks on.\nThe United States flag flies at half staff above the White House in response to the El Paso and Dayton mass shooting attacks in Washington, U.S. August 4, 2019.\nA sacrificial cow is lowered from a rooftop by crane, ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Karachi, Pakistan, August 4, 2019.\nXVIII Pan American Games - Lima 2019 - Rhythmic Gymnastics - 5 balls final - Polideportivo Villa El Salvador, Lima, Peru - August 4, 2019. Mexico in action.\nWashington, D.C., USA; Cori Gauff of the United States (L) and Catherine Mcnally of the United States (R) pose with the champions trophies after their match against Fanny Stollar of Hungary and Maria Sanchez of the United States (both not pictured) in the women?s doubles final of the 2019 Citi Open at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY\nChairs are left empty for \"ghosts\", as members of a Chinese Opera group perform during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2, 2019. According to Taoist and Buddhist beliefs, the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, known as the Hungry Ghost Festival is when the Gates of Hell open to let out spirits who wander the land of the living looking for food. Picture taken August 2, 2019.\nShoppers exit with their hands up after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 3, 2019. REUTERS\/Jorge Salgado\nEquestrian - XVIII Pan American Games - Lima 2019 - Eventing Individual - Cross Country - Army Equestrian School, Lima, Peru - August 3, 2019. Brazil's Ruy Leme Da Fonseca Fil riding Ballypatrick SRS falls after a jump.\nAn anti-extradition bill protester throws a stone at a police station in Tseung Kwan O residential district, in Hong Kong, China, August 4, 2019.\nA view of ice melting during a heatwave in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland is seen in this August 1, 2019 image obtained via social media. CASPAR HAARLOEV FROM \"INTO THE ICE\" DOCUMENTARY VIA REUTERS.\nAn anti-extradition bill protester walks among tear gas as they attend a march in Hong Kong, China, August 4, 2019.\ngallery Inside Trump's Senate impeachment trial\ngallery Coastal Canadian town abuzz over possible move there by Harry and Meghan\ngallery Lunar New Year travel rush\ngallery Lunar New Year celebrations\nVIDEO Tesla tops $100 billion in market valuation\nVIDEO Airlines scour the world for scarce 737 MAX simulators\nMost Popular Gallery\nDubai's 'Quranic Park' draws on Islam's holy text\n- 10 Apr 2019\nLebanon gets new government after months of protests\nSaudi men and women relax at Al Reem Reserve camp\n- 09 Jan 2018","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ai-detox\u2122 Helps Detox The Body For A Fresh Start To A New Year And A New You\nDec. 18, 2006 \u2013 Guelph, ON \u2013 December 15, 2006 \u2013 Out with the old, in with the new you. Start 2007 off with a safe and effective detox formula from BioHerbaLai Inc.'s latest product Ai-Detox\u2122 and stay cleansed and healthy all year long. Ai-Detox\u2122 assists the body's natural detoxification processes, helping filter the system of toxic build-up.\nExperts say years of exposure to toxins from external and internal sources may prevent the body from effectively removing these toxic substances. Ai-Detox\u2122 is a Chinese herbal tea in tablet form that is clinically proven to provide numerous health benefits, stimulating detoxification for improved wellness. It is based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine that specifically enhance liver cleansing ability.\nAi-Detox\u2122 enhances the body's detoxification process, allowing the liver to properly metabolize the nutrients ingested. It not only effectively flushes away toxins in the body, but also offers users a healthy and gradual way to lose weight. Moreover, Ai-Detox\u2122 is produced using state of the art bio-technology, which ensures the utmost standards in quality and safety.\n\"Typically after the holiday season, people seem to be more motivated to get on the right track for health and well being,\" said Dr. Sherman Lai, founder and creator of BioHerbaLai Inc. \"Our new product, Ai-Detox\u2122 strengthens liver functions which contribute to improving the health of modern people in their demanding lifestyles \u2013 helping rid bodies of toxins and providing users with a healthy way to lose weight.\"\nIn January, BioHerbaLai Inc. will host a formal launch party in Toronto to celebrate the addition of Ai-Detox\u2122 to its roster of natural herbal remedies. More details will follow in the new year.\nAi-Detox\u2122, like other BioHerbaLai Inc. products, safely combines traditional Chinese medicine with modern nutritional sciences.\nAbout: BioHerbaLai Inc., founded by world-renowned traditional Chinese medical physician Dr. Sherman Lai, has effectively combined thousands of years of traditional Eastern medicine with innovative Western medicine and modern nutritional sciences to develop the safest and most potent herbal remedies available. This Guelph, Ontario-based company, founded by Dr. Lai in 2002, is dedicated to the safe and widespread distribution of proven Chinese herbal products to the world at large. Please visit www.BioHerbaLai.com for more information.\nFor more information: Contact Lucid Communications @ 416.640.5675, email: mcalvert@lucidcommunications.ca or BioHerbaLai Inc. @ 1.888.717.3338\nFood Funktions Introduces Intox-Detox\u2122 That Combines Far East Ingredients with Setria\u00ae Glutathione\nDetox With Infrared Heat in the Comfort of your Own Home\nBody Building \u2013 Body Building Secrets Revealed\nBody Ache Escape Massage Center is Offering Free Massage for a Year to Celebrate Its 5 Year Anniversary\nVentura Lipo-Light's Body Contouring Featured in Celebrities' GRAMMY\u00ae Gift Bags\nNovus Medical Detox Center Questions Legislative Decision to End Federal Medical Marijuana Ban\nNew Whole-body Vibration Fitness Exercise Machine Helps Shed Pounds Without Sweating.\nHerbal Medicine To Treat Cancer Give Us A Chance, You Will Obtain A Miracle","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Enhanced & Endangered\nLinks & FAQ\nLouis Clemens Spiering (1874-1912)\nby Carolyn Hewes Toft, Former Executive Director\nLouis Clemens Spiering circa 1910.\nLouis Clemens Spiering was born in St. Louis in 1874, into a cultivated German-American family. His maternal grandfather was Charles L. Bernays, a German-born journalist whose St. Louis work as editor of Anzeiger Des Westens attracted President Lincoln's admiration and patronage. His father Emil Spiering was prominent in St. Louis cultural life as the leader of his own orchestra. Louis Spiering attended Webster Public School before his family sent him first to a school in Cincinnati and then on to the Real-Gymnasium in Berlin.\nAfter graduating from the Real-Gymnasium in 1891, he remained in Berlin to attend two semesters of architectural study at the Royal School of Technology. After Spiering returned to the United States in 1892 for practical office experience in the Chicago firm of William A. Otis, he studied drawing and water color at the Art Institute in the evenings.\nIn 1895, he set off for Paris where he passed the rigorous entrance exams for l'\u00c9cole des Beaux-Arts. His next seven years would be spent in Europe. In addition to prize-winning work in the Beaux-Arts atelier (studio) of Marcel Lambert (architect in charge of restoration at Versailles), Spiering won a prize in sculpture at l'\u00c9cole des Arts D\u00e9coratifs. A successful thesis project, \"A Mansion for a Rich Amateur of Music,\" added his name in June of 1902 to the small society of American architects with a complete Beaux-Arts education.\nSpiering completed this drawing for a 13th\ncentury pulpit for the Cathedral of Louvigal\ncirca 1900 while at the Ecole.\nAn article published a month later in the St. Louis Republic announcing Spiering's decision to return to St. Louis to work on the World's Fair with Chief Designer E. L. Masquerary noted: \"Mr. Spiering, so far as known, is the only St. Louis architect holding a diploma from the Beaux-Arts. There are twenty such in America.\"\nFor a year and a half Spiering worked on the gardens, bridges and general layout of the Exposition grounds. He designed the restaurant pavilions and colonnades on Art Hill, the Horticulture Building, the \"Palais du Costume,\" the Wireless Telegraph Tower and was Superintending Architect for the French and Austrian governments' exposition buildings.\nIn December 1903, he opened his own practice and set up a design atelier at Washington University's fledgling program in architecture. Opposed in general to the proliferation of schools of architecture, the American Architect, the profession's most influential journal, chastised the University for its daytime program of five students but applauded Spiering's evening classes for working draftsmen: \"We believe that this is the first instance of a college department undertaking, in an organic way, work which is usually left to the uncertain care of the architectural clubs and draughtsmen's societies.\"\nGradually, Spiering became more involved in the daytime program. Girlish swoons recorded in Student Life document the effect his lectures had on part of the general student body.\nIn 1905, Spiering and Professor Frederick M. Mann, the MIT-trained head of the architecture program, entered a competition for the Missouri Supreme Court building but came away with only $350 and third prize. The first prize of $1000 was awarded to Mariner & LaBeaume; the second, $500, went to Frederick C. Bonsack.\nSt. Louis Artists Guild, 812 Union\nIn 1907, when Spiering received an important commission to design a new building for the Artists Guild, family connections may have played a role. His aunt, Thekla Bernays, was a charter member of the Guild, a member of the Arts & Crafts jury for the Fair and a well-connected journalist.\nSometime in 1908, Spiering formed a brief partnership with George W. Hellmuth. The firm's entry in that year's competition for the Soulard Branch Library won first prize. But when an exhibit of all twenty-one designs went on display at the Artists Guild, twelve of the entrants protested, saying that the rules (or program) for the competition stipulated that only india ink could be used for presentation drawings. Spiering, who was responsible for the drawing, insisted that all shadings were indeed india ink.\nThe firm kept the job but the partnership dissolved leaving Spiering to complete the work. Spiering himself handed over the key to the building, which still stands on Lafayette across from the Soulard Market, at the opening ceremonies on 21 March 1910. Abandoned as a library at a lowpoint in the history of the Soulard neighborhood in 1962; it has housed a series of restaurants and bars.\nThe first mention of what would prove a fatal illness (intestinal cancer) had already appeared by the time the library building was completed. In October 1910, a report appeared that Spiering was still convalescing from a January bout with an unnamed illness.\nSometime during that period he created a now-lost, monumental pencil and pastel panorama titled, \"The Architectural Apotheosis of St. Louis\" which traced the city's buildings \"from Indian tents along a lonely river to the magnificent World's Fair buildings and daring predicted structures yet to come.\"\nIn 1911, he resigned from Washington University in order to devote what energy he had to his final commission: the Sheldon Memorial Building for the St. Louis Ethical Society. His resignation occasioned the following tribute: \"...a man of rare culture and ability...through his teaching he has advanced the standard of draftsmanship materially. Nearly every good draftsman in the city is a disciple of his.\"\nSheldon Memorial, 3646 Washington Avenue\nIn November 1912, Spiering resigned his position as professional adviser to the new State Capitol competition in Jefferson City. He died on March 8 of that year. The Ethical Society's April newsletter carried the touching funeral address which began: \"If he wrought not much, he wrought wondrously well.\" *(updated 3 Oct 2016 with corrected cause and date of death.)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Despite Trump's hard line on immigration, Justice Department pursues fewer prosecutions\nWhen parents are prosecuted for what is normally an administrative violation, families get separated.\nImage: REUTERS\/Leah Millis\nAnnalisa Merelli\nand Justin Rohrlich\nAlthough US president Donald Trump says he remains committed to curbing illegal immigration by any means possible, criminal prosecutions for immigration-related offenses have dropped dramatically in the last year.\nAccording to new data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, the number of criminal prosecutions referred to the Department of Justice by immigration enforcement agencies, and then pursued by prosecutors, fell from more than 13,000 in October 2018 to just over 8,000 a year later\u2014a decline of almost 40%.\nBefore Trump assumed office, crossing the border illegally was generally considered an administrative violation, not a criminal offense. That changed in 2018, when the Trump administration announced its so-called zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration.\nFormer attorney general Jeff Sessions unveiled the policy in a harshly-worded statement at the time: \"To those who wish to challenge the Trump Administration's commitment to public safety, national security, and the rule of law, I warn you: illegally entering this country will not be rewarded, but will instead be met with the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice,\" Sessions wrote.\nTrump and Sessions believed that a zero-tolerance policy would discourage immigrants and asylum seekers from crossing the border, or at least force them to seek legal ways to enter the country. Then-secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, also believed zero-tolerance would act as a deterrent to border crossers.\nBut despite the president's oft-repeated claims that the plan is working, it doesn't appear that it is. The recent sharp drop in criminal prosecutions isn't the result of fewer people attempting to cross the border illegally. In fact, the number of apprehensions at the border have risen significantly since March 2019.\nAlthough the administration said its aim was to prosecute 100% of people apprehended at the border, the actual numbers in the year after the policy's enactment hovered in the 30% to 40% range. Now, the figures are almost half that. The decline in prosecutions coincided with Sessions' departure.\nAccording to the TRAC report, fewer prosecutions of immigration-related criminal offenses suggest that the Justice Department is instead directing more resources toward other criminal violations instead\u2014focusing on issues with potentially more immediate impacts on public safety, like drug offenses, illegal weapons possession, or white collar crimes.\nThe number of prosecutions of these types of crimes, in particular drug-related crimes, had previously dropped due to the increased demands of prosecuting illegal immigration.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Thein Sein Set for First Bilateral Talks With Chinese President\nEnvoy Celebrates July 4, Affirms US-Burma Ties in Mandalay\nSoutheast Asia Fears Militant Fallout as Mideast Conflict Widens\nChinese Tycoon Treats New York's Homeless to Lunch\nInspection Tensions Add to Bangladesh Garment Industry's Woes\n'We, Animators, Are a Small Group'\nDeeds and Peace\nBurma's Parliament Amends Protest Law\nWomen Protest Sexual Violence by Soldiers in Chin State\nGeneral Appointed Arakan Chief Minister, Govt Tells Local MPs\nBurmese Migrants Cite Safety Concerns Amid Crackdown by Thai Junta\nStrong Start for Burma's 2014-15 FDI\nFrance Holds First Health Forum in Burma in 20 Years\nNLD Schedules First Youth Congress in Early July\nNew Regulations, But No Evictions for Pyu Villagers: Ministry\nBig Tobacco Ignores Indonesia Health Warning Law\nUS Says Thai Military Rule Likely to Last Longer than Expected\nChina Confirms Attack on Militia in Tense Far West\nWestern Firms React to Burmese Slave Labor Accusations in Thailand\nIs a Cabinet Reshuffle on the Horizon in Burma?\nExtinction Looms as Notorious Rosewood Loggers Set Sights on Burma Species, Group Warns\nCanada Welcomes Tycoon Tied to Drugs, but Denies Visa to Kachin Activist\n'Businesses With Compelling Stories are Suitable to Be Listed'\nAngelina Jolie Calls for Refugee Support in Visit to Thai Border Camp\nExperts say China is eager to reaffirm longstanding ties with Burma as the Burmese president prepares to meet with Xi Jinping in Beijing.\nBy Echo Hui 26 June 2014\nHONG KONG \u2014 China is eager to reaffirm its traditional political and military ties with Burma amid escalating conflicts in the South China Sea, experts say, as the Burmese president prepares for his first official bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.\nPresident Thein Sein will join Xi as well as India's vice president in the Chinese capital on Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, a set of principles that governs relations between the three countries.\nThein Sein, who will arrive on Friday, is making his third state visit to China\u2014and his second state visit since Xi was sworn into office last year. The two presidents, who met during a multilateral forum in China in April last year, will hold their first official bilateral talks during the four-day visit, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which said Thein Sein would also meet with China's prime minister and top legislator, in addition to visiting the ancient\ncapital of Luoyang in central China's Henan Province.\nCompared with previous Chinese leaders, Xi is widely seen as more aggressively pushing China's agenda abroad. Under his presidency, tensions with Japan and other neighboring nations have escalated to record highs amid heated territorial disputes. Xi, who has launched China's biggest anti-graft campaign in decades, is also cracking down on Internet speech, raising doubts about his commitment to political reforms.\nWhen it comes to Burma, experts say the Chinese president, who was sworn into office last year, is attempting to maintain the two countries' traditional \"paukphaw,\" or fraternal, relationship.\nHowever, Burma, China and India are facing new challenges in adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, an agreement in 1954 to observe mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.\nBryan Pak-nung Wong, a Hong Kong-based academic focused on international politics, said he believes China wants to make Burma a go-between with India, to ensure that the Indian Ocean sea lanes, the Kyaupyu-Kunming oil pipelines, and the economic and energy corridor across Burma are not disturbed.\n\"Instead of dealing with India by itself, China has chosen to delegate Myanmar [Burma] as a go-between to warm up the relationship with India, especially now that the whole world is watching how the newly elected Indian President Modi will deal with India's relatively sensitive relationships with China and other South Asian small states,\" Wong said. \"Leaving Myanmar to deal with the Sino-India relationship would serve as a cushioned go-between in case any unexpected problems emerge.\"\nHe said Chinese leaders may also seek to address persistent concerns about drug-trafficking, ethnic conflicts and illicit businesses in northern Burma's Kachin State, which have created problems for China as well as India, including an influx of refugees over the borders and threats to the security of energy projects.\nDespite these problems, experts believe China-Burma ties are stronger than either country's relations with India.\n\"[China's] relationship with Pakistan is still more important [than its relations with India], making it impossible for China and India to build political trust,\" said Tao Duanfang, a prominent Canadian commenter on international affairs.\nThein Sein also has reasons to build closer ties with its biggest neighbor to the north.\nLast month, the United States extended its limited economic sanctions on Burma, despite some progress on reforms. \"The political opening remains nascent, and concerns persist regarding ongoing conflict and human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas, particularly in Rakhine [Arakan] State, and the continued role of the military in the country's political and economic activities,\" US President Barack Obama said in a letter to leaders of Congress.\nZhu Lvmin, a Chinese academic focused on China and Southeast Asia, believes Burma needs to \"catch the eye of the US\" by exploring closer military and political ties with China, in a \"balance of power strategy.\"\n\"Thein Sein may be testing the US to see how the partnership between the United States and Myanmar goes, and sending a warning by coming a bit closer to China,\" said Zhu, \"The government also wants to seek support from China's side, as Myanmar's national election, scheduled for next year, is just around the corner.\"\nAlthough the former Burmese junta benefited from China's military and political support, Wong said Burma has seen the short end of the stick economically in the bilateral relationship. \"It is therefore reasonable for Thein Sein to visit China to ensure Myanmar's political and military ties with China, while also building economic and trade ties with the West and other major investor countries, including Japan and India.\"\nEcho Hui Reuters","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"by our- orchestra and folk singing groups.    Tremendous interest and participation\nCharacterized these productions  and unquestionably raised the morale and the public relations of our- adult program.    At the end of three years of existence, our\nadult drama group can finally say with justification that they now have a solid\ngroup that is capable of providing worthwhile entertainment to our community. The\nnewer groups all have proved themselves and should receive the fullest support\nfor their continuance   and expansion.    I specifically urge the inclusion of a\nbudgetary allowance for a choral group leader for our- folk singers and a larger\nbudget for- all of our- art groups to enable them to plan more realistically the\ntype of programs that will enhance the status of the groups and Hecht House.    I\nstrongly urge im_ecu.ate and close contact between the adult workor and the adult\nprogram committee with the member leaders of these groups for- the purpose of\ncloser integration and long range planning.\nThe mass activities of the adults, as carried out by Men's and Women's Association, were considerably improvKi in numbers present and in enthusiasm over a\nrather weak previous year.    With the exception of the opening dance, the joint\nprograms of these groups were well received.    The Men's Association's programs\nwere uniformly poor- in attendance, although high in quality of progran content.\nThe Women's Association's programs were quite gooo throughout,  and the Second Annual Bake-Off saw a sizable incrase in attendance over the first effort along these\nlines.    The Installation Dinner-Dance in May was a new program and was enthusiastically received.    The Men's Association's Vet's Night was a new program that\nshowed more promise than it did fulfillment, and it should definitely be tried\nagain at a more propitious time of the year-.    Numerically, the largest attendances\ncame at the Jewish Music Festival, the Fashion Show and the Bake-Off in that order.\nI would strongly recommend that time be allotted to the worker with the adult groups\nfor him to make contact with many of the Jewish adult groups in our- community, with\nan eye toward joint sponsorship of programs of mutual interest.    For example, working together with the various Zionist groups on a lar-gescale Salute to Israel program in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the founding of the new State.\nPerhaps joint sponsorship with B'Nai Brith Women, ORT, in a special women's gym progran or a public affairs forum series.    Joint involvement with the Zionist and synagogue groups around the celebration of Jewish Music Month and Jewish Book Month is\nfeasible and desirable.    Such efforts would undoubtedly culminate in an increase in\nadult membership and the widening of the sphere of influence of Hecht House in our\nThe teen-agers continue to present the most difficult problem to the Hecht House\nstaff.    Apart from the Young Adult program, which this past year never got off the\nground because of the inadequate experience and limited capacity of the assigned\nworker, this age group found itself at a level of slow decline in numbers from the\nprevious season.    While the greatly accelerated decline of some earlier years has\nbeen stopped,  there still is a gradual loss of the members of this age group that\nwe are serving,    tir.  Jaffe, in his departmental report, discusses this at length.\nSuffice it here to say, that for whatever- it may accomplish,  the most hopeful sign\nin regard to this problan is the increased concern being shown all over- the country\nfor new approaches to youngsters in this age group.    The present survey conducted\nby the Jewish Centers Association, involving Hecht House and the Boston Y, may uncover leads that will eventually result in a more meaningful program with larger numbers of participants.    New program developments in this department include the bowling\nleague, the journalism group, Leadership Training Course,  and a special body building\nclass.    These efforts at expanding the program of the department through special\ninterest groups do not seem to be the right answer. Until we know more,  however,\nwe should definitely continue to offer special interest activities to our Seniors\nand Collegians.    The need for a special Drop-In-Louhge for this age group has been\nTranscript - 3 - by our- orchestra and folk singing groups. Tremendous interest and participation Characterized these productions and unquestionably raised the morale and the public relations of our- adult program. At the end of three years of existence, our adult drama group can finally say with justification that they now have a solid group that is capable of providing worthwhile entertainment to our community. The newer groups all have proved themselves and should receive the fullest support for their continuance and expansion. I specifically urge the inclusion of a budgetary allowance for a choral group leader for our- folk singers and a larger budget for- all of our- art groups to enable them to plan more realistically the type of programs that will enhance the status of the groups and Hecht House. I strongly urge im_ecu.ate and close contact between the adult workor and the adult program committee with the member leaders of these groups for- the purpose of closer integration and long range planning. The mass activities of the adults, as carried out by Men's and Women's Association, were considerably improvKi in numbers present and in enthusiasm over a rather weak previous year. With the exception of the opening dance, the joint programs of these groups were well received. The Men's Association's programs were uniformly poor- in attendance, although high in quality of progran content. The Women's Association's programs were quite gooo throughout, and the Second Annual Bake-Off saw a sizable incrase in attendance over the first effort along these lines. The Installation Dinner-Dance in May was a new program and was enthusiastically received. The Men's Association's Vet's Night was a new program that showed more promise than it did fulfillment, and it should definitely be tried again at a more propitious time of the year-. Numerically, the largest attendances came at the Jewish Music Festival, the Fashion Show and the Bake-Off in that order. I would strongly recommend that time be allotted to the worker with the adult groups for him to make contact with many of the Jewish adult groups in our- community, with an eye toward joint sponsorship of programs of mutual interest. For example, working together with the various Zionist groups on a lar-gescale Salute to Israel program in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the founding of the new State. Perhaps joint sponsorship with B'Nai Brith Women, ORT, in a special women's gym progran or a public affairs forum series. Joint involvement with the Zionist and synagogue groups around the celebration of Jewish Music Month and Jewish Book Month is feasible and desirable. Such efforts would undoubtedly culminate in an increase in adult membership and the widening of the sphere of influence of Hecht House in our community. The teen-agers continue to present the most difficult problem to the Hecht House staff. Apart from the Young Adult program, which this past year never got off the ground because of the inadequate experience and limited capacity of the assigned worker, this age group found itself at a level of slow decline in numbers from the previous season. While the greatly accelerated decline of some earlier years has been stopped, there still is a gradual loss of the members of this age group that we are serving, tir. Jaffe, in his departmental report, discusses this at length. Suffice it here to say, that for whatever- it may accomplish, the most hopeful sign in regard to this problan is the increased concern being shown all over- the country for new approaches to youngsters in this age group. The present survey conducted by the Jewish Centers Association, involving Hecht House and the Boston Y, may uncover leads that will eventually result in a more meaningful program with larger numbers of participants. New program developments in this department include the bowling league, the journalism group, Leadership Training Course, and a special body building class. These efforts at expanding the program of the department through special interest groups do not seem to be the right answer. Until we know more, however, we should definitely continue to offer special interest activities to our Seniors and Collegians. The need for a special Drop-In-Louhge for this age group has been","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"M3GAN sequel confirmed for 2025\nAllison Williams and Violet McGraw are definitely going to play a bloody game again.\nWe've heard talks about a potential sequel for a while now, but that doesn't mean we'll see the next M3GAN very soon.\nVariety and The Hollywood Reporter have gotten official confirmation that M3GAN is getting a sequel. The movie is at least right now fittingly called M3GAN 2.0, and both Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are set to reprise their roles as the titular character and Cady respectively. Gerard Johnston, the original's director, hasn't signed on to do this as well yet even if THR's sources have heard the producers want it to happen.\nConsidering this information, it's somewhat surprising that we'll have to wait quite a while to see the killer AI doll return, as M3GAN 2.0 is looking to haunt cinemas on January 17, 2025.\nNEWS. Written by Eirik Hyldbakk Furu on the 18th of January 2023 at 23:04\nMOVIE REVIEW. Written by Mans Lindman on the 17th of January 2023 at 16\nWe've seen the sci-fi horror phenomenon, and have plenty of thoughts about the flick.\nMore M3GAN seems to be on the way\nDespite the recent domestic release of the horror film, a sequel has already been planned.\nMovie company: Blumhouse Productions\nActors: Allison Williams\nAmie Donald","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Thomas Bentley and Alexandra H. Ollinger February 2, 2016\nHow to Preserve Family Wealth: Better Conversations and Flexible Estate Plans\nTom is an estate planning specialist focused on helping clients understand and embrace estate planning strategies, while Alexandra is a wealth advisor specializing in working with multi-generational family clients. In this Viewpoint, they collaborate to discuss the guiding principles of successful wealth preservation.\n\"Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.\" This old saying describes the experience of many wealthy families: the first generation starts with nothing, but amasses wealth through ingenuity and hard work, only to have the wealth vanish by the time their great-grandchildren are in charge.\nThis scenario remains entirely too common today. Research from multiple sources confirms that approximately 70% of families lose their wealth within two generations and 90% within three.\nThose sobering figures explain why wealth preservation is one of the hottest topics in the financial planning and investment management industry today. The interest is particularly intense among independent advisors and fiduciaries, who may feel they have let down their clients when wealth and assets dissipate too soon. For families whose wealth originated with family-owned businesses, preserving legacies and a sense of purpose may be nearly as important as protecting financial resources for future generations.\nFundamentally, estate planning documents serve as the \"roadmap\" to long-term wealth preservation. First and foremost, they must protect against the most common threats \u2013 divorce and\/or creditors \u2013 that cause assets to move out of the bloodline. However, the best estate plans are also flexible in allowing surviving spouses to modify how and when assets are distributed, which may be necessary for families facing unique challenges.\nConsider a situation where one child of a wealthy family commits to a relatively low-paying career (social work, for instance), while another earns a large salary (as a surgeon, for example). Over time, the family may decide not to distribute assets equally among their children, which is the typical default. A child or grandchild with special education or healthcare needs may also merit a tailored approach to asset distribution.\nTailoring the Right Estate Plan\nWealth preservation strategies are not one-size-fits-all. They can and should be tailored to each family's circumstances. It's also important to remember that the estate planning process can help preserve family legacies, too. For example, philanthropic giving may be an important topic during these discussions. What legacy does a family wish to leave in its community? Do parents want future generations to understand the causes and organizations that mattered most to them? If so, estate plans may specify planned giving to balance wealth preservation with the continuation of a family legacy.\nSimilar questions apply to family-owned businesses. If future generations are to participate or ultimately control the business, do they understand the values and principles that led to success in the past? Have they been raised to understand the work ethic, commitment to problem solving and succession planning requirements?\nThere may be other considerations regarding strategic tax planning to ensure future generations avoid inheritance taxes or estate taxes. And, in working on estate documents, parents may see an opportunity to explain to their children that annual gifts (the tax-free maximum is $14,000) should not be expected every year. In this sense, estate planning can help children and grandchildren avoid a sense of entitlement that is a real threat to wealth preservation.\nOn multiple occasions, we have seen relatively straightforward estate planning conversations about the executor of a will or the designation healthcare power of attorney spark substantive conversations about end-of-life care, burial preferences or family heritage.\nThese topics are too important to leave to chance. That's why we believe that the more conversation, communication and information sharing the better, as it increases the likelihood that families will preserve their wealth, and their relationships, for generations to come.\nThe bottom line is that the preservation of wealth \u2013 much like the creation of wealth \u2013 requires thoughtful planning, an intentional approach and open communication. That may sound like difficult work, but in our experience the rewards (both financial and emotional) are very much worth the effort.\nEstate Documents Families Financial Education\nDavid J. Bross October 28, 2021\nHow to Navigate Your Role as a Trustee or Executor\nDavid J. Bross September 13, 2021\nA Guide to Key Estate Planning Terms\nMichael J. Chasnoff and Thomas Bentley September 13, 2021\nTruepoint Private Trust & Fiduciary Services: A New Approach to Trust Administration","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"SBU News > Stony Brook Matters > Alumni Spotlight Story > Archaeologists Reveal Massive Ancient Cemetery Near Lake Turkana, Kenya\nAcademicsAlumni Spotlight StoryCollege of Arts & SciencesMedicine and ResearchResearchSocial SciencesStony Brook Matters\nArchaeologists Reveal Massive Ancient Cemetery Near Lake Turkana, Kenya\nA groundbreaking study has found the earliest and largest monumental cemetery in eastern Africa built 5,000 years ago by early pastoralists living around Lake Turkana, Kenya. This group is believed to have lived without major inequalities and hierarchies, contradicting long-standing narratives about the origins of early civilizations. The study, led by Elisabeth Hildebrand, PhD, Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.\nStone pendants and earrings from the communal cemetery of Lothagam North, Kenya, built by eastern Africa's earliest herders ~5000-4300 years ago. Megaliths, stone circles, and cairns flank the 30-m platform mound; its mortuary cavity contains an estimated several hundred individuals, tightly arranged. Most burials had highly personalized ornaments. Lothagam North demonstrates monumentality may arise among dispersed, mobile groups without strong hierarchy.\nThe Lothagam North Pillar Site was a communal cemetery constructed and used over a period of several centuries. A platform 90 feet (30 m) in diameter held a large cavity in its center. There, an estimated minimum of 580 individuals were placed close together. Men, women, and children were typically buried with elaborate personal ornaments. Eventually, burial activities ceased and herders capped the entire platform with stones.\nHistorically, archeologists researching settled agricultural societies have found that large groups of people built permanent monuments as reminders of shared history, ideals and culture. These ancient monuments have previously been regarded as reliable indicators of complex societies with emerging elites and social classes. However, the Lothagam cemetery was constructed by mobile pastoralists and carries no evidence for hierarchy; it therefore requires alternative models for the relations between monuments and social change.\nThe discovery has prompted researchers to examine similar examples elsewhere in Africa and on other continents, and has the potential to reshape global perspectives on how \u2013 and why \u2013 large groups of people come together to form complex societies. In this case, it appears that Lothagam North's architects faced highly uncertain environments as Lake Turkana shrunk by 50%, and grappled with economic and social instability as herding took hold. Early herders may have constructed the cemetery to provide a stable landmark on a shifting landscape.\n\"The Lothagam North Pillar Site is the earliest known monumental site in eastern Africa built by the region's first herders,\" said Elisabeth Hildebrand, PhD, in the Department of Anthropology in at Stony Brook's College of Arts and Sciences. \"This finding makes us reconsider how we define social complexity, and the kinds of motives that lead groups of people to create public architecture.\"\nSignificant findings include:\nWith an age of around 5,000 years, Lothagam North Pillar Site represents the earliest known monumental site in eastern Africa; it was built by the region's first herders as rainfall decreased and Lake Turkana receded.\nOver a period of several centuries, people buried an estimated minimum of 580 individuals \u2013 from infants to elderly and including both men and women \u2013 within a large mortuary cavity in the center of the platform. This constitutes one of the earliest known cemeteries in eastern Africa.\nThe monuments may have served as a place for people to congregate, renew social ties, and reinforce community identity. Information exchange and interaction through shared ritual\u202fmay have helped mobile herders navigate a rapidly changing physical landscape.\nPersonal adornments occur with nearly all individuals and were not restricted to any sex or interment type. More than 300 vibrantly colored stone and mineral beads were found in diverse forms, showing that these people had a keen aesthetic sense. Making beads and other ornaments would have been time-consuming, and their variation in form demonstrates creativity and individual style.\nBurials were tightly packed within the mortuary cavity, and their arrangement was not suggestive of ranking or social priority. This, together with diverse forms of personal ornamentation, suggests that the pastoralists who built Lothagam North did not have strong social hierarchies.\nView of Lothagam North Pillar Kenya, built by eastern Africa's earliest herders ~5000-4300 years ago. Megaliths, stone circles, and cairns can be seen behind the 30-m platform mound; its mortuary cavity contains an estimated several hundred individuals, tightly arranged. Most burials had highly personalized ornaments. Lothagam North demonstrates monumentality may arise among dispersed, mobile groups without strong hierarchy.\nThe Turkana Basin Institute, a component of Stony Brook University, is an international research institute to facilitate research and education in paleontology, archaeology and geology in the Turkana Basin of Kenya. The goals of the institute include building and maintaining two field research facilities surrounding Lake Turkana that will operate all year and support research and educational activities, including field schools.\nArchaeologists Reveal Massive Monumental Cemetery Built by Eastern Africa's Earliest Herders Near Lake Turkana, Kenya\nGlobal Forum on the Turkana Basin Institute, October 11\nWealth Inequality Increased in Ancient Times with Animal Domestication\nCollege of Arts and Sciences turkana basin institute\nSurprising Discovery: Massive Cemetery Built 5,000 Years Ago Near Lake Turkana, Kenya | Ancient Pages says:\nAcademicsFaculty\/StaffMedicineSchool of Dental Medicine\nSBU Urges Congress to Fund More Oral Health Training Programs and Increase Funding for Dental Research\nOn Wednesday, September 18, Dr. Dan Colosi, Associate Professor in the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine and Director of the Division of Diagnostic Imaging, visited Capitol Hill in conjunction with the American...\nAcademicsAwards and HonorsNews HighlightsSchool of JournalismStudent Spotlight\nStony Brook Journalism Student Named 2019 New York Times Fellow\nRebecca Liebson, a graduating senior in the Stony Brook University School of Journalism, has been named a 2019 New York Times Fellow. More than 5,000 candidates from around the world applied for 22 positions in the...\nFaculty\/StaffFeatured StoryResearchSustainability\nHow Stony Brook Is Reshaping Global Conservation and Sustainability\nStony Brook, one of the nation's top public universities, continues to extend its impact far beyond New York, to the global stage. With the University continuing to attract prominent researchers, it is playing an...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Free Library > General Interest\/Informational > General interest > Sojourners > December 1, 2006\nThe Free Library > Humanities > Philosophy and religion > Sojourners > December 1, 2006\nThe Free Library > Date > 2006 > December > 1 > Sojourners\n'A light shines in the darkness'.\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefreelibrary.com\/%27A+light+shines+in+the+darkness%27.-a0155400914<\/a>\nMLA style: \"'A light shines in the darkness'..\" The Free Library. 2006 Sojourners 20 Jan. 2021 https:\/\/www.thefreelibrary.com\/%27A+light+shines+in+the+darkness%27.-a0155400914\nChicago style: The Free Library. S.v. 'A light shines in the darkness'..\" Retrieved Jan 20 2021 from https:\/\/www.thefreelibrary.com\/%27A+light+shines+in+the+darkness%27.-a0155400914\nAPA style: 'A light shines in the darkness'.. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Jan 20 2021 from https:\/\/www.thefreelibrary.com\/%27A+light+shines+in+the+darkness%27.-a0155400914\nTom Fox was profoundly affected by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He recalled the vision held by Quaker leader George Fox in 1647 who said, \"I saw, also, that there was an ocean of darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness. In that also I saw the infinite love of God, and I had great openings.\"\nTom Fox's \"great opening\" led him to join Christian Peacemaker Teams in 2004. \"While I knew very little about CPT at the time,\" Fox told CPT co-director Doug Pritchard, \"I had a clear sense that I wanted very much to find some way to pull us out of the darkness and move the world (even if it was the movement of one human being) toward the light.\"\nFox served in Hebron, in the West Bank--protesting the separation wall, planting olive trees, and interviewing Palestinians whose homes had been destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces--and in Iraq, accompanying refugees and shipments of medicine, interviewing incarcerated Iraqis and assisting their families, and working with the Muslim Peacemaker Teams.\nAfter Fox was killed on March 9, 2006, his body was held at the Anaconda military base in Balat, Iraq, where CPT\/Iraq member Beth Pyles kept vigil with Fox for the next 36 hours. Because he had served in the U.S. Marine Corps band for more than 20 years, Fox's coffin was draped in an American flag and shipped to Dover Air Force Base in the United States. Next to Fox was the coffin of an Iraqi detainee who had died in U.S. custody who was being transported to Dover for an autopsy. For Fox, Pyles read aloud from John's gospel: \"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it\" (1:5). For his Iraqi companion, Pyles invoked the Muslim call to prayer, \"Allah Akhbar\" (God is great), and read from Job 1:21--\"the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.\"\nBack in Baghdad, CPT members erected an Iraqi funeral banner near the site where Fox's body was found. It read, in beautiful Arabic script, \"In memory of Tom Fox [found] in this place. Christian Peacemaker Teams declares, 'We are for God and we return to God.' To those who held him, we declare, 'God forgave you.'\"\n\"In Iraq I often heard Iraqis say that Tom had a pure heart--a big heart,\" recalled CPT member Greg Rollins at a memorial service for Tom Fox held in Washington, D.C. \"They said this not because he put his life in danger, but because he cared. He believed in following Christ's cal to love God and love your neighbor and your enemy as yourself. Some people said that Tom didn't know what he was doing coming to Iraq, but Tom did know what he was doing. He was there to listen and to tell people outside of Iraq what was actually happening there.\"\nAn Iraqi member of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams recently told Sojourners, \"I told my Muslim friends that I was sure Tom would go to God because he was working for peace. They said, 'But he's a Christian.' I answered them, 'But he gave his life for us.'\"\nRose Marie Berger is an associate editor of Sojourners.\nCOPYRIGHT 2006 Sojourners\nCopyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.\nTitle Annotation:\nChristian Peacemakers\nBerger, Rose Marie\nGeographic Code:\n'We are still here'.\nLiving beyond hatred: John Perkins' pioneering ministry has shown that true racial reconciliation can only come with economic and political...\nChristian organizations\nOfficials and employees\nDeath of\nPeace activists\nCPT martyr mourned. (Between the Lines).\nLogging out in the open.\nVerbatim.\nControversy surrounds James Loney's return.\nThe blood of the martyrs: Tom Fox's nonviolent witness.\nStill prisoners of war: after nearly four months in captivity in Baghdad, James Loney of the Christian Peacemaker Teams realizes anew the difficulty...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Pic: Vault Festival\nThe Ultimate Guide to VAULT Festival 2020\nJanuary 17th, 2020 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nVault Festival returns in 2020 to liven up the cold winter months between January 28th and March 22nd. Named after the festival's main venue, The Vaults on Leake Street, Waterloo, it's London's biggest annual arts festival. Last year was its most successful ever with over 79,0000 people coming to see over 400 shows. That took work from more than 2000 UK and international artists.\nIt's one of biggest fringe festivals in the UK outside of The Edinburgh Festival. So you don't have to wait until August or travel hundreds of miles to experience eight weeks of fringe and experimental theatre, comedy, acrobatics, spoken word, film screenings podcast recordings, cabaret, music and late events.\nVAULT Festival 2020 Venues\nPhoto by VAULT Festival\nUnlike Edinburgh Fringe, VAULT Festival isn't city-wide. You won't have to dash across London to see lots of shows. All of the festival's 18 venues are in the Waterloo area. Which means you can cut down on programme clashes and going back and forth on public transport.\nThe Main hub is The Vaults on Leake Street (which is actually a graffiti covered tunnel) just off Lower Marsh. Other participating venues include Network Theatre on Lower Road (follow their directions as it's tricky to find). There will also be plenty going on at VAULTY Towers on Lower Marsh and new comedy venue The Cockatiel at Hello Darling on Waterloo Road, next to The Old Vic. There'll be a smattering of pop-venues too.\nWhat to see at VAULT Festival 2020\nDiversity and sustainability are a big part of the 2020 event. VAULT Festival has teamed up with Staging Change, an organisation committed to promoting sustainable practices in theatre. To pick your perfect line-up use the official website below to filter by price point or category (theatre, cabaret, lates, mixed bill etc).\nSome highlights to look forward to this year include:\nSanti & Naz\nThere's plenty to see throughout the festival, but in the first week you can check out, Santi & Naz. Playing at the Cage @ The Vaults from Jan 29th\u2013Feb 2nd, it's a story of female friendship threatened by the partition of India, and the drastic action they take to avoid separation.\nPassion on the Night Tube\nInteracting with other humans on public transport late at night is enough to break most Londoners into a cold sweat. But for writer-director Tony Tang it's the subject of a play about connection in unlikely places. On at The Horse and Stables pub from Jan 29th\u2013Feb 2nd is Passion on the Night Tube. It features Jimmy Wong as a gay Chinese man who becomes homeless and spends the weekend on the night tube.\nFreedom, Hi\nLater on in the run, from March 10th\u201315th at Pit @ The Vaults, is Freedom, Hi. It's a devised piece about the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Definitely one to see if you've had your head in the sand over the protests in Hong Kong (a big shout out to our friends over at Hong Kong Cheapo).\nExpect sketch comedy, improv and stand up throughout the VAULT Festival. Shows on during the early part of the festival include Lady Likes: Top Secret House Party! In the Studio @ The Vaults from January 29th\u2013January 31st. There's also Work in Progress from Zahra Barri (as featured on BBC iPlayer) on at The Cockatiel Club @ Hello Darling on January 31st. Then there's improvised reality TV show I'm Not Here to Make Friends, on at Crypt @ The Vaults on February 5th-12th.\nSuggested Activity\n3 Months of Free Revolut Premium Banking\nFrom streamlined money management to travel perks and investments, Revolut Banking is easy to use, and you can open your account in an instant. Free \u00a310 credit for London Cheapo readers.\nOne of the longer-running highlights is The LOL Word Coming Out Special at Crescent @ The Vaults from January 31st\u2013March 13th. Last year's run sold out, so be quick if you want to catch their raucous one-hour show.\nLates\nStick around after hours for late night cabaret, parties and experimental performances. Climate activists, artists and performers invite you to The Underbar @ The VAULTs on 22nd for Extinction Underground where you can dance, play and find out more about Extinction Rebellion.\nCatch acts from the graduating class of Soho Theatre's Cabaret & Drag Lab on March 6th at Forge Lates at The VAULTs for a night of queer and fantasic performances. Be sure to stick around for the after party.\nTickets for VAULT Festival\nTickets range from \u00a37.50 to around \u00a318.00 for individual shows. It's worth checking out some of the festival offers too. Download the Stagedoor app to plan your festival experience and get 2-4-1 ticket offers on selected shows, and 10% of selected food and drinks too. These are limited though, so get in quick.\nIf you're planning on seeing a lot of shows,you can also save 10% off every show by becoming a member for \u00a335.00. Going with mates? You get 10% off for groups of 8 or more when you book together. You can also get \u00a31.00 off the first two performances of any show that's on for 5 nights or more.\nOne major bonus of the VAULT Festival is that it doesn't take place during peak season. So if you're visiting London during that time, finding cheap accommodation should be fairly easy.\nYour best bet is probably a hostel. In fact you can even book rooms at The Horse & Stables, one of the festival venues. That's if it's not already booked out by international cabaret troupes and out-of-town performers. There are mixed and single-sex dorms from \u00a314.00 and private rooms from just \u00a360.00.\nEven if you're not staying in the immediate area, transport links are great. Waterloo is in Zone 1 and is a suburban and regional trainline. You can also get trains and the DLR to Waterloo east, or the Underground on the Bakerloo, Northern and Jubilee lines. Southwark tube (Jubilee line) is also a short walk from most of the venues too.\nAnd if you're sticking around for a late show, the Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights on the Northern Line (Charing Cross branch) and Jubilee lines. There are also plenty of buses from Waterloo too, for bonus top-deck sightseeing.\nVAULT Festival 2023\nDates: 24th Jan\u201319th Mar, 2023\nThe Vaults Theatre\nName Mentioned in this article\nArea(s)\nPlaces Mentioned\nNetwork Theatre\nThe Horse and Stables\nWritten by: Becky Lima-Matthews\nBecky's London favorites are: Kerbisher & Malt, 5 Cheap BYO Restaurants in London, Arancini Brothers\nFiled under: Things to Do\nFree and cheap events\nGet all the info on what's on in London direct to your inbox every month\nLondon Social Clubs and Meetups\nMeet friends, have fun, try something new!\nBest Vegan Fast Food for Veganuary\nJanuary 4th, 2023 | Amanda David\nBest Value Cinema and Theatre Memberships in London\nJanuary 1st, 2023 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nMembers' bars, discount tickets, special screenings and more - here's our guide to the best value theatre and cinema memberships in London.\nLondon Skating: Outdoor Ice Rinks for All the Christmas Feels\nJanuary 1st, 2023 | Rachel Holdsworth\nLet us help you save money for what's really important: a nice cup of cocoa or mulled wine.\nWhere to See the NYE Fireworks for Free in London\nDecember 23rd, 2022 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nDidn't get a ticket but still want to catch the London New Year's Eve fireworks?\nThe Best New Year's Eve Parties in London 2022\nDecember 22nd, 2022 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nSee off the year without that financial hangover on January 1st.\n15 Great TV and Film Location Tours in London\nDecember 17th, 2022 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nFrom James Bond to Harry Potter and from rom-coms to horror, here's our roundup of the best film location tours London.\nA Walking Tour of Blue Plaques in Bloomsbury\nThere are over 950 blue plaques across London, but many are clustered together in particular areas, perfect for strolling around town\n7 Great Jazz Clubs and Bars in London\nDecember 6th, 2022 | Becky Lima-Matthews\nFrom dingy basements to smart restaurants with a dress codes, London's Jazz clubs and bars have something for all tastes and styles.\nFrom dreamy scenery to historic cities, or just a coastal retreat \u2013 here are some of our favourite weekend trips from London by Train.\nNovember 26th, 2022 | Amanda David\nTop Picks for London's Winter Illuminations 2022-2023\nNovember 25th, 2022 | Felix Wilson\nLondon gets fully lit up over the dark winter months, from central London to the suburbs: winter illuminations pour colour and sparkle over the city. New illuminations are popping up in and around London in a bid to be this year's best display. We've covered everything from the Canary Wharf Winter Lights to Lightopia \u2014so wrap up warm and take a wander to one of these London winter illuminations.\nPopular Posts From London Cheapo\nAll Time | This Month | Cheapo Picks\nPrepaid UK SIM Card Comparison\nThe Ultimate Guide to London's Kilo Vintage Sales\n8 Places To Drink Cheap Cocktails, Even Outside Happy Hour\nWhere to Buy a SIM Card in London\nRecommended hotels located nearby\nMore London Hotels\neasyHotel Victoria\nPimlico 2.3\u2009km\nYHA St Paul's\nSt Paul's 1.6\u2009km\nRest Up\nElephant and Castle 1.7\u2009km\nfrom \u00a529\neasyHotel London City Shoreditch\nOld Street, Shoreditch 2.9\u2009km","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Structural Changes in Employment Generation: New Approaches\nAnil Kumar Thakur (Editor) Bharti Pandey (Editor)\nAnil Kumar Thakur\nDr. Anil Kumar thakur, M.A. M.Ed., Ph. D., is a senior faculty member in the Post Graduate Department of Applied Economics and Commerce at College of Commerce, Patna under Magadh University. Many research scholars have obtained Ph. D. degrees under his guidance and supervision.\nThakur has excelled himself in several areas of Economic Policy and Fiscal Management of the Indian Economy. He has also edited more than forty books\/journals\/souvenirs. Thakur is a matured organizer and architect of Indian Economic Association. He is the youngest Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of Indian Economic Association. He has founded the Economic Association of Bihar and Jharkhand and remained its Founder Secretary for more than ten years.\nHe is a signature of Indian Economic Association and many organizations of Bihar and India. Thakur is the vanguard of young professional economists living in far-flung rural remote areas to inspire and encourage them to write articles and books.\nBooks by the same authors\nIndian Public Finance and the Twelfth Finance Commission\nEconomic Thoughts on Justice and Equity\nWTO and India\nImpact of Economic Reform Policies on Dalit and Weaker Sections\nDevelopment of Informal Economy: Problems and Challenges\nFiscal Federalism in India: Challenges and Reforms\nSpecial Purpose Vehicle: Concepts and Applications\nVietnam's Economic Transition: Policies, Issues and Prospects\nOpportunity Beckons: Adding Momentum to the Indo-German Partnership\nGrowing Cities in a Shrinking World: The Challenges of Urbanism in India and China\nTitle\tStructural Changes in Employment Generation: New Approaches\nAuthor\tAnil Kumar Thakur\nBharti Pandey\nPublisher\tRegal Publications\nlength\txx+258p., Illustrations; 23cm.\nSubjects Business & Economics > Economics","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 The undisputed \"King of Country Music,\" George Strait again used his platform for good, recognizing National First Responders Day yesterday, Oct. 28, by supporting The 100 Club of San Antonio's efforts to assist families of fallen first responders in connection with his latest single \"The Weight of the Badge.\"\nWritten together by Strait, his son Bubba and longtime collaborator Dean Dillon, \"The Weight of the Badge\" off Strait's most recent album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, speaks to the sacrifices made by our nation's first responders and marks Strait's record-extending 100th entry on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, where he also holds the record for most Top 10s with 61 songs.\nStrait's Vaqueros del Mar Golf Tournament Raised Over $2.2 Million for Feherty's Troops First Foundation (L to R: Tom Cusick, David Feherty, Srgt. Major Tom Capel, Ed Garahan, George Strait) | Photo Credit: Terry Calonge\nStrait's ninth annual Vaqueros del Mar golf tournament and benefit concert, hosted together with longtime friend and businessman Tom Cusick from Oct. 20-23 in Boerne, Texas, also raised a record-setting $2.2 million and counting for the Feherty's Troops First Foundation which directly benefits wounded military service men and women. In addition to Strait, the event also featured performances by artists including Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers and Sailor Jerry.\nGeorge Strait Receives the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment (L to R: Major Drew Dix, Sgt. Leroy Petry and George Strait) | Photo Credit: Ryan Johnson for the Medal of Honor Society\nStrait was recognized last Friday, Oct. 25, at the Medal of Honor Convention's Patriot Award Gala with the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment, which honors entertainers who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to the U.S. military through film, literature or music.\nGeorge Strait | Photo Credit: David McClister\nHe also recently announced his return to the heartland in 2020 via performances at INTRUST Bank Arena on Friday, January 24 for Visit Wichita Presents Strait to Oz and in Kansas City for Strait to the Heartland at Sprint Center on Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26, 2020. Additionally, fans can catch Strait later this year at at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on Nov. 22 and 23, plus two additional \"Strait to Vegas\" shows at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 6 and 7. For more information, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.\nPosted by The George Strait Team on 29 Oct 2019\n0 comments Albums & Music, Awards","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Games Promotions Jackpots Bingo Safer Gambling Help Blog\nCastle Jackpot\nFive Fantastic Slots Inspired by the Movies\nAt Castle Jackpot, we love online slots that have a strong theme. From classic Egyptian slots such as Cleopatra slot, to contemporary slots like the space-themed Starburst slot, we can't get enough. But, every once in a while, a slot comes along that really sweeps us off our feet. Often, they turn out to be slots that are based on popular culture, and in particular, some of the most popular feature films of all time.\nSome of the movies that game developers choose to base their slots on are cult films, while some are critically-acclaimed classics. All of them are incredible, and we'd love to take this opportunity to share our favourites with all of our loyal Castle Jackpot Knights and Maidens. As ever, our online slots and casino blog is the main place to garner an overview of games, but the best way to decide if they're for you is to play the demo for free.\nThere are many online casino games that take their theme from films within the Castle Jackpot ranks, and they can all be played as a free demo if thou are unsure, with no deposit required. But, without further ado, we present our top five fantastic slots inspired by the movies.\n1. Anchorman Slot\nIn 2004, comedy legend Will Ferrell starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film that parodied the Action News format of the 1970s. It follows a fictional news crew as they struggle to cope with the appointment of a new anchorwoman, who rivals Ron Burgundy for the head presenting role. The film was met with widespread critical acclaim and, much like the title character, has been propelled into legendary status in both the US and the UK.\nSG Interactive ultimately created Anchorman slot, and it includes most of the main characters from the original film. High paying symbols Baxter the dog, Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland, and Champ Kind join Ron in appearing across the reels, while some of their equipment such as the news team van are lower paying symbols. There are also wilds and bonus symbols in play.\nSG make sure they pack slots with bonus features, and this is no different, as there are several additional features thou can enjoy. In the base game, combatants can benefit from the reels becoming stacked with mystery symbols. However, the bonus rounds are what thou shall be hoping to see, and there are four to stumble across, with Ron and Champ offering free spins, Brick giving thee a spin of his weather wheel, and Brian allowing jousters to pick from his aftershave bottles to earn multipliers. There are also jackpots on offer, with The Really Good Jackpot awarding challengers 1,333.33x their stake.\n2. Mars Attacks Slot\nIt's not often that a film is based on a trading card game from the 1960s, but that's exactly where Jonathan Gems found the inspiration while writing the 1996 cult film Mars Attacks!, directed by Tim Burton. In the movie, aliens from Mars invade the United States, as they plan on expanding to world domination, and a small team of misfits attempts to thwart their plans.\nBlueprint Gaming have produced an amazing game with the Mars Attacks! slot. The subtle intricacies in terms of the graphics are a joy to behold, with the play symbol resembling a radar, and the flying saucers soaring high in the night's sky behind the reels. Blueprint also include their Jackpot King feature here, which sees jousters compete for progressive jackpots worth eye-watering amounts!\nThere are tons of base game features that contenders can get stuck into, and the bonus features are some of the best we've seen in any slot game. We know that sounds like an exaggeration, but thou should play the free demo to see exactly what we mean, as they are highly immersive and enjoyable, with a mixture of multiplier features such as We Come in Peace, and free spins features such as Martian Takeover.\n3. Naked Gun Slot\nThe Naked Gun series of films are comedy classics, and the first installment was released in 1988, with sequels following in 1991 and 1994. Based on a short-lived TV series called Police Squad!, the films follow the exploits of hapless detective Frank Drebin (played by the late, great Leslie Nielsen) as he frequently attempts to foil plots to assassinate and\/or kidnap public figures, with mixed results. The cult films traversed the Atlantic and became wildly popular in the UK.\nNaked Gun slot is Blueprint Gaming's adaptation of the much-loved movies, with some outstanding results. A dishevelled police station provides the backdrop to this online slot, and the reels are covered in high paying symbols representing some of the more recognisable characters, such as Jane Spencer and Captain Ed Hocken. Furthermore, much like the Mars Attacks slot, Naked Gun features progressive jackpots that lucky Castle Jackpot jousters have a chance of chasing down.\nSome incredible features are involved in this online slot. Roaming wilds will appear if three or more wild symbols land anywhere on the reels, but it's in the main game bonus rounds that challengers can reap the biggest rewards. There are four in total, with each putting their own stamp on the traditional free spins feature, with the Crime Scene bonus round also throwing roaming wilds and expanding symbols into the mix for big multipliers!\n4. Ted Slot\nThe creator of Family Guy made the leap to the silver screen in 2012, with the feature-length Ted, and Seth MacFarlane wrote and directed the film, while also providing the voice and motion capture for the titular character. The film concerns a boy who wished for his teddy bear to come to life, and the consequences of that wish being granted when he enters middle age, and the bear begins to live a hedonistic lifestyle.\nBlueprint Gaming have transferred all of that humour into Ted online slot, and audio from the film is included as contenders try and secure jackpots. The symbols are a blend of traditional card game symbols and the more eclectic characters and imagery from the movie, including Ted's wife, and a six pack of beer. It's worth mentioning that Blueprint Gaming also offer up another game based on the same film, Ted Pub Fruit Series, that can also be played on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices.\nWhile the reels spin, Ted naps in front of them, and will occasionally awaken to offer bonus features to jousters. He might choose to fire lasers at the reels, blow smoke onto them, or even spray beer on them like a group of overzealous England fans during the World Cup! In addition to those base game modifiers, Ted slot boasts an array of bonus rounds. Some of them offer free spins, while the Bar Crawl and Wheel of Fartune bonuses offer a little more variety. The best bonus round is the Big Money Bonus, which offers potential 500x jackpots!\n5. Wizard of Oz: Ruby Slippers Slot\nAh, The Wizard of Oz. A classic movie from 1939, that has stood the test of time in America and the UK. Spawning sequels, musicals, and various other spin-offs, The Wizard of Oz actually began life as a book. Interestingly, the ruby slippers featured in the film were originally silver in the books. The producers changed them to take advantage of the Technicolor process, which was new at the time.\nWhat makes a King out of a slave? Courage! And SG Interactive have shown their courage to take a beloved staple of cinema and turn it into a wonderful online slot. Wizard of Oz: Ruby Slippers features many of the characters from the popular film including Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow. There's something of a battle taking place on the 5x3 reels as well, as both the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch come into play.\nFollow the yellow brick road and encounter some truly astounding bonus features. The Ruby Slipper bonus offers stacked wilds, Find the Broom can lead to payouts of 50x thine stake, while the Crystal Ball feature offers jackpots of up to 200x. The Emerald City Spin bonus is arguably the most engaging, and includes extra free spins, multipliers, wilds, and instant wins. With so much on offer, Castle Jackpot jousters will feel like they've transported to the wonderful world of Oz!\nSo there you have it, five of the most incredible online slots that are inspired by the world of film, that we boast in our Castle Jackpot garrison. As thou hast read, a lot of them are produced by Blueprint Gaming, who are well known for their themed games and jackpot slots that are potentially high paying. However, there are a couple produced by SG Interactive, and they are by no means inferior to any of the other entries.\nAlways remember that all of our slots can be played for free as a demo, with no deposit required. If thou are looking for further film-based slots, Steven Spielberg's The Goonies slot only just missed out on our top five list, so it's definitely worth taking a glance at. Or, if jousters are looking for something a little bit different in the castle grounds, let us point thee in the direction of our online bingo rooms that can be explored at thine leisure.\nGet up to \u00a350 cash and 5 Wager-Free Spins - on Two Deposits Full T&Cs apply. New players only across two deposits. Cash rewards have 7 days from registration to opt-in from \"My Promotions\" page & each with 7 days wagering. Deposit \u00a310, \u00a325 or \u00a350 & wager 35x. Only cash stakes qualify & wagering contributions vary. Bingo excluded. 5 free spins worth \u00a30.10 to be claimed within Book of Dead with each qualifying deposit, 3 day expiry.\n10 Free Spins - No Deposit Required Full T&Cs apply. No deposit required & new players only. Claim within 3 days of registration & 3 day expiry. 10 free spins worth \u00a30.10 each on Book of Dead, winnings paid as cash. 18+ BeGambleAware.org\nFull Promotional Terms and Conditions\nCastle Jackpot Site Terms and Conditions\nOnline Casino Games Supplied by\nLeoVegas Gaming PLC is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 39198 . Gambling under the age of 18 is an offence.\nLeoVegas Gaming has a remote bookmakers licence in Ireland awarded by the Revenue Commissioners, licence reference number 1012453, issued on 25th January 2017.\n\u00a9 2021 Castle Jackpot. All rights reserved.\nGames A-Z Terms and Conditions Safer Gambling Privacy Policy\nI agree to the new terms\nNot a member? Create an account.\nicon lock","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"And New: Joshua Franco Upsets Andrew Moloney to win Super Flyweight Title\nLAS VEGAS \u2014 According to the oddsmakers, it was an upset, but Joshua Franco (17-1-2, 8 KOs) was not surprised. Franco defeated Andrew Moloney via unanimous decision to win the WBA super flyweight world title Tuesday evening by scores of 115-112 and 114-113 2x.\nFranco dominated down the stretch, knocked Moloney down in the 11th round and swept the 12th on all three judges' cards to secure the victory.\n\"After the fourth round, I gained the momentum and figured him out. I always knew this was possible,\" Franco said. \"I wasn't nervous when the decision was being read. I knew I'd done enough to win this fight. My coach, Robert Garcia, had me ready. I'm going home with the belt.\"\nMoloney (21-1, 14 KOs), from Melbourne Australia, was making his American debut.\n\"It just wasn't my night tonight,\" Moloney said. \"This was not the best version of Andrew Moloney, but full credit to Joshua Franco. He deserved to win the title with his effort. He closed the fight strong, like a true champion.\n\"I'll be back. One loss won't define me.\"\nDiaz Decisions Sanchez\nChristopher \"Pitufo\" Diaz (26-2, 16 KOs) is back in the world title picture. Diaz, from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, bested Jason Sanchez (15-2, 8 KOs) via 10-round unanimous decision (98-92 2x, 97-93) in a crossroads featherweight fight.\nDiaz has now won two in a row since an April 2019 decision loss to Shakur Stevenson. He has his sights set on a world title opportunity at either featherweight or junior featherweight.\n\"I can fight at featherweight, or I can make 122 pounds. Whatever Top Rank wants, but I'm ready for a big fight in either weight division. I am a completely different and improved fighter from the one who fought Shakur Stevenson last year,\" Diaz said. \"I worked on my power in the gym. My coaches, Nelson Rodriguez and Freddie Roach, got me ready for tonight.\"\n\u2014 In a six-round battle of unbeaten junior welterweight prospects, Miguel Contreras (11-0, 6 KOs), from Bakersfield, California, bested Rolando Vargas (5-1, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 58-56.\n\u2014 In a six-round heavyweight bout, Helaman Olguin (8-3, 3 KOs) upset the previously undefeated Adam Stewart (8-1-1, 5 KOs) via majority decision by scores of 57-57 and 58-56 2x.\nTags: AND NEW, Andrew Moloney, boxing, Boxing News, Combat Sports News, JOSHUA FRANCO, Super Flyweight Title, Top Rank, upsets, Win\nPrevious Esports Boxing Club: New Boxing Game\nNext Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre & Alex Saucedo-Sonny Fredrickson Headline Week 4 Cards Inside The Bubble","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"417 Magazine Lifestyle Life The History Museum in Downtown Springfield gets an Upgrade\nThe History Museum in Downtown Springfield gets an Upgrade\nThe History Museum on the Square starts a new chapter as it unveils its new 18,000-square-foot location, which features seven galleries, including six permanent exhibits and one state-of-the-art gallery for special events and traveling exhibits.\nBy Jenna DeJong\nPhoto by Brandon AlmsThe museum's Route 66 display has been its most popular exhibit. Purchase Photo\nSince first opening its doors back in 1976, The History Museum on the Square (417-831-1976; 154 Park Central Square) has had a few homes around Springfield, including a space in the Old City Hall building. The space had room for several small galleries, and dreams of a larger regional museum were only for the far-off future. Back in 2000, Mary McQueary and John Sellars were volunteers doing what they could to help the museum's mission. They fell in love with the tales of historic Springfield and did their part to make each story known and appreciated by every guest who walked through the door. Their vision for and dedication to the museum, along with their desire to preserve the history of the region, drove them to help build a regional, historical masterpiece.\nTheir time spent as volunteers moved them up the ranks at the museum: Sellars became executive director in 2005, and McQueary became president of the board in 2007. The two helped execute a $12 million project including renovating two historic 100-year-old buildings and adding interactive elements for the eight brand-new exhibits.\nTen years after the project officially began, the goal is nearly realized. The reimagined museum is no longer a thing of wishful thinking but a nearly completed solid historical masterpiece sitting on Park Central Square, just a few doors down from its current location at the historic Fox Theatre. While the opening date hasn't been announced, the new building encompasses a welcome center, six permanent galleries and one state-of-the-art gallery that can accommodate traveling exhibits and special events.\nNative Crossroads at the Spring\nSince the original museum first opened, staff has been acquiring tons of artifacts. That's good news for the museum's collection but bad news for the current temporary space. The current museum only had capacity for one rotating exhibit, which currently showcases a Route 66 display. All other artifacts have had to be stored. With the opening of the new location, the organization can haul things out of storage and feature more content, including a collection dedicated to Native Americans.\n\"There will be a lot of information about the different tribes that passed through here and how they impacted this area,\" Sellars says. \"It will be about their lifestyle and how they lived. Most of them were forcibly relocated, and it tells a lot about how that interaction and dislocation from their homeland got them here. It also talks about the Trail of Tears and how it came through here on the way to Oklahoma.\"\nThe exhibit includes artifacts from local tribes, a video and animal tracks embedded in the floor. The museum is also a stop on the National Park Service's Trail of Tears Passport Program.\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsThe History Museum's Route 66 gallery is very popular among visitors. Purchase Photo\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsSouthwest Missouri's rich history in on display. Purchase Photo\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsThe trolley time machine is one of the museum's new interactive installations. Purchase Photo\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsAnother display details life in Springfield, MO following the Civil War Purchase Photo\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsThere is a Sunset Drive-In Sign, sharing more recent Springfield, MO history. Purchase Photo\nPhotos by Brandon AlmsInformation can be found about various settlers that travelled to Springfield, MO. Purchase Photo\nTrains, Trolleys and Transportation: Children's Education Area\nAlthough built to pique children's curiosity, this section of the museum is likely to be a favorite among all audiences. An elevator that can hold up to 22 people delivers guests to this gallery. Upon arrival, the first thing visitors spot is a gigantic Frisco train seemingly coming out of the wall on one side and a replica of a trolley car that doubles as a time machine on the other side of the gallery.\nThose who head into the train step inside and participate in a simulation where they get to drive the locomotive and take part in educational video games about transportation. Video footage from the simulation was recorded at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield and includes footage of land untouched by technology.\nAdams says the gallery also includes a trolley time machine with more than 40 video vignettes showcasing famous Springfieldians and significant historical events.\nPioneers and Founders at the Crossroads\nThis gallery is exclusively dedicated to showcasing Springfield founders. The Pioneer Theater shows what life was like in the late 1800s and depicts which local businesses got their start in Springfield and how they developed over time. Krista Adams, the director of development, says the museum strives to enlist contractors within southwest Missouri to help support the local economy but also experts in the museum field, including Boston-based Richard Lewis Media Group and Virginia-based Explus. Both worked to develop the interactive elements and exhibits, which are assembled out-of-state before they're shipped to Springfield.\nThe Civil War in Springfield\nAs the home of three different battles, Springfield has its own historical wounds and this section of the museum is dedicated to telling those stories. The History Museum on the Square has a close relationship with Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, and together the two worked to articulate what life was like during Springfield's early days. Different videos and interactive displays are included in this gallery.\nWild Bill Hickok and the American West\nThe storied shootout between Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt in July of 1865 on Park Central Square is a crucial event in Springfield's history, so naturally it has its own gallery at the museum. The exhibit is dedicated to Hickok's early life and influences, the shootout, the ensuing court case, the media coverage and the legend that grew from the shootout. It includes \"an immersive shooting chamber that allows the user to experience the Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt shootout,\" according to a museum press release. Those who choose to participate in the simulation get to use a replica of the gun Hickok used against Tutt.\nBirthplace of Route 66\nAs the only current exhibit at the museum, the gallery dedicated to Route 66 is already popular. Even before the completion of the new museum, visitors from more than 35 countries have stopped in to learn about arguably the most popular road in the United States.\nThe most notable interactive element is a 66-foot long timeline of the iconic Mother Road. Adams says there are also replica neon signs with electronic interactives that take people back in time through historic Springfield.\nVoices of History Temporary Gallery and Meeting Space\nOne of the biggest upgrades to the museum is a new gallery space dedicated to traveling exhibits and special events. McQueary says the state-of-the-art gallery meets the Smithsonian's security and HVAC standards, allowing the museum to host the Smithsonian and other traveling exhibits. The first few months following the opening of the museum are mostly dedicated to hosting special events.\nMonday \u2013 Saturday: 10:30 am to 4:30 pm\nAdults: $5\nChildren (3 \u2013 12): $3\nThere a several free parking options in walking distance from the Fox Theatre.\nThe closest free parking option is located at the corner of Olive St. and Boonville Ave.\nDowntown Springfield Education Family\nSweet bits of community are scattered all over Springfield in the form of Little Free Libraries. Darling painted boxes on people's lawns or...\nsep 2015 | Books, Education, Family, Kids\nNeighborhoods We Love in Southwest Missouri\nSouthwest Missouri is a wonderful place to live, and we've rounded up some of the best neighborhoods for planting your roots.\njul 2015 | Branson, Downtown Springfield, Family, Features\nExpanding Education\nExpand your child's educational horizons with innovative programs in 417-land. Whether your kiddo is interested in science, medicine or the...\njan 2017 | Education, Family, Kids\nHow Missouri is Creating Safer, Healthier Schools\nThe Missouri School Safety Association plans to take health, safety and security in schools to a new level.\nmar 2018 | Education, Family, Health, Kids","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"You may not copy, reproduce, republish, or otherwise use www.baltic-course.com content\nin any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use.\nAny other use of content requires the hyperlink to www.baltic-course.com.\nWorking out of the crisis\nEdward Jurkevics, Principal Analyst with Chesapeake Analytics of Arlington, Virginia, specially for BC, 03.02.2009.\nWe can't just speculate on real estate, and never produce anything, proclaimed a recent message from my relative in Talsi, Latvia, who was telling me about hooligans marauding in Doma Laukums.\nHouse prices are falling with no bottom in sight. Saddled with mortgages they can't afford, families are defaulting on their payments and losing their homes to foreclosure. The banks holding large mortgage portfolios on their balance sheets are insolvent. The government has issued a round of recapitalizations in a bail-out to try to save the banking sector, but it's not enough, and the country's biggest banks are failing and being nationalized. The economy is shrinking, unemployment is rising, the stock market is shaky, meager retirement savings are wiped out, and people are afraid.\nWait: I'm talking about the US, not Latvia. This is the situation here in Arlington, Virginia.\nPunctured by the price collapse of mortgage-backed securities in the US in beginning in 2007, the worldwide asset-price bubble is rapidly deflating. From housing to stocks and bonds and even commodities like oil, prices have dropped dramatically around the globe. No Latvians, you are not alone.\nHere in the US, the numbers are staggering. In late 2006 the total value of real estate in the US was approximately $23 trillion dollars. Economist's estimate it will take two successive years of 15% price declines to deflate the housing bubble. And the deflation typically overshoots by 5%, which will leave the US property stock valued at about $16 trillion, an evaporation of $7 trillion dollars! To top it off, American investors saw an additional $7 Trillion of losses in their stock portfolios in 2008.\nThis was the discredited American business plan: Buy all our manufactured goods from China, and borrow back the money we pay to them. Trade our houses back and forth to each other at ever-rising prices, so we feel rich. Spend every penny we make, and save nothing, because the party will go on forever!\nWell, the party ended just as the first baby-boomer retired, and decided they wanted a smaller house. The Ponzi scheme collapsed. Who was at fault here? Well there is lots of blame to go around.\nLet's start with the average American citizen, who lived irresponsibly, and voted against any politician who was brave enough to tell him so. Those politicians that did get elected established policies to extend home ownership to families that simply could not afford to own a home, and set up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to keep the party going. The bankers were only too happy to underwrite all these mortgages, including high-interest sub-prime loans to the least affluent buyers, collecting billions of dollars of fees along the way. Mortgage underwriting fees collected by the banks reached $50 billion in 2006. Why could the banks keep issuing these mortgages to people who couldn't afford them? Because Wall Street financial wizards had figured out how to take mortgage portfolios, perform risk-layering and resecuritization of the mortgage bundles, and issue new securities with names like Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) and insurance against losses in CDOs called Credit Default Swaps (CDSs).\nThe risk-rating agencies like Moody's were paid to rate these instruments, and by magic a CDO made up of sub-prime mortgages got a AAA investment grade stamp. And these AAA CDOs could be sold to just about anyone, and they were, spurring the whole US housing bubble. The investment banks like Merrill Lynch, Lehman and Bear Stearns made hundreds of billions of dollars rolling up, issuing and selling the CDOs. And big insurance firms like AIG sold vast amounts of CDSs to cover any prospective losses. About \u2013 hold your breath \u2013 $400 trillion of these CDSs are outstanding. That's about 8 times the whole world's annual GDP! Wall Street executives paid themselves over $26 billion on bonuses in 2006, to celebrate their genius. Brilliant!\nAnd who was watching over this?\nYou guessed it, nobody except for the cheerleaders. The Democrats in the House with oversight responsibility for Fannie Mae kept urging them to make more mortgage loans available, despite regulators and auditors shouting that their portfolios were laden with undisclosed risk. Fannie Mae paid millions in campaign contributions to these committee members, like Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Christopher Dodd. Furthermore, the Congress had specifically forbidden the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from regulation hedge funds or the explosive new CDS instruments. But the SEC still failed in regulating that which was within its purview, namely the investment banks, who took on more and more leverage and riskier and riskier portfolios. The balance sheets of the financial firms SEC regulated were an utter fantasy, and the SEC cheered all the way. Meanwhile, the New York Federal Reserve had regulatory oversight over the big New York banks like Citi. Lead by Timothy Geithner, they said not a word as the debacle unfolded. Geithner's punishment: President Obama just made him Secretary of the Treasury, despite the fact he was exposed as a tax cheat, and will now oversee the tax collecting agency the Internal Revenue Service. Oh, there is plenty of blame to go around. We should fill Sing Sing prison with these white-collar criminals, the politicians, the regulators, the bankers, the ratings agencies, and on and on.\nIf you haven't figured it out yet, the Wall Street wizards figured out how to make a financial nuclear bomb powerful enough to blow up the whole world's economy. What happened? KABOOM!\nSo what is to be done? Well the cure for this applies equally to the US or Latvia or Japan for that matter. Here is the seven-step national economic recovery plan that is needed now:\n1) Stabilize the banks and financial institutions. Force a full clean-up and write down of all bad loans. Seize all insolvent financial institutions, recapitalize them or liquidate them, and sell back the viable ones to the public in and orderly fashion, just like was done in the savings and loan crisis by Resolution Trust Corp.\n2) Provide relief to mortgage holders by providing a 4% fixed term mortgage to homeowners and new buyers who can afford to pay their debts.\n3) Overhaul the banking, financial sector and securities laws and regulatory structure so that there is a clear line of regulatory responsibility for each institution and financial asset class. For goodness sakes, regulate the Credit Default Swaps, other derivatives and the hedge funds. Improve the transparency of financial firm's balance sheets. Regulate the scandalous mortgage underwriting industry, preventing the issuance of unviable or immoral mortgages.\n4) Provide protection from the worst of the economic downturn to the most needy, the elderly, the sick, the disabled and the indigent, with temporary social benefits programs. Increase the direct monthly payments to mothers with infant children, to encourage fecundity while providing an economic stimulus.\n5) Provide temporary tax breaks for companies that create jobs.\n6) Establish a commission to investigate the fiasco, to identify the guilty in every sector public and private, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, in a timely and transparent manner. Claw back ill-gotten gains.\n7) Announce the plan, act quickly and stick to it firmly, because the foremost thing that is needed is stability. Investors and citizens alike detest uncertainty.\nEdward Jurkevics is Principal Analyst with Chesapeake Analytics of Arlington, Virginia.\nHe can be reached at jurkevics @ chesanal.com.\nhttp:\/\/www.baltic-course.com\/eng\/real_estate\/?doc=9384","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Excavating Archaeological Texts: Applying Digital Humanities to the Study of Archaeological Thought and Banal Nationalism\nPlets, Gertjan; Huijnen, Pim; van Oeveren, David\n(2021) Journal of Field Archaeology, volume 46, issue 5, pp. 289 - 302\nTo date, the evolution of archaeological knowledge production and theory has been discussed and analyzed using qualitative methods by reading vast amounts of archaeological texts in search of specific discourses or framings of the past. In this paper, we present text mining methodologies from digital humanities that can be applied ... read more to large corpora of archaeological texts to trace and evaluate changing knowledge practices. Such a big data approach is imperative. Due to the rapid increase of archaeological publications, qualitative research into the intellectual history of archaeology has become complicated and highly selective. The big data methods presented in this study were tested on a large corpus (4,811 texts totaling over 51 million words) of different types of archaeological texts from the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The different text mining tools were successful in identifying theoretical trends. Our tools were also successful in charting the decrease in quality due to changed organizational circumstances (developer-led archaeology). Furthermore, we could also map changing banal nationalist framings of the past. show less\nKeywords: Belgium, archaeological theory, history of archaeology, nationalism, text mining, Archaeology, Archaeology\nPublisher: Maney Publishing\nNote: Funding Information: The authors wish to thank the Utrecht University Applied Data Science group for the generous funding that made this project possible. The engineers of the Utrecht University Digital Humanities Lab are also recognized for their assistance with the Text Matcher tool. We also wish to thank our informants who made time for us during the winter of 2019?2020 for providing important input regarding the day-to-day working of contract archaeology in Flanders. A previous version of this paper was presented during the research afternoons of the Department of Archaeology of Ghent University and during the yearly lecture of the Alumni Gentse Archeologen (AGAR). We wish to thank the participants of these workshops for their input and often critical remarks. Jean Bourgeois and Jonas van Looveren provided important feedback on previous versions of this paper. Koen van Daele of the Flemish Agency for Immovable Heritage provided access to the digital archive of the Flemish Government. Alexis Wielemans of the same agency is greatly thanked for his assistance during the digitization of the older archaeological texts. His rich institutional memory helped us in developing a large corpus. Publisher Copyright: \u00a9 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Yen's Drop In Value Could Fuel Curency War\nBy John Ydstie\nPublished May 16, 2013 at 2:00 AM MDT\nJapan's economy is finally getting a lift. The stock market is soaring there. Companies like Toyota and Sony are seeing a surge in profits. And today, Japan's government reported the economy grew a three-and-a-half percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, a significant improvement.\nNow, the government has prodded growth by causing the value of the currency, the yen, to decrease against other currencies like the dollar. That affects the price of everything Japan buys and sells - for example, dropping the price of Japanese exports. And now analysts fear that could fuel a currency war. NPR's John Ydstie has our Business Bottom Line.\nJOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE: The dramatic shift in Japanese policy has sent the value of the country's currency tumbling around 30 percent since last September. Last week, it crossed the 100 yen to the dollar mark, a level not seen in four years. That's made Japanese products cheaper in global markets, and has competitors around the world howling for relief.\nC. Fred Bergsten, director emeritus of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says that includes U.S. industries, most notably U.S. auto companies.\nC. FRED BERGSTEN: They've been urging the Congress, for example, to oppose Japan's coming into the new transpacific partnership trade negotiations with the U.S. They've said they'll oppose that big trade agreement across the Pacific if Japan is in it without rectifying the currency problem.\nYDSTIE: The value of the Yen is falling because the Bank of Japan is flooding the country's economy with huge amounts of cash. And some of Japan's other big competitors, like South Korea, have threatened to devalue their own currencies in response. But Bergsten says Japan's current policy is defensible. He says unlike China's manipulation of its currency, Japan's stimulus policy is aimed at boosting its internal growth, not grabbing market share from foreign competitors.\nBERGSTEN: If Japan gets back on track through expanding domestic demand, getting consumption going, getting private investment in Japan up, and that does increase their imports, it spills over to the rest of the world as a favorable effect.\nYDSTIE: But, Bergsten says, it could also end badly. If Japan simply takes advantage of the devalued yen to boost its own growth by exporting more, it will be a negative for the global economy. Economist Richard Koo of the Nomura Research Institute has spent the past several years analyzing the effects of massive central bank intervention in the U.S. and Europe.\nHe says the Bank of Japan's huge quantitative easing - which is at about twice the level of the Federal Reserves - does appear to be having positive effects inside Japan, including a 50 percent boost in the Japanese stock market in the past six months.\nRICHARD KOO: This rise in the stock market definitely is producing positive results for the Japanese economy. People are feeling much more confident about the future, the Yen is weaker, and so companies are finally beginning to say maybe we can compete in this world after all.\nYDSTIE: But, Koo says, the central bank's efforts will fail if they're not combined with other measures being pushed by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. They include government spending on infrastructure, market opening reforms in the country's economy, and investment incentives for Japanese companies. They've been unwilling to borrow and invest for the past 20 years, he says, despite 0 percent interest rates.\nThat's because the companies over-borrowed during Japan's stock market and real estate bubble years, and lost big when the bubble burst.\nKOO: And that's just like the Americans after the Great Depression. Those Americans who lived through the Great Depression never wanted to borrow money after that, because of the traumatic experience they went through in the 1930s. We have a mini version of that in Japan. Even though the balance sheets are clean, bankers are willing to lend, interest rates lowest in history, companies are not borrowing money.\nYDSTIE: Koo says markets could collapse again when the central banks around the world finally reverse coarse and begin pulling money out of the economy to keep inflation in check. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.\nJohn Ydstie\nJohn Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.\nSee stories by John Ydstie","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Alexander H. Stephens papers\nIdentifier: LG-41\nScope and Contents The Alexander H. Stephens papers consist of microfilm containing primarily correspondence. The letters concern Stephens' Georgia plantation and include some letters from his slaves. The correspondence is especially concerned with politics, in Georgia, on the national level, and in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Topics include secession, the formation of the Confederacy, the progress of the war, the eventual defeat of the Confederate armies, and Reconstruction.The Stephens...\nAmos Adams Lawrence papers\nScope and Contents This collection contains five reels of microfilm consisting of Amos Lawrence's personal and business correspondence, legal papers, accounts, political tickets, newspaper clippings and other papers related to Lawrence's business, political, educational, and charitable interests. Subjects include New England Emigrant Aid Company; slavery; politics and education in Kansas, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts; New England manufacturing, the tariff; and national politics. Correspondents include George...\nCharles William Cathcart papers\nScope and Contents This collection documents the political interests of various members of the Cathcart family during the years 1821-1889, and is divided as such into the affairs of two generations: that of James Leander Cathcart and that of his sons, James, Charles, John and Henry, with the greatest amount of material pertaining to Charles Cathcart.Letters of the senior Cathcart comprise the first part of the collection. There are several letters, which expound upon his grudge against the...\nHenry Wilson Papers\nScope and Contents The Henry Wilson papers consist of microfilm containing correspondence and other papers relating to Massachusetts and national politics, education, abolition, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Grant administration. Correspondents include William W. Belknap, James A. Briggs, Schuyler Colfax, Joseph Cooper, William Lloyd Garrison, U.S. Grant, Adam Gurowski, Arthur Livermore, George G. Meade, Theodore Parker, Parker Pillsbury, William H. Seward, Gerrit Smith, Edwin M. Stanton, Alexander...\nJames Henry Hammond papers\nScope and Contents The James Henry Hammond papers consists of microfilm containing correspondence, diaries, plantation account books and manuals, scrapbooks and manuscript and printed copies of Hammond's speeches reflecting South Carolina and national politics in the decades before the Civil War. Topics include state's rights, slavery, state banks, the Southern Convention at Nashville, Tennessee (1850), secession, nullification, and the tariff. The plantation books give detailed lists of holdings...\nJames Rood Doolittle papers\nScope and Content The papers of James R. Doolittle consist of microfilm of letters received and a few letters sent, typed transcripts of letters sent and received, copies of speeches, and newspaper clippings. The transcripts, in part, are annotated by Duane Mowry, the donor.The collection relates primarily to Doolittle's interests while he served in the U.S. Senate, and, later, as a lawyer in private practice. Only a few letters concern personal matters. There is no documentation for his career...\nJohn Jordan Crittenden papers\nCollection \u2014 Reel: microfilm\nScope and Contents This collection consists of 14 reels of microfilm of the John J. Crittenden papers held at the Library of Congress. Correspondence, legal papers and some speeches and state papers comprise the collection. Correspondence mainly covers Crittenden's career as senator, U.S. attorney general (1841, 1850-1853) and governor of Kentucky (1848-1850).Subjects include national politics, particularly tariff and banking matters, Texas, Mexico, slavery, the southern Whigs, Crittenden's...\nNew York tribune letter\nIdentifier: c-00463\nThe collection consists of parts of a letter addressed to the New York Weekly Tribune regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case.\nOrlando Barnes papers\nScope and Contents The material in the Barnes collection encompasses the period 1846 to 1899. Barnes graduated from the University of Michigan in 1850 and settled in Lansing to practice law. After establishing his reputation, he became attorney for the Jackson, Lansing, and Saginaw Railroad. He also assumed a promotional position with the Railroad, and eventually became its secretary and general manager.Barnes was philosophically minded and frequently wrote on various social matters. The bulk of...\nRepository: University Archives and Historical Collections X\nSubject: Slavery -- United States X\nUnited States -- Politics and government -- 19th century 6\nTariff -- United States 4\nUnited States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 3\nAntislavery movements -- United States 2\nClippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) 2\nEducation -- Massachusetts 2\nMassachusetts -- Politics and government 2\nSecession -- United States 2\nState universities and colleges -- United States 2\nAbolitionists -- United States 1\nAfrica, North 1\nAgriculture -- Georgia 1\nAlgiers (Algeria) 1\nBanks and banking -- South Carolina 1\nBimetallism -- United States 1\nCommercial correspondence 1\nConfederate States of America 1\nEducation -- Wisconsin 1\nElections -- Indiana 1\nElections -- United States -- 19th century 1\nEtiquette 1\nFreedmen -- United States 1\nGeorgia -- Politics and government 1\nIndians of North America -- Government relations 1\nKansas -- Politics and government 1\nKentucky -- Politics and government 1\nLansing (Mich.) 1\nLegal instruments 1\nMexico -- History 1\nNew-York weekly tribune (1841-1866) 1\nNullification (States' rights) 1\nPlantations 1\nPolitical conventions 1\nPrison administration -- Michigan 1\nSocial problems 1\nSouth Carolina -- Politics and government 1\nStates' rights (American politics) 1\nTexas -- History 1\nTextile industry -- Connecticut 1\nTextile industry -- Massachusetts 1\nTextile industry -- New Hampshire 1\nUnited States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Causes 1\nUnited States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, British 1\nUnited States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Registers 1\nUnited States -- Politics and government 1\nUtopias -- Religious aspects 1\nWisconsin -- Politics and government 1\nBlair, Francis Preston, 1791-1876 3\nClay, Henry, 1777-1852 2\nLawrence, Amos Adams, 1814-1886 2\nScott, Dred, 1809-1858 2\nSeward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872 2\nStephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883 2\nToombs, Robert Augustus, 1810-1885 2\nWilson, Henry, 1812-1875 2\nAdams, John Quincy, 1767-1848 1\nAldrich, A. P. 1\nAlvord, Bert 1\nBadger, George E., 1795-1866 1\nBarnes, O. M. (Orlando Mack), 1825-1899 1\nBoutwell, George S. (George Sewall), 1818-1905 1\nBoyce, Ker 1\nBrisbane, A. H. (Abbott Hall), 1804-1861 1\nBrown, John, 1800-1859 1\nBrown, Orlando, 1801-1867 1\nBurnley, Albert T. (Albert Triplett), 1800-1861 1\nButler, Pierce Mason, 1798-1847 1\nCalhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850 1\nCathcart, C. W. (Charles William), 1809-1888 1\nCathcart, James L. (James Leander), 1767-1843 1\nChandler, Zachariah, 1813-1879 1\nClay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903 1\nClayton, John M. (John Middleton), 1796-1856 1\nCobb, Howell, 1815-1868 1\nColfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885 1\nCrittenden, John J. (John Jordan), 1787-1863 1\nDavis, Charles Augustus, 1795-1867 1\nDemocratic Party (Mich.). State Central Committee 1\nDemocratic Party (U.S.) 1\nDoolittle, James R. (James Rood), 1815-1897 1\nDouglas, Stephen A. (Stephen Arnold), 1813-1861 1\nFelder, John Myers, 1782-1851 1\nGadsden, James, 1788-1858 1\nGardner, Henry J. (Henry Joseph), 1819-1892 1\nGarrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879 1\nGrant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885 1\nHale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909 1\nHamilton, James, Jr., 1786-1857 1\nHammond, James Henry, 1807-1864 1\nHayne, Isaac W. (Isaac William), 1809-1880 1\nHayne, Robert Young, 1791-1839 1\nJackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 1\nJefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 1\nJohnson, Reverdy, 1796-1876 1\nJohnson, Richard M. (Richard Mentor), 1780-1850 1\nKeitt, Lawrence M. (Lawrence Massillon), 1824-1864 1\nLamar, L. Q. C. (Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus), 1825-1893 1\nLee, Samuel Phillips, 1812-1897 1\nLetcher, Robert Perkins, 1788-1861 1\nLivermore, Arthur, 1766-1853 1\nMadison, James, 1751-1836 1\nMason, Robert M. (Robert Means), 1810-1879 1\nMcDuffie, George, 1790-1851 1\nMcLean, Andrew, (Merchant) 1\nMeade, George Gordon, 1815-1872 1\nMichigan State University 1\nMichigan. Joint Prison and Affiliated Boards 1\nMorehead, C. S. (Charles Slaughter), 1802-1868 1\nNew England Emigrant Aid Company 1\nNicholas, S. S. (Samuel Smith), 1796-1869 1\nParker, Theodore, 1810-1860 1\nPatterson, Angus, 1790-1854 1\nPayne, Henry B., 1810-1896 1\nPemberton, A. H. 1\nPendleton, John S. (John Strother), 1802-1868 1\nPickens, F. W. (Francis Wilkinson), 1805-1869 1\nPillsbury, Parker, 1809-1898 1\nPomeroy, S. C. (Samuel Clarke), 1816-1891 1\nPorter, Wm. D. (William Dennison), 1810-1883 1\nPreston, William C. (William Campbell), 1794-1860 1\nQuattlebaum, Paul, 1812-1890 1\nReed, Amos, -approximately 1889 1\nRhett, Robert Barnwell, 1800-1876 1\nRobinson, Charles, 1818-1894 1\nRobinson, Sara T. L. (Sara Tappan Lawrence), 1827-1911 1\nScott, Winfield, 1786-1866 1\nSimms, William Gilmore, 1806-1870 1\nSmith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 1\nStanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869 1\nTaylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 1\nTrescot, William Henry, 1822-1898 1\nTucker, Ben 1\nUnited States. Army 1\nUnited States. Army -- Military life -- History -- 19th century 1\nUnited States. Land Grant Act of 1862 1\nUnited States. Supreme Court 1\nUniversity of Michigan 1\nVan Buren, Martin, 1782-1862 1\nWalker, James M. (James Murdock), 1813-1854 1\nWeed, Thurlow, 1797-1882 1\nWhig Party (U.S.) 1\nWinthrop, Robert C. (Robert Charles), 1809-1894 1\nYates, Richard, 1815-1873 1","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"On Joan Didion, Home, And The Space Between Text And Reality\nAngela Brussel\nWhen people first started urging me to read Joan Didion\u2014as a female writer from California, it would apparently be heretical for me not to\u2014I developed the kind of irrational, fortified resolve a child does when being lectured by their parents.\nAll I could think was: What could Didion possibly do for me? Why must I read her? And having lived in California for the first 20 years of my life, what could Didion tell me about the state that I didn't already know?\nThen, I read Didion. No, wait, not read\u2014consumed. Words became sustenance and real-life conversation was no longer needed because, well, I had Didion. And I soon found myself reciting the same exhortations I detested when I was younger to friends, strangers, colleagues, everyone. Really, no one was spared. You must read Joan Didion, I would say, mirroring the cadence of one of those tireless social climbers whose taste, they believe, is a palpable index of their currency.\nI do not give myself enough credit though. I wasn't just passively reading Didion. I studied her work the way one would study Chaucer's or Dante's or Shakespeare's. It was not a tokenistic love or one wielded like a member's only badge. It was true and steadfast and sacred and very much a part of me. And if it wasn't so large, so unruly in its eagerness to share, it would have been secret. I love Didion, I suppose, for the same reason I love anyone: I like the world better with her in it.\nThis past October, Didion's nephew Griffin Dunne premiered his documentary The Center Will Not Hold, which chronicles Didion's illustrious career, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. It was strange watching the documentary with hundreds of other people. The words I had read over and over and over again in the privacy of my own room were suddenly human-sized, sprawled flat against a screen, accompanied by old photographs and interspersed with new footage of the octogenarian Joan. There they were, the inner workings of her mind mediated by the mind of another. And as the multiplicity of perspective and interpretation piled on top of me and everyone else in the audience, I came to terms with what I had known all along but was reluctant to admit: Didion was not just mine. She belonged to others.\nAnd so, I cried. I did. But it was not the cry of a petulant child. It was the cry of a woman who finally felt what Didion had been telling her for years: the center does not hold. Things fall apart. But is this not a relief?\nWhen the screen switched back to black and a spotlight shone on Dunne in the right balcony propping Didion up by her frail arms out of her wheelchair, the wind was knocked out of me. I wasn't expecting for her to be there, so small yet commanding all the power that, say, a Holy Order would. I thought the words had no beginning, like time, or grew from seed, like a tree. They never struck me as belonging to an actual person. Or they did, but it seemed like Didion the person and her body of work were two self-contained units. Why my reaction was so visceral, though, perplexes me. The closest approximation I have to an answer is this: I was mourning her plight, the era that created her, and our world as it now exists. To put it simply, I was mourning the end of things. Change.\nYou should know that this is not a piece about California. It is not about bougainvillea or crepe-de-chine or L.A. County's 42-mile loop, all of which I knew precisely nothing about until reading Didion. It is about the things that fall apart, and the centers that cannot hold, as professed by William Butler Yeats in \"The Second Coming.\" It is about the words we use to try to harness the ephemerality of the visual order of things and the freedom that comes from the realization that nothing can be contained and nothing remains unchanging, including our memories, our stories. This life cannot be trapped in amber no matter how dedicated we are to the cause. At least, not in the way some of us hope.\n\"All that is constant about the California of my childhood,\" Didion writes in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, \"is the rate at which it disappears.\" And yes, in a way, the California of both mine and Joan's respective childhoods has disappeared, as have the locales of everyone's respective childhoods. But let us not forget the way words can suspend time without actually doing so. How they jerk the head backward and forward like whiplash. Can you remember what it felt like to first read about your hometown when you were separated from it? And if not, can you imagine it? The pride and shame that swell in turns. It feels like you belong to something important. It also feels like something has been taken from you.\nI do not know whose California I conjure on those days in New York when I see the rats scurry with unsettling willpower across the subway tracks as I imagine the state of my youth. Or when I brush shoulders with strangers who will not return my gaze, though I so eagerly want it matched. The string of defeats I encounter here is rarely perforated by triumphs, yet I remain. Freedom, mobility, privacy\u2014these are the instincts that drove \"America to the Pacific, all through the nineteenth century, the desire to be able to find a restaurant open in case you want a sandwich, to be a free agent, live by one's own rules,\" writes Didion in \"7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38.\" So why am I living in Brooklyn? Why do I court change when it is the one thing I fear most? Ironically, those instincts that once drove people to the Pacific are precisely what brought me to New York in the first place.\nThe old and new West loom in my mind like a fever dream\u2014its crop, its climate, and its people\u2014yet I remain in New York. For I know where California lives, and it always lives somewhere else. That place where \"boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss,\" writes Didion, \"meet in uneasy suspension; in which the mind is troubled by some buried but ineradicable suspicion that things had better work here, because here, beneath that immense bleached sky, is where we run out of continent\"? Yes, that is somewhere else. That is fiction. And maybe what I love most about coming to terms with the aforementioned California is that it reminds me that things aren't required to work and that change is not only inevitable but necessary. Change, it seems, is the only act that allows you to rewrite yourself, both a liberating and terrifying prospect.\nDidion dredges California forth from the mire of memory and coats it with the illusory, the imagined, the mythical, and I imbibe it and believe it. Yes, this is my California. Even in her portrayal of its ugliness, its tipping over into the diabolical, the Santa Ana winds that drive us to madness and the apocalyptic earthquakes that shift us nearer to the edge, I beam with pride. Mine. I lap up her words, my eyes feverishly scanning the pages with a piousness I didn't know belonged to me. It was not a California I had ever known, and yet it seized me with that familiarity and intense intimacy one feels in the face of kismet. When I read her, Brooklyn falls away, dissolving behind me.\n\"A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image,\" writes Didion in The White Album. Did she know? That she claimed California hardest when she wrote it? That she has, for many, supplanted John Steinbeck and Raymond Chandler in doing so? She superimposed her California, constructed by stories and hearsay, facts and accounts, on top of the California so many call home. My cathedral of childhood is now filled with her sermons: Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.\n\"It is hard to see one of these places claimed by fiction,\" writes Didion, referring to her assertion that Kilimanjaro belongs to Hemingway and Oxford, Mississippi, to Faulkner, \"without a sudden blurring, a slippage, a certain vertiginous occlusion of the imagined and the real.\" What, then, is real? Which memories are ours? \"Which is the true California?\" asks Didion. \"That is what we all wonder.\"\nI recall C. Vann Woodward, whom Didion references in \"California Notes\" for The New York Review of Books: \"Every self-conscious group of any size fabricates myths about its past: about its origins, its mission, its righteousness, its benevolence, its general superiority.\" Here is the human condition. Here is the story of man. And here is the story, the prose, that sustains me. The one that is so surgically precise that I feel like I am a patient etherized and pinned on a table. When I wake up, when I close the book, I almost forget where I came from. Who I am.\nLike Didion, I am a Westerner. And I, too, left Eden to migrate east, to that concrete and steel Babylon of the modern world, New York. \"It is assumed,\" writes Didion in \"Notes From A Native Daughter,\" \"that those who absent themselves from its blessings have been banished, exiled by some perversity of heart. Did not the Donner-Reed party, after all, eat its own dead to reach Sacramento?\" They did. And I forsook the bounty they doggedly sought. Retribution was mine, but isn't it always with us, predators of nostalgia? I know that I am certainly not the only one who feels guilty about absenting themselves from the blessings of home. Every time my mother calls me, she asks when I am returning for good. And every time, I do not have an answer. I have to keep moving forward, like a shark, but I can't tell her this. So guilt mutates into annoyance, and I feel so damn awful about it all that I just about want to call the whole thing off and give up entirely.\nI visited home recently, after reading Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and The White Album, and walked the streets feeling disoriented. So much of what I had remembered was bulldozed, the very dirt underneath the roads unearthed and piled into giant heaps somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. Gill's Ice Cream Parlor, shut. Jan's Diner, a Chipotle. Jerry's Famous Deli, replaced by a swish restaurant adorned with a clerestory and LED lights. Where was Didion's Los Angeles? Where was mine? Somewhere else, of course. But my mother was so pleased about driving me around the way she used to that I couldn't possibly tell her it no longer felt familiar. I couldn't explain that what I was thinking was, What on earth does this place have to do with me? I reckon, when she drove, she was relying on muscle memory and her cognitive map of Los Angeles. The one that I used to inhabit as a young girl. My mom, I have learned, also fears change and would really rather freeze than reboot.\n\"She sees your face in all the old familiar places,\" says dad. Even the ones that have been knocked clear off the grid. The streets stretch west toward the Pacific, north toward the valley, and east toward downtown all the same. Like grooves in a record. And she's living in those damaged grooves that keep skipping, but she doesn't know it because it sounds like it belongs. It feels like it belongs. The skips are lodged in her mind, no matter what clean, new version she hears. And I wonder what it feels like to live on loop. And I wonder if we're all just living on loop. I am starting to believe that we are. Like how I can't stop seeing that photo of the two of us circa 1993 in front of the Montessori on Hauser Boulevard. She's beautiful and blonde, and she's got me affixed to her hip like an appendage. Our old red Chrysler convertible with automatic seat belts and manual locks sits behind us, a testament to freedom and prosperity. She is so young and full of purpose and promise.\nOr like how I can't stop thinking about that one time my best friend, J, and I went to Disneyland. Lazing on Tom Sawyer Island, high as hell, eating our massive Bay Cities sandwiches and listening to the shrieks coming from Splash Mountain. His shit-eating grin flashing in and out of view as we whipped through the darkest reaches of outer space on Space Mountain. Him walking down Main Street, the sky darkening, the air growing heavy with the smell of funnel cake.\nIs this our way of combating change? By resurrecting the past until we beat the present to a pulp? Now, Montessori is gone. In its place stands a grotesque complex of apartments and penthouses. The red convertible, sold. And mom, though still beautiful, is beginning to grow old and sad about the lives she could have had, the people she could have been. And J? Well, he never had a chance to grow old. And those lives he could have had and those people he could have been? I think about them from time to time, but I try not to.\nThese people I remember, over and over and over again, inextricably belong to a place. To California. But I had never been so fond of the place as when I saw it through Didion's lens. The forever summers drove me mad. The palm trees bothered me, dotting the sky everywhere I went, pestering me like flies circling above my head. My bedroom curtains were drawn at all times so that when I was ready to retreat, my eyes would only be met by the delicious darkness California is so terrible at offering. I worked the graveyard shift at the diner down the road so as to avoid that blistering sun, nearly incorrigible in its demands for its worshippers to spend their days at the beach doing god knows what.\nHow terribly horrid, I thought, to squander away all that time in the daylight where objects are just as they appear to be and the absurdity of man is hidden from sight, afraid of how it will be received by society at large. I prefer distance and darkness for that's when the veneer of civilization is scrubbed clear off, when phantom bodies trail you, when delirium kicks into high gear and the bizarre finds its bearings. That's what reading Didion feels like. And I couldn't help falling in love with the California she made in her image because it seemed to be so perfectly aligned with the California I sought when I lived there. The California that is most complete when it is untouched, remote. Like that photograph of me and mom. Like J still being alive. Like words. Like anywhere but here and now.\nIn Plato's The Phaedrus, he attacks the written word, calling it a \"crutch of memory.\" Rather than aid memory, he believes it disables our dormant ability to know something within ourselves, and it prevents us from acquiring detailed knowledge of the soul. But Didion's words seem just as, if not more, honest to me than any of those photographs of her, marked by quiet stoicism and sadness. It is apparent, though, in Didion's portrayal of the West through the written word, that she is attempting to transcend words, so miserably insufficient, and tap into the world of images quite aptly defined by Virginia Woolf as real with a different reality from that which we perceive in daily life, beholding images as they are when we are not there and life as it is when we have no part in it. Even Didion, whose own writing is in many ways so methodical and controlled, is not concerned with \"an accurate factual record.\" Where there is nonfiction in Didion's oeuvre, there is invariably an \"embroidery worked into the day's pattern to lend verisimilitude,\" she confesses in \"On Keeping a Notebook.\" Those stories we tell ourselves in order to live.\nI imagine Didion, that \"cool customer\" in the eye of a tornado, with images from her past, adrift and unmoored, whipping around her. She is haunted by images, seized by splitting migraines, and assaulted by bad nerves. Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. Maybe, salvation and sanity, in Didion's case, can be found in the small details and the intense concentration required to render them in her image. It is in Didion's expert arrangement of images that she achieves a poignancy that the strictest of realists cannot always conjure. It is also what compels me to want to go home, which we all know is not entirely possible. At least, not the home where mom's got me on her hip and that Chrysler's in our driveway and J is still breathing, walking, loving.\nYet still, however contained and controlled the recollection, here in Didion's oeuvre, and in our memories, is the proof that things fall apart like those versions of ourselves we cling so steadfastly to and those stories we tell ourselves in order to live. And the images that the mind recalls, over and over again, remodeling themselves under the weight of context and desire. I now find myself longing for California in a way that is completely foreign to me. I feel the pull of my body drifting away from the cold and into the light, where I think I belong. Yet here I am in Brooklyn, crushed under my duvet, reaching my limbs out like a climbing plant toward that sun I hated, clinging to my surroundings and heaving myself upward toward its rays.\nNo. This is not a piece about California. For each time I remember it, the memory grows less precise, almost to the point of being totally false. The brain network alters. And isn't it liberating? To not be bogged down by the actual? To not be corseted by images? Even if I was presented with a panoramic photograph of my childhood, I would still imagine what exists beyond the frame. And I could imagine anything, even within its confines. Because when I write that 34-year-old mom has just met 34-year-old dad at that wild New Year's Eve party and that dad is insisting she read Bonfire of the Vanities and mom doesn't give a damn about Bonfire of the Vanities and that they don't know it yet but they're going to spend the rest of their lives loving the hell out of one another, it's actually happening and it's inside of me. And when I write that my dear friend J is walking down Larchmont with a copy of Tender is the Night in his rucksack and he's the happiest I've ever seen him, he is and he is still alive and he never rode that bike that day. And when I write that I am living in Brooklyn and longing for California and everything that comes with it, I suddenly, remarkably, am doing just that. And it's inside of me, in my center; it will hold for at least a little while, I hope.\nculture the center will not hold streaming netflix entertainment film feature joan didion","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Discussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 3, \"New Couple Controversy'\nAlthough two episodes have already aired without them, Jon and his girlfriend Liz make their first official appearance on the popular VH1 reality show tonight. Check local listings.\nMeanwhile, the fallout continues from the twins awkward and uncomfortable appearance on Today yesterday\nWatch Access Hollywood's excellent panel discussion on the debacle. They get it.\nSediments by Realitytvkids.com ~ Administrator at 6:13\u202fPM\n1043 sediments (sic) from readers:\nRealitytvkids.com ~ Administrator said...\nJon's statement made me tear up. Thank goodness the children have Jon. There is no redemption for their mother.\nAt the end of the day we can go around and around but I don't care who he has slept with or what mistakes he has made, the point for me is he understands what they are going through with Kate, he gets it, and that is really the most important thing now. Their biggest problem is Kate, not any of this other nonsense. That's what's going to cost them thousands of dollars in therapy, not some girlfriend who was nice to them five years ago their dad never ended up marrying. To have their own father get it on such a deep level for such a long time is a godsend for them. They are very lucky. Some people dealing with a mom like Kate don't have a dad involved at all or their dad enables her or is just as bad. When he said he would just hug them and ask about school that said it all. He doesn't need to bombard them about what happened, he just wants them to be able to breathe, relax, and feel his love.\nlocalyocul said...\nAND notice he talked about texting them and seeing them on their custody day next week. The Jon haters act as if the girls have no relationship with him.\nNJGal51 said...\nRIP Dave Madden. I always liked him as Reuben Kincaid on The Partridge family.\nAdmin I agree with your comment. No matter how douchie Jon may act at times at the end of the day Jon seems to be a good dad who loves and cares about his kids. His comment about just giving them a hug said it all.\nI think SNL will have a field day with the Today interview.\nkids first said...\nThe timing of this show with the events of today is Karma, Sweet Karma.\nSee I doubt the View is going to go THAT much better. It can't possibly get any worse but they're not going to get it together in 48 hours and be camera ready. Or maybe it was filmed today so they're coming off this interview, tired, feeling like they blew it.\nIf anything it might be even harder for them because they KNOW they bombed on this and so that must make them feel even MORE pressure to get it together. Sort of like how sometimes you choke knowing this is your LAST CHANCE. And for them all the worse because it's their last chance under penalty of severeness.\nI personally think that there was a script they'd practiced, but the interviewer didn't follow it precisely, and it through them off\nYes, you know what it felt like? It felt like an oral exam in Spanish and you've practiced and rehearsed and expected the teacher to say certain things and then suddenly she starts asking you something completely different, and you're just like oh crap wait what?\nAlthough I still maintain that Cara STARTED that interview knowing hands down she was NOT going to say a darn word. She wasn't sitting their poised to answer then thrown off....that was more Mady.\nncgirl said...\nMichael K from the website Dlisted skewers celebrities regularly.\nHere's his take on Kate's latest: He's very cutting:\nhttp:\/\/dlisted.com\/2014\/01\/16\/when-pimping-out-your-teenage-kids-on-tv-goes-wrong\/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter\nRemona Blue said... 15\nCarole said... 196\n''When or where did Jon say he just had cable installed? I really don't care whether he has it or not, and if he just moved it may have already been in the new house,etc., but I just re-listened to the TMZ interview and all he said was that he watched it live - which could have been accomplished via number of different media. Just wondering what I missed and where. Thanks!''\nCarole, I also just finished watching the TMZ interview and the word cable was NOT mentioned by Jon. Perhaps the person who heard Jon say he and Liz watched it live thinks that the only way that could happen would be if he had cable, not realizing that there are other ways to watch the show live?\nI think he talked about getting the cable hooked up during the Wendy Williams interview when he talked about moving in to the new house bn\nUgh I hate to say it but this thing is PERFECT for SNL. I would NOT be surprised.\nThose poor, poor, poor girls.\nI have to say I am both relieved and happy that no one seems to be blaming these girls (except maybe the sheeple.) No one is saying what the heck why couldn't they get it together grow up!! Everyone is blaming their mother, and that is so right and so awesome. Yea for people who GET IT!\nI also did not feel a \"nervous\" vibe at all. They weren't sitting on the couch uncomfortable, or freaked out by the cameras. This had everything to do with the girls refusing, either intentionally or because they unintentionally choked, to do Kate's bidding.\nAs others have said so many times today, I'm so proud of them. So proud.\nRhymes with Witch said...\nAnd for them all the worse because it's their last chance under penalty of severeness. 3\nI'm thinking that \"penalty of severeness\" is happying them up aka making them tow the line.\nI hope they don't get forced to be on The View.\nWhat does she care?\nShe doesn't care also because she has a personality disorder such that any attention is good attention even vile attention. The girls I don't think have any such personality disorder. They are normal girls who would probably react to the massive firestorm as any normal person would, shocked and horrified and wanting to crawl under a rock. Because Kate would never react that way but probably actually loves the attention, she doesn't understand that whatsoever.\nJon was shocked and horrified because he is a normal person who reacts to things in a normal manner.\nVirginia Pen Mom said...\nKate Gosselin \u200f@Kateplusmy8 40s\nI'm SO proud of my girls...we had a great trip to NYC together. Did a couple of interviews, shopped, dined, bonded etc. #biggirlfun #homenow\nSo there you have it. A COUPLE of interviews today. Eeesh.\nJoyinVirginia said...\nAs someone who lives in a rural wooded area, I can pick up a lot of broadcast channels on my small TV in the kitchen with a digital antenna that I picked up for $25 at Lowes and connected myself.\nBerks Neighbor said...\nThe Sheeple have to say the kids were nervous (translation: \"It's the twins' fault that this interview was a failure). Otherwise they would have to admit that their idol TFW had made a grave error putting those girls on display for public consumption.\nIt's a sickness with the Sheeple. The fact that they can blame the kids for this is the epitome of \"up the Butt\" syndrome.\nFlimsyFlamsy said...\nThe word to me that separates Jon from TFW is tenderness. For him to hurt at the thought of his daughters hurting, and wanting to reach out to them, when their mother sat beside them glowering, speaks volumes. TFW's been a teenage girl -- she knows what a fragile time that is. But their dad, who's never been one, is the one who's aching for them. Bless their sweet hearts.\nFYI said...\nKate Gosselin \u200f@Kateplusmy8 7m\nPerhaps they did the View interview today. Doesn't the View tape an additional show on Thursday that usually airs on Friday? Or perhaps, they taped their segment for Monday rather than going live after the debacle of today.\nSusan1956 said...\nAnonymous said... 9\n*******************************************************************I******\nI think that person was me. WW asked Jon during her interview if they had hooked up their cable yet, he said no and that it was probably a good thing since they had just moved and were unpacking still (paraphrasing here).\nSo when he said he and Liz had watched the Today Show this morning I just assumed he had gotten the cable hooked up. I can't keep up with all this newfangled technology and all the different was you can watch TV and movies now. Sorry for the confusion.\nEx Nurse said...\nThis was definitely not one of TFW 's zero dirty look days!\nKate Gosselin \u200f@Kateplusmy8 21m\nCatch that? Home now? Hmm.....\nOrangeCrusher1 said...\nWell, Extra just hung her out to dry, showed a clip and had nothing good to say about the best mother in the world. \"Mady, your words.\" DH said sounds like our daughter with her 3 year old.\nPA Dutch Mom said...\nI wasn't planning on watching CT, but I turned it on to see them arrive, IF they were going to be on this episode.\nI'm going to say this, and then I'll run away before I can be flamed. I am not, so far, impressed with Liz. She chews like Kate, she was wearing a hoodie and ripped jeans, and her language is, well...\nAt least she could have combed her hair and changed into different clothing...nothing designer or pretentious, but clean. She looked dirty and unkempt. Here, in this neck of the woods, we say dreckig.\nShe may be a wonderful person, kind, a good mother, but I'm just not sure about that one. At least there was no hooker clothing or the flashing of \"the girls.\" I'll say that in her favor.\nInstead of TFW sitting between the twins, being all proud mommy like, wouldn't it have worked better if she sat closest to the interviewer? Since she was going to do all the talking anyway??\nShe should have sat first, then the two girls nexg to her. The two girls would have been next to each and wouldn't have had to talk across TFW like that. They could have sat behind her and done the Deanna bobble head act....just nodding along with whatever TFW said.\nAlthough I don't think they would have nodded. They would have clung to each other, looking at the floor, hoping to be swallowed up.\nKate Gosselin @Kateplusmy8 7m\nDoes anyone buy it was all happy happy hunky doorey? Please, she was pissed at them and I'm sure gave them what for. I hope not but knowing Kate how can she just let this go? I cannot picture Kate saying oh it's fine girls Mom understand being on TV is hard don't WORRY! I just can't picture it.\nSo wonder how the View went, sounds like they went straight there.\ncanadianmom1 said...\nKate just tweeted that her and the girls \"did a couple of interviews today\"... I'm thinking that they may have done a taped one (the View?) BEFORE this live one and the girls didn't \"perform\" to Kate's standards so she berated and scolded them. By the time they showed up to this one the girls, especially Cara, thought \"SCREW YOU!\" and this was their way of rebelling.\nShe is just going to play the happy card isn't she? Shopped! Dined! Bonded! Maybe she did that with Steve, 'cuz no one who saw her face after the interview is going to believe she and the girls were warm and cuddly the rest of the day. @17 is absolutely correct - there is no tenderness with her.\nswimgirl said...\nI don't think that TFW understands that no one is criticizing the girls. They are criticizing her! We feel sorry for these beautiful, normal teenagers. I have a daughter whose 13 and they can be so fragile and need all the protection a mother can give. Thank God for Jon!\nchefsummer #Leh said...\nI they I hope the girls kept quite again. And no one with a brain is buying her happy happy bull crap fart rainbows.\nHollywood Life has an article with take from a child psychologist regarding this interview. This is what the doctor says:\n\"Kate's parenting priorities seemed totally out of whack during the interview.\nThe girls were clearly nervous, it seemed as though they forgot what they were supposed to say. But a parent's job is to protect their child and if your child is on TV and uncomfortable then she should have assured them or stopped the interview,\" Dr. Gottesfeld says. \"Mom had an agenda to get her message across and she was using her kids to do that.\"\nAnd when the girls didn't meet Kate's expectations, she made things even worse for them.\n\"If this was a normal situation, what you do is reassure them or take the pressure off them but Kate kept pushing them to say what had been practiced,\" Dr. Gottesfeld says. \"As 13-year-old kids, they're in a bind there \u2014 on one hand they want to please mom, on the other hand they might not agree with what mom is saying. You see kids who wanted to please her or unconsciously had an issue with being on there.\"\nhttp:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselin-daughters-today-show-interview\/\nSleepless In Seattle said...\nLeslie Nichol \u200f@leslienicholg 7m\n@Kateplusmy8 I know that I wouldn't have been able to do what your beautiful girls did at 13, you should be proud!\nYou couldn't have sat on a couch, not saying a word?\nRIP Russell Johnson, 89, the Professor on Gilligan's Island.\nJust read the dlisted article and it is so funny. Warning, don't eat or drink anything when reading it.\n\"If this was a normal situation, what you do is reassure them or take the pressure off them but Kate kept pushing them to say what had been practiced,\" Dr. Gottesfeld says. \"\nI really appreciate the mental health experts weighing in although honestly does it take a psychologist to know this was so f-uped? Sheesh.\nOf course Kate should have put their arms around them, said it's ok girls being on live TV is hard, and then switched the interview over to more neutral topics and taken the heat off THEM. That's what any good mother does and you don't need a degree to do it.\nJon'sWinning said...\nPlease people don't attack the kids. It's out of line. And makes the rest of us look bad.\nSchmeckyGirl \u200f@SchmeckyGirl2 1h\n@nancivs @Tink1214 @BarbaraJean_s @Kateplusmy8 If you'd never seen Cara before you would think something was wrong with her. Hard to watch.\nPJ's momma said...\nI just looked and The View tapes Mon-Thu. I went to an Ellen taping once, and it was for a Friday show, taped on Thursday. That evening, they were taping the Monday show. That's why you'll hear Ellen asking how everyone's weekend went, or how they enjoyed some event or holiday and everyone laughs - because it hasn't happened yet. Can't believe The View went through with it though. Surely someone saw the early interview, or at least heard about it. Sad.\nsparkle said...\nAs I read the comments from many different sites, the same comments kept getting repeated over and over: good for the twins for standing up to their mother, how grown up and beautiful they are, Kate Gosselin is a narcissist and horrible mother, many people feared the girls later suffered verbal and physical punishment for not repeating the script and what the F did Kate do to her face? The most common thought was why doesn't Kate Gosselin go away? Who gives a sh*t about whatever the hell she wants to set straight today? No one cares.\nShe has realllyyyyy hit a nerve by dragging these girls into her hate campaign against their father. The public has been tolerant up until this point whenever Kate actually gets a tv appearance. She's mostly ignored and treated like the pesky fly that she is. By dragging the girls into this, she has unleashed the hounds from hell. It has warmed my heart to see so many commenters show concern and feel protective of the girls. To quote Kate, it's a \"rare treat\" to see so many fellow Americans actually agree on something. Heh heh.\nkw said...\nWhy has Jon picked another woman who emasculates him? She treats him worse than Kate did. I am watching CT now and this woman is a complete mess. Yuck.\n''Kate Gosselin \u200f@Kateplusmy8 40s\nI'm SO proud of my girls...we had a great trip to NYC together. Did a couple of interviews, shopped, dined, bonded etc. #biggirlfun #homenow''\nGood Grief. All I can say about that is that I'm praying that is what she REALLY thinks, and she didn't ''happy up'' the girls after the Today show!\nLOL of COURSE she didn't expect this to happen sheeple. Duh. Hence the name \"epic fail.\" You tried to do something and you failed miserably.\nI think this just speaks to Kate's delusion. In her mind, she honest to God thought the girls would come across like this:\nhttp:\/\/i1.kym-cdn.com\/photos\/images\/original\/000\/215\/091\/1323488149757.jpg\nAnd when she got catatonic instead, she was so flustered and taken aback she could barely function. I bet they had to wipe her up off the floor during the commercial break.\nI feel bad for the girls but it never ceases to amaze me the fantasy TFW has of how things are going to go. Same with the lawsuit, the same fantasy.\nnjay said...\nZach Poldoian \u200f@ZachPoldoian 18m\n@miloandjack I brought not 1, not 2; but 5 tabloid magazines of putting Kate down.\nNow its going in the trash bin where it should belong.\n==========\\\nWow, does she realize she gave money to those tabloids on Kate's behalf? hehehehee She seeps to fit right in with all the sheeple.\ncathyn518 said...\nGosh, Jon why do you pair up with domineering woman? I am sorry to say this but Liz seems crude and did not impress me as having compassion for Jon.\nYup, these girls are ready for another tv show. They are totally comfortable in front of the camera. And that exclusive private school they attend doesn't sound like the education is any better than the public school down the street. Maddie uses \"like\" as much as Kate uses \"um\". It is probably a good thing they didn't say much.\nAuntieAnn said...\nI hope she enjoyed her last meal as a 'celebrity'.\n#dontsaywedidntwarnyou\nIntellectually challenged?\nPatK said...\nThat must be it. The \"second\" interview was for The View. So she didn't get the whole weekend to drill it into the twins to not do that to her again. I still say the The View appearance will go off without a hitch. I'm sure she let them have it pretty good beforehand.\nSo when this huge media blitz (lol) is over, and the tv show offers don't materialize, what next? Too early for the sextuplets' \"pre-teen\" tour.\nWhen you're piecing and patching, do you shop and dine in NYC where everything is so expensive?\nTweet-le De Tweet-le DUMB said...\nWell, I couldn't miss commenting on this train wreck.\nKate, I'd say you're NOT always in control and today it DID change.\nOf course, but she can't do this because she has no compassionate bone in her body, let alone any sense of good parenting. Isn't this where narcissism comes into play? She was only thinking of herself and how the kids screwed up everything she had planned for them to say. She came off as being the cold fish that she is because that's the only way that she knows how to be.\nJon'sWinning said... 34\nAgree with your first request, and I believe most (if not 100%) of the posters here would not dream of attacking the children. Disagree with your second sentence. It only makes the person who made the remark look bad.\nI have to agree that Liz didn't come off very well on CT tonight. I wonder if Liz is on camera (foul mouth and all) is what TFMJG was off camera. I'm really interested to see how the therapist on CT deals w\/Liz and her TFW-like behavior with Jon next week.\ncathyn518 said... 41\nI didn't watch this episode but I am interested in hearing from others what they think of Liz, and of Jon and Liz' relationship. No one can be as bad as Kate, but perhaps Jon's personality is drawn to the type of woman who might seem domineering and bossy. I mean, he did last 10 years or so with Kate! For many reasons, this type of relationship dynamic might actually be what he feels most comfortable with.\nAnyway, I await further comments on the episode.\nOver And Out said...\nBerks said, \"he fact that they can blame the kids for this is the epitome of \"up the Butt\" syndrome.\"\nI'm surprised that Kate could even sit on that sofa. It's got to be painful.\ngetofftwitter said...\nI think we are going to get a first hand look at what really went on in the Gosselin house, with Jon on CT. We are also going to find out why Jon picks women who are dominating. Or something from Jon's past, he does seem to keep things in. I also got the impression that Jon wants this relationship to go to the next step, as in marriage, and Liz is not ready for that. I think she said something to that effect.\nThis has backfired for Kate. Not as she had it planned. I think the girls, really thought about what they had said in People and possibly read some stuff online, behind mom back, probably some kids at school told them or showed them. Kate did make reference to the kids at school talking about them, twice now. And what she was coaching them to say, and maybe they felt bad, to dish dad. And since Dad did text them? after the interview, we will see what they say if anything on the View. Since Kate did not say which other interview the girls did, then yes, they possibly probably did the View filming for monday. Kate is a tool & a-hole.\nSG said...\nI agree with what you're saying, but I wasn't attacking her. That was in reply to someone that said they thought Cara was ret*****.\nMy point was that what Kate did to her daughter was so wrong, because now Cara is under scrutiny for sitting there mute with a blank, scared look in her face. I was commenting on the fact that some people thought there was something wrong with her and that's understandable if you don't know anything about her... I was not attacking Cara.\nFrom DListed...this guy tells it like he sees it. No beating around the bush there:\n\"For the rest of the interview, Kate Gosselin did what she does best: talk out of her ass.\"\nLights Out time at Milo's house. She had a rough day. She went to bed, but not before getting in another jab at Jon:\nFired Up 4 Kate \u200f@MiloandJack 34m\nWell goodnite all. Let's see wasn't the dad supposed 2b on some #therapyshow 2nite? Looks like the TWINS stole his thunder!! #HotTopic :)\nThe fan who bought tabloids and threw them into the trash? That is the guy who has been snuggling up to Milo!\nZach Poldoian \u200f@ZachPoldoian 1h\n@miloandjack I brought not 1, not 2; but 5 tabloid magazines of putting Kate down. Now its going in the trash bin where it should belong.\nHe bought 5 magazines, and IT'S going into the trash where IT belongs. Sure, he did.\nAs for Liz, I am not impressed either, but I'd like to see more of her before I give an opinion.\nIt seems to me that Liz has a lot of frustration over the fact that Jon allows Kate to call the shots in their relationship even now that they are divorced. (Or so it seems he does anyway.)\nOf course this was while Jon was being sued by Kate. Hopefully now that Jon is free to speak his mind to anyone that will listen it won't be an issue.\nJon needs to find someone that respects him. And Liz needs to find someone that she feels she respects. Jon is passive. He doesn't like confrontation. Maybe Liz doesn't like that about him. I guess they really did need couples therapy like Jon said, and it's not about money. ?\nTweet-le De Tweet-le DUMB said... 47\nI was wondering if this was going to bring you out! Hey there!\nI agree with the comments about Liz. She's definitely not what you'd call warm and comforting. Nice that the tv doctor called her out on showing Jon no compassion and discounting his feelings. Their first interview with the doc was coming off like a Jon & Kate couch interview.\nIt was sort of sad and sweet that Liz took Jon home the first night they met and was disappointed when he didn't want sex. He just wanted to sit and hug. A guy just desperately needing to be hugged. :(\nI haven't watched but I know people passive like Jon including my dad. They do fine in relationships where the other person is in the driver's seat. They even seek it out. But to a point. It can't be to the point where you're being emotionally abused and manipulated, that's not what they are seeking. They are simply seeking a pilot to the plane. I think Kate saw how Jon was in relationships, preferring to the beta, preferring to be the one who doesn't have to take charge, and seized on it. Then she took it to a whole other absurd level that was quite frankly emotional abuse.\nTo clarify, my tweet was not in direct reply to the comment about Cara being ret*****. It was in reply to a conversation regarding that comment and all the replies were in Cara's defense.\nI adore my dad and have nothing bad to say about him and my childhood was blessedly ideally, but I have never sought out a relationship where the man is that passive.\nLet's see wasn't the dad supposed 2b on some #therapyshow unite?\nAre we living in a parallel universe? Yes Milo and Kate like an idiot can't just let him sink on his own. She had to open her mouth, prove his point, and make some guy who prefers to pee in driveways look like father of the year for simply saying he just wants to hug his twins.\nMillicent said... 51\n''I didn't watch this episode but I am interested in hearing from others what they think of Liz, and of Jon and Liz' relationship. No one can be as bad as Kate, but perhaps Jon's personality is drawn to the type of woman who might seem domineering and bossy. I mean, he did last 10 years or so with Kate! For many reasons, this type of relationship dynamic might actually be what he feels most comfortable with.''\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\nMillicent, Liz was REALLY bad to Jon on CT tonight. A foul mouthed version of TFW. Your comment reminds me of women who go into one abusive relationship after another. Is it because that is what feels 'normal' to them?\nWhatever the reason, I was really sad to see her talk to Jon that way, and hope that the therapist and the other couples confront her about it. Now that I think about it, I don't think the other couples heard the conversation. I hope not! Trust me, it was bad!\nThey are totally comfortable in front of the camera. And that exclusive private school they attend doesn't sound like the education is any better than the public school down the street. Maddie uses \"like\" as much as Kate uses \"um\".\nKids, unfortunately, have developed a language pattern that's hard to break, and it includes \"like.\" It doesn't matter if it's a public school, private school, military academy, or top-notch university, it has nothing to do with academics\/quality of education, and it drives teachers crazy.\nI was listening to a Princeton grad being interviewed about a research project he was doing on forensics, and I had to turn it off. The \"like\" was making me like nuts.\nWhich is actually quite impressive given apparently her soul was falling out of it at the same time!\nThe View: Usually does live shows Mon thru Thurs and pretapes the Fri's show on Wed after the live show is complete. Since this Mon is MLK day, perhaps it was pretaped this afternoon due to the holiday weekend?\nCouple's Therapy: I'm trying to reserve judgement until we see more, but I think it would be fair to say that (superficially speaking) Liz lacks err, um, (insert F word here) \"refinement\" (that was polite right? n'est pas?), and that Jon seems DESPERATE for love. It was kinda sad actually.\nAdmin: a big thank you to both you and the blog girls for all of your hard work today. The first dozen rumspringa's are on me!\nGet outta here. Kate has a soul?\nlol!...and with so many sheeple up there, it must have been a full barn!\nEven my generation talks like this, though not quite as bad, and it really is very hard to break. I find myself falling into like, ya know, if I stop thinking about it especially if I'm excited or talking fast. I really hate it but I truly can't help it. Unless I constantly think about it, I will fall into it. I have friends who went to ivy league schools who speak like this. I can even pinpoint exactly when I remember kids suddenly started talking using like, sixth grade or so, we all picked it up and that was it. It is stupid and I'm sure kids today when they are my age will find it hard to break too. When I hear kids talking like that, it sounds as ridiculous as it is, and yet I do it.\nOne of the strongest forms of protest is silence.\nDo not engage, just be silent.\nIt speaks wonders.\nGood on them, the media is listening to their silence.\nSusie Cincinnati said...\nJust when I thought that I heard everything from Milo. She tweeted that it was Savannah's fault because she didn't start the interview by asking the right questions.\nWasn't that Kate's excuse on DWTS? It was Tony's fault because he didn't know how to teach her.\nIs Milo really Kate?\nI don't think the twins did say all that stuff that was quoted in People. TFW just said they said it.\n(Although they probably did say some of it, at TFW's prompting. They also probably had no idea just exactly who Kate Coyne was, and how widely publicized their kidding around was going to be.)\nThat's why Mady couldn't regurgitate it. She didn't say it.\nAnd it's why she was trying frantically to recall her memorized lines.\nI almost felt sorry for Liz when she said that she felt that she was interchangeable with any other woman Jon might come across (paraphrasing). That he didn't love her specifically, just the idea of marriage.\nAnd people say she has no talent. Baloney.\nI didn't watch this episode but I am interested in hearing from others what they think of Liz, and of Jon and Liz' relationship. No one can be as bad as Kate, but perhaps Jon's personality is drawn to the type of woman who might seem domineering and bossy.\nI was multi-tasking when I watched it, but I wouldn't cast Liz as the \"bossy\" type quite yet. She came across as more of a Broad vs. Lady, and while Jon was still displaying the passive behavior that we have seen from him before, I wouldn't necessarily say that she was domineering either- more like she was not going to tolerate BS. She clearly did not want to be there, and it seemed like she was doing it out of love for him, (and she must know that he could use both the money & the opportunity to tell his side). Overall it wasn't a great introduction to the mass media, but it was not a total train wreck either.\nThey went home together their first night (after drinking at a bar), but did not have sex (Liz's wanted to), because Jon just wanted to hug on the couch instead.\nJon wants to get married. Liz doesn't.\nKate hates Liz, and Liz seems tired of dealing with all the drama.\nLiz doesn't like it when Jon plays victim, and Jon basically doesn't want to deal...He is still so eager to please, that I worry that he will continue to be take advantage of, but strangely I don't worry that it will be by Liz. She may be crass, but I think she is kind (hopefully, fingers and toes crossed), and genuinely cares about him.\nShe loves those kids, (thank you baby jeezbus!) and her face totally lit up when another cast member mentioned one of the boys.\nNot anymore!\nYes Milo and they're trending but not in a good way. Your idol is being hung out to dry and being shown for the asshat that she is. Yup, they sure stole Jon's thunder.\nI think that if they filmed the View today that it probably went better than this morning because I'm sure that TFW happied them up and laid down the law. If it didn't go well she will probably refuse to let them use it. If on the View both girls will claim stage fright.\nYupe Kate and the twins will be on the view on Monday I check ugh..\nAnd Kate has a soul since when??\nT said... 74\n''.......She loves those kids, (thank you baby jeezbus!) and her face totally lit up when another cast member mentioned one of the boys.''\nT, I think that maybe your comments are more accurate than mine. I was just SO upset to hear Liz call him a pussy, and maybe I freaked out! I totally agree that her face lit up when the boy was mentioned. I'll watch it again, and I bet I see it from your point of view the second time!\nThat is why this blog is so great...it so often causes me to stop and think and see things differently!\nBringing this from last post because its such a great idea!\nThe best comment on the gawker article: \" just add Octomom and Jessica Lange and the next season of American Horror Story will write itself!\"\nThat is saying a lot! Since this season we have had killer vaginas, zombie boyfriends, ghostly ax murderers, minotaurs, Kathy Bates and Gabourey Sidibe bonding over Roots and late night drive thrus, Stevie Nicks, alligators, Papa Legba, Angela Bassett and Jessica Lange feasting on scenery, witch hunters, murder by bees, creepy doll collections, Bible thumping neighbors... Oh my goodness, I will miss this show! only three more episodes!\nNext year: American Horror Story: Octomom and Kate Plus Sharknado! Tagline: no one will survive!\nAs predicted, the super fans come to TFW with nonsense comparisons to their own lives, and their kids' lives. You know why those comparisons don't work? Because they did not happen on live TV, in front of millions of people, and recorded for posterity.\nExactly, it's so annoying. Forgetting your lines in the school play in front of 180 of your friends is not the same as choking in front of 3 million viewers or whatever their ratings are and then having the internet ablaze where 20 million other people read about it on buzz feed. In fact so many people saw this today, I can't even comprehend it. I don't understand millions of people. It's so many it's too many to grasp.\nMeagler said...\nW.O.W!\n#whattaday\n#passthepopcornthishasonlyjustbegun\n#weonlyknowafractionofthestory\n#theviewmightgetoneofthiermostwatchedshows!\nKate is the one who is so freaking frustrated about it. she is the one who does all the talking..\nShe's forced to talk to the girls about it?? Uh no Kate, you say to the girls..\" It doesnt matter what people say about us, we know its not true, and your daddy loves you very much. The tabloids dont tell the truth. We both love you very much. Now what should we have for supper?\"\nThats what a mentally stable mother would say.....\nWhether intentional or not, today's sullen silent interview makes these two CHILDREN absolute HEROES in my book, (and I suspect many of yours as well). Certainly, there will be both a public and private price to pay, but their sacrifice today may be what finally saves the future of all of the Gosselin children and (possibly even their parents).\nAgree 100%. They took one for the team. I just can't imagine this can continue much longer. It's not even a matter of shows reluctant to book them because they say awkward things or are not good at interviews. They didn't even TALK. It's almost better to talk and be bad than just sit there. If there is one thing shows don't want it's dead air. The twins created dead air, which is about the worst thing you could ever, ever do to a live show--and it was career suicide (intentionally, I think.)\nI was multi-tasking when I watched it, but I wouldn't cast Liz as the \"bossy\" type quite yet. She came across as more of a Broad vs. Lady, and while Jon was still displaying the passive behavior that we have seen from him before, I wouldn't necessarily say that she was domineering either- more like she was not going to tolerate BS.\nT - thank you for your summation of CT. We don't get the program here.\nI can easily understand why Liz is having a difficult time dealing with Kate's hatred towards her and I'm glad to hear she doesn't tolerate the BS. We saw what she was like as a wife, but she must be a hundred times as miserable as an ex-wife. If Liz won't put up with it, it probably incites Kate to really make life miserable for Jon and her.\nOne thing though, I have never quite agreed with the idea that Jon is passive. Maybe he's just polite. I think he is the result of being raised with good manners and respect for other people. He probably has common sense too, but being married to Kate and knowing how she is, I can easily see how she could have lured him away from using it.\nThat's only my opinion.\nAnd I wish armchair psychology paid better ;o)\nStarz22 said...\nAdmin # 60\nWell said! My brother can fall into that definition.\nAs for the Today show... OMFG like others here have said, Epic Fail.\nI don't think the twins planned this. All of those kids walk on eggshells around her. They never know when or what might set her off. None of them want that. I'm sure the twins got berated and told how they fucked up getting a new show and how THEY made her look like shit.\nSo they better happy the hell up and make her look like Mother Teresa on the View OR else! I bet they are on punishment big time.\nWe've all seen how TFW loses it and goes off. Theres no...you made me mad,I'm taking your I-pod and your grounded. It's omg how the hell could you do this to me. I thought you loved me! You are spoiled rotten brats and your gonna pay for this. We are going to lose the house and everything because of what you did! (being screamed at for an hour)\nSo there is no way I can believe they did this on purpose.\nAs for Jon speaking out? I've always said it's great he can finally speak out. The media has called him a dead beat loser for years. Have you noticed since the tide is slowly starting to change...Jon seems less angry and more composed? Could you imagine how he must have felt all these years? Put yourself in his shoes...you have your ex saying nothing but bad about you....the media going along with it and you cant say shit? You cant tell me this wouldn't bother you....you would want a chance to say Hey! I'm not an asshole loser.\nAs for the View...I agree with others. The twins will be flying out of their chairs with over done enthusiasm. All to escape mommys rath.\nYes Robert! This is the time to release the book.\n\"Use your words\" is what my granddaughter says to her 3-year old when he's struggling. I can't imagine telling 13-year old girls that. How demeaning. Can't you just hear their classmates teasing?\nKate's \"severeness\" will be legendary.\nCarole, I also just finished watching the TMZ interview and the word cable was NOT mentioned by Jon.\nThanks Remona Blue. I thought I had missed an interview or something!\nMamaKnows said...\nTwitter was brutal to Liz tonight. Many tweets basically calling her a low class version of Kate and wondering why Jon picks domineering women. I haven't seen the show and likely will not, but went to Twitter to check out what was being said.\nBackstage after the disastrous non-chat, Kate let the girls have it, says our source.\n\"She went type-A crazy,\" says our insider. \"She was upset that they had a chance to speak for themselves and defend her and they blew it. She told them, 'You embarrassed mommy,' and some people heard. She was not happy.\"\nAfter leaving, Kate jumped into damage-control mode, tweeting, \"Thanks to @TODAYshow for having Cara, Mady and me on the show today! 1st live interview can render even the gabbiest girls speechless :)\"\nShe followed that up with another, writing, \"@Boosterdude no damage done. They wanted to do interview with me, I said 'go for it' #morelifeopportunities #proudmomnomatterwhat.\"\nBut it was clear Wednesday that Kate had wanted the girls to shine, tweeting \"Cara & Mady are SO honored to be on @TODAYshow tomorrow morning, talking all stuff 'teenager' (while I'm thinking stop growing up SO fast!)\"\nThe girls' father, Jon, chimed in, telling \"Inside Edition\" Thursday that he blames his ex for what happened. \"Definitely. Someone has to sign the paperwork for them to go on television. It wasn't me. They're minors \u2026 You put our kids into a situation that they were not prepared for at all. They weren't allowed to be themselves.\"\nRead more: http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/entertainment\/gossip\/confidential\/kate-irate-twins-mute-article-1.1582446#ixzz2qdxUc4Sx\nGreedy Gosselins said...\nIt's almost better to talk and be bad than just sit there.???????????\nNo. It's better to keep your mouth closed and risk looking silly than opening it and remove all doubt. The girls did fine.\nIs it true that in the preview for next week's CT, Liz walks in on Jon 'pleasing himself' in a room he KNEW was full of cameras?? Nice.\nThose G kids are going to need SO much therapy in their lives. I hope they get it and start soon.\n(Leslie)\nAdmin. you wrote after the interview that you thought it was on purpose that the girls did not speak. And I agree with you. First, we know Kate was lying about them being caught off guard and having stage fright. That cannot be the problem. They have had cameras on them probably more than any other 13 year in the world. And they have talked and given interviews before. If they wanted to talk, they would have. If they wanted to talk, they would have talked and sounded nervous and maybe mixed up a few of their words. But they didn't talk at all (except Mady a tiny bit). That is the hugh difference.\nI agree with TMZ and Jon and you. They did not want to go on tv and lie and made a pact not to talk. Mady only wants to film because she is an actress and a ham. That is not to say the other 7 want to film. I think Mady may have had some influence over Cara saying she wants to film also now. But we all saw how sad Cara was when she was filmed for years and years. But the girls were TOTALLY against talking bad about their father and wanted nothing to do with it.\nJon made an excellent point that I am sure we all thought about. What were they there for? They said there peace in People magazine. Kate wanted the world to see them say their peace in front of a live audience to proof that it was THEIR words and they didn't want to say it. It backfired on her big time.\nIn the twins ignorance and Mother's influence, they want to film again. Mady is influencing Cara in that department. But I think both have had it with being used on national tv. And finally, finally it backfired for once that the world saw what we have all known. Kate is a user, destroyer, and a liar.\nAnd yes, I bet they did the View (not live of course) and they will be more talkative then ever. But I think the world already knows the truth. And I think the world will hate he even more for going on the View with the twins. She WILL NEVER stop period.\nhttp:\/\/drlillianglassbodylanguageblog.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/17\/body-language-and-silence-of-gosselin-twins-reflect-anger-at-mom-as-kate-is-enraged\/\nLOL, as I was reading down the page, I was thinking, \"I wish Tweet-le was here to comment on this disaster!\"\nI just noticed something. The People magazine cover contained the words \"growing up Gosselin\" just like the big splashy board behind the girls on Today. I'm putting money on it: that is definitely the show title Kate has chosen for the new reality show she's pushing. I bet Kate insisted as part of her contract for the interviews that those words be prominently included.\nI said not too long ago that I thought she was angling for a show called \"Growing Up Gosselin\" to be patterned after \"Keeping up with the Kardashians.\" I thought she would choose that title because it has alliteration like the Kardashian title. Kate would view it as catchy.\nLet's see if the View displays it somewhere. I'm betting yes. Kate has greedy eyes for all the money Mama Kardashian has made off her kids. It's not happening, Kate.\nJust getting a glimpse of the conniving and greed behind Kate's designs is chilling. She has NO maternal instincts. Throw Jon under the bus, showcase her daughters for their \"new\" reality show, and prove what a wonderful mom she is--all in one swoop! That was the plan. How fabulous that it bombed with such a massive explosion!\nTFW is abusive said...\nCan you even imagine being a 13 year old girl and subjected to this? Nice job, TFW!\nKate Gosselin: Spotlight has caused kids 'no injury'\nhttp:\/\/www.today.com\/video\/today\/54087006\/#54087006\nMute Gosselin Twins\nhttp:\/\/q108.com\/cc\/mute-gosselin-twins\/\nDiscuss: Kate Gosselin: Twin daughters are 'really regular' teens\nhttp:\/\/moms.today.com\/_news\/2014\/01\/16\/22324993-kate-gosselin-twin-daughters-are-really-regular-teens?d=1\nGosselin girls go silent on whether they're doing OK, let mom Kate do the talking\nhttp:\/\/www.today.com\/moms\/kate-gosselin-twin-daughters-are-really-regular-teens-2D11940194\nKate Gosselin Twins HUMILIATE Her on Live TV\nhttp:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselin-children-awkward-tv-interview-today-show\/\nWATCH: Kate Gosselin, 2 Daughters Give Awkward TV Show Interview\nhttp:\/\/www.phillymag.com\/news\/2014\/01\/16\/watch-kate-gosselin-2-daughters-give-awkward-tv-show-interview\/#.UtgZXpP2P6w.twitter\nThe Gosselin Twins Get Revenge On Kate During Live Interview, Mutiny Seems Imminent\nhttp:\/\/www.crushable.com\/2014\/01\/16\/entertainment\/mady-cara-gosselin-today-show-interview\/#ixzz2qaJPtnjF\nKate Gosselin's daughters freeze up on 'Today' show\nhttp:\/\/pagesix.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselins-daughters-freeze-up-on-today-show\/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=P6Twitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow\nVIDEO: Kate Gosselin Scolds Twins During Today Show Interview for Not Talking: \"Spit It Out\"\nhttp:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/kate-gosselin-scolds-twins-during-today-show-interview-for-not-talking-spit-it-out-2014161\nParent Or Puppeteer? Kate Gosselin Does Most Of The Talking For Twin Teens In Uncomfortable 'TODAY' Interview\nhttp:\/\/radaronline.com\/exclusives\/2014\/01\/parent-or-puppeteer-kate-gosselin-does-most-of-the-talking-for-twin-teens-in-uncomfortable-today-interview\/\nGosselin Twins Diss Kate Gosselin On 'Today' Show: Watch Awkward Video\nhttp:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/2014\/01\/16\/gosselin-twins-awkward-interview-today-kate-gosselin-normal-teens\/\nRevealed: What REALLY Happened Off Camera At 'TODAY', As 'Furious' Kate Gosselin 'Rolled Her Eyes' In Anger At Twins After Humiliating Interview\nhttp:\/\/radaronline.com\/2014\/01\/revealed-what-really-happened-off-camera-at-today-as-furious-kate-gosselin-rolled-her-eyes-in-anger-at-twins-after-humiliating-interview\/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter\nWhen Pimping Out Your Teenage Kids On TV Goes Wrong\nhttp:\/\/dlisted.com\/2014\/01\/16\/when-pimping-out-your-teenage-kids-on-tv-goes-wrong\/\nJon Gosselin Kate Put Our Kids in 'Horrible' Situation\nhttp:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2014\/01\/16\/jon-gosselin-kate-kids-today-show\/\nGosselin Kid Strikes Back at Her Mom With a Silent, Riveting Interview\nhttp:\/\/gawker.com\/gosselin-kid-strikes-back-at-her-mom-with-a-silent-riv-1502665703\nKate Gosselin's Children Were 'Emotionally Intimidated' On 'Today'\nhttp:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselins-children-are-emotionally-intimidated-on-today-show\/\nGosselin Twins Go Silent In Awkward TV Interview\nhttp:\/\/www.etonline.com\/tv\/142588_Gosselin_Twins_Go_Silent_In_Awkward_TV_Interview\/index.html\nSylvia Lafair (Link no longer working - did she change her mind and kill the article?)\nhttp:\/\/www.examiner.com\/article\/through-the-gosselin-looking-glass\nKate Gosselin's twins go silent on 'Today'\nhttp:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/01\/16\/showbiz\/tv\/kate-gosselin-awkward-interview-mady-cara\/\nJon Gosselin: Kate Gosselin Was 'F***ing Horrible' On 'Today' Show\nhttp:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/2014\/01\/16\/jon-gosselin-response-kate-gosselin-today-show-interview-cara-mady\/\n'Spit it out': Kate Gosselin suffers VERY awkward moment on live TV when her twins Mady and Cara clam up on subject of family welfare\nhttp:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/tvshowbiz\/article-2540761\/Spit-Kate-Gosselin-suffers-VERY-awkward-moment-live-TV-twins-Mady-Cara-clam-up.html\nWatch Kate Gosselin's Twins Embarrass Her on Live TV\nhttp:\/\/www.extratv.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselin-s-twins-embarrass-her-on-live-tv-see-today-show-video\/\nKate Gosselin Chides Twins Mady & Cara For Clamming Up On Today Show\nhttp:\/\/www.accesshollywood.com\/kate-gosselin-chides-twins-mady-and-cara-for-clamming-up-on-today-show_article_88955\nKate Gosselin's Teenage Daughters Give Awkward 'Today' Interview\nhttp:\/\/www.insideedition.com\/entertainment\/7636-kate-gosselins-teenage-daughters-give-awkward-today-interview\nAnd I'll bet the girls knew darn well Kate was pushing a new reality show featuring them. That's why they went silent (that and to protect their dad.) \"You can make us come, but you can't make us talk.\"\nAnd Kate Coyne stuck that phrase in the People article about the girls having \"Kardiashian style hair.\" Kate made sure they had that style of hair and that her buddy Coyne mentioned it.\nKate's just been counting the days until these girls were teenagers so she could promote this. The dating show didn't work, but she's going to get rich-rich-rich off her teenagers displaying their issues for a worldwide audience. So she thinks. I loathe this woman.\nHer mistake was this: you can force a toddler to get in front of a camera and just be a toddler. You cannot force a teenager to conform to your will. That article calling yesterday a mutiny had it right!\nKatykat said...\nIf the View was pre-taped. I wonder how many retakes and how much editing it took for the twins to get Kate's script right? And does it matter for Kate if they do get it right? They will be forever remembered as \"Being Silent\" on national tv. Kind of like George Brett. Remebered for Pine Tar and hemorroids. I bet Kate can relate to being a hemrroid.\nWhat an absolutely horrible mother she is.\nLayla said...\nDoes anyone know for sure whether the View was taped already, or if it is live? Someone said above that Friday's show is taped the Wednesday before, so maybe they already taped Monday's show yesterday. Or not?\nIf so, and the girls were in some kind of mood (angry, sad, afraid), then it would probably have carried over to the View taping.\nWhat worries me is, if they are intimidated by one person interviewing then, then how are they going to do with 5 people asking questions? Seems like they'd get flustered. And if they were nervous about the show being live, then what is it going to be like to be interviewed in front of a live audience? And they would already have to be dealing with their performance on Today, plus TFW's anger at them for not performing as she wanted. And of course, there would be the prepared lies that they were clearly uncomfortable repeating.\nThe View interview could end up being traumatic for them, if they are nervous or afraid or struggling with what TFW wanted them to say. Add fear of their mother's wrath, fear of not performing well, and a live audience to what could have been some nervousness, and this is a train wreck.\nLet's hope the people at the View make good decisions with regards to putting the girls through this, because TFW will not. I hope they think about the twins' well-being and not just about the train wreck factor and ratings.\nThis is from the NY Daily News:\nMama Gosselin spoke for the remainder of the sit-down, with a scared-looking Mady piping in with just a few words. Apparently that wasn't good enough.\nThey also say \"NBC refused to comment when reached.\"\nhttp:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/entertainment\/gossip\/confidential\/kate-irate-twins-mute-article-1.1582446#ixzz2qejx5hiG\ncapecodmama said...\nT...74\nThanks for the low down on CT with Jon and Liz. I don't watch the show but appreciate knowing what happened.\nKate Gosselin's girls clam up on camera, Kate sneers 'it's your chance, spit it out'\nhttp:\/\/www.celebitchy.com\/344616\/kate_gosselins_daughters_clam_up_on_camera_kate_sneers_its_your_chance_spit_it_out_\/\nAnd for the record when I refer to her as TFW I'm thinking \"The Fu\u20ack Wad\". But that's just the Jersey in me.\nF^%$k yeah!! :) Love it!\nI can't get over how this has gone \"viral\", so to speak. This is not about a new show, setting the record straight, giving the twins a pseudo debutante party...this is about an abuser being exposed,, finally. It's as though it HAD to happen, karma at it's finest. She was \"liked\" (as many of us here can vouch for) on this huge global scale, she had to be exposed on a huge global scale. And all on her own, no book, no Jon, no insider stories...SHE and SHE alone (hear us POS? YOU) did this.\nAnd if they had to do the View shortly after Today, THEIR script\/questions HAD to have been modified. The twitter world was on fire seconds after the debacle. I am very curious how it was done.\nIt SHOULD air, more evidence for Jon to take to family court. These kids are \"special\" and have a different set of \"rulings\" since they've been in the industry. He needs to show that they cannot be obligated to \"perform\" like the trained monkeys she thinks they are\nOh, and Happy Friday! ;-)\nRonnieandMaggie said...\nAgain Robert was right. He warned everyone last week not to be mad at the twins. He must have known whatever they would say would be twisted and edited to the satisfaction of mommy dearest. Didn't he also say that he has a picture of the twins on his desk to remind him why he does what he does? Very telling\ngotyournumberKate said...\nI just listened to Jon's interview on TMZ. I could hear the genuine pain in his voice. He felt devastated for his daughters. Jon knows his children better than anyone and he nailed it as far as what happened to them and how Kate was behind it. My heart aches for him and all of his children.\nI'm highly suspicious of the party line \"guess what, we're fine. We're not damaged. We want to do another show, it was fun.\"\nHave some or several potential producers expressed to Kate that they are not interested in doing a show with her because they fear more damage to the kids?\nReality shows are just awesome. The TLC show \"Cheer Perfection\" had two of of it's participants arrested this week, one day after the other. One of the cheer mothers featured on the show was arrested for raping a 13 year old boy. The next day, the husband of the cheer gym owner was for sitting in a car at 1 am smoking dope with a male cheer coach from the gym. While these things may have happened even without being on a reality show, now the entire country knows their business rather than just their small community. I also read that on TLCs Strange Addiction show, they featured a woman who loves to smell and eat baby diapers. This is the type of trash that TFW is clamoring and drooling to get back to. Wow.\nTFW went \"Type A\" personality bat-sh*t crazy after the interview yesterday.\nhttp:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/entertainment\/gossip\/confidential\/kate-irate-twins-mute-article-1.1582446\n\"She went type-A crazy,\" says our insider. \"She was upset that they had a chance to speak for themselves and defend her and they blew it. She told them, 'You embarrassed mommy,' and some people heard. She was not happy.\"\nMilo thinks the twins stole Jon's thunder-I agree with that. But what Milo's not saying is that the twins also revealed TFW for the monster she really is, and made Jon look like the better parent because of it.\nIt sounds to me like the People interview wasn't really a question-and-answer interview. I think Kate Coyne spent a long period of time talking to them, and then \"pieced and patched\" together an article that sounded the way she and TFW wanted it to sound. It was interesting that, in the article, after the talk about Jon's girlfriends, it said that the girls fell silent. Did they feel bad about saying those things about their father? The comments came across as contemptuous (toward Jon) in the article, but the silence at the end made me think that they said what they were told to say, but they felt guilty for doing that to their dad. And perhaps, on Today, they just couldn't bring themselves to do that.\nTFW must be furious that she didn't get a whole weekend in NYC out of this. The Today show pays for plane tickets, transportation (to\/from the airport, hotel, and studio) and one night in a hotel, but they do not pay guests. I wonder if the View pays their guests, especially since they didn't have to pay any hotel or transportation costs. If so, it is probably not much. Guests are only on for a short time. I would think that only long\/main interviews, like on Oprah or Katie Couric, would be paid interviews. TFW and the girls were not the main interview on either show.\nAnd so help me God, if she dares utter the word \"BULLYING\" I think I'll lose my SH%%!!\nHoosier Girl said...\nAgree with everything you said.\nI never thought I'd watch CT, but after that Today debacle, I decided to see what Kate is so afraid of ...\nHonestly, I don't think it's going to be anything we haven't heard or discussed here ... and it won't be anything that changes the minds of her fans ... but the general public who only vaguely knows of J&K+8 are probably going to hear some things about Kate that they didn't know before.\nI imagine it's hard to be in a relationship with someone who was as beaten-down as Jon was for so many years. Add to that 11 kids, little money, and a hellish ex-wife - I might be a little irritable too :-)\nI'm going to give Liz the benefit of the doubt as I continue to watch.\nI was very happy to hear on Wendy that Liz and her ex have a good relationship. At least Jon's kids can see how divorced parents should act!\nDr. Lillian Glass' full blog\/analysis of yesterday's interview:\nYup, that definitely how it went. She flies off the handle for minor inconsequential things, IN PUBLIC AND ON FILM. you don't think she \"was not happy\"?\nAnd I believe what Jon said about \"something else was to go down, and they made a MORAL decision to NOT speak\"(paraphrasing)\ntfw made sure to get \"their father\" in there, what REALLY were the twins programmed to say about him?\nhmmm Very interesting\nDmasy said...\nMy sister, Annette is here in Texas with me. She is a Gosselin neophyte! Yesterday between tasks and appointments, she noticed me checking into the blog and asked, \"What?\"\nI told her the Kate story as succinctly as I could. Then we watched the Today clip together.\nMy sister is the mom to seven children (6 bio and 1 adopted). She homeschooled and really grows and cooks organic! Her heart is so loving and her is so giving that sometimes I am humbled.\nShe was horrified at the discomfort of the twins.\nI then introduced my sister to the YouTube videos of pizza gate, Alaska. Camping and DWTS paparazzi. She thought the dance was a spoof until I shared Jimmy Fallon's hilarious parody.\nShe wanted to read some of the comments here. I had to explain Auntie's Zorro comment.\nI have followed this story for so long. It was eye opening to see the reaction of a \"new\" mind.\nI believe she might be tempted to follow this sordid tale. So, if there is ever a post from dmasy's sister -- it would be real!\nShe refuted Savannah's suggestion that bringing the girls on national TV could 'put them on the spot' and 'continue the injury to them.'\nI call bulls%$%t on the Today show \"inviting\" them. tfw campaigned and fought for the spot.\nThis was like \"Hey, The Today Show asked us if we wanted to do this, and how did we feel about it\".\n'And they agreed to it, as with my nine year olds. It's a family decision so I think it's really frustrating when there's so much out there that's not true.'\nLying is like breathing with her\nJon's genes must be very strong, the girls have more of his features than hers.\nOh no! Another \"hater\"? ;)\nShe might regret being introduced to this tragedy. Good luck to you Dmsay!\nI hate the way TFW can't manage to speak in complete sentences.\nIt's a conglomeration of sentence fragments that often don't even make sense together. What's that about?\nTLC stinks said...\nI'm not even going to comment on CT because I have no desire to watch such trash. As far as my impression of Liz: Jon can do much better. He just wants a normal relationship and I don't know why he seeks out this particular type of woman, but he could do with some REAL therapy to understand himself.\nAs far as the twins, they are no where camera ready and Kate is so blind to her ambition that she does not care. Those poor girls were given a script written by Kate, and by golly, they better toe the line because \"mommy\" wants a reality show. ITA \" Growing Up Gosselin\" is show title she is hawking.\nI get the feeling Monday's \"View\" was taped on Thursday or maybe just the Gosselin segment. Can you imagine the fallout and pressure from \"mommy\" to repeat their \"script\" fully. For that reason I think the girls will speak but it won't be pleasant with all the \"likes\" and Kate's big mouth.\nOtherwise, if the show is live on Monday, I got to wonder if the Today interview will be brought up. Also ITA and I said it in a previous post that the \"People\" article written by Kate's pal, Kate Coyne, was total BS. It was cobbled from conversations, not a direct interview and Coyne made sure to follow Kate's agenda. I think this will hurt Coyne as a reporter and I hope with the new management she gets the boot. Coyne should have reported that the girls have been coached. Shameful.\nInteresting how little Jon and Liz were on CT this episode.\nAgree that Liz seems like a broad as said above. I imagine that TFW thinks that she is infinitely better. Her good breeding and all.\nInstead of admitting that Jon picked her up in a bar one night, I wish they'd lie, kind of..I know lying is not good, and say they kept running into each other at the grocery store or something.\nOMG, Morning a Joe, just did a promo that the Today interview will be discussed. Will kept you know what us said.\nI believe the kids when they say they want to do another show. Doing a show keeps mommy happy and there are other people in their lives that they can interact with and mommy has to behave somewhat in front of these people. They aren't sequestered on the compound either and let's face it, it IS fun for them. The travel, etc.\nI also think the twins validated Roberts book.\nFu(; TFW. I am team Jon all the way now. She is an abuser.\nThey played a clip that showed it all in a nutshell. Just said it was awkward and had girls that age. They got off subject but someone said at the end about \"daggers\" in the girls' eyes.\nScratch that. Team Mady & Cara\nWinsomeone said...\nI don't think Kate has all that much control of the twins any more..if she goes too far with them, I imagine they tell her to back off, or they will start telling people how things really are in that house. I think this latest interview showed the beginning of the shift in power in that house.\nI have no idea what other interviews they did in NYC, but The View definitely is live Mon-Thursday.\nThe twins are in that rebellious stage (we who have raised teens, particularly girls, get it) and even fearing mom's wrath, she can't control them. They are almost as big as she is physically and know they have an ally in their dad. Kate is toast. Finally.\nJust checked The View websit and they have TFW scheduled for Monday but no mention of the kids.\nMady's eyes lit up about doing another show, but I think her mother has filled her head with platitudes about her \"talent\". Cara has always been shy and never liked the cameras. If Mady wants to go down that oath, protection for her earnings with a manager and attorney need to be put in place. Kate will rip her off.\nYeah...this picture From the Daily Mail (click to see) says it all.\nPicture of 'everything okie dokie' #thinknot\nSuuure, the Today Show asked them on but only after Kate or her manager put in a request. If a Kate breathing, she is lying. Obviously this media campaign has been planned for months so she can get a network to bankroll a show. Not going to happen now.\nPDMan said...\nThis Tweet is from the guy who has the Crazy Days and Night gossip blog:\nEnty Lawyer \u200f@entylawyer 1m\nKate Gosselin is pitching a Bachelorette type show for herself. Has given up on any family show after yesterday's mess.\nTFW is abusive (95)\nI'm conflicted about all the negative articles. On one hand, the twins must feel completely humiliated, and this frenzy of publicity is just making it worse. One the other hand, I am thrilled that TFW has been exposed for the monstrous mother and horrible manipulator she really is. Nobody could watch that interview and not realize that those girls were coached by Kate, that they were manipulated and intimidated by Kate, and that Kate was enraged by their refusal to spew her party line. She can't hide from this one. There's no chance that everyone in the entertainment industry won't know about it. If she was hoping to get a new show out of this, she needs to put that dream to rest. What network wants to sign a family when it's common knowledge that the kids are abused and manipulated into performing by a mother they fear? None that I can think of.\nSo, I flip-flop a lot. Thrilled about TFW's unmasking one moment, horrified for twins the next. We all wanted TFW to stop exploiting the kids--that's why we're all here. But we didn't want the kids to be humiliated in the process.\nWinsome...129\nAgree with you. If TFW pushes the twins too far, all they have to say is we're going to tell people what went on in this family and house in the past and what goes on today. TFW would shit her pants and back off. Wait until the six become teenagers. There's going to be hell to pay.\nFormerly Duped said...\nI'm really not sure about whether the twins were shy or didn't remember their 'words' or wha,t but I personally don't think they pre-arranged to stay silent. After all, that would be so embarrassing for them to explain to their friends etc. And the knew they would 'disappoint Mommy\" and face her wrath.They had plenty to say to the People interviewer so I think it was nerves and fear of making a 'mistake'.Also the fact their mother wanted them to lie...again.\nI wonder how the other interview(s) went \/will go.I hope no one asks them why they were' wordless'\nMarie (124)\nOf course they want to do another show. It's been a few years, and the bad memories have faded. Now all the know is the \"reality\" of it that has been reinforced by TFW. Watching videos of all their vacations, while TFW now refuses to take them on vacation anywhere. Videos showing elaborate parties. Now they have small birthday celebrations at home, with TFW butting in to pretend to be a teenager, too.\nIf you ask any 13-year-old, \"Would you like your own TV show? You'll get to travel to amazing places, and go backstage at every concert, you'll never have to wait in line anywhere, you'll get to stay at nice hotels, eat at nice restaurants, get tons of new clothes and gadgets, plus you'll have someone to do your hair and makeup and wait on you hand and foot\", what kid is going to say no thanks?\nBitchy Pants said...\nAuntie Ann, as usual, sane and authentic comments. I agree with you. Also -- if Jon's father was indeed an alcoholic, that would go a long way to explain some of his personality traits. Adult children of alcoholics often are eager to please, somewhat passive, avoid conflict, and look for physical affection, or what they perceive as physical affection.\nAny possibility that Liz is just amping up her behavior for the show? Possibly as a means of helping the therapist teach Jon some new techniques for dealing with TFMJGTP?\nIt doesn't surprise me to hear that all Jon wanted to do in his first night with Liz was hug and cuddle. On the show, when TFMJGTP was asked why they didn't hug or kiss or touch each other, she said \"We aren't demonstrative people\". It was clear that SHE wasn't physically demonstrative, at least not in a loving and affectionate way, but Jon always appeared to be a hands on, demonstrative, \"touchy\/feely\" kind of person. TFMJGTP starved him for affection as much as she did the kids.\nLalalalala said...\nThere's some talk on The View's Facebook page about wanting them to cancel the Gosselin's appearance after the Today Show debacle.\nI forgot to attach the link about Kate wanting a Bachelorette show:\nhttp:\/\/www.crazydaysandnights.net\/2014\/01\/kate-gosselin-pitching-bachelorette.html\nlukebandit said...\nI missed the first hour of the Today show this morning. Did they even mention what happened yesterday with the interview?\nThis interview has opened many many eyes and hearts to see how the real WOS really is! Nothing short of miraculous. I would love to know what Paul Peterson, Eric Roberts, Scott Kluth, think about this.\nI missed CT last night, even though I had auto tuned it. To hear Liz calling Jon vulgar words is disgusting. Did she talk to her ex like that? Not only does it affect Jon and the kids, it affects her kids too.\nLook what the girls are going to have to face when they go to school on Tuesday. The interview, and Liz calling their dad vulgar names. Awful.\nJon's interview with TMZ was heartbreaking. You could feel his pain. All he wanted to do was tell them it was ok. AND HUG THEM.\nAll TFW did on the interview was:\nstare at them to check on them to see if they were in check, CHECK.\nSpeak for them when they clammed up, CHECK.\nThrow their dad under the bus, CHECK.\nTrying to show the world that they had their chance to set the record straight by SPITTING IT OUT, CHECK.\nWhere do you go after you have a bad Today Show interview? You go to NOBU, DUH!! CHECK, PLEASE!\nBet Steve stood there while TFW stood there and BERATED the poor girls ROLLING HIS EYES, SIGHING AND BORED OUT OF HIS SKULL! MR. WOS!!!!\nWhat does \"LONG TIME FAMILY FRIEND\" GINA NEILD THINK ABOUT THIS? About her Kate Enabler ABSENTEE HUSBAND AND FATHER OF HER SONS?\nWell goodnite all. Let's see wasn't the dad supposed 2b on some #therapyshow 2nite? Looks like the TWINS stole his thunder!! #HotTopic\nActually Milo if you paid attention to something other than Kate you'd know Jon made his appearance last night on CT.\nhttp:\/\/radaronline.com\/exclusives\/2014\/01\/kate-gosselin-mady-cara-today-show-teen-twins-awkward-photos\/\nAre you happy now Kate? Having my children's pictures and story all over the internet and the rag magazines would not be my idea of a good thing.\nLifeinOH said...\nKate Gosselin Pitching A Bachelorette Type Show For Herself\nThere were two goals Kate Gosselin had for herself yesterday when she appeared on Today. OK, a few more than two but they all revolved around her. For the past few months she has been pitching television show ideas to networks because she misses being on television every week and all the attention she gets. Make no mistake. The woman loves attention. Lots of it and she likes it all focused on her. She wants the limo rides and the hair and makeup all for herself. She wants the interviews and books and everything to say Kate. Not Kate and....\nThe problem is the networks don't like her solo. They like her with the kids. So, yesterday was her chance to get her two oldest kids in front of the camera and show production companies what they could do and it was a disaster. The teens obviously don't want to help their mother. Did they purposefully throw her under a bus? It sure looked that way when they didn't want to talk and makes me think Kneepads did one of their glorious jobs of reporting and let Kate do the talking for the kids when they did their \"interview.\"\nAll along though Kate has wanted a Bachelorette type show focused on her. She wants guys to date her. Wine and dine her and fawn all over her while she is the star of the show. She wants to film in exotic destinations and will \"sacrifice\" time spent with her kids to film. She knows all the press for the show would be about her and that all the focus would be her and she sees the show running for many years because she doesn't actually want someone to be with because that would mean sharing more of the spotlight.\nShe wants classy for the show and wants a big budget and great guys and also wants about $1M a season for herself plus a bunch of other demands.\nPOSTED BY ENT LAWYER AT 6:30 AM\nHey that is a GOOD POINT. Who said they were damaged? Obviously the public is but if producers aren't saying it then what does Kate care and why does Kate have to address it? All that matters is potential employers aren't concerned.\nI can't definitely see a producer Kate is in negotiations with saying, I'll be honest Kate we're concerned about how the public feels about this situation and how that might reflect poorly on us if we put the kids to work again. Producers would be nuts not to consider the massive tide of public opinion about this that has been going on a long time but especially now.\nAnd not a peep from the Today show this morning?\nboo said...\nTerrence Jenkins was hilarious on E News last night. He said it reminded him of a horror movie where the police come to the door to check on a woman, she opens the door a crack and says everything is fine, while right behind the door is the axe murderer holding the weapon, making sure she doesn't let on what's really going on. I can't do it justice. It was really funny and Giuliana and Cat were cracking up.\ncapecodmama said... 132\nI checked my TV schedule and they said reality star Kate Gosselin and her 13 yr twins for the view on Monday.\nI hope it's wrong but I doubt it plus KK said \"we filmed more interview\" so unless she and Steve or she has a split personality it's her & the twins.\nNah, because in her delusional mind it's all because JON JON JON is saying they are \"damaged\". It's for THIS reason (the reason this week) that nobody is knocking on their door begging them to sign on.\nMickeyMcKean said...\nCable TV 101:\nThere seems to be some confusion as to what is cable TV and what channels Jon can and cannot watch.\nCable TV -- provided by Dish Network, DirectTV or whatever service in your area -- usually has a \"basic service package\" which would be the local channels and then there are additional \"premium\" packages where you can get TLC and Hallmark, etc. Then of course there are the movie packages that include HBO, Showtime, etc. In order to get any or all of these channels you need a cable TV service provider and with this service you also get a DVR.\nAbout 5 years ago if you did not have a cable TV service provider because you could not afford it or just did not want to pay for TV but you wanted to still get the local channels via the antenna on your roof or \"rabbit ears\" you needed a box to connect to your TV which would convert the free signals into a digital one and then you could watch TV for free.\nDish Network, my cable service provider, until this week was in contract disputes with 3 local channels for about 4 weeks, ABC being one of them. This meant that in order for me to keep up with THE VIEW, REVENGE, SCANDAL, etc. I would have to go to ABCTV.com and watch these shows on my computer. Yes it was a pain in the butt but at least I was able to keep up with these shows and watch them at my convenience.\nThen the last week of December ABCTV.com informed viewers that starting in January we would not be able to see any of their shows online the same week they aired that we would have to wait until the following week.\nThis of course pissed me off and because I have extra TVs I called a friend to borrow her box that would convert the local channel airwaves so I could watch these shows on one of the TVs not hooked up to my cable DVR system. The downside was that I would have to watch the show live. This did not make me happy because the advantage of watching a show that you have recorded via your DVR is that you get to fast forward through all the commercials and the time you save adds up.\nNow in regards to Jon, who perhaps does not have a cable TV provider and\/or wifi in his home, he could in fact watch the TODAY show if he has one of these boxes hooked up to a TV which would provide him with the local channels including NBC. But without a cable TV service provider such as the ones I have listed above Jon would not be able to watch CT which is on VH1.\nBy the way I pay $95\/month for Dish Network and if I were to go out and buy a \"smart TV\" I know that because I have wifi in my home I could pay $78\/year for Hulu but that would only provide me with local channels, as well as movies that I want to order streamed to my TV via the wifi. Unfortunately since there are a lot of cable channels that I watch on a regular basis that are not offered by Hulu I am still a Dish Network customer.\nMaybe TFW went on the VIEW by herself and she will explain stage fright, Sheri will AGREE, they will both throw Jon under the Greyhound bus with pleasure.\nRobert, you are in a much better position NOW more than ever to release the book. I really believe it would sell better NOW because of the interview because people who know TFW and people who never thought a thought about her are APPALLED at her throwing her daughters to the wolves yesterday.\nThey know, suspect things must be much worse at home if she said SPIT IT OUT! She is getting paid back for GUMGATE making them spit out the gum that Aunt Jody gave them.\nDid she have a wig on? To me, the girls looked much healthier than TFW. Their hair was so pretty. Is TFW just waiting for a production company to pay for her expensive root touchups with Jason in NYC so she doesn't have too?\nNYC reminds me of the commercial for Pace Salsa.\nA cowboy, sitting around the bonfire is eating HIS Pace Salsa with chips and the other cowboys are stunned and say Where did he get his salsa from? They all chime, NEW YORK CITY????\nThis is how I think it is said when people hear that TFW gets her expensive 2K hair cuts. NEW YORK CITY????\nI guess TFW won't change until the fat lady sings. She has been singing for years now! She's not listening! It is not phasing her!\nLove this quote from TFW's interview...\n\"I'm getting to the point where I'm extremely frustrated. And I don't spend time worrying about it because I'm busy raising my kids.\nWhich is it, are you frustrated by the 'untrue' stories or do you ignore them? Me thinks you spend a great deal of time worrying about it and plotting how to get back on tv.\nIf she wants to do a dating show my fear is that she will want the kids involved for reactions to her new man. I guess there are wannabe actors out there who would jump on a chance to get on TV, but I don't anticipate there is much stomach to watch Kate on the dating scene. She has no personality, is nasty, and hard to work with since she would demand to be a producer of the show. When pigs fly.\nI also would love Tweedle's posts on this debacle too!\nBest wishes to you Dmasy!! I know the feeling about telling someone about TFW and seeing or hearing their WHAT??? YOUR JOKING???\nI talked to my mom last night and I asked her if she watched the Today Show and TFW. She said she watched some of it but didn't see the interview. I told her what TFW said, Here's your chance, SPIT IT OUT! For the first time, I heard her GASP!! I told her you have to see it. But she won't be able to unless she watches it shown on other shows like Inside Edition or others.\nBut Milo says TFW is mother of the year! mama bear!\nhttp:\/\/m.theglobeandmail.com\/life\/the-hot-button\/kate-gosselin-under-fire-for-scolding-her-tight-lipped-daughters-during-live-tv-broadcast\/article16384465\/?service=mobile&cmpid=rss1&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.\nI'm glad to finally be back and able to comment. First of all, thank you to everyone who sent condolences regarding my fur babies. I read them all but got called into work before I could acknowledge and thank all of you. This is the best online community bar none and I'm really proud to be able to comment here and communicate with all of you.\nLet me do my obligatory nurses heads up. If you haven't gotten your flu shot, please consider doing it now. We are dealing with the notorious H1N1 strain this year and because of that, I've been working sixty hours a week. Lots of flu hospitalizations and more deaths than normal. I got my flu vac late December as my area was wiped out and it has saved my rear. Mr. Kelly didn't get his until first of January and so far so good with him as well.\nBack on topic, now that TFW (by the way NJGal51 - I always think of The F*cking Witch when I use that abbreviation ;) ) has gone on national television and has publicly shown her talent as a top notch parent alienator , this should give Jon more for a court case if he ever chooses to take the silicone oven mitt back to court. She is so ridiculously blinded by hate and revenge that it's sad. My message to Jon would be to try as hard as he can not to bait the rabid donkeee and take all of this to a court of law. She's so mentally unstable that I honestly do fear how far she'd go to either prove she's right (which everyone pretty much agrees she's NOT) or to get back at him. It will become a game of tit for tat with the kids being the casualties.\nIf Jon went on CT in order to earn money to move closer to his children, then he's a hero in my eyes. As far as Liz being uncouth (I've never watched but have heard it online and from coworkers) as long as she isn't abusive to the kids or Jon in anyway, I say it's Jon business. Men are drawn to a certain type, both physically and in personality. Also, Liz's personality type may be the only kind of woman who can deal with her partner's ex wife being the Bitch From Hell. And if that's the case, I say rock on Liz!\nWhoa, did you guys say that Jon said that Kate is narcissistic in one of his statements yesterday? Word for word, narcissistic.\nI know for a fact it's been suggested to him directly that Kate could be a narcissist by many people especially when he was going through a lot of divorce mess and could have used that in court, but he has never admitted it to my knowledge.\nEnty Lawyer \u200f@entylawyer Jan 8\nDear @peoplemag you can't be serious. Two Kate Gosselin covers within a year. Wow you must owe her publicists some big favors.\nThe twins had a choice: repeat mommy's words ( lies) or just go silent. It's as simple as that. Not stage fright , just total fear of saying the wrong thing and facing the wrath of Kate. It's a bad situation when you demand your children to lie publicly. Kate has no morals, but her girls do. Thirteen year olds do not like to be puppets. Kate has learned a lesson so now she will drop the family centered show and go for trashy dating show. I believe the tweet she has moved on.\nI believe Jon did indeed say Kate is a narcissist.\nAnother thing I only saw mentioned once is that when Jon was describing watching the girls live, all he could do was say oh girls please say something anything!\nEven though it's really better for his \"case\" that the clamp up like that, he was a loving father and PERSON first and foremost and he didn't want them to embarrass themselves like that, even if it meant it wouldn't help his \"case.\" He wasn't sitting there cheering saying yes look at this they are bombing SEE?? He was saying rather, oh girls please talk. That really said it all about the kind of person he is, warts and al-- his heart is in the right place.\nNo, I'm not talking about in general. In general of course it's often better to say no comment. I'm talking about on T.V. It is never better in the industry's eyes to be silent when you've been booked as a guest specifically to speak. Never. My point being that this was the best thing they could have done to ensure they never get booked again, better than simply trying to say or do wild or outrageous things to sabotage it. If it was intentional, it was VERY smart of them.\nI don't think she wears a wig but has extensions. That long wavy look is her standard TV and photo hair, otherwise it is shorter and straight. Her hair must be beyond repair at this point. She out to cut it short and start over. That long hair look is not flattering. Much more appropriate style for a younger woman. She looked cute with the short cut, just not the stripes and spikes.\nThe Empress was Stripped Bare-Nekkid said...\nAdmin~ Yes, he calls her \"narcissistic,\" as reported here:\nhttp:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/2014\/01\/16\/kate-gosselin-girls-jon-gosselin-today-show\/\n(Formerly The Empress Has New Clothes)\nABAWHAWHAW!!! You have GOT to be kidding me. Give it up already. Is THIS the reason she hasn't dated, didn't want to be \"attached\" because there's a show (there always is with her) in the works? Me thinks Jon knows everything about what she's been spending her time on. He was vague, but it sounds right.\nGod, this makes me laugh! I'm sure she really wanted to say \"I'M\" not damaged people! Do you hear me??!! I'm soooo available and date-able. But she could never address HER shortcomings could she?\nKate and the twins interview was a Hot Topic on The Wendy Williams Show this morning. Wendy is Team Jon. She said that herself and the audience fell in love with him when he was on the other day. She had nothing nice to say about Kate.\nA lot of people are uncouth. It's not really my cup of tea but this is really how a lot of people live. We are overall a pretty rough around the edges culture. It is easy to forget that if you avoid it generally. Liz has also been through a lot that could make her rough in her young life, three kids and divorced before she's 30 now dating an ex-celebrity with all this drama. Frankly, Jon and Kate both have always struck me as rather classless and unrefined. Like lottery winners who can't really change who they are. It does not surprise me Jon would seek out other relationships of someone who behaves similarly uncouth, this is what he is used to and comfortable with. They were definitely from the heart of America and I never really felt they left behind who they really are as much as Kate especially tries to hide it. I don't like this expression usually but in this case it fits, it is what it is.\nJon has already responded to the fact that Mady and Cara stayed silent through most of their appearance on Today. He hinted to Inside Edition that it was deliberate effort by the girls to get back at their mom for something. He said \"There was something else in the background that was supposed to come out, and for some reason, they took a moral stance by not saying anything\u2026It was a big, big, big deal by them not saying one word.\" I wonder what he's talking about.\nCelebitchy\nI loved this comment!\n@Xxxxxxxx: @Kateplusmy8 blames \"stage fright\" for interview.. looked it up Stage Fright (n): being scared shitless your soulless mom will beat your ass\nfoxy said...\nRobert Hoffman has a new post on his blog.\n*********************************************************************\nYes, it was a quote on one of the many sites, can't recall which one\n\"I think it's f\u2014ing horrible that she'd put them in a [position] like this,\" Jon said. \"She put them on TV for herself. She's narcissistic.\"\n\"They haven't been on TV in two years, so why are they speaking out? I care about my children and I am worried about them being normal kids. I've worked so hard to get them off TV and now she throws them back on TV,\" Jon added. Jon @ Hollywood Life\nIf Kate has titled her new dream reality show \"Growing Up Gosselin\" is she aware Animal Planet has a series called \"Growing Up _____\". http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Growing_Up... The blank is filled in by whatever animal is being featured on that episode. Growing Up Baboon, Growing Up Wolf, Growing Up Gorilla, etc. They have about 30 episodes. I doubt if she gets \"Growing up Gosselin\" on the air, they'll make 30 episodes.\nI agree Admin. I started using the term uncouth because the alternative was \"trailer trash\" and that term bothers me more. I know plenty of people who I would categorize as uncouth, and most of them have a heart of gold and would not hurt anyone. It's the ones who believe they're better than everyone else that you have to watch out for.\nI also agree about the hair. It looks better parted on the side with a bit of side bang and needs about six inches cut off it. When she parts it down the middle, it only exaggerates her long face. She needs to resort to the original plan of nursing school and then finding a rich doctor. Kate, go back and do your CEUs, get back into nursing just long enough to land yourself a doctor before you botox and plastic surgery yourself into Jocelyn Wildenstein's doppelganger.\nsilimom said...\nI have to agree, I doubt this was a prearranged protest on the girls' part. What I saw was very uncomfortable to watch but I think it was more that they couldn't remember the \"script\" their mom had prepped them with and they were nervous about displeasing their mom. It's been over two years since the show aired and they did a couch interview, which in and of itself was a different experience then live tv because with the couch interviews, they could do a retake until they got the words they (the film crew) got the shot they wanted. I think that's why the girls perked up at the \"Would you want another reality show\" question. They KNOW how to answer that one.\nCara looked so stressed and uncomfortable. Mady was peeved she was the one having to do the talking. I loved how both girl's were sitting with their long hair covering their Kate side. Also I did think Mady's comment when asked if people's perception of their family was wrong said \"I wouldn't say wrong but they don't have the full story\". I interpreted that as \"Yes my mom is what you think she is but their are legitimate reasons for some of her behavior\".\nAnyway, overall Kate's plan to use the kids to get back into tv was an epic fail yesterday. Let's see what happens on the View Monday.\nYou know the most sick and twisted thing about this entire fiasco is? That Kate is enjoying all this attention even though it's at the expense of her children. It doesn't matter to her that it's mostly negative attention, it's still getting her talked about and that my friends is all she truly cares about.\nThe Empress was Stripped Bare-Nekkid said... 167\nLove the new name!\nI read online that the View tapes live Monday through Thursday, and that Friday's show is taped after Thursday's. So Friday is the only non-live show. TFW said she and the girls did a couple interviews. Where is the second interview? Is there one that was not shown out of sympathy to the girls? Or did the View make an exception and tape them early? If there is a second interview (TFW could be exaggerating to make it seem like they are more in demand than they really are), I hope it is buried. The twins have been through enough. They are going to hear about this when school resumes Tuesday.\nShe told them, 'You embarrassed mommy,'\n((((((((\nWho talks about themselves in the third person to teenagers? That might be a way to talk to a 2 year old because pronouns are hard to grasp..\"No hitting you hurt mommy\"\nFrankly I could care less if Liz is cough, uncouth, or whatever. She is not putting her minor children on tv for the purpose of pitching a tv show designed to showcase herself. She is not talking about her children, or her bf's children. Her bf's children seem to like her just fine. So she can be whoever she wants to be IMO. TFW, on the other hand, has finally done a truly monstrous public thing, dragging HER minor children in front of cameras again. Poor girls. And then they have to go back to school after a weekend of social media gossip; their biotch mother can go back to bed.\nIs that true - the segment was pulled for the West Coast market. I live in the East so I wouldn't know.\nIt's true. No one in the LA Market saw it. The fire coverage was all day long. This is largely for safety reasons so they know what schools are closed what roads are closed and what areas need to evacuate. When I could see how big the fire was from my house 30 minutes away I knew I wasn't going to see this interview on TV.\nI doubt that was true of the entire West Coast just the LA market. If the LA market had actually seen it the fallout could have been even worse.\nAs far as Liz being criticized for being uncouth, I would much rather deal with someone like her rather than someone like Taylor Armstrong who is a pretentious, judgemental bitch. She didn't even say hello to Jon and Liz before she was sizing them up because of what they were wearing. Her \"entitled\" hissy fit last week told me everything I needed to know about her.\ndenni don't like kate..... said...\nFrom NYDaily News Article this morning re: Gosselin Twins\/TFW TV appearance and what happened backstage.\nRead more: http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/entertainment\/gossip\/confidential\/kate-irate-twins-mute-article-1.1582446#ixzz2qfmRXBfe\nWell, I bet Milo was up all night trying to figure out how to help Kate spin this. Milo claims Kate loves and protects her children. She claims the twins and Kate are close. She claims everything Kate does is for the kids. All of it, shot down yesterday.\nI believe it was Susie Cincinnati who referred to Milo as making herself look like a \"crazy, lovesick old bat.\" Love it. You nailed it, Susie!\nGlad to see this has brought out Dr. Glass's analysis.\nI think the LA market, though they missed the Today Show yesterday morning, had a decent exposure to Kate's horror show. It was a gossip item all afternoon, made Extra, Inside edition, etc in the evening, and was plastered all over the internet. Could it have been worse for her if we had seen it yesterday morning? Maybe, but the real damage was done live in NY already, and if there was any Hollywoodish producer intent on seeing this for \"Growing Up Gosselin\" (ugh) consideration, the fire coverage did not stop that. Hopefully TFW and her horse and pony show has done herself all the damage stopping that will require.\nThe long and short of it said...\nAgree with Admin that Kate needs to go short and start fresh with her hair. I guess she hasn't noticed the trend of many big stars going short. Some have said that it was because their hair was ruined from over processing, etc and it was time to start fresh. It would also help the long horse face that she's seems to have lately. If you look at the pictures on the Lillian Glass blog, specifically the one where Dr Gless says she is clenching her jaw, you can definitely tell that Kate's had a chin implant. Very, very obvious in that picture.\nOk...now I'm laughing out loud.\nAmy2 said...\nI wonder if People magazine is going to have any kind of article or 1-2 line mention of the interview. This is news and for People not to cover it, that would be odd. On the other hand how can they have an article about the interview with the C\/M remaining silent and refusing to validate the People spread they did. Hmm, its a problem I would say. Bet People just ignores the hoopla.\nI don't know, Admin. The tape is on the internet and tabloids are commenting, so the LA market knows although everyone is more concerned about the fires and right so. Good luck out there.\nJumping In said...\nThis is TFW, quoted in Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail.\nKate Gosselin referenced Jon's comments on TODAY, saying the twins are \"aware of what is out there, the inaccuracies, things that are said by the general public , their father, whoever ... their friends talk about it at school. So I sort of am forced to kind of inform them.\"\nThis is the statement that struck me the most during the TODAY interview yesterday. \"Inform them\"? shouldn't that have been \"protect them\"? Her twins are living this nightmare, they have all the information they need. They should feel protected by their parents, not asked to prop up their mother's version of things on national television. It was shameful to put them on the cover of People, but yesterday's stunt finally proved how twisted their mother is.\nI completely agree with Jon, they were conflicted and had a moral dilemma on their hands and simply could not parrot their mother's storyline.\nThank you RemonaBlue and T for giving me a better idea of Jon and Liz' relationship and her personality. Well, I hope that they each get some real benefit from this televised therapy.\nI wonder how much make-up they had to use at The View to cover any potentially developing bruises.\nNot trying to be funny. I am seriously worried about that.\nTucker's Mom said...\nAlso, Liz's personality type may be the only kind of woman who can deal with her partner's ex wife being the Bitch From Hell. And if that's the case, I say rock on Liz!\nHi, Kelly!! Welcome back!\nGot my flu shot in Oct. ;-)\nI'm going to go against the grain and say that I like Liz. Sure, she's rough around the edges, unrefined and talks like a sailor, but she seems to have a heart of gold.\nI'm a Philly girl myself, and I know gritty. I ain't afraid of gritty. Gritty people are some of the salt of the earth folks that make the world go 'round.\nI watched most of the CT show online this morning, and I think Liz expresses her frustration with Jon and his personality traits that don't exactly work for them as a couple. She not berating him for breathing, or treating him like a dog.\nShe's got some work to do as far as compassion and empathy goes, but I get the sense that she makes Jon happy.\nHer insight about being interchangeable was very astute as well. She's dating a guy who thought a 22-year old, plant-face-planting party pothead girl was the love of his life.\nYou're damn skippy she should proceed with caution!\nFired Up 4 Kate \u200f@MiloandJack 2m\n@deannatweeting We've got kids N this world their age, doing cocaine, having sex & all matter of issues.& a moment of shyness get headlines!\nAaaaaand she's off!\nOMG. Of course she has no intention of actually meeting a great guy and marrying the fool because her heart belongs to ANOTHER and he's already married. Ol' Steve has stuck around just in case she manages to pull it off. Now that her plans for a family show have crashed and burned along with her being an author and cook, the dating show is her next project. Her demands are ridiculous and amusing.\nDo you think the girls were put off by having Uncle Steve around in NYC? They're not innocents anymore.\nIf another interview is aired and the girls are talking up a storm, it will not bode well for TFW's reaction to the silence.Wonder what bonding means to Kate as er her tweet.She also mentioned shopping ( bribing?)\nAdding to Mickey McKean s Cable TV 101:\nWe love in area where cable operator offers bundle of cable, internet, and phone and that's what we have. However there is a charge per box for the DVr box with expanded channels. We also have Netflix and have a Wii hooked up, and wifi in the house.\nSo when I got extra TV for kitchen, I did not want to pay for cable company visit to hook it up, so I got $25 digital antenna from Lowes. I can pick up local channels, including the sub channels of the local public TV station. So for example I can get 15.1 and 15.2 and 15.3 and three more! I can get local channel and their .2 frequency carries old TV shows like Columbo and Beverly Hillbillies.\nSome people have satellite provider like Direct TV or Dish Network. Some have physical cable providers thru Charter, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, etc. some have service thru phone providers like Verizon FIOS. And some save money and just watch local channels with a digital antenna. And some use all the online options. It just depends on what is available where you live and what suits your needs best.\nDiscussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 5, \"Pla...\nAunt Kendra: Kate has left a 'trail of hurt people'\nRecap: Couples Therapy episode 4, That 'entreprene...\nDiscussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 4, \"Fes...\nJon to file for contempt, and seek custody of the ...\nRecap: Couples Therapy episode 3, The Ghost of TFW...\nKate and the twins on The View\nDiscussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 3, \"New...\nKate and the twins on the Today show\nJon Gosselin on The Wendy Williams Show\nDiscussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 2, 'Lov...\nDueling magazine covers\nDiscussion Thread: Couples Therapy episode 1, 'The...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"VIDEO Whoopi Goldberg: 'Maybe it's time for me' to leave the U.S.\nBy BREAKING NEWS - January 13, 2021\n- Get a $100 Walmart Gift Card!\n- Win a $100 McDonalds or Burger King Gift Card!\n\"The View\" co-host Wednesday's Whoopi Goldberg told a conceivable Donald Trump administration flags that \"maybe now is the right time\" for her to move out of the country.\nMs. Goldberg was referring to an individual case by co-holding Joy Behar that the Republican presidential leader \"has several Democratic propensities on the off chance you see his record.\"\nFOLLOW THE NEXT PAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO\n\"Tune in, he can be whatever faction he wants to be,\" added Ms. Goldberg, as shown by a clasp that Breitbart News received. \"What he can't be is that he can't be the guy that claims that it's the fault stuff that doesn't work. That's not the president I need. Find out how to make it work.\" \"Be that as it might, you can't tell, 'Goodness, you're Lebanese or you're dark or you're Mexican or you're a woman.' Quit blaming anyone. \"On top of that, if you can repair it, I'll listen in to what you need to do. The moment you start pointing and saying you 're an attacker and a murderer, it irritates me since i have been a bit of that once they simply utilize a sweeping proclamation to debate dark individuals or once they utilize a sweeping articulation to debate white individuals or ladies or another gathering.\n\"I do not feel that's America. I do not need it to be America. Perhaps it is the ideal opportunity on behalf of me to maneuver, you know,\" she included.\n\"Try to not say that,\" Ms. Behar cautioned.\n\"I've generally been an American, and this has dependably been my nation, and we've generally possessed the capacity to possess discourses,\" she said. \"What's more, all of a sudden currently it's transforming into, you know, 'not them, not them.' And you recognize, we've tons of companions whose guardians saw this as of now. they might prefer to not remember this. they might prefer to not remember this. So I require all of the chances to form some quite breakthrough. Return to American qualities.\"\nMs. Behar included: \"I should be gullible possibly, yet I do trust that toward the day's end the American individuals won't choose favor of that sort of xenophobia. The way that they cast a ballot twice for President Obama, twice for Clinton, individuals like that. I actually do trust they're going to awaken. What's more, you recognize what, [Mr. Trump] can't win without 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, and he has estranged the Hispanics.\nTo Find Out More About The Next Part, Please Head On Over To The Next Page Button.\nCreated with insur news BeautyTemplates.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home | Impacts of Failing to Invest in Natural Gas Infrastructure the Focus of Senate Hearing\nImpacts of Failing to Invest in Natural Gas Infrastructure the Focus of Senate Hearing\nPA Chamber Director of Government Affairs Kevin Sunday raised the alarm about the consequences for Pennsylvania's economy and energy security if the state fails to harness its abundant natural gas resources.\nAt a joint informational hearing last week before the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, Sunday began by highlighting Pennsylvania's status as an international energy hub and the subsequent economic and environmental benefits of this status by sharing the following facts:\nPA is the second largest energy producing state in the nation and the largest in the 13 state PJM grid;\nThe natural gas boom has led to a 34 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions since 2005 (second in the nation in reductions.) These efforts have led to the state achieving the mandates set forth by the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan for 2030; and\nDeclines in air emissions have been coupled with reductions in price. In 2020, wholesale prices across PJM were the lowest in 15 years, while Europe lags behind PA and countries including India and China have actually increased their emissions.\nDespite these encouraging trends, disruptions in pipeline development spurred by misguided activism and regulatory barriers have led to delays outright cancellations of critical projects. Most recently, PennEast announced its decision to table a 116-mile natural gas pipeline that would have pumped $1 billion into the regional economy, following constant resistance from factions within New Jersey and an inability to secure environmental permits to get the project underway.\nAs to the impact of pipeline development on national energy security, Sunday testified that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation has said New England's energy security is in the balance; and ISO-NE, the grid operator for New England, has \"plainly stated there is a need\" for additional pipeline infrastructure from PA and other Appalachian states to the region. New Englanders also pay the highest electricity rates in the nation. In addition, the ISO-NE warned in 2018 that without new gas infrastructure it will likely have to impose rolling blackouts and managed outages during future winters.\nSunday elaborated on the impact on Pennsylvania when pipeline projects are stalled, noting that PA loses out on 22,000 jobs and $2.4 billion in state GDP. He cited researchers at the Columbia University's Center for Global Energy Policy who have reported that expanded investment in natural gas infrastructure is necessary to meet climate goals, stating that \"while it may seem counterintuitive, investing more in the domestic natural gas pipeline network could help the US reach net-zero emission goals more quickly and cheaply. Fortifying and upgrading the system could prepare the existing infrastructure to transport zero-carbon fuels as they become available.\"\n\"It is important to take a step back and recall that while electricity may be delivered via regional grids, the energy markets are truly global in nature,\" Sunday stated. \"The decisions Pennsylvania and its neighboring states make have global consequences. As noted prior in this testimony, attempts to reduce supply or transmission do not to a great extent impact demand for natural gas \u2013 instead, it will be met at the margins by importing LNG from countries that do not share the United States' commitment to human rights or environmental standards.\"\nSunday's full testimony to the committee can be viewed here.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"new york politics Apr. 14, 2018\nWorking Families Party Endorses Nixon, Despite Pressure From Cuomo\nBy Chas Danner\nCynthia Nixon at a campaign event in March. Photo: Timothy A. Clary\/AFP\/Getty Images\nAs expected, New York's Working Families Party officially endorsed gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon on Saturday. Nixon, who received more than 90 percent of the vote at the ultra-progressive party's state committee meeting, is now guaranteed a spot on the ballot in November, though the former Sex in the City actress didn't commit to remaining on the party's ballot line if she loses the Democratic primary against current governor Andrew Cuomo.\nNixon won't commit to staying on WFP line if she loses in the Democratic primary to Cuomo. Says she'll \"confer\" with party leaders. #nygov pic.twitter.com\/4JvOWyXrnf\n\u2014 Jimmy Vielkind (@JimmyVielkind) April 14, 2018\nHow Cuomo Played the Working Families Party\nCuomo, who announced on Friday that he would not seek the WFP's endorsement, has reportedly gone to war against the insurgent party, and pressured his powerful union allies to persuade them not to endorse Nixon. That didn't work, however, and large local chapters of the SEIU and Communications Workers of America both left the WFP on Friday as a result, though they were not the first unions to split from the party since it almost endorsed Cuomo's last left-liberal challenger, Zephyr Teachout, in 2014. That experience, which resulted in plenty of bad blood between Cuomo and the WFP, undoubtedly set the stage for Saturday's endorsement.\nThe New York Times reports that Cuomo has also been telling unions to cut off funding for community groups that veer for Nixon, and if they don't they can \"lose my number.\" Nixon made a point to criticize such tactics on Saturday, and she had already been characterizing Cuomo as a Trump-like bully.\n\"People should be able to endorse who they want to endorse and not have their livelihoods threatened because of it.\" -@CynthiaNixon at @NYWFP endorsement pic.twitter.com\/EDPdAPgcfG\n\u2014 Nomiki Konst\ud83c\udf39 (@NomikiKonst) April 14, 2018\nA Cuomo spokesperson reached out to Daily Intelligencer regarding the discord with the WFP, insisting that the governor's \"record of progressive accomplishment is unmatched,\" and commenting that \"the schism between the progressive unions who founded the WFP and some of its member organizations is unfortunate, but in that divide the governor stands with the unions who have left the WFP and no longer feel it represents the interests of middle- and working-class New Yorkers.\"\nEven if Nixon's long-shot campaign to defeat Cuomo in the Democratic primary were to succeed, the governor's name would almost certainly still be on the ballot in November. New York's Independence Party, which also has its own ballot line and endorsed Cuomo in 2010 and 2014, has already said they will back the governor again this year.\nThis post has been updated to include the comment from Cuomo's office.\nWFP Endorses Nixon, Despite Pressure From Cuomo","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"K.C. Undercover 2017\nK.C. Cooper, a high school math whiz and karate black-belt, learns that her parents are spies when they recruit her to join them in the secret government agency, The Organization. While she now has the latest spy gadgets at her disposal, K.C. has a lot to learn about being a spy, including keeping her new gig a secret from her best friend Marisa. Together, K.C. and her parents, Craig and Kira, and her younger siblings, Ernie and Judy (a humanoid robot), try to balance everyday family life while on undercover missions, near and far, to save the world.\nStars: Zendaya, Veronica Dunne, Kadeem Hardison, Tammy Townsend, Kamil McFadden\n1. Coopers on the Run 2017-07-07\n2. Welcome to the Jungle 2017-07-14\n3. Out of the Water and Into the Fire 2017-07-14\n4. Web of Lies 2017-07-28\n5. Teen Drama 2017-08-04\n6. K.C. Under Construction 2017-08-11\n7. The Storm Maker 2017-08-18\n8. Keep On Truckin' 2017-08-25\n9. Unmasking the Enemy 2017-11-03\n10. The Truth Will Set You Free 2017-11-10\n11. Stormy Weather 2017-11-17\n12. Deleted! 2017-11-24\n13. Second Chances 2018-01-15\n14. Revenge of the Van People 2018-01-16\n15. The Gammy Files 2018-01-17\n16. Take Me Out 2018-01-18\n17. Twin It to Win It 2018-01-22\n18. Cassandra Undercover 2018-01-23\n19. K.C. Times Three 2018-01-24\n20. The Domino Effect 2018-01-29\n21. Domino 2: Barbecued 2018-01-30\n22. Domino 3: Buggin' Out 2018-01-31\n23. Domino 4: The Mask 2018-02-01\n24. K.C. Undercover: The Final Chapter 2018-02-02\nTotally Spies! (2001)\nThat's So Raven (2003)\nGirl Meets World (2014)\nSkam (2015)\nKim Possible (2002)\nInsatiable (2018)\nAwkward. (2011)\nGilmore Girls (2000)\nMalcolm in the Middle (2000)\nDrake & Josh (2004)\nHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019)\nEven Stevens (2000)\nThe Secret Circle (2011)\nPretty Little Liars (2010)\nChilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)\nMy Wife and Kids (2001)\nGrounded for Life (2001)\nAustin & Ally (2011)\nStuck in the Middle (2016)\nLiv and Maddie (2013)\nDog with a Blog (2012)\nTotal Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race (2015)\nTeam Umizoomi (2010)\nA.N.T. Farm (2011)\nBUNK'D (2015)\nWitless (2016)\nJessie (2011)\n1600 Penn (2012)\nSonny with a Chance (2009)\nShake It Up (2010)\n100 Things to Do Before High School (2014)\nThe Suite Life on Deck (2008)\nThe Proud Family (2001)\nKickin' It (2011)\nCrowded (2016)\nI Didn't Do It (2014)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home\/Business News\/Ikea shoppers flee Shanghai store after security staff tried to lock them in over COVID alert\nIkea shoppers flee Shanghai store after security staff tried to lock them in over COVID alert\nNewsReport Send an email August 15, 2022\nChaos arose in a Shanghai Ikea over the weekend, when shoppers were locked in the building after health officials learned someone who had been in contact with a COVID patient had visited the store.\nPeople in the store in the city's Xuhui district were seen screaming and trying to flee on Saturday as news of the sudden unexpected quarantine reached shoppers, with footage showing crowds trying to force their way out of the doors before they were locked.\n\u4e0a\u6d77\u5f90\u6c47\u5b9c\u5bb6\u8981forbidden to go out together with popular disease science investigation, scared the customer \u94f6\u5feb\u9003\u4ea1\u3002 Don't want to be in China before the virus is destroyed,\u5207\u8bb0. pic.twitter.com\/dAWbpbln7v\n\u2014 \u65b9\u821f\u5b50 (@fangshimin) August 14, 2022\nBloomberg reported on Monday that Shanghai health officials said they had put \"temporary control measures\" in place at the store after they were made aware that a close contact of a six-year-old child with an asymptomatic COVID infection had been in the store.\nAuthorities declined to say when the contact had visited the Ikea store, according to Bloomberg.\nA spokesperson for Ikea's Chinese operations told Fortune on Monday that the store remained closed but would soon be reopening.\n\"In response to the epidemic prevention guidelines from the authorities, Ikea Shanghai Xuhui was temporarily closed on August 14 and 15 and will reopen on August 16,\" they said. \"We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.\"\nZhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Commission, said at a press briefing on Sunday that anyone who had been in the store would be required to quarantine for two days before completing five days of health monitoring.\nHealth authorities were also investigating the store itself, he added.\n\"If there is no abnormality in the investigation, the store will resume normal business operations,\" he said.\nPursuit of zero-COVID strategy\nShanghai recently emerged from a strict two-month lockdown that saw millions of people confined to their homes.\nChina's continued pursuit of its zero-COVID strategy\u2014which aims for complete elimination of the virus from the country\u2014has led to snap lockdowns that have seen whole cities and neighborhoods closed down with little notice.\nThe policy has faced widespread criticism both for its economic impact and its impossibility.\nBack in MayWHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that as the virus continued to evolve to become more transmissible, China's zero-COVID policy was not a viable long-term solution.\n\"When we talk about the zero-COVID strategy, we don't think it's sustainable considering the behavior of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future,\" he said at the time.\nTo date, China\u2014a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion\u2014has recorded fewer than 1 million cases of COVID-19, according to Our World in Data.\nCases peaked in April this year, the organization's data shows, when around 20 people per million were infected with the virus.\nSign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don't miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.\nDocGo Announces Redemption of All Outstanding Warrants - Press Release\nAmerica's 'extreme heat belt': Five cities most vulnerable to increasing extreme heat days in the next 30 years","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"From love to hate: the countries in which Russia is most hated are named\nAn international survey, in which residents of 52 countries of Europe, North and South America, and Asia took part, made it possible to identify the most Russophobic state. Spoiler: Ukraine does not have the palm.\nHit parade of dislike for Russia\nTo begin with, the study was commissioned by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which was founded in 2017 by former NATO Secretary General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. This organization has a reputation as a propagandist, so it is clearly not necessary to consider the results of the survey as 100% objective.\nContrary to everyone's expectations, it was not Ukraine that took the first place in the \"Russophobic rating\". A negative perception of Russia was reported by 87% of respondents in Poland.\nBut the Ukrainian state did not go far. 80% of polled Ukrainians do not like Russia and everything connected with it. Unexpectedly, Portugal closed the top three with 79%. Also in the top eight were Sweden (77%), Italy (65%), Great Britain (65%), USA (62%) and Germany (62%). Among the European states, the least negative assessments are in Hungary - \"only\" 32%.\nAs for other countries of the world, anti-Russian sentiments are even less in them. Thus, 29% of Algerians, 14% of Indonesians, 11% of Saudis, 7% of Egyptians and 4% of Moroccans are negatively disposed towards Russians.\nFed for decades\nIn many respects, the results of the study are predictable. So, in Poland, Russophobic sentiments have been observed over the past 30 years. And every year there are more and more manifestations. This even had to be recognized during a press conference held on Wednesday, June 1, by the Russian Ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev. According to the diplomat, in the history of Russian-Polish relations, such a low level has never been noted in which they are now.\nThey [relationships] are in the worst condition in the history of our relationship. Now there are practically no contacts. There is no dialogue. Political there has been no contact at ministerial level since 2014. And now there are no contacts at all, except for technical issues.\nAndreev noted.\nHigh-ranking Polish officials are also adding fuel to the fire with their anti-Russian statements.\nFor example, in an article for The Telegraph published on May 10, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the Russkiy Mir a \"monstrous ideology\" that must be completely destroyed in the near future. Otherwise, Morawiecki is sure, Russia will not stop at Kyiv.\nThe Russkiy Mir is a cancer that poses a deadly threat to all of Europe. Therefore, it is not enough to support Ukraine in its military struggle with Russia. We must completely eradicate this monstrous new ideology\n\u2014 wrote the Pole.\nThe Kremlin reacted to Morawiecki's call. On May 13, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov explained to reporters:\nThis is the quintessence of hatred for Russians, which, like a metastasis, struck the Polish leadership and, in many respects, Polish society. This is an outrageous statement, blatant and unacceptable.\nReasons for dislike\nSo why does Poland dislike Russia so much? There are many reasons for this, because the relationship between the two states has a long history, in which there were different periods. But let us dwell on some moments of the XNUMXst century.\nYou can start with the fact that since 2005 in Russia on November 4, National Unity Day has been celebrated. Despite the fact that the holiday is quite young, it has deep historical roots. On this day, the events of the beginning of the 1604th century are remembered. In 1612, an army of interventionists invaded Russia from the territory of Poland under the leadership of False Dmitry I, who pretended to be the surviving Tsarevich Dmitry. A year later, after the death of Boris Godunov, False Dmitry I seized power in the country. Four years later, a significant part of the Russian state was under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian detachments. The people's militia, led by the zemstvo headman Kuzma Minin and the governor, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, managed to defeat the Polish troops near Moscow only by November XNUMX. Naturally, the Poles do not like the fact that their crushing defeat is celebrated at the state level in a neighboring country.\nIn 2010, a plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed near Smolensk. A large delegation of Polish political and public figures followed the events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. The president and his wife and 94 other people were killed. The cause of the plane's death was pilot error. Crew members in the fog took the aircraft below the glide path, as a result of which the wing touched a tree. Later, the incident near Smolensk was called the largest in terms of the number of victims among air crashes in which top officials of the state died.\nRussia declared mourning along with Poland, Vladimir Putin, who was then prime minister, immediately flew to the crash site and met with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, and President Dmitry Medvedev attended the funeral of Lech Kaczynski in Krakow. For some time, the tragedy even brought the countries closer.\nBut everything changed when the Law and Justice party, led by the twin brother of the deceased president, Yaroslav Kaczynski, came to power in Poland. From that moment, the theory began to be voiced that the Russian FSB shot down flight 101 on the orders of Putin, who, in turn, conspired with Tusk to kill Lech Kaczynski.\nIn fact, there are many more reasons for not entirely friendly Russian-Polish relations. This is the desire of the Poles to dig a canal through the Baltic Spit, and the sad pages of history (the mass execution of captured Polish officers in the Katyn forest), and the unsatisfied imperial ambitions of Poland, and its militarization (the country has been a member of NATO since 1999, which cannot but worry Russia) with decommunization. From this we can conclude that the situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. And the results of the study by the Alliance of Democracies confirm this, albeit indirectly.\nAuthor: Alexander Sizarov\nPhotos used: https:\/\/www.pxfuel.com\/\nOffline Pavel N\nPavel N (Paul) 3 June 2022 10: 14\nIn the Katyn forest, our NKVDEshniki left these Poles to their fate, and the Nazis, in order not to mess with them, shot them all\nOffline dpu\ndpu (Andrei) 3 June 2022 17: 47\nSo ours did not want to mess with them. After all, no one has forgotten how they \"frolic\" with the captured Russians and whites and reds in the 1920s.\nOffline KLV\nKLV (Konstantin) 3 June 2022 15: 08\nGod be with them, with Ukraine and Poland. Here everything is more or less clear.\nWhy didn't the author say anything about Portugal? Flaw!\nOffline Smilodon terribilis nimis\nSmilodon terribilis nimis 3 June 2022 21: 13\nAnd what about Portugal?\nOffline zenion\nzenion (zinovy) 3 June 2022 21: 54\nThe trouble with the Poles is that they try on everyone, that's what they would do.\nmass execution of captured Polish officers in the Katyn forest\nBut who really arranged this execution? Unfortunately, the version invented by Goebels that the Russians did this is now very common.\nOffline Atol vedaslav\nAtol vedaslav (Atol Vedaslav) 4 June 2022 11: 40\nGorby in hell will be separately responsible for the fact that the crime of the Nazis hung on the Soviet people.\nIt's as obvious as Bucha can be. Well, as for the Poles, I think we will have a separate conversation with the Poles, after the swineherds.\nOffline Ulysses\nUlysses (Alexey) 4 June 2022 23: 15\nSo, in Poland, Russophobic sentiments have been observed over the past 30 years. And every year there are more and more manifestations.\nPerhaps someone is not in the know, but the Ukrainian experiment was tested in Poland even earlier.\nEven at the beginning of the XNUMXs, our region (Kaliningrad) had extensive ties with the Poles, especially with border voivodeships, including common business, border trade.\nHowever, with each new Polish government, gradually but purposefully, ties began to break down.\nMoreover, the initiative came exclusively from the Polish side, back from Warsaw, because the border Poles did not suffer from Russophobia at all.\nPS A little dumbfounded when you watch how in a couple of generations (with modern technology) you can reformat entire nations.\nQuote: Atol Vedaslav\nHe was paid well by his German curators for this.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Remembering the Dragon Lady\nMemoirs of the Men who Experienced the Legend of the U-2 Spy Plane\nGerald McIlmoyle, Linda Rios Bromley\nc 225 photos 1 map\nDimensions : 9 X 6 inches\nStock Status : Available\nBinding. : Hardback\nWith heightened tensions mounting in the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower's request for more accurate intelligence information on the Soviet Union was the spark that ignited the U-2 project. Modified USAF bombers began overflights of the Soviet Union in 1951, but existing lower flying aircraft in the US inventory were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and a number of cross-border flights were shot down. To meet the challenge and improve the survivability, the Lockheed Corporation received approval for their revolutionary design of a new recon aircraft on December 9, 1954. The company began work under a heavy veil of secrecy with only 81 people, including 25 engineers. A test pilot flew the first flight on August 1, 1955, after only eight months of production, a record-breaking result for rollout of a new project, especially one this complex and innovative. A dedicated and inventive group of contractors came together to support the project with partial pressure suits for pilots, high-resolution cameras, and an engine that could carry the aircraft to altitudes of 70,000 feet and higher. Nicknamed the Dragon Lady, the U-2 has flown over Cuba, Alaska, North and South poles, Vietnam, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. The U-2 is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. More recently it flew over the hurricane ravaged US Gulf Coast to collect imagery of the destruction over a 90,000 square mile area. First-person memoirs of many of the men who supported the early US spy plane project are included in this book. They include pilots, maintenance specialists, a flight surgeon, photographic specialists and some family members. The US also trained U-2 pilots from Taiwan and the UK and some of their photos and memoirs are in this collection. An example of the entries in the book include one pilot's experience on a flight over the North Pole when he discovered his instrumentation was inaccurate due to the magnetic fields and realized almost too late that he was flying directly toward the Soviet Union. Maintenance technicians recalled working long hours to prepare aircraft for historic flights over Cuba. Photographic specialists remembered the difficult conditions in Vietnam, and the care required to download the exposed film of North Vietnamese targets from the cameras in the aircraft. All of these experiences were achieved under Top Secret security conditions and on a \"need to know\" basis.\nBrig Gen (Ret.) Gerald E. McIlmoyle specializes in military history with a focus on aviation.\nLinda Rios Bromley retired from federal civil service after 33 years' employment in such locations as Laughlin AFB, Texas; Charleston Naval Base, South Carolina; USAF Headquarters, Europe; Wiesbaden, Germany; NASA; and the Internal Revenue Service, Houston, Texas. She co-authored with Brigadier General Gerald E. McIlmoyle (Ret) Remembering the Dragon Lady, Memoirs of the Men Who Experienced the Legend of the U-2 Spy Plane. As a result of that book, she was invited to write a similar book for another USAF organization... Together with Jim Bard and Frank Hayes, Linda co-authored We Served With Honor, Memories of the Men Who Served the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors, Laughlin Heritage Foundation Museum in Del Rio, Texas and is currently a member of Cypress Ink Blots Writers' Group in Cypress, Texas.\n\"Remembering the Dragon Lady is a superb book on the dramatic history of this marvelous airplane. A product of Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works, the U-2 was acclaimed by him as one of the very high points of his engineering career. As a pilot of the U-2 for over nine years, I can attest to its challenges and rewards. I entered the program when it first came into the USAF inventory and drew immense pleasure and pride from mastering this difficult but rewarding plane and accomplishing the mission for which it was created. Readers will find this book an exciting and educational volume.\"\n- Patrick J. Halloran, Maj. Gen. (Ret.), USAF\nFirst-person memoirs feature prominently in this book. These include pilots, engineers, photographic specialists and family members. Photos and memoirs from US-trained British U-2 pilots are also included in this absorbing examination of the legendary military aircraft.\"\n- FlyPast\n\"\u2026remarkable book\u2026For years, these tales we listed as \"Top Secret\" on a \"need to know\" basis\u2026.Well at last this book fills in many of the missing gaps from Cold War U-2 operations and reports on those elusive RAF pilots that flew this remarkable spy plane.\n- Airfix Model World\nRemembering the Dragon Lady Reviews\nDavid Francois\nAir Power and the Arab World 1909-1955\nDr David Nicolle, Air Vice Marshal Gabr Ali Gabr\nAnthony Bruce\n75 Years of the Israeli Air Force\nBill Norton\nRatels on the Lomba\nLeopold Scholtz\nEye of the Firestorm\nRoland de Vries\nKing of Fighters: Nikolay Polikarpov and his Aircraft Designs\nMikhail Maslov\nCongo Unravelled\nAndrew Hudson","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Jewish Media Bully Amazon Into Banning Academic Books Which Honestly Investigate the 'Holocaust'\nApril 2, 2019 April 2, 2019 by Edward Morgan\nBy Russia Insider,\nOn February 19, 2019, the leftist website Quartz featured a blog entry alerting its readers that Amazon was selling books too controversial for zealots of political correctness to tolerate. The article was adorned with a burning swastika to give the reader the impression that the primary target of this call for censorship were some truly evil people.\nAfter all, we all need to fret at all times that these evil Nazis are always waiting for the next opportunity to throw people alive into gas ovens. And who wouldn't agree that such creatures really need to be censored\u2026\nThe image Quartz used to terrify its readers \u2026\nIn case you haven't picked up on my sarcasm here, it may be time for you to relinquish your voting rights, because you are evidently unfit to think rationally and to recognize a bogeyman when he's driven through cyber-town.\nThe traditional enemies of free speech have been trying for years to bully Amazon into banning items that are perfectly legal (1), at least in marketplaces such as the United States, where the First Amendment to its Constitution prevents the government from passing laws limiting free speech. Amazon simply used to ignore them. And why shouldn't they? Who is going to boycott Amazon for selling a few copies of some fringe literature?\nIn 1998, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, gave a speech at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he explained the background of his company's success story, and simply stated in this regard:\n\"[\u2026] we're taking a different approach. We're trying to sell all books. We want to make every book available. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.\" (starting at 14:30)\nBut in early 2017, this all changed when Amazon turned its free marketplace of ideas into an increasingly controlled market where the standards of political correctness reign supreme. This is not trivial, because Amazon controls some 50% of all book sales in the U.S., and their market share for other consumer products is similar and growing. Many consumers rely on Amazon as a product search engine. If Amazon doesn't carry it, chances are that some 50% of all consumers will never even learn about a product's existence. If Amazon decides to flip the switch on a certain company, chances are that vendor will not survive this instantaneous loss of some 50% of their turnover. The power we, as consumers, bestow on Amazon to decide what we can and cannot buy is becoming truly frightening.\nIn March of 2017, Amazon flipped the switch on one small British publishing company: Castle Hill Publishers. Almost all their book titles were banned overnight, with no warning. What kind of books are these? Raving rants of racism and anti-Semitism? Not at all. Here are 9 of them, with blurbs describing what they are about. For a full list of the 68 banned books, see here.\nIn the eye of this censorship storm was actually a series of academic books dealing with the fate of the Jews in Europe prior to and during World War II. Ah, you may say, that's a fine way of avoiding the third-rail term \"Holocaust.\" As a matter of fact, while many of the books deal indeed with this topic, some of them don't, or do so only indirectly. But no matter what, they were all murdered by Amazon: \"No academic dissent permitted!\"\nCastle Hill Publishers has described in detail in a separate book titled The Day Amazon Murdered History how and why this massive book banning unfolded. For now, this book can even be bought from Amazon. But you don't have to buy it to read it, because it's available as a free download from the publishers' web shop. If you prefer watching it as a documentary instead, visit the publishers' YouTube Channel. But beware! The \"YouTube community\" has flagged this documentary on book banning \"as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences,\" so you have to first confirm that you really want to be in shock and awe when learning about this. This flagging prevents this video from ever showing up in any YouTube or Goggle searches, and people cannot embed it either. (Needless to say, the publishers' own web version comes without these restrictions.)\nSo, not only is censorship alive and well in the U.S. \u2013 on a corporate level \u2013 but the powers that be moreover keep this ugly fact as invisible as possible from the public's eyes by hiding it from the accidental observer. You need to already know that it's there in order to find it!\n(1) See for instance:\nJoshua Levitt, \"Amazon.com Selling Holocaust Denial, Nazi Hate Literature, Despite Being Sued in 2009,\" The Algemeiner, Oct. 13, 2013\nEnda Crowley, \"New Amazon shame: Holocaust denial,\" The Daily Dot, Oct. 14, 2013\nRyan Gorman, \"Amazon revealed to sell Holocaust denial, anti-Semitic and white supremacist books,\" Daily Mail, Oct. 15, 2013\nRobert Singer, \"Don't sell books that deny the Holocaust, WJC urges Amazon.com,\" World Jewish Congress, Oct. 17, 2013\nStephen Oryszczuk \"Petition to rid Amazon of anti-Semitic texts,\" Jewish News Online\/Times of Israel, Aug. 14, 2014\nRon Radosh, \"Why Is Amazon Still Selling Anti-Semitic and Nazi Propaganda?,\" PJ Media, May 12, 2015\nMichael Schaub, \"Sacramento rabbi wants Amazon to pull Holocaust-denial books,\" Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2015\nDavid Benkof, \"Anti-Semitism at Amazon is the real scandal,\" Jewish Journal, Nov. 22, 2016\nMary Papenfuss, \"Amazon Gets Heat Over Holocaust Denial Books,\" The Huffington Post, Feb. 13, 2017\nCategories ARCONTES, Awakening, Communication, Consciousness, Disclosure, Education, Full Disclosure, Illuminati, Jesuits, Mind Control, News, Newsletters, NWO, Teachings, Truth Post navigation\nPITY THE NATION: WAR SPENDING IS BANKRUPTING AMERICA\nResearchers Discover Natural Compound that Kills Cancer\n4 thoughts on \"Jewish Media Bully Amazon Into Banning Academic Books Which Honestly Investigate the 'Holocaust'\"\nQuentin Holt\nApril 3, 2019 at 8:13 AM | Reply\nLong ago I decided upon a course to reverse the censorship idea to turn it back on the inquisitors of the false religion that is called Political Correctness. I have censored its corrupted vocabulary from my speech and my writings. I refuse to repeat its false theology. I refuse to worship its false gods. I lost one job over refusing to refer to someone as \"Ms.\" and almost lost another over referring to a negro lady as a \"negro lady.\" Still, I have never had a hungry day. I recommend that we all just tell the mavens of Political Correctness to take their false religion back to from whence it is come and then stay down there with it.\nYou are very strange.\nBEN GREGO\nTHIS IS HORRIBLE. I cannot believe that this is happening in this great country of ours.\nShame on Bezos for cowtowing to these idiot!!!\nthe free exchange of ideas, etc., should NEVER be censored!!!\nHere's hoping Bezos wakes up to the terrible thing he's doing to our literary freedoms!!!!\nAnd on a side note, I have boycotted Amazon\u2026..due to the way his company treats its employees, not only here, but in foreign countries also!!\nBuh-bye, Amazon, no more of my hard-earned money will ever be in your pockets!!\nGet it right ,its not jewish media its Khazarian satanic baby eating pretend jews that run the big companies thru their constant \"oh we are victims\" cards and pretending they are real Jews !! , time for them all to be removed , C'mon white hats hurry the feck up","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"\u00abMaltage\u00bb and Aliyev's \u00abreforms\u00bb? SOCAR Trading, Maddox SA, Rovshan Tamrazov, Turab Musayev, Maryam Almaszade\nEuro Asia New's 28th October 2020 28th August 2021 Eng, Europa, Research\nMaltese journalism Caruana Galizia has declared with its anti-corruption investigations that, the Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat and his wife were involved in the Panama Papers scandal.\nGalicia accused Muscat's wife of keeping bribes in secret accounts in Panama and using secret offshore bank accounts to hide payments from the family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.\nhttps:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/russian-whistle-blower-efimova-linked-slain-maltese-jouralist-caruana-galizia-turns-self-in-athens-greece-azerbaijan-aliyev-family-\/29112519.html\nGalicia died at the age of 53, shortly after leaving her home in Bidnia on October 16, 2017,when a bomb exploded in her rented Peugeot108 car..\nMaltese police have launched an investigation into the incident.\nPolice sought international assistance, including the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).\nThe Maltese government announced that a reward of 1 million euros will be given to those who share information that will find the murderer of Daphne Caruana Galizia.\nOn 4 December 2017, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that 10 people had been detained in connection with the assassination.\nThree of the ten arrested were later charged with carrying out the bombing.\nThe three suspects were identified as George Degiorgio, his brother Alfred Degiorgio, and their friend Vince Muscat (who has a surname similar to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat).\nPrime Minister Joseph Muscat resigned as prime minister on January 13, 2020, due to the political crisis and increasing pressure caused by the investigation in the government.\nVince Muscat, one of the detained defendants and accused of planting a time bomb in the journalist's car on February 23, 2021, changed his statement at the last hearing and accepted all charges.\nVince Muscat was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Valletta Court.\nWhen we examine the process that resulted in the assassination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, we come across familiar names and institutions.\nSo let's take a closer look at the process.\nThe date is December 2014.\nMaltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Energy and Water Protection Minister Konrad Mizzi, Prime Ministry Human Resources Director Keith Schembri, Prime Minister Spokesperson Kurt Farrugia are on the left side of the table, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijani officials are on the right side of the table set up in Baku.\nThe issue began negotiating for an 18-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement to Malta's Electrogas power plant. agreement was signed.\nAccording to the supply security agreement, the Malta Electrogaz plant was committed to purchase liquefied natural gas for 18 years, well above market prices.\nThe Maltese government has long concealed the existence of this LNG agreement from the European Commission.\nEven in the parliament, he did not make any public statement about the agreement, which caused controversy.\nIt was at this time that Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia began publishing the results of her research.\nAccording to Galizia, the 17 Black and Macbridge companies included in the \u00abPanama Papers\u00bb were key in corruption, money laundering and bribery.\nhttp:\/\/www.assembly.coe.int\/LifeRay\/JUR\/Pdf\/TextesProvisoires\/2019\/20190529-CaruanaGaliziaAssassination-EN.pdf\nGalizia's news eventually resulted in her death as a result of a bomb placed on her car.\nThe bombing assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 sparked controversy in Malta.\nAs street protests increased in 2019, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had to resign on 13 January 2020.\nIn the investigation, following the statements of Vince Muscat, one of the three people who carried out the bombing, he caught and arrested the Maltese businessman Yorgan Fenech, who had casinos and hotels in Malta, while he was escaping with his private yacht.\nThe biggest feature of Yorgan Fenech is that he was the owner of 17 Black companies that were featured in the news of the Maltese journalist Galizia.\nIn his court statement, Fenech accused Chief of Staff Keith Schembri of being the mastermind behind the murder of journalist Galizia.\nThe second name Fenech gave is Melvin Theuma.\nTheuma agreed to testify for the murder of journalist Galizia after he was granted a presidential pardon in exchange for his testimony. He attempted suicide prior to his trial but was rescued and continued to testify in one of the most sensitive cases in Maltese history.\nTheuma claimed that Quilt Fenech had instructed him to contract the hitmen who allegedly planted the bomb.\nHe said the explosives were also supplied by brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, who became the most important criminal network after nearly a decade of mafia wars in Malta, who are suspected of having carried out numerous car bombings over the years.\nThe criminal network led by the Agius brothers is also important for Europe.\nBusinessperson Yorgan Fenech, who was arrested in connection with the death of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, gave another important name.\nRovshan Tamrazov.\nIt turned out that 2.3 million euros were transferred from Rovshan Tamrazov's Crowbar Holdings company, which is registered in the Virgin Islands, to the 17 Black firm of Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who admitted to giving 50 thousand euros to the assassins.\nYorgen Fenech's 17 Black Received \u20ac2.3 Million Payment From Azerbaijani-Linked Swiss Company\nhttps:\/\/timesofmalta.com\/articles\/view\/17-black-money-trail-leads-to-switzerland-with-links-to-azerbaijan.824977\nMaddox SA Rovshan Tamrazov\nhttps:\/\/offshoreleaks.icij.org\/nodes\/12212980\nMaddox Energy Trading Limited (Virgin Islands)\nRovshan Tamrazov's companies are countless.\nMaddox Asia PTE. LTD. (Singapore)\nMaddox SA (Switzerland)\nMaddox Energy DMCC (United Arab Emirates)\nCrowbar Holdings S.A. (Virgin Islands)\nDanais Trade Limited (Malta)\nPetro Singapore Trading PTE ltd. (Singapore)\nGlobal Assistant Company Limited (New Zealand)\nFly 2 School Limited (UK)\nRovshan Tamrazov is one of the key figures in the investigation into the death of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.\nBecause among the companies that journalist Daphne researched was Pilatus Bank in Malta. According to Daphne's allegations, the bank was used by Azerbaijani and Russian business people in money laundering transactions.\nhttps:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/thedaphneproject\/pilatus-a-private-bank-for-azerbaijans-ruling-elite\nPilatus Bank was shut down in 2018 amid international backlash against the journalist's death.\nIts owner, US citizen Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, was detained in the USA in 2018.\nAccording to another important piece of information, Maryam Almaszade, the current CEO of SOCAR Trading Switzerland, was previously the CEO of Rovshan Tamrazov's Swiss firm Maddox SA.\nRovshan Tamrazov is already selling grued oil of SOCAR company in World trade market\nRovshan Tamrazov buys and sells oil and oil products from SOCAR through his Singapore-registered company Petro Singapore PTE Ltd. Maryam Almaszade, the current CEO of SOCAR Trading, worked as a CEO at Crowbar Holdings until June 2015 and at Maddox SA until 2018.\nche-466.923.475Download\nSOCAR has sells $ 5 billion worth of crude oil to Rovsens firma Petro Singapore PTE ltd in 2011\nRovsen earned $ 71 million from the sale\nAccording to the journalists continuing the investigation, the Maltese police will issue an international search warrant for Rovshan Tamrazov and then SOCAR Trading manager Turab Musayev through Interpol in the coming months.\nBecause Turab Musayev worked as a director at Electrogas Malta, which was established with the partnership of SOCAR, Yorgen Fenech and Siemens.\nShort and important reference\nAdnan Ahmadzade ,one of the founder of SOCAR Trading GE and head of marketing department at SOCAR,Maryam Almaszade, current executive director of the company SOCAR trading GE, Turab Musayev, former head of SOCAR trading GE, owner of Cifidex, Elektrogaz,Khayal Ahmedzade LNG manager of SOCAR Trading Switzerland ,all of them are graduates of school No.160 in Baku Azerbaijan . Interesting nuances \u2026\nRufat Baratzada(usa) , who passed the usual in 17 black limited,*(Dafna case)\nAccording to one e-mail found in the Panama Papers, Schembri and Mizzi were set to receive payments of up to $2 million from 17 Black.\nInvestigative journalists should pay attention to several issues here\nIn a report by the Maltese anti-money laundering agency Fiau, two transfers described as \"suspect\" totaling 1.4 million dollars were paid to 17 Black Limited on November 17 and 26, 2015. The money came from Mayor Trans Limited, a Seychelles-registered company with accounts in Montenegro and Latvia, whose ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) at the time was a certain Rufat Baratzada wrote agency http:\/\/www.publiceye.ch.According to Reuters' discoveries, the Azerbaijani citizen looks very much like a straw man: he is a former subway employee who lives in a modest apartment in Baku.\nhttps:\/\/www.turan.az\/ext\/news\/2020\/6\/free\/finance%20news\/az\/125037.htm\nhttps:\/\/www.publiceye.ch\/de\/themen\/rohstoffhandel\/socar-feuer-und-flamme-fuer-so-vieles?fbclid=IwAR0ZBvOFkkWA7a7KgnM1MkrXYrON75DP-buaTHIdE5SIcRa3nD-zllephBU\nhttps:\/\/www.azadliq.org\/a\/30282599.html\nhttps:\/\/www.azadliq.org\/a\/reuters-baratzade\/29596758.html\nhttp:\/\/www.dia.az\/8\/73757-amerikani-satin-alan-rufet-baratzade-kimdir.html\nRead about Baratzade and see what Reuters has published on the subject.That's not all, Voice Amerika and NewsBook writes about this in Azerbaijani\nIn 2014, the General Directorate for Combating Corruption under the Prosecutor General's Office filed a criminal case against Bayali Mursalov, head of the Azerbaijani office of Trasta Komercbanka JSC, registered in Latvia under Articles 178.3.2 (fraud) and 308.1 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code. opened.\nIt turned out that Mursalov had embezzled 600 thousand euros from the account of a Baku resident, transferring them to the bank accounts of companies operating abroad to buy equipment for the greenhouse.\nBayali Mursalov, later arrested, was released from criminal liability at the secret request of SOCAR by the order of Kamran Aliyev, head of the Main Anti-Corruption Department under the Prosecutor General's Office.\nMeanwhile, it has been recently revealed that Enemalta forked out \u20ac10.3 million to purchase a Montenegrin wind farm from a company linked to Yorgen Fenech.\nA leaked report by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) found that 17 Black had received \u20ac161,000 from the local agent for the tanker supplying gas to the LNG power station, and two separate payments amounting to \u20ac1.4 million from Rufat Baratzada, a security guard at a construction site in Baku with links to the ruling elite.\nLatvian bank had identified payments to 17 Black as \"suspicious\"\nAccording to the information obtained, the Maltese police requested the bank account movements of SOCAR Trading from Switzerland regarding the murder of journalist Galizia.\nAs part of another investigation carried out in Latvia, the Swiss court decided that all account activity of SOCAR Trading be shared with the Latvian police.\nThe bombing of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is actually an example of how such organizations ,prosecuter office and etc\u2026darken their eyes.\nU\u011fur Mumcu in 1993, Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.\nThey lost their lives searching for the truth.\nTheir job was journalism.\nCriminal organizations, money laundering, international bribery traffic, mafia, drug and arms smuggling are actually done with the permission of those who consider themselves the \u00abstate\u00bb.\nPrevious \u0420\u0443\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u041c\u0413\u0423 \u0438\u0441\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0438\u043b\u043e \u0438\u0437 \u0432\u0443\u0437\u0430 \u0430\u0437\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0430\u0439\u0434\u0436\u0430\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0430\u0444\u0435\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430 \u042d\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0430\u043d\u0430 \u0410\u0431\u0434\u0443\u043b\u043b\u0430\u0435\u0432\u0430\nNext \u0412\u044b\u0441\u043e\u043a\u043e\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0432\u043b\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0430\u0440\u043c\u044f\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0447\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438 \u0431\u0435\u0436\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0438\u0437 \u041a\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0431\u0430\u0445\u0430","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Farm to Table, Live Oregon February 11, 2022 <February 24, 2022\nTrout Fishing in Oregon\nLyf Gildersleeve, president of Flying Fish Company in Portland, takes his son, Miles, and the family to Oregon lakes for old-fashioned angling.\nOne man's journey from child angler to fishmonger businessman and sustainable seafood advocate\nwritten by Julie Lee\nTrout is Oregon's most popular fish to catch and eat, with several trout species, both indigenous and adopted decades ago, to pursue. The most common is rainbow trout, which is widely stocked and distributed throughout the state. Redband trout are native to Central Oregon and historically found throughout waters connected to the Deschutes River. Paulina Lake, also in Central Oregon, boasts the state record trophy brown trout, weighing in at more than 28 pounds.\nTrout is generally found in cool streams and lakes, making Oregon a hot spot for this culinary delicacy. Historically, trout was a favorite of Europeans who noted catching it on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in 1792, but rainbow trout is native only to North America's lakes and rivers and a favorite of anglers.\nLyf Gildersleeve, president of Flying Fish Company in Portland, is a trout aficionado.\nFishing is a family affair for Gildersleeve\u2014his career in the fishing industry started the year before he was born. The year was 1979, and his parents, Sandy and Craig Gildersleeve, launched the first Flying Fish Company in Sandpoint, Idaho. From the time Gildersleeve's tiny hands could hold a fishing pole, there was one in them. He fished throughout his entire young life, eventually studying aquaculture at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University.\nWhat started as born destiny morphed into a family industry. Flying Fish Company expanded across three states and launched dining options, including a food cart in 2010, a fish shack in 2011, a food stand in 2016, finally docking in February 2020 on East Burnside Street in Portland. At the same time, their fisheries are thriving in Portland as well as in Durango, Colorado and Sandpoint, Idaho.\nGildersleeve's children, 8-year-old son Miles and 11-year-old daughter Juniper, enjoy family backpacking trips where the sky is blue and the trout are jumping. His son recently caught his first salmon in Alaska, though favorite family destinations are around Mount Hood, at Timothy Lake or Trillium Lake, where lakes are well stocked in spring, for good, old-fashioned angling. Trout fishing isn't so easy, as Miles discovered on a recent excursion, when, after catching a trout it flew out of his hands.\nGildersleeve doesn't discriminate when it comes to types of fish or shellfish\u2014he buys, sells, cooks and eats all kinds. He is extremely discerning, however, about the sustainability of the fish he buys and sells for his market and restaurant, meaning that it was harvested in a way that doesn't threaten the ocean's food supply, consumers' health or the environment. New shipments of fresh fish, oysters and shellfish are expedited from sustainable suppliers to Flying Fish Company weekly.\n\"One of the most important things, especially as our wild fisheries continue to be challenged, is that customers start paying more attention to where their product is from, and ask questions: Is it local? Is it domestic? Is it healthy to eat?\" said Gildersleeve.\nHe said that 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, even though the country has numerous renowned fisheries. Foreign markets quickly snatch up American seafood, because they're willing to pay more, Gildersleeve said. Then the U.S., in turn, imports fish that's so low in quality that isn't healthy. \"There's a disconnect,\" he said.\nHe recommends an easy way for consumers to get answers to three critical questions before consuming fish. First, where is the fish coming from and is it sustainable? Second, is the species environmentally safe to eat? Third, if choosing a farm raised product, how was it raised? Was it enhanced in any way? Was color added? These are all easily answered with a quick search on Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, www.seafood-watch.org, a global leader in the sustainable seafood movement, which quickly shows whether a certain type of seafood is a good choice or should be avoided.\nA Gildersleeve family favorite is trout for these reasons and more. \"Trout is awesome,\" he proclaimed. \"It's sustainably raised and has year-round availability, making it a stable option.\"\nWe need only look to Oregon's cold waters, from the coast to lakes, rivers and at specialized, local markets for some of the finest seafood on the planet\u2014trout.\nWhere are the best places to catch trout, according to Gildersleeve? \"Deschutes is the best place for trout, with its resident population,\" he said. \"What makes a good resident-trout river is one where the insects thrive, which is what trout eats.\" The coast is another great option for trout fishing as well as a farm on Sauvie Island, the Island Springs Hatchery, he said.\nHis business is doing well during the pandemic, with his market sales doubling in the past year. \"The biggest challenge in the seafood industry is inventory and pricing\u2014prices have skyrocketed,\" he says. Another challenge is that the restaurant industry has been in upheaval, and fish can go bad in a couple of days, making it a sensitive item to list on a menu. Consumer education is an issue, too. \"Seafood can be intimidating to cook and is susceptible to overcooking,\" Gildersleeve said.\nMany recipes for delicious dishes, however, are easy to try at home. Gildersleeve shared a simple one for Cedar Planked Trout with local Jacobsen Salt Co. Seafood Seasoning and plenty of fresh, aromatic herbs such as parsley, thyme, dill and cilantro. (See pg. 31)\nA bounty of Oregon Dungeness crab is another reason to put this crustacean on your shopping list. Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission reported that the Dungeness harvesting season opened on December 1\u2014for the first time since 2014. January and February are perfect times to celebrate the confluence of two Oregon seafood greats: an Oregon Dungeness Crab Stuffed Trout recipe, courtesy of Chef Leif Benson, culinary ambassador to the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. (See pg. 31)\nChef Matt Hobbs with NORR Kitchen, a video and photo production studio and test kitchen turned eatery with fantastic takeout options in Portland, elevates the versatility of trout with his take on it: a recipe for Ocean Trout with Pole Beans, Zucchini, Pistachio Vinaigrette and Sweet and Sour Pomegranate. (See pg. 30)\nOregon Elk Recipes\nDIY: Backyard Treehouse\n0 replies on \"Trout Fishing in Oregon\"\nBirch Community Services","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"2019 Ram 1500 Review & Compare | Sandy UT\nThe All-New Ram 1500 Takes Ruggedness & Refinement To All-New Heights\nBold, aggressive, and eye-catching. Both brawn and brains. Capable, yet surprisingly comfortable too.\nThe popular Ram brand is well-known and very well-loved for manufacturing truly awesome pickup trucks, year after year. However, for the 15th generation (yes, fifteen) of the wildly successful Ram 1500 model, things have been taken to entirely new heights.\nAs an all-new pickup model, the 2019 Ram 1500 is more unrelenting and more sophisticated than ever before!\nSee All Ram 1500 For Sale\nNew & Improved Engineering, Materials, Colors & Trims\nWhile the latest Ram 1500 is indeed an all-new model, this truck still pays proper homage to its roots that originally made it so popular in the first place all of those years ago. You know what they say, \"if it ain't broke, don't fix it\", and this notion holds true for the largely unchanged appearance of the striking Ram 1500.\nBut just because the appearance seems quite similar over the years, this certainly does not mean that the design and the materials used has stayed the same too. Thanks to utilizing more high-strength steel when creating the frame, the cab, and the box, the 2019 Ram 1500 is now stronger than ever, which truly says a lot. Simultaneously, it's lighter than before as well, thanks to newly using lightweight aluminum in the hood and also in the tailgate. The latest-generation of the Ram 1500 actually weighs less when compared to its preceding 2018 model. And it may be subtle, but the new Ram 1500 now looks sleeker, smoother and more agile than most mainstream competitors, without losing its muscular appeal of course.\nNew exterior color-options are the following: Bright White, Diamond Black, Maximum Steel, Billet Silver, Granite Crystal, Rugged Brown, Black Forest Green, Blue Streak, Delmonico Red, Patriot Blue, Flame Red and Ivory.\n6 trim levels are available for the new Ram 1500. Our customers can choose from the Tradesman, Big Horn, Rebel, Laramie, Laramie Longhorn and the top-of-the-line Limited trims.\nRugged Capabilities, With a New Twist\nLet's now dive into what is under the hood of the new Ram 1500 that helps make this pickup so genuinely special. The highly praised and proven 3.6-liter Pentastar\u00ae V6 engine from past years is the standard for this all-new model. However, this is an all-new and dramatically upgraded engine for the latest generation, and works with a revolutionary new system that Ram calls \"eTorque\"! As a mild-hybrid system that uses electricity to supplement fuel consumption, fuel efficiency as well as performance are both improved. Ram combined eTorque with their Pentastar\u00ae V6, resulting in the best-in-class standard V6 horsepower with over 300 ponies ready to be unleashed when you hit the gas pedal.\nThe big, bad, loud and ferocious 5.7-liter HEMI\u00ae V8 engine surely is not leaving the engine-lineup of the Ram 1500 anytime soon. With 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of blistering torque, this legendary engine is perfect for pickup-drivers looking for power in spades. When you throw the cutting-edge eTorque system into the mix with the renowned HEMI\u00ae V8, the new Ram 1500 boasts the best-in-class V8 towing capacity with a maximum of a whopping 12,750 pounds!\nWhichever powertrain you end up choosing, you'll thoroughly appreciate the class-exclusive TorqueFlite\u00ae eight-speed automatic transmission, which consistently delivers a smooth ride for ultimate driving comfort wherever the road may take you.\nRefined Luxuries Inside a Tough Pickup Truck\nAs we mentioned, the new Ram 1500 is far stronger and much more capable than it has ever been in all of its 15 generations of existence. While this is impressive, there are many other notable improvements for shoppers to be aware of that have nothing to do with performance or power.\nWhether you are towing a heavy-duty object around Sandy, Salt Lake and Draper on the weekend, or you are commuting into the office during the work week, surely you'd like to be comfortable and connected when you hit the open road. Well, the new Ram 1500 effortlessly delivers in this regard also, as the interior cabin is incredibly refined and generously-equipped with clever high-tech features to enjoy.\nEven at the base trim level, this model is well-appointed with premium amenities to enhance every mile that you spend behind the wheel. Don't be fooled thinking that a truck cannot be downright luxurious, because those that are drawn to the upper-level trims will be amazed by all of the upscale characteristics belonging to this pickup model.\nBelow you can check out just some of the many new premium options for the Ram 1500.\nFourth-generation Uconnect\u00ae infotainment system with intuitive controls to seamlessly connect to your smartphone\nNew 12-inch touchscreen display that is very responsive and the largest one in its entire class\n19-speaker Harman Kardon Premium Audio System with 900 watts\nDual-pane panoramic sunroof\nLuxurious leather seats and surfaces\nPlus so much more to learn here in our showroom\nDiscover If the All-New Ram 1500 is Right For You Here in Sandy, UT.\nAre you ready to stop reading about the 2019 Ram 1500 and start driving it for yourself? It's available right here at Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, and you're more than welcome to stop by our lot for your very own test drive at your convenience.\nStand out from the mainstream crowd of those Chevy Silverado 1500 and Ford F-150 models that you can spot all over town, and treat yourself to the all-new Ram 1500 in Sandy instead.\nCompare Ram 1500 vs Competition:\nCompare Ram 1500 Classic vs Competition:","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Awareness during general anaesthesia 'uncommon'\nThe rate of accidental patient awareness during general anaesthesia is low, according to the initial results of a recent study.\nMore than 80 per cent of senior anaesthetists in NHS hospitals took part in the Royal College of Anaesthetists' and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland's survey.\nOn average, anaesthetists said they were aware of one episode of patient awareness for every 15,000 general anaesthetics performed in 2011.\nWith approximately three million such anaesthetics being administered each year, this suggests that the overall rate of accidental awareness while under the knife is low.\nLead author Professor Jaideep Pandit, who works as a consultant anaesthetist in Oxford, said: 'Although we know that some patients do suffer distress after these episodes, our survey has found that the vast majority of episodes are brief and do not cause pain or distress.'\nProfessor Tim Cook, who co-authored the studies in the journals Anaesthesia and the British Journal of Anaesthesia, added that the number of people affected by awareness is 'very small'.\nThe medication generation\nBone densitometry scans (general)\nBranded and generic medicines\nMaternal cells 'generate insulin'\nBreast awareness\nNot enough teachers for next generation of midwives","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"SPEAKERS AT THE IT LEADERSHIP & DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES CONFERENCE\nJoe Cannella, Chief Information Officer, Tempel\nJoe Cannella has spent his entire career in Information Systems working with medium-sized manufacturers across many industries. He is an experienced IS executive with extensive experience leading people, setting vision, managing large projects, and administering multi-million dollar budgets. For the last nine years, Joe has led the IS Team at Tempel Steel Company. Tempel develops advanced, sustainable, energy-efficient, precision laminations and assemblies on a global scale by partnering with our customers and suppliers and extending our unique technical capabilities to solve their toughest challenges because we care about powering the world in a better way. Prior to Tempel, Joe spent 20 years in a consulting firm that specialized in systems and operations improvement for mid-sized manufacturers. He started as a systems designer, became a partner, and eventually led the firms as president. He has taught Materials Management, Supply Chain Management, and Information Technology classes at the college level and for many companies; published articles on Systems Planning and Implementation, ERP Optimization, and Advanced Systems Technologies for Manufacturers; and has been a frequent speaker for American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Illinois Manufacturer Association (IMA), and as an independent expert for many software vendors.\nDouglas Davis, Head of Information Systems, Monical Pizza Corp.\nI have worked in the computer and information systems arena since the early eighties spending most of my time as a programmer\/consultant. For over 20 years, I've headed up the Information Technology Department of Monical Pizza Corporation located in Bradley, Illinois. Monical's Pizza is a medium-size restaurant chain boasting 65+ locations throughout Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin \u2013 half of which are corporately managed and half franchise operated. While my title is Information Systems Coordinator, my responsibilities are many and varied. As well as overseeing the support of all things computer throughout our corporate chain, I also keep track of communication systems both wired and cellular.\nMy favorite part of working here is when we roll out something new and it works so well that everyone is excited about it. This is true of our new Point-of-Sale System by FoodTec Solutions, Inc. of Boston, MA. This new system has allowed us to add online ordering, integrated security, inventory management, labor scheduling and many other features that help ease the process of managing a restaurant. Additionally, we have rolled out a unified gift card system that includes eGift cards as well as plastic gift cards. We have implemented this throughout both our corporate and franchise locations with great success. Additionally, we are working on the latest release of the Monical's Pizza App that operates on the iOS and Android platforms. It provides the fastest means to order the best pizza in the Midwest.\nWhen not at the office, you will find me involved with my family and my church. I have five children, three of whom are attending college in three different states. On any given weekend, you will find me travelling to take an active part in their lives. I am also the proud grandfather of two \u2013 with a third on the way in 2018. (Pictures shared upon request, of course)\nLaura Dribin, President\/CEO, Peritius Consulting, Inc.\nPeritius was founded in 1989 by Laura Dribin, a refugee from a big five consulting firm. She watched projects succeed, but saw too many fail or limp across the finish line. She believed there was a simpler way.\nSo, Laura began a journey to find wise people who understood the value of solid and repeatable approaches, but didn't get lost in those approaches when a creative solution revealed itself. She believed she could mix experience with drive and make these complex initiatives easier to complete. She knew that the hardest part of any job was to hire individuals with strong soft skills \/ high EQ that knew how to engage people and get them to drive to the desired outcome. . The end result is her current company, Peritius Consulting.\nToday, Laura spends her time actively growing her business, biking, getting out of town as much as she can for fun and gilding her empty nest!\nBob Dutile, Chief Strategy Officer, UST Global\nRobert (Bob) Dutile, Chief Strategy Officer, works with his fellow executives to constantly evolve their high growth company. He also consults with corporate clients to\n1) increase the business value contributed or enabled by Information Technology,\n2) to digitally transform their business, through increased value to end customers and re-engineered processes, and\n3) increase enterprise agility to succeed in the long term.\nHe is an experienced executive who concentrates his efforts on the business value created through information technology. Prior to becoming the Chief Strategy Officer, Bob served in multiple roles in his 12 years with UST, including head of the Healthcare business, General Manager of the National Account Business Unit, Chief Information Officer and as the General Manager of Strategy and Services.\nBefore joining UST Global, Bob served as Executive Vice President of Key Technology Services, and KeyBank; as a Partner in the firm of Grant Thornton LLP; and as the first chief information officer of Reebok International Ltd. He has served on the board of directors for the Financial Services Technology Consortium, and on the board of governors for the Sustainable Computing Consortium at Carnegie Mellon. He has also served as the technical liaison to a venture capital fund, and as an advisor for the product development boards of two software firms.\nBob is certified by American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) in Information Resource Management (CIRM). He is a member of the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals, and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). He is a life member of the American Alpine Club and of the Two\/Ten Foundation.\nPeter J. Garino, Assistant Director of Regional IT, Mayer Brown, LLP\nPeter helps business executives achieve their goals by aligning IT Strategy with business goals to drive increased profitability, productivity and corporate efficiency. He has successfully led business transformation projects in the legal, financial services and healthcare industries among others. A recognized thought leader in IT Strategy, information governance and project management, he has been a featured presenter at CAMP conferences, KM Expo, and PMI Midwest Chapter.\nZach Gorman, Chief Information Officer, Bradley University\nZach Gorman recently joined Bradley University in Peoria IL as their Chief Information Officer. With more than 15 years of progressive leadership talent, he has a proven track record that includes leading organizational change, IT governance and policy within higher education, strategic planning, and IT construction planning and design. He has lead teams through unprecedented change throughout his career, having spent significant time with Augusta University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) in Augusta, GA as their Associate CIO as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. He graduated with a BS in Management Information Systems from Iowa State University and a Master of Organizational Leadership from St. Ambrose University. Currently, he's pursuing his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership at Georgia Southern University.\nMichael Kennaugh, VP & Chief Information Officer, Reinhart Foodservice, LLC\nMichael Kennaugh is Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Reinhart Foodservice LLC, joining the company in September 2015. Reinhart Foodservice is one of the top 5 largest foodservice distributor in the US, serving independent restaurants, delis, sporting venues, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, the military and chain accounts. As CIO, Michael has had led several business critical initiatives including an ERP selection and implementation, modernization of the company's transportation technology and driving a revolutionary new ecommerce and mobile platform.\nPrior to joining Reinhart, Michael has had a diverse 30 year career in the IT field across several industry sectors including travel and transportation, finance, investment banking, manufacturing, consumer products, and logistics working for Fortune 100 corporations.\nPeter Logothetis, Vice President and Divisional Chief Information Officer Claims, Allstate Insurance Co.\nPeter is the Senior Vice President and Group CIO at Allstate responsible for leading several divisional CIOs in three technology areas: Business Insurance, Life Insurance, and Claims. Prior to this position, he was Vice President and Divisional CIO for the Claims Technology Department, with the responsibility to attract and maintain top IT talent that would allow his department to design, develop, and deliver technology solutions that added value to Allstate, its agents and its customers. Prior to Allstate, Peter ran large organizations for major companies in the financial industry. He has also taught for more than twenty years at other area institutions.\nPeter holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA from DePaul University. Peter and his wife have three married children and one grandchild.\nJim P. MacLennan, SVP & Chief Information Officer, IDEX Corporation\nJames P. MacLennan (Jim) is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at IDEX Corporation, an applied solutions business that sells highly engineered products to customers in a variety of markets worldwide. MacLennan has responsibility for Corporate IT service offerings for IDEX' portfolio of business units, and drives innovative thinking through strategic initiatives that leverage Information and Technology as growth drivers for the industrial manufacturing space.\nPhil Smith, Regional Director, Vantiq\nPhil Smith joined VANTIQ as Regional Director in 2017. Prior to that he held Senior level positions at companies such as Rockwell Automation, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, CSC, and Dassault Systemes.\nPhil has more than 20 years of experience in IT and sales holding various technical and sales responsibilities. He started his career in software development focusing on elections and county government developing the first Court system for the State of Illinois.\nHis Trusted Advisor and connector style builds strong relationships with C-level executives and decision makers, delivering results in enterprise software and building high performing technical and sales organizations.\nPhil has been awarded various community accolades and won numerous sales awards. He has published whitepapers including presenting to US Congress and broadcast on CNN regarding a Gang Intervention and Dropout Early Warning System utilizing Analytics \u2013 (i.e. DEWS).\nPhil is from the Chicago area and has earned two (2) degrees in Computer Science including studies at TCU's Keller School of Business. He is active in the Shriner's Hospitals, Beverly Farm for disabled adults, Alzheimer's Association, enjoys photography, hockey, and playing baseball with various MLB fantasy camps.\nMike Solverud, V.P. Information Technology, Superior Bulk Logistics, Inc.\nFor the past three plus years, Mike Solverud has been the Vice President of Information Technology at Superior Bulk Logistics Inc., in Oak Brook, IL. He is in charge of operations for information technology as well as security and periodically consults for other businesses. Mike believes that collaborating with other people and companies is what we all should strive to do when we carry a unique skill set and knowledge base for the advancement of all. During his tenure at SBL, Mike has had the distinct honor of rebuilding the company within the technology stack from the ground up. Completing such projects as; establishing a new company fiber network, launching a new technology compute stack that involved the use of virtualization, implementing VoIP phone telephony with the use of SIP trunks, populating a new Microsoft network with AD and 47 new complementary network servers. Migration of email from legacy Lotus Notes to Office 365 and Outlook 2016 and implementing SharePoint as the company intranet. Moreover, implementing Disaster Recovery within the footprint of the company that lays the foundation of continuing towards a complete Business Continuity Plan allowing the creation of new process automation for imaging and billing, raising security risk awareness and security protocols.\nMike graduated from Herzing University of Madison Wisconsin, in the summer of 2003 with his Associate of Science in Computer Networking Security Technology. Since then he has worked as Network Administrator, IS Manager, to Director of Technology for manufacturing, credit unions, and transportation companies. His passion in his field and helping others to understand information technology is what allows him to enjoy his work. \"I believe that we are put in a leadership role for a reason. We need to mentor, guide and educate our team members to become more than we have to offer. Only then, can we say the future will be brighter than it is today.\" Mike has also been a member of the Herzing Advisory Board, giving his input on the content and studies offered to the students that attend Herzing University, and the honor of being the first President of the Alumni Association for the Madison campus.\nMike was born and raised in central Illinois, and moved to Wisconsin as a teenager. Mike is married and lives with his wife in Indiana, and has two daughters. One who has graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2016 with a double major in education, while the other is currently attending Purdue University majoring in Veterinary Medicine.\nMarty Sprinzen, CEO, Vantiq\nMarty Sprinzen is a visionary leader and successful software entrepreneur. The organizations he created and led have introduced some of the most innovative software solutions in the areas of systems management, relational databases, internet application development and currently, Smart Systems. Sprinzen founded and became CEO of Vantiq Corporation. Prior to Vantiq, he was CEO and co-founder of Forte Software, which was acquired for over $1B. He also served as VP of International Operations and VP of Engineering at Ingres and VP of Development at Candle Corporation. He holds a BSEE from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.\nJohn Squeo, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, Thorek Memorial Hospital\nJohn Squeo is an industry-leading expert on strategies for payer and provider convergence and health system growth strategies using IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, hospital-at-home, and clinical data integration across the continuum of care.\nAs nurses and physicians retire and leave the workforce, John has focused on ways to use Smart Technology to supplement healthcare delivery and payment models using artificial intelligence, sensors, and connected technologies for patients and providers, which reduce labor-intensive tasks in care delivery and payment processing.\nHe holds an MBA from the University of Kentucky with a focus on decision support and has completed work on artificial intelligence for a PhD.\nHe is the Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer for Thorek Memorial Hospital in Chicago where he leads the Office of Innovation and is responsible for payer contract incentive strategies, business intelligence, risk analytics for the emerging preventative services and chronic care programs.\nJohn was previously with Vanguard Health Systems, a 29-hospital system, including Weiss, MacNeal, West Suburban and Westlake Hospitals in Chicago. He worked extensively with Vanguard's population health initiatives including the Michigan Pioneer Accountable Care Organization and the Chicago Health System Accountable Care Organization.\nJohn service on the board of Access to Care of Cook County and is an active member of charitable organizations with the common mission of providing healthcare to all patients, including those most in need of care.\nChad Stallings, VP & CIO, Federal Signal\nChad Stallings joined Federal Signal Corporation as VP and CIO in 2017. Prior to that he held executive positions at other multi-billion dollar manufacturers, ITW and Emerson.\nChad has more than 20 years of experience in IT holding various technical and management responsibilities. He has extensive experience implementing ERP and other systems, enabling data driven decisions, leading the IT integration of acquisitions, managing global IT sourcing, developing IT strategies, and building high performing IT organizations. He has traveled extensively overseeing projects and IT teams in N. America, S. America, Europe, and Asia.\nIn recent years, he has worked to adapt 80\/20 management principles to running an effective IT organization. Over the years, through trial, error and success, he has become expert at building and leading an IT organization that focuses on driving growth and profitability by applying 80\/20 principles to managing people and work with prioritization, discipline, and execution.\nChad earned a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. In addition to English, he is fluent in Spanish and French.\nChris White, VP Product and Marketing Strategy, CAST Software\nChris White is a recognized expert in Enterprise Architecture, Application Portfolio Management and IT Modernization. He has almost 20 years experience overseeing, implementing and advising clients on Enterprise Architecture projects and strategy. As VP of Product Strategy & Marketing for CAST, he is responsible for helping CIO's around the globe understand the game changing significance of Software Intelligence. CAST is empowering data-driven IT Organizations to thrive in today's software driven world by providing visibility into the otherwise invisible world of software health, complexity, dependency & risk. With software intelligence, CIO's make better investment decisions, avoid catastrophic failures, and become business leaders in the digital age.\nMichael Wood, Vice President, Information Technology, Wilton Brands, LLC\nMike Wood is Vice President Information Technology at Wilton Brands LLC, the worlds leading supplier in food crafting goods. Mike is the leader of the team defining Wilton's business technology framework focusing on delivery of technology solutions that support business goals while maintaining a high level of operational resiliency. Mike brings more than 30 years of technology expertise spanning the industrial manufacturing, consumer products, homebuilding and liquid food packaging industries.\nMike joined Wilton in 2013 from Whirlpool Corporation where he led the Global End User Services and Global Telecommunications functions. Prior to Whirlpool, Mike held a number of leadership positions with Tetra Pak, Honeywell and The Ryland Group. Mike began his career with Honeywell Information Systems in 1983.\nMike holds an BBA in Information Systems from Georgia State University.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Lawsuit Questions How Port Arthur Police Respond to Mentally Ill Patients\nManuel Delacruz's family alleges that hospital guards and police cornered a paranoid man with serious mental illness and then smothered him to death.\nThe Delacruz family realized Manuel was dangerously sick somewhere on the highway as they passed San Antonio. It was the summer of 2016 and they were coming back from a weeklong vacation in northern Mexico, where Manuel, 26, hadn't slept much, refused to eat and thought someone was trying to poison him. His parents eventually doused him with a garden hose after he refused to shower or remove any of his clothes. On the 8-hour drive home, Manuel, who had seven years earlier been diagnosed with schizophrenia, grew increasingly paranoid as the sun went down.\n\"He kept flicking the lights on, saying, 'Somebody's in here, somebody's in the truck, somebody's following us,'\" recalled his oldest sister Ruth. \"We were going, like, 75 miles an hour when he just opened the car door. We don't know if he was really thinking of jumping, but he just opened it.\" The family pulled over and forced Manuel to sit in the middle seat so he couldn't reach the door handles for the rest of the drive back to Port Arthur.\nWhen they got home, Ruth says Manuel's doctor suggested the family try to commit him to the Medical Center of Southeast Texas for emergency treatment. Because Manuel wouldn't stay in the hospital, they tried to gain power of attorney so they could involuntarily commit him, but the process couldn't be completed on such short notice. Eventually they called the Port Arthur Police Department. State law allows for police to file for emergency detention orders on people like Manuel who pose a potential danger to themselves.\nBut Manuel was terrified of police. Around the time he was diagnosed with mental illness, Ruth says that he spent a night in jail for public intoxication, an experience that jarred him so much that sirens sometimes sent him into hiding. When officers arrived at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas on August 1, 2016, Manuel walked off the hospital grounds. Ruth says police brought him back in handcuffs but eventually removed them when they realized he wasn't combative, just scared. More than three hours passed after police finished the paperwork to commit him, and Manuel still wasn't being treated, according to a lawsuit the Delacruz family filed against the hospital and city of Port Arthur last week. Ruth remembers that her brother at one point begged her to take him home, afraid the police would kill him.\nSeveral family members who were at the hospital that day claim officers eventually ordered them to clear Manuel's room when he refused to remove his underwear before putting on a medical gown. They say a mix of police and hospital staff then entered and shut the door behind them, which was followed by a loud banging inside. They claim that when the door opened, one officer had Manuel in a chokehold and then a scrum of guards, police and other hospital staff took him to the floor. According to their wrongful death lawsuit, at least six officers and guards piled on top of Manuel at one point. His autopsy report, which indicates he was shocked by a Taser, lists his cause and manner of death as \"undetermined.\"\nFor full story visit: https:\/\/www.texasobserver.org\/lawsuit-questions-port-arthur-police-mentally-ill-patients-death\/\nWATCH: Officer Brags on Video About Slamming Suspect and Laughs at Bleeding Man\nAttorney Wants Beating of Shackled Woman Investigated as Hate Crime\nWATCH: California Man Calls Police After Being Robbed \u2013 And Cop Ends Up Punching Him in The Face","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ralph Lauren: Revised and Expanded Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)\nBy Ralph Lauren, Audrey Hepburn (Foreword by)\nSpecial Order - Arrival Times Vary\nThe landmark volume celebrating the life and work of Ralph Lauren\u2014the vision of the brand as told and presented by Lauren himself\u2014in a smaller, more portable edition, with additional photographs updated to the present.\nIn this visually stunning book, Lauren speaks candidly about himself and his art. In part one, we get to know the designer through never-before-seen pictures of him in private life and with his family, living the lives he designs for. In the second part, Lauren displays and writes about his most iconic and most beloved work, handpicked from hundreds of collections and his signature cinematic advertising campaigns. Lauren's aesthetic influence and unique design sensibility are captured here by fashion's finest photographers, including Bruce Weber, Deborah Turbeville, and Patrick Demarchelier.\nNow expanded with new photography, this unique fashion monograph is a personal expression of the artist and a rare peek into the mind of one of America's most accomplished fashion designers.\nRalph Lauren began his career in 1967, designing neckties under the label Polo. Today, his collections include menswear, womenswear, accessories, fragrance, and home. He has received numerous awards for his work in fashion, philanthropy, and humanitarian causes and is the only designer to receive the CFDA's four highest honors: Womenswear Designer of the Year, Menswear Designer of the Year, Retailer of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement.\n\"Ralph Lauren is a visual diary, a personal scrapbook of sorts as well as one of the most unpretentious and intimate stories assembled by the author who happens to be the namesake of his eponymous brand. When reading, and yes it must be read for full appreciation, the reader might feel as if Ralph is sitting there speaking to you and just relating the stories of his life\"\n\u2014New York Journal Of Books\n\"The master of all-American style celebrates the 50th anniversary of his label with an expanded edition of his 2007 tome about his life\"\nPublisher: Rizzoli\nPublication Date: October 3rd, 2017\nDesign \/ Fashion & Accessories\nPhotography \/ Subjects & Themes \/ Fashion","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Seven Followers of St. Francis: Louis Massignon\nRobert Ellsberg\nThird Order Franciscan, Prophet of Dialogue\nLouis Massignon, a French scholar, played a key role in promoting the cause of Catholic-Muslim dialogue. The seeds of his vocation were planted in his youth and his avid interest in Arab culture. While conducting research in Mesopotamia he was arrested and charged as a spy. During his captivity, he received a profound mystical experience, which brought him to an overwhelming sense of God.\nThis prompted an ardent return to his Catholic roots. But he was also deeply affected by the experience of Muslim piety and vowed to devote his life to increasing understanding between these two religious traditions, both heirs of the faith of Abraham. (He was also deeply influenced by his friendship with the desert hermit Blessed Charles de Foucauld.) In 1931 he became a Franciscan tertiary, taking the name \"Ibrahim\" (the Arabic form of Abraham).\nA key point of reference for Massignon was God's visit to Abraham as a stranger in the form of three angels. By providing hospitality for God in our hearts, he wrote, \"we enter the path of mystical union.\" He considered his encounter with Muslim spirituality (one of the three Abrahamic faiths) as a form of \"sacred hospitality.\" At an abandoned Franciscan church in Egypt where St. Francis had met Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil, Massignon made a vow, offering his life for the Muslims, \"not so they would be converted, but so that the will of God might be accomplished in them and through them.\"\nLater in life, Massignon became a Melkite Greek Catholic and was ordained a priest, permitting him to celebrate the Mass in Arabic according to the Byzantine Rite liturgy. A follower of Gandhian nonviolence, he supported efforts to promote peace in the Middle East and for a peaceful resolution of the war in Algeria. For the sake of sacred hospitality, he became an outspoken advocate for Muslim refugees in France. He died on October 31, 1962.\nhbspt.cta.load(465210, 'a0f28e02-4cd7-4ae6-a23f-7084c729ae50', {\"region\":\"na1\"});\nLouis Massignon followed in the footsteps of St. Francis by promoting Catholic-Muslim dialogue. In what ways can we build bridges instead of walls?\nPolitical infighting, violence, and aggression plague our country and our world. How can we be messengers of peace in the face of conflict?\nWe must promote peace in the world, but first we must foster peace in our own hearts. How can we do that? How can prayer calm our own inner storms?\n\"Man is not made for works of external mercy, but first of all to worship the divine guest in his heart, in the present moment.\"\nLouis Massignon\nPrevPreviousSeven Followers of St. Francis: Eve Lavalliere\nNextSeven Followers of St. Francis: Venerable Marthe RobinNext","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Free-range children vs. close-minded parenting\nby Mitch Albom | Apr 19, 2015 | Comment, Detroit Free Press | 0 comments\nWhen I first heard the phrase \"free-range kids\" I thought it was a joke. I kept thinking about chickens.\nIt was no joke, however, when a 10-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister were picked up by Maryland police after a 911 call, held for 51\/2 hours before their parents could see them, and finally released under a signed paper and a threat of future government action.\nWhat was the kids' crime? Throwing rocks? Beating up schoolmates? Spraying graffiti?\nNo. Walking home from a park.\n\"Two kids that are unaccompanied and they've been walking around for about 20 minutes,\" said the man who made the 911 call.\nThat call led to police, a pickup, Child Protective Services and a national news story. There is now also a threatened lawsuit by the kids' parents, Danielle and Sasha Meitiv, who dare to think letting your children explore the world outside is important. Critics call them wacky, dangerous and irresponsible enough to lose their kids.\nAs I've written before, thank the Lord I didn't grow up today. I'd be visiting my parents in a jail cell.\nThe horrors of protection\nForget about the \"free-range parenting\" thing, a movement created by a New York journalist named Lenore Skenazy and apparently practiced by the Meitivs. When you categorize things like this, you make them easier to scoff at (\"crazy liberals,\" \"dumb hippies\") and this is not about a movement.\nIt's about common sense.\nWhat happened with the Meitivs in Silver Spring, Md., has happened all over the country. A South Carolina woman went to jail for letting her 9-year-old play alone in a park. A Florida woman was arrested and charged with neglect because her 7-year-old was alone in a playground.\nYou've seen these stories. There's always a neighbor who makes a \"concerned\" call. I know most folks who dial 911 don't mean any harm.\nBut they still can create it. Being picked up by police and held by CPS is a scary, sometimes nightmarish experience. Police stations and social services agencies are not child-friendly places. Crying kids asking strangers for their parents are often told nothing.\nParents, meanwhile, are terrified. The Meitivs told the media that they weren't even called by the authorities until hours after their kids were picked up. And they had to wait several hours before seeing them.\nThis, after a previous incident \u2014 again the kids walking home from a park \u2014 that prompted police, according to an article Danielle Meitiv wrote for the Washington Post, to enter their home without a warrant, questioning their kids there and at school, and asking things like, \"What would you do if someone grabbed you?\"\nBy trying to protect kids from horror, you can sometimes create it.\nBut even worse is the freedom to parent that is being taken away. The laws on the books where the Meitivs live are oppressive. In their town, leaving anyone under 18 unsupervised constitutes neglect. CPS reportedly has threatened the Meitivs with foster care.\nLook. I am in favor of stopping abuse, enforcing kids' attendance at school and keeping them from obvious danger.\nBut being outside, during the day, at ages 10 and 6, in a middle-class suburb, when you know how to get home, just doesn't fit the hysteria.\nSafe places to grow up\nNow, whenever you discuss this issue, people jump to their own childhoods. I walked half a mile to school as a 6-year-old, rode a subway and two buses to school when I was 11 and was told by my mother, repeatedly, \"Go outside and play somewhere. Anywhere!\"\nAs I said, prison and Sunday visitation.\nBut the knee-jerk reaction will be \"the world was much safer when you were a kid.\" Not necessarily. There was an abduction in the next town over. We heard about it. But it didn't shadow everything we did for the rest of our lives. We walked in groups of siblings or friends. We didn't take silly chances.\nAnd if a policeman saw us and asked a question, the worst \u2014 worst \u2014 that might happen is he'd say \"hop in\" and he'd bring us home.\nThe truth is crime, statistically, is relatively low today. Middle- and upper-class suburbs are plenty safe for kids. And the dangers kids face being inside their entire childhood \u2014 from obesity to weirdos online (yeah, that's a safe place to keep your kids all day, the Internet) \u2014 may outweigh the danger of playing with your sibling in the park.\nI'm not saying bad things don't happen. But when and if they do, it's a risk of life \u2014 it was before, it is now \u2014 and it needs to be addressed by authorities going after bad people. You want to patrol streets, do it for creeps and perverts. Why take it out on the kids?\nDid you know a benefit cited with free-range poultry? That the chickens, allowed to roam outside, don't attack and eat each other.\nWe might learn more from those birds than we thought.\nRighteous hatred should not shadow our new era\nA Santa visit down a COVID-19 chimney\nMary Schroeder took iconic photo of Kirk Gibson. He repaid the favor, 36 years later","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Make a Sales\nHome News WeWork India's new rule helps employees move away from an 'always on'...\nWeWork India's new rule helps employees move away from an 'always on' work culture\nmakeasales\nAmid the \"always on\" work culture, India Inc is slowly realising there's a need for downtime. It may be a long way till 'right to disconnect' becomes a reality in India, but a startup company \u2014 WeWork \u2014 has taken the first steps in that direction.\nWeWork India has come up with a guideline for employees, according to which they are not obligated to respond to emails from 7pm till 9am, and during weekends.\nA co-working space with an employee strength of 421 across India, WeWork has come up with this email guideline under a larger work-life integration mission.\nWeWork India HR director Surabhi Washishth said, \"We want to encourage our employees to spend time with their families\/friends or invest in a hobby to unwind after a day of hard work. By introducing this guideline, we are also urging our employees to be more productive in their work days \u2014 dial it down post-7pm and hustle smarter.\" Washishth, however, said if there is something that needs urgent attention, one can text\/WhatsApp\/call the person who needs to respond.\n\"In the fast times that we live today, striking a balance between work and life in general is often looked at in a desirous manner. We are all looking for that window of opportunity wherein no unread emails beckon us nor a deadline hangs over the head. As a country that's expected to have the youngest workforce in the world by 2020 (Future of Work report by the World Economic Forum), it is highly imperative that we learn to draw the line, and strive to attain a balance between work and personal life,\" said Washishth.\nTwo years ago, France passed a law on the right to disconnect from technology after office hours. Earlier this year, NCP MP Supriya Sule introduced the right to disconnect bill. However, organisations are on their own coming up with initiatives to ensure it's not all work for employees.Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Pidilite Industries discourage employees from staying late at office.\nHUL's 'Prevention of Late Working Hours Policy' lays out guidelines to be followed if, in an exceptional circumstance, an individual needs to stay back. An email is sent to the individual with a copy to their line manager, the next day, to ensure the line manager supports the team in managing work.\nPidilite Industries president (HR) Rahul Sinha said, \"At around 8pm every day, we take a round of the office to see if anybody is working late. If we find someone repeatedly working till late, we have a chat with his\/her boss and ask them to review the employee's workload. Similarly, if somebody wants to work on a Saturday, they need to take special permission from HR.\" Pidilite is also offering employees one day per week as \"work from home\". \"These initiatives have emerged from our 'listening' culture. We believe trust, empathy, transparency and maintaining high ethical standards are important,\" said Sinha.\nGlobally, companies like Daimler and Volkswagen had come up with auto-delete of emails sent to employees on a holiday to prevent the stress of a flooded inbox when they returned to work. A 24\/7 work culture, fuelled by technological innovations, has led to enhanced levels of stress and anxiety, high burnout rate and poor work-life balance, according to Shital Kakkar Mehra, a business etiquette and cross-cultural coach.\n\"Today, employees respond to emails as they either live in the fear of missing out (tomorrow), of losing their jobs or they are addicted to devices. Either way, their brain gets no downtime,\" said Kakkar.\nAlthough a total ban may not be feasible, Kakkar said one way to come around the situation is to show maturity when sending after-work emails or messages. A second option is to shorten the workday of employees by the number of hours they are expected to work from home.\nPrevious articleWhat is Market Attractiveness? Importance, Examples and Factors\nNext articleHis rental car crashed in the sea. Now he's in a $ 27,825 insurance nightmare\nSwiss Re secures net income jump despite catastrophe hit\nUS-based NFP swoops for Mass Insurance Brokers in Ontario\nUS insurance giant launches $50m Southeast Asia venture fund\nBy submitting, I agree that MakeASales may use and share my information as set forth in its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service , and MakeASales, or third-party companies and business partners, may send me offers for products and services at the email address I have provided. I understand that my information may be supplemented with additional information obtained from other sources.\nWeWork India's new rule helps employees move away from an 'always...\n\u00a9 Copyright 2020 Make A Sales. All rights reserved.\nThree people including a nine-year-old girl are killed in 6.1 magnitude...\nIntel vets slam Brennan as Trump dares ex-spymaster to sue over...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Commentary: A chance for Hochul to make strides against homelessness\nBragging rights, baked goods at stake when UAlbany women's basketball...\nHero's funeral procession for fallen 37-year-old firefighter\nFreezing tenants turn to portable heaters while landlord tries to repair...\nEx-Greene County assistant public defender pleads to felony assault\nLaura Mascuch\nGov. Kathy Hochul is better positioned than any New York state executive in recent memory to finally beat back an accelerating homelessness emergency \u2014 even factoring in the historic nature of the challenge ahead \u2014 by building on one of the nation's strongest supportive-housing programs. While New York has historically been a supportive-housing leader, the worsening nature of the crisis requires us to do even more.\nThat is why we are calling on Hochul to lead the most ambitious supportive-housing plan in New York's history by committing to our NYS 20K plan, under which New York will create 14,000 units of supportive housing and preserve 6,000 more over the next decade. She can set the right tone by fully funding the first five years of that plan in her upcoming executive budget. By doing so, she would establish herself as one of America's biggest housing champions. It's an opportunity she cannot afford to miss.\nFirst, it is clear that supportive housing, which provides affordable housing with on-site services for the chronically homeless, really works. A recent study in New York City, for example, found that just 5 percent of formerly homeless supportive-housing residents became homeless again in the future. It is a proven model in the fight against homelessness.\nThis is because supportive housing serves the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including the formerly homeless, those living with disabilities, veterans, and those who have experienced domestic violence and other severe trauma. It provides the lifechanging opportunity for residents to manage behavioral issues, get jobs, reconnect with family and raise children. And in the case of the pandemic, it can quite literally be a matter of life or death.\nFew elected officials in New York know this better than Hochul. As lieutenant governor, she traveled the state to celebrate groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, and other supportive-housing achievements. She has personally heard the stories about how housing changed lives and how homelessness disproportionately impacted domestic violence victims, veterans, the elderly, and families of color, among others.\nIn short, if anyone knows the transformative power of supportive housing, it is New York's 57th governor.\nThrough a redoubled commitment to supportive housing, the governor will also be saving money. The reality is that decades of studies definitively prove that supportive housing is considerably less expensive than homelessness. Without it, chronically homeless individuals are forced into settings like shelters, emergency rooms, psychiatric centers jails and prisons, and stay there much longer. Add this all up, and the cost is far greater than simply providing housing.\nThe scale of the need is tremendous. Currently, one out of every seven homeless people in the entire nation lives in New York. A staggering 59,000 adults and 24,000 children sleep in homeless shelters in New York City alone, though the problem is certainly not limited to the five boroughs.\nThis is unacceptable, but we do not have to accept the status quo. Hochul has a chance now to create an even bigger, better supportive-housing plan that will finally meet the scale of the need. The good news is that she has all of the tools already at her disposal to make a difference. She just has to choose to use them.\nLaura Mascuch of Brooklyn is the executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.\nLetter: Children suffering most from pandemic restrictions\nLetter: Hochul must address child care with her budget\nLetter: In-person schooling decisions must recognize home and school risks\nLetter: New York must take action to encourage residents to stay","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/expeditions\/destinations\/asia\/land\/japan-tour.html\nAsia Trips\nSee land\nInside Japan\nThis expedition was inspired by travel writer Don George's article \"Japan's Past Perfect,\" published in the January\/February 2012 issue of National Geographic Traveler.\nStay at Benesse House, designed by acclaimed architect Tadao Ando and set within Naoshima's island-wide art complex.\nSpend the night at a traditional Mount Koya monastery, and rise with the resident monks for a morning prayer ceremony.\nImmerse yourself in Shikoku's timeless Iya Valley, dotted with thatched cottages, shrines, and vine bridges.\nDiscover Japan's intriguing contrasts on a journey inspired by National Geographic Traveler's January\/February 2012 article \"Japan's Past Perfect.\" Explore Kyoto's iconic temples and ascend to the sacred pilgrimage site of Mount Koya. Step back in time in the age-old villages of Shikoku, then encounter cutting-edge architecture on Naoshima and the bustle of a revitalized Hiroshima.\nDay 1: Osaka, Japan\/Kyoto\nArrive at Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka at any time. Transfer to Kyoto and check in to our hotel.\nAccommodations:Kyoto Hotel Okura\nDay 2: Kyoto\nKyoto served as an imperial capital for more than a thousand years, and many of the wooden temples and gardens from that era have been collectively designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Visit the 14th-century Tenryuji temple, considered one of the city's great Zen temples, and discover its beautiful grounds and gardens. Outside the temple's north gate, wander through Arashiyama's atmospheric bamboo grove. Then venture into the wooded hills southeast of the city to the famed Kiyomizudera temple, known for the expansive wooden terrace that extends from the main hall. Walk along the terrace, taking in panoramic views of maple and cherry trees below and Kyoto's skyline in the distance. Below the temple, visit the sacred Otowa Waterfall, with three separate streams that are believed to have different benefits: longevity, love, and success. Cap off the afternoon at the lively Nishiki Market, perusing\u2014and tasting\u2014a variety of Japanese specialties. At tonight's welcome dinner, meet a former geisha to learn about the geisha lifestyle and enjoy a short performance.\nStroll the elegant Zen rock garden at Ryoanji and iconic Kinkakuji, or \"temple of the golden pavilion.\" This afternoon, experience the tranquil garden at Sanzenin temple. Then step inside a local sake brewery to learn about the history and production process of one of Japan's most iconic beverages. Enjoy an evening at leisure to explore Kyoto on your own.\nMeals Included:Breakfast, Lunch\nDay 4: Mount Koya\nTravel to Mount Koya, headquarters of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Meet a temple priest and wander through the evocative Okuno-in cemetery, where the tombs of more than 200,000 samurai warriors and other dignitaries fill a grove of age-old cedar trees. Venture into Kongobuji, the chief temple of the Mount Koya monastery, and see work by artists of the Kano school of painting. Settle into our simple lodgings and enjoy a traditional Buddhist vegetarian dinner.\nAccommodations:Eko-in Monastery or similar\nDay 5: Mount Koya\/Iya Valley\nAfter attending an optional morning prayer ceremony, descend to the shores of the Inland Sea and ferry across to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's main islands. In Tokushima, see costumes and floats from the city's 400-year-old dance festival at the Awa Odori Kaikan museum. Our home for the next two nights in the Iya Valley is a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, where inviting, on-site hot spring baths offer a chance to relax and rejuvenate.\nAccommodations:Hotel Hikyonoyu\nDay 6: Iya Valley\nTravel along the steep slopes of the Iya ravine to a 300-year-old thatched farmhouse, home to the Chiiori Trust, a unique project that seeks to preserve age-old rural traditions in the valley. Continue to the Okuiya Niju Kazurabashi, twin suspension bridges made of intertwined vines, and hear the legends of their creation. Witness timeless scenes of village life in Ochiai, a community of traditional dwellings, some of which date from the Edo period (circa 1600-1870).\nDay 7: Shikoku\/Naoshima\nTravel north to Zentsuji, revered as the birthplace of the Buddhist priest Kobo Daishi and as one of the important stops along Shikoku's 750-mile and 88-temple pilgrimage route. In Takamatsu, stroll through the tranquil gardens of 17th-century Ritsurin Park. A ferry then brings us to the small island of Naoshima, which has recently emerged as a mecca of contemporary art and architecture. Get a new perspective on nature through inventive art installations at the Benesse House Museum this afternoon and stay in the adjacent hotel, designed by acclaimed architect Tadao Ando.\nAccommodations:Benesse House\nDay 8: Naoshima\nWander past the works of Claude Monet and James Turrell at the innovative Chichu Art Museum, built underground but designed to capture natural light and shadow. Also visit homes that are part of the Art House Project, which has transformed some of the island's older structures into imaginative works of art.\nDay 9: Naoshima\/Hiroshima\nFerry back to Honshu and take the high-speed train to Hiroshima. Pay a visit to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum, which documents the atomic explosion that ravaged the city. Spend the remainder of the afternoon visiting Shukkei-en garden or explore this thriving modern metropolis\u2014a testament to Japanese resilience\u2014on your own.\nAccommodations:Sheraton Grand Hotel\nDay 10: Miyajima\/Hiroshima\nSet off by ferry for a full-day excursion on Itsukushima Island, popularly called Miyajima. Venture into the 12th-century Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, a World Heritage site built over the water, where a vermillion torii (wooden gateway) appears to float at high tide. Participate in a traditional tea ceremony, then take advantage of free time to go on a hike, visit temples, and stroll through the picturesque town. Back in Hiroshima this evening, gather for a farewell dinner.\nMeals Included:Breakfast, Dinner\nDay 11: Hiroshima\/Osaka\nTake the high-speed train from Hiroshima to Osaka and enjoy lunch on the train. Then, transfer to the Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka and catch your flight home.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"From Campus Recruit to Delivering the Gold Standard: Meet NTT DATA Services Consultant Morgan Squatriglia\nI sat down with Senior Consultant Morgan Squatriglia, a campus recruit who quickly excelled in various roles on our Financial Services Business Consulting team. Having recently led a risk initiative at a top four bank, Morgan is an excellent example of NTT DATA consultants' drive to go above and beyond for our clients. In doing so, they build skills that improve the places where we work and live.\nQ: You joined our team in 2015 just a month after graduating with a bachelor's degree in business management. What drew you to a consulting career?\nA: I wanted to enter an industry that would challenge me, help me grow, and give me a sense of purpose in my work. I've always been competitive, even at a young age \u2014 I stayed active all through my childhood and high school years with volleyball and swimming which let me get out that competitive energy. I was drawn to consulting because I tend to get bored easily and consulting offers such great variety and opportunity: new settings, new subject matter, new teammates. I think it's healthy to be a little uncomfortable from time to time, that's what helps us grow. That's part of why I got involved in The Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) and joined the board of a dementia non-profit \u2014 consulting can be a nice dose of intimidation and challenge.\nQ: Why did you choose NTT DATA over other consultancies?\nA: During the NTT DATA interview process, what really stood out to me was the way the consultants talked about their clients; it was as if they were friends and allies with shared goals: a true partnership.\nSince joining the firm, the colleague camaraderie has been especially noteworthy \u2014 that \"I got your back\" feeling among the teams. I feel supported and challenged here, especially by my career coaches, mentors and leaders. They are always asking me what I want to do next. Am I challenged enough? How can they help me achieve, or expand, my next set of goals? How can we move me outside of my comfort zone?\nBoth of those features \u2014 connectedness to clients and team support \u2014 is what I think has always driven my success, and in return motivated me to compete with myself to be even better than where I am and where I have been \u2026 whether I'm working with clients or volunteering outside of work.\nFor instance: my JLC team's Capstone Project. Our goal was to collect 100 pairs of pajamas for patients in our local children's hospital. We met the children and their families to truly understand the challenges they faced upon entering the emergency room. Having that connectedness to the families and understanding their troubles, coupled with the support of the team is what motivated us to almost quadruple our goal and collect 380 pairs of pajamas!\nQ: In your \"Game Changers\" video, you say what drives you is the desire to be better than you were yesterday. Has NTT DATA given you that opportunity for growth?\nA: Absolutely. Earlier this year, one of my leaders said they wanted me to lead a risk and regulatory project for an important client \u2014 a top four bank. The client was up against a consent order by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, which required that the bank improve its Know Your Customer (KYC) processes to assess and deter risks. I had never led a project team before, especially not as an Engagement Manager \u2014 talk about getting out of your comfort zone!\nThat experience certainly broadened my perspective. As an engagement manager, I could no longer just think about my own work; I was responsible for the team's work and for how we communicate with the client. At a moment's notice, I had to be ready to step into a meeting and provide a three-sentence executive update, or jump into a four-hour working session that looks under the hood at every detail. It was challenging in a great way.\nQ: The bank heralded the work of your team. Tell me about that.\nA: The client had engaged several consultancies to tackle the slew of risk initiatives; each of us focused on different customer populations. The work we were up against was meticulous. You have to really take your time and be thoughtful to truly understand the customers across varying lines of business in order to enable the bank to meet regulations. Our team provided those layers of risk mitigation to meet the regulatory requirements, and we did it all with high quality ratings before the established deadline.\nOne day, the client brought all of us together into a meeting and declared that the work that NTT DATA was doing was \"The Gold Standard.\" You can imagine how it felt to have that work recognized, especially in front of our competitors.\nFor us, it wasn't about just completing tasks at hand and going home. We studied the purpose of the work, the process, and the moving pieces. What role does this play in our client's overarching objectives? How can we be proactive in helping meet those goals? We were there to help the client, so in the end not only did we complete the work at hand, but we developed a process to identify invalid reasonings before customer records were sent down the line. Ultimately, this helped us complete the work quicker and with higher quality.\nWatch Morgan's Game Changer video here.\nLearn more about Business Consulting at NTT DATA Services.\nTom Mataconis\nTom Mataconis is senior vice president leading NTT DATA Services' Financial Services Business Consulting. Focused on growing the practice into a global market leader, Tom develops integrated consulting and delivery solutions that drive differentiation, business value and thought leadership. Tom has more than two decades of business and IT transformation expertise with many leading North American retail and wholesale banking institutions and is a former managing partner with Accenture.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Welcome from the Executive Director\nOur History, Vision & Principles\nOur Members, Donors & Partners\nThe ISS international network\nInternational Conventions\nIntercountry Adoption Tracing and Reunification\nIntercountry Adoption Family Support\nInternational Post Adoption Tracing\nInternational Post Adoption Tracing \u2013 NSW\nGeneral Family Tracing and Reunification\nInternational Parental Child Abduction \u2013 Social Work Support\nInternational Parental Child Abduction \u2013 Legal Assistance\nFamily Law Legal Service\nIntercountry Child Welfare and Kinship Care\nNSW Special Search Service\nResearch, Advocacy and Training\nFees for services\nInternational Project: Children with Disabilities\nThe Colour of Time\nChild rights training\nIPCA \/ DV Best Practice Protocol\nKinship care and Orphan Relative Visa\n2010-11: Kinship Care Across Borders\n2009: The 1996 Hague Convention\n2008: Victorian kinship care project\n2000-06: Former child migrants project\n'New Beginnings'\nService brochures\nWork for ISS Australia\nInterning with ISS Australia\nVolunteer with ISS Australia\nCalling our Helpline\nConvention on the Rights of the Child\nThird Optional Protocol for CROC\nThe United Nations adopted The Convention on the Rights of the Child (known as CRC or CROC) in 1989 as a legally binding international instrument to protect the rights of children. Almost every country in the world has ratified the Convention, including Australia.\nThe Convention sets out 54 Articles and 2 Optional Protocols, while a third Optional Protocol is currently under consideration. The four principal Articles of the Convention are Non-discrimination (Article 2), Best interests of the child (Article 3), Right to life, survival and development (Article 6), and Respect for the views of the child (Article 12).\nThe whole Convention can be viewed here.\nOther articles assert the right to protection from abuse and exploitation, and the right to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.\nThe Convention requires signatory countries to act in the best interests of the child. This approach recognises the child as an individual in the family, in contrast to previous common law views of the child as the property of the parents.\nWhen a country ratifies the Convention, they agree to protect and ensure children's rights and to be held accountable for this before the international community. Adherence to the Convention is monitored by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is composed of independent human rights experts from UN member countries.\nCountries who have ratified the Convention must report to the Committee on the status of children's rights in their country and how the Convention is being implemented. The Committee then submits yearly reports to the UN General Assembly.\nThese reports and commentary from the Committee can be found on the Committee's website: http:\/\/www2.ohchr.org\/english\/bodies\/crc.\nPHONE Toll free: 1300 657 843 Victorian Office: (+61) 3 9614 8755 NSW Office: (+61) 2 9267 0300\nEMAIL Victoria: iss@iss.org.au NSW: issnsw@iss.org.au\nVictorian Office: Level 2, 424 William St, West Melbourne, VIC 3003, Australia\nNSW Office: Suite 501, 80 William St, Woolloomooloo, NSW 2011, Australia\nHome : About Us : Our Services : Our Projects : Our Publications : Get Involved : News & Resources : Contact Us : Site Map\n\u00a9 2019 International Social Service Australia : Privacy Policy","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"They made the Ultimate Sacrifice\nJohn Winston Hacker\nStoker Petty Officer, 21339, RCN\nBorn: 09 Mar 1912, Nanaimo, British Columbia\nDied: 19 Oct 1940 at sea\nBook of Remembrance\nHACKER, John Winston, Sto PO, 21339, RCN, MPK - 19 Oct 1940, HMCS BRAS D'OR - son of Mr. and Mrs. William John Hacker, of Nanaimo, BC; husband of Hazel Catherine Hacker, of Calgary, AB.\nHMCS SKEENA - Served in Skeena 01 Jul 1932 - 17 Jun 1934 as a Sto 2c and Sto 1c, RCN. Rated Sto 1c 09 May 1933.\nHMS DANAE - Served in Danae 10 Jul 1934 - 16 Sep 1934 (lent from HMCS Naden)\nHMCS SKEENA - Served in Skeena 06 Oct 1934 - 30 Nov 1934 as a Sto 1c, RCN\nHMCS ARMENTIERES - Served in Armentieres 09 Feb 1935 - 01 Oct 1935\nHMCS FRASER - Served in Fraser 22 Jan 1937 - 22 Nov 1937\nHMS PEMBROKE (RN shore station) - Served in Pembroke 01 Feb 1937 - 16 Feb 1937 (lent from HMCS FRASER)\nHMS COMET - Served in Comet 08 Jun 1938 - 30 Jun 1938 pending her transfer to the RCN as HMCS Restigouche on 15 Jun 1938.\nHMCS RESTIGOUCHE (former HMS Comet) - Served in Restigouche 01 Jul 1938 - 18 Apr 1940 as a Sto 2c and L\/Sto, RCN. Rated L\/Sto 01 Sep 1939\nHMCS BRAS D'OR - Drafted to Bras D'Or 19 Apr 1940 as a L\/Sto RCN. Rated A\/Sto PO 01 Sep 1940\n(1-2) Certificate of Service (3-4) Service Summary (5) Report of Death\nSecond World War Casualty Index","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Buy What You Know: 6 Consistent Dividend Winners in Your House\nDan Caplinger\nDaniel Acker\/Bloomberg via Getty Images\nInvesting in stocks that pay dividends is a rewarding way to get both regular income from your investments and long-term growth potential. Historically, dividend-paying stocks have outperformed their non-dividend-paying counterparts, and given the low yields available from fixed-income investments like bank CDs and bonds lately, many investors have turned to dividend stocks as a way to generate cash to make ends meet.\n%VIRTUAL-WSSCourseInline-449%One of the best signs of a healthy dividend stock is a track record of regular increases to dividend payments. According to historical data compiled by Dave Fish and available from DriP Investing Resource Center, fewer than 20 stocks have managed to boost their dividend payouts every single year for half a century. Those that have done so demonstrated an unparalleled ability to adapt to changing economic and business conditions and thrive, enhancing their profitability and sharing their wealth with shareholders.\nThere's another common piece of investing advice: Buy what you know. Well, of those top dividend stocks, a half a dozen are names that nearly everyone has heard of, and the odds are good that you have products from one or more of these companies in your house.\nProcter & Gamble (PG)\nAmong these six dividend stalwarts, consumer giant Procter & Gamble has the longest track record of dividend increases at 58 years. The stock currently yields 3.2 percent, which is well above the average for the stock market.\nP&G's stable, which includes more than two dozen billion-dollar brands, has helped generate the cash to pay dividends over its long history. With Tide detergent, Gillette shaving products, Crest toothpaste and a host of other well-known items, Procter & Gamble estimates that it serves 4.8 billion people around the world. With an average annual total return of almost 14 percent over the past 30 years, Procter & Gamble has also served its shareholders quite well.\n3M (MMM)\n3M has a 56-year track record of annual dividend increases. The maker of Scotch tape and Post-it Notes has a dividend yield of 2.4 percent, and late last year, it made a huge 35 percent increase in its quarterly payout. The stock has given investors solid long-term returns of more than 12 percent annually over the past 30 years.\nEven though most people only think of 3M for its consumer products, the conglomerate's business goes into many other areas. You'll find 3M products used in industries ranging from aerospace and energy to health care and food safety. With a long history of innovation, 3M has traditionally found new products to drive its growth, and the company continues to work in that direction today.\nCoca-Cola (KO)\nCoca-Cola's products are ubiquitous across the globe, with the drink maker having sported the world's No. 1 brand for years. On the dividend front, Coca-Cola scores well too, with 52 years of consecutive dividend increases and a yield of 2.9 percent helping to give long-term shareholders a 14.5 percent average annual return since 1984.\nCoca-Cola has gone through some challenges lately, with poor results in its core carbonated-beverage line especially in its home North American market as health concerns weigh on demand. Yet with its move toward bottled water, tea and other popular noncarbonated drinks, Coca-Cola is working to reestablish itself as a growth leader.\nJohnson & Johnson (JNJ)\nJohnson & Johnson has raised its dividend for 52 straight years, producing a 2.7 percent dividend yield and an impressive 16.5 percent 30-year average annual return. Consumers have used Band-Aid bandages, Tylenol pain relief, and its namesake baby shampoo for decades, and the company gets the majority of its revenue from products in which it has dominant market share worldwide.\nRecently, though, J&J has become a pharmaceutical powerhouse, with drugs like arthritis fighter Remicade and prostate-cancer treatment Zytiga having helped contribute to the pharma segment's growth. J&J's drug business is now the largest part of the company, and all signs point to its continued importance in Johnson & Johnson's future.\nLowe's (LOW)\nHome-improvement retailer Lowe's has a track record of 52 years of dividend increases, yielding 2 percent. That dividend strength has contributed to total returns of 14.5 percent annually over the past 20 years.\nLowe's isn't the biggest company in the home-improvement sector, but it has still sported impressive growth from its No. 2 position in the industry. Even as the housing market has gone through massive disruptions over the past decade, Lowe's has been able to weather the storm and find ways to sustain growth -- even as competition from rival Home Depot (HD) has pressured the company.\nColgate-Palmolive (CL)\nFor 51 years, consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive has raised its dividend. It now pays a yield of 2.1 percent, having given shareholders a better than 16 percent average annual return over the past three decades.\nColgate started as a soap and candle business, but it has grown into a wide-ranging company focusing on oral-care, personal-care, and home-care products, as well as pet nutrition. In particular, the company has leading global market share in toothpaste and standard toothbrushes, and Colgate has used that brand strength to boost sales of mouthwash and other related products.\nOverall, these six stocks don't just pay great dividends; they also have the fundamentally strong businesses you want to see from long-term investments. For those seeking reliable dividend income, this list of well-known companies is a good place to start.\nTo get more dividend ideas, Motley Fool analysts put together a free list of nine dividend stocks that should be in every income investor's portfolio. You can follow Motley Fool contributor Dan Caplinger on Twitter @DanCaplinger. He has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 3M, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson and has the following options: long January 2016 $37 calls on Coca-Cola and short January 2016 $37 puts on Coca-Cola.\njohnson and johnson\nstock recommendations\nThis Year's Best High-Interest Savings Accounts\nThe Best States to Retire in 2022\n7 Crucial Retirement Mistakes\n3 Smart Ways to Help You Find Cash in Your Home\nExperts Urge Consumers To Start Saving Now\nDon't Borrow From the Bank \u2013 Borrow From Yourself","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"LLTD\nYSKT\nHome \u00bb Space \u00bb 20 Interesting Neutron Star Facts\n20 Interesting Neutron Star Facts\nLast Updated On: June 27, 2021 by Benjamin\nWhat is a Neutron Star? Let us put it this way, \"It is the living corpse of a dead star\"! Sounds weird, right? Don't worry! We will walk you through the explanation.\nBut before we start with our list of 20 interesting Neutron Star facts, we strongly recommend that you read our two earlier posts:\n20 Interesting Red Giant Star Facts\n20 Interesting White Dwarf Star Facts\nThe reason you should read them is that you will get a quick background about the types of stars that lead to the formation of Neutron Stars. So, let us begin.\nInteresting Neutron Star Facts: 1-5\n1. Neutron stars are formed from stars that has initial mass of at least 8 Solar Masses (M\u2609) as main sequence stars.\n2. Over billions of years, these massive stars burn out their fuel, leaving behind a white dwarf star that features a core rich in iron. At this stage, the electron degeneracy pressure at the core tries to balance out the inward gravitational pull of the dense mass.\n3. However, some helium and hydrogen still continue to fuse at the outer layers of the white dwarf and further iron is produced which travels towards the core. This happens over several billions of years.\n4. As the iron deposit continues to grow, the electron degeneracy pressure at the core fails to nullify the inward gravitational pull of the accreting mass because of shell burning. As gravitation takes over, the white dwarf starts collapsing on itself.\n5. This collapse increases the temperature of the core to about 5\u00d7109 Kelvin. At this temperature, high energy gamma rays are produced, which breaks down the iron nuclei into what is known as alpha particles.\nInteresting Neutron Star Facts: 6-10\n6. This is when temperature increases even more and starts fusing protons and electrons of iron atoms into neutrons and in the process, releases neutrinos. This is when the density of the core continues to increase and reaches the figure of 4 x 1017 kg\/m3. This actually is the density of the nucleus present in the atom and is known as nuclear density.\n7. When the nuclear density is achieved, the gravitational collapse is halted because now, instead of electron degeneracy pressure, the gravitation tug is balanced out by outward pressure of neutron degeneracy.\n8. At this stage, the matter that was falling in from the shell of the white dwarf no longer falls in. Rather, in a stellar explosion, the matter is thrown out in space. This is known as supernova explosion.\n9. After the supernova explosion which is either Type II or Type Ib, only the very dense core is left behind. This is the Neutron Star.\n10. The dense Neutron Star left behind has a number of unusual properties. The most notable of all is its extreme density and miniscule size. When we say miniscule (in context of celestial bodies), we actually mean size smaller than the size New Delhi.\nInteresting Neutron Star Facts: 11-15\n11. In such a small size, the Neutron Star packs the mass of around 1.1 M\u2609 to all the way up to 3.0 M\u2609. Can you imagine it? Well, let us try it this way. If you can squeeze the star which is 1.1 times to 3 times bigger than our Sun and put that mass inside New Delhi (capital city of India), what kind of density do you think will be achieved?\n12. In fact, scientist say that kind of mass is packed within a diameter of 24 to 26 kilometers. If someone somehow manages to scoop out a matchbox full of matter from Neutron Star, the weight of the matchbox will be nearly 5 trillion tons! Put in Earth's perspective, about 1000 cubic kilometers of rock on Earth weighs 5 trillion tons.\n13. Neutron Stars also spin at an extremely high speed. They complete one rotation within a timeframe of 1.4 milliseconds to 30 seconds.\n14. Because of the extreme mass of Neutron Stars they have surface gravity higher than that of Earth by 1011 times. That is, 100,000,000,000 times higher gravity than Earth! With such high gravity, the escape velocity of a Neutron Star ranges between 100,000 to 150,000 km\/s. This is anywhere between 1\/3rd and \u00bd the speed of light which 300,000 km\/s.\n15. As far as the structure of a Neutron Star is concerned, current mathematical models estimate that a typical Neutron Star has four layers: Outer Crust, Inner Crust, Outer Core and Inner Core.\nOuter Crust: Has a thickness between 0.3 and 0.5 kilometers. It is made up of electrons and ions.\nInner Crust: Has a thickness between 1 and 2 kilometers. It is made up of nuclei, neutrons and electrons.\nOuter Core: Has a thickness of approximately 9 kilometers. It is made up of neutron-proton Fermi liquid and a few percentage of electron Fermi gas.\nInner Core: Has a thickness between 0 and 3 kilometers. It is thought that the inner core is made up of quark gluon plasma.\n16. There are different variants of Neutron Stars available. The most popular ones are Pulsars and Magnetars. Again, there are hypothetical variations like Quark Star, Electroweak Star and Preon Star. We will cover these in separate articles.\n17. Since the Neutron Stars rotate at extremely high speed and they have extreme gravity, the spin produces strong magnetic fields. Because of this, Neutron Stars emit radiation from their spin axes.\n18. Neutron Stars are known to spin several times in a single second. Gradually they do slow down, but the spin down or the slowdown of these stars are very slow. Just how slow this spin down can be? For the purpose of simplicity, let us assume that a Neutron Star spins only once in one second. It will spin down at a rate of 10-10 to 10-21 seconds for one rotation. This means that the star will slow down and complete 1 rotation in 1.000003 seconds after 100 years and it will take 1.03 seconds for one rotation in 1,000,000 years!\n19. As of now, scientists estimate that there are 2000 Neutron Stars in our Milky Way galaxy and most of them are Radio Pulsars. The most massive of all know Neutron Star so far is PSR J0348+0432 which is estimated to have a density of 2.01+0.04 M\u2609 or 2.01-0.04 M\u2609.\n20. The closest Neutron Star (the one that the closest to our Earth) is PSR J0108-1431 and sits at a distance of 130 parsecs (which is equal to 424 light years).\nThat completes our list of neutron star facts. If you have any question, feel free to drop a comment.\nSources: 1, 2, 3\nMax Popularity\n30 Interesting Aristotle Facts\n80 Interesting Cell Facts\n30 Facts About Mayans\n20 Little-Known Birthday Facts\n40 Awesome Pineapple Facts\n15 Luis Alfredo Garavito Facts\n55 Earthquake Facts\n20 Facts About Burgers\n40 Psychopath Facts\n82 Interesting Plato Facts\n275 Gray Wolf Facts\n267 Endocrine System Facts\n225 Antarctica Facts\n220 Andrew Jackson Facts\n185 Fabulous Florida Facts\n143 Boston Tea Party Facts\n\u00a9 2022 | Facts Legend | Sister Sites: Today You Learn | Life Advice Coach.\nWe use cookies to improve user experience and serve interest-based ads through our advertisement partner.\nBy using our website, you agree to the cookie and privacy policy of Facts Legend.\nFacts Legend Sitemap\nBuilt with \u2764 in IN, US, CA, DE, CH","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Why OH!SO\nTripsWhy OH!SOBlogContact\nHi there! We are OH!SO\nOH!SO was founded by Nina and her passion for Croatia and the diversity of the country. Nina decided it was about time there was a fun, adventurous, road trip of Croatia that showcased the best of the inland and undiscovered parts of of the country, as well as the major attractions & coastline.\nSo, Nina went out there and created the ultimate road trip itineraries of Croatia including her favorite national parks, hiking trails & the off the beaten track beaches she loves. The first trips were an instant success, and word of mouth brought the brand to where it is today with hundreds of happy passengers and an OH!SO community of returning adventure seekers.\nSince March 2018, OH!SO is a proud member of the Day8 team. Nina & the team are taking the road trip concept to new destinations and exciting new horizons. The Day8 brands include OH!SO, The Yacht Week & The Ski Week, all providing the ultimate youth travel experiences.\nThe company is based in London, UK.\nCome and talk travel over a coffee with us sometime!\nFounder & Operations Manager\nRoad trip queen & lover of salt and vinegar crisps. Eternally inspired by the moon and her sisters' positive energy. Nina can speak 3 languages, has visited many countries and has a background in Account Managing for Booking.com and Sales for Croatia Airlines. Her favourite thing about the office is her inspiring colleagues.\nElla is inspired by \"travel, travel, travel\". So it looks like she's in the right job. Ella has a background in Hospitality, Events and Retail and a BA Hons in Theatre and Performance.\nDeveloper and alpine skiing extraordinaire\nTom's visited 21 countries in his life. Inspired by innovation and a full coffee pot. Tom previously worked for AuditCloud, specialising in business and domestic software development. Tom can speak English, Russian and French.\nLooks like Lara Croft. Plays handball like her too. Find her on the dance floor. Marijana was previously a business client advisor in a bank. Her favourite thing about the office is Friday fun, the endless playlists and our team building activities.\nThis website uses cookies and similar technologies to give you the best user experience. Find out more about our use of cookies in our Privacy policy. Learn more\nThe use of cookies\nWe wish this web page to function properly and have the obligation to improve it further. This and our intention to improve your experience, requires for the page to store a small amount of information (cookies) onto your computer. Over 90% of all web sites use cookies. However, in accordance to the EU regulations from March 23rd 2011, we are obliged to ask for your approval before storing cookies onto your disc. By using our web site you agree to use cookies. 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However, you can change your settings on internet browser so as to be able to choose whether the request for storing cookies will be approved or refused, to erase stored cookies automatically when closing the internet browser etc.\nHow to disable the cookies ?\nDisabling the cookies you decide whether to let the cookies be stored on your computer or not. Cookies setting can be controller and configures in your web browser. To get the information on cookies settings, select the browser you use. \u2022 Chrome \u2022 Firefox \u2022 Internet Explorer 9 \u2022 Internet Explorer 7 i 8 \u2022 Opera (English page) \u2022 Safari (English page) If you disable the cookies you will not be able to use some of the web site functions.\nWhat are temporary cookies ?\nTemporary cookies, or session cookies, are removed from the computer by closing the internet browser. They are used by web-sites to store temporary data, such as settings in an e-buying basket.\nWhat are persistent cookies ?\nPersistent or stored cookies remain on the computer after closing the internet browser programme. Web-sites use them to store the data, such as user name and password, so that you do not need to login every time you visit a particular site. Persistent cookies will remain on your computer for days, months, even years.\nWhat are first-party cookies ?\nFirst-party cookies come from the web-site you are currently visiting, and can be persistent or temporary. Web-sites use these cookies to store the data to be used at your next visit to the particular web-site.\nDoes ohsocroatia.com use cookies ?\nYes, wishing primarily for out web-sites to provide a more satisfactory user experience for you.\nWhat kind of cookies ohsocroatia.com uses and why ?\nSession cookies are temporary cookies which are used (and deleted automatically) when you close your internet browser. We use session cookies to enable access to our contents and enable comments (which you have to do when you register with your data on out web-site).\nPersistent cookies usually have closing date far in the future, meaning they will remain in your browser until such time or until you delete them manually. We use persistent cookies with functions like \"Stay registered\"tickbox, which offers registered users easier access. We also use persistent cookies to understand better our users' habits, so as to be able to improve our web site following your habits and wishes. This information is anonymous, meaning we cannot see the individual data belonging to our users.\nAre there any third-party cookies on our web-site ?\nThere are some outer services which store limited cookies to the user. These cookies have not been set by this web-site. However, some are used to enable normal functioning of some options, enabling users easier access to the contents. 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Fill out the box below and we will email you straight back.\nLet's keep it casual and communicate by text or a WhatsApp. Hit the number below (on mobiles) and we will message you back.*\n*UK text rates apply so use WhatsApp if you are overseas.\nSign up for some news and special offers\nAboutFAQWork with us\nBooking Terms & ConditionsTerms of AccessPrivacy Policy\nThe OH!SO brand and concept is owned by Day 8 Experiences Ltd, a private limited company registered in the United Kingdom, with company number 07387592 whose registered office is at 4th Floor, Universal House, 88-94 Wentworth St, London E1 7SA.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"\u2190 Downtown Los Angeles \u2013 427 S. Broadway\nMovieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++) \u2192\nMary Mallory \/ Hollywood Heights: Pickford Headlines 1933 Rose Parade\nPosted on December 31, 2012\tby lmharnisch\nPhoto: Mary Pickford in the 1933 Rose Parade. Credit: Courtesy of Mary Mallory\nTomorrow sees the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, welcoming the new year with magnificent garlands of fresh flowers. It also acts as the 80th anniversary of Mary Pickford serving as the first female grand marshal of the parade.\nBegun by the Valley Hunt Club in 1890, the Rose Parade saluted the area's wonderful weather and flowering paradise.Soon, the Tournament of Roses Assn. took over what they now call \"America's New Year Celebration, greeting the world on the first day of the year\u2026 .\"\nPhoto: A Rose Parade float. Credit: Courtesy of Mary Mallory.\nClub presidents chose honorary grand marshals to fit the theme of each year's parade, usually either past presidents or important civic, cultural and military leaders. This process helped promote the theme, lent prestige and honor to the festivities, and helped publicize the event.\nCalifornia Gov. James Rolph acted as grand marshal in 1930, retired Maj. Gen. Charles Stewart Farnsworth, an Altadena resident, led the 1931 parade, and William May Garland, president of the 10th Olympiad Committee, organizing the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, served as grand marshal in 1932.\nThe organizing committee bucked precedent in the winter of 1932 by selecting actress Mary Pickford as the grand marshal for the 1933 Rose Parade, the first woman so honored. The Nov. 30, 1932, Los Angeles Times displayed a photo of Pickford receiving an engraved scroll from Dorothy Edwards, the 1933 tournament queen, as her official formal invitation. Pickford's honor caused a small uproar among those upset that the organization should honor a woman over a man.\n\"Although the selection of a woman as grand marshal created somewhat of a sensation due to breaking a precedent of more than two score years' standing, the choice was characterized as especially fitting. The fairyland theme of the pageant has a youthful quality, a quality that 'Our Mary' symbolizes on the screen,\" as pointed out by a Tournament official to The Times. The designated theme for 1933 saluted \"A Book of Fairy Tales in Flowers,\" with the parade occurring Monday, Jan. 2, because Jan. 1 fell on a Sunday.\nThe Dec. 27 edition of the paper noted that Pickford would occupy a coach drawn by four pure-white horses, and decorated with lavender and shell-pink sweet peas, China lilies, and 5,000 pink roses. She would wear a green orchid satin court gown, over which she would wear an early 1870s period coat made of white velvet with matching jacket, muff and hat.\nHer guests for the parade included her husband, actor Douglas Fairbanks, as well as Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Crawford, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Howard, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Borzage, Gary Cooper, Countess Dorothy Di Frasso, Elsa Maxwell, and her niece, Gwynne Pickford.\nThe Jan. 3 Los Angeles Times reported that 15,000 rose blossoms trimmed the carriage, and marveled at how the largest parade crowd in history strained forward to see Mary, the most popular entry. The article also noted how beautiful Pickford appeared, and quoted a female spectator as saying, \"Is she always going to be this way?\"\nMary's happiness was extremely short-lived however, with her brother Jack entering the American Hospital in Paris on the same day as the parade, and dying on Jan. 3, 1933. He was only 36 years old.\nThis entry was posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Pasadena and tagged #Mary Pickford, #Rose Parade, 626, film, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory. Bookmark the permalink.\n1 Response to Mary Mallory \/ Hollywood Heights: Pickford Headlines 1933 Rose Parade\nCharles Seims says:\nIn his autobio, Doug Fairbanks writes about this event. He relates that he and Mary drove to the Rose Bowl for the 1933 game in their Rolls Royce. As they got closer to the stadium, traffic became heavy and thick with pedestrians. As this was the bottom of the depression, many in the crowd became hostile and made no secret about their anger and resentment at this conspicuous display of wealth.\nIn retrospect, Mary had a nice 1928 Model A Ford and they should have taken that to the game. Her coupe is now in the collection of the National Automobile Museum in Reno.\nChas Seims","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Why Gold Will Rise - The Financial System Has Changed\nThursday, Mar 17, 2022 - 07:00 PM\nAuthored by Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com,\nDespite massive price volatility of late, gold will rise...\nThe Perfect Gold Storm\nNot long ago, I wrote a piece on why gold was not rising.\nAs I said then, and will repeat again now, gold's then-yawning price moves in an otherwise ideal inflationary and negative real rate environment was just a momentary calm before the storm.\nIn other words, gold's rise \u2013and perfect storm\u2013was coming.\nWell, that storm is gathering strength and gold will rise\u2014but not in a straight line.\nDespite inevitable (and extreme) volatility (war and inflation-driven) and legalized price fixing (including $100 intra-day price moves) from the increasingly discredited paper COMEX markets, gold will keep rising as CPI inflation hits 7.9%.\nNearer term, gold's price will gyrate depending on whether tensions in the Ukraine escalate or de-escalate.\nBut as we discuss below, Western financial responses to the crisis in the Ukraine have just changed the global system\u2014yet no one noticed. Longer-term, this bodes extremely well for gold and its potential to rise.\nBut First: A Nod to Goldman's Jeff Currie\nAlthough it's easy to poke fun at Goldman Sachs (as I've done in the past, apologies to my daughter), I am pleased to confess that Jeff Currie, Goldman's Global Head of Commodities Research, has correctly addressed what he calls \"the perfect storm for gold.\"\nThat is, a near-perfect convergence of three key gold demand forces (or \"weather fronts\") are in now in motion.\nThe first of these weather fronts is the growing (and inflation\/recession fear-based) retail investor demand for gold. ETF trade volume is ripping north and poised to increase by another 600 tones.\nThe next weather front is coming from central bank gold buying, which is already up 750 tones for the year and marking an all-time record.\nChina and Turkey, for example, are buying gold in a not-so-surprising move to de-dollarize (see below) as other nations, like Brazil and India, are buying gold to diversify.\nThe third and final weather front is the spiking demand for physical gold, lead primarily by China and India\u2014and let's not forget Russia, whatever you may think of it\u2026\nAll three gold channels (retail, central bank and physical markets) are objectively the strongest they have ever been, stronger even than in 2010-2011 when gold rallied by 70%.\nGoldman's price target for gold is now $2500\u2014a substantial rise.\nWe think it will go much higher\u2026\nBecause regardless of what you think of Putin, Russia, the absolute horrors of war, the confusion of headlines or the wisdom of the West, the EU and Uncle Sam just shot themselves and the global financial system in its collective foot\u2014and no one even seemed to notice.\nWeaponized Finance\u2014Be Careful of the Safety Trigger\nDespite the fact that Putin had been warning the West for eight years to keep the Ukraine out of NATO with the same passion that Kennedy had warned the Soviets to keep missiles out of Cuba, the West somehow seemed shocked that \"brilliant statesmen\" like Kamala Harris could not outthink Putin.\nDespite nearly every U.S. State Dept official since the late 90's warning that a Ukraine in NATO would be suicide, the West is feigning shock today.\nRather than diplomatically addressing the Ukraine NATO alliance (which is about as obsolete in the post-Stalin era as a rotary dial phone), the Vice President (chosen for optics rather than experience) landed in Europe and doubled-down on a bad NATO hand (as well as embarrassing grasp of European geography).\nWar rather than compromise quickly followed.\nBut unlike Iraq, Syria, Libya or even Afghanistan (where US doubling down has been an epic failure), the great minds of the West decided to play chicken with a nuclear power, which, well complicates things, no?\nGiven that conventional proxy wars aren't so easy when dealing with a nuclear adversary, the West's only viable option once the inevitable (Putin-pre-warned) invasion of the Ukraine occurred, was to weaponize finance rather than flirt with nuclear red buttons.\nBut as anyone familiar with weapons knows, once you unlock the safety trigger, unforeseen risks emerge.\nAnd unbeknownst to almost everyone ingesting the main stream media's daily pablum, the financial weapons unleashed by the West have dangerous consequences.\nIn fact, and while most of us weren't looking, the entire financial system of the last 4 decades (i.e., globalization, an artificial bond bull market and manipulated disinflation) just died, soon to be replaced by a multi-polar and multi-currency new inflationary world\u2014all of which point toward a notable rise in gold price.\nWell, let's ignore the politicians, the COMEX and standard headlines and examine cold reality.\nThe Catalyst No One Sees\nAs the holder of the global reserve currency and the almighty USD, Washington has been able to export inflation and bully little guys like Iran and Venezuela with all kinds of clever financial sanctions with relative impunity\/effect for years.\nBut when you start poking at Russian (and indirectly, Chinese) tails by freezing FX reserves, you unleash a world of mess and a domino chain of unintended (but obvious) consequences which are far too complex for the 30-something financial journalists at the NYT or CNN to grasp.\nRecently, and with all the chest-puffing of bringing a knife to a gun fight, the US and EU bravely announced that sovereign debt held as FX reserves outside one's own national borders ($7-8T) is now subject to seizure by Uncle Sam and Aunt Marianne (i.e., the EU).\nSuch bold financial saber rattling is impressive; but by totally discrediting sovereign debt as an FX reserve, the US and EU have effectively just announced to Russia (and the world) that they are killing the post-war financial system\u2014which also means you should buy more gold\u2026\nSuch grossly misunderstood moves by the West are now forcing Russia (and soon China) to do what they've already been advocating for the last decade, namely forcing the global financial system toward a reserve neutral asset (gold) that floats in price in all currencies.\nAfter all, if the West can freeze Russian FX reserves (i.e., its accumulated trade savings) today, China now clearly knows the West can and will do the same to them tomorrow if they, for example, look sideways at Taiwan\u2026\nAn no, this doesn't make me \"Pro-Putin\" or \"Pro-China,\" just pro candor.\nEven if the horrific war in the Ukraine de-escalates, the extreme financial moves made by the West since late February will never be forgotten. That genie can't be put back into the bottle.\nEven the Swiss decision to abandon centuries of neutrality by joining \"woke\" (i.e., US-pressured) sanctions against Russia is the equivalent of a placing a massive, neon flashing sign atop the Matterhorn which reads: \"Don't buy CHF, Buy Gold.\"\nIn short, the financial world has now changed, and there's no turning back.\nLet's see why.\nDe-Dollarization Coming Full Circle to Bite the West\nRussia, and soon China, must now turn to SWIFT alternatives which will not only alter the global payment systems, but undermine the USD's global reserve status, which, well, kinda matters\u2026\nThis is not just my\/our humble opinion, but warned as well by Citadel's chief executive and JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon.\nThat is, the West has just forced Russia even further into the arms of China in more ways than one.\nRather than look toward northern California for software solutions, for example, Russia will look toward China.\nBut as Dimon warned, there are far greater consequences ahead as the USD becomes less \"global\" less of a \"reserve\" and less of a \"currency.\"\nDimon's concerns, moreover were shared by President's Biden's former boss in August of 2015, when President Obama accurately warned of the \"unintended consequences\" of a SWIFT\/financial war:\n\"We cannot dictate the foreign, economic and energy policies of every major power in the world. In order to even try to do that, we would have to sanction, for example, some of the world's largest banks. We'd have to cut off countries like China from the American financial system.\nAnd since they happen to be major purchasers of our debt, such actions could trigger severe disruptions in our own economy, and, by the way, raise questions internationally about the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. That's part of the reason why many of the previous unilateral sanctions were waived.\"\nIn short, somewhere between 2015 and today, American common sense, leadership and options took a nose dive.\nWhat's also about to take a nose dive is the American economy in general and markets in particular.\nDo you want to see why?\nThe FED\u2014No Where to Go but Crazy\nDramatic words are not enough, so let's stick to dramatic facts and a quick glance at a simple graph of the Fed's embarrassing balance sheet\u2026\nAlthough the media and headlines ignored the staggering repo crisis of September of 2019 as a minor \"glitch in the plumbing,\" it was, in fact, a neon flashing sign of a looming\/brewing credit and (hence) financial crisis.\nWhen US commercial banks in the autumn of 2019 were staring down the barrel of a rising USD and rising (i.e., unaffordable) interest rates, they stopped trusting each other's collateral to make over-night loans.\nAs expected, the Fed stepped in as the lender of last resort and began mouse-clicking hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air per month to backstop the bank(er)s who created the Fed back in 1913.\nSuch money printing explains the parabolic (and fatal) move up and to the right of the balance sheet plotted above.\nThat is, the Fed had to create money to buy its own Treasuries which foreign buyers no longer wanted.\nBut what almost no one is noticing today is that the problem's facing the Fed and Uncle Sam's otherwise unloved and unwanted IOUs in 2019 have only been made exponentially worse.\nThat is, the recent actions by the US and EU to Freeze Russian FX reserves for not towing the Western line is telegraphing to the rest of the world (i.e., China) not to trust US Treasuries.\nNeedless to say, if US Treasuries are now the ugliest girl at the global dance, who else is gonna buy them, and with what money?\nThe sad answer is simple: The Fed will buy them with more debased dollars created out of thin air.\nCrazy?\nRecession and Leverage Ahead\u2014Will Gold Rise?\nGiven the sad yet media-ignored fact that the US (with a debt to GDP ratio of 122%) is effectively broke yet spending like a teenager with Dad's Amex card (nod to my son), the future, as well as policies ahead, are not hard to see.\nIt's worth asking how US spending for entitlements, defense and treasury outlays will be paid for.\nIn short: Where will the money come from?\nWill Uncle Sam cut spending?\nGiven that US spending accounts for 25% of its GDP, any spending cuts will put the US in recession for the simple reason that such cuts will send yields and rates up and hence bonds and stocks to the basement.\nCan the US raise taxes? This too would only slow growth and invite recession.\nCan the Fed raise rates to finance Uncle Sam's deficits?\nNo, because his bar tab is too high to stomach rising rates, and that too triggers a recession and a debt crisis.\nSo, what can Uncle Sam do?\nAs realists rather than paid (i.e., censored) journalists, we here see only one or two obvious yet sad options ahead, all of which make an equally obvious case for a rise in gold.\nFirst, it's highly likely that the Fed will suspend SLR (Supplementary Leverage Ratios) previously imposed on commercial banks.\nIn plain English, this just means banks will be allowed to use more leverage to buy Uncle Sam's debt from within at no charge.\nNo shocker there.\nAs we've written elsewhere, governmental guarantees of commercial bank lending are already in play \u2013and this just means more leverage, more debt, more risk and more autocratic rather than natural markets.\nIn addition, expect more QE as well, which means the inherent value (as opposed to relative strength) of the USD, like all other fiat currencies, is getting weaker by each inflationary second, minute and hour.\nGot gold?","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Tag: metaphors i\nTo keep, to break or to make the 'rules'\u2026 that is a question\nWhat are the 'rules' of dissertation writing? They almost certainly differ between fields. In the visual arts, for example, a dissertation would almost certainly include text as well as images, textiles, design elements of a certain shape and form. In Mathematics, a dissertation would have to include mathematical 'language' and forms as well as more conventional text, as arguments are made in equations as well as in other forms of writing. In the social sciences in general the 'rules' seem to be fairly general. But it seems broadly agreed that there should be around 80-100,000 words or text, and that there must be an introduction, a literature review, a methodology and methods chapter, findings and discussion of these, and a conclusion that could include recommendations. These were certainly the 'rules' as I understood them when I started out with my own PhD process. By rules, I mean 'the agreed upon (usually quite tacit) format, style and content of a dissertation within a particular field or discipline'.\nA big question for me, throughout my own doctoral journey, was about these rules, and whether I was breaking them, keeping them or making new ones as I went. There are risks associated with breaking rules \u2013 you could be misunderstood, or make your argument more convoluted and confusing through trying to create a new way of producing a dissertation, or find yourself having to do many corrections. But, I think there are also risks associated with keeping a set of rules, especially if you don't have a clear understanding of what the rules are and why they are there. In this case you could end up producing a thesis that conforms but underneath the surface may be 'thin' or unsatisfying, and this lack of understanding of what you are writing and why could make it harder for you to move successfully into a research and writing career post-PhD. Further, making new rules is tough, and doesn't often happen (not for scholars just starting out anyway). You may make small little dents in a structure you disagree with or think could be improved, but it'll take a number of you to really start making people question whether a specific rule, process or outcome perhaps needs to be changed or updated.\nI feel like I bent, rather than broke, some of the rules of dissertation writing, and the experience was mostly an anxious one, even though the creativity it allowed me to bring to my writing was exciting, and satisfying. I think visually, and my research journal is full of pictures and scribbles as well as more conventional forms of text. I like metaphors, and I use these a lot in my writing and my teaching. I had a metaphor for the argument I was making, and I was using this to think through my 'theory chapter', until a friend, Carol, listened to my idea and suggested that it might be a useful metaphor for the whole dissertation. The metaphor was that of an archaeological dig, and it structured the way I organised my chapters, the headings I gave to them, and what I included in them. I really loved it, but I worried that it was too creative for a PhD in Education, and that it would somehow detract from the seriousness of my argument, or be seen as flippant by my examiners. I think this is one of the more common fears, perhaps, about using a visual and creative tool like metaphor in a field that is not conventionally visual, like the fine or creative arts. In the end, none of my examiners commented on it (which was disappointing) so I needn't have worried so much. But I still think what I did was important, for me, even if it was not noted by the people who were ultimately responsible for passing or failing my work.\nWe write, when we do, for others \u2013 for our readers and colleagues \u2013 but more importantly, we write for ourselves, for our own personal, emotional and intellectual growth and edification. I think when you're doing a PhD and you're focused so much on what your supervisor\/s think and what your examiners will think and what parts you'll be able to publish in journals and what the wider academic community in your field will think, we forget to ask ourselves what we think about what we are writing. The questions about making, breaking (bending) or keeping within the rules becomes a question then about balance \u2013 to what extent do we consider our own desires and aims as creators of our own work, and how to we balance these with what we are asked to produce for our external audience? What kinds of risks do we accept and grapple with when we choose to bend and break generally accepted rules of thesis or article writing? What if what we are doing feeds our own souls, but falls on deaf ears in terms of examiners and peer reviewers? Is that too much of a risk, and do we then tone down our creativity in order to create something more conventional and less risky? For me, this is a risk: I'll be able to get my article published (please editors) but I may not be really happy with what I have put out these connected with my name.\nPerhaps we need to make these kinds of conversations a more recognised and conscious part of PhD supervision, and academic writing for publication. Why do the 'rules' as we tend to know them exist and who do they serve? Can they be bent, broken and remade? Who carries the risks here, and what indeed are these risks? I don't yet have any clear answers**, but I think these are important questions to be asking, talking about, and finding answers to as scholarly communities of practice and as PhD students and supervisors.\n**A new edited collection takes on the notion of risk in doctoral writing from a range of perspectives: Thesen, L. and Cooper, L. 2013. Risk in Academic Writing: Postgraduate Students, Their Teachers and the Making of Knowledge. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Physics\nOxford Research Encyclopedias Physics\nCosmology and Astrophysics\nPhysics Policy and Management\nSolar Dynamo\nRobert Cameron\n10.1093\/acrefore\/9780190871994.013.11\nPRINTED FROM the OXFORD RESEARCH ENCYCLOPEDIA, PHYSICS (oxfordre.com\/physics). (c) Oxford University Press USA, 2020. All Rights Reserved. Personal use only; commercial use is strictly prohibited (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).\nThis is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Physics. Please check back later for the full article.\nThe solar dynamo is the action of flows inside the Sun to maintain its magnetic field against Ohmic decay. On small scales the magnetic field is seen at the solar surface as a ubiquitous \"salt and pepper\" disorganized field that might be generated directly by the turbulent convection. On large scales, the magnetic field is remarkably organized, with an 11-year activity cycle. During each cycle the field emerging in each hemisphere has a specific East-West alignment (known as Hale's law) that changes from cycle to cycle, a statistical tendency for a North-South alignment (Joy's law), and polar fields that reverse sign during the period of maximum activity each cycle.\nThe relevant flows for the large-scale dynamo are those of convection; the bulk rotation of the Sun; and motions driven by magnetic fields, as well as flows produced by the interaction of these. Particularly important are the Sun's large-scale differential rotation (for example, the equator rotates faster than the poles), and small-scale helical motions resulting from the Coriolis force acting on convective motions or on the motions associated with buoyant rising magnetic flux. These two types of motions result in a magnetic cycle. In one phase of the cycle, differential rotation winds up a poloidal magnetic field to produce a toroidal field.\nSubsequently helical motions are thought to bend the toroidal field to create new poloidal magnetic flux that reverses and replaces the poloidal field that was present at the start of the cycle.\nIt is now clear that both small- and large-scale dynamo action are in principle possible, and the challenge is to understand which combination of flows and driving mechanisms are responsible for the time-dependent magnetic fields seen on the Sun.\nMax Planck Institute for Solar System Research","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home \u00bb Elections \u00bb What Somalia Can Teach Kenya On Elections And Power Transitions\nWhat Somalia Can Teach Kenya On Elections And Power Transitions\nPatrick Gathara\nIncumbents losing an election and graciously conceding is not what most associate with the continent, let alone Somalia. By contrast, the Kenyan experience is rather typical. Here, no incumbent President has ever lost an election. Whether by hook but more often by crook, they manage to cling onto either the end of their terms or their lives, whichever came first.\nBut a graceful concession from a losing incumbent is exactly what the world witnessed in the Somali capital on Wednesday. The election of former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo as the country's ninth President upheld a rather curious, perhaps unique tradition: Somalia has never re-elected an incumbent as President.\nIt's a tradition that goes back to the founding days of the Somalia republic. In its first election following independence and unification in 1960, the popular Aden Abdullah Osman Daar was elected President. Seven years later, he would become the first African head of state to peacefully hand over power to a democratically elected successor -his former Prime Minister, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke.\nNow this week's election in Mogadishu was not, by any stretch of the imagination, one to be emulated. Due to the ongoing terrorist insurgency perpetrated by the Al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab, universal suffrage was out of the question. Instead 135 elders picked 14,000 delegates who elected 275 MPs and 54 Senators who elected the President. The process was marred by allegations of corruption, vote buying and intimidation, which is perhaps not surprising for a country that ranks at the very bottom of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. The head of the country's police publicly supporting the incumbent and security concerns led to both the shut down oftransportation across the Somali capital and the moving of the election to the airport, which is secured by troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia.\nMuch of this would be familiar to Kenyans as our own general election looms. Though not as dire as that of our neighbor, our system is not without it controversies. There are credible suspicions of attempts to steal it right from the voter registration stage, with public officials, especially chiefs, illegally co-opted into an effort to help boost registration numbers in areas perceived as supporting the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party. Further, our global corruption ranking is not that much higher (relatively speaking) than Somalia's and the expected deployment of thousands of police and security agents to safeguard the election speaks not just to the legitimate security concerns in the wake of our invasion of Somalia, but also to the government's fear of its own people.\nPresident Kenyatta has recently said he is willing to peacefully hand over power if he loses and to his credit, he has already delivered a historical first: in 2002, he became the only losing Presidential candidate from a major party in Kenya's electoral history to deliver a concession speech. Whether he will remain true to his word remains to be seen, but, as Somalia illustrates, the fact of a chaotic and problematic electoral process need not preclude it.\nSomalia also provides an object lesson in the dangers of the ethnic mobilization and military takeover of civilian affairs. Despite being one of only two largely ethnically homogenous sub-Saharan African states, fragmentation along clan affiliation is one of the main reasons the civil war has persisted for so long. Kenya itself had a taste of it in the violence that followed the disputed elections of a decade ago.\nAnother factor in Somalia's disintegration was the military takeover that followed the assassination of President Sharmake in 1969. The Siad Barre dictatorship that followed set the country on the path to destruction. Kenyans should therefore be wary of occurrences that diminish civilian control over the military of give it a taste for civilian responsibilities. Thus the decision by President Kenyatta to appoint Gen Chief of Defense Forces Samson Mwathethe to chair a committee overseeing the implementation of government projects should be of concern as should the seeming inability of civilian authorities to hold the military to account following the debacles at Westgate, El Adde and most recently, Kulbiyow.\nSomalis are a fiercely independent-minded lot, not as reticent in expressing their opinions as Kenyans are generally perceived to be. \"Every man is his own Sultan\" is how one 19th century visitor described them. Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society, in 2011 recounted an incident in which a waiter publicly berates a government minister in a restaurant in Hargeisa, capital of the northern breakaway -and far more peaceful- Somaliland republic. Such a scene would be unlikely to be repeated here (except perhaps on our famously noisy online platforms). But maybe we could learn from that waiter the value of confronting, rather than accommodating, our lying and thieving politicians.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"VII Masterclass in Barcelona, Dec. 19-22, 2019\n\u00ab The Enigma Room at PHOTO IS:RAEL\nNew Frontiers in the Art of Visual Storytelling with Ed Kashi (Weekend-Intensive) \u00bb\nVII Masterclass is the most ambitious and exhaustive training program available. Aimed at developing and consolidating new talent in documentary photography and photojournalism over the course of seven months and takes place in three sessions of four days each. The key objective of this Masterclass is to allow time for progress to develop and for the long-term structure to have a lasting contribution to your professional training. Within each Masterclass session, Stefano de Luigi, Maciek Nabrdalik and the other VII tutors will invite international photography professionals, including critics, photo editors and festival directors, to present and critique.\nAll three sessions will take place at Fuga Centro de fotograf\u00eda in Barcelona, Spain.\nWatch links from previous sessions and see more information here: http:\/\/viiphoto.com\/event\/vii-masterclass-in-barcelona\/\nClea Rekhou: \"The VII Masterclass has been for me the most insightful experience about documentary photography. It has allowed me to learn from inspiring masters and mentors so that I could push my boundaries further. It taught me about \"owning\" my projects as much as discovering the professional aspects of documentary photography. The masterclass is at the same time very concrete, pragmatic and conceptual, philosophical. I met also many inspiring 'classmates' who also very inspiring, inventive and touching. Thanks to all the masters for investing in new voices. Thank you Stefano! Thank you Maciek!\"\nSandra Buschow: \"The masterclass was such an intense time for me and I am so grateful for what I experienced during this last year \u2013 it was so emotional. I went to Warsaw with an idea for a project and I got back to Berlin with an inspiration for a very personal and intimate story which was a totally different thing! Thank you for this challenge that entered my life so unexpectedly! Above all, I would like to thank my mentor Maggie Steber who brought my story to the foreground. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the lecturers, to Stefano, and to Maciek. It was anything but a comfortable journey for me but you have provided a space for my story to evolve in photographic expression. I am still processing the feedback and the effects of the extensive lectures, I have learned so much and I am just realizing the long-lasting impression of all the content-related discussions. Over time, some relations have turned into deep friendships and I have spent an intense and fruitful time with my new friends. With all the consequences and without the blink of an eye, I would do this masterclass again. The most beautiful thing to me is that the overall topic was passion: the passion for a story and passion for photography! And if you ask me, it's this what really counts.\"\nYulia Grigoryants: \"Coming from Armenia, a small country which today doesn't provide almost any school or course for young photographers, VII Masterclass in Warsaw was a unique opportunity for me. It was a great chance to learn from professional photographers and specialists, who shared their experience and knowledge with us. It was a unique opportunity to learn and it, basically, opened my eyes.\nWhat is great is that this is not a one-time Masterclass, but a long-term program, that facilitates building stronger bonds between the photographer and the subject and of course between participants and the professionals. The Masterclass gave me an invaluable and enriching experience, which I will be able to carry with me throughout my career. I am deeply thankful to my mentor Maggie Steber who continues to mentor my project and me even after the workshop, giving me motivation and power to pursue and make the project deeper\".\nSayan Hazra: \"Thanks to all VII masters and guests (artists, photojournalists, photo editors, curators, and publishers) for sharing their knowledge, mentoring us and inspiring us to think different, enriching our visual literacy. Working on some personal project, under the supervision of a mentor, during the masterclass is itself a life-changing experience. This was indeed a great opportunity to meet new colleagues and friends from other countries. It's total phenomenal. One must not miss this opportunity. \"\nAndrew Cullen: \"The VII Masterclass in Warsaw provided such a valuable opportunity to concentrate on photography. The class motivated me to make significant, rapid progress on a project that I had been working on slowly for a long time. But it also provided me with space to see and think deeply about photography and all aspects of its practice: how to conceptualize a project, how to choose an aesthetic approach that amplifies the meaning the photographs are meant to communicate, how to tell a story. The VII mentors and the visiting photographers and editors have varied strengths and philosophies, so most students are bound to find someone whose work and process resonates. And the environment the students and mentors created, at turns constructive and analytical, then intimate and open \u2014 felt like family.\"\nAnton Gautama: \"Through this VII Masterclass in Warsaw, I learned not only in photojournalism but in general about strong visual storytelling. I feel eventually able to complete the last of the trilogy of my photobook project with my humble and lovely mentor. It was an excellent opportunity to have discussions with the mentors and participants, and build a connection and friendships (not mentioning the charming city of Warsaw). \"\nPrin Rodriguez: \"VII Masterclass in Warsaw was an excellent opportunity to meet outstanding photographers from all over the world. During the classes and travels, I had the chance to meet amazing people who have inspired and expanded my photographic vision. I'm thankful for the availability and open-mindedness of my classmates, guests, and masters.\"\nAgata Grzybowska: \"Masterclass VII in Berlin was really exciting and it was an inspiration for my future work. During the masterclass, I was working on my first book and I received a few really good pieces of advice, I could learn from the best photographers. The most important thing \u2013 the masterclass gave me an opportunity to meet excellent photographers from all over the world, with whom I could exchange opinions, whom I could ask for advice and figure out new ways for my personal development. It was an amazing experience.\"\nCharmaine Poh: \" I'm thankful for the community of generous classmates I found, as well as hearing from photographers who have had decades of experience. Coming from Asia, it was eye-opening to learn about the industry in Europe and have conversations about images across cultures. The biggest lesson I learned was to be my own judge, and to find my own place in the industry.\"\nIwona Knorr: \"Meeting photography professionals like artists and photojournalists, photo editors, curators and publishers and having the opportunity to ask them all my questions was a great benefit from my participation in the VII Masterclass in Berlin 2016\/2017. One-to-one discussions with the masters gave me valuable guidance on how to progress with my own project. I enjoyed the creative atmosphere during the sessions and liked to follow Masters' critiques on the project of peer photographers from different countries and backgrounds.\"\nJacek Fota: \"For me, the masterclass was all about meeting new people. I met many awesome and talented young photographers who I became friends with and want to sustain this relationship for years to come. I encourage participants to get a place together because it is all combining the two \u2013 learning and having a great time. Especially that this next masterclass will take place in Warsaw.\"\nSaara Mansikkamaki: \"Looking back on the time of the Masterclass, trying to understand what really happened there and how it affected me, I still find myself a bit puzzled. I'm pretty sure that taking part in it didn't diminish the number of questions I had and continue to have, but rather gave more of them. I still question this career, this industry, my place in there.\"\nBut I also still work on the project I started during the Masterclass, which, I guess, means that I understood something valuable. I'm still probably as bad pitching my ideas to the editors as I was a year ago, but still, I've managed to sell the story out to magazines. That means that I either have some sort of photojournalistic identity or that the industry is not so harsh after all. Maybe both, I hope.\nI think that the Masterclass was like some sort of storm. I enjoyed it but also thought whether I'm still gonna be alive as it ends. I was exposed there to tons of different and conflicting opinions, others' and my own, some of which didn't make any sense to me and some of which value I came to realize only after a good amount of time had passed. It ripped me from where I was rooted and threw me to a new soil. But the greatest thing was that I wasn't there alone.\"\nGregory Michenaud: \"VII Masterclass was a real, great human and professional experience. A place where you can go deeper into all facets of realizing a complete and successful photographic project from the idea till the final presentation of it. All the VII photographers, as well as fellow participants, are taking part in each step of its completion, pushing you to go farther and higher on your personal work \u2013 so useful, especially when it is a personal one.\nApart from this professional side, the friendliness of this Masterclass, gave me so much opportunities to create connexions with fellow participants, lecturers and VII photographers \u2013 contacts or friendship that are valuable, more than anything else.\"\nGeorgia Fu: \"I thoroughly enjoyed and valued my VII Masterclass experience in Berlin, from meeting the wonderfully diverse participants to the inspirational VII photographers that came and worked with us. The experience taught me how to look for a story within a frame instead of just trying to capture a moment or an aesthetically pleasing image. I learned how to be more patient with my photography, how to wait for the right moment to come, instead of trying to capture everything. The experience also affirmed my belief that integrity and emotional truth are the most important things in photography. But most of all, it was meeting all the different photographers, participants, speakers and teachers, from various backgrounds, countries, and approaches to photography that made the experience invaluable. Being able to reconnect with people and hearing about everyone's experiences over the three masterclass sessions, created an enriching and meaningful relationships, which for me was my favorite part of the masterclass experience\"\nAnna Liminowicz: \"It was a great time! You gave me the motivation to work and continue projects. Many thanks for critical conversations and help with photo editing (especially Ashley Gilbertson and Christopher Morris ). Thank you, Stefano De Luigi, for showing me my strengths. Thanks to him, I know what should I develop in my works.\nIn addition, I changed the optics. The basic meaning \u2013 the one for the camera, but also in approach to the portrayed people. Thanks to Masterclass I made new friendships, we have extended our photo collective (www.inproduction.pl) and Dave and Gregory from the Masterclass joined us. Thanks to the fact that photographers of VII shared knowledge about cooperation with international magazines, I could take advantage of their experience. Moreover, cooperation with BuzzFeed established during the workshops meant that money spent on education with you soon returned. Thanks for making the photographer's world smaller and easier to work with. \"\nAndrea Provenzano: \"VII masterclass opened my eyes on the world of photojournalism giving me the chance to meet and discover the workflow and the approach to visual storytelling of incredible photographers, both inside the agency and between the students.\"\nWojciech Ryzinski: \"VII masterclass in Berlin was an amazing experience for so many reasons. I've learned a lot about the business aspects of the photo industry. Hours of editing sessions with the masters were very intense and demanding but also really enjoyable. Seeing the projects that we worked on during the masterclass, evolving from session to session was really inspiring. I feel grateful that I had a chance to meet many talented photographers from around the world. Most importantly, I completed the masterclass having more friends than I had before it started. \"\nRozette Rago: \"The VII Masterclass in Berlin gave me the incredible opportunity to look at my work through the eyes of not only several photographers I look up to from the VII Photo Agency, but also more than a dozen talented photographers from various parts of the world. I carry the valuable advice I received from my mentors daily when I'm out in the field working. I also appreciated the thoughtfulness of the VII team in carefully curating our time in Berlin, taking us to various exhibitions and galleries where we met incredible artists and editors. The immersive nature of the sessions helped me focus on my work while giving plenty of time to connect with my classmates, which resulted in meaningful connections that I still lean on now. I will always be grateful for the experience, wisdom, and the friends I gained through this program.\"\nPallavi Gaur: \"My appreciation for documentary photography was the foremost reason why I applied for the VII masterclass. My project was about photographing the ephemerality of life, the joy of small things. I felt my project was in the right company of photographers. The different methods and the fascinating observations of the mentors helped me think aloud. Also, the criticism from my peers made me stand up for what I believe in while at the same time reexamine the rigidity of the structure and play with the fluidity of storytelling in photography.\"\nFelipe do Valle Costa: \"The VII Masterclass was a great opportunity to get to know other photographers, students, and VII's photographers, and understand their process and way of thinking. This was of great value and helped me think and develop my own project. Also, having other people edit and give their opinion about your photos is the best way to learn.\"\nIrene Van Nispen Kress: \"The whole VII Masterclass experience was really great. I learned a lot from great teachers, made lovely new friends, met interesting people, got good contacts and learned a lot about the whole world of photography and it's do's and don'ts. Personally, I struggled a lot with the project I was working on. It was about women who used to be a man and my reportage approach didn't work the way I wanted it to and I how used to work on other projects. Working on an unsuccessful project can sometimes be even more interesting than working on a successful one. It made me realize even more what I need to be aware of and need to figure out in certain circumstances to tell a story in pictures.\"\nDavid Shaw: \"The VII Masterclass helped me to find the focus on the subject of my project and this improved my wider photographic practise. It was a fantastic opportunity to receive insight into the industry through talks and discussions and to also meet new colleagues through the other attendees.\"\nLucas Sere Peltzer: \"For me, the essence of this Masterclass is what it aims to reveal within you outside of the sessions. I'm grateful for the place in life it moved me to, for the people and realities I'm now bonded to. The path this experience opened for me started with a personal project and became a journey of human connection when I joined a global demand for peace. I marched with people who turned into friends I deeply connected to, with just a few films to get closer to those moments when someone reveals to you.\"\nEducation, Speaking Engagements, Workshop\n3 sessions, Anush Babajanyan, Barcelona, Ed Kashi, focused, Ilvy Njiokiktjien, John Stanmeyer, long term, Maciek Nabrdalik, Magdalena Herrera, Maggie Steber, Maral Deghati, Masterclass, Mentor, Ron Haviv, Spain, Stefano de Luigi, VII, VII Photo, VII Photo Agency, workshop\nhttp:\/\/viiphoto.com\/event\/vii-masterclass-in-barcelona\/\nCarrer d'En Fontrodona, 31\nBarcelona, Spain + Google Map\nhttp:\/\/www.fugafoto.com\/","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Illicit enrichment, unexplained wealth, unexplained silence\nJanuary 2, 2022 January 3, 2022 Future Wealth Daily\nMALAYSIA is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which is an international instrument to address the scourge of corruption at the global level.\nThe adoption of the UNCAC in 2003 sent a clear message that the international community was, and continues to be, determined to prevent and control corruption. It should warn the corrupt that betrayal of the public trust will no longer be tolerated.\nThe UNCAC is the international community's affirmation of the importance of core values such as honesty, respect for the rule of law, accountability and transparency in promoting development and making the world a better place for all.\nA landmark instrument, the UNCAC introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that all countries can apply in order to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption. It calls for preventive measures and the criminalisation of the most prevalent forms of corruption in both public and private sectors.\nIt also requires member states to return assets obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen \u2013 a major international breakthrough as the UNCAC offers a framework for effective action and international cooperation.\nIn his foreword to the UNCAC, then secretary-general Kofi Annan wrote of the provisions therein contained: \"These provisions \u2013 the first of their kind \u2013 introduce a new fundamental principle, as well as a framework for stronger cooperation between States to prevent and detect corruption and to return the proceeds. Corrupt officials will in future find fewer ways to hide their illicit gains.\n\"This is a particularly important issue for many developing countries where corrupt high officials have plundered the national wealth and where new Governments badly need resources to reconstruct and rehabilitate their societies.\"\nOn illicit gains in particular, article 20 states as follows: \"Subject to its constitution and the fundamental principles of its legal system, each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally, illicit enrichment, that is, a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.\"\nEven though article 20 recommends that member states should criminalise illicit enrichment, some \u2013 including Malaysia \u2013 have yet to specifically legislate on the matter. And there is \"no unanimous applied definition of illicit enrichment\", despite the term is therein defined in Article 20 as a \"significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income\".\nAs such, based on his research on the laws around the world, Andrew Dornbierer offers the following definition: \"The act of illicit enrichment can be broadly defined as the enjoyment of an amount of wealth that is not justified through reference to lawful income\". (Dornbierer, A., 2021. Illicit Enrichment: A Guide to Laws Targeting Unexplained Wealth)\nThe phrase \"not justified through reference to lawful income\" refers to an absence of evidence that demonstrates the legitimate or non-criminal sources from which the enjoyed wealth was derived (such as salaries, profits from legitimate businesses, pension payments, inheritances, gifts or even loans from banks).\nDornbierer offers a simple example: If an individual worked as a public tax assessor from 2010 to 2020 and earned a cumulative total salary of $400,000 during this period, but instead was found to possess $4,000,000 in his bank account at the end of this period, then if it is not possible for the individual to demonstrate that the additional $3,600,000 was derived from other existing sources of legitimate income during this time (such as a loan from a bank, earnings from a side business, or the receipt of inheritance) then under an illicit enrichment law, the court may presume that this unjustifiable increase in wealth has not been derived from lawful sources and will impose a relevant sanction, even if no evidence of underlying or separate criminal activity is presented to the court.\nIn simple words, illicit enrichment is wealth that is not lawful income in the absence of evidence that shows otherwise.\nIn his book, Dornbierer annexes a compilation of illicit enrichment legislation and other relevant legislation which he categorises as either:\n\u2022 Criminal illicit enrichment laws;\n\u2022 Qualified criminal illicit enrichment laws;\n\u2022 Civil illicit enrichment laws;\n\u2022 Qualified civil Illicit enrichment laws;\n\u2022 Administrative illicit enrichment laws; or\n\u2022 Other relevant laws.\nAs the above indicates, the book provides a comprehensive guide to illicit enrichment laws and their application to target unexplained wealth and recover proceeds of corruption and other crimes. The book covers both criminal and civil-based laws from around the world.\nMalaysia's only entry in the compilation of the laws falls under the second category above. It is qualified criminal illicit enrichment law because it requires the state to provide evidence to a court of a 'reasonable suspicion' or a 'reasonable belief' that some sort of underlying or separate criminality has taken place.\nThe law is in section 36 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 which provides for the powers to obtain information, based on the investigation carried out by an officer of the commission, that any property is held or acquired by any person as a result of or in connection with an offence under the act.\nIn recent years, a concept has gained traction: unexplained wealth. It refers to valuable assets belonging to officials \u2013 or others in positions of power and influence \u2013 that are clearly incommensurate with their publicly declared earnings or known business interests. (See Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), \"What is 'unexplained wealth'?\" https:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/what-is-unexplained-wealth\/)\nAt the heart of the concept is a simple mathematical formula: unexplained wealth equals total wealth less lawfully acquired wealth.\nThus, a person whose total wealth is RM5 million, and whose lawfully acquired wealth is RM2 million, can be said to have unexplained wealth of RM3 million.\nThe concept is now a key element in the United Kingdom's Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA) \u2013 nicknamed \"McMafia\" laws after the BBC's organised crime drama \u2013 which introduces new measures to help law enforcement act on corrupt assets. One of the measures is what is called unexplained wealth orders (UWOs).\nUWOs give enforcement authorities such as the National Crime Agency (NCA), Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) the ability to seize assets suspected of deriving from the proceeds of criminal activity.\nA UWO places the burden on the individual, rather than the enforcement authority, to prove how he or she has accumulated his or her wealth. He or she is to produce evidence to verify the sources of the wealth, failing which the property may be recoverable by civil forfeiture.\nAccount or interim freezing orders (AFOs\/IFOs) may also be made and penal sanctions imposed. UWOs thus provide an opportunity for enforcement authorities to confiscate assets without ever having to prove that the property was obtained from criminal activity.\nAccording to Dornbierer, both terms \u2013 illicit enrichment and unexplained wealth \u2013 are currently being used interchangeably to refer to the exact same or an incredibly similar set of circumstances.\nBoth are controversial legal concepts. Some view them as critical tools in the combating of corruption and other crimes and the recovery of assets while others view them as a violation of common legal principles. But effective both have been in combating corruption and the recovery of proceeds of crime.\nDornbierer writes: \"(T)here is no doubt that (the) laws have remarkable potential in the field of asset recovery. Following the successful application of these types of laws in a number of jurisdictions, it is no surprise that an increasing number of countries are turning to these mechanisms to target corruption and criminality in general, and recover proceeds of crime.\"\nMalaysia may not count as one of those increasing number of countries. But the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government \u2013 to its credit \u2013 did consider introducing a legislation similar to the CFA with similar measures. Then finance minister Lim Guan Eng said measures such as UWOs would enable the government to seize \"extraordinary assets\" owned by individuals, especially politicians.\n\"The attorney-general is studying this legislation, which will allow the government to seize extraordinary and unexplained assets owned by prominent individuals, especially politicians,\" said Lim during a question-and-answer session at a briefing on Budget 2019 in Penang.\nNonetheless, Malaysia should send a clear message that it is determined to require officials and individuals in positions of power and influence to explain assets that are clearly incommensurate with their publicly declared earnings or known business.\nThis by requiring the MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki to break his deafening silence over his alleged ownership of millions of publicly traded stocks.\nThis is unexplained silence.\nAs Transparency International Malaysia president Muhammad Mohan said, the issue will affect the world's perception of Malaysia and the MACC and lower the country's rankings on indices such as the Corruption Perceptions Index and Global Corruption Barometer. \u2013 January 3, 2022.\n* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.\n* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight.\nPrevious: Unexplained silence over unexplained wealth \u2014 Hafiz Hassan\nNext: Which direct plan equity mutual funds do investors prefer?","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The impact of reduced public services spending on vulnerable groups - review of UK and international evidence\nMcQuaid, Ronald, Egdell, Valerie and Hollywood, Emma (2010) The impact of reduced public services spending on vulnerable groups - review of UK and international evidence. Project Report. Edinburgh Napier University.\nThis evidence review was commissioned by the Scottish Government and undertaken by the Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University.\nThe overall aim is to review and summarise UK and international evidence on the impact of reduced spending on equalities groups: people with a disability; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT); gender; ethnicity; religion; and age. Emphasis is given to evidence on what has happened in the past, although note is made of estimates of what might happen due to reduced spending in the future.\nSpecifically this report examines 3 potential effects of spending cuts:\n\u2022Job losses in the public sector\n\u2022Access to the types of public services that are funded by the Scottish Government (which may have impacts on service provision and on contractors in the private or third sectors)\n\u2022Welfare and tax issues that are reserved to the UK government (and hence are of less likely to be of interest to the Scottish Government).\nAs well as addressing cuts in the public sector this report also considers the effect on the Third sector. These organisations are sometimes heavily funded by the public sector and have increasingly been responsible for public service provision.\nReport (Project Report)\nL900 Others in Social studies\nFaculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School\nBecky Skoyles\nhttp:\/\/nrl.northumbria.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/37492","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Nitty Gritty Slam #77 Featuring Sean Patrick Mulroy\nBy Thom Francis \/ August 25, 2014 August 25, 2014 \/ Nitty Gritty Slam \/ 1 Comment\nWe are back at The Low Beat on Tuesday, September 2 to kick off Season Four of Nitty Gritty Slam with featured poet Sean Patrick Mulroy.\nSean has performed his poetry in 10 countries, 3 continents and 16 national poetry competitions. At this year's IWPS, he will represent the Boston Poetry Slam, where he serves as co-host. He is a 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow and has work in or coming soon in Muzzle, Nailed, Moonshot, Union Station, Frigg, qu.ee\/r, and Best Indie Literature of New England.\nAt the last slam we crowed the Season Three Champion of Champions in Kevin Peterson after a very exciting final round between KP and Bless. Now we are ready to start fresh. All of the points have been reset to zero and everyone is on a level playing field.\nWho will be the first winner of the season? Who will raise the bar and set their sights on #TeamNittyGritty 2015? All of those questions will be answered when we start Season Four at NGS 77.\nIf you're not into competing in the slam, but want to get on stage and share your work, we have an open mic before the slam. Sign up begins at 7:00pm, open mic starts at 7:30, and then Thom Francis starts the slam at 8:00pm. Admission is $5.00 ($3.00 with student ID). This is an 18+ show.\nIf you can't make it out to the show that night, be sure to follow along on Twitter! We will be live tweeting pictures and results all night at @NittyGrittySlam and #NGS77.\nAlbany Poets, Urban Guerilla Theatre, and The Frequency North Reading Series have brought slam back to Albany with the Nitty Gritty Slam at The Low Beat (335 Central Ave.) on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday's of each month.\nFor information on the rules and format of the Nitty Gritty Slam and to meet the team, go to http:\/\/nittygrittyslam.com\nCapCity Slam Grows at The Barn\nNitty Gritty Going to The National Poetry Slam in Chicago\nNitty Gritty Slam, January 3\nNitty Gritty Slam \u2014 Open Mic Night, October 4","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"FBI director: Charleston shooter shouldn't have been able to buy gun\nBy Ben Kamisar - 07\/10\/15 01:22 PM EDT\nFBI Director James Comey James Brien ComeyComey: Biden should consider pardoning Trump Comey: 'Greatest punishment' for Trump after Capitol riot is to 'move past' his presidency Comey argues Trump shouldn't be prosecuted after leaving Oval Office MORE said that the national background check system should have prevented the man who allegedly killed nine people at a historically black South Carolina church from buying a gun.\nSuspect Dylann Roof was arrested in February on a felony narcotics charge that would have caused him to fail a background check.\nComey told reporters that the arrest was either not in the federal computer system or not properly reviewed by someone at the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, according to the Washington Post.\n\"This case rips all of our hearts out, but the thought that an error on our part is connected to a gun this person used to slaughter these people is very painful to us,\" Comey told reporters at the FBI headquarters, according to the Post.\nSen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, lamented the failure in a statement released Friday, saying the shooting could have been stopped.\n\"It is heartbreaking to learn the tragedy that struck the members and families of Mother Emanuel Church and shook the entire nation possibly could have been prevented. We simply cannot have such failures in our background check system, and peoples' lives are at stake,\" he said.\n\"Clearly, more oversight is needed. I expect the Senate Judiciary Committee will be looking further into this matter so we can make sure such a tragic mistake is never repeated.\"\nSen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called the situation a disaster and panned attempts to expand gun control laws in the wake of the shooting.\n\"It's disastrous that this bureaucratic mistake prevented existing laws from working and blocking an illegal gun sale,\" he said in a statement.\n\"The facts undercut attempts to use the tragedy to enact unnecessary gun laws. The American people, and especially the victims' families, deserve better.\"\nPresident Obama, as well as other Democrats, called for lawmakers to readdress the gun control debate in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.\n\"At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries,\" he said.\n\"It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it.\"\nRoof has been charged on nine murder counts as well as three counts of attempted murder, but federal prosecutors are also expected to charge him with a hate crime.\nUntil Comey's admission, reports had questioned how Roof obtained a gun.\nPictures released after the shooting show Roof posing with a handgun and the Confederate flag. South Carolina removed the flag from its statehouse grounds on Friday.\nThis story was updated at 3:43 p.m.\nTags James Comey Dylann Roof Charleston shooting Gun control","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Routes of Cervantes\nAcci\u00f3n Cultural Espa\u00f1ola (AC\/E) is taking part in this initiative of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and Google Cultural Institute. 'The Routes of Cervantes', one of the most complete virtual exhibitions on Miguel de Cervantes to date, brings together more than 1,000 files \u2013 including photographs, videos and virtual tours \u2013 encompassing the life and oeuvre of the famous writer. The exhibition is available online at g.co\/LasRutasDeCervantes, free of charge, in Spanish and English, for both computers and mobiles.\nAcci\u00f3n Cultural Espa\u00f1ola, Agencia EFE, Archivos Estatales, Asociaci\u00f3n Espa\u00f1ola de Pintores y Escultores, Museo Casa Cervantes de Valladolid, Museo Casa Natal de Cervantes, Real Academia Espa\u00f1ola and Teatro Real have closely collaborated on the project, which aims to bring to life Cervantes the man, his prolific oeuvre and his cultural significance as part of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of his death. This initiative offers an unprecedented experience that allows anyone anywhere in the world to immerse themselves fully in the life and work of Cervantes and is a source of reference for the dissemination and teaching of Cervantes's legacy.\nRenowned historians and curators helped design 'The Routes of Cervantes', which consists of 18 virtual exhibitions and five 360-degree tours of the most representative places in the life of Miguel de Cervantes, such as the Casa Natal de Cervantes, his birthplace, and the Casa de Valladolid where the writer is believed to have penned the first lines of Don Quixote.\nFor the first time, with the support of engineers and specialists, Google Cultural Institute has developed an interactive history which allows viewer access to an outstanding selection of manuscripts, paintings and texts, making for a unique experience that recreates the life, oeuvre and times of Cervantes through the voice of the historian Alfredo Alvar Ezquerra, curator of this project and a member of the Real Academia de Historia.\nLiterature and Books\nPublishing \/ Film\nWithin:\nCentenary of Cervantes's Death\nWith the collaboration of:\nReal Academia Espa\u00f1ola (RAE)\nMuseo Casa Natal de Cervantes\nMuseo Casa Cervantes de Valladolid\nArchivos Estatales de Espa\u00f1a\nAsociaci\u00f3n Espa\u00f1ola de Pintores y Escultores\n09 June - 31 December 2016\n(Madrid, SPAIN)\nPresentaci\u00f3n. Nota de prensa (0.66 MB)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Mayflower Compact\nIn 1620, pilgrim leaders aboard the Mayflower wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, which stated the passengers' mission to form a government and live peacefully in the New World. This document helped ensure unity among the Plymouth colonists.\nIn the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereigne Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc.\nHaving undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe, by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just and equall laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the generall good of the Colonie unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd the 11, of November, in the year of the raigne of our sovereigne Lord King James of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fiftie-fourth. Anno. Dom. 1620.\nFrom the History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford (1590-1657), second governor of Plymouth.\nHistoric Documents Pilgrims","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd Elects Three New Shareholders\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. is pleased to announce that Kathleen M. Muthig, Perry MacLennan and Meghan G. Riordan have been elected as Shareholders in the firm.\nKimberly Witherspoon Named One of Greenville's 2021 \"Women of Influence\"\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is pleased to announce that Kimberly Witherspoon has been selected as one of 25 \"Women of Influence\" by the GSA Business Report. The award recognizes successful businesswomen who are making a positive impact on the community through their civic, nonprofit and philanthropic involvement.\nUpdate on the Status of OSHA's Vaccine Mandate\nAs of today, OSHA announced that it \"has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS [Emergency Temporary Standard] pending future developments in the litigation.\" A link to the announcement can be found here. The announcement came in response to the decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordering OSHA to essentially stand down for the time being.\nCMS Issues Emergency Regulation Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations for Health Care Staff\nOn November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an emergency regulation requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the CMS reimbursement programs. This regulation applies to the following facilities that accept Medicare and\/or Medicaid:\nKimberly Witherspoon Named a Bond Buyer 2021 Rising Star\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is pleased to announce that Kimberly Witherspoon has been named to The Bond Buyer's 2021 Rising Stars list.\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Kaitlin Beck Graduates from Leadership Columbia\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is pleased to announce that Kaitlin Beck has recently graduated from the Leadership Columbia program.\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd Recognized as a Leading Law Firm in 2021 Chambers USA\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.\nMatt Utecht Named 2021 Best Lawyers\u00ae \"Lawyer of the Year\" for Health Care Law in Greenville\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is proud to announce that Matt Utecht was recently recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2021 \"Lawyer of the Year\" for Health Care Law in Greenville.\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Kimberly Witherspoon Elected as President-Elect for the Junior League of Greenville\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is pleased to announce that Kimberly Witherspoon has been elected to serve as President-Elect for the Junior League of Greenville (JLG). She will be the first African American woman to serve in this role. Her term begins June 1, 2021.\nSally Purnell Named 2021 Best Lawyers\u00ae \"Lawyer of the Year\" for Medical Malpractice Law \u2013 Defendants in Greenville\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd is proud to announce that Sally Purnell was recently recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2021 \"Lawyer of the Year\" for Medical Malpractice Law \u2013 Defendants in Greenville.\n1 2 3 4 5 \u203a","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919\nJim Beach\nThis article examines the experiences of Britain's military representatives in the former Habsburg Duchy of Teschen during the sometimes violent turbulence of 1919. It explores the background and selection of these men, their interactions with local politics and society, and the perceptions they formed. Evidence is drawn primarily from their official reports, family letters, and a book written soon afterwards. As external witnesses, their testimony offers a fresh perspective on ethnic conflict in the duchy and Allied attempts to broker a settlement.\nHistorica: History and Related Sciences Review\nDuchy of Teschen\nInterAllied Commission\nhttps:\/\/katedry.osu.cz\/khi\/historica\/pdf\/2020\/Beach_1_2020.pdf\nDive into the research topics of 'British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.\nLocal Politics Arts & Humanities 100%\nFamily Letter Arts & Humanities 96%\nEthnic Conflict Arts & Humanities 79%\nBroker Arts & Humanities 75%\nMilitary Arts & Humanities 58%\nTestimony Arts & Humanities 49%\nWitness Arts & Humanities 49%\nInteraction Arts & Humanities 33%\nBeach, J. (2020). British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919. Historica: History and Related Sciences Review, 88-108. https:\/\/katedry.osu.cz\/khi\/historica\/pdf\/2020\/Beach_1_2020.pdf\nBeach, Jim. \/ British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919. In: Historica: History and Related Sciences Review. 2020 ; pp. 88-108.\n@article{89ed4a5cefe04acab92da9f984d0f68d,\ntitle = \"British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919\",\nabstract = \"This article examines the experiences of Britain{\\textquoteright}s military representatives in the former Habsburg Duchy of Teschen during the sometimes violent turbulence of 1919. It explores the background and selection of these men, their interactions with local politics and society, and the perceptions they formed. Evidence is drawn primarily from their official reports, family letters, and a book written soon afterwards. As external witnesses, their testimony offers a fresh perspective on ethnic conflict in the duchy and Allied attempts to broker a settlement.\",\nkeywords = \"British army, Silesia, Duchy of Teschen, InterAllied Commission, Peacekeeping\",\nauthor = \"Jim Beach\",\njournal = \"Historica: History and Related Sciences Review\",\nBeach, J 2020, 'British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919', Historica: History and Related Sciences Review, pp. 88-108. <https:\/\/katedry.osu.cz\/khi\/historica\/pdf\/2020\/Beach_1_2020.pdf>\nBritish Military Officers in Teschen, 1919. \/ Beach, Jim.\nIn: Historica: History and Related Sciences Review, 15.07.2020, p. 88-108.\nT1 - British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919\nAU - Beach, Jim\nN2 - This article examines the experiences of Britain's military representatives in the former Habsburg Duchy of Teschen during the sometimes violent turbulence of 1919. It explores the background and selection of these men, their interactions with local politics and society, and the perceptions they formed. Evidence is drawn primarily from their official reports, family letters, and a book written soon afterwards. As external witnesses, their testimony offers a fresh perspective on ethnic conflict in the duchy and Allied attempts to broker a settlement.\nAB - This article examines the experiences of Britain's military representatives in the former Habsburg Duchy of Teschen during the sometimes violent turbulence of 1919. It explores the background and selection of these men, their interactions with local politics and society, and the perceptions they formed. Evidence is drawn primarily from their official reports, family letters, and a book written soon afterwards. As external witnesses, their testimony offers a fresh perspective on ethnic conflict in the duchy and Allied attempts to broker a settlement.\nKW - British army\nKW - Silesia\nKW - Duchy of Teschen\nKW - InterAllied Commission\nKW - Peacekeeping\nJO - Historica: History and Related Sciences Review\nJF - Historica: History and Related Sciences Review\nBeach J. British Military Officers in Teschen, 1919. Historica: History and Related Sciences Review. 2020 Jul 15;88-108.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Islamic Prophets Family Tree | The Bible and Quran Compared\nPublished 1 year ago\nWhen you think of Prophets of Islam, you probably think of Muhammad. But he is not the only prophet. Yes, the Holy Book Qur'an is mostly based on his teachings and sayings. In re...\nWhen you think of Prophets of Islam, you probably think of Muhammad. But he is not the only prophet. Yes, the Holy Book Qur'an is mostly based on his teachings and sayings.\nIn reality, there are 25 prophets in Islam. Some of them include Adam, Nuh, Hud, Saleh, Lut, Ibrahim, Ismail, and more.\nAdam was the first prophet. According to Islam, he was the first human being and believed to have been the first prophet. Muslims believe he was created from clay by Allah and given the ability to think logically.\nHe was also given the role of khalifah.\nBroken Content\nPart Missing\nThe Extraordinary Origins Of Modern Pagan Witchcraft\nBritain's Wicca Man tells the extraordinary story of Britain's fastest growing religious group - Wicca - and of its creator, an eccentric Englishman called Gerald Gardner.Histori...\nSins of the fathers: Ireland's sex abuse survivors\nThe sexual abuse of children inside the Catholic church shook Ireland to its core. Unreported Europe speaks to the survivors and examines if the church has truly taken responsibili...\nFirst Impressions Inside Hasidic Jewish Community\nWhen you talk about religious movements, there are always groups and subgroups. The Hasidic movement is such group.The movement is all about love, joy, and humility. Hasidim belong...\nProphet for a Profit: South Africa's Millionaire Preacher\nIn this documentary, Reggie Yates concludes his travels around South African communities by spending a week with Prophet Mboro - a charismatic yet controversial church leader who i...\n4,857 Videos \/ 18,242,305 Views\nBirth Control and Religion \u2013 A Deeper Look\nTo understand how religion treats the subject of contraceptives and birth control, you have to take a look at the view o...\nOpus Dei \u2013 A Church within the Church\nThe majority of its membership are lay people, and the remainder are secular priests under the governance of a prelate e...\nSheikh Zayed Mosque \u2013 What is so Unique about it?\nConsidered one of the largest mosques in the world, Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi is an architectural masterpiece. It...\nJacques Fesch \u2013 From Murderer to Mystic\nJacques Fesch was born in April 1930. A proposal for his beatification was submitted in 1993, and has yet to be resolved...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home \/ Automotive & Transportation \/ Electric C\nElectric Charging Station Market By Mode Of Charging (Plug-in Charging System, Wireless Charging System), By Power Output (0 to 12 KW, 13 KW to 50 KW, Greater Than 50 KW), By End-use (Private Type, Public Type) - Growth, Future Prospects And Competitive Analysis, 2019 - 2027\nIncreasing adoption of electric vehicles globally to ensure rapid growth for electric charging station market.\nGlobally, the electric charging station market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 39% during the forecast period from 2019 to 2027, starting from US$8.8Bn in 2018.\nThe adoption of electric vehicles is growing rapidly across the world. Electric charging station provides an important role in the adoption of electric vehicles as they offer a safe, durable, reliable, and affordable charging infrastructure and ecosystem. The stringent emission norms adopted by the governments and the benefits offered by electric cars are accelerating the growth of electric charging stations in numerous developed and underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, the considerable rise in fuel prices is creating a huge demand for affordable alternatives that are anticipated to boost the demand for electric charging stations worldwide. On the other hand, the price associated with the initial setup of the electric charging station is expected to hamper the growth of the market. Moreover, the development of advanced technologies in the electric charging station in the near future is projected to fuel the market by opening several opportunities for companies working in this market.\nThe government funding to establish the public electric charging stations leading the growth of the electric charging station market\nThe public type charging station is dominating the electric charging market. The growing use of electric vehicles created the demand for efficient and reliable charging stations in public infrastructure such as public paid parking, railway stations, malls, airport, and others. The electric charger station. Manufacturers are more focused on developing advanced electric chargers to ensure easy availability at affordable prices. Moreover, on the basis of the mode of electric charging, the market is led by the plug-in charging system. Wireless charging systems are expected to show significant growth in the electric charging station market in upcoming years.\nThe Asia Pacific is the largest and the fastest growing region in the electric charging station market.\nThe Asia Pacific dominates the growth of the electric charging station market. Europe and North America hold a significant market share in this market. The growing awareness about eco-friendly vehicles to overcome the population is the key factor that promotes the adoption of electric vehicles in the Asia Pacific. Thus, this will further escalate the growth of the electric charging station market. Moreover, the growing manufacturers' focus on the technological advancements in electric vehicles and charging stations, coupled with the high demand and consumption of vehicles, are majorly contributing to the growth of the electric charging station market in the Asia Pacific region.\nSome of the prominent players operating in the electric charging station market include Schneider Electric SE, Siemens AG, ABB Ltd, ChargePoint Inc, Tesla, Inc., EVgo Services LLC, Webasto SE, Chargemaster PLC, General Electric Company, Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc, Eaton Corporation and others.\nThis research report presents the analysis of each segment from 2017 to 2027, considering 2018 as the base year for the research. Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for each respective segment calculated for the forecast period from 2019 to 2027.\nThe electric charging station market report provides market size and estimates based on market dynamics and key trends observed in the industry. The report provides a holistic view of the global electric charging station market based on charging, power output, end-user, and geography. Key segments covered in the report are as follows:\nATTRIBUTE DETAILS\nResearch Period 2017-2027\nThe base Year 2018\nUnit USD Billion\nSegmentation Mode of Charging Segment (2017\u20132027; US$ Bn)\nPlug-in charging system\nWireless charging system\nPower Output Segment (2017\u20132027; US$ Bn)\n0 to 12 KW\n13KW to 50 KW\nGreater than 50 KW\nEnd-use Segment (2017\u20132027; US$ Bn)\nPrivate Type\nPublic Type\nGeography Segment (2017\u20132027; US$ Bn)\nNorth America (U.S., Rest of North America)\nEurope (U.K., Germany, France, Rest of Europe)\nAsia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia Pacific)\nRest of the World (Middle East & Africa, Latin America)\nKey questions answered in this report.\nWhat was the market size of electric charging stations in 2018, and what is the forecast up to 2027?\nWhich is the largest regional market for the Plug-in charging system segment?\nWhat are the major trends followed in the electric charging station market across different regions?\nWho are the key electric charging station companies leading the market?\nWhat are the key strategies adopted by the leading electric charging station companies in the market?\nUnique data points of this report\nStatistics on electric vehicles penetration and spending worldwide\nRecent trends across different regions in terms of the adoption of an electric charging station for various vehicles\nNotable developments going on in the electric vehicle industry\nAttractive investment proposition for segments as well as geography\nComparative scenario for all the segments for years 2018 (actual) and 2027 (forecast)\nWhat is the size of Electric Charging Station Market?\nThe market for Electric Charging Station Market is expected to reach US$ 8.8 Bn By 2027.\nWhat is the Electric Charging Station Market CAGR?\nThe Electric Charging Station Market is expected to see significant CAGR growth over the coming years, at 39%.\nWhat is the Forecast period considered for Electric Charging Station Market?\nThe report is forecasted from 2019-2027.\nWhat is the base year considered for Electric Charging Station Market?\nSchneider Electric SE, Siemens AG, ABB Ltd, ChargePoint Inc, Tesla, Inc., EVgo Services LLC, Webasto SE, Chargemaster PLC, General Electric Company, Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc, Eaton Corporation are some of the major players in the global market.\nElectric Vehicle Charging Station Market\nElectric Vehicle Supply Equipment Market\nWireless Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging System Market\nElectric Vehicle Charging Services Market\nPublished Date: Jul 2019\nCategory: Automotive & Transportation","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"https:\/\/www.motleyrice.com\/article\/takata-airbag-injury-suit-filed\nTakata Airbag Recalls Seemingly Insufficient; Suit Filed Alleging Serious Injuries By Exploding Airbag In Unrecalled Nissan\nMotley Rice files new personal injury federal action against Takata, Nissan; calls for expanded recalls\nMotley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' firms, has filed a new product liability action in MDL No. 2559, In re Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami) against Takata and Nissan for a woman alleging injuries by the violent explosion of a passenger-side airbag in a vehicle that has not been recalled.\nThe action alleges serious, permanent, life-scarring and post-crash personal injuries related to a Takata passenger-side airbag. It is also believed to be the first personal injury federal action involving shrapnel for a Nissan vehicle that has not been recalled to date: a 2006 Nissan Sentra.\nSabra Wilson, a 20-year-old Montz, Louisiana, resident, alleges she now suffers hearing impairment in her right ear as a result of a March 21, 2015, minor accident that occurred while driving her 2006 Nissan Sentra with no other passengers, as well as other injuries from the explosion and flying shrapnel. There are no open recalls for this vehicle on the Nissan or NHTSA websites. However, during the accident both the driver (oddly, manufactured by competitor, Autoliv, Inc.) and the Takata passenger-side airbags deployed, with the passenger-side airbag violently exploding, allegedly throwing large chunks of hot, sharp metal shrapnel that inflicted lacerations, burns and cuts on Sabra's face, hands and upper torso, including permanent scarring. Sabra alleges that the explosion was so loud and violent that it caused hearing impairment for which she is undergoing medical treatment. Sabra now lives with these life-altering injuries and the trauma of the crash.\nIt wasn't until this crash and further investigation by Motley Rice that Sabra learned her passenger-side airbag was a Takata airbag that ruptured, and that the driver's side bag was made by competitor Autoliv, Inc., which did not rupture.\n\"It's terrifying to find out that I was essentially driving around with what appears to have been the equivalent of a stick of dynamite in my passenger-side airbag all this time,\" said Sabra. \"I was not aware that other Nissan Sentras just like mine were recalled months ago and do not understand why Nissan did not notify me and my father of the alleged problems. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else and that all of these automakers go back to the drawing board to quickly recall every potentially dangerous vehicle that has a Takata airbag.\"\nThe suit claims that the injuries sustained by Sabra would not have occurred under a normal, safe and expected airbag deployment in the collision, and that the defects in the vehicle consequently caused serious injuries sustained in the crash. The suit also alleges that Sabra's passenger frontal airbag system was unreasonably dangerous and defective because it was designed, manufactured and sold with an excessively aggressive inflator in the passenger's frontal airbag system. The realized risk of a passenger-side airbag deployment involving allegedly dangerously excessive, explosive force and expelled shrapnel made Sabra's vehicle and potentially all similarly situated vehicles seemingly unfit for their ordinary purpose of providing safe transportation.\n\"I believe the recalls are clearly not working and that someone is not telling the truth about the scope and volume of the vehicles involved. Sabra's injuries should compel Takata and the automakers to investigate every vehicle on the road and determine whether or not they are safe or if they have a ticking time bomb airbag,\" said Kevin Dean, Motley Rice catastrophic personal injury attorney. \"Unfortunately, drivers and passengers seem to still be at risk because of an apparent lack of communication among the involved companies and dedication to fully investigate and resolve the issues at hand.\"\nIn fact, a recall was issued on Nov. 4, 2014, recalling certain model year 2004-2006 Nissan Sentras \"originally sold or . . . registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity,\" including Louisiana, but the manufacturing date range was limited, by Nissan, only to those cars produced between April 1, 2003, and Dec. 23, 2005. Sabra's vehicle was originally sold and registered in Louisiana, a \"geographic location associated with high absolute humidity.\" Plaintiffs believe that thousands of additional Nissan Sentras and other Nissan makes and models were equipped with defective inflators through approximately August 2006, none of which have been recalled to date, and that thousands of consumers remain at risk.\nAn estimated 18 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States, with Honda vehicles currently comprising the bulk of potentially affected vehicles, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calling for more. At a Nov. 20, 2014, Senate hearing, Takata executives admitted that the company still uses ammonium nitrate as a propellant in its airbag inflators. This propellant is highly sensitive to temperature changes and moisture, and can break down over time. It is also less expensive than safer alternatives.\nReports state that Takata knew as early as 2004 that the airbags were dangerous, long before recalls began in 2014.\nGeneral negligence, gross negligence, reckless conduct and breach of warranty are the allegations against defendants Takata Corporation; TK Holdings, Inc.; Nissan North America, Inc.; and Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. regarding Takata's airbags. The complaints also allege that the design and testing, all the way through distribution and sale, of Takata airbag systems resulted in a defective and unreasonably dangerous automobile and automobile airbag system that was unable to reasonably protect the driver in the case of an accident.\nThe case is Sabra M. Wilson and William R. Wilson v. Takata Corporation et al. Read the full complaint.\nIn January 2015, Motley Rice filed the first personal injury federal action on behalf of a South Carolina woman, Angelina Sujata, who alleges she was injured by the Takata airbag in her recalled Honda Accord. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division, the case is Angelina C. Sujata v. Takata Corporation et al.\nIn November 2014, Motley Rice attorneys filed the first federal action on behalf of a South Carolina woman allegedly killed by the Takata airbag in her recalled Honda Accord. Read more about this action. Motley Rice attorneys also filed a class action lawsuit in South Carolina, Horton et al v. Takata et al., on Nov. 14, 2014, and similar class action lawsuits in Louisiana and Florida, on behalf of people who own vehicles that contain the recalled Takata airbags. Read more about this suit.\nLearn more about Takata airbag lawsuits.\nMotley Rice files economic loss suit against ARC, automakers alleging deadly airbag defect in millions of vehicles\nHome elevator defect raises safety concerns\nChamplain Towers Condo South Building Collapse\nPhotos show the full picture of deadly defective Takata airbags\nby: John David O'Neill\nAuto owners' manual for navigating through vehicle recalls\nby: Lee M. Heath","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"California coronavirus deaths hit 30,000 after 10,000 fatalities in a month | California\nCalifornia's coronavirus catastrophe reached a staggering new level Monday as Johns Hopkins University data showed the nation's most populous state has recorded more than 30,000 deaths since the pandemic started nearly a year ago.\nDeaths have exploded since a Covid-19 surge began in October. It took California six months to record its first 10,000 deaths. But in barely a month, the total rose from 20,000 to 30,000, with an average of 476 deaths a day in the last week.\nHealth officials have warned the worst may yet be to come, when a full picture emerges of infections from the holidays.\nAt his Monday news briefing, Gavin Newsom, California's governor, referenced the criticism he received for speaking last month of preparing mobile morgues and refrigerated trucks around the state. \"Some suggested that perhaps that was overly indulgent, a bit hyperbolic,\" he said. \"Now it appears more pressing in the context that these mobile morgues have been essential in particular parts of this state that are just overwhelmed and don't have the capacity.\"\nHard-hit Los Angeles county, where deaths have topped 12,000 and confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 900,000, meanwhile announced it would stop using Curative Covid-19 tests at pop-up testing sites after a Food and Drug Administration alert to patients and healthcare providers that the test could produce false negatives.\nThe department said Curative PCR tests at the pop-up sites between 13 December and 2 January made up about 10% of all Covid-19 tests administered at county-supported test sites during that same time frame. The county will switch to Fulgent Genetics tests this week.\nIn another change, the city of Los Angeles announced late Sunday that its Covid-19 testing site at Dodger Stadium would be transformed into a huge vaccination center by the end of the week.\n\"This shift in resources will temporarily reduce testing capacity in LA county, but it will more than triple the number of daily vaccines available to be dispersed to Angelenos,\" a city statement said. The Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, said vaccines were \"the surest route to defeating this virus and charting a course to recovery\".\nHospitalizations because of Covid-19 have soared across California, and over the weekend, state officials reported a two-day record of 1,163 deaths. California now ranks third nationally in coronavirus deaths, behind Texas and New York, which is in the No 1 position with nearly 40,000.\nMany of the state's hospitals are out of regular intensive care beds for the sickest Covid-19 patients.\nThe hardest-hit areas are 15 counties in southern California and the agricultural San Joaquin Valley. Those counties comprise a majority of the state's population, including many lower-income residents who may live in crowded areas or work in jobs that place them in close contact with customers or other employees, increasing their risk of infection.\nHospitals in the counties have been ordered to delay non-essential elective surgeries, such as knee replacements, to make room.\nThe biggest fear is that after a surge of cases from Christmas and New Year's gatherings, hospitals will be tipped into rationing care, apportioning care on the basis of who has the best chance of survival.\nLawmakers and public health officials say that surge on top of a surge would involve people who were infected when they ignored social distancing rules to gather with friends and relatives during the holidays.\nElsewhere in the state, Newsom announced that several gorillas had tested positive for the virus at the San Diego zoo, possibly a global first. Newsom wished the zoo \"the best of the best\" in the primates' recovery.\nSeth Curry Checks Optimistic For COVID-19\nLil Wayne And Kodak Black Reportedly Added To Trump's Checklist Of Pardons\nThe (bug) bounty hunters of India\nDow Jones Futures: As Trump Impeachment Vote Nears, Tesla Rebounds, GM, Uber Lead New Breakouts\nWings Over Scotland | 29 Days Later\nWhy shares cherished the Georgia Senate outcomes: Morning Temporary\nKentucky's First Black-Owned Distillery Makes Historical past\nDrama at sea: 11 days that modified cruising endlessly\nUK PM Johnson cancels India go to, citing have to oversee virus response\nCovid: officers underestimated variety of tough sleepers in England needing assist | Homelessness\nMahindra and Ford Motor Co name off proposed JV citing pandemic\nUS: Rejecting Trump veto, Republican-led Senate backs protection invoice\nHigh 10 S&P 500 Shares by Index Weight\nIndulging Craig Kelly's falsehoods is a risk to Australia's well being, politically in addition to actually | Lenore Taylor | Australia information","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Manchester City Wins EPL For The Fourth Time!\nSolomon Ojeagbase May 28, 2022 3 min read\nNothing brings people closer than Football. Apart from being the most popular sport globally, the passion that fans have for the game is unwavering devotion to the English Premiership League (EPL). It takes a lot of training, sweat, and tears to win the English Premier League.\nManchester City edged past Aston Villa in a 3-2 thriller at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in their final match to become the Champions of England for the fourth time in five years. Arch-rivals Liverpool's 3-1 triumph against wolves was not enough to stop the roaring blues from lifting the trophy for the eighth time, and the sixth time of Guardiola's reign as coach of the side.\nFor Nigerian Largest Smartphone brand TECNO, MANCHESTER CITY would always be their number one club. TECNO has been Manchester City's Official Global Tablet and Handset Partner since 2016, and they have made sure that their smartphone needs are always taken care of.\nRelated: TECNOxNUGA: The 26th Edition Of The NUGA Games Was Here And It Proved Absolutely Epic With Tecno\nCity played viciously against their opponents, working hard to turn a 2-0 deficit in the first half into a 3-2 victory by full time, and they spared no effort to ensure that they were crowned league champions once again.\nManchester City fans globally celebrated the victory as social media turned blue for the deserved win.\nThe club represents perfection, excellence, and a desire to succeed beyond their limits. Their goal is to make the dreams of young football fans come true, which makes the TECNO watchword similar to what the club stand for.\nWhen a team puts forth that much effort to achieve a victory, the squad should be honored for their accomplishment. TECNO is the club official smartphone partner and was there to share in the celebration with them.\nIt is no secret that TECNO x Manchester City are a team that inspires young people to always go for gold in whatever they do and not give up anything along the way to reach their goals.\nAbout TECNO\nTECNO is a premium smartphone and AIoT devices brand from TRANSSION Holdings. With \"Stop At Nothing\" as its brand essence, TECNO is committed to unlocking the best contemporary technologies for progressive individuals across global emerging markets, giving them elegantly designed intelligent products that inspires consumers to uncover a world of possibilities. TECNO understands the needs of consumers from different markets and provides them with localized innovations and design breakthroughs demonstrated through their mastery of serving consumers who are \"young at heart\" and never stops pursuing excellence. TECNO's portfolio spans across smartphones, tablets, smart wearables and AIoT devices made for consumers in over 70 emerging markets world-wide. TECNO is also the Official Partner of Manchester City, Premier League Champions 2020-21. For more information, please visit: www.tecno-mobile.com.\n'Place Our Children's Interest Above Your Selfish Goal'\n\"We've notified the police\" \u2013 Headies threatens to disqualify Portable over death threat to co-nominees","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The parties may, within certain limits, choose the legal rules which are to govern their mutual contractual obligations (paragraphs 1 to 3). In the absence of a choice, uncertainty as to those rules may arise from two factors. The courts of several countries may be competent to decide the disputes between the parties. Since each court will, apply the rules of private international law of its own country, there may be several possible systems of private international law which could determine the law applicable to the contract. Secondly, even if it is known which system of private international law will determine the law applicable to the contract, the; rules of that system are sometimes too general to enable' the applicable law to be determined; with reasonable certainty (paragraphs 4 to 6).\nThe parties may therefore wish to provide in the choice-of-law clause that the law of a particular country i& to govern their contract. Some difficulties may arise if the parties choose the general principles; of law or the principles common to some legal systems as the law applicable to their contract, instead of the law of a particular country (paragraph 9).\nIn many cases, the parties may wish to choose as the applicable law the law of the country where the works is to be constructed. In some cases, they may wish to choose the law of the contractor's country, or of a third country (paragraph 11). In the case of countries where there are several legal systems applicable to contracts (e.g., some Federal States), it may be advisable to specify which one of those systems is to be applicable (paragraph 12). Certain factors may be relevant in making a choice of law (paragraph 13).\nEven in eases where the rules of private international law permit the parties to provide that the legal rules of different legal systems are to apply to different rights and obligations under the contract, it may be preferable to choose a single legal system to govern all the rights, and obligations (paragraph 14). If the parties wish the law applicable to the contract to consist of the rules existing at the time the contract is entered into, unaffected by later change? to those rules* they may expressly so provide. Such provisions will, however, be ineffective if the changes have a retroactive character which is mandatory (paragraph 15).\nDifferent approaches are possible to drafting a choice-of-law clause. One approach may be merely to. provide that the contract is to be governed by the chosen law. Another approach may be to provide that the chosen law is to govern the contract, and also to include an illustrative list of the issues which are to be governed by that law. Yet another approach may be to provide that the chosen law is to govern only the issues listed in the chosen law (paragraph 16).\nIf several contractors are to participate in the construction, it is advisable for the purchaser to choose the same law as the law applicable to the contracts concluded by him with all the contractors. It is also advisable for the contractor to choose that same law as the law applicable to all contracts concluded by him with sub-contractors and suppliers (paragraph 19). The parties may wish to note the possible application to a works contract of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and to make appropriate provision for that possibility (paragraphs 20 and 21).\nIn addition to legal rules applicable to the contract by virtue of a choice of law by the parties or by virtue of the rules of private international law, certain mandatory rules of an administrative or other public nature in force in the countries of the parties may affect certain aspects of the construction. The parties should take those rules into account in drafting the contract (paragraphs 2 and 22). Certain of those rules concern technical aspects of the works to be constructed, others prohibit or restrict exports, imports, the transfer of technology and the payment of foreign exchange, and yet others impose customs duties and taxes on activities connected with the construction of the works (paragraphs 23 to 25).","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Faith WorldTROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND\nPalestinian official: Allah gathering Jews to Israel\nBut says purpose is 'so we can kill them'\nBy Ryan Jones\/Israel Today\n(Jerusalem) Senior Palestinian Authority official Abbas Zaki this week agreed with many Christians and Jews that it is by divine intervention that the Jewish people are being gathered in this land.\nBut, for Zaki, the end goal is not the restoration of Israel, but rather its demise.\n\"I believe that Allah will gather [the Jews] so we can kill them,\" Zaki told Palestinian Authority TV.\nHistory is still being made in Israel today \u2014 don't miss it. Subscribe to \"Israel Today.\"\nHe went on to accuse Israelis of having \"no religion and no principles, they are an advanced instrument of evil.\"\nIn 2009, Zaki admitted on Lebanese TV that the ultimate goal of the two-state solution was the downfall of Israel.\nZaki is a member of the ruling Fatah faction's Central Committee and currently serves as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' commissioner for dialogue with the Arab world and China.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Oshinski & Forsberg, Ltd\nNV Registered Agent in Anchorage Alaska\nContact Oshinski & Forsberg today to help you get your Nevada Registered Agent in Anchorage Alaska done right and fast.\nThe Reason Why You Need A Registered Agent In Nevada?\nDetermined by Nevada law, companies formed with the NV Secretary of State must designate a registered agent. This law is built around the notion of due process and that cases can't commence in the court unless of course a company has become properly notified. Your own NV registered agent is relied on as your business' official point of contact with Nevada Secretary of State and the legal world. By using a tried and tested, tech-savvy registered agent service means you stay on top of any official notices or services of process for the company.\nExactly What Does My own NV Registered Agent Actually do?\nNevada is regarded as the nation's best states for forming a business. By requiring businesses to use a registered agent, the state of Nevada achieves a couple of objectives:\nThe state ensures there is a viable option to contact each business, without any the hassle of searching for an individual.\nIt also is able to confirm that the company received its mail or service of process, as the NV registered agent is for legal reasons instructed to notify the Nevada secretary of state if they change their address, as well as the registered agent will need to sign for any service of process the individual receives.\nYour registered agent should have a secure system set up to instantly notify you of legal documents they receive on your business' behalf.\nAnyone wanting to properly notify a person's company will look up ones business' information and send a complaint or notice to a person's Nevada registered gent. Your registered agent ought to have a reliable, commercial address and office and be open during business hours to receive any documents for your company. Ones NV registered agent should also ensure that you receive the documents, look at the documents, and above all, comprehend the documents.\nYour registered agent receives all the notices from the NV secretary of state for submitting yearly reports. The NV secretary of state will call and talk to your registered agent if they have any questions about a person's corporation or LLC, and if the secretary of state must get in touch with you, they'll be phoning your registered agent in NV.\nIf you would like Oshinski & Forsberg to file the formation papers for your NV corporation or LLC, we are able to. What many individuals see as the benefit from having a registered agent file their paperwork is in most states it keeps their address and name away from the public record, but in NV, the secretary of state requires corporations to list their directors, and for LLCs to list their managers and members. So, this tactic to keep up some level of privacy doesn't work very well in NV. There's no requirement to employ someone in order to create your corporation or LLC.\nNV Registered Agent located in Anchorage Alaska\nSaturday \u2013 Sunday Closed\nOshinski & Forsberg, Ltd.\n504 E. Musser Street, Suite 202\n\u00a9 2021 Oshinski Forsberg | All Rights Reserved | Powered by InterSnap | Sitemap","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Articles Tagged: Maine\nOTELCO has hired three new employees in Maine. Johnathan Jenkins joins OTELCO as a Senior Network Architect in its Portland office. Jenkins worked previously at Consolidated Communications as a Network Architect and is a resident of New Hampshire. Michael Blaich joins the company as a Technical Support Technician in OTELCO's Bangor office. Previously, Blaich worked in IT for the University of Maine and most recently was the New England Field Technician for Ericsson. Blaich lives in Old Town. John\u2026 Read more \u00bb\nFiled under: New Hires\nOTELCO welcomes new employees in multiple offices\nOTELCO is pleased to announce new additions in its Maine, Missouri, Alabama and Vermont markets. Thomas Gilbert joins OTELCO as the Director of Network Architecture in its New Gloucester, ME office. Gilbert studied Computer Science and Software Systems Engineering. He has over 36 years of experience working in wired and wireless technologies for Nynex, Verizon, FairPoint and Consolidated Communications. He lives in New Gloucester. Jennifer Novicki also joins the New Gloucester office as a Sales Account Executive\u2026. Read more \u00bb\nOTELCO welcomes new employees in multiple Maine offices\nOTELCO is pleased to welcome a number of new employees in Maine. Marc Vanderwood joins OTELCO as Director of IT in the company's New Gloucester office. Vanderwood has a Bachelors of Business Management degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has been in IT Management for over 20 years. He is a resident of Oxford. Also in New Gloucester, Michael Fontaine joins OTELCO as a Financial Analyst. Fontaine has his Master's in Finance and before joining OTELCO was a\u2026 Read more \u00bb\nOTELCO receives grant to expand access to fiber Internet in Argyle, ME\nOTELCO has received an $81,250 grant from the ConnectME Authority. This grant is a key piece in addition to $162,500 in OTELCO investment and $81,250 in Penobscot County TIF funds to build Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) to the unorganized territory of Argyle. OTELCO estimates the project will be completed by the end of the year, providing speeds of 100\/100, 300\/300 and 1Gbps\/1Gbps to residents of Argyle. The new network will service 134 locations in\u2026 Read more \u00bb\nFiled under: Fiber\nOTELCO announces new hires in Maine and Alabama\nOTELCO has hired new employees in its Maine and Alabama offices. Stephen... More \u00bb\nKeep Up-to-Date with Technology: Subscribe to the OTELCO Blog!","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"September 10, 2014\tJohn 'Spartan' Nguyen\nAndrew Garfield reacts to the Amazing Spider-Man 2 criticisms\nFor me personally, the best part of the Amazing Spider-Man 2 film is Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Ultimately, the issue I had with the movie was that it felt very disjointed due to the juggling of different subplots and characters. In the end, the film left the audience split.\nGarfield was asked what his thoughts were on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 criticisms during the Toronto Film Festival while promoting 99 Homes. He told The Daily Beast:\n\"It's interesting. I read a lot of the reactions from people and I had to stop because I could feel I was getting away from how I actually felt about it. For me, I read the script that Alex [Kurtzman] and Bob [Orci] wrote, and I genuinely loved it. There was this thread running through it. I think what happened was, through the pre-production, production, and post-production, when you have something that works as a whole, and then you start removing portions of it\u2014because there was even more of it than was in the final cut, and everything was related. Once you start removing things and saying, \"No, that doesn't work,\" then the thread is broken, and it's hard to go with the flow of the story. Certain people at the studio had problems with certain parts of it, and ultimately the studio is the final say in those movies because they're the tentpoles, so you have to answer to those people.\"\nMany fans blamed Produce Avi Arad for interfering with Spider-Man 3, since he was the man responsible for having director Sam Raimi include Venom. Garfield doesn't blame the studio, but he does say that they are the ones who has the final say.\n\"But I'll tell you this, talking about the experience as opposed to how it was perceived, I got to work in deep scenes that you don't usually see in comic book movies, and I got to explore this orphan boy\u2014a lot of which was taken out, and which we'd explored more. It's interesting to do a postmortem. I'm proud of a lot of it and had a good time, and was a bit taken aback by the response.\"\nSome people do not take criticism well, but Garfield actually appreciates the constructive ones.\n\"It's a discernment thing. What are the people actually saying? What's underneath the complaint, and how can we learn from that? We can't go, \"Oh God, we [frick]ed up because all these people are saying all these things. It's shit.\" We have to ask ourselves, \"What do we believe to be true?\" Is it that this is the fifth Spider-Man movie in however many years, and there's a bit of fatigue? Is it that there was too much in there? Is it that it didn't link? If it linked seamlessly, would that be too much? Were there tonal issues? What is it? I think all that is valuable. Constructive criticism is different from people just being dicks, and I love constructive criticism. Hopefully, we can get underneath what the criticism was about, and if we missed anything.\"\nGarfield seems like an okay guy, so it's disconcerting to know that we won't see a Spider-Man film until after the Sinister Six film comes out.\nTags Andrew GarfieldSpider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man 2","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Young, gay, and Chinese\nAP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein\nWhen Piao Chunmei's son told her he was gay, she reacted the way many Chinese parents do, sleepless and crying for days due to the lingering shame of same sex relationships in China. But she eventually accepted her son and is now part of an expanding network of gays and their parents who help other families cope with the stress of coming out in a country which until 2001, classified homosexuality as a mental illness.\nDeep-seated cultural expectations for each generation to produce a male heir \u2014 heightened by China's \"one-child policy,\" which expanded to two in 2015 \u2014 added to the pressure to conform. But a new generation is more willing to take a stand on their sexuality, despite what their relatives may think. Piao and her fellow volunteers bridge the generation gap.\n\"We don't want to shut them in the closet where no one can see them,\" says Piao, an effervescent 54-year-old who works for a Shanghai cosmetics equipment company.\nTaiwan's top court recently ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, Shanghai's low-key annual gay pride festival is in its ninth year, and opinion surveys increasingly indicate greater public acceptance of China's gays. On May 20, \"Lover's Day\" in China, a group of mothers, affiliated with the U.S.-founded PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), caused a stir by appearing at a Shanghai park where parents regularly display advertisements seeking marriage matches for their heterosexual children. The gate-crashing parents did the same for their gay children \u2014 before police escorted them out.\nBut coming-out in family-oriented China remains traumatic, often tearing households apart or leading to suicides. The fears are so intense that advocacy groups estimate millions lead a double life \u2014 hiding their identity by marrying heterosexuals.\n\"Family is the most important part (of coming out) in terms of our emotions, but it's the hardest area to break through,\" says Duan Rongfeng, a 40-year-old gay Shanghai architect.\nVolunteers for PFLAG say they are seeing more people confident enough to come out, especially in cosmopolitan cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, which are have more relaxed attitudes than rural areas. PFLAG organizes various discreet events but earlier this month arranged its biggest yet, a four-day ship cruise from Shanghai to Japan, which organizers said drew more than 1,000 people. The group took to sea to avoid interference from authorities, as LGBT events are often abruptly shut down.\nBut Duan, also a volunteer, estimates more than 100,000 parents and children nationwide have been helped by PFLAG's loose network, which he said is expanding to smaller cities and China's interior. Piao's initial devastated reaction to her son's announcement reflects the lack of understanding common among Chinese parents. She wondered whether she had caused it by giving him too much candy as a child or if he was corrupted at university or by foreigners. She asked him to seek a medical cure. But after reading about gay suicides, she relented.\n\"I was afraid he would disappear before my eyes,\" she says.\n'He can't change'\nAnguished parents reach out to Piao daily by phone, social media, or in person. To some, she is affectionately called \"Big Sister Mei,\" but others accuse her of corrupting their kids. Her unwavering message: You can't change your child's sexual identity.\n\"I would give my life away to make him change,\" she admits of her own son. \"But he can't.\"\nPiao said most Shanghai parents eventually come around and families end up stronger, but success is less assured outside major cities. Fearing ostracism, Piao and her son relocated several years ago from northeastern China to Shanghai.\nThe support network helped He Fenglan, 55, pull out of a year-long spiral of despair after her son came out three years ago. \"The first thing I thought was, how could I face relatives? How could I face society? How could I face close friends? The problem of 'face' is very important,\" said He, who was \"repulsed\" by homosexuality. But she added: \"You see more and more gays coming out, as well as their parents. You feel you are not alone in this world.\"\nToday she embraces her son's identity and the prospect of his relationships with a uniquely Chinese twist. \"Having two sons is even better. My one son has turned into two.\"\nThis article originally appeared at PRI's The World.\nMore from PRI's The World\nThis teen is creating the first Afghan, wheelchair-bound superhero\nOklahoma's Native tribes are trying to fill a gap in sex ed left by the state's schools\nMore world articles\nNetflix's Taco Chronicles is deliciously predictable\nAaron Bady\nChina's growth problem is an inequality problem\nJeff Spross\nThe Democratic foreign policy reckoning\nConor Lynch","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"HomeFeaturedChina builds pilot free trade zone to further open up\nChina builds pilot free trade zone to further open up\nFeatured \/ Global\nby: SEM Contributor\nChina's State Council has approved the establishment of a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement. The general development plan is to be decided in mid-September and the zone will be formally set up by the end of September.\nCovering 28.78 square kilometers, The Shanghai free trade zone will be built on the basis of existing bonded zones \u2014 Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area and Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone.\nThe zone will be the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland. It will take about three years to build to meet international standards.\nThe pilot zone is a crucial move in adapting to global economic and trade development and imposing a more proactive opening-up strategy, said the statement, adding it will help explore a new path for China's opening up, speed up transformation of government functions and promote economic restructuring.\nThe zone will also help foster China's global competitiveness and serve as a new platform for the nation's cooperation with other countries, and contribute to efforts in building \"an upgraded version of China's economy,\" said the statement.\nBesides, China will adopt a \"negative list\" approach in the foreign investment management in the zone, and innovate the country's opening-up mode, said the statement.\nZhu Jianfang, chief economist at Citic Securities, said the \"negative list\" approach, which the zone will adopt, showed a thinking of power delegation.\n\"We can no longer rely on preferential policies to improve business and the investment environment. Rather, we should attract investment with highly efficient and transparent administrative services,\" said Zhang Youwen, an economic researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.\nIn the free trade zone, the reforms featuring power delegation will be deepened, and financial, business, cultural, education and medical services, which faced many restrictions before, are expected to enjoy more development opportunities, analysts said.\nExperiments in the financial sector will be the most important part, such as the marketization of interest rates and exchange rate, and offshore finance, said Xu Quan, deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Office of Finance Service.\nMeanwhile, a State Council plan to suspend some laws governing foreign investment in the Shanghai pilot free trade zone will break new ground in China's investment management mechanism and boost foreign capital inflow, said analysts.\nThe aim is to cancel superfluous administrative procedures and make it easier for foreign firms to set up in the zone. The plan conflicts with some existing laws so the idea was mooted to simply suspend the problematic regulations.\n\"The free trade zone is not a special zone or new area. Its significance lies not in striving for preferential policies but in establishing a new system in line with international standards and realizing highly efficient management in sectors like investment and trade,\" said Zhou Zhenhua, director of the Shanghai Municipal Government Development Research Center.\nChina has rapidly grown into a global manufacturing power with its entry into the World Trade Organization, but the country remains relatively backward in service industries like financing, shipping, commerce, trade and culture, compared with developed nations, experts said.\nShanghai is leading the country in service industry development and the further opening up of the sector is the best choice for the city, according to Chen Bo, an economic and trade expert at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.\nAs Shanghai was announced to build China's first free trade zone, more Chinese cities are planning to pilot free trade zone so as to enjoy the policy dividends.\nNorthern China's port city Tianjin is planning to set up a free trade port in its Dongjiang bonded port.\nAside from Tianjing, other cities, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Xiamen, Qingdao, and Zhoushan, were also planning to apply for the establishment of free trade zones.\nAs for this momentum, experts suggest that the set up of any other free trade zone should follow scientific planning and rational overall arrangement, other than advancing too quickly.\nBy Miao Miao (China Features)\nStay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!\n\u00a9 2013, https:. All rights reserved.\nglobal competitivenessWaigaoqiao Free Trade Zone\nUN Envoy: Change of UN Footprint S...\nCSOs are bent on discrediting the...\nSEM Contributor\nPolice Extol VIP Trading Company Chairma...\nConstituents Praise Besto Management\nNNATCOM, Mobile Operators Launch Free Ro...\n2012 election ABC Secretariat ACC African Minerals Africell agriculture Airtel Airtel Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Anti Corruption Commission APC breaking-news corruption Development ebola Education environment featured Finance Freetown City Council Health healthcare health care human rights infrastructure Julius Maada Bio Leone Stars National Revenue Authority NRA Politics President Ernest Bai Koroma President Koroma Sierra Leone Sierra Leone football Sierra Leone footballers sierra leone news Sierra Leone People's party Sierra Leone police Sierra Leone politics SLAJ SLFA SLPP telecommunications transportation trending","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta\nTrump Offers A 'Dreamers' Deal For Border-Money Proposal\nWASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 In a bid to break the shutdown impasse and fund his long-promised border wall, President Donald Trump on Saturday offered to extend temporary protection for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. But while Trump cast the move as a \"common-sense compromise,\" Democrats were quick to dismiss it at a \"non-starter.\"\nTrump declared in a statement from the White House that he was \"here today to break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown and solve the crisis on the southern border.\"\nIn advance of Trump's remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the expected proposal for ending the 29-day partial government shutdown was \"a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable.\" The California Democrat said Trump's expected offer was \"not a good-faith effort\" to help the immigrants and could not pass the House.\nSeeking to cast the plan as a bipartisan way forward, Trump said he had support from \"rank-and-file\" Democrats, as top Democrats made clear they had not been consulted. He also said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would bring the legislation to a vote this week, though Democrats appeared likely to block it. McConnell had previously stated that no vote should be held in the Senate until Trump and Democrats agreed on a bill.\nTrump listed a series of White House immigration funding demands, including $5.7 billion for the wall he argues is needed on humanitarian and security grounds. He said it would not be a concrete structure \"from sea to shining sea,\" but rather \"steel barriers in high-priority locations.\"\nTo ensure wall funding, Trump said he would extend protections for young people brought to the country illegally as children, known as \"Dreamers,\" as well as for those with temporary protected status after fleeing countries affected by natural disasters or violence.\nAdministration officials said the protections would apply only to those currently in the Obama-era program shielding them from deportation, and the temporary protected status would apply to those who currently have it and have been in the U.S. since 2011. That means people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti \u2014 countries that saw the status revoked since Trump took office \u2014 would get a reprieve.\nDemocrats criticized Trump's proposal because it didn't seem to be a permanent solution for those immigrants and because it includes money for the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which the party strongly opposes. Democrats also want Trump to reopen government before talks can start.\nIn Chicago, Ilinois Senator Dick Durbin said he did not support the offer as reported.\n\"First, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell must open the government today,\" Durbin said in a statement. \"Second, I cannot support the proposed offer as reported and do not believe it can pass Senate. Third, I am ready to sit down at any time after the government is opened and work to resolve all outstanding issues.\"\n(\u00a9 Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Additional reporting by Erika Hobbs.\nDick Durbin","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"FOREST PRACTICES BOARD\n[ Filed August 20, 2008, 8:47 a.m. ]\nSupplemental Notice to WSR 08-03-009.\nPreproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 05-2-097 [05-20-097].\nTitle of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Achieving desired future conditions in riparian management zones. This rule proposal amends WAC 222-30-021(1) to change timber harvest and leave tree requirements in riparian management zones adjacent to Type S and F Waters as defined in WAC 222-16-030. It pertains to forest lands in western Washington.\nHearing Location(s): Borst Park, Kitchen 1, 902 Johnson Road, Centralia, on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, at 6:00 p.m.; at the Port Townsend Fire Station, 701 Harrison Street, Port Townsend, on Thursday, December 18, 2008, at 6:00 p.m.; at the DNR Region Office, 713 East Bowers, Ellensburg, on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.; and at the Mount Vernon Fire Department Station 3, 4701 East Division Street, Mt. Vernon, on Thursday, January 8, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.\nDate of Intended Adoption: February 11, 2009.\nSubmit Written Comments to: Patricia Anderson, DNR Forest Practices Division, P.O. Box 47012, Olympia, WA 98504-7012, e-mail forest.practicesboard@dnr.wa.gov, fax (360) 902-1428, by January 9, 2009.\nAssistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact forest practices division at (360) 902-1400, by December 1, 2008, TTY (360) 902-1125.\nPurpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: WAC 222-30-021 provides prescriptions and options to harvesting trees in forested \"riparian management zones\" as defined in WAC 222-16-010. Pursuant to RCW 76.09.370, the forest practices board incorporates a scientific-based adaptive management process to determine the effectiveness of forest practices rules in aiding Washington's salmon recovery effort. Under this adaptive management process, a scientific study was completed by the forest practices board's cooperative monitoring, evaluation, and research committee. The study, entitled Validation of the Western Washington Riparian Desired Future Condition (DFC) Performance Targets in the Washington State Forest Practices Rules with Data From Mature, Unmanaged, Conifer-Dominated Riparian Stands, found that basal area per acre of mature, unmanaged conifer-dominated riparian stands are greater than the values used in the current rule.\nIn response to the DFC study findings, the board is considering three alternative rule amendments to WAC 222-30-021(1). The intended effects of all of the alternatives are to increase the basal area retained in riparian management zones thereby decreasing allowable harvests.\n\u2022 The first alternative would increase the target basal area per acre to three 325 square feet for all site classes that a riparian forest stand is projected to reach at one hundred forty years from the year of harvest in the riparian management zone.\n\u2022 The second alternative would increase the target basal area per acre the same as the first alternative, and would also:\n- allow landowners to credit the required inner zone leave trees towards meeting the riparian zone basal area target; and\n- expand the table, \"Option 2. Leaving trees closest to water,\" to include site classes IV and V on streams greater than ten feet in width.\n\u2022 The third would increase the target basal area per acre the same as the first alternative, and will allow landowners to credit the required inner zone leave trees towards meeting the riparian zone basal area target.\nReasons Supporting Proposal: The proposed rule changes are based on recommendations resulting from the scientifically-based adaptive management process outlined in WAC 222-12-045. Through this process, the board has determined that the forest practices rules should be adjusted to ensure that appropriate riparian buffers are maintained on forest land covered by the Forest Practices Act.\nStatutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 76.09.040 and 76.09.370(6).\nStatute Being Implemented: Not applicable.\nRule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.\nName of Proponent: Forest practices board, governmental.\nName of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Marc Engel, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, (360) 902-1390; Implementation: Gary Graves, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, (360) 902-1483; and Enforcement: Lenny Young, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, (360) 902-1744.\nA small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW.\nSmall Business Economic Impact Statement\nSee WSR 08-13-087.\nA copy of the statement may be obtained by contacting Gretchen Robinson, P.O. Box 47012, Olympia, WA 98504-7012, phone (360) 902-1705, fax (360) 902-1428, e-mail gretchen.robinson@dnr.wa.gov.\nA cost-benefit analysis is required under RCW 34.05.328. A preliminary cost-benefit analysis may be obtained by contacting Gretchen Robinson, P.O. Box 47012, Olympia, WA 98504-7012, phone (360) 902-1705, fax (360) 902-1428, e-mail gretchen.robinson@dnr.wa.gov.\nNote: The small business economic impact statement and the preliminary cost-benefit analysis are combined in the document, Preliminary Economic Analysis, Forest Practices Rule Making, Affecting Timber Harvest in Riparian Zones in Western Washington.\nVictoria Christiansen\nOTS-1067.2\nWAC 222-30-021 *Western Washington riparian management zones. These rules apply to all typed waters on forest land in Western Washington, except as provided in WAC 222-30-023. RMZs are measured horizontally from the outer edge of the bankfull width or channel migration zone, whichever is greater, and extend to the limits as described in this section. See ((the)) board manual section 7 for riparian design and layout guidelines.\n*(1) Western Washington RMZs for Type S and F Waters have three zones: The core zone is nearest to the water, the inner zone is the middle zone, and the outer zone is furthest from the water. (See definitions in WAC 222-16-010.) RMZ dimensions vary depending on the site class of the land, the management harvest option, and the bankfull width of the stream. See tables for management options 1 and 2 below.\nNone of the limitations on harvest in each of the three zones listed below will preclude or limit the construction and maintenance of roads for the purpose of crossing streams in WAC 222-24-030 and 222-24-050, or the creation and use of yarding corridors in WAC 222-30-060(1).\nThe shade requirements in WAC 222-30-040 must be met regardless of harvest opportunities provided in the inner zone RMZ rules. See the board manual section 1.\n(a) Core zones. No timber harvest or construction is allowed in the core zone except operations related to forest roads as detailed in subsection (1) of this section. Any trees cut for or damaged by yarding corridors in the core zone must be left on the site. Any trees cut as a result of road construction to cross a stream may be removed from the site, unless used as part of a large woody debris placement strategy or as needed to reach stand requirements.\n(b) Inner zones. Forest practices in the inner zone must be conducted in such a way as to meet or exceed stand requirements to achieve the goal in WAC 222-30-010(2). The width of the inner zone is determined by site class, bankfull width, and management option. Timber harvest in this zone must be consistent with the stand requirements in order to reach the desired future condition targets.\n\"Stand requirement\" means a number of trees per acre, the basal area and the proportion of conifer in the combined inner zone and adjacent core zone so that the growth of the trees would meet desired future conditions. The following table defines basal area targets when the stand is 140 years old.\nSite Class Desired future condition target basal area per acre (at 140 years)\nI ((285)) 325 sq. ft.\nII ((275)) 325 sq. ft.\nIII ((258)) 325 sq. ft.\nIV ((224)) 325 sq. ft.\nV ((190)) 325 sq. ft.\nGrowth modeling is necessary to calculate whether a particular stand meets stand requirement and is on a trajectory towards these desired future condition basal area target. The appropriate growth model will be based on stand characteristics and will include at a minimum, the following components: The number of trees by diameter class, the percent of conifer and hardwood, and the age of the stand. See the board manual section 7.\n(i) Hardwood conversion in the inner zone. When the existing stands in the combined core and inner zone do not meet stand requirements, no harvest is permitted in the inner zone, except in connection with hardwood conversion.\n(A) The landowner may elect to convert hardwood-dominated stands in the inner zone to conifer-dominated stands. Harvesting and replanting shall be in accordance with the following limits:\n(I) Conversion activities in the inner zone of any harvest unit are only allowed where all of the following are present:\n\u2022 Existing stands in the combined core and inner zone do not meet stand requirements (WAC 222-30-021 (1)(b));\n\u2022 There are fewer than 57 conifer trees per acre 8 inches or larger dbh in the conversion area;\n\u2022 There are fewer than 100 conifer trees per acre larger than 4 inches dbh in the conversion area;\n\u2022 There is evidence (such as conifer stumps, historical photos, or a conifer understory) that the conversion area can be successfully reforested with conifer and support the development of conifer stands;\n\u2022 The landowner owns 500 feet upstream and 500 feet downstream of the harvest unit;\n\u2022 The core and inner zones contain no stream adjacent parallel roads;\n\u2022 Riparian areas contiguous to the proposed harvest unit are owned by the landowner proposing to conduct the conversion activities, and meet shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or have a 75-foot buffer with trees at least 40 feet tall on both sides of the stream for 500 feet upstream and 500 feet downstream of the proposed harvest unit (or the length of the stream, if less);\n\u2022 If the landowner has previously converted hardwood-dominated stands, then post-harvest treatments must have been performed to the satisfaction of the department.\n(II) In addition to the conditions set forth above, permitted conversion activities in the inner zone of any harvest unit are limited by the following:\n\u2022 Each continuous conversion area is not more than 500 feet in length; two conversion areas will be considered \"continuous\" unless the no-harvest area separating the two conversion areas is at least half the length of the larger of the two conversion areas.\n\u2022 Type S and F (Type 1, 2, or 3) Water: Up to 50% of the inner zone area of the harvest unit on one side of the stream may be converted provided that:\n\u2666 The landowner owns the opposite side of the stream and the landowner's riparian area on the opposite bank meets the shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or has a 75-foot buffer of trees at least 40 feet tall or:\n\u2666 The landowner does not own land on the opposite side of the stream but the riparian area on the opposite bank meets the shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or has a 75-foot buffer of trees at least 40 feet tall.\n\u2022 Not more than 25% of the inner zone of the harvest unit on both sides of a Type S or F Water may be converted if the landowner owns both sides.\n(III) Where conversion is allowed in the inner zone, trees within the conversion area may be harvested except that:\n\u2022 Conifer trees larger than 20 inches dbh shall not be harvested;\n\u2022 Not more than 10% of the conifer stems greater than 8 inches dbh, exclusive of the conifer noted above, within the conversion area may be harvested; and\n\u2022 The landowner must exercise reasonable care in the conduct of harvest activities to minimize damage to all residual conifer trees within the conversion area including conifer trees less than 8 inches dbh.\n(IV) Following harvest in conversion areas, the landowner must:\n\u2022 Reforest the conversion area with conifer tree species suitable to the site in accordance with the requirements of WAC 222-34-010; and\n\u2022 Conduct post-harvest treatment of the site until the conifer trees necessary to meet acceptable stocking levels in WAC 222-34-010(2) have crowns above the brush or until the conversion area contains a minimum of 150 conifer trees greater than 8 inches dbh per acre.\n\u2022 Notify the department in writing within three years of the approval of the forest practices application for hardwood conversion, if the hardwood conversion has been completed.\n(V) Tracking hardwood conversion. The purpose of tracking hardwood conversion is to determine if hardwood conversion is resulting in adequate enhancement of riparian functions toward the desired future condition while minimizing the short term impacts on functions. The department will use existing or updated data bases developed in cooperation with the Washington Hardwoods Commission to identify watershed administrative units (WAUs) with a high percentage of hardwood-dominated riparian areas and, thus have the potential for excessive hardwood conversion under these rules. The department will track the rate of conversion of hardwoods in the riparian zone: (1) Through the application process on an annual basis; and (2) at a WAU scale on a biennial basis as per WAC 222-30-120 through the adaptive management process which will develop thresholds of impact for hardwood conversion at the watershed scale.\n(ii) Harvest options.\n(A) No inner zone management. When the existing stands in the combined core and inner zone do not meet stand requirements, no harvest is permitted in the inner zone. When no harvest is permitted in the inner zone or the landowner chooses not to enter the inner zone, the width of core, inner and outer zones are as provided in the following table:\nNo inner zone management RMZ widths for Western Washington\nSite Class RMZ width Core zone width\n(measured from outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ of water) Inner zone width\n(measured from outer edge of core zone) Outer zone width\n(measured from outer edge of inner zone)\nstream width\n\u226410' stream width >10' stream width \u226410' stream width >10'\nI 200' 50' 83' 100' 67' 50'\nII 170' 50' 63' 78' 57' 42'\nIII 140' 50' 43' 55' 47' 35'\nIV 110' 50' 23' 33' 37' 27'\nV 90' 50' 10' 18' 30' 22'\n(B) Inner zone management. If trees can be harvested and removed from the inner zone because of surplus basal area consistent with the stand requirement, the harvest and removal of the trees must be undertaken consistent with one of two options:\n(I) Option 1. Thinning from below. The objective of thinning is to distribute stand requirement trees in such a way as to shorten the time required to meet large wood, fish habitat and water quality needs. This is achieved by increasing the potential for leave trees to grow larger than they otherwise would without thinning. Thinning harvest under option 1 must comply with the following:\n\u2022 Residual trees left in the combined core and inner zones must meet stand requirements necessary to be on a trajectory to desired future condition. See board manual section 7 for guidelines.\n\u2022 Thinning must be from below, meaning the smallest dbh trees are selected for harvest first, then progressing to successively larger diameters.\n\u2022 Thinning cannot decrease the proportion of conifer in the stand.\n\u2022 Shade retention to meet the shade rule must be confirmed by the landowner for any harvest inside of 75 feet from the outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ, whichever is greater.\n\u2022 The number of residual conifer trees per acre in the inner zone will equal or exceed 57.\nOption 1. Thinning from below.\nclass RMZ\nwidth Core\n\u226410' stream width\n>10' stream width\n>10'\n(II) Option 2. Leaving trees closest to the water. Management option 2 applies only to riparian management zones for site class I, II, and III on streams that are less than or equal to 10 feet wide and RMZs in site class I and II for streams greater than 10 feet wide. Harvest must comply with the following:\n\u2022 Harvest is not permitted within 30 feet of the core zone for streams less than or equal to 10 feet wide and harvest is not permitted within 50 feet of the core zone for streams greater than 10 feet wide;\n\u2022 Residual leave trees in the combined core and inner zone must meet stand requirements necessary to be on a trajectory to desired future condition. See board manual section 7 for calculating stand requirements;\n\u2022 A minimum of 20 conifers per acre, with a minimum 12-inch dbh, will be retained in any portion of the inner zone where harvest occurs. These riparian leave trees will not be counted or considered towards meeting applicable stand requirements nor can the number be reduced below 20 for any reason.\n\u2022 Trees are selected for harvest starting from the outer most portion of the inner zone first then progressively closer to the stream.\n\u2022 If (II) of this subsection results in surplus basal area per the stand requirement, the landowner may take credit for the surplus by harvesting additional riparian leave trees required to be left in the adjacent outer zone on a basal area-for-basal area basis. The number of leave trees in the outer zone can be reduced only to a minimum of 10 trees per acre.\nOption 2. Leaving trees closest to water.\n(measured from outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ of water) Inner zone width Outer zone width\nminimum floor distance minimum floor distance\n(measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone)\nI 200' 50' 84' 30' 84' 50' 66' 66'\nII 170' 50' 64' 30' 70' 50' 56' 50'\nIII 140' 50' 44' 30' ** ** 46' **\n**Option 2 for site class III on streams >10' is not permitted because of the minimum floor (100') constraint.\n(iii) Where the basal area components of the stand requirement cannot be met within the sum of the areas in the inner and core zone due to the presence of a stream-adjacent parallel road in the inner or core zone, a determination must be made of the approximate basal area that would have been present in the inner and core zones if the road was not occupying space in the core or inner zone and the shortfall in the basal area component of the stand requirement. See definition of \"stream-adjacent parallel road\" in WAC 222-16-010.\n(A) Trees containing basal area equal to the amount determined in (iii) of this subsection will be left elsewhere in the inner or outer zone, or if the zones contain insufficient riparian leave trees, substitute riparian leave trees will be left within the RMZ width of other Type S or F Waters in the same unit or along Type Np or Ns Waters in the same unit in addition to all other RMZ requirements on those same Type S, F, Np or Ns Waters.\n(B) When the stream-adjacent road basal area calculated in (iii) of this subsection results in an excess in basal area (above stand requirement) then the landowner may receive credit for such excess which can be applied on a basal area-by-basal area basis against the landowner's obligation to leave trees in the outer zone of the RMZ of such stream or other waters within the same unit, provided that the number of trees per acre in the outer zone is not reduced to less than 10 trees per acre.\n(C) When the basal area requirement cannot be met, as explained in (iii) of this subsection, the shortfall may be reduced through the implementation of an acceptable large woody debris placement plan. See board manual section 26 for guidelines.\n(iv) If a harvest operation includes both yarding and harvest activities within the RMZ, all calculations of basal area for stand requirements will be determined as if the yarding corridors were constructed prior to any other harvest activities. If trees cut or damaged by yarding are taken from excess basal area, these trees may be removed from the inner zone. Trees cut or damaged by yarding in a unit which does not meet the basal area target of the stand requirements cannot be removed from the inner zone. Any trees cut or damaged by yarding in the core zone may not be removed.\n(c) Outer zones. Timber harvest in the outer zone must leave 20 riparian leave trees per acre after harvest. \"Outer zone riparian leave trees\" are trees that must be left after harvest in the outer zone in Western Washington. Riparian leave trees must be left uncut throughout all future harvests:\nOuter zone riparian leave tree requirements\nApplication Leave tree spacing Tree species Minimum dbh required\nOuter zone Dispersed Conifer 12\" dbh or greater\nOuter zone Clumped Conifer 12\" dbh or greater\nProtection of sensitive features Clumped Trees representative of the overstory including both hardwood and conifer 8\" dbh or greater\nThe 20 riparian leave trees to be left can be reduced in number under the circumstances delineated in (c)(iv) of this subsection. The riparian leave trees must be left on the landscape according to one of the following two strategies. A third strategy is available to landowners who agree to a LWD placement plan.\n(i) Dispersal strategy. Riparian leave trees, which means conifer species with a diameter measured at breast height (dbh) of 12 inches or greater, must be left dispersed approximately evenly throughout the outer zone. If riparian leave trees of 12\" dbh or greater are not available, then the next largest conifers must be left. If conifers are not present, riparian leave trees must be left according to the clumping strategy in subsection (ii) below.\n(ii) Clumping strategy. Riparian leave trees must be left clumped in the following way:\n(A) Clump trees in or around one or more of the following sensitive features to the extent available within the outer zone. When clumping around sensitive features, riparian leave trees must be 8 inches dbh or greater and representative of the overstory canopy trees in or around the sensitive feature and may include both hardwood and conifer species. Sensitive features are:\n(I) Seeps and springs;\n(II) Forested wetlands;\n(III) Topographic locations (and orientation) from which leave trees currently on the site will be delivered to the water;\n(IV) Areas where riparian leave trees may provide windthrow protection;\n(V) Small unstable, or potentially unstable, slopes not of sufficient area to be detected by other site evaluations. See WAC 222-16-050 (1)(d).\n(VI) ((Archeological)) Archaeological or historical sites registered with the Washington state ((office)) department of ((archeology)) archaeology and historic preservation. See WAC 222-16-050 (1)(g); or\n(VII) Sites containing evidence of Native American cairns, graves or glyptic records. See WAC 222-16-050 (1)(f).\n(B) If sensitive features are not present, then clumps must be well distributed throughout the outer zone and the leave trees must be of conifer species with a dbh of 12 inches or greater. When placing clumps, the applicant will consider operational and biological concerns. Tree counts must be satisfied regardless of the presence of stream-adjacent parallel roads in the outer zone.\n(iii) Large woody debris in-channel placement strategy. A landowner may design a LWD placement plan in cooperation with the department of fish and wildlife. The plan must be consistent with guidelines in the board manual section 26. The landowner may reduce the number of trees required to be left in the outer zone to the extent provided in the approved LWD placement plan. Reduction of trees in the outer zone must not go below a minimum of 10 trees per acre. If this strategy is chosen, a complete forest practices application must include a copy of the WDFW approved hydraulics project approval (HPA) permit.\n(iv) Twenty riparian leave trees must be left after harvest with the exception of the following:\n(A) If a landowner agrees to implement a placement strategy, see (iii) of this subsection.\n(B) If trees are left in an associated channel migration zone, the landowner may reduce the number of trees required to be left according to the following:\n(I) Offsets will be measured on a basal area-for-basal area basis.\n(II) Conifer in a CMZ equal to or greater than 6\" dbh will offset conifer in the outer zone at a one-to-one ratio.\n(III) Hardwood in a CMZ equal to or greater than 10\" dbh will offset hardwood in the outer zone at a one-to-one ratio.\n(IV) Hardwood in a CMZ equal to or greater than 10\" dbh will offset conifer in the outer zone at a three-to-one ratio.\n*(2) Western Washington protection for Type Np and Ns Waters.\n(a) An equipment limitation zone is a 30-foot wide zone measured horizontally from the outer edge of the bankfull width of a Type Np or Ns Water where equipment use and other forest practices that are specifically limited by these rules. It applies to all perennial and seasonal streams.\n(i) On-site mitigation is required if any of the following activities exposes the soil on more than 10% of the surface area of the zone:\n(A) Ground based equipment;\n(B) Skid trails;\n(C) Stream crossings (other than existing roads); or\n(D) Cabled logs that are partially suspended.\n(ii) Mitigation must be designed to replace the equivalent of lost functions especially prevention of sediment delivery. Examples include water bars, grass seeding, mulching, etc.\n(iii) Nothing in this subsection (2) reduces or eliminates the department's authority to prevent actual or potential material damage to public resources under WAC 222-46-030 or 222-46-040 or any related authority to condition forest practices notifications or applications.\n(b) Sensitive site and RMZs protection along Type Np Waters. Forest practices must be conducted to protect Type Np RMZs and sensitive sites as detailed below:\n(i) A 50-foot, no-harvest buffer, measured horizontally from the outer edge of bankfull width, will be established along each side of the Type Np Water as follows:\nRequired no-harvest, 50-foot buffers\non Type Np Waters.\nLength of Type Np Water from the confluence of Type S or F Water Length of 50' buffer required on Type Np Water (starting at the confluence of the Type Np and connecting water)\nGreater than 1000' 500'\nGreater than 300' but less than 1000' Distance of the greater of 300' or 50% of the entire length of the Type Np Water\nLess than or equal to 300' The entire length of Type Np Water\n(ii) No timber harvest is permitted in an area within 50 feet of the outer perimeter of a soil zone perennially saturated from a headwall seep.\n(iii) No timber harvest is permitted in an area within 50 feet of the outer perimeter of a soil zone perennially saturated from a side-slope seep.\n(iv) No timber harvest is permitted within a 56-foot radius buffer patch centered on the point of intersection of two or more Type Np Waters.\n(v) No timber harvest is permitted within a 56-foot radius buffer patch centered on a headwater spring or, in the absence of a headwater spring, on a point at the upper most extent of a Type Np Water as defined in WAC 222-16-030(3) and 222-16-031.\n(vi) No timber harvest is permitted within an alluvial fan.\n(vii) At least 50% of a Type Np Waters' length must be protected by buffers on both sides of the stream (2-sided buffers). Buffered segments must be a minimum of 100 feet in length. If an operating area is located more than 500 feet upstream from the confluence of a Type S or F Water and the Type Np Water is more than 1,000 feet in length, then buffer the Type Np Water according to the following table. If the percentage is not met by protecting sensitive sites listed in (b)(i) through (vii) of this subsection, then additional buffers are required on the Type Np Water to meet the requirements listed in the table.\nMinimum percent of length of Type Np Waters to be buffered when more than 500 feet upstream from the confluence of a Type S or F Water\nTotal length of a Type Np Water upstream from the confluence of a Type S or F Water Percent of length of Type Np Water that must be protected with a 50 foot no harvest buffer more than 500 feet upstream from the confluence of a Type S or F Water\n1000 feet or less Refer to table in this subsection (i) above\n1001 - 1300 feet 19%\nGreater than 5000 feet 45%\nThe landowner must select the necessary priority areas for additional 2-sided buffers according to the following priorities:\n(A) Low gradient areas;\n(B) Perennial water reaches of nonsedimentary rock with gradients greater than 20% in the tailed frog habitat range;\n(C) Hyporheic and ground water influence zones; and\n(D) Areas downstream from other buffered areas.\nExcept for the construction and maintenance of road crossings and the creation and use of yarding corridors, no timber harvest will be allowed in the designated priority areas. Landowners must leave additional acres equal to the number of acres (including partial acres) occupied by an existing stream-adjacent parallel road within a designated priority area buffer.\n(c) None of the limitations on harvest in or around Type Np Water RMZs or sensitive sites listed in (b) of this subsection will preclude or limit:\n(i) The construction and maintenance of roads for the purpose of crossing streams in WAC 222-24-030 and 222-24-050.\n(ii) The creation and use of yarding corridors in WAC 222-30-060(1).\nTo the extent reasonably practical, the operation will both avoid creating yarding corridors or road crossings through Type Np Water RMZ or sensitive sites and associated buffers, and avoid management activities which would result in soil compaction, the loss of protective vegetation or sedimentation in perennially moist areas.\nWhere yarding corridors or road crossings through Type Np Water RMZs or sensitive sites and their buffers cannot reasonably be avoided, the buffer area must be expanded to protect the sensitive site by an area equivalent to the disturbed area or by providing comparable functions through other management initiated efforts.\nLandowners must leave additional acres equal to the number of acres (including partial acres) occupied by an existing stream-adjacent parallel road within a Type Np Water RMZs or sensitive site buffer.\n[Statutory Authority: RCW 76.09.040. 05-12-119, \u00a7 222-30-021, filed 5\/31\/05, effective 7\/1\/05. Statutory Authority: Chapter 34.05 RCW, RCW 76.09.040, [76.09.]050, [76.09.]370, 76.13.120(9). 01-12-042, \u00a7 222-30-021, filed 5\/30\/01, effective 7\/1\/01.]\n*(1) Western Washington RMZs for Type S and F Waters have three zones: The core zone is nearest to the water, the inner zone is the middle zone, and the outer zone is furthest from the water. (See definitions in WAC 222-16-010.) RMZ dimensions vary depending on the site class of the land, the management harvest option, and the bankfull width of the stream. See ((tables for)) management options 1 and 2 below.\nThe shade requirements in WAC 222-30-040 must be met regardless of harvest opportunities provided in the ((inner zone)) RMZ rules. See ((the)) board manual section 1.\n(a) Core zones. No timber harvest or construction is allowed ((in)) within the fifty-foot core zone except operations related to forest roads as detailed in subsection (1) of this section. Any trees cut for or damaged by yarding corridors in the core zone must be left on the site. Any trees cut as a result of road construction to cross a stream may be removed from the site, unless used as part of a large woody debris placement strategy or as needed to reach stand requirements.\n(b) Inner zones. Forest practices in the inner zone must be conducted in such a way as to meet or exceed stand requirements to achieve the goal in WAC 222-30-010(2). The width of the inner zone is determined by site class, bankfull width, and management options as described in this section. Timber harvest in this zone must be consistent with the stand requirements in order to reach the desired future condition targets.\n\"Stand requirement\" means a number of trees per acre, the basal area and the proportion of conifer in the combined inner zone and adjacent core zone so that the growth of the trees would meet desired future conditions of three hundred twenty-five square feet per acre for all site classes at age one hundred forty. The growth modeling program provided by the department must be used to calculate whether a particular stand meets the stand requirement and is on a trajectory towards the desired future condition basal area target. ((The following table defines basal area targets when the stand is 140 years old.))\n((Site Class Desired future condition target basal area per acre (at 140 years)\nI 285 sq. ft.\nII 275 sq. ft.\nIII 258 sq. ft.\nIV 224 sq. ft.\nV 190 sq. ft.))\nGrowth modeling is necessary to calculate whether a particular stand meets stand requirement and is on a trajectory towards these desired future condition basal area target. The appropriate growth model will be based on stand characteristics and will include at a minimum, the following components: The number of trees by diameter class, the percent of conifer and hardwood, and the age of the stand. See the board manual section 7.))\n\u2022 Existing stands in the ((combined core and)) inner zone do not meet stand requirements (WAC 222-30-021 (1)(b));\n\u2022 There are fewer than ((57)) fifty-seven conifer trees per acre ((8)) eight inches or larger dbh in the conversion area;\n\u2022 There are fewer than ((100)) one hundred conifer trees per acre larger than ((4)) four inches dbh in the conversion area;\n\u2022 The landowner owns ((500)) five hundred feet upstream and ((500)) five hundred feet downstream of the harvest unit;\n\u2022 Riparian areas contiguous to the proposed harvest unit are owned by the landowner proposing to conduct the conversion activities, and meet shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or have a ((75)) seventy-five-foot buffer with trees at least ((40)) forty feet tall on both sides of the stream for ((500)) five hundred feet upstream and ((500)) five hundred feet downstream of the proposed harvest unit (or the length of the stream, if less);\n\u2022 Each continuous conversion area is not more than ((500)) five hundred feet in length; two conversion areas will be considered \"continuous\" unless the no-harvest area separating the two conversion areas is at least half the length of the larger of the two conversion areas.\n\u2022 Type S and F (Type 1, 2, or 3) Water: Up to ((50%)) fifty percent of the inner zone area of the harvest unit on one side of the stream may be converted provided that:\n\u2666 The landowner owns the opposite side of the stream and the landowner's riparian area on the opposite bank meets the shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or has a ((75)) seventy-five-foot buffer of trees at least ((40)) forty feet tall or:\n\u2666 The landowner does not own land on the opposite side of the stream but the riparian area on the opposite bank meets the shade requirements of WAC 222-30-040 or has a ((75)) seventy-five-foot buffer of trees at least ((40)) forty feet tall.\n\u2022 Not more than ((25%)) twenty-five percent of the inner zone of the harvest unit on both sides of a Type S or F Water may be converted if the landowner owns both sides.\n\u2022 Conifer trees larger than ((20)) twenty inches dbh shall not be harvested;\n\u2022 Not more than ((10%)) ten percent of the conifer stems greater than ((8)) eight inches dbh, exclusive of the conifer noted above, within the conversion area may be harvested; and\n\u2022 The landowner must exercise reasonable care in the conduct of harvest activities to minimize damage to all residual conifer trees within the conversion area including conifer trees less than ((8)) eight inches dbh.\n\u2022 Conduct post-harvest treatment of the site until the conifer trees necessary to meet acceptable stocking levels in WAC 222-34-010(2) have crowns above the brush or until the conversion area contains a minimum of ((150)) one hundred fifty conifer trees greater than ((8)) eight inches dbh per acre.\nSite Class Total RMZ width ((Core zone width\n(measured from outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ of water))) Combined core and inner zone width\n(measured from outer edge of ((core zone)) bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ) Outer zone width\nI 200' ((50')) ((83')) 133' ((100')) 150' 67' 50'\nII 170' ((50')) ((63')) 113' ((78')) 128' 57' 42'\nIII 140' ((50')) ((43')) 93' ((55')) 105' 47' 35'\nIV 110' ((50')) ((23')) 73' ((33')) 83' 37' 27'\nV 90' ((50')) ((10')) 60' ((18')) 68' 30' 22'\n\u2022 Shade retention to meet the shade rule must be confirmed by the landowner for any harvest inside of ((75)) seventy-five feet from the outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ, whichever is greater.\n\u2022 The number of residual conifer trees per acre in the inner zone will equal or exceed ((57)) fifty-seven.\n(II) Option 2. Leaving trees closest to the water. ((Management option 2 applies only to riparian management zones for site class I, II, and III on streams that are less than or equal to 10 feet wide and RMZs in site class I and II for streams greater than 10 feet wide. Harvest must comply with the following:\n\u2022 If (II) of this subsection results in surplus basal area per the stand requirement, the landowner may take credit for the surplus by harvesting additional riparian leave trees required to be left in the adjacent outer zone on a basal area-for-basal area basis. The number of leave trees in the outer zone can be reduced only to a minimum of 10 trees per acre.)) The objective of this option is to retain an RMZ width that will maintain current riparian functions. The stand must provide sufficient residual conifer trees in the combined core and inner zones to reach the target basal area of three hundred twenty-five square feet per acre at age one hundred forty.\nInner zone harvest may occur under option 2 if the projected future basal area within the combined width of the core and inner zones exceeds the target basal area. The combined core and inner zone width must be determined using the leaving trees closest to the water table below; the future basal area must then be calculated using the growth model program provided by the department. The model will produce a minimum inner zone floor width. (The minimum floor width extends outward from the outer edge of the fifty-foot core zone.)\nHarvest is permitted under option 2 in the following order:\n\u2022 If the projected basal area within the combined core and inner zones exceeds the target basal area, an even-age harvest may occur starting at the outermost portion of the inner zone and progressing to the inner zone floor edge.\nIn any portion of the inner zone where an even-age harvest method occurs, at least twenty conifer trees per acre with a minimum dbh of twelve inches must be retained. The basal area of these trees will be counted towards meeting applicable stand requirements.\n\u2022 If the projected basal area within the combined core and inner zones still exceeds the target basal area, the conifer trees otherwise required to be left in the outer zone may be harvested on a basal-area-for-basal-area basis; however, only a maximum of ten conifer trees per acre may be harvested in the outer zone. (Tree counts, minimum size and placement of outer zone trees are specified below in (c) of this subsection.)\n(measured from outer edge of bankfull width or outer edge of CMZ) Outer zone width\nCore and inner zone width minimum floor ((distance)) width Core and inner zone width minimum floor ((distance)) width\n(((measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone) (measured from outer edge of core zone)))\nI 200' ((50')) ((84')) 134' ((30')) 80' ((84')) 134' ((50')) 100' 66' 66'\nII 170' ((50')) ((64')) 114' ((30')) 80' ((70')) 120' ((50')) 100' 56' 50'\nIII 140' ((50')) ((44')) 94' ((30')) 80' ((**)) 105' ((**)) 80' 46' ((**)) 35'\nV 90' 61' 68' 29' 22'\n((**Option 2 for site class III on streams >10' is not permitted because of the minimum floor (100') constraint.))\n(B) When the stream-adjacent road basal area calculated in (iii) of this subsection results in an excess in basal area (above stand requirement) then the landowner may receive credit for such excess which can be applied on a basal area-by-basal area basis against the landowner's obligation to leave trees in the outer zone of the RMZ of such stream or other waters within the same unit, provided that the number of trees per acre in the outer zone is not reduced to less than ((10)) ten trees per acre.\n(c) Outer zones. Timber harvest in the outer zone must leave ((20)) twenty riparian leave trees per acre after harvest. \"Outer zone riparian leave trees\" are trees that must be left after harvest in the outer zone in Western Washington. Riparian leave trees must be left uncut throughout all future harvests:\nThe ((20)) twenty riparian leave trees to be left can be reduced in number under the circumstances delineated in (c)(iv) of this subsection. The riparian leave trees must be left on the landscape according to one of the following two strategies. A third strategy is available to landowners who agree to a LWD placement plan.\n(i) Dispersal strategy. Riparian leave trees, which means conifer species with a diameter measured at breast height (dbh) of ((12)) twelve inches or greater, must be left dispersed approximately evenly throughout the outer zone. If riparian leave trees of ((12\")) twelve inches dbh or greater are not available, then the next largest conifers must be left. If conifers are not present, riparian leave trees must be left according to the clumping strategy in subsection (ii) below.\n(A) Clump trees in or around one or more of the following sensitive features to the extent available within the outer zone. When clumping around sensitive features, riparian leave trees must be ((8)) eight inches dbh or greater and representative of the overstory canopy trees in or around the sensitive feature and may include both hardwood and conifer species. Sensitive features are:\n(B) If sensitive features are not present, then clumps must be well distributed throughout the outer zone and the leave trees must be of conifer species with a dbh of ((12)) twelve inches or greater. When placing clumps, the applicant will consider operational and biological concerns. Tree counts must be satisfied regardless of the presence of stream-adjacent parallel roads in the outer zone.\n(iii) Large woody debris in-channel placement strategy. A landowner may design a LWD placement plan in cooperation with the department of fish and wildlife. The plan must be consistent with guidelines in ((the)) board manual section 26. The landowner may reduce the number of trees required to be left in the outer zone to the extent provided in the approved LWD placement plan. Reduction of trees in the outer zone must not go below a minimum of ((10)) ten trees per acre. If this strategy is chosen, a complete forest practices application must include a copy of the WDFW approved hydraulics project approval (HPA) permit.\n(II) Conifer in a CMZ equal to or greater than ((6\")) six inches dbh will offset conifer in the outer zone at a one-to-one ratio.\n(III) Hardwood in a CMZ equal to or greater than ((10\")) ten inches dbh will offset hardwood in the outer zone at a one-to-one ratio.\n(IV) Hardwood in a CMZ equal to or greater than ((10\")) ten inches dbh will offset conifer in the outer zone at a three-to-one ratio.\n(a) An equipment limitation zone is a ((30)) thirty-foot wide zone measured horizontally from the outer edge of the bankfull width of a Type Np or Ns Water where equipment use and other forest practices that are specifically limited by these rules. It applies to all perennial and seasonal streams.\n(i) On-site mitigation is required if any of the following activities exposes the soil on more than ((10%)) ten percent of the surface area of the zone:\n(i) A ((50)) fifty-foot, no-harvest buffer, measured horizontally from the outer edge of bankfull width, will be established along each side of the Type Np Water as follows:\nRequired no-harvest, 50-foot buffers on Type Np Waters.\n(ii) No timber harvest is permitted in an area within ((50)) fifty feet of the outer perimeter of a soil zone perennially saturated from a headwall seep.\n(iii) No timber harvest is permitted in an area within ((50)) fifty feet of the outer perimeter of a soil zone perennially saturated from a side-slope seep.\n(iv) No timber harvest is permitted within a ((56)) fifty-six-foot radius buffer patch centered on the point of intersection of two or more Type Np Waters.\n(v) No timber harvest is permitted within a ((56)) fifty-six-foot radius buffer patch centered on a headwater spring or, in the absence of a headwater spring, on a point at the upper most extent of a Type Np Water as defined in WAC 222-16-030(3) and 222-16-031.\n(vii) At least ((50%)) fifty percent of a Type Np Waters' length must be protected by buffers on both sides of the stream (((2)) two-sided buffers). Buffered segments must be a minimum of ((100)) one hundred feet in length. If an operating area is located more than ((500)) five hundred feet upstream from the confluence of a Type S or F Water and the Type Np Water is more than ((1,000)) one thousand feet in length, then buffer the Type Np Water according to the following table. If the percentage is not met by protecting sensitive sites listed in (b)(i) through (vii) of this subsection, then additional buffers are required on the Type Np Water to meet the requirements listed in the table.\n(B) Perennial water reaches of nonsedimentary rock with gradients greater than ((20%)) twenty percent in the tailed frog habitat range;\nWAC 222-30-021 *Western Washington riparian management zones. These rules apply to all typed waters on forest land in Western Washington, except as provided in WAC 222-30-023. RMZs are measured horizontally from the outer edge of the bankfull width or channel migration zone, whichever is greater, and extend to the limits as described in this section. See the board manual section 7 for riparian design and layout guidelines.\n\u2022 A minimum of 20 conifers per acre, with a minimum 12-inch dbh, will be retained in any portion of the inner zone where even-age harvest occurs. These riparian leave trees will ((not)) be counted ((or considered)) towards meeting applicable stand requirements ((nor can)). The number of riparian leave trees cannot be reduced below 20 for any reason.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Site General Video Games\nPlaystation Castlevania: Symphony of the Night\nDiscussion in 'Video Games' started by Wizard, Nov 10, 2019.\nDue to my recent interest in Metroidvanias, I decided to pick up Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the Playstation Store. This game is nothing short of fantastic, and it might be one of, if not my favorite PS1 game. As opposed to most Castlevania games where you play as a Belmont, you play as Alucard, son of Dracula, in Symphony of the Night. You explore two castles in quest to stop your father and the evil priest Shaft (yes, this name is real). Alucard levels up, finds new gear, and learns new spell and abilities throughout the castles and builds power to fight powerful foes. Like other games in the genre, this game can be completely broken, and that's a good thing\nHave you played this game? What are your thoughts on the second castle?\nInfernostar\nPok\u00e9 Maniac\nI recently picked up the original PS1 version of SotN, though I haven't had the chance to play through it yet. However, I am more than aware that it is essentially the Super Metroid of the Castlevania half of Metroidvania. Iconic, easy to break, a speedrunner's dream, and has a lot of meat on its bones. I look forward to playing it when I get the chance.\nTerra Destroyer\n(Eevee (S))\nI played through the game a few years ago on an emulator. It is nothing short of amazing and I really need to pick up a legitimate copy of the game so that I can replay it. Though admittedly, I kind of prefer the DS Castlevania games as I feel that they refined the gameplay a bit from the formula that SotN started.\nWorking on completing your Pok\u00e9dex in Sword or Shield? Want Pok\u00e9mon with Hidden Abilities or rare Pok\u00e9balls? Check out this thread to see if I can help you.\nWriting: Four Journeys - LoZ: Stray Thoughts - Super Ridley Bros. - Original Short Stories\n\"Art\": Sprite Gallery - Misc. Gallery - Sprite Shop\nOther: Q&A Thread\u200b\nI played Symphony of the Night after I'd played the DS Castlevania games and I found it to be a moderately steep downgrade from the good ones, i.e. not Dawn of Sorrow, but appreciated because it held up very well - still does actually, I have a PS4 copy - and it was more of what I enjoyed. Like a lot of widely lauded titles, I think it served as a fantastic blueprint for better titles, but a blueprint is still just that and I wouldn't call it the best game in the series. But it is by no means a bad title, which is more than can be said for a lot of trend-setting games.\nI really do wish they'd picked a better voice actor for Alucard, though...I absolutely cannot stand Yuri Lowenthal.\nI've been interested in this game for a while, but I want to try Super Castlevania first. From what I've heard, it's the best place to start for newcomers of the series. Once I do get to Symphony of the Night, I'll get a PlayStation 1 copy (so I can play it on my CRT television).\n(Hoopa)\n\u20bd51.8\nSymphony of the Night is widely regarded as the crown jewel of the Castlevania for good reason, but IMO it does show it's age in a few. It's quite short for starters something that you'd be hardpressed to charge full price today and expect it to sell well and you can get it for 10 USD off the Xbox marketplace largely for that reason. Other issues stem from the fact that it's imitated quite a bit so what would have stood out at the time can now just feel a bit 'samey' to other games which can be fine in their own right and being more recent might have a better sense of the current market environment. I liked it, but I'm not sure I could justifiably recommend it to folks for largely the issue of value when most will be expecting a game that can last them more than a few hours and significantly less pending on how fast you plan on going since you can beat it in about an hour without terribly much stress. I'd prolly refer people to Bloodstained Ritual of the Night instead being a modern game in that style that did it justice, just don't get the laggy and terrible Switch version.\nAs for most games being a Belmont I don't think that's actually true with some conditions, but I'm also not terribly interested in sitting down and working it out. If you count anybody that has a drop of Belmont blood sure, but if you count the distant relatives of the Belmonts as being non-Belmonts then I'd say the myriad of other character's games outweigh the games where you're forced to play a Belmont. If you count games where you can chose to play as a Belmont if you wanted to in which even Symphony of the Night would have to count as one since you can play as Richter Belmont then again yes Belmonts have more games than any non-Belmont lead games.\nAlso depending on which canon you want to take Dracula is Gabriel Belmont making Alucard a Belmont by extension specifically Trevor Belmont, Simon Belmont's father.\nJust off the top of my head:\nJohn Morris and Eric Lecarde have Castlevania Bloodlines\nJonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin have Portrait of Ruin\nReinhardt Schneider has Castlevania 64\nNathan Graves has Circle of the Moon\nSoma Cruz has 2 games Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow\nShanoa has 2 games Order of Ecclesia (sp?) and and Judgement\nDracula has Kid Dracula technically a spin off of Castlevania, but I'd still say it counts.\nAlucard has Symphony of the Night\nLegacy of Darkness starred a werewolf named Cornell I think, but don't quote me on that one either way not a Belmont.\nHarmony of Despair and Grimoire of Souls you don't have to play as Belmont if you don't want to.\nSo that's 13 that I know of that are non-Belmont titles at least, but again depending on what you're counting as a Belmont than Reinhardt Schneider, Charlotte Aulin, John Morris and Jonathan Morris are related to the Belmonts in some way shape or form.\n#6 Jan 2, 2020","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"\"Cowardly and Patronizing\": Responses to Postponement of Philip Guston Retrospective\nby Christopher Blay September 27, 2020\nPhilip Guston, The Studio, 1969\nA twice-delayed upcoming retrospective exhibition of the work of Philip Guston, which was supposed to open in June at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and travel to three other museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), has been pushed back to 2024, according to a statement from the directors of the four museums where the show was travel. At the crux of the decision is Guston's depiction of Ku Klux Klansmen in his work in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the museums stating a need for time to better contextualize the work for the current political environment.\nIn their joint statement, the museum directors, including Kaywin Feldman of the National Gallery of Art, Frances Morris of Tate Modern, Matthew Teitelbaum of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Gary Tinterow of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, expressed their thinking on the change:\n\"After a great deal of reflection and extensive consultation, our four institutions have jointly made the decision to delay our successive presentations of Philip Guston Now. We are postponing the exhibition until a time at which we think that the powerful message of social and racial justice that is at the center of Philip Guston's work can be more clearly interpreted.\"\nIn response to Glasstire's request for comment, Alison de Lima Greene, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at MFAH, writes: \"I too support the statement issued by the directors, who have given this project every consideration.\" The exhibition was scheduled to be on view at MFAH March to May of 2022.\nIn a New York Times article, while characterizing the postponement as \"cowardly and patronizing, an insult to art and the public alike,\" Darby English, a professor of art history at the University of Chicago and a former adjunct curator at the Museum of Modern Art, goes on to describe Guston's work as \"thoughtfully created in identification with history's victims.\"\nPhilip Guston, Untitled,\n1969. Acrylic on panel.\nAt the heart of the postponement are the paintings Guston made from 1968-1972 which depict hooded Ku Klux Klan figures, 25 of which were set to be featured in the exhibition, per ARTnews. \"We recognize that the world we live in is very different from the one in which we first began to collaborate on this project five years ago,\" the directors' joint statement reads. \"The racial justice movement that started in the U.S. and radiated to countries around the world, in addition to challenges of a global health crisis, have led us to pause.\"\nThe exhibition was years in the making and much-awaited. Mark Godfrey, a curator at Tate Modern in London who co-organized the exhibition, is among critics of the postponement. After ten screens of text published on his Instagram account (which is private), Godfrey concludes: \"2020 is a nightmare year. In the museum world, it is has come to the point when major institutions have become scared of displaying and recontextualising the work they had committed to for their programmes. What do we want museums to do in turbulent times? Tate has four values that should have guided us: Bold, Rigorous, Open, Kind. There is no returning to Philip Guston Now, but I hope this post might be part of a debate that will help mould a different state of affairs.\"\nThe directors' statement expresses the museums' desire to reframe the programming around Philip Guston Now, \"and bring in additional perspectives and voices to shape how we present Guston's work to our public.\"\nPhilip Guston, City Limits, 1969\nMusa Mayer, Guston's daughter and head of the Guston Foundation, writes in statement published by Artnet, \"Half a century ago, my father made a body of work that shocked the art world. Not only had he violated the canon of what a noted abstract artist should be painting at a time of particularly doctrinaire art criticism, but he dared to hold up a mirror to white America, exposing the banality of evil and the systemic racism we are still struggling to confront today.\"\nMayer states that that (via the New York Times): \"\u2026her father's family members were Jewish immigrants who fled Ukraine to escape persecution and that [Guston] 'understood what hatred was. This should be a time of reckoning, of dialogue. These paintings meet the moment we are in today. The danger is not in looking at Philip Guston's work, but in looking away.'\"\nIn his public Instagram post dated yesterday, Houston-based artist Trenton Doyle Hancock, who has written for the exhibition's catalog, writes: \"Philip Guston was a complicated socially engaged painter that fought his whole life to upend notions of 'purity' at every turn. His klansmen were not typical villains, unless you consider painting and stacking bricks as villainy, a testament to Guston's ability to strip them of their killer's instinct. Instead these buffoons were indictments of the exclusively white universalism of Greenbergian theory.\" He continues: \"I feel that Guston made some very tough images in the 1960s and 1970s which are even moreso now. The problem is that for the 50 years in between, the conversation bypassed the conversation about race construction and white supremacy and focused solely on the paint. 'Oh look how well they're painted!' We're now playing catch-up on that. Forcibly so. Hopefully, our institutions will help to engage this dialogue.\"\nVincent Valdez, The City I, 2016. Oil on canvas, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin\nRecently, another painting depicting hooded KKK figures fueled the debate on how the public and institutions respond to racial themes in artists' work. Houston-based artist Vincent Valdez's The City I, a 30-foot painting acquired by the Blanton Museum of Art at UT Austin, which depicts shadowy KKK figures lit by the headlights of a pickup truck, went on view at the Blanton two years ago. The painting was met with mixed responses and was not immune to controversy.\nIn an interview with the New York Times at the time, Valdez stated, \"There are people in the United States of America who refuse to acknowledge that entities like the Klan exist. And now we're seeing the end result.\" The artist continued, \"It's a lot easier to confront subjects like white supremacy or the Klan as evil villains. I'm more concerned about the notion that we all inhabit the same American landscape.\"\nTo read the full statement from museum directors, released by The National Gallery of Art, please go here.\nFormer MFAH Core Fellow Dies Suddenly\nMFAH Gets $100K Silver Polishing Grant from IMLS;...\nMuseum of Fine Arts, Houston Offers Expanded Virtual...\nCinema Arts Festival Houston\nBlood, Guts, and Bacon at the Museum of...\nUnder the black Umbrella: museum disaster forum meets...\nAmerican Pop Artist James Rosenquist, 1933-2017\nWill Cheap Oil Kill the Houston Art Scene?\nThe Man Who Fell to Earth at MFAH\nSandra Cappelletti September 29, 2020 - 09:52\nGuston was a such a brave and ferocious painter. He was ahead of his time and cared little for the art criticism of the time. His art is more pertinent than ever. It needs to be seen. Now.\nMartha J Terrill September 29, 2020 - 10:26\nIt needs to be seen. NOW. If not now, when?\nRainey Knudson September 30, 2020 - 08:40\nHere is an excellent piece by Tim Schneider putting this in the context of Vincent Valdez's work \"The City I\", which depicts people in Klan robes and hoods and which the Blanton got into trouble for (scroll down to \"The City\"):\nhttps:\/\/news.artnet.com\/opinion\/philip-guston-now-postponement-1911180\nThe point is that there is no such thing as good contemporary art that isn't provocative. If you want risk-free art that's not going to get you into trouble, then what you want isn't art; it's decoration. Or worse: propaganda. Great artists don't toe the line.\nLester Marks November 15, 2020 - 17:30\nIt's a close call but ultimately I agree with the previous comments by Rainey, Martha and Sandra.\nRobert Pena November 17, 2020 - 15:02\nJust let the Modern in Fort Worth handle the Guston retrospective. They did it before and they can do it again! The Guston foundation agrees with me. They have guts up there and that matters!","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Login ID:\nPac Roots Cannabis Corp\nSymbol PACR\nShares Issued 87,027,899\nClose 2021-09-09 C$ 0.09\nORIGINAL: Pac Roots appoints Farnworth as CEO, director\n2021-09-09 16:20 ET - News Release\nReceived by email:\nFile: '\\\\doc\\emailin\\20210909 130126 Attachment 2021 09 09 PACR NEW CEO FINAL SH.docx'\nTHE FUTURE OF GENETICS\nCSE: PACR | OTCQB: PARCF | FSE: 4XM\nFor Immediate Release       September 9, 2021\nPAC ROOTS ANNOUNCES NEW CEO & BOARD MEMBER\nPac Roots Cannabis Corp. (\"PacRoots\" or the \"Company\") (CSE: PACR) (OTCQB: PARCF) (FSE:4XM) is pleased to announce eff\n--->ective September 8th, 2021 Chris Farnworth has been appointed as the new CEO and Director of the Company. Patrick Elli\n--->ott has resigned as CEO and Board member but will remain part of Pac Roots as a strategic advisor.\nMr. Farnworth is a business management and corporate finance executive with over 30 years of experience in the public\n--->and private sectors. His focused experience is in cannabis, health and wellness, stem cell research, ESG businesses.\n--->He has extensive worldwide business development, sales and operational experience with large and small multi-national\n--->companies. Mr. Farnworth has successfully established joint ventures, distribution channels, acquisition, and sub lice\n--->nsing agreements. A former Vice President of Business Development of Cancana Resources (now Meridian Mining) TSX Ventu\n--->re Exchange Top 50 Mining Company, ranked 9th. He also is a director of Swiss BioTech Group, Zero Carbon Technologies,\n---> UNIVEC Inc. advisor to SperoPharm Cannabis, Zurich, and STS Capital Advisors.\n\"As the incoming CEO, it is my responsibility to lead Pac Roots towards our goal of becoming a significant player in\n--->the cannabis and branded retail space.\nOver the next few months, we will be taking significant steps to increase our brand awareness along with our joint ven\n--->ture subsidiaries, Rock Creek Farms, Lords of Grasstown and Phenome One Corp. I feel an enormous responsibility to bri\n--->ng maximum value to our team, stakeholders, and shareholders. I have already been active with the company and will con\n--->tinue to work tirelessly towards our objectives. I would like to thank the former management team, especially Patrick\n--->Elliott for driving the Company to where it is today. His hard work and dedication has proven invaluable, and I'm plea\n--->sed Mr. Elliott will remain part of advisory team.\" Stated Chris Farnworth, CEO of Pac Roots.\nAbout PacRoots\nPacRoots Cannabis is the future of genetics. By focusing on elite genetic development, the company expects to maximize\n---> the quality of its products, while keeping yields and profit margins high. Pac Roots has formed a strategic partnersh\n--->ip with Phenome One, giving the Company complete access to one of the largest live genetic libraries in Canada compose\n--->d of the finest cultivars. The Company will use these genetics to develop unique strains with various beneficial chara\n--->cteristics. The 350+ licensed live cultivars and over 1800 seed varieties are the result of a meticulous gene selectio\n--->n process, whereby Phenome One filters through as many as 600 individual plants to lock in a specific phenotype for a\n--->single strain. Tailored elite cultivars are then selected for indoor or outdoor cultivation based on various environme\n--->ntal, biological, medical and market driven factors. Visit www.pacroots.ca\nON BEHALF OF PAC ROOTS CANNABIS CORP.\n(signed) \"Chris Farnworth\"\nPac Roots Cannabis Corp.\nwww.pacroots.ca\nchris@pacroots.ca\nNot for distribution to United States wire services or dissemination in the United States. This news release does not\n--->constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The secur\n--->ities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the \"U.S. S\n--->ecurities Act\") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Person\n--->s unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such regis\n--->tration is available.\nCertain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively,\n--->\"forward-looking statements\"), including those identified by the expressions \"anticipate\", \"believe\", \"plan\", \"estimat\n--->e\", \"expect\", \"intend\", \"may\", \"should\" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its manage\n--->ment. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future result\n--->s or events. This press release contains forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on cur\n--->rent expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties an\n--->d other factors.\nStatements about the Company's future plans with its joint venture partners are all forward-looking information.\nForward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions w\n--->hich are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-\n--->looking statements include failure to obtain a Cannabis Act license in a timely manner or at all, the continued availa\n--->bility of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, including the effects of COVID-1\n--->9. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Th\n--->ese statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and un\n--->known risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be material\n--->ly different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assu\n--->mptions, there can be no assurance that the statements will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or\n--->estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. The Company assumes no responsibility to\n--->update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Readers sh\n--->ould not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.\nNeither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the \"CSE\") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in\n--->the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"By: Laurie Halse\nHow does Bullying affect the victim?\nIn the novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson addresses the cause and effects of bullying. She believes bullying can lead to severe depression and cause social problems.\nWhat makes someone become a bully?\nNobody is born a bully. It is the situations that make them do the wrong things. There are reasons behind a person becomes a bully. Generally, those who bully others are looking for superiority over others and search for flaws they can use against them.\nThose who bully may want revenge from the\nvictim, or they just want to feel popular and seen as tough or cool. Some people may also learn to bully from others. In the novel, Melinda, the main character, is constantly bullied and ignored my her classmates and ex-friends. Melinda states, \"The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing about me. It's Rachel...'I hate you,' she mouths silently\" (Anderson 4).\nAlways remember that bullying is not acceptable!\nIssue in the book?\nMelinda is only fourteen-years-old, and she's dealing with one of the worst things that can happen to a person: rape. High school senior Andy Evans rapes Melinda at the end-of-summer party just before Melinda starts 9th grade. She calls the cops to report the rape, but leaves before they show up. The party is busted and everybody thinks Melinda got them in trouble on purpose. The story begins at Melinda's first day of freshman year. Swift sings,\"Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things.\"All her ex-friends ignore her and are constantly bringing up the Incident. She can't find the words to explain what really happened at the party. \"I look around, nowhere to sit. All my friends stare at me then look away. I am an outcast,\" (Anderson 4).\nWhat are the effects of bullying?\nDiminished academic performance can also be a result of bullying: \"Many of these effects can last well into adulthood. Victimization is also significantly related to social isolation, anxiety and depression, and low self-esteem\" (Gale). With her only friend ditching her, Melinda becomes withdrawn and isolated. In freshman year, Melinda receives failing grades and wants to give up school.\nMel expresses, \"I retreat into my head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief. There's something banging around in there that I don't want to think about. I try to avoid it, but it won't go away until there is a painful confrontation\" (Anderson 145). She wants to make the rumors go away but doesn't know how. \"With that same big loud opinion but nobody's listening,\" sings Swift. Gale believes bullying can lead to hardships with fitting in: \"The victims are more likely to be physically underdeveloped and socially isolated and to have difficulty making friends.\"\nThe graph above shows that people who were\/are bullied have much higher rates of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, etc.\nWhat was Melinda's response?\nMelinda became extremely anti-social and did not know who to turn to. Taylor swift sings, \"Trying to block you out cause I'll never impress you. You, have pointed out my flaws again As if I don't already see them.\" Mel wanted her classmates to change their opinion about her but they wouldn't stop being mean. She kept her distant and avoided school.\nGale. \"Bullying.\" School-Eb-Com.proxygsu-Scob.galileo.usg.edu, school-eb-com.proxygsu- scob.galileo.usg.edu\/levels\/middle\/article\/bullying\/598822.\n\"Taylor Swift - Mean Lyrics.\" Disney - Cinderella - Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo Lyrics | MetroLyrics, www.metrolyrics.com\/mean-lyrics-taylor-swift.html.\nAnderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York : Square Fish, 2011. Print.\nSynthesis Project #2\nThe cause and effects of bullying.\nKelly Wu | October 03, 2018","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Pin Up Casino App: Download apk for Android and iOS\nDifferences Between the Pin Up App and the Mobile Website\nStep 3. Download the app or play the web version\nCan I access all the casino games available in the desktop Pin Up version?\nHow to Update Pin Up App?\nDownload Pin Up App for iOS\nPin Up App Download for Android and iOS platform\nWhat games are there in online casinos for money?\nThere are different levels of stakes at the tables. Many have a minimum bet of just a few INR, which allows even those on small budgets to play. If the download is blocked, go into your device's security settings and allow apps from unknown sources to be installed. When you walk into Roulette Lobby, the first thing that catches your eye is the dealer asking you to place a bet. You don't have much time to make a decision, but that's what will only fuel your interest in playing further. A legendary slot with soaring wilds expanding across the reel and the opportunity to win three fixed jackpots in the bonus game.\nThe game will appeal to those who appreciate gameplay with both traditional and experimental elements. This slot is extremely addictive and provides a powerful gaming experience. It's an online slot machine that has good returns, and is full of mysterious symbols. The 5\u00d73 scheme goes with the maximum winnings of x5,000 from the bet.\nIn this section, it is possible to bet and watch several live events at once. This kind of prediction is suitable for the most experienced players. Computer algorithms have a big impact on the result, so a lot is decided by luck. Though kabaddi is a less popular sport than cricket and many other disciplines, it has quite a few fans in India.\nIf you have long been looking for an honest casino that you can trust without fear, then Pin Up is just what you need. You can verify this as soon as you start the game process. As mentioned earlier, RKN actively blocks all access to the pin-up casino. But our site is no less actively solving the problem with each new blocking.\nAs a confirmation of his intentions, he grants a license from the Curacao regulator. In addition, the catalog contains only branded vending machines, each of which has its own serial number. The club supports several payment systems so that the user can choose the most familiar and comfortable one for himself.\nA huge variety awaits you when selecting specific outcomes.\nNew and active customers of Pin Up India can enjoy a large number of lucrative promotions.\nSlot machines of all types including novelties and classic slots.\nFirstly, make sure you're playing at a reputable casino with a high RTP rate.\nThe main thing is to carefully select the currency of the new account. Since Pin up casino is an international establishment, nine types of currencies are used. And, since, in the future, it will not work to change the currency of the account, it is necessary to decide upon registration. As a rule, players from the Russian Federation choose ruble, dollar and euro accounts. It is unlikely that you will be comfortable playing for the Colombian peso or Turkish lira. The bookmaker Pin-up offers an excellent support service with a professional and responsive team that is specially trained to help Indian bettors.\nIt is unobtrusive, but modern, and the interface is convenient and simple. Authorization and login form are located at the top of the site, the main panel is on the side. Emphasis is placed on providers that are partners of a virtual casino, under which there is a choice of slot machines. Each replenishment of your account brings the internal currency of the Pin Up casino. Pincoins can be exchanged for bonuses or real money.\nTheir activity on the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited.\nThe program is fully optimized, and therefore crashes and bugs in games are excluded.\nYou can make both general bets, such as on the winning team, and on more risky events \u2013 best player, handicap, total, etc.\nWhen using bank transfer, players will need to provide their SWIFT code in order to process the transaction.\nAbout 450 markets are available for popular hockey events, at least 300 for basketball matches, and over 150 for tennis.\nSome states, such as Goa, have legalized pin-up casino.\nIn this section, players will be able to explore all video slots. The operator offers both five-reel classics and a large number of progressive models, which are supplied by Yggdrasil and Microgaming. Anyone who has reached the age of majority can register at the Pin Up online casino. The visitor confirms this with a tick in the registration window and subsequently with scans of the passport. Without verification, you will not be able to get the right to withdraw winnings. The loyalty program opens Pin Up casino promotional codes and additional opportunities for winnings.\nThe Live Bets panel appears on the left side of the game's user interface and shows all bets being placed in a current round. You can bet on two events at the same time by adding a second betting bar to your browser window. To add another betting panel, click the plus sign in the upper right corner of the first betting panel. Now you can go to your personal profile and fill out additional information about yourself, as well as verify your phone number and email address. We recommend that you do this as soon as possible in order to avoid difficulties when withdrawing money from the casino in the future. Apart from these, the players can also choose to mathematically formulate strategies in order to play the game.\nThus, pinup app is fully adapted to the Indian audience and provides all the conditions for comfortable use of the platform.\nIf you select a match, you will be presented with dozens of other possible outcomes at different odds.\nClick the button to download and wait until the file is downloaded.\nOf course, before that, you need to have money in the account.\nTo withdraw money, you must have at least 300 rubles on your account balance.\nThere is a dynamic search, as well as the ability to generate the gambling games you like to get quick access to them.\nThe first withdrawal may take 2-3 business days.\nOpen your smartphone settings and in the security section, allow apps from unknown sources to be installed. Withdrawals can take up to three business days to process, but they are typically much quicker than pin up casino that. Players will need to verify their identity before making a withdrawal for the first time. The game is also provably fair, which means that players can check the fairness of each round for themselves.\nPin Up Casino is owned and managed by Carletta Ltd., which has its headquarters in Curacao. At the same time, the casino operation is duly licensed by the Curacao Government. The business operation is monitored and licensed by Antillephone for accountability and fairness. The casino has no Indian regulations but uses its offshore credentials to operate in India. Gambling in India varies by state, as the states of India have the right to formulate their own laws governing gambling-related activities.\nIn battle you will be helped by nice bonuses that will help you win more often and more. Champions of Rome is a slot with 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 win lines. Overcome the odds and come home with a big win. A slot machine that attracts with its most simple design and brevity. Get paid for the collection of the same symbols and multiply your winnings in the risk game.\nFinally, make sure to create and stick to a budget. Aviator Game is a brand-new social multiplayer game with an escalating slope that might crash at any moment. When the game begins, a multiplier scale is started. Before the lucky plane takes flight, the player must cash out. This format stems from the video gaming industry, and it became widespread in crypto casinos due to its simplicity and thrilling gambling experience. Periodic blocking by the providers of the official website does not give players a lot of trouble.\nInformation About the Pin-Up App\nOpen any of the Pin Up Casino website pages in your browser. It doesn't matter which browser is installed on your smartphone. Thus, the work of the application is supported by most models of iOS technology. All thanks to excellent optimization and adaptive design. No, a single player is allowed to have only one account.\nThe app supports many languages, including Hindi and Bengali. This app allows Android and iOS owners to have fun and earn cash. It comes with a great layout, mobile-friendly interface, and diverse functions and deals. You will be required to make your first deposit after now. You may also seek to verify your account via the provided options.\nWhich Devices are Compatible with the Pin-Up App?\nYou can use the whole amount once it is credited to your bonus balance. Please check if there is free space on your device. Also, ensure that the system version of your gadget supports the Pin Up app. Express bets become more complicated and risky, as several bets on different outcomes are included in a single betting coupon. As a result, the odds add up, making it possible to receive a large payout.\nMirror to enter Pin up casino \ud83d\udcb0 don't forget your bonuses \ud83c\udf81The Pin Up Casino Com club platform was launched at the beginning of 2016. The Craletta Ltd operator introduced a bookmaker and an online casino to gamblers in one platform. Today Pin Up Casino is a fast growing gambling club with a generous bonus program. Pin Up Casino app offers great deposit and withdrawal times. Most withdrawals will be processed within one working day.\nTo get the Pin Up Aviator APK, download it to your phone on the official site. Pin-Up application is an online casino first, and only then a bookie. Here, you will find sports betting on many lines, covering all the most significant events in Asia and the world.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Why it is not true to say that Saudi Arabia 'exported' radical Islam\nNathan Field writes: As attention focuses on what to do about certain things over the coming months \u2014 you will hear people talking about the role of the Wahhabi version of Islam of Saudi Arabia, and what connection it has to the spread of this new threat everyone is talking about.\nFor decades, there has been a school of thought that blames the Saudis for Al-Qaeda, or Salafism, and now, certain new groups, as a result of some conscious strategy to \"export\" their version of Islam.\nHere are eight links (one two three four five six seven eight) from reasonable mainstream media outlets that state some variation of the thesis of this headline:\nHow Saudi Arabia Exported the Main Source of Global Terrorism\nCentral to this idea is that, if the Saudis did not take these actions to export their version of Islam, different things would be happening. Such as:\nIslam as practiced in many Arab countries would be more moderate\nCertain radical mosques in say France, wouldn't exist\nFewer Belgians would have traveled to fight in Syria.\nRadical clerics would have less followers on Twitter.\nI have always argued \u2014 and will argue in this post \u2014 that the spread of more conservative Islamic views across the Middle East, and amongst Muslims in the West, both now, and over the course of the last several decades, cannot be blamed on any conscious strategy by people or organizations inside Saudi Arabia. It is merely a natural reflection of the \"demand\" for more conservative religious views. People chose more conservative Islam because it is logical to them based on their personal surrounding environment.\nThis is not an academic argument \u2014 it has implications for how you respond to this new challenge.\nIt comes down to this:\nDo you believe that people adopt ideas and beliefs because they seek them out and agree with them because they best explain their predicament? They offer the most meaning? Or do you believe that people adopt ideas because they are told to believe them? Do people choose ideas? Or do ideas choose them? Do you trust people to choose what they think?\nI try to read any biography of a \"group\" member that is published in the media. I am not aware of one instance where a normal, happy, employed person, truly satisfied with their life, who joined a radical movement because they by chance stumbled upon a book by a Wahhabi scholar. Just happened to walk into a radical mosque where a Wahhabi preacher was speaking.\nThe person that joined an extremist movement has something going on his life that leads him to choose to seek out a radical preacher. Leads him or her to choose to go to the Wahhabi mosque, or to feel that a radical political movement deserves his support. [Continue reading\u2026]\nThis entry was posted in Al Qaeda, Analysis, ISIS, Saudi Arabia on November 27, 2015 by News Sources.\n\u2190 Amnesty: Saudi Arabia planning mass execution Turkish court jails two journalists for revealing the state was smuggling arms to Syria \u2192","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home \u203a St. Vincent and The Grenadines Abbreviations\nSt. Vincent and The Grenadines Abbreviations\nVC is the abbreviation for St. Vincent and The Grenadines, the 184th largest country in the world. St. Vincent and The Grenadines is a country located in Caribbean. Kingstown is the capital city of St. Vincent and The Grenadines. Major cities include Kingstown (population: 24,507), Georgetown (population: 1,669), Byera Village (population: 1,354), Biabou (population: 1,039), Barrouallie (population: 989), Port Elizabeth (population: 828), Chateaubelair (population: 724), Dovers (population: 514), and Layou (population: 129).\nCapital: Kingstown\nArea: 389 km2\nCurrency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)\nTime zone: UTC-4\nCalling code: 1-784\nISO 2-Letter Abbreviation: VC\nUN 3-Letter Abbreviation: VCT\nInternet TLD: .vc\nState Government Website: gov.vc\nList of St. Vincent and The Grenadines Acronyms\nThe most commonly used abbreviations about St. Vincent and The Grenadines are VC which stands for St. Vincent and The Grenadines and XCD which means East Caribbean dollar (St. Vincent and The Grenadines currency). In the following table, you can see all acronyms related to St. Vincent and The Grenadines, including abbreviations for airport, city, school, port, government, and etc.\nMQS Mustique International Airport, St. Vincent and Grenadines\nSVATG Saint Vincent And The Grenadines\nSVG Saint Vincent and the Grenadines\nVCT Saint Vincent and the Grenadines\nSVD St Vincent, St. Vincent And The Grenadines\nVC St. Vincent and the Grenadines\nSVGCIC St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Inc.\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines consists of the main island of Saint Vincent, as well as 30 smaller islands in the archipelago of Grenadines. The islands consist of volcanic rocks, and the volcano Soufri\u00e8re on Saint Vincent is the country's highest peak at 1234 m. The islands' landscape is characterized by mountains and hilly terrain covered by tropical rainforest. Down from the mountains many rivers and streams flow. The coast of Saint Vincent is flatter than the inland, and has many black volcanic sand beaches. The remaining islands of the Grenadines have white sandy beaches protected by coral reefs off the coast. The climate is tropical hot and humid all year round. The driest months are from January to May, while it is rainy from June to September.\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines are regularly exposed to major devastating hurricanes from June to November. The country is also exposed to major volcanic eruptions from Soufri\u00e8re on Saint Vincent. The last major outbreaks occurred in 1812, 1902 and 1979 and led to many deaths and major destruction. The country's biggest environmental challenges are related to pollution of the coastal areas. The pollution originates mainly from waste and sewage from large luxury boats. Some areas have become so polluted that bathing is not recommended.\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines were inhabited by various indigenous peoples who emigrated from South America. The indigenous people had agricultural knowledge and developed advanced societies. When the first Europeans discovered Saint Vincent in the late 1400s, the island was inhabited by warrior Caribbean people. In the 17th century, the islands were inhabited by escaped African slaves from other islands in the region. The descendants of the indigenous people and the escaped African slaves became known as garifuna people.\nThe local population and the garifuna made great opposition to the European attempts to colonize the islands. Britain and France fought a number of wars, and control of the islands shifted between the European powers a number of times. In 1787, the British managed to occupy Saint Vincent, and after an unsuccessful revolt against the colonial power, the majority of the local population was deported. The locals were mainly replaced by African slaves, and after the slavery was banned, British workers were brought in from India. A large part of the island's population perished in a violent eruption in 1902. Between 1958 and 1962 the islands were a member of the West Indies Federation. The federation had partial internal autonomy, but was still controlled by the United Kingdom. In 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became completely independent.\nSociety and politics\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy. The country is part of the Commonwealth of Nations and has retained the British monarch as the head of state. The executive power lies with the government led by the prime minister. The prime minister and the government are based on the assembly house. The Assembly House consists of 15 elected representatives, as well as seven senators appointed by the British monarch's representative in the country.\nThe policy is characterized by major social problems and the increasing drug traffic throughout the Caribbean. The region has become a transit route for drugs from South to North America. The country has seen a sharp increase in crime as a result of the smuggling activities. The island state has managed to balance good international relations with ideologically conflicting countries. Among other things, the country has a close cooperation with Cuba and Venezuela while also having good relations with the US and Taiwan.\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines have a poorly developed welfare system. Mainly welfare benefits such as pensions, health insurance and child support cover only those who are officially employed in a company. Violence against women and children is a major problem. The country also has strict laws against sexual minorities, and homosexuality can be punished with five years in prison.\nEconomics and Commerce\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is one of the poorest countries in the eastern Caribbean. In 1979, the islands were hit by a major eruption that destroyed half of the banana plantations. The following year, Hurricane Allan caused new devastation. These natural disasters, together with an unstable export market, have led to long-term financial difficulties and high unemployment. Unemployment has been around 20 per cent over a long time. In recent years, the service industry and tourism have become the country's most important source of income, and today account for almost 75 per cent of the gross domestic product. The country is struggling with great differences between poor and rich. Many of the poorest citizens work in agriculture for their own consumption and are therefore not covered by the welfare benefits. Organized agriculture accounts for only about seven percent of the country'sgross domestic product.\nSaint Vincent and the Grenadines join the CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market) regional partnership. The goal of the organization is to create a common economic market in the Caribbean, and that the region should receive equal tariffs, free flow of capital and labor.\nAbbreviation Archives\nSelect Month January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014\nStates and Continents\nAlabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming >> Africa Asia Europe North America South America Caribbean Middle East\nCategories >> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z\n\u00a9 2014 - 2021 Abbreviation Finder. Site Map | Recent Posts\nTerms of Use | Privacy Policy | About Us | Scholarships","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Sunrise and sunset times in Messingham\nCheck out today's and tomorrow's sunrise and sunset times in Messingham, England, United Kingdom, as well as the whole calendar for January 2023.\n13 hours, 35 minutes left for today's sunset in Messingham\nTomorrow will be 3 minutes longer than today in Messingham\nMessingham,\nJanuary 2023 - Messingham, England - Sunrise and sunset calendar\nSunrise and sunset times, civil twilight start and end times as well as solar noon, and day length for every day of January in Messingham.\nIn Messingham, England, the first day of January is 7 hours, 39 minutes long. The last day of the month is 8 hours, 56 minutes, so the length of the days gets 1 hour, 17 minutes longer in January 2023.\nYear distribution of sunrise and sunset times in Messingham, England - 2023\nThe following graph shows sunrise and sunset times in Messingham for every day of the year. There are two jumps in the graph that represent the hour change for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Messingham, England.\nSorn\nAberdyfi\nWherstead\nDorchester on Thames\nWest Horsley","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Accidental Couple\nEpisode 1 of Accidental Couple (aka Just Looking aka That Fool, 2009) was surreal. Never had I been so simultaneously awed and repulsed. Here was acting at its finest and here was acting so excruciatingly awful I wanted to throw a shoe at the screen.\nImagine the very best tenor in the world giving the standout performance of his life. He opens his mouth to sing and your jaw drops; it will remain on the floor for the entirety of the concert. Then it's the turn of the accompanying \"choir\" and your hair stands as you listen to what sounds like seagulls and sea lions cackling and barking at each other. You call that singing?\nBut behold a miracle midway in the performance.\nWith eight numbers down and eight more to go, you suddenly realize the discordant noises have disappeared. It's as if the tenor has sprinkled magic dust on the singers around him. The choir is now singing in tandem, its members' faces flushed with joy. You take your fingers out of your ears.\nSee, perfection is contagious after all. You can't be acting sixteen episodes with Hwang Jung-min and not have his greatness rub off on you. The more scenes you have with him, the more rapidly you are going to improve. How can you not when the man infuses the air around him with such purity? Yes, that's the word. His acting is so pure in intent and execution it leaves you awestruck.\nThe magic begins the very moment he appears. This man with the nerdy haircut and the imperfect skin, a school-boy satchel hanging from one shoulder. This nondescript man. For many years now he has worked in a post office, not delivering mail but selling postal insurance. He doesn't have the gift of the gab, obviously, so he doesn't sell as many policies as his frustrated chief expects. He loves to sing and for two years has posted a sign-up form for colleagues to start a singing group with him. No one comes forward. He has a crush on a pretty colleague, but she doesn't even glance in his direction. Not once has he been on a date and his sister despairs that he will ever get married.\nOne night he attends an awards ceremony for the acting luminaries in his country. His favorite star wins for best acting by a female lead and he is ecstatic. On his way home, still starry-eyed from the night's events, he sees a car spinning out of control and crashing into a wall. He runs to the car and inside is his idol, that best actress. Please help me, she begs. Please sit in the driver's seat and act as if you were my chauffeur tonight.\nHe does as she instructs. And just like that, like a bizarre dream, our hero's life changes completely.\nI sat through the first few episodes of Accidental Couple with a lump in my throat. The tears threatened but never fell; the crying was all internal.\nMy heart ached for Gu Dong-baek. How I hated seeing him used and misused in an outrageous charade that will advance other people's political ambitions and illicit passions \u2014 people who care only about themselves and not for him. A contract marriage with the actress Han Ji-soo so that her \"scandal\" with Gu Dong-baek will quell rumors that she and a certain politician's son are an item.\nThe politician is running for the ultimate mayorship position: Mayor of Seoul. To win he needs the backing of the gilded in industry, specifically the owner of the country's biggest media conglomerate. So he gets his son engaged to the media mogul's daughter. Engagement perks for the young'un, who is schooled abroad and thankfully does not take after his dad in the looks department, include a coveted position in his father-in-law's company.\nSix months is all it takes for the charade to run its course. Once the politician is elected mayor, the son will break off his engagement and marry his true love \u2014 the actress whom he has been dating for seven years. That is the plan. To pull it off, they need someone to play the actress's husband. Someone they can manipulate easily. Someone like Gu Dong-baek.\nContract marriages. Haven't we seen them in kdramas before? Full House immediately comes to mind, except in that one the gender roles are the reverse. Most of the time the couple enter into a contract marriage because one of them is in dire straits, usually financially. Not so in Accidental Couple.\nI concede Gu Dong-baek is not coerced into playing the role of the pseudo husband. He's her fan. She seems so unhappy and he badly wants to see her smile, to be joyful again. So out of the goodness of his heart he agrees to her request. He just wants to help her, it's as simple as that. But it's precisely his pure-heartedness and her and her lover and his father's collective selfishness that make the whole thing so wrong. How can they get away with such exploitation?\nWhen, after a spell of being together and thinking she's comfortable enough with him, he alludes to them being friends and she immediately squashes the idea, my heart cried for him. When her lover, that Kang-mo guy, turns up in Guam unexpectedly and it's so obvious that our hero is the third wheel, I couldn't stop the tears this time. What is heartbreaking is how he smiles through the whole charade, how he picks himself up and just plods on. He cries, thinking no one is looking. He keeps looking out for her, protecting her, doing everything she asks of him, like a fool.\nBut I didn't just hate how shabbily Gu Dong-baek was treated or the far-fetched premise of the plot. It was also how terrible some of the acting was in the first few episodes. I could not believe one drama could showcase acting that ranged from the sublime to the abysmal\u2026 in the lead roles! But let's talk about the sublime first.\nI will come out on a limb here and say that Hwang Jung-min's acting is so amazing it ranks up there in my all-time Top Three best performance by a male lead in a kdrama, together with Kim Myung-min (White Tower, 2007) and Yang Dong-geun (Ruler of Your Own World, 2002). Such acting comes around only once every few years.\nI missed Gu Dong-baek every single second he wasn't in a scene. Despite being a pawn, albeit a willing one, in a farce that I had strong ethical objections to, he made me smile till I thought I was going to get jaw ache. He was an intoxicant giving me a high; I couldn't get enough. He made me, an increasingly crappy cynic, believe that \"heart of gold\" isn't just an idiom that you bandy around, but that it can exist. Gu Dong-baek's heart is indeed golden; it is indeed genuinely kind and good.\nUnfortunately, the people taking advantage of his goodness are many.\nThere's his actress wife, so caught up in her sacrificial lamb role she does not realize how blinded she is. Looking at how easily Kang-mo and his father can manipulate her (the sham marriage is their idea), you would think she is all legs and not much else. (I would kill for those legs, though. Just saying.) Playing her is Kim Ah-joong, in what is my first real look at her. (I've seen her, of course, on the cover of my 200 Pounds Beauty DVD. Remind me to watch that at some point.)\nIf it weren't for Hwang Jung-min's spades of awesomeness, I would have fled from Accidental Couple within minutes of Kim Ah-joong's appearance.\nThe woman looks fabulous from head to toe, front to back, up close or plastered on the wall in yet another seductive pose. But she can't act. Put her together in a scene with Kang-mo's Joo Sang-wook and every flaw in their acting is magnified tenfold. Her acting is as nuanced as a porcupine is cuddly, and he is merely going through the paces. I have no idea what she sees in him because he is essentially emotionless. Everything he does feels like 2% milk, diluted and bland. The guy doesn't have a single standout scene.\nNo matter how I hated Sang-hyuk in Winter Sonata, at least I remember him lying on the hospital bed like the pathetic second fiddle that he is, pretending to be dead so that his ex-girlfriend will be so gripped by pangs of guilt she'll zip back to his side. In contrast, nothing about Kang-mo is memorable. He isn't so evil that you despise him. He isn't so angelic (like a certain second fiddle in Brilliant Legacy) that your heart hurts for him. He is just\u2026 boring. But what is truly sad is that he remains the same for sixteen episodes. Because he shares so few scenes with the great Hwang Jung-min, that's why. Not enough opportunity for \"iron sharpening iron\" to work.\nKim Ah-joong, on the other hand, is the female lead; she and Hwang Jung-min are constantly together. Even if they sleep on separate floors and work in different places (he in a post office and she in another world), they breathe the same air at home. All that togetherness can't possibly leave her unaffected.\nIt took several episodes, but after a while I forgot to roll my eyes when it was a Han Ji-soo scene. I stopped studying her legs and features (or taking little mental notes such as \"That hair color looks fantastic on her, but I'm sure it'll look frightful on me.). Instead I laughed when she was being silly, like the time Dong-baek asked her to make him laugh ten times, and I even teared with her when she was giving that press conference. By the middle of the drama (Episode 8 is the episode where everything sort of clicks and the choir members stop looking like they were just plucked randomly off the streets), it is obvious there is a palpable chemistry between our two leads. They look adorable cooking together; they stop looking like an accidental couple.\nIt's the same with Lee Chung-ah and Baek Sung-hyun: Hwang Jung-min's magic finding its way to them, teaching them that anyone can act like the crazies gotten you, but real acting is all about control.\nThe last time I watched Lee Chung-ah was several years ago in Temptation of Wolves. Her acting was nothing to shout about then, even as the female lead. But in Accidental Couple, watching her in the first two episodes was like nails on a chalkboard. I wanted to reach into the screen and tell her this (before gagging her): Have mercy on your viewers. Find another profession. Anything but acting. If Kim Ah-joong is bad, you are worse.\nBy the end of the drama I loved Lee Chung-ah's Min-ji. She made me giggle and laugh out loud. She was that gust of wind sweeping into a room the instant the windows were opened, dispelling the stale air and making one feel suddenly rejuvenated. I loved how she fussed over her brother, how she idolized her famous sister-in-law, how her jaw dropped at her brother-in-law's abs.\nAh, that brother-in-law. That Sang-chul. Han Ji-soo's brother back from Australia, supposedly, but behaving like he just emerged from acting lessons taught by really incensed gorillas. How else to explain why the guy is a walking ball of rage? First Lee Chung-ah and now Baek Sung-hyun. What's with the overacting at the start?\nBut the same transformation takes place as well and soon I was marveling at the writer's cleverness: make Sang-chul Kang-mo's unwitting antagonist, yes! Whereas Kang-mo is trying to drive Dong-baek and Ji-soo apart, Sang-chul will make them fall in love and become a real couple. The result is some of my favorite scenes in the drama: bantering, shopping, snuggling together. I love our Dong-chul couple!\nThus, as first impressions go, the first episode tossed out enough bad acting and shenanigans to make me want to bail out, and I would have, normally. But I was so drunk on Hwang Jung-min's portrayal of Gu Dong-baek.\nThis isn't my first time watching him; the first was long ago in that wonderful action noir, A Bittersweet Life. He was a revelation there as the villain; I still shiver when I remember his sneer and that facial scar. But Lee Byung-hun was so riveting there as the lead, I didn't pay enough attention to Hwang Jung-min. Still, he was unforgettable. Other movies followed: Waikiki Brothers, You Are My Sunshine, A Lovely Week. He always delivered, playing every sweet or sinister character with passion and panache. But I never really fell in love, not until Accidental Couple.\nIf I can give only one reason why I am so smitten with Hwang Jung-min here, it is that he plays his character with so much heart. Every little thing he does \u2014 whether he is smiling or crying, leaping into the ocean or playing board games \u2014 is so heartfelt, so sincere and earnest. We forget that he is acting; we think that he is indeed Gu Dong-baek.\nBut although I love everything about Hwang Jung-min in this drama, I do not love everything about Gu Dong-baek. Especially after he fell in love with his fake wife, he seemed more subdued, nodding in agreement more often than I felt necessary. He was less carefree than before; he walked with less lift in his steps. I particularly dislike that side-plot with Kyung-ae, that annoying colleague that he had a crush on and who decided belatedly that she was going to reciprocate. The whole thing about her holding our couple to ransom was just so stupid. Just as the drama was moving at a trot, she emerged and slowed everything to a crawl.\nBut in the end, all the little annoyances don't matter. You don't need more than one reason to watch Accidental Couple, and this one reason alone will make up for all of the drama's shortcomings. Silly office bickering becomes watchable, the camaraderie in that post office making me feel all warm inside. I stop cringing at unrealistic plot twists and wait gleefully instead for that happy-ever-after that I know will come. Gu Dong-baek's too good of a man not to be given all the happiness that he deserves.\nIt's been a long time since I watched a drama at this pace: devouring sixteen episodes in two days with no fast-forwarding. A simple Cinderella story of a mismatched couple falling in love against all odds. This story reached out and grabbed me. I don't know if Accidental Couple will make my Top Five best dramas of the year, but I do know that I've found my Best Actor.\nK-dramas Reviews\tAccidental CoupleBaek Sung HyunHwang Jung MinJoo Sang WookKim Ah JoongKim Myung MinLee Byung HunLee Chung AhLee Soo YoungYang Dong Geun 17 Comments\n\u2190 Brilliant Legacy: Episode 18\nBrilliant Legacy: Episode 19 \u2192\n17 thoughts on \"Accidental Couple\"\ndaheefanel says:\nHURRAY!!!!! \ud83d\ude00\nI admit it: I've been dropping by your blog every few hours ever since you said you finished AC, hoping that you'd written something and posted it up. I've been dying to read what you thought, and you certainly did not let me down. \ud83d\ude00\nHwang Jung Min is simply a sensation here. I can't get enough of him. Agreed \u2013 he is THE best actor of the year so far. I also agree that it feels like spending so much time with his genius rubbed off on everyone else on the set. How could you NOT be affected, really?\nI also kind of hated Ji-soo until around episode eight. After that, she was fine. Thank goodness!\nAnd the Dong-chul couple!! *heart* I love them so, so much. I gobbled up every scene they had together. They're so adorable. Their chemistry was on FIIIIIRE.\nI wonder how I would react if I met a Gu Dong-baek in real life? I'm sure he would be frustrating to deal with at times, since he's always thinking of others, and never himself. You might end up feeling a little inadequate, compared to him. But I think at the end of the day, he would help make you a better person, help you become more courageous. I love him so. How could I not? My heart feels like it's going to burst whenever I think of him.\nHwang Jung Min is always saying that he wants to be an actor who acts with his whole heart. He wants to become an actor who never lies, who is always portraying his real and sincere feelings. I think he's succeeded (although he may disagree with me!).\nBy the way, unni, I think you should watch \"Happiness\", his film with Im Soo Jung. He's phenomenal there, too, except this time, he's acting as a Bad Guy, a selfish person. Very different from Gu Dong-baek.\nOkay, I'll shut up now. Thank you, unni!\ndeeta says:\nIn addition to being boring, Kangmo has the unfortunate destiny of being a total asshole who looks like he's had constipation for a while. I despised him and never felt sorry for him.\nI like your choir metaphor, it's very fitting. I had a hard time finishing the first 8 episodes. But episode 9 onwards were breezy. It was a hugely fun ride.\nI have to admit that I was not convinced by the pairing of KAJ and HJM, they just don't look\u2026together. But I think it was around episode 11 for me that they became to actually look like a couple. When Jisoo becomes more playful and less remorse and I guess KJA sucks at being serious because I thought her best moments are moments where she can laugh and play with Dongbaek.\nI know HJM's been in lots of projects, but honestly, from now on, I will always think of GDB whenever I hear HJM. GDB is just such a memorable character.\nAnyways, thanks for reviewing this drama!\nOoh, Kyungae is actually a character I totally heart. I literally started giggling whenever she comes on the screen because she's just hilarious to boo. She just cracks me up. She's got a good heart, she wants to save GDB from being used by HJS. She threatens them to break up simply because she has no idea JS's and DB's feelings are mutual. I remember she was like 'Wait, HJS, so you're into him too?? Then WTF am I doing..' or something like that, lols. She pretends to be smart, but is definitely not the sharpest thing. Gawd, I'm a totaly Kyungae fan, hahah..\nSparrow says:\nI also have a confession I've been checking this site regularly because of the wonderful recaps of Shining Inheritance.\nI adore the main lead, I fell in love with him in Happiness, even though he was a totall a-hole there.\nBut I also admire Kim Ah-joong who carried 200 Pounds Beauty on here shoulders (as much as I love Joo Jin Mo he only has a supporting role there). She has fantastic comical timing which they didn't utilise here until several episodes into the series.\nLikewise this series only picked up for me thanks to the lovely lighter moments where the main couple have fun together and when the brother in law was bonding with Gu Dong-baek or the sister reacting funny to the brother in law.\nThose moments were just golden.\nLuciely says:\nAhh, i have been meaning to watch Accidental Couple! But didn't have the time because of BL (:\nSince I have read this I'll just go watch it now (or soon at least, ahh me and my lazy self!). Hehe, i'm sort of afraid of the first 8 episodes though. But, it's alright..I can make it through them!\nThanks for the blog thundie!!~\nthanks for your wonderful insights\u2026 i enjoyed reading them. I have also became smitten with HJM after watching him in AC\u2026 i keep on going to dahee's blog because of all her wonderful, wonderful posts about HJM\u2026.\nI loved Dong-Chul couple too.. I think that's when this drama really began to pick up. Sangchul started to brighten it by helping Jisoo get closer to Dongbaek.\nAnd Hwang Jung-min\u2026 he was the reason I anticipated and watched this drama. This drama wouldn't have succeeded if GDB was someone else. He literally owned this drama. Hwang Jung-min's acting is just.. so.. refined, regardless of which role he plays. He never goes over the top in his acting, which is always just right. As much as I love YDG as my No. 1 actor, I sometimes have complaints about his acting, such as some of his own personal habits showing up too often when he's playing different characters, so he ends up showing too much of himself instead of a character he needs to become. I don't have such complaint toward Hwang Jung-min or Kim Myung-min.\nAnyhow, I really hope HJM does another drama, hopefully playing more attractive and charismatic character and show the viewers how versatile he is. I suggest that you check out Blood Ties and Road Movie when you have chance. It's a joy watching him nail down every role he plays.\nOh, didn't know HJM's acting is at the same par as KMM\u2026 no wonder I fell for him\u2026 I fell so deeply in love with HJM while watching You are My Sunshine, he was so attractive and enchanting in that movie. Didn't know that he is in AC until certain chingu brought it to my attention. Thundie's lovely review makes me want to scout out this drama and I might do a two days marathon as well \ud83d\ude42\nP.s. Hi Thundie, where did the time go? Haven't visited your blog for a while\u2026, I remembered not so long ago I visited here and it was hitting 7000+ and to date you have an audience reaching 40,000, whoa and congrate!\nP.s.s. I always feel a bit more intelligent after visiting your site; I took a glance at your reviews on QS and BL and they are so intriguing\u2026 Btw, how many hours do you guys have per day that enable you guys to watch so many dramas, I only have 24 hours a day \ud83d\ude26\nFirst thing first, off to hunt for HJM aka AC\u2026\nP.s.s.s. hehee, I love another HJM, the feminine one from Capital Scandal \ud83d\ude42\nunfathomablesisa says:\ngah! i really cried watching this series. indeed, the main guy in this drama is a very effective actor. he managed to move me \ud83d\ude42 i have tears of pain and joy from time to time.\nHi dahee, you're the one responsible for spreading the Hwang Jung-min virus, lol. Been gobbling up the Hwangfest on your blog since I finished AC. *muah!* You know, Dong-baek reminds me of Ko Boksu in Ruler of Your Own World. I remember wishing I knew someone like Boksu in my own life. Now Dong-baek gives me that same kind of longing. On one hand he's too good to be true; on the other hand he's such an everyman. I'm definitely buying Happiness.\nHi deeta, must confess I have no lingering impression of KAJ, whether serious or playful. When I think of AC now, only one person comes to mind! I love HJM in this role most. About Kyung-ae, I didn't mind her at first; she's just kinda ditzy. But I disliked her elevated role in the last 2 episodes. I just felt the whole thing was silly, but that's just me.\nHi Sparrow, sorry to keep you waiting for the BL recaps! I'll make up for it next week. I've not watched 200 Pounds Beauty, but I'll take your word that KAJ has fantastic comic timing. ^^ I'll try to watch that soon.\nHi Luciely, you'll breeze through even the first eight eppies of AC, I promise. HJM is just sooooo good he makes everything else bearable. I actually like him more in the first half; he was more his own person. Because the others were so bad, his acting stood out more for me.\nHi elise, isn't dahee the sweetest? I adore her to itty-bitty bits. All those awesome HJM translations!\nHi amy, love your comments on HJM and Yang Dong-geun. I have the same thoughts about YDG in Dr. Gang. I've been planning to blog about Dr. Gang (just first impressions), so I'll save my thoughts for that. But you're right: I didn't see his character in that drama, I saw only YDG.\nHi Janie, oh, did you forget my blog? *sob* I missed your comments! ^^ Last night my nose was so buried in my BL 19 recap, I didn't realize I had crossed the 40,000 mark until I published the post and could take a breather. I still remember when I reached 4000 hits; I was so excited I even took a screencap of the event, lol. Anyway, no matter how many more hits I get, I'll not forget when I first started this blog (in Jan this year) and was getting like 20 hits a day. That'll keep me humble.\nHi unfathomablesisa, oops, I don't remember crying while watching AC. Maybe a teeny bit. I guess I was just too mesmerized by HJM. Every second watching him I wanted to pinch myself. He was so fantastic!\nHi, Thundie\nLove your blog.\nSimilar to you, I fast forwarded a lot until about episode 8, then I was hooked.\nI loved Kim Ah-joong here so much that I went back and watched \"200 lb beauty\" that I put off watching, then watched close to 200 episodes of \"Peculiar Woman, Peculiar Man\" starring Kim Ah-joong.\nI think you'd like her acting there as well. The story (PWPM) is essentially all about her, and she practically carries the drama.\nOne thing that you didn't make a comment about, and I confess that was the reason why I came to this blog, is the final kissing scene between KAJ and HJM. I kept looking for the same passion as I found in \"All About Eve\" and \"Resurrection\" kisses, but it felt like she didn't really wanted to kiss him and that she was just going through the motion. Did you feel that way? Am I too spoiled to expect such kiss excellence in kdrama?\nHi Michael, I've just realized I have not answered your questions. Sorry!\nMust confess I don't remember that final kiss in AC at all. I don't even remember the kiss in Resurrection! In both dramas the two male leads are so splendid, they overshadow everyone else including their female co-lead, lol.\nI did not fastforward AC, not even in the early episodes. That might cause me to miss a HJM moment! I actually rarely use the FF button. The drama must be extremely awful and exasperating for me to do that. \ud83d\ude42\nerickang says:\nLol, I am stil wondering how the earth this movie been made!!! It is so..so.. accidental!!! Anyway, HJM is fantastic, not just in term his personal acting only, but the way he is capable of lifting the whole drama to the other scale. That's what we call a brilliant actor! He kinda remind me of Mr.Bean. But, I do believe he is much more capable and mobile. KAJ too deserved some credit, the way she sang the song\u2026. Arg.. WONDERFUL!! But, I think the most important thing she wanted to deliver is that we human really can change to become a better person regardless of who you are. KAJ, you deserved to be lauded beautiful now!! The drama itself really change my perception towards life2! In the bottom my of heart, I'm now starting to believe a lot of wonderful things now, like GDB said \"there are not necessary bad things happened in this world\". It has given me lot of strenght and encouragement. Now I do believe that sometimes a loser win. HAHA. Man, I'm tears now. Blushed\u2026. Tq, The Accidental Couple!\nlettle says:\nI just finished watching it and oh how I fell hard for Mr. Hwang Jung Min. He was totally awesome in this drama. The more I watched the more enthralled I became. I've seen Bittersweet Life but don't remember him. I guess I'll have to go and rewatch that to see more of his awesomeness(is that even a word! LOL). At this point I am a total fan girl of Hwang Jung Min and I'm going to try my best to watch all of his movies(but not the scary ones)\nHe made Goo Dong Baek such a loveable character and you couldn't help but root for him not matter what.\nThe first time I ever saw Kim Ah Joong was in The Bizarre Bunch(which was my very first korean drama) and she was so fiesty in that and in this at least in the beginning she was so subdued! It took me awhile to get used to the soft spoken high pitched voice of hers. For a while it really irked me, but as her character got stronger so did her voice and it didn't bother me so much.\nAs you said Thundie around epi. 8 was when things really came together and the chemisty was truly there. I was worried in the beginning because it seemed like the spark would never ingnite.\nLoved the whole Dong Baek and the Swallows. Too cute and funny! I really expected them to be horrible.\nThis is a drama that I throughly enjoyed!\nThanks Thundie that was the perfect review for Accidental Couple!\nKhaycee says:\nTime and time again I always return to what pulled me back to watching Kdrama. Accidental Couple is my favourite kdrama of all time! I watched it so many times even my kids knows what to say when they say it! I thought Gu Dong Baek pulled it all for me! He was my bait and he got me hooked! He was excellent till the end! An honest character and a sincere approached fit perfectly!\nhillbenjamin says:\nWell it looks like I got a late start on this drama but still. A favorite for me and so far the most realistic. If you subtract that it would never happen part lol. Still, everything else was great and on pair.\nThe problems I had with the series. I explained away later after further review. Kim Ah Joong's character was cold in the beginning but what famous person wouldn't be in that situation.\nHwang Jung-min character made a few hard to believe decisions. Like ditching Kim Ah Joong's character and going out to eat with his co-worker. It would have been easy to tell her then what he told her later but didn't. Storyline needed it to happen.\nAnyway I thought all the actors and actresses gave a outstanding performance. Hwang Jung-min and Kim Ah Joong really out did themselves and drew you in the story.\nNever have I heard a bad guy say so little and had me despise him more and more, each time I saw him lol thank you Joo Sang-wook.\nAs for Lee Chung-ah, I have to say well done. She did a OUTSTANDING job keeping the atmosphere light and bubbly. Also keep it everything fresh with her antics lol\nI had to say Kim Ah Joong character was hard to love in the beginning because of her standoff personality to the situation. I'm glad they broke her shell later and let her character really shine.\nAt the end it was almost ruined by her saying no to Hwang Jung-min's character. Over the renew contact of Joo Sang-wook's but she quickly shifted gears and was back on track.\nI didn't think any Korean Actress was ever going to steal my affection more then Lee Dae Hae had but I was proven wrong by Kim Ah Joong.\nShe has a honesty and warmth, that's hard to miss. And when you see her smile, it hard not to feel the heat. It's a rare girl that can show you everything you want to know about her, by just looking at you. I'm aware she's human, with human faults. But I have faith my stalker instincts will kick in and clear those up lol.\nHwang Jung-min\u2026 That man is the only person I'd call Superman other then Christopher Reeve. I've never been disappointed by his performances and this drama is no exception.\nThe chemistry him and Kim Ah Joong had was really amazing. I ate up all the scenes that they had together. Although his character was frustrating at times. Like that stupid co-worker thing, that happened.\nStill the man has a presence of warm and understanding that you can't miss.\nWell in the end I'd see it again and I will see it again. Which I've never done before. But later, I have to catch up on my favorite girl *Kim Ah Joong* first lol","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Larry David Spills on the Reason for His Divorce (Video)\n\"Curb Your Enthusiasm\" honcho reveals the secret to a thoroughly miserable relationship\nTim Kenneally | June 17, 2011 @ 5:28 PM\nNow, this late-night talk-show exchange is pretty, pretty, pretty good.\n\"Curb Your Enthusiasm\" honcho Larry David dropped in on \"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno\" on Thursday night to jawbone about a number of topics \u2014 including his 2007 divorce from ex-wife Laurie.\nAlso read: 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Season 8: HBO Teases July Episodes\nLeno broached the subject bluntly, asking, \"Whose fault was the divorce?\u2026Who screwed up?\"\nAfter cautioning the ample-chinned host that he was \"being very disrespectful,\" David went on to offer an oh-so-respectful explanation for the split:\n\"Well, she thought that it would be nice to have sex with someone she liked. She wanted to try that. And I said it's not a good idea. Because you never wanna have sex with people you like. You can't have good sex with people you like. Doing those things. And then you're supposed to talk to them?\"\nDavid clearly missed his calling as a relationship counselor\u2026\nHit up the video and check out the yadda yadda below.\nLarry David in Negotiations to Play a 'Three Stooges' Nun\nBy Joshua L. Weinstein | May 2, 2011 @ 4:27 PM\nLarry David Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Happy With Tax Cut\nBy Tim Molloy | December 21, 2010 @ 9:14 AM","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Photo credit: ILO\/Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh\nOn International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ESCAP launches new study on inclusion\nA new ESCAP report shows that the Asia-Pacific region still has a way to go to \"Make the right real\" for persons with disabilities. The study, \"A Three-Decade Journey towards Inclusion:\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/ Subregional Office for the Pacific\nSixth Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development\nThe UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), together with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), organised the Sixth Pacific Forumon Sustainable Development (PFSD)\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/Rajan Ratna\nForum underscores urgency for climate action, strengthening resilience and regional cooperation to get South and South-West Asia back on track\nWith South and South-West Asia being highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters, there is a critical need to accelerate climate action and inclusive disaster risk reduction with regional and\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/Suwat Chancharoensuk\nUN forum to focus on green and inclusive transport development in Asia and the Pacific\nA United Nations regional forum opened today with a sharp focus on how to enhance transport connectivity in Asia and the Pacific and make it greener and inclusive, particularly in the aftermath of\u2026\nLaunch of SDG7 Road Map for Pakistan\nAs delegations from around the world participated in COP27 negotiations to limit global warming in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, the Ministry of Energy and Power of Pakistan launched the country's new SDG7\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/Benny Christian\nGovernments adopt landmark Jakarta Declaration underscoring rights-based approach to disability-inclusive development in Asia and the Pacific\nAsian and Pacific countries today reaffirmed their commitment to disability-inclusive development, including through advancing meaningful participation of some 700 million persons with disabilities\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\nMaking the right real for persons with disability in Asia and the Pacific\nMinisters, government officials, persons with disabilities, civil society and private sector allies from across Asia and the Pacific will gather in Jakarta next week to chart a new path for the over\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/SONCA\/Ainur Dyussyubekova\nUN forum draws attention to ongoing crises further hindering SDG progress in North and Central Asia\nThe Sixth North and Central Asia Multistakeholder Forum on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals opened today with delegates underscoring the need to work on formulating policies across\u2026\nPhoto credit: ESCAP\/Caio Perim\nGlobal Community Gathers to Tackle Development Challenges at South-South Expo\nThe eleventh edition of the United Nations Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD Expo), concluded Wednesday at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok. More than 30 UN agencies,\u2026\nPhoto credit: IFRC\/Calum Stokes; ESCAP\/Louise Lavaud\nThe International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and United Nations ESCAP partner to strengthen resilience in the world of climate change\nThe United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have formalized a partnership\u2026","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Simply Punjabi\nMinister of state Maharani Preneet Kaur is a fine representative of the people of her constituency.\nSeema Bhalla\nISSUE DATE: March 1, 2010\nThe path to the hallowed halls of the Indian Parliament is not an easy one. But Member of Parliament Preneet Kaur, known to the people of her constituency as Maharani Sahiba, is currently serving her third term in Parliament. Kaur, 65, is an icon in Patiala and the only MP from there to be elected to Parliament three times consecutively.\nAnd for all her achievements, her start in politics was made quite late, and unexpectedly. \"The first 14 years of my married life were devoted to my husband, children and the family. Now I like to give my time to public service,\" she says.\nKaur with her parents and siblings\nKaur's journey has taken several unexpected twists and turns. Kaur's father, an Indian Civil Services officer, was posted in Bengal when she was born. This led to her being given a Bengali name with the meaning 'sweet tradition'.\nKaur, the oldest of three siblings, says her childhood was the happiest time of her life. She grew up in a large extended family. She recalls the carefree times, spent in the ancestral home of her maternal grandfather, Sir Joginder Singh, in Simla. He was not only a politician of great standing, but also a visionary who emphasised on educating girls.\nAt her wedding\nHe made sure that the women in his own family were very well educated. \"We did not have great wealth in material terms but we had the wealth of values imparted to us by the elders of the family,\" says Kaur, with pride. She continues to value the stability that her family support system offered her early on.\nAt a very young age Kaur was sent to a boarding school in Simla, when her father was posted in Ferozepur. Her whole extended family began visiting Simla during the summer, and frequented the hill station very often. For Kaur, this meant spending more time with the family. \"I was a boarder for one term and a day scholar for one and a half terms, and enjoyed the best of both,\" recalls Kaur. The young Kaur also looked forward to her winter vacations, when she went to stay with her maternal grandparents at their farm in Punjab. They were a great influence in her life.\nWith her husband, mother-in-law, daughter, son-in-law and grandchild\nKaur was married soon after she finished her college. \"I knew nothing about Patiala and had never visited it.\" An uncle of Kaur's future husband, Yuvraj Amrinder Singh, had proposed the matrimonial alliance. Kaur was 20 years old and Singh 22 when they married in 1964. The coy bride then took her first step into the portals of the royal family of Patiala. The early transition into her new life was rather easy, Kaur says. \"I was very comfortable in my new house as everyone gave a lot of space to every member of the family.\" Then her daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, was born in 1966, followed by son Raninder Singh in 1967.\nOnce her children began attending school, Kaur took her first step into her future career. She was requested to help the Red Cross at the welfare section of the local hospital. Initially, she went once a day but after sending her children to boarding school (following the family tradition), she started spending more time with the social cause.\nKaur and Singh on the day after their wedding\n\"I used to drive my Fiat car myself in order to accommodate one more woman in place of the driver,\" she says. Kaur's association with the grassroot level connected her to people who loved having her among them. Her future role was slowly but surely being scripted. Still, the campaigning she participated in, in 1966, for her husband, was no indication that one day she herself will be at the helm of affairs. As she recalls, \"I think everything I did during that campaign was wrong. But that was when I connected with people.\"\nHer campaigning for her own candidature much later, in 1998, was undertaken during the grueling hot and humid months from April to September. She ended up with badly burnt skin and dehydration, but, she says, \"The love of the people kept me going and encouraged me further.\" In fact, she realised the gravity of her achievement only after watching herself on TV. \"After the first day in Parliament, while watching the evening news, I was astonished about knowing the proceedings beforehand. It then dawned on me that I had been present in the Parliament on that particular day.\"\nToday, the adoration this MP receives from people is something she deeply cherishes. \"People call me 'Maharani Sahiba' out of respect for my family and traditions, but I am absolutely at ease with being addressed as Mrs. Preneet Kaur.\"\nThe first woman to receive the prestigious Sikh of the Year award, in 2009, at the House of Lords in London, Kaur is, first and foremost, the people's choice. She looks forward to serving them with sincerity, dignity and forbearance. She is grateful for everything she has experienced, and says, \"Life is like a painting. If there is no light and shade in it, then it is not a good painting.\"","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Home Foreign News 'No anonymous sources,' Trump scolds, after White House use them\n'No anonymous sources,' Trump scolds, after White House use them\nPresident Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)\nBY JULIE BYKOWICZ\nWASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Donald Trump used his first presidential appearance before the nation's largest gathering of conservative activists on Friday to sharply escalate his criticism of the news media and take direct aim at the use of anonymous sources. Reporters \"shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name,\" he declared, just hours after members of his own staff held a press briefing and refused to allow their names to be used.\n\"A source says that Donald Trump is a horrible, horrible human being, let them say it to my face,\" Trump told the Conservative Political Action Committee. \"Let there be no more sources.\"\nMembers of Trump's White House team regularly demand anonymity when talking to reporters.\nTrump said he wasn't against all the press, just \"the fake news media or press.\"\n\"I'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources,\" he said. \"They shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name.\"\nThe president has chafed at a number of anonymously sourced stories, including numerous reports describing contacts between his campaign officials and the Russians, which the White House has sharply disputed.\n\"The fake news doesn't tell the truth,\" Trump insisted. \"It doesn't represent the people. It will never represent the people and we're going to do something about it.\"\nIt was a triumphal return to CPAC for Trump, who was warmly welcomed by a crowd that loves pushback against the mainstream media.\nAfter his broadside on the press, Trump turned to a recitation of his agenda, promising bold action on health care, trade, energy policy and more.\nREAD OPEC moves to cap Nigerian oil output, boost compliance\n\"One by one, we're checking off the promises we made to the American people,\" he said, telling the group \"I will not disappoint you.\"\nTrump told the conservatives the health care law he inherited from President Barack Obama threatens to bring about \"total catastrophe,\" reiterating his promise to repeal and replace it.\nWhile conservatives aren't always in sync with Trump's views, they're happy to have a scrapper in the White House who's often on their side.\n\"How good it feels to have somebody lead our country who knows how to fight,\" American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp told the crowd in introducing Trump.\nTrump recalled his past visits at CPAC with nostalgia, saying he'd first appeared with no notes and little preparation and gotten a strong reception that helped to put him on the path to the presidency.\n\"I loved the commotion. Polls went through the roof and I wasn't even running, but it gave me an idea,\" he said.\nSix years ago Trump stepped to the CPAC stage as the \"money, money, money, money\" chorus of his reality TV show theme song blared. The crowd was less than adoring, occasionally laughing and booing the former Democrat.\nAlthough Trump returned in ensuing years, he was notably absent last year. ACU chairman Schlapp said the presidential candidates were asked to participate in a question-and-answer session, but Trump had wanted to make a speech.\nHe did show up in 2015, however, a few months before he announced his candidacy.\n\"I am really inclined. I want to do it so badly,\" Trump said about the likelihood he'd run.\nREAD Rwanda sacks 200 police officers on corruption allegations\nNow, CPAC is largely the Trump show \u2013 \"TPAC,\" White House counselor Kellyanne Conway called it.\nSchlapp said Trump will be the first president to address the group during his first year in office since Ronald Reagan in 1981. He called that a \"huge sign of respect.\"\nIn his first appearance, Trump tried to burnish his conservative credentials with assertions that he is prolife and anti-gun control, while heaping praise on himself and his business acumen.\nAnd he appeared to test-drive the \"make America great again\" phrase that would become his 2016 presidential campaign slogan. \"Our country will be great again,\" he said. He trademarked that phrase in 2012, just after Mitt Romney lost to Obama.\nHe told the skeptical crowd: \"I have a reputation for telling it like it is. I'm known for my candor.\"\nAn angry audience member shouted: \"You have zero chance of getting elected.\"\nAssociated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report. \u2014\nFollow Julie Bykowicz on Twitter at http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/bykowicz\nPrevious articleBoko Haram: Donors pledge $672m at Oslo summit to avert famine in Nigeria, Lake Chad\nNext articleA new Lagos: Simulation of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge\nIndia offers Nigeria $100 million loan for rural internet\nLooting, arson, as major power outage hits New York\nFrench parliament passes digital tax law\nCongressional Democrats sue Donald Trump over foreign payments\nHomelessness in United Kingdom becomes 'national crisis'","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Best Snorkeling In Key Largo, Windlass Wreck On Molasses Reef\nThe Windlass Wreck gets her name from her highly photographed 10 foot long iron winch located at spectacular Molasses Reef.\nThis, along with some ballast, mast pieces, and a few of her gears are the few remnants you'll discover at this Key Largo diving site.\nThis 3 masted wood schooner is actually the remains of the 1,100 ton Austrian Slobodana which sank in 1887, 3 years after being built.\nToday, the resting place of this shipwreck is just east of the Molasses Reef Lighthouse between M7 and M8.\nTwo factors were critical in her eventual sinking. First she had grounded on one of the Florida reefs. The repetitive motion of waves and tide continually pressed the ship against the sharp coral. This in turn caused lacerations to form in her wooden hull.\nThe second important factor was her aforementioned cargo. She was returning to Reval which is now Tallinn in Eston after a visit to New Orleans and her cargo was 4,500 bales of cotton.\nOf course cotton is very good at absorbing moisture, and once the water began to seep in, the cotton began to expand. Not only did the cotton increase in size, it increased in weight. This caused the ship's sides to bulge.\nBetween the outward pressure being exercised on her damaged hull, and the extra weight she was now holding, the ship finally broke and sank.\nThanks to Steve Singer, author of \"Shipwrecks of Florida\", published by Pineapple Press, he was able to uncover additional information about this Florida shipwreck. One point of interest is that her correct name was Slobodna, not Slobodana.\nAlso according to Steve Singer's research, he uncovered information about a temporary judgement or interlocutory decree that Judge Locke out of Key West made in terms of the salvage from this wreck.\nJudge Lock's decision for the salvagers was 25% on dry cotton, 33 1\/3% on partially wet cotton, 40% on cotton taken from 6' of water, 50% on the balance and 45% on materials saved for a total of $53,000.00.\nWinch Hole At Spectacular Molasses Reef\nwww.en.wikipedia.org., J. Stuby\nAs anyone who's been diving Key Largo knows, the Slobodna couldn't have picked a more beautiful final resting place. Molasses Reef is one of the most spectacular Florida Keys diving sites you can explore. In tribute to one of her more recognizable remnants, a place on Molasses Reef has been named Winch Hole.\nIf you're scuba diving in Key Largo and plan a dive trip to the Windlass Wreck, you'll be impressed by the tremendous display of coral, ocean sponges, tropical fish and juvenile game fish.\nHowever, it's not just the color and quantity of the marine life around you that's exceptional - it's also the clarity of the water. This Key Largo diving site is blessed by it's proximity to the Gulf Stream which flushes the area and keeps the water brilliantly clean.\nThe combination of ultra clear water, abundant, colorful marine life, and shallow water to about 23 feet, anyone Florida Keys snorkeling is also able to enjoy a dive trip to this wreck site.\nWindlass Wreck aka Slobodna aka The Winch or The Winch Hole - Schooner - 170'\nMolasses Reef, 6 miles southeast of Key Largo FL\nGPS Co-ordinates\n25 01.00N 80 22.53W\nBetween mooring buoy 7 and mooring buoy 8\n20' - 25'\nMostly disintegrated except for the winch, masts, and a few gears.\nSnorkel Site\nSpectacular Key Largo snorkeling site\nMolasses Reef is one of the most dived reefs due to the extensive coral and marine life. Brain, elkhorn, boulder, and star coral, sea fans, sea whips, red rope sponges, barrel sponges, angelfish, grouper, yellowtail, sea turtles, spiny lobster, crabs, parrotfish, blue tang, moray eels, sharks, spotted eagle rays\nWithout question, this is one of those Florida Keys diving or snorkeling sites you don't want to miss. Here you'll have the opportunity to examine the wreckage of a once glorious schooner while enjoying one of the world's most beautiful, and captivating underwater areas.\nWindlass Wreck","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"By The Numbers: As The World Cup Teams-fresh - Mid-overs > Cricket News, cricinfo, mobilecric, cricbuzz, livescore and more\nCricket news - In Numbers: How the World Cup Teams fare - The middle overs\nKohli and Rohit have a great record between overs 11-40.\nWith the World Cup in the horizon, Cricbuzz - in a three-part series - investigates how the teams have fared at various stages of an ODI match in the current World Cup cycle (since April 2015), namely Powerplay, middle overs, and death overs. You can read about the Powerplay phase here.\nNext up, the middle overs (11 -40).\nThe one format whose future ICC has been deeply concerned about for a considerable amount of time is the 50-overs one. The middle overs were the biggest point of concern as it was the most sedate phase in an innings. They tinkered with the rules of the format multiple times in the previous decade, like distributing the mandatory fielding restrictions in the first 15 overs to the middle phase, allowing lesser number of fielders outside the 30-yard circle and the use of two new balls which would help the ball to maintain its hardness and enable batsmen to score faster.\nThe ODI rules went through a turbulent phase between 2005 and 2015, before settling in on the current set coming to effect from July 2015. ICC did away with the catching fielders in the first ten overs, got rid of the five-over block of batting Powerplay, and reinstated five fielders outside the 30-yard circle in the last ten overs of an innings.\nThe dynamics of the middle overs game turned around completely in the last four years - from being the most sedate phase of an innings to being perhaps the liveliest phase. The T20I-sation of the 50-over game has affected this phase noticeably. England have been at the forefront of the batting revolution by packing their middle order with big hitters. It took a while for the bowling fraternity to respond to the challenges posed against them and the eventual response came in the form of wrist spin - sticking to the old and effective adage that taking wickets is the best way to restrict the scoring.\nTeams batting in overs 11 - 40\nTeams have managed to score at a better clip than they do in the Powerplay with the rate of dismissal roughly remaining the same. England once again lead the batting parameters as they did in the Powerplay, scoring at nearly run-a-ball at an average runs-per-dismissal which is dwarfed only by India. Their three opening batsmen - Alex Hales, Jason Roy, and Jonny Bairstow - all score at a strike rate in excess of 100 in the middle overs after getting well set in the first ten. They all have relatively low balls per dismissal, but it hasn't deterred them from their 'throwing caution to the wind' approach.\nTheir middle-order batsmen Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler, all score better than a strike rate of 90, with Root trading higher balls-per-boundary ratio for a lower dot-ball percentage. While England's fast-paced approach has reaped rich dividends for them in recent times, there are a few notable exceptions of them getting bowled out well inside the full 50 overs, especially when conditions are not conducive for expansive shot making.\nDespite England being the frontrunners of the new approach in the middle overs in ODI, no side has dominated this phase as much India, be it with bat or ball. They score at 5.54 per over and lose a wicket every 10.2 overs - two overs more than the next best and about 19 balls more than the global average. This is the phase where two of their best batsmen, arguably two of the finest ODI batsmen of the era, thrive and prosper.\nLeading run-getters in overs 11 - 40\nVirat Kohli is the leading run-getter in this phase, scoring 3186 runs - more than 700 runs ahead of second placed Root - at an astonishing average of 91.03 and a strike rate of 98, getting dismissed once every 93 balls. Rohit Sharma, his vice-captain, has done one notch better - 2257 runs at an average of 112.85 and a strike rate of 103, getting dismissed once every 109 balls - nearly thrice the global value for rate of dismissal.\nAs mentioned in the Powerplay piece, once Rohit gets past the initial ten overs, it's often tough to dismiss him. He has been dismissed inside the Powerplay 36 times in 71 innings but out of the 35 times he survived the first ten overs, he batted through the middle overs and made it to the death overs ten times. This is part of India's strategy where the top three - Shikhar Dhawan completing the trio - bats the bulk of the overs to set up the platform for the lower order comprising of Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav to explode in the final ten. In the 50 matches which featured the trio together, they have faced nearly 62% of the total deliveries India batted.\nTeams bowling in overs 11 - 40\nThe one ilk of bowlers that have dominated the middle overs are wrist spinners. The top nine wicket-takers in the middle overs are all spinners with seven of them being wrist spinners. Adil Rashid is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs in the last four years with 127 wickets, of which 97 have come between overs 11 and 40. Rashid Khan has been nearly unplayable as his figures suggest - 80 wickets at 17.29 and a wicket every 28 balls, even though a large chunk of his wickets have come in largely helpful sub-continental conditions against weaker opponents, unlike something that he would be up against in England in June.\nIndia, the doyen of spinners, were reluctant to buy into the wrist spin approach in the beginning and preferred the tried and tested duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to do the job as they did for the previous six-odd years. The inflection point came in the finals of Champions Trophy at the Kennington Oval in June 2017 when an unfancied Pakistan side beat the pre-tournament favorites India to lift the trophy. The Ashwin-Jadeja duo conceded 137 runs from their combined 18 overs and failed to pick a single wicket in that match.\nIn the tour to Sri Lanka that followed, India rested (read dropped) both Ashwin and Jadeja and opted for the inexperienced duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. In the final ODI of the series, India fielded two specialist wrist spinners in the playing XI, something they'd never done in the 900-odd ODIs before. There was an immediate impact - in the 32 ODIs India played since April 2015 till the final of Champions Trophy 2017, they had bowled out opponents 12 times (five of those were against Zimbabwe) and in the 54 ODIs since, they did so on 23 instances. The number of 300-plus totals they had conceded came down from 12 in 32 games, to seven in the 54 matches since.\nKuldeep has picked 67 wickets at 23.01 while Chahal managed 51 at 28.51 with the economy rates reading 4.67 and 4.81 respectively. India's overseas series wins in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia were all on the back of the strong performances in the middle overs by the Kuldeep-Chahal pair. The duo has complemented each other well as the numbers testify. In the 27 matches which both featured, Kuldeep has essayed the role of the wicket-taker with Chahal often being the one who keeps it tight at the other end. Kuldeep's average in middle overs improves to 21.85 from 25.75 in the matches he bowls alongside Chahal.\nWhile the wrist spinners have flourished in their trade in the last 48-odd months, the left-arm orthodox spinners have turned out to be a more restrictive option, often used as a defensive foil to the attacking wristies at the other end. Mitchell Santner, Shakib Al Hasan, Ravindra Jadeja, Imad Wasim, and Axar Patel - the leading left-arm orthodox spinners - have made sure batsmen find it hard to score runs off them, even as the wickets have been hard to come by.\nThe pitches across the world of late are habitually flat in nature, and with little assistance from the track for their variations to come in to play. Credit to them, it must be said that this kind has found out a way to remain relevant thanks to their ability to put brakes on scoring by bowling tight lines in addition to being useful lower-order batsmen.\nTalking about seamers in the middle overs, the two most successful pacers in the middle overs in the last four years are Pakistan's Hasan Ali and England's Liam Plunkett. 44 of Ali's 77 wickets in this period have come in the middle overs, a stat that made him a vital cog in Pakistan's success in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Ali was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 13 wickets, of which nine came in the middle overs, where he conceded at just 3.09 runs per over.\nPlunkett was the mainstay of England's bowling in the middle overs with his cross-seam variations before his returns dwindled in the last 18-odd months - 32 wickets at 34.84 till December 2017 and ten wickets at 48.30 since.\nLeading wicket takers in overs 11 - 40\nSouth Africa have done fairly well with the bat in these overs across the four-year period but there has been a severe dip post AB de Villiers's retirement. South Africa's runs per wicket in middle overs of 45.83 till December 2017 has nosedived to 33.49 in the 16 months since and they lose a wicket every 38 balls since 2018, compared to 50 in the period before.\nAll the middle-order batsmen strike at a rate of well below 90 - Faf du Plessis 89, David Miller 85 and JP Duminy 75 - and they are still finding ways to plug the AB-sized hole in their middle order. De Villiers had a strike rate of 101.58 in the middle phase and had the rare ability of striking frequent boundaries (Balls per boundary 10.00) along with turning the strike over (Dot ball % of 39.67).\nBarring a reversal against India at home in early 2018, South Africa have done fairly well winning 16 of the 21 ODIs since De Villiers called it a day, including bagging all the five series they played. It is the bowlers paving the way for their success in this period, with the likes of Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada being instrumental in taking wickets in the middle overs. Tahir has taken 71 wickets at 28.68 (ER 4.53) while Rabada has 37 victims at 27.78 (ER 4.65) in the last four years, and the duo is coming into the World Cup with impressive IPL outings behind them.\nNew Zealand's batting numbers can be largely attributed to the batting colossus in Ross Taylor, towering above most other batsmen in this phase. He has been in vintage form in the last four years, averaging nearly 69 with the willow, only behind that of Kohli's 78. The middle overs are his fiefdom where he averages 91.96 and gets dismissed only every 111 balls. He is the anchor around which the rest of the batting revolves as testified by the stat that Taylor averages 50-plus per partnership with each of the other New Zealand top order batsmen who made it to the World Cup. With Kane Williamson and Tom Latham batting either side of Taylor, they have three good players who can play out spinners in the crucial middle phase - a rarity among non-Asian teams.\nHowever, New Zealand have struggled to replicate their PowerPlay success with the ball in the middle phase. They average 38 in this phase and concede at 5.39. While Santner has been good at controlling the flow of runs, his 44 wickets have come at 40.25 apiece. Leg spinner Ish Sodhi has also struggled for wickets, taking only 30 wickets at 40.70 apiece and goes at 5.44 per over. All their seamers - Boult, Southee, Henry and Fergusson - average more than 30 runs per wicket and concede at more than five-an-over between overs 11 and 40.\nPakistan's numbers are similar to New Zealand but the problem for them in the middle overs has been the similar kind of batsman stacked up together in one line-up. Babar Azam (SR 83.56), Shoaib Malik (86.12), Mohammad Hafeez (85.54) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (80.42) are all middle-over accumulators. They lack an enforcer in the middle overs among the plethora of sedate players mentioned above. Imam-ul-Haq does redeem himself from a slow Powerplay start where he strikes at 62, going up to 91.40 in the middle overs. He has been dismissed in this phase only seven times out of 15 innings (Balls per dismissal - 121.3) making him the anchor of the line-up. Pakistan would be served better if they can separate Imam and Babar from batting together as both play the same kind of game which often results in a slow-moving scorecard.\nThe top left of the graph is mostly top order batsmen who are the anchors in the sides which explain their low strike rate traded for a higher balls per dismissal. One exception here is MS Dhoni - who bats predominantly at five and six. Among the 46 batsmen facing 1000-plus deliveries between overs 11 and 40 since April 2015, Dhoni's strike rate of 68.22 is only ahead of Asghar Afghan (63.01). While Dhoni's 'start slow and take the game deep strategy' works well in low scoring games or if the team loses wickets upfront, it could prove detrimental to the team's cause in games where teams score big, which is more the norm than exception in white-ball cricket these days in English conditions.\nThe bottom right is mostly either opening batsmen or big hitters - a combination of high strike rate and high frequency of dismissals. While pinch hitters have gone out of fashion in ODI cricket, the strategy of promoting batsmen like Glenn Maxwell, Thisara Perera or James Neesham, who can use the long handle up the order in the middle overs, could help to upset opposition's plan of bowling spinners through the middle overs.\nThe top left is restrictive bowlers who aren't predominantly wicket-takers, and this is the range where most of the left-arm orthodox spinners occupy. The bottom right is bowlers who get wickets but can be expensive while the bottom left consists of the best of the bowlers. Wrist spinners like Adil Rashid and Adam Zampa have given their respective teams breakthroughs in the middle overs despite leaking runs.\nThe bottom left is the cream of the bowlers - the wicket takers who are hard to score off. Plenty of wrist spinners find themselves here, making them invaluable assets in the present day ODIs. Teams like Bangladesh and West Indies have often lagged behind because of the lack of quality spinners at their disposal who can make or break a game in these middle overs, while Afghanistan has been well served by the impeccable duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi.\n** All stats updated till 30 April 2019\n(Part three of this series will explore how India's well thought-out strategy of maximizing the balls faced by the top three makes a difference in the death overs, especially when one of the three bats through the innings)","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Koovs PLC \u2013 Koovs Completes Strategic Agreement with HT Media\nby AIM Editor\nFurther to its announcement on 18 June 2018, and as also set out in the circular posted to shareholders on 16 July 2018, Koovs plc (AIM: KOOV) is pleased to announce that it has completed its agreement for a \u00a324.0m media deal with strategic partner HT Media Limited, one of India's largest media companies and owner of the Hindustan Times. The agreement has been updated to be over a four year period rather than a two year period (as previously announced), and also in regards to the mix of shares and cash used to satisfy the deal (further detail set out below).\nThe Agreement will, in aggregate, provide Koovs with \u00a324.0m of media and advertising services from HT Media. Pursuant to the Agreement, HT Media has agreed to subscribe for \u00a317.1m (previously \u00a316.8m) of new ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company, and Koovs has agreed to commission further media and advertising services from HT Media for \u00a36.9m (previously \u00a37.2m) in cash.\nThe net effect of the Agreement is that, Koovs will acquire four \u00a36.0m tranches of media from HT Media at yearly intervals over a four-year period. \u00a34.28m of each instalment will be satisfied by the issuance of new Ordinary Shares to HT Media, with the balance of \u00a31.72m to be acquired by Koovs in cash.\nOn 21 August 2018 and under the first tranche, HT Media has subscribed for 42.84m Ordinary Shares at 10p per Ordinary Share. The Subscription is conditional upon, inter alia, admission of the Subscription Shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc. Application for Admission will be made following receipt of the subscription monies from HT Media. The Company will release a further announcement in due course. Subsequent tranches will be conditional on, inter alia, the agreement of both parties and will be priced at the lower of:\nThe average of the mid-market closing price per Ordinary Share of the Company for the three month period prior to the date of closure of such tranche; or\nThe price per Ordinary Share received by the Company on the most recent cash fundraising of the Company closed during the three month period prior to the date of closure of such tranche.\nMary Turner, Chief Executive of Koovs, said: \"We are delighted to have concluded this deal with HT Media, one of India's most influential media companies. The Agreement will give us premium exposure in further building the Koovs brand and will provide us with an important platform to support our future growth in what is the world's fastest growing economy.\"\nKOOV\nOther News from this Company\nKoovs PLC - Second Quarter Trading Update\nKoovs PLC - Preliminary Results and Trading Update\nKoovs PLC - Future Group Further Funding\nKoovs PLC - Trading Update\nKoovs PLC - Interim Results\nMore posts: KOOV","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Chad Cherry Interview\nPosted on December 7, 2011 by Ruben Mosqueda in Uncategorized \/\/ 0 Comments\nCHAD CHERRY INTERVIEW:\nWebsites: thelastvegas.com \u2013 www.facebook.com\/thelastvegas\nInterviewer: Ruben Mosqueda\nThe Last Vegas made their first appearance on Sleaze Roxx back in May of 2009 when their album 'Whatever Gets You Off' was reviewed. The CD received critical acclaim from rock critics and fans alike, even going on to take first place in the Sleaze Roxx Top 10. In June of that same year I had the pleasure of speaking with The Last Vegas frontman Chad Cherry, who was very excited about the band's touring plans, their involvement with Eleven Seven Music, shooting music videos and the positive reviews that their album had received.\nFast forward to November 2011 when I caught up with Chad Cherry again to catch up on all things related to The Last Vegas. Since I last spoke with Cherry & Co. they had toured with AC\/DC, Buckcherry, and Motley Crue; shot several video clips for 'Whatever Gets You Off'; toured some more; and finally, started work on a new album. As a teaser for their upcoming full-length, The Last Vegas released an EP entitled 'The Other Side' on November 22nd via CM Distro. 'The Other Side' contains five tracks, produced by Chicago based Johnny K who recently worked with Megadeth on their new album 'Th1rt3en', highlighted by the three hard rockers \"The Other Side\", \"Evil Eyes\" and \"It Ain't Easy\" and an interesting video for the title track starring B-movie Queen Sybil Danning.\nSleaze Roxx: 'Whatever Gets You Off' was released by Eleven Seven Music, which has ties to Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. Are you still signed with them?\nChad Cherry: Well, we signed a one record deal with them. We are currently working with Century Media who have released the EP 'The Other Side'. It sounds like we may do something with Eleven Seven in the future, but I don't have too many details. At the moment all communication has been done via email. Century Media, if you're familiar with them, are a kick-ass heavy metal label.\nSleaze Roxx: So is 'The Other Side' a teaser to set up the new album coming in 2012?\nChad Cherry: Our approach is similar as to how you'd release a movie \u2014 you can take the EP as the trailer for the movie, or in this case the new album. Right now we are hoping to have the album in February (2012). We'll be in Europe at that time, but we hope to shoot another video so we can use it as ammunition for our European tour.\nSleaze Roxx: 'Whatever Gets You Off' was partially produced by the band and the other half was produced by the team of Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba and Marti Fredriksen\u2026\nChad Cherry: Yeah, we had recorded those tracks by ourselves. Then Nikki discovered us and he loved the record, so we remixed the album and we cut 4-5 new songs with Marti, DJ and Nikki in Burbank, California.\nSleaze Roxx: Did they influence the direction stylistically of the new songs you cut with them?\nChad Cherry: No, not at all. We refined some of the tunes \u2014 I'm not married to a song, so I'm open to hearing ideas that would make a song better.\nSleaze Roxx: You brought in Chicago native Johnny K to produce the EP and the upcoming full-length album. It's an interesting pick since he's better known for his work with bands on the heavier side.\nChad Cherry: Johnny's a great dude, we were excited to work with him being that he's from Chicago and we're from Chicago. He does a lot of heavy metal, but he does a lot of other stuff too. Sometimes people get branded as a 'heavy metal guy' or as an 'active rock guy', that might have happened with Johnny but he's so much more than that. I bring up his name to other musicians and they turn white! (laughs) I think that's because he runs a pretty tight ship \u2014 he's not afraid to let musicians know that their music isn't going to work out. I think that's why they turn white because that kind of thing messes with them a little bit.\nWe had a great time working with him. We'd sit and talk in the studio for a little bit then get to work. We ran rampant in the studio for about a year which was, as I said, a lot of fun and probably very expensive! (laughs) We worked with one of the best in the business and that's how we see it. It was also good for us, I think, to get another perspective on songwriting from Johnny. If we're working with pretty good people \u2014 it's going to be really good record.\nSleaze Roxx: On 'The Other Side' you've tweaked the sound a little bit \u2014 not too much, but you can hear that you've evolved as a band. This isn't contemporary rock, but it's also not a complete throwback like the last album.\nChad Cherry: I think the last record that we did had a little bit of that throwback sound to it\u2026 I guess, I'm just going by what other people have said. I just think that anything we've ever done is the sound of us being stuck in the '70s \u2014 I don't understand the '80s throwback that people have mentioned. I think as long as people are talking about us its fine by us.\nI think the new record is much rawer \u2014 more punk rock. I think that's the best way to describe it. When we write music we write very catchy hooks and I think this will be very apparent on the new record.\nSleaze Roxx: Your vocals on 'The Other Side' sound great \u2014 there are some nice high notes on there that bring Sebastian Bach to mind.\nChad Cherry: Thank you. That's an example of me working by myself, as Johnny wasn't there at all during the time I was doing my vocals. I've worked with my guitar player Adam Arling on vocals on just about everything that we've recorded and he'll let me know if it didn't sound good\u2026 or if I'm not happy with it I'll do it again. I'm hard on myself and I'll continue to work until I've got it right. Some of what we recorded came easy, other stuff I had to dig deep for, and other stuff I had to walk away from because I was pissed off at the time. The way I see it is, I don't know how anyone is going to give a shit about it unless I give a shit about it. You know what I mean?\nSleaze Roxx: The Last Vegas are no strangers to music videos. You've shot and released one for \"The Other Side\" where things take a turn for the worse for you guys in the video. There's a tie-in with the cover of the EP and you have a special guest in the clip\u2026\nChad Cherry: I have a lot of friends who are in the B-movie genre. I had talked with Sybil Danning (featured in films such as Howling II, Halloween, and Werewolf Women Of The SS) about doing a video in the future. I worked with some friends who are in the business and we worked on this treatment for a new video. We wanted to do something that was little bit different \u2014 we went for something that was more cinematic.\nI'm such a huge fan of horror films that Sybil was the first person I thought about when it came time to find a star for the video \u2014 I knew she could pull it off. Before I asked her we put out a want ad on a website for actresses to come to audition for the role. We received over 200 responses \u2014 this was even before I asked Sybil. We flew her out here and we let her know what we wanted to do and we had a great time. I think I can say this\u2026 we'll be working on another project together in the near future.\nSleaze Roxx: Another video or a film?\nChad Cherry: She won't be singing on anything because she has admitted that she can't sing! (laughs) She can act, she can produce, and she can direct. I'm not sure she'll be in the next music video, but we'll be pooling our resources and making another kick ass video. I think that last one turned out really well.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Trump, Republicans Are 'Exploiting' Coronavirus To Ban Abortion, New Ad Alleges\nIn a new digital ad campaign, the abortion rights group NARAL is accusing President Trump and his Republican allies of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to restrict abortion access. The new six-figure digital ad campaign targets voters in several swing states.\nRepublican governors and attorneys general in states including Texas and Louisiana have ordered the suspension of most abortions during the pandemic as part of a shutdown of nonessential medical procedures.\nReproductive rights groups have persuaded federal judges to block or partially scale back those orders. But legal battles are continuing, and patients have been turned away in some states.\nA new ad from the abortion rights group NARAL Freedom Fund features young women accusing the President and his allies of putting \"ideology over science,\" and using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext to \"roll back the clock\" on reproductive rights.\nNARAL has said its political arm is spending nearly $35 million overall for the 2020 election cycle to target voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Iowa, and North Carolina. The group says it's focusing efforts this year on women and other persuadable voters who see reproductive rights as a motivating concern.\nIn a statement to NPR, Trump campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh said, \"It's disgusting, but not surprising, that the extreme abortion lobby would try to use a global health crisis to promote the killing of unborn children.\"\nAnti-abortion rights groups also are urging state and federal officials to restrict access to abortion during the pandemic.\nSarah McCammon is a National Correspondent covering the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast for NPR. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion and reproductive rights, and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news magazines, podcasts and special coverage.\nSee stories by Sarah McCammon","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Alumni Interview \u2013 Phoenix Manson\nThursday May 2nd, 2019 by Finley Roach\nPhoenix Manson \u2013 Introduce yourself\nHey, my name is Phoenix Manson and I am a 19 year old artist\/music producer from Melbourne. I make Hip Hop and R&B music that infuses an old school vibe with the modern new wave sound.\nYou graduated 18 months ago. Where are you now and what are you currently working on?\nJust after graduating from Abbey Road I launched my first release called WAVELENGTH \u2013 EP. Two of the tracks from the EP were toplined by Charlotte Adele. Charlotte is another Abbey Road Alumni who has forged an awesome career for herself at Studios 301. Around the same time I became actively involved in the Melbourne beat making scene. I was a part of the Beat Collective Committee, running the fortnightly live streaming show on TRNSMT and playing shows in venues across the city.\nLife in Berlin\nAbout two months ago I relocated from Melbourne to Berlin. Mostly to start building a network in Europe and to explore the amazing electronic music scene here. At the moment I am working with a few rappers producing beats for their projects. I'm DJing regularly and getting ready to release my next single. I recorded it at Abbey Road Institute Melbourne before I moved over here.\nCan you describe your roles and what you do in those different roles?\nI guess my work can be split into two distinct roles \u2013 in the studio and on the stage. As a producer most of my time is spent in the studio making new music for my own project or for other singers\/rappers. The other aspect of my job is traveling to different places as an artist to either play live shows or DJ sets. Over the past 6 months I have been really enjoying playing music in different environments and to different crowds.\nHow did you get into music production?\nMy music production began around the time I moved from Sydney to Melbourne in high school. I was 15 and spent most of my time on visual arts like painting, drawing and experimenting with film and photography. I told my mum that I wanted to be a graphic designer after high school and I remember her suggesting that I explore the other creative pathways (like music) before I make up my mind.\nA lot of my friends at my new high school in Melbourne were into Hip Hop and they would have regular freestyle sessions and rap battles at lunch time. At this point I really started falling in love with the old school beats that they were using as a foundation to rap over and I got really curious how these instrumentals were made.\nAfter doing some research I found that most of my favourite artists were using a piece of software called Ableton Live, so I downloaded the 30 day free trial and the rest is history!\nWhat do you think the most important thing you've learned during your career since you have started?\nThat's a tricky one because I have learned so much. Probably the most important thing I have learned about the music industry over the past 5 years is to place value on your work. It's really important to know your worth and not be afraid to charge for the time and work you do. This is an idea that I have only really come to understand over the past 12 months but it is the main thing that has allowed me to turn this from a hobby into a full-time job.\nAt the moment there are far more people in the world consuming music and other creative content than there are people producing it and releasing it. This trend seems to only be increasing throughout the 21st century. So it is just a matter of finding a way to monetise what you do. I have found that 9 times out of 10 people are more than happy to pay for any piece of work you do for them whether it be editing a podcast or playing a DJ set.\nWhat has your biggest challenge been during the start-up period?\nThe biggest challenge I have come up against during the first few years (and still deal with at certain times) is staying focused and dedicated to the same goal in the face of the social and financial pressures. Being told to get a real job is something I think all artists hear regularly during the startup phase.\nWhen you first start a career in any creative industry it takes a long period of time to refine your skills and establish a name for yourself. This time is usually spent living on little or no income. It takes a lot of passion and strong commitment to persist through this period with no guarantee of success but I think for those who have believed in themselves and stuck it out, the hard work always pays off in one form or another.\nWhich skills are the most important during the startup phase?\nThe skills that have been the most important during this time have been staying flexible. Always being ready to adapt to new things (whether it be new opportunities, technologies or other external factors). In retrospect, there are so many goals that I have set and even though I arrived at the same destination. The path that took me to the end goal was so different to the one I had planned. I think it is really important to stay open minded to the things that are changing around you. You can't be fixed on an idea about the \"right\" way to achieve a goal because change is a constant.\nWhat did you learn during your time at Abbey Road institute that helped you to get started on this journey?\nThe time I spent at Abbey Road Institute helped me transform my skills. I came from a bedroom producer who made music as a hobby to an audio professional. Being surrounded by knowledgeable and friendly lecturers paired with access to such a high-quality studio space. This meant I could ask questions, learn new skills and incorporate those newfound skills into my music every day of the week.\nAlso learning about the business and legal side of the music industry has been invaluable. It allowed me to set up my own business. I do my own marketing and negotiate contracts with artists and singers.\nHowever one of the most beneficial skills for my journey so far is finding the confidence to network and collaborate with other artists and industry professionals. I think the community at Abbey Road really helps foster this in their students. It is a skill that I have now been able to apply all over the world.\nwhat advice would you give to existing students?\nIf you are currently studying music production, my advice to you is to stay hungry. Always be curious. These two things are what keep you motivated and learning more. There will be certain points in your journey when making a name for yourself feels like a massive uphill battle. It's really important to stay motivated and positive while you endure these feelings of doubt.\nWhen you start to get overwhelmed with how far you have to go to achieve your dreams just take a second to look back on how many of your dreams you have already achieved by studying at Abbey Road and how far you have come since you started this journey.\nWhat are your next plans and steps?\nRight now I am planning the release cycle for my new single called \"Blame It On My Game\". This single will drop next month. I had the pleasure of collaborating with the super talented singer\/songwriter Mareya on this track and I am extremely happy with how it turned out.\nThis single will also be accompanied by a music video clip that we filmed at the end of last year. It was my first time writing and directing a video clip so I am super excited for it to launch. It's called Blame It On My Game (feat. Mareya) and will be available for streaming on all digital platforms on May 3rd 2019.\nKeep in touch with Phoenix's latest releases by following him;\nAlumni Interview \u2013 Emily Toner\nAlumni Interview \u2013 Joel Robinson (Staygo)\nDownload Infopack\nDownload the infopack for our course: Advanced Diploma of Music Industry\nPrivacy Policy: We want you to know what data we collect and why. Please confirm you have read and agree to our privacy policy before continuing.\nDirect Communication: Please confirm you are happy for us to reply to your enquiry by email and to receive direct email communication from us.\nBy Phone: Yes No\nNewsletter: We would like to send you occasional news from our school. Please confirm if you are happy to receive our newsletter\nStudent Feature | Dom Parker\nAlumni Interview \u2013 Lauren Dimech\nSTUDENT FEATURE | Meet A New Way Home's guitarist Jesse Tekin","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"COVID 19 Safety Plan | Call us today for a free fitness consultation! 778.478.3488\nShane Pizzey\nAndrew LoCurto\nJenna Sabino\nColin Kruger\nHarvest Stack\nBreanna Bay\nTraining Centre Gallery\nSport Athletic Training\nRehab \/ Kinesiology\nFitness Assessments\nColin KrugerTyler Sellars2020-05-08T16:34:11-07:00\nGood is the enemy of Great.\nColin Kruger BHK, CSEP-CPT, Pn1\nPerformance Enhancement Coach\nContact Colin\nColin has lived all over BC, from Tumbler Ridge, Abbotsford, Oliver, and Vanderhoof, finally settling in the Okanagan in 2000. Colin has always been active, having played a variety of sports including cross-country, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and rugby before focusing on football. Colin played on the Inaugural Mount Boucherie Football Team for three years, earning him a scholarship to UBC Vancouver. He later played for the Okanagan Sun. Beyond school and his own athletic career, Colin has helped coach high school football athletes.\nHaving been injured while playing, Colin realized his passion for learning about and applying training and recovery. Colin made the decision to switch degrees to pursue a career in Kinesiology. He studied Human Kinetics at Okanagan College and continued on to the University of British Columbia Okanagan, finishing his degree in 2017.\nColin has been a personal trainer for two and a half years and has worked with a variety of clients whose goals have ranged from weight loss, to rehab, to athletic development. He has experience working with sport specific as well as lifestyle programs. He continues to improve as a young strength coach by continually furthering his education in his field. Colin believes that a strong foundation for health and performance is built by forming good habits of movement and nutrition.\nHe will coach you through your limitations until they become your strengths.\nAspire Health & Performance is a sports science company devoted to the health and performance of each of our clients. What sets us apart in the training industry is our education and experience.\n#150 \u2013 2233 Leckie Rd.\nSame building as Kaltire\nStay tuned in with the latest science based research in the health & performance world!\nWe promise to not spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.\nCopyright 2020 Aspire Health & Performance | All Rights Reserved","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Register for news, events and more!\nPromote MR\/A\nNetwork & Learn\nPhoenix MI Maintains ISO\/IEC 27001 Certification & Provides Clients with Highest Level of Information Security\nGlobal Advertising and Brand Specialist Phoenix Marketing International (Phoenix MI) has announced that they have completed an annual third-party audit and continue to maintain the ISO\/IEC 27001:2013 certification, the only international standard for information security management.\nISO 27001 establishes information controls to manage people, processes, and technology. The standard covers the technological aspects of security, as well as corporate and physical security, and enforces regular risk assessments to help companies identify and treat security threats. ISO 27001 is accepted worldwide as an assurance that proper and continual measures have been taken to protect valuable company data.\n\"Amid these troubling times, providing our clients with the highest level of information security and privacy is one of our top priorities,\" said Allen R. DeCotiis, Ph.D., Chairman, and CEO of Phoenix MI. \"We understand that now, with so many of us working from our homes, maintaining this high standard of information security management is more important than ever\".\n\"We are proud to once again be one of the few market research companies to be recognized and maintain this global standard and will continue to work diligently to ensure we provide our clients with the highest standard of security and quality,\" adds Scott Spry, Chief Operating Officer of Phoenix MI.\nTo achieve ISO certification, Phoenix MI engaged in an in-depth risk assessment, a comprehensive review of all information security policies and procedures, and internal audits. As a further step in the validation, the company's information security management system was assessed by a third-party auditor who thoroughly reviewed Phoenix MI's documentation, practices, and controls.\nThe certification was awarded by CIRQ, a subsidiary of the Insights Association, in collaboration with the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB), a global provider of audit and certification services.\nShare to: LinkedIn Twitter Google Plus Facebook\nMR News\nAs the leading voice, resource and network of the marketing research and data analytics community, the Insights Association helps its members create competitive advantage. All our revenue is invested in quality standards, legal and business advocacy, education, certification and direct support to enable our members to thrive in an evolving industry and drive business impact.\nThe 2019 IA Code of Standards and Ethics for Marketing Research and Data Analytics may be found here.\nOur members are the world's leading producers of intelligence, analytics and insights defining the needs, attitudes and behaviors of consumers, organizations and their employees, students and citizens. With that essential understanding, leaders can make intelligent decisions and deploy strategies and tactics to build trust, inspire innovation, realize the full potential of individuals and teams, and successfully create and promote products, services and ideas.\nLearn How We Do It\n1156 15th Street NW, Suite 700\n\u00a9 Insights Association 2021","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV\nStuart Joy\nWalter White's (Bryan Cranston) attempts to isolate, degrade, exploit, frighten, and control his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) are tactics that are well-documented in studies focusing on abuse. Yet, despite the representation of both implicit and explicit forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence throughout Breaking Bad (2008\u20132013), there is an apparent disconnect between how this behaviour is perceived on screen and how it is ostensibly regarded in society. It is here, at the intersection of audience reception and sociological theory that I argue Breaking Bad represents abuse as part of a broader negotiation of masculinity, one that contributes to the ongoing marginalization of women's voices in both visual media narratives and, by extension, society. In particular, I argue that despite the series' long-form structure, the lack of emphasis placed on instances of coercive control by the writers and directors is partly responsible for contributing towards a culture of misogyny and victim-blaming fostered by fans towards Skyler evident in numerous online blog posts, fan forums, social media platforms, and Anna Gunn's own treatise on the portrayal of her character in the New York Times.\nFeminist Media Studies\nDive into the research topics of 'Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.\nViolence Engineering & Materials Science 100%\nSexual Violence Arts & Humanities 87%\nAbuse Arts & Humanities 63%\nsexual violence Social Sciences 59%\nhabits Social Sciences 59%\nHabit Arts & Humanities 58%\nabuse Social Sciences 51%\nstuart.joysolent.acuk\nSolent University, Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies - Senior Lecturer in Film & TV\nJoy, S. (2017). Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV. Feminist Media Studies. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14680777.2017.1396484\nJoy, Stuart. \/ Sexual violence in serial form : Breaking Bad habits on TV. In: Feminist Media Studies. 2017.\n@article{8e71b8dc5aeb47049fd236aea7fba527,\ntitle = \"Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV\",\nabstract = \"Walter White{\\textquoteright}s (Bryan Cranston) attempts to isolate, degrade, exploit, frighten, and control his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) are tactics that are well-documented in studies focusing on abuse. Yet, despite the representation of both implicit and explicit forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence throughout Breaking Bad (2008\u20132013), there is an apparent disconnect between how this behaviour is perceived on screen and how it is ostensibly regarded in society. It is here, at the intersection of audience reception and sociological theory that I argue Breaking Bad represents abuse as part of a broader negotiation of masculinity, one that contributes to the ongoing marginalization of women{\\textquoteright}s voices in both visual media narratives and, by extension, society. In particular, I argue that despite the series{\\textquoteright} long-form structure, the lack of emphasis placed on instances of coercive control by the writers and directors is partly responsible for contributing towards a culture of misogyny and victim-blaming fostered by fans towards Skyler evident in numerous online blog posts, fan forums, social media platforms, and Anna Gunn{\\textquoteright}s own treatise on the portrayal of her character in the New York Times.\",\nauthor = \"Stuart Joy\",\njournal = \"Feminist Media Studies\",\nJoy, S 2017, 'Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV', Feminist Media Studies. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14680777.2017.1396484\nSexual violence in serial form : Breaking Bad habits on TV. \/ Joy, Stuart.\nIn: Feminist Media Studies, 20.11.2017.\nT1 - Sexual violence in serial form\nT2 - Breaking Bad habits on TV\nAU - Joy, Stuart\nN2 - Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) attempts to isolate, degrade, exploit, frighten, and control his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) are tactics that are well-documented in studies focusing on abuse. Yet, despite the representation of both implicit and explicit forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence throughout Breaking Bad (2008\u20132013), there is an apparent disconnect between how this behaviour is perceived on screen and how it is ostensibly regarded in society. It is here, at the intersection of audience reception and sociological theory that I argue Breaking Bad represents abuse as part of a broader negotiation of masculinity, one that contributes to the ongoing marginalization of women's voices in both visual media narratives and, by extension, society. In particular, I argue that despite the series' long-form structure, the lack of emphasis placed on instances of coercive control by the writers and directors is partly responsible for contributing towards a culture of misogyny and victim-blaming fostered by fans towards Skyler evident in numerous online blog posts, fan forums, social media platforms, and Anna Gunn's own treatise on the portrayal of her character in the New York Times.\nAB - Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) attempts to isolate, degrade, exploit, frighten, and control his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) are tactics that are well-documented in studies focusing on abuse. Yet, despite the representation of both implicit and explicit forms of domestic abuse and sexual violence throughout Breaking Bad (2008\u20132013), there is an apparent disconnect between how this behaviour is perceived on screen and how it is ostensibly regarded in society. It is here, at the intersection of audience reception and sociological theory that I argue Breaking Bad represents abuse as part of a broader negotiation of masculinity, one that contributes to the ongoing marginalization of women's voices in both visual media narratives and, by extension, society. In particular, I argue that despite the series' long-form structure, the lack of emphasis placed on instances of coercive control by the writers and directors is partly responsible for contributing towards a culture of misogyny and victim-blaming fostered by fans towards Skyler evident in numerous online blog posts, fan forums, social media platforms, and Anna Gunn's own treatise on the portrayal of her character in the New York Times.\nJO - Feminist Media Studies\nJF - Feminist Media Studies\nJoy S. Sexual violence in serial form: Breaking Bad habits on TV. Feminist Media Studies. 2017 Nov 20. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14680777.2017.1396484","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Sahib Shihab and Gilson Unit - La Marche Dans Le D\u00e9sert\nFrench avant garde classic originally released in 1972 on the cult independent jazz label Fortuna, now reissued by Souffle Continu records. Though not as far out, It makes for a great companion piece to the aforementioned Le Massacre Du Printemps released only a few months previously on the same label. Here Jef Gilson is back behind his keyboards heading up his Unit, who were joined by Sahib Shihab, the revered American saxophonist who had previously played with Weston, Gillespie and Coltrane, and had at the time settled in Europe. To mark this special occasion, he put aside his baritone saxophone to play a soprano varitone (on 'Mirage I' and 'Mirage II'. The amplified instrument, while losing nothing of its natural sound, was capable of generating the same presence as Gilson's electronic keyboards. To make things even more interesting, Gilson and Pierre Moret (usually behind his organ) took turn playing the Ondioline, an electronic keyboard invented in 1941 but apparently never used before in a jazz set-up (it has an unusual feature: it is suspended on special springs which makes it possible to introduce a natural vibrato if the player moves the keys from side to side with his playing hand, resulting in an almost human-like vibrato). And it would change the face of modal jazz: in a forest of percussion, Shihab and Gilson go on a sensual stroll in the desert, the caravan passes by, evoking Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane as much Pierre Henry and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Truly unique stuff. Lovingly remastered from the master tapes, the sound on this vinyl reissue is absolutely spot on and dead quiet, which is essential with such music that uses a lot of quiet\/loud dynamics. Much more than an oddity, this real treasure of spiritual \/ modal jazz which has now become more widely available, some fifty years after its original release.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"President Sandu promulgates law to provide by 1,000 lei a month to children under two\nhttps:\/\/www.ipn.md\/en\/president-sandu-promulgates-law-to-provide-by-1000-lei-7967_1092452.html\nPresident Maia Sandu promulgated the amendments to the law by which a monthly allowance of 1,000 lei for looking after children up to their age of two was introduced, IPN reports.\nThis way, as from October 1, the state will provide a monthly allowance of 1,000 to all the children under two, either their parents are socially insured or not. In the case of socially insured parents, the new allowance of 1,000 lei will be paid in addition to the child benefit that is now paid according to one of the three payment variants.\nOver 63,000 persons will benefit from the allowance. \"We want all the children in Moldova to grow up in safety and affection and to enjoy the conditions needed for developing,\" said President Sandu.\nThe law is part of the \"Family\" Program that was recently launched by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in a move to support the children and families with children in Moldova.\n\u00a9 2023. IPN. All rights reserved\nReproduction of materials is possible only under a subscription or IPN permission","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"About LRT\nEU, Baltic politicians call for release of jailed Georgian ex-president Saakashvili\nMikheil Saakashvili \/ AP\nDozens of European elected officials, including from Lithuania, have called for the release of the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.\nThe open letter, signed by the Lithuanian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair \u017dygimantas Pavilionis, former Latvian president Valdis Zalters and former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, decries the jailing of Saakashvili, calling it \"politically motivated\".\n\"The arrest of the former President Saakashvili serves only to deepen the political crisis Georgia faces following years of extreme polarization that have resulted from attempts to control the free press; to intimidate and surveil journalists, opposition politicians, activists, and even foreign diplomats; and to limit the space and resources for political opposition to the government,\" reads the open letter addressed to European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President David Sassoli.\nHowever, as notes Politico.eu, the letter does not call on EU leaders to take any specific steps, supposedly in recognition that there is little they can do other than urge Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to issue a pardon, something she has said she will not do.\nThe letter asked for \"some element of international observation\" of Saakashvili's situation.\nSaakashvili was Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013 and left the country in 2014, spending his time in the US, Ukraine and the Netherlands. He was later convicted in absentia on corruption charges, which he denies, and sentenced to six years in prison.\nProtest in Georgia over the arrest of Mikheil Saakashvili \/ AP\nSaakashvili became a Ukrainian citizen in 2015 and was appointed governor of the Odessa region by then-President Petro Poroshenko. In 2017, however, Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of the Ukrainian citizenship, which was restored to him by Poroshenko's successor.\nSaakashvili returned to Georgia on October 1, apparently to give a boost to his party, the United National Movement, in the country's municipal elections. He was arrested after landing in the country, though the Georgian government initially denied it.\n\"The charges are known to be politically motivated,\" the open letter reads. \"Saakashvili was one of dozens of former officials tried and convicted by their successors. Despite his conviction, the charges were never internationally recognized, and no one moved to detain or extradite him as he continued to work and travel abroad, because these charges were known to be part of an established pattern of political persecution.\"\nLRT English Newsletter\nEvery Friday morning.\nWeekly newsletter every Friday\n# News# Baltics and the EU# Baltics and the World# Politics\n18 h ago\nFrom Art Deco villas to Khrushchyovkas: Kaunas invites to stay in historic apartments\nAfghan evacuees move to major Lithuanian cities, start work and school\nSix more advance to Lithuania's Eurovision semi-final\nCannon fodder and US puppets: what is Chinese propaganda saying about Lithuania?\nSeven years with the euro, Lithuanians still hold onto their old money\nAll bark, no bite? Despite sanctions, EU trade with Belarus at full speed\nLithuania moves toward introducing universal real estate tax\nLithuanian PM: the flow of migrants to Belarus has stopped\nLithuania shortens Covid isolation time for asymptomatic cases\nAs Lithuania faces 'undeclared sanctions' from China, EU rallies to find answers\nAbout LRT Contacts PRESS RELEASES Rss\nGet app:\nChange your consent\nLietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija\u00a9 2022. All rights reserved","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"RNC Puts Biden In Their Crosshairs \u2013 He Won't Get Away With This\nRepublican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced Thursday that the RNC intends to sue Tyrannical President Joe Biden over absurd new COVID-19 vaccine mandates.\n\"Joe Biden told Americans when he was elected that he would not impose vaccine mandates. He lied,\" McDaniel said in a statement. \"Now small businesses, workers, and families across the country will pay the price.\"\n\"Like many Americans, I am pro-vaccine and anti-mandate,\" McDaniel added. \"Many small businesses and workers do not have the money or legal resources to fight Biden's unconstitutional actions and authoritarian decrees, but when his decree goes into effect, the RNC will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.\"\nMcDaniel's statement comes after Biden formally announced his plan to force companies with more than 100 employees to forcefully vaccinate workers against COVID-19 or test them weekly.\n\"This is not about freedom or personal choice,\" Biden said during a Thursday address to the nation. \"It's about protecting yourself and those around you, the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans.\"\n\"We've been patient but our patience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us,\" Biden added, sending a direct message to those who have yet to get vaccinated.\nThe RNC won't be alone in taking legal action against Biden though. Following Biden's vaccine mandate announcement, Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor released a statement and announced that he and his team are \"preparing litigation\" to defend residents in the state from \"overreach of the federal government.\"\n\"We respect the right of Oklahoma businesses and individuals to make healthcare decisions for themselves and their families,\" O'Connor said. \"My office will vigorously oppose any attempt by the federal government to mandate vaccines. We are preparing litigation to stand up for our rights and defend the rule of law against the overreach of the federal government.\"\nSocial media erupted following the president's announcement as many individual users and businesses stated, \"I will not comply.\"\nDaily Wire co-founder and CEO Jeremy Boreing took to Twitter to say, \"The Daily Wire has well over 100 employees. We will not enforce Joe Biden's unconstitutional and tyrannical vaccine mandate, we will use every tool at our disposal, including legal action, to resist this overreach. More to come.\"\nThe Blaze CEO echoed. \"Yeah, I sure as s*** won't be enforcing a vaccine mandate,\" said Tyler Cardon.\nDaily Wire podcast host and author Matt Walsh asserted, \"Biden does not have the power to do what he is doing. He is not a king. He is a politician and this is still the United States of America. He must be defied. All Americans who care about their freedom should tell this decaying old tyrant to go to hell.\"\nLibertarian Eric July wrote, \"Yes, this is a hill worth dying on.\"\nJournalist Tim Pool stated bluntly, \"I will not comply.\"\nTownhall managing editor Spencer Brown criticized POTUS for refusing to answer questions after the bombshell announcement, \"After a massive usurpation of individual freedom and expansion of federal authority, Biden takes zero questions from reporters again. Indefensible.\"\nAuthor: Zach Ellias\nPrevious articleDemocrats Hysterical After Trump Drops This Major Announcement\nNext articleGOP Governors Courageously Protect America From Biden","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"IFC Finances Hikma Pharmaceuticals to Boost Medical Supply Delivery During COVID-19\nDecember 20, 2020\t\/\t3799 views\nIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a debt financing package to Hikma Pharmaceuticals to help ensure smooth deliveries of medicines across the Middle East and North Africa amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The $200 million package is\u2026\nPharma Move Forward\nJuly 23, 2018\t\/\t6340 views\nRegional competition is forcing Jordan's pharmaceutical firms to up their game. By Nada Atieh Jordan's pharmaceutical sector isn't the biggest in the Middle East, but the head of the Jordanian Association for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Salah Mawajdeh, said it stands out\u2026\nLocal Pharma: A Model Industry\nMohammad Ali Shahin wears many hats. He is the Chairman of the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Medical Appliances (JAPM), and is also the CEO of Jordan Sweden Medical and Sterilization Co. (Joswe) and the chairman of three manufacturers\u2026\nEdging the Market with Innovation\nOne of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, Sanofi-Aventis engages in research, development, manufacture, and marketing in the medical field. They operate in more than 100 countries and have a focus on chronic diseases. Sanofi boasts a commitment to the health\u2026\nWorking as One\nJanuary 26, 2017\t\/\t7710 views\nIf they really want to achieve sustainable economic growth, Jordan's public and private sectors need to start seeing each other as allies rather than adversaries. By Laith Al Qasem Public\u2013Private Dialogue (PPD) is an increasingly valuable tool that enables public\u2026\nPella Pharmaceutical: Branching Out\nAugust 16, 2016\t\/\t3123 views\nAfter finding success locally, Jordanian skincare company Pella Pharmaceuticals is now aiming to expand further into foreign markets with its Derma product line. By Rebecca Irvine The pharmaceutical industry in Jordan is a strong one. You only need to look\u2026\nPrescription for Growth\nJune 22, 2016\t\/\t2880 views\nWith plans in the pipeline that include a range of own-brand over the counter medication and toiletries, as well as Jordan's first drive-through pharmacy, Amjad Aryan has big ambitions for his fast expanding chain. By Dina al Wakeel Amjad Aryan\u2026\nHikma's Healthy Investments\nHikma Pharmaceuticals plans to inject $30 million into digital health startups through a new global investment fund. By Rebecca Irvine Until March Hikma was a FTSE100 listed company, and remains the biggest pharmaceutical company in the Middle East. Now making a\u2026\nVenture at 10-Mazen Darwazeh\nMay 9, 2016\t\/\t2541 views\nMazen Darwazeh: Vice-Chairman and MENA CEO of Hikma Date of Interview: October 2013 Hikma is one of a handful of Jordanian companies that can truly be considered world class. In the first half of 2013, its revenues reached $638.3 million\u2026.\nEasing Investment in Iraq\nAugust 5, 2015\t\/\t3153 views\nMomentum seems to be building behind Khaled Kanaan's ambitious plan to break down barriers of entry into Iraq to promote greater cross-border trade, investment, and cooperation. But the prominent Jordanian businessman admitted that convincing more of his peers to bet\u2026","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Zimovane Withdrawal\nHow Does Zimovane Work?\nIn these frenzied times of distractedness and digital addiction, the quest to get a sufficient night's rest appears as elusive as the attainment of world peace. There is ample evidence that insomnia, where people have a difficult time falling and staying asleep, is a public health crisis. One study states that one in four Americans will develop acute insomnia every year.\nWhile prescription sleep aid use in the U.S. is low relative to the sheer number of people who have insomnia, the number of individuals who use prescription sleep aids like Zimovane remains substantial. That number was as high as 9 million at one point, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With widespread use comes the potential for abuse.\nIn fact, Zimovane and other sedative-hypnotic drugs are deceptively addictive and dangerous. Though they were formulated to be safer than benzodiazepines like Valium, Ativan, and Xanax, drugs like Zimovane produce a multitude of distressing effects and withdrawal symptoms.\nWhat's more, they are often abused with alcohol and other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, a practice that can result in death.\nZimovane is the brand name for zopiclone, which was first introduced by a French pharmaceutical company in 1986. When zopiclone arrived, it was hailed as an improvement over benzodiazepines in that it did not produce \"next day sedation, dependence, and withdrawal syndrome.\"\nZopiclone is structurally different from benzos but operates in the same fashion: it is also a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, along with alcohol, barbiturates, and, yes, benzodiazepines. Zopiclone, zaleplon (Sonata), and zolpidem (Ambien), dubbed \"Z-drugs,\" are prescribed for sleep.\nWhen it enters the body, zopiclone medications like Zimovane increase the delivery of the neurotransmitter gamma-Aminobutyric acid or GABA in the central nervous system. This action is what depresses the CNS, which makes a user drowsy and causes them to be less alert.\nLike other zopiclone products, Zimovane is prescribed as a short-term remedy for insomnia and is only to be used for seven to 10 days. It is recommended that adults take between 3.75 to 7.5 mg (milligrams).\nThough Zimovane was formulated as a safer alternative to benzos, when abused, it can produce the same troubling effects and withdrawal symptoms as those other CNS depressants.\nGet Immediate Treatment Help.\nI would prefer to chat online\nIt's worth noting that Zopiclone is not commercially available in the U.S. as it is designated as a controlled substance. However, it is diverted and made available for sale on the \"black market.\" It has also been made available online.\nZimovane Side Effects\nSide effects like dry mouth and drowsiness occur in more than 1 in 100 people who use Zimovane. Rarer still are the serious side effects that can arise from use. They include:\nDelusions\nHeavy sedation\nZimovane Withdrawal Symptoms\nWhen someone exceeds the recommended dosage for Zimovane or uses it longer than the prescribed amount of time, that person risks becoming dependent and addicted to the drug.\nThis is especially the case with recreational users, who will abuse Zimovane and other sleep medications by taking them in unintended ways, i.e., by crushing, snorting or injecting them. They also tend to abuse Zimovane with alcohol, benzos, or other prescription pills.\nZimovane dependence occurs when someone becomes accustomed to the drug. The person will feel normal only when Zimovane is present in their bodies. However, once it cycles out of the person's system, they experience intense symptoms of withdrawal. One such symptom is referred to as \"rebound insomnia,\" where someone will have more difficulty falling asleep than when they first started taking the medication.\nPhysical and psychological withdrawal symptoms include:\nMuscle or joint pain\nTimeline of Zimovane Withdrawal\nI am ready to be sober.\nZimovane produces withdrawal symptoms that are similar to those of other Z-drugs and benzodiazepines. What's more, withdrawal can last months or even years. Distinct symptoms occur in both the early and long-term stages of withdrawal.\nEarly Symptoms May Include:\nShakiness\nTrouble swallowing\nHeart palpitation\nFeeling like you're choking\nBowel and\/or bladder problems\nThe Long-Term Symptoms of Zimovane Can Take Months or Years To Leave. These Symptoms May Include:\nParanoid delusions\nRebound insomnia\nPoor memory and mental ability\nMuscle pain, twitching, and weakness\nHow Professional Treatment Helps\nBecause of the sheer multitude of its withdrawal symptoms, attempting to detox from Zimovane on your own is highly dangerous. This is particularly true if you have abused Zimovane with alcohol or other CNS depressants.\nThe withdrawal symptoms from this Z-drug can be life-threatening. When abused with other depressants, the potential for fatal respiratory depression greatly increases. That's why professional addiction treatment is recommended. It is the safest, most effective route to recovery.\nWhen you enter into professional recovery, you will undergo a medically supervised detoxification, which is also referred to as acute treatment. With detox, Zimovane and other toxins will be removed from the body, and the concerning withdrawal symptoms that arise will be alleviated.\nLike alcohol and barbiturates, the withdrawal symptoms of sedative medications like Zimovane are enough to cause someone to relapse, which increases their chances of succumbing to overdose. When taken with alcohol, Zimovane can produce overdose symptoms such as depressed respiratory function and suffocation, which can result in coma, brain damage, or death.\nA professional recovery program will offer clinical stabilization services after detox, to thwart that outcome. During the clinical stabilization process, you will receive therapy and counseling to help you get to the root of your addiction.\nThe various, evidence-based treatment approaches at this stage include:\nHolistic treatments\nMotivational enhancement\nThe 12 steps of recovery\nWellness skills\nDialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills\nFamily-focused therapy\nTrauma-informed sessions\nOutpatient care, where you receive ongoing treatment and counseling on a part-time basis, is also available. Depending on the severity of your addiction, your outpatient program can occur after acute treatment or clinical stabilization.\nOnce treatment is completed, you can get connected to a recovery community that provides long-term support and counseling.\nZimovane does not have to claim your life. Let us help you find the treatment option that helps you achieve successful recovery.\nCall 855-956-4940 anytime, day or evening, for a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable addiction recovery specialists. We can help you find the right treatment option. You can also contact us online for more information.\nWritten by: Tacuma Roeback\nAbout Tacuma Roeback: Tacuma is a writer for California Highlands and has dedicated her career to creating well-researched content so that those that are in search of treatment can find the help they need.\nKristi Taylor Medical Reviewer\n(n.d.). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/medicines\/zopiclone\/\nCDC Report: 9 Million Using Prescription Sleep Aids. (n.d.). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/sleep-newzzz\/201308\/cdc-report-9-million-using-prescription-sleep-aids?amp\nOcean Breeze Recovery. (2019, February 22). Zimovane Withdrawal. Retrieved from https:\/\/oceanbreezerecovery.org\/sedatives\/zimovane\/withdrawal\/\nOne in four Americans develop insomnia each year: 75 percent of those with insomnia recover. (2018, June 05). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2018\/06\/180605154114.htm\nPreviousStimulant Withdrawal\nNextTramadol Withdrawal","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Al Suomi\nThough he had a Finnish name, Al Suomi was a rare American player in the National Hockey League back in the 1930s.\nIn fact, Suomi owed his NHL stint to an ill-fated experiment by the Chicago Black Hawks back then - to try to ice an all-American team to win the Stanley Cup. It did not work so well.\nSuomi was from a hard working family in Eveleth, Minnesota. When his chores and homework were done, Suomi played hockey every chance he could get. He never really dreamed of playing professionally, but he was a star at high school.\nSuomi got a very unexpected offer in 1934. He was approached by a complete stranger who introduced himself as a hockey scout named Jack Manley. Manley asked Suomi if would be interested in turning pro and playing in Chicago.\nGiven that it was the Great Depression and jobs were scarce and money was scarcer, Suomi figure he had nothing to lose. Within an hour he said good bye and to his family, packed some clothes and was on a bus heading to Chicago.\nNo, it was not the Chicago Black Hawks. Not yet, any way.\nIt was all part of a marketing scheme put on by the Curtis Candy Company. They had a semi-pro hockey team called Chicago Baby-Ruth - obviously named after the candy bar. The team would play before all Chicago Black Hawks home games, pretty much as a skating advertisement for candy.\nThat allowed other scouts to notice Suomi. Next season he was off to Detroit to play pro in the Michigan-Ontario Hockey League. He would also get to tryout for USA's 1936 Olympic team, though he was ruled ineligible due to his pro status.\nBy 1936 Suomi had moved to Denver, Colorado, taking a job to help build a rink and then play for the new team. However Suomi would never play in Denver. Before the ice was set the Chicago Black Hawks had invited Suomi to tryout for the National Hockey League team.\nAll of this sounds a little like some feel-good story on the Hallmark Channel, but it was all true. Although it turned out Suomi might have been used by the Hawks in another market scheme of sorts. He finished the season in Chicago as the Hawks eccentric owner Major Frederick McLaughlin vowed to ice a team of all-American players.\nSuomi lasted just five games, while the Hawks red-white-and-blue scheme did not last much longer. The media ripped the Hawks at every chance, while the Canadian players on the other teams in the league took special interest in feasting up on the Hawks.\nAl stayed in Chicago, playing for an arena hockey league team called the Hornets until 1940. Aside from a brief stint as a referee, that was the end of Suomi's days on the ice.\nSuomi was a very handy fellow, and found a lot of work during the World War II years and beyond as welder, electrician and a labourer. He later founded Al's Hardware, which is still open in Chicago and run by his children.\nSuomi lived until 2014, passing away a month before his 101st birthday.\nLabels: Al Suomi\nOVER 3000 HOCKEY LEGENDS PROFILED! SEARCH BY ALPHABETICAL LISTING\nN O P Q R S T UVW XYZ\nWomen's Hockey Legends\nInternational Legends\nMy New Hockey Book\nOLYMPIC HOCKEY HISTORY\nGreatestHockeyLegends.com is the home of an extensive history of Olympic hockey. You can view each Olympic hockey tournament (men's and women's) below by clicking on the year of your choice. You can also enjoy my profiles of Olympic Hockey Legends.\n1920 - Antwerp, Belgium\n1924 - Chamonix, France\n1928 - St. Moritz, Switz.\n1932 - Lake Placid, USA\n1936 - G.P., Germany\n1940 - No Games - WWII\n1952 - Oslo, Norway\n1956 - Cortina, Italy\n1960 - Squaw Valley, USA\n1964 - Innsbruck, Austria\n1968 - Grenoble, France\n1972 - Sapporo, Japan\n1984 - Sarajevo, Yugoslavia\n1988 - Calgary, Canada\n1992 - Albertville, France\n1994 - Lillehammer, Norway\n1998 - Nagano, Japan\n2002 - Salt Lake City, USA\n2006 - Torino, Italy\n2010 - Vancouver, Canada\nGHL Donations\nI take pride in offering my work for free. If you like my work, and you think it's worth buying me a cup of coffee, donate a buck. I'm going to keep doing my work for free because I love doing this, but I'd greatly appreciate your support!","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"HomeUK NewsConservative Party News\nChris Leslie confirms Independent Group will be pro-privatisation, pro-tuition fees, and won't tax the rich more\nOne of the former MPs who recently defected from the Labour Party to start the Parliamentary breakaway organsation, The Independent Group, has essentially confirmed in an interview that the new group will be strongly in favour of privatising public services, will not abolish tuition fees, and will not increase taxes on the wealthy or large corporations.\nSpeaking to The New Statesman just 10 hours after launching the Independent Group, the ex-Labour right-winger and now Independent MP, Chris Leslie, slammed Labour's plans to take back public services \u2013 such as the Post Office and Trains \u2013 into public ownership, stating:\n\"It speaks to the controlling instinct of the hard left because there is a sort of view that John McDonnell sitting in the Treasury can mandate how many tractors are sold, or what trains should leave Euston at what particular time of day, or what should be the price of a stamp. The problem with the Marxist ideology is that it assumes this omniscience on behalf of the central controller.\"\nLeslie also took aim at Labour's plans to tax the rich more and abolish tuition fees \u2013 referring to Jeremy Corbyn's pledge to increase the top rate tax threshold for people earning over \u00a3150,000 from 45% to 50%, and his promise to completely scrap tuition fees for university students, by saying:\n\"it depends on the use of that revenue and the economic impact [\u2026] and the complete abolition of university tuition fees [\u2026] sounds great, the minor problem is: how do you pay for it?\"\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/OwenJones84\/status\/1098237823973498881\nIn addition to Leslie's comments, Anna Soubry \u2013 the former Tory MP for Broxtowe who today defected to the Independent Group \u2013 admitted that she had no regrets about voting in favour of her former party's devastating cuts, claiming that Tory austerity was:\n\"absolutely necessary and I don't have a problem with that.\"\nFurthermore, Soubry also went on to claim that \"the coalition government did a marvellous job\" \u2013 this is despite the 2010-2015 ConDem coalition increasing tuition fees to \u00a39,000 and instigating massive cuts to public services and welfare that were recently revealed to have caused \"economic murder\" with 120,000 people needlessly dying as a result.\nSince their launch on Monday, The Independent Group have come in for stinging criticism after refusing to set out any clear policy platform \u2013 other than being staunchly anti-Brexit and in favour of a second referendum.\nHowever, whilst the organisation are still yet to set out any collective policies, Leslie's comments strongly indicate that the group will support the Tories on future measures to increase the privatisation of public services; to maintain or even increase tuition fees from their current world-record high level; and will inevitably support future Tory plans to decrease taxes on the most wealthy individuals and corporations.\nDespite their single-policy platform, a recent Sky poll claimed to show that around 10% of the British public could support The Independent Group in a future election.\nHowever, the Sky poll showed that the organisation would actually cut both the Labour and Tory vote significantly, with the Tories ending up on 32% and Labour's share falling to 26%.\nNew @SkyData poll:\nUK voting intention\nCon 32%\nLab 26%\nIndependent Group 10%\nLDs 9%\nUKIP 6%\nGreen 4%\nSNP 4%\nPC 1%\n\u2014 Sky Data (@SkyData) February 19, 2019\nWhilst the Sky poll should obviously be taken with a large pinch of salt, the Independent Group are not even a political party yet, meaning that they are not eligible to take part in UK elections and are not eligible for an allowance of Short Money \u2013 public money allocated to genuine opposition parties.\nHowever, as they have decided to simply register themselves as a Limited Company, they do not have to declare their financial backers \u2013 unlike political parties.\nGiven that their policy platform is likely to be highly pro-corporation, strongly pro-greed and vociferously anti-worker \u2013 added to the fact that their existence could help keep the massively pro-worker Labour Party out of No 10 \u2013 it would be safe to assume that large corporations will be looking to offer financial support the organisation, safe in the knowledge that their assistance will probably never be revealed.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The Skinny Food Co announces partnership with Nottingham Forest\nNottingham Forest are delighted to announce The Skinny Food Co as the Club's new Back of Short sponsors.\nIn a what is a record category deal for the club, The Skinny Food Co will become official partners of both the Men's and the Women's team for at least the next two seasons.\nAlongside having the logo on the shorts for the Men's, Women's and retail kits, The Skinny Food Co will use their wider partnership rights with Forest, such as LED advertising and digital promotions, to further increase their brand awareness across the UK and internationally \u2013 as well as engaging Forest fans with a range of exciting offers and promotions throughout the season.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"It's not been easy trying to get inside the mind of this most incredible genius of words, yet the journey we started over 15 years ago has been exhilarating, to say the least. Whilst there are many Theatre companies throughout the world regularly presenting Shakespeare's plays in very different ways, the approach we have taken revolves around providing answers to this contention:-\n\"Taking as a given truth Richard Eyre's statement that Shakespeare gave us the DNA of our Theatre, how then can it best be passed down the line to firstly give new and sustainable life to his own work, and secondly to create new work that is inspired, influenced by, or flows out from the tradition Shakespeare worked in?\"\nAdapting his plays, finding new ways of interpreting them, putting them into new settings is not what this is all about! Instead we believe the real benefit of his legacy is for us to be as radical and original as Shakespeare himself was; to write new challenging drama using the words, themes, and characters of his plays as the raw material, much in the same way as DNA works. In doing so we believe Shakespeare's work can be kept fresh and relevant for audiences throughout the world, for all time.\nThe Globe today performs Shakespeare's plays in a Theatre close to their original physical setting; for us it is about revitalising his works using a non-physical 'creative space' . There are many ways to achieve this, below are ways that have been explored to date:-\nAfterShakespeare\nwriting new sequels to his plays.\nPlease click here to go to the AfterShakespeare page\nRelivingShakespeare\ncreating new plays that are inspired by the life of William Shakespeare.\nPlease click here to go to the RelivingShakespeare page\nLivingShakespeare\ncreating brand new work directly inspired by or flowing out of Shakespeare's legacy.\nPlease click here to go to the LivingShakespeare page\nShakespeare was a genius, fact; and as such people who love and admire his work generally show him an awful lot respect. Sometimes so much respect that they wrongly, in my opinion, believe it's sacrilege to 'mess' about with the plays.\nOur viewpoint is rather different. Time, the great healer, is also the great destroyer; it gets to us all, including even Shakespeare. Our belief is that over the hundreds of years that have passed, and the many hundreds of years yet to happen, the works themselves are in danger of becoming fossilized. And that would be a dreadful tragedy in itself and would be doing his work, and the people throughout time, a great disservice.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"It's wrong to call this election result \"the revenge of the young\"\nI try not to blog too much about politics, purely because I don't want to open up a huge debate and for people to bicker all over my posts.\nEveryone is entitled to their own opinions, on everything in life, and we all have to accept that we aren't all going to agree. Imagine what a boring world it would be if we did?\nEveryone has different priorities, different outlooks, different circumstances and different experiences. It's ok not to agree on everything. You may not agree with what I write, but that's ok.\nWhen I have addressed politics previously, it's been with regards to turnout - particularly encouraging younger people to exercise their right to vote.\nThe first election I could vote in, back in 2010, was so exciting for me. I couldn't wait to go to the polling station and put my cross in the box. I even kept my polling card, in one of my many memory boxes, to remember the moment. It was a big deal to me.\nBut it's not the same for everyone.\nIn 2010, just 44% of those aged 18 to 24 turned out to cast their vote; compared to 55% of aged 25 to 35.\nIn stark comparison, 76% of those aged over 65 turned out to vote.\nIn 2015, it was even less.\n43% of those aged 18 to 24 exercised their right to vote, with 54% aged 25 to 34.\nAgain, those aged 65 and over had the highest turnout with 78%.\nIt's staggering, how disengaged young people have become with politics.\nThat is, until this election. Early indicators show a turnout of around 72% of those aged 18 to 24 in yesterday's General Election. This hasn't been confirmed yet, and won't be until next week, but these early estimates are incredible.\nSky News estimated the turnout among 18 to 24 years olds was around 66%. Even if this figure is true, it's still a substantial increase on the figures seen in the last election.\nIt literally makes me so sad when I see so few young people turning out to vote. And I don't understand why.\nNot everyone understands politics, I get that, but everyone should care. These people, whether you like them or not, dictate the future of our country. Everyone is quick to complain when they can't get an appointment with their doctor for two weeks. I looked the other day, and had to wait 14 days to see a GP at my surgery. I'm pretty sure, what is wrong with me, would have either gone, got a whole lot worse, or killed me in that time. It's no wonder A&E departments are overrun at hospitals.\nMore than 600,000 people registered to vote in the final 24 hours - around two-thirds of those were aged between 18 and 34.\nSome have called this election result \"the revenge of the young\", but the word revenge is wrong for this. It's not revenge. It's finally standing up to be heard. Having enough of politicians ignoring our voice and speaking out for our own future. Getting tired with newspapers pedalling propaganda, fake news and pushing the ideologies of whoever they have chosen to side with this week. Ignoring commissioned polls, expectation and what we're told is reality.\nEven the eve of the election, newspapers and news outlets were predicting Theresa May to win by a bigger majority than Margaret Thatcher. Corbyn's entire campaign, manifesto and role as leader was undermined the whole way through the campaign.\nNone of the party leaders, apart from Jeremy Corbyn, engaged with young people at all during the short-lived election campaign.\nCorbyn was the one pushing for young people to register to vote, Corbyn was the one targeting the younger audience with his policies and his campaign, and Corbyn was the one who motivated the younger age bracket to turn out in such high numbers.\nRegardless of whether or not these young votes converted into votes for Corbyn, he is one of the main reasons why so many turned out in the first place. And that can only be a good thing.\nI only hope that this momentum keeps going, with more young people continuing to exercise their right to vote, to turn out at elections and have their say on the policies that will shape our future.\nIt is still unclear how the results of yesterday's election will play out. I only hope that, whenever the next election comes around, young people do their bit again and stand up to be heard.\nIf turnout really does end up being as high as initial indicators suggest, British politics could change forever.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Press release - 15 June 2015 00:00\nCOMMENT: Fox shake-up will show if Rupert has oiled the Murdoch machine\nAnthony Devine, from Newcastle Business School, discusses who will take the reins from Rupert Murdoch as he stands down as CEO of 21st Century Fox.\nIt looks as if the next generation of Murdochs has officially been appointed. Reports from a variety of sources suggest that 83-year-old Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as CEO of 21st Century Fox and assuming the role of co-Executive chairman along with his eldest son Lachlan, 43. Younger son James, aged 42, is meanwhile taking the reins as CEO. One has to wonder how much this will change things within the business and the extent to which the sons actually have any influence over their father's decisions.\nThe obvious question is whether these appointments have been made on the basis of patrimony rather than in a meritocratic way? In a family run plumbing company it might make sense, but when the family's equity capital is split with outside investors, it is a clear source of tension \u2013 James has suffered scrutiny from investors before now. The discussion boils down a question of whose needs are the management serving; their own or those of the shareholders?\nWho pulls the strings?\nIt is likely that even if Lachlan and James are given these positions, their father will still hold sway over the family business. But how long will the two brothers put up with their father's interfering? One of the major sources of tension in families who are undergoing a succession process is the conflict which becomes apparent between incumbent and successor.\nIn the driving seat. Who will be top dog? TheGiantVermin, CC BY-NC-ND\nThis is often to do with an inability of the founder or incumbent to \"let the business go.\" In some recent work I undertook, one incumbent told me:\nThe only way they will get me out of this place is in a wooden box.\nThis inability to let go frustrates the successor because they are unable to put their stamp on the business. They are constantly getting direction from a parent. It has been reported that Lachlan and James will enter into a \"partnership\", but again one has to wonder how this will actually work in practice.\nIt is very common for families to think that a solution is to put both sons in charge of the business and they will work well together, however after a period of time conflict emerges because they are fighting for position and influence. This fight can sometimes be due to conflicting values, perhaps exacerbated by the generational shift that occurs.\nDoes the daughter ever rise?\nWithin all of this there is one person who has not been considered in the press \u2013 Rupert's daughter, Elisabeth Murdoch. At 46, Elisabeth is the eldest of the three siblings and has never been considered for a role in 21st Century Fox.\nSons & Daughters. Love and Laughter? Nordiske Mediedager, CC BY-SA\nThis is yet another issue which is a common cause of conflict in family businesses; when there are children of both genders. Much research shows that fathers will always favour male successors \u2013 not because they do not trust their daughters, but because they feel they would worry less about sons making mistakes.\nThis notion of primogeniture is still very apparent in modern society, even if the most famous family business of all, the British Royal Family, has struck a blow against it by abolishing a 300-year-old rule according to which the Crown is passed to the oldest male heir.\nDoes anyone notice?\nIn businesses where families own a large portion of the voting stock, unclear and unstable succession plans can have a detrimental impact on shareholder confidence. Fox shares have only nudged lower since the reports surfaced, but market watchers have put that down to the apparent continuity of the restructuring. The trick now will be to retain that stability and create assurances around how the relationships are going to work. Any change of this sort will throw up potential conflicts between generations and between siblings which could get investors worrying.\nOf course conflict is not always a bad thing; it comes in different flavours. But relationship conflict is the most dangerous kind and can be detrimental to the business. A recent article I wrote for the Family Firm Institute highlights how different types of conflict affect families.\nTask and process conflict are commonplace in all businesses \u2013 including family firms. These types of conflict centre around what should be done and how it should be achieved. Relationship conflict, however, is about personal feelings of dislike. Of course, there is relationship conflict in non-family firms, but the key difference is that the individuals within family firms are often very close and may even live together. Those in non-family firms go home to a different set of people; families remain family, inside and outside of the workplace.\nMarkets and investors will be fascinated, and worried, about what this heady brew might bring. More clarity will be needed at Fox's next board meeting to better understand the strategy and the market reaction. One thing is for sure; if the Murdoch machine is to keep running, the component parts need to work together.\nAnthony Devine is Deputy Programme Leader at Northumbria University, Newcastle.\nnewcastle business school\nNorthumbria is a research-rich, business-focussed, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence. To find out more about our courses go towww.northumbria.ac.uk\nCOMMENT: Creating the Links\nCrime Story, a collaboration between Northumbria University and New Writing North, is a series of seminars that aim to debunk the myths for crime writers. Madalyn Rokisky-Ring, a student of Northumbria's MA Conservation of Fine Art, shares her thoughts on Crime Story's recent forensics session and the links between conservation and forensic science.\nCOMMENT: Films like Still Alice are crucial to keeping debate about dementia alive\nDr Catherine Bailey, discusses the film Still Alice and its portrayal of dementia\nCOMMENT: New York where the streets are paved with hot dogs, donuts and burgers and hungry insects\nDr Mike Jeffries, Teaching Fellow in Ecology in the Department of Geography, explores the impact of garbage guzzling insects on New York's streets following the publication of new research in the US.\nWomen occupy barely 30% of decision-maker positions in major media organisations\nEvidence presented by an academic from Northumbria University, Newcastle at a House of Lords inquiry last week showed that men dominate decision-making positions across many major European media organisations.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Automotive Database\nThe best place to get info about your car.\nList of Favourite Manufacturers\nList of Countries Manufacturer\nCommon Countries of Car Brand\nYears Range\nCabriolet \/ Convertible\nCoup\u00e9 utility (ute)\nCrossover (CUV)\nMulti-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)\nSport Utility Vehicle (SUV)\nTarga Top\nStation Wagon \/ Wagon \/ Estate\nACRISS Car Class Code\nBadge Engineering\nCar Classification\nProduction Vehicle\nThree-box Styling\nVolkswagen Dasher\nVolkswagen Quantum\nVolkswagen Corsar\nVolkswagen Magotan\nVolkswagen Carat\nLarge family car (Mid-size car)\nFront-engine, front-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive\nUS and China model:\nVolkswagen Group B platform\nEuropean model:\nVolkswagen Group MQB platform\nVolkswagen Type 4\nThe Volkswagen Passat is a large family car produced by the German manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, through six design generations. It is positioned between the Volkswagen Golf (Jetta) and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up and its derivatives have been badged variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, Corsar and Carat. The successive generations of the Passat carry the Volkswagen internal designations B1, B2, etc.\nIn 2008, Volkswagen extended its range with the launch of the Passat CC, a \"four-door coup\u00e9\" version of the Passat.\nVolkswagen currently markets two variants of the Passat globally. In January 2011, Volkswagen announced that the new mid-size sedan (NMS) being built at the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant for the North American market would be named the Passat. Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive also manufactures the Passat NMS in its Nanjing factory. The NMS is sold in the North American, South Korean, Chinese, and Middle Eastern markets. The Volkswagen Passat NMS won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year. A new Passat model has begun manufacture in Europe in 2014 and is based on the MQB platform.\nFollowing the Volkswagen Group's acquisition of Audi in 1964, Volkswagen used new engineering expertise to develop a modern front-wheel drive car with a water-cooled engine, and thus the Passat and Golf (the latter being introduced in 1974) were the first of a new generation of Volkswagen cars. The first Passat was developed partly from the Audi 80\/Fox and, until 2005, the two shared a history.\nDuring its development phase, the Passat was designated internally as EA400 (Entwicklungsauftrag 400, or \"Development Order 400\"), and well before its launch, production of the Volkswagen Type 3 at the Wolfsburg plant had been stopped in order to free up capacity for the new car. Wolfsburg was able to ramp up production carefully: directly before Passat production started the lines were used to assemble small volumes of the car's Audi 80 sibling which had been launched a year earlier.\nNameplate etymology\nThough numerous sources suggest the Passat nameplate derives from the German word for trade wind, reflecting the period in Volkswagen's history when it named its vehicles after prominent winds and currents (e.g., the Volkswagen Golf (after German for Gulf Stream), the Volkswagen Jetta (after the Jet stream), Volkswagen Bora (after bora), and Volkswagen Scirocco (after sirocco), a 2013 report by former VW advertising copywriter Bertel Schmitt, says that \u2014 after consulting knowledgeable VW sources including Dr. Carl Hahn, former Volkswagen of America Chief and WP Schmidt, former sales chief at Volkswagen \u2014 no conclusive evidence suggests that Volkswagen employed a naming theme for its then new front-drive, water-cooled vehicles; nor that the names trace etymologically to any particular theme, nor that any naming system \"was ever announced, either officially or confidentially.\"\nB1 (Typ 32; 1973-1981)\nMain article: Volkswagen Passat (B1)\nVolkswagen Passat B1 3-door (Europe)\nVW Passat Variant \"ADAC\" 1976.\nVW Passat Variant L 1974.\nThe original Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1973. The body types offered originally were two- and four-door sedans and similar looking three- and five-door versions. Externally all four shared a modern fastback style design, styled by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. In essence, the first Passat was a fastback version of the mechanically identical Audi 80 sedan, introduced a year earlier. A five-door station wagon\/estate was introduced in 1974. In Europe, the Passat was equipped with two rectangular, two round 7-inch, or four round 5.5-inch headlights depending on specification. The Passat was one of the most modern European family cars at the time, and was intended as a replacement for the aging Volkswagen Type 3 and Type 4.\nThe Passat originally used the four-cylinder OHC 1.3 l (55 PS (40 kW; 54 hp)) and 1.5 l (75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp)\/85 PS (63 kW; 84 hp)) petrol engines also used in the Audi 80\u2014longitudinally mounted with front-wheel drive, in Audi tradition, with either a four-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic. It had a MacPherson strut front suspension with a solid axle\/coil spring setup at the rear.\nThe SOHC 1.5 was enlarged to 1.6 l in August 1975 with unchanged power ratings and slightly higher torque ratings. In July 1978 the Passat Diesel became available, equipped with the VW Golf`s 1.5 l Diesel (50 PS (37 kW; 49 hp)), followed in February 1979 by the Passat GLI with a fuel-injected version of the 1.6 l engine.\nThe whole range received a facelift in 1977 (launched 1978 outside Europe), featuring an interior upgrade and subtly revised styling including repositioned indicators and depending on model, either four round or two rectangular headlights.\nIn North America, the car was called the Volkswagen Dasher. The three- and five-door hatchback and a station wagon model were launched in North America for and during the 1974 model year. Sole available engine was a carburetted 1.5 l inline-four developing 75 hp (56 kW) (or 70 hp (52 kW) in 1975), supplanted from model year 1976 by a Bosch fuel-injected 1.6 l four 78 hp (58 kW). North American cars were equipped with single DOT standard headlights.\nIn 1978 the Dasher received a facelift along the lines of the European Passat, with quad sealed beam headlights and big polyurethane covered bumpers. The trim was also upgraded and the ride softened. 1979 saw the introduction of the 1.5 l diesel engine, which produced just 48 PS (35 kW) in the 1,130 kg (2,490 lb) car. 0\u2013100 km\/h time for the Diesel was 19.4 seconds, 6.2 seconds slower than the gasoline (petrol) engine. All gasoline engines were dropped for North America in 1981 in preparation for the next generation.\nIn Brazil, the Passat B1 was produced from June 1974 until 1988. Since the Audi 80 was not marketed in Brazil, the Passat received the Audi's different front-end treatment after a facelift for 1979. Originally with a 1.5 liter engine, during its long life cycle many improvements from the B2 platform were later introduced, like its 1.6 and 1.8-liter engines, a Brazil-specific face-lift in 1985, and a five-speed gearbox. A sports version, named Passat TS 1.6 and later Passat GTS 1.8 Pointer was also introduced.\nB2 (Typ 32B; 1981 - 1988)\nVolkswagen Passat B2 wagon (Europe)\nSee also: Volkswagen Santana\nThe second generation Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1981. The platform, named B2, was slightly longer and the car's updated styling was instantly recognisable as a Passat, with the most obvious difference being the rectangular headlights. In addition to the Passat hatchbacks and Variants (estate\/wagon), there was also a conventional three-box saloon, which until the 1985 facelift was sold as the Volkswagen Santana in Europe. In North America, the Passat\/Santana was sold as the Volkswagen Quantum, available in three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, and a wagon model, but the five-door hatchback was never sold there and the three-door hatchback was dropped after less than two years. The four-wheel drive Syncro version was introduced in October 1984, initially only with the more powerful five-cylinder engine.\nThe Santana was also produced in China, Brazil, Mexico (as the Corsar, from 1984 and 1988) and Argentina (as the Carat between 1987 and 1991). In Brazil, the Santana station wagon was sold as the Quantum. The Passat saloon and estate were produced in South Africa for their local market until 1987.\nLike the previous generation, the B2 Passat was mainly sold with four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. Unlike its predecessor, however, top-of the line versions received five-cylinder Audi or VW engines of 1.9\u20132.2 litres. The 5-cylinder version was sold in the U.S. as the Quantum GL-5. In addition to four- and five-speed manuals and three-speed automatic gearboxes, the Passat\/Santana was also available with the VW concern's interesting 4+E transmission. This, also called the \"Formel E\" had a particularly high top gear, which combined with a freewheeling mechanism, provided better gas mileage. An automatic stop\/start was also available in some markets. The four-wheel-drive system used in the Passat Variant Syncro shared the mechanics of the Audi 80 quattro and not the Volkswagen Golf Syncro. The Syncro's bottom plate was almost entirely different, requiring a transmission tunnel, a relocated gas tank and no spare tire well (to make room for the complex rear axle assembly). Only the more popular estate was reengineered. Syncro was also available in the North American market, only with the five-cylinder engine.\nIn 1985 the range received a slight facelift, consisting of new, larger bumpers, interior retouches, a new front grille and new taillights on the hatchback versions. The two-door hatchback was discontinued while the Santana nameplate was dropped in Europe. The saloon's front end was now the same as the hatchback and estate. The North American version, still known as the Quantum, gained European-style composite headlamps.\nOn March 31, 1988 production ended (although Syncro models continued in production until June) with 3,345,248 built in Germany. World production totals amount to at least 4.5 million units.\nB3 and B4 (Typ 35i; 1988 - 1996)\nVolkswagen Passat B3 sedan (Europe)\nThe third generation Passat was introduced in March 1988 in Europe, 1990 in North America, and 1995 in South America. The lack of a grille made the car's front end styling reminiscent of older, rear-engined Volkswagens such as the 411, and also doubled as a modern styling trend. The styling was developed from the 1981 aerodynamic (cd 0.25) Auto 2000 concept car.\nAt the time it was the first transverse-engine layout Passat to be built on a Volkswagen-designed platform, rather than sharing one with an Audi saloon. The car, although designated B3 in Volkswagen's platform nomenclature, was based largely on the A platform as used for the smaller Golf model, but was stretched in all directions. Many components are shared directly between these vehicles. Only 4-door saloon and 5-door estate versions were available, without the fastback option of previous models. From this generation, the 5-door hatchback version of the first and second generation models is no longer available. It was marketed under the Passat name in all markets; in North America, this was a first.\nThe fuel-injected petrol engines gave better performance and refinement than the carburettor units previously used. They were mounted transversely, and the floorpan was engineered to accept Volkswagen's 'Syncro' four-wheel drive system. Engine options were the 2.0 litre 16-valve engine in the GL model, 1.8-litre engine in the CL model (not available in North America, all CLs, GLs, and GLSs had the 2.0 16v), The 1.8 8v 112 bhp PB engine from the Golf GTi was also used in the Passat GT model. Volkswagen's new 2.8-litre VR6 engine (also used in the Golf and Corrado) in the GLX\/GLS model (introduced in 1991 in Europe and 1992 in North America), and the G60 engine (only available on the Syncro model in Canada for the North American market). The VR6 engine gave the top-of-the-range Passat a top speed of 224 kilometres per hour (139 mph). The 1.9-litre diesel engine was also available as an option.\n1993 facelift (Passat B4)\nThe B3 Passat was heavily facelifted in 1993 and although it was designated B4, it was not an all-new model. The facelift revised external body panels except for the roof and glasshouse, with most obvious exterior change seeing the re-introduction of a grille to match the style of the other same-generation Volkswagen models of the era, such as the Mk3 Golf and Jetta. The interior was mildly updated and included safety equipment such as dual front airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners, although the basic dashboard design remained unchanged.\nThe car was available with a Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine - an inline four-cylinder 1.9 litre turbodiesel, generating 210 newton metres (155 lbf\u00b7ft) of torque at 1,900 rpm, 66 kilowatts (90 PS; 89 bhp) at 3,750 rpm. It carried a U.S. EPA fuel efficiency rating for the sedan of 45 miles per US gallon (5.2 L\/100 km; 54 mpg-imp) highway. Combined with a 98 litres (21.6 imp gal; 25.9 US gal) -28 litres (6.2 imp gal; 7.4 US gal) reserve option fuel tank, the B4 TDI wagon had an 1800+ km (1200+ mi) range on a single tank of fuel. The B4 TDI wagon saw less than 1,000 sales in the U.S. during its 1996 to 1997 lifespan.\nB5 and B5.5 (Typ 3B\/3BG; 1996-2005)\nVolkswagen Passat B5 wagon (US)\nAn all-new Passat, based on the Volkswagen Group B5 platform, was launched in 1996 in Europe (although not on the United Kingdom market until February 1997), and 1998 in North America. Its PL45 platform was shared with the first-generation \"Typ 8D\" Audi A4, which was unveiled 2 years earlier, and saw a return to the Passat sharing its longitundinal engine layout platform with Audi's equivalent model for the first time since the second-generation (B2) Passat, which shared its platform with the second-generation \"Typ 81\" Audi 80\/Audi 90 (the A4 is the successor to the Audi 80 line).\nThe Passat introduced a new design language, first seen on the Concept 1 concept car, for the latest generation of Volkswagens such as the Mk4 Golf, Bora andPolo Mk4. Aerodynamic work gave the B5 Passat a coefficient of drag of 0.27 (saloon model).\nThe car featured a fully independent four-link front suspension; and a semi-independent torsion beam for front-wheel-drive models or a fully independent suspension on the 4motion 4WD models. 4WD was introduced in 1997 as an option for the 1.8, 2.8 V6, 1.9 TDI and 2.5 V6 TDI engines, using a second-generation Torsen T-2 based 4WD system to minimise loss of traction. The 1.8 litre petrol engine in the Passat and Audi A4 has a lower oil capacity than transverse applications of the same engine (4.6 quarts in transverse, 4.3 quarts longitudinal), and may suffer from oil sludge problems as a result, if not changed at regular intervals with fully synthetic oils. Four transmission options were available: a 5-speed manual transmission, a 6-speed manual transmission (codename 01E), a 4-speed automatic transmission and a 5-speed automatic transmission with tiptronic.\nThe 1.6 petrol engine had been dropped by 1999, leaving the 1.8 20-valve as the entry-level engine.\n2001 facelift (Passat B5.5)\nVolkswagen Passat B5.5 sedan (US)\nB5 Passat models built after late 2000, also known as B5.5 models (3BG in Europe), received minor styling and mechanical revisions including revised projector-optic headlights, bumpers, tail lights, and chrome trim. The non-turbo 1.8 was discontinued, with an eight-valve 2.0 now being the least powerful petrol engine.\nA 4.0 litre W8 engine producing 275 PS (202 kW) was introduced in 2001 in a luxury version of the car that included standard 4motion all-wheel drive. This engine was intended to be a test bed for Volkswagen Group's new W engine technology, which would later make an appearance on the W12 in the Phaeton, Audi A8, and Bentley Continental GT, and the W16 engine in the Bugatti Veyron. The engine was discontinued in 2004.\nIn 2003, a powerful 2.0-litre Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine producing 136 PS (100 kW) was added (making the Passat A lengthened platform went on to underpin the 'Passat' that was introduced in China in late 1999 by Shanghai-Volkswagen. This long-wheelbase version was rebadged and launched in Europe as the \u0160koda Superb in 2001. Both have a 100 millimetres (3.9 in) longer wheelbase and length than the standard B5 Passat. An updated version called the Passat Lingyu was released in 2005. This receives the 2.0-litre, 1.8-litre Turbo, and 2.8-litre V6 petrol engines. At the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show, an updated Passat Lingyu was shown.\nB6 and B7 (Typ 3C; 2005 - 2014)\nThe B6 Passat was first displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005, and launched in Europe in the summer of 2005. Unlike its predecessor, the B6 Passat no longer shared its platform with Audi's equivalent model (the Audi A4). Based on a modified version of the Mk5 Golf's PQ46 platform, the B6 featured a transverse rather than longitundinal engine layout of its predecessor, like the previous B3 and B4 generations, which were related to the A2 (Golf) platform.\nThe transverse-engine layout of the four-wheel drive version, marketed as 4motion, dictated a switch from the Torsen centre differential of the B5, to the Haldex Traction multi-plate clutch. The change to the Haldex system also changes the handling closer to a front-wheel drive car. Compared to the Torsen, the Haldex can direct torque more unequally to the front wheels (from 100:0 to 50:50 front-to-rear bias), thus providing a wider bias range than the 75:25 to 25:75 of the B5 Passat. Haldex is a reactive-type system, behaving as a front-wheel-drive vehicle until slippage is detected, at which point up to a maximum of 50% of the torque can be transmitted to the rear axle. See the Audi-related quattro (four-wheel-drive system) article for more information.\nFuel Stratified Injection is used in nearly every petrol engined version of the Passat, ranging from 1.6 to 3.6 litres (the 1.6-litre DOHC can reach 100 km\/h (62.1 mph) in 11.5 seconds, and 200 km\/h (124.3 mph) for manual transmission versions), but the multi-valve 2.0-litre Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel is the most sought after version in Europe (available in both 140 PS (103 kW; 138 hp) and 170 PS (125 kW; 168 hp) variants). In the U.S. market, a 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) 2.0-litre turbocharged I4 is the base engine, or a 280 PS (206 kW; 276 hp) 3.6-litreVR6 engine as the upgrade, with six-speed manual (only available on the base 2.0 T model) and automatic transmissions. As of the 2009 model year, the VR6 engine and 4motion option were no longer available in the US on the Passat sedan and wagon, but are available on the Passat CC.\nIn February 2008, the 2.0 FSI was replaced with the new Audi-developed 1.8 TSI engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. The 1.8 T is rated at 160 PS (118 kW; 158 hp), 250 Nm (184 lbft) and reaches 0\u2013100 km\/h in 8.6 seconds, reaching a top speed of 220 kilometres per hour (136.7 mph). At the same time the 2.0 TDI engine from the Audi range incorporating common rail injection technology superseded the existing 2.0 TDI units. The common rail technology uses less fuel and is quieter in operation. This engine is part of the wider Volkswagen Group policy for engine sharing.\nThe Passat Estate won overall winner of Practical Caravans Towcar of the Year Awards 2008 for its array of towing features such as its Trailer Stability Programme.\nIn Asia, the PQ46 Passat was released by FAW-VW as the Magotan, after Volkswagen's other joint venture Shanghai Volkswagen had decided to continue using the B5 platform for the Passat and the Passat Lingyu (long-wheelbase Passat). Since August 2010 the wagon version of Passat B6 will be offered in Asia, which is a fully imported model. But this car is simply called Volkswagen Variant in China, in order not to refer the name \"Passat\" or \"Magotan\".\nExclusive to Europe and Australia was a limited edition Passat R36, which featured a 3.6 litre V6 engine. This version of the Passat put out 300 hp, and featured dual exhaust tips, an aggressive front bonnet, and All Wheel Drive.\nMain article: Volkswagen CC\nVolkswagen Passat CC R-Line (Europe)\nThe CC (\"Comfort Coup\u00e9\") is a 4-door \"coup\u00e9\" version of the Passat. It debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Originally aimed at competing with the similarly styled Mercedes CLS, the Passat CC intends to be more stylish and luxurious than the previously released Passat B6. In the U.S., the name \"Passat\" was dropped, and the car is being sold as \"CC\". Some options specific to the CC include hands-free parking, lane-departure prevention, intelligent cruise control, and adaptive suspension. Engines offered in the CC mirror those of the regular Passat, with options of the base 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, or the optional 3.6-liter VR6, which includes 4-motion all-wheel drive.\nThe Chinese-made CC was released by FAW-VW on July 15, 2010. Two engine options are provided: 1.8T and 2.0T.\nVolkswagen facelifted the Passat CC in late 2011 for the 2012 year with styling updates akin to those of the larger Phaeton. For the updated model, Volkswagen has dropped the \"Passat\" name for all markets, now matching the \"Volkswagen CC\" branding used since 2008 in North America.\n2011 Volkswagen Passat 118TSI wagon (Australia)\nThe B6 Passat was facelifted by Klaus Bischoff and Walter de Silva, and was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September 2010. Although designated \"B7\", the car is not an all-new model. The facelift resulted in new external body panels except for the roof and glasshouse, with the prominent changes to the grille and headlights. Overall height and width dimensions are unchanged from the B6 Passat, while length increases by 4 mm. New features include a fatigue detection system and an automatic \"city emergency braking\" system. It arrived at dealerships in January 2010.\nThe interior featured minor detail changes from the B6, although the basic dashboard design remain unchanged.\nIn India, the B6 version is supposed to be replaced with B7 version. Also the FAW-VW-built Magotan will also be replaced by a long-wheelbase version of the Passat B7. The new model will be exclusive to the Indian market, and at least 100 mm longer than the European B7. The Indian market is also likely to get the B7 which appears to be only a facelift of B6 and not a new platform.\nIn China, the FAW-VW-built Magotan will also be replaced by a long-wheelbase version of the Passat B7. The new model will be exclusive to the Chinese market, and at least 100 mm longer than the European B7. Engines available for Magotan B7L are ranging from 1.4T, 1.8T to 2.0T, a special-developed EA390 3.0L VR6 FSI engine is opted for the top model.\nIn Malaysia, Volkswagen Global had authorized DRB-HICOM for assembly in the Pekan facility beginning 2011. The Passat has became the best-selling model of Volkswagen Malaysia in 2012 and 2013.\nThe North American market did not receive the B7 version and jumped from the B6 straight to the B8 in 2011.\nVolkswagen Alltrack concept at NYIAS 2012\nIn October 2010 Volkswagen presented at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show the Passat Alltrack. The Passat Alltrack bridges the gap between the passenger VW range and the SUV range comprising the Tiguan and Touareg.\nThe Passat Alltrack has raised ground clearance from 135 to 165 mm which improves approach angle from 13.5 to 16 degrees, departure angle from 11.9 to 13.6 degrees and ramp angle from 9.5 to 12.8 degrees when compared to the standard Passat wagon. Passat Alltrack is the only VW in the passenger range to offer 4Motion with off road driving programme, the off road system works in conjunction with the ABS, electronic differential lock (EDL), DSG & hill descent assist system to control the vehicle in an off road expedition.\nThe engine range of the Passat Alltrack consists of two 2.0L TDI with outputs of 103 kW\/140 hp & 125 kW\/170 hp and two petrol engines, 1.8L producing 118 kW\/160 hp and 2.0L TSI producing 155 kW\/207 hp. The TDI models come standard with BlueMotion Technology packages with Stop\/Start system and battery regeneration mode for recovering braking energy. The two lesser powered engine variants 2.0L TDI and 1.8L TSI are only available in front wheel drive format with a manual 6 speed transmission. The rest of the range with 4Motion has a 6 speed DSG automated manual transmission, except the 2.0L TDI with 103 kW\/140 hp has an option of 6 speed manual.\nIn 2012 at the New York Auto Show, VW showed a Passat Alltrack with 2.0L TDI 125 kW\/170 hp under Alltrack Concept nameplate to gauge response for a future market in the offroad wagon segment.\nDARPA driveless edition\nA driverless version of the Passat Wagon finished second in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.\nB8 (2014)\nA new Passat B8 model began manufacture in Europe in 2014. It is based on the MQB platform and will be available as a 4-door and a 5-door Variant.\nVolkswagen Passat GTE\nSee also: Volkswagen Golf GTE and Audi A3 Sportback e-tron\nA plug-in hybrid version, the Passat GTE, will be unveiled during the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The VW Passat GTE will be sold in two versions, sedan and station wagon, with deliveries scheduled to begin in Europe in the second half of 2015.\nThe Passat GTE shares the same plug-in hybrid powertrain used in both the Volkswagen Golf GTE and the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, but the Passat has a larger battery pack. The VW Passat GTE has a 9.9 kWh lithium-ion battery capable of an all-electric range of 50 km (31 mi) and a total range of 965 km (600 mi). The plug-in hybrid has a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous 85 kW electric motor, which together with a 1.4-liter TSI gasoline-powered engine delivers a fuel economy of 2.0 l\/100 km (140 mpg-imp; 120 mpg-US) equivalent on the New European Driving Cycle, corresponding to CO2emissions lower than 45g\/km. Top speed is 219 km\/h (136 mph).\nNorth American model (2011 - present)\nMain article: Volkswagen Passat NMS\n2012 Volkswagen Passat S (US)\n2012 VW Passat TDI SE (North American version) - Rear\nKnown as the New Midsize Sedan (NMS) before its unveiling in January 2011, this unique larger model designed specifically for the North American market replaces the B6 Passat sedan and wagon for the 2012 model year in Canada, the United States and Mexico. It is also sold in China alongside the Passat Lingyu andMagotan. North American and South Korean models will be built at its Chattanooga Assembly Plant, while Chinese market versions are built by \u4e0a\u6d77\u5927\u4f17\u6c7d\u8f66Shanghai-VW in 2011.\nNAIAS 2013: VAG presented a pre-production concept Passat Performance with 1.8 TSI (250ps).\nThe Volkswagen Passat NMS won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year.The 2013 Passat TDI sets new Guinness World Record for fuel economy under the Non-Hybrid car category. It achieved a fuel consumption of only 3.02 liter on 100 Kilometers (77.99 mpg).\nMiddle East market (2013 models)\nThe American version of the 2013 Volkswagen Passat made its way to Middle Eastern markets, namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates, by the summer of 2012. 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{"text":"Low dose steroids in rheumatoid arthritis\nDr. Rohini Handa explains the role of low-dose and high-dose steroids in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), types of corticosteroids and when to use them in established RA, and useful facts for clinicians to use steroids in resource-constrained settings.\nRheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory polyarthritis chanced upon in clinical practice. The use of corticosteroids in the treatment of autoimmune rheumatic diseases is all pervasive. RA is no exception. Steroids are widely used, and equally widely misused, in the treatment of RA.\nBe it a rheumatologist or an internist, be it an inexperienced young resident or a distinguished old clinician, be it a thinker at the cerebral level or a doer at the spinal level, the topic of steroids is likely to evoke a spirited or opinionated response from doctors. This piece summarises the current role of steroids, or more correctly glucocorticoids, in the treatment of RA.\nFact file for the clinician\nNot all patients with RA need steroids. Not all patients on steroids need them all the time. When indicated, low doses are employed for the shortest time.\nIn newly diagnosed, early RA (<6 months), steroids are used as 'bridge therapy' and to inhibit radiographic progression. The latter benefit is over and above that conferred by DMARDs.\nSteroids should always be used in combination with other DMARDs like methotrexate and never as the sole disease modifying drugs in RA.\nSteroids lower disease activity in established RA and can be used to treat disease flares and as 'bridge therapy' when instituting or changing DMARDs.\nLow-dose steroids are safe in pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.\nSteroids are useful in treatment of several extra-articular manifestations of RA like vasculitis, interstitial lung disease etc.\nIn refractory RA, low-dose steroids may improve quality of life dramatically and make a difference between 'existing' and 'living'.\nJudiciously used steroids are perhaps better than injudiciously (and sporadically) employed biologics.\nDespite the favorable risk benefit ratio of low-dose steroids, no dose is absolutely safe.\nMethyl prednisolone and deflazacort have no added benefits over inexpensive prednisolone.\nHow common is steroid use in RA and why?\nCurrent corticosteroid use is reported by as many as one-third of patients while exposure any time is reported by more than two-thirds of the patients. What makes patients and doctors reach out for steroids?\nFor one, steroids rapidly and effectively relieve the pain of RA. Pain has been dubbed as the 5th vital sign. Behind the razzmatazz of immune-biology, cytokines and inflammatory pathways, patients and their families have one desire- to get succour from pain.\nEasy availability, low cost, rapid onset of action, marked abrogation of inflammation with dramatic short term results\u2014and you don't need to be an Einstein to fathom why these drugs are still around more than 70 years after they were first introduced to treat RA.\nThe fall and resurrection of steroids in RA\nThe frontline drugs to treat RA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologics. The discovery of cortisone was a major triumph in the fight against RA which culminated in one of the fastest awards in the venerable history of the Nobel prize- discovery in 1948 and the bestowment of Nobel in 1950.\nShowcased as a cure for RA, the large dosages used and the consequent side effects turned euphoria into disenchantment. From being touted as heroes, they were soon branded as villains and the use declined. This, coupled with the emergence of DMARDs like gold, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, etc., relegated steroids to the background in RA.\nA reappraisal of steroid therapy was accelerated by the publication of The Arthritis and Rheumatism Low Dose Glucocorticoid Study Group results in 1995. [1] This paper, despite its shortcomings, drew attention to the fact that steroids had the potential to retard radiographic progression in RA. This led to a paradigm shift in the thinking about the role of steroids: not only were they effective in reducing inflammation, they also had disease modification potential. Pari passu with benefit on radiologic damage, investigators began to talk about the difference between low-dose and high-dose steroids and early versus established RA.\nDoes dose matter- The concept of low-dose steroids\nIt is now believed that the side effect profile of 'low-dose' corticosteroids as used in RA is very different from 'high-dose' steroids as used in some other conditions. Low-dose steroids is a daily prednisolone dose of 7.5 mg or less. Medium dose refers to prednisolone dose between 7.5-30 mg daily while high dose is >30 mg per day. The dose advocated in RA is usually <7.5 mg\/day. It could be as low as 2.5 mg daily or even on alternate days and needs to be individualised.\nThe concept of early versus established RA\nThe cut off between early and established RA is a moving target and contemporary studies have progressively whittled this duration from 3 years through 1 year to the current 6 months. The rationale for steroid use in early RA is very different from use in established disease.\nSteroid use in early RA\nThe addition of low-dose prednisolone to DMARDs like methotrexate leads to a reduction in radiographic progression. Such a use to harness the disease modifying potential of steroids is advocated only in early RA with the caveat that steroids should never be used as monotherapeutic agents but always combined with DMARDs like methotrexate. The retardation of radiographic damage is over and above that achieved by DMARDs alone. While an earlier Cochrane review [2] talked about such a use for 1-2 years, the optimum duration to capitalise on the radiographic inhibition is not known.\nWhen to use steroids in established RA\nCorticosteroids in established RA are used in the following situations:\ni\tAs 'bridge therapy' at the time of institution of DMARDs like methotrexate. DMARDs take several weeks to show their effects. Corticosteroids bridge the gap between institution of DMARDs and onset of action. This use is for 10 to 12 weeks.\nii\tPregnancy and lactation: Low-dose prednisolone is safe during pregnancy and lactation. DMARDs that are safe during pregnancy and lactation include hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine.\niii\tDisease flares when corticosteroids may be used for a few weeks to suppress disease activity.\niv\tPatients with refractory disease may require low-dose corticosteroids to maintain an acceptable quality of life.\nv\tRA with extra-articular manifestation like interstitial lung disease, vasculitis, mononeuritis multiplex etc. may require corticosteroids, sometimes in higher dosages.\nMost of the aforementioned conditions require low-dose corticosteroids. Some conditions like vasculitis may require higher dosages for initial disease control. Eye inflammation may require topical corticosteroids while the odd, recalcitrant joint that is active in face of globally quiescent disease can be injected with intra-articular steroids rather than hiking systemic treatment.\nSteroids in resource-constrained settings\nThe advent of biologics, and now the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, has dwarfed the role of steroids. Current European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) guidelines recommend steroid discontinuation in about 3 months. Patients failing to achieve disease control in this time frame are offered biologics or JAK inhibitors. In our country, where the biologic penetration is low and the average biologic use is 6 months because of costs, this is a utopian dream.\nIt has been shown that combination-DMARD treatment, especially when combined with periodic glucocorticoids, may be as effective as a biologic agent plus methotrexate. [3] This fact can be leveraged to the advantage of patients who cannot afford biologics or JAK inhibitors.\nWill this paradigm change in the future?\nThe availability of low-cost, generic JAK inhibitors in the near future is likely to change the whole equation. Biologics and biosimilars are expensive, given the complexities of manufacture. However, JAK inhibitors like tofacitinib and baricitinib are not as difficult or expensive to produce. Currently, they are priced equivalent to the biologics. With the entry of generics in the Indian market, future treatment algorithms of RA are likely to see methotrexate plus JAK inhibitor combinations overtake the use of steroids. The issue is not about the efficacy of steroids. It is more to do with the adverse effects that in the long term, even in low doses, are perceived to be more than biologics or JAK inhibitors.\nAre low-dose steroids bereft of side effects?\nLow dose does not confer exemption from steroid side effects. No dose is absolutely safe. Due diligence must be exercised as with any other drugs. Thus, strategies to minimise complications like bone protective agents etc. should be instituted concurrently with the steroids. The lowest dose for the shortest time should be employed. Prolonged use, even of low doses, carries with it the risk of all the well known side effects of steroids.\nType of cortoicosteroids- Does it matter?\nPrednisolone, methylprednisolone, betamethasone, dexamethasone, and deflazacort are the corticosteroids used in clinical practice. Long-acting steroids like dexamethasone are best avoided. So far as oral use is concerned, there is no robust evidence to suggest that methylprednisolone and deflazocort confer any advantage over simple prednisolone.\nCorticosteroids in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Status 2020\nSequence of drug withdrawal in RA\nOnce sustained remission is achieved in RA, treatment can be de-escalated. In a patient who is on steroids plus DMARDs, corticosteroids should be tapered and stopped first. Conventional DMARDs like methotrexate are continued virtually indefinitely, albeit in lower doses.\nCorticosteroids are invaluable in the treatment of RA. The drugs are good, their indiscriminate use is bad. It is for the clinician to balance the dichotomy of proven efficacy and some side effects while individualising treatment in the disease that is RA.\nClick here to see references\nDisclaimer- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of M3 India.\nThe author, Dr. Rohini Handa is a Senior Consultant Rheumatologist from Delhi.\nTags: steroids\n\u2190 Covid and mental health\nPo2 \u2192","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"2017 SCORE BAJA 500 STORY | PHOTOS | RESULTS (UTV Coverage)\nThread starter JoeyD23\nJoeyD23\n2017 SCORE BAJA 500 STORY | PHOTOS | RESULTS\nLike thousands of other off-road racers, team members, and fans, media guys like myself are suffering yet another Baja hangover. The 2017 SCORE Baja 500 has come and gone and with it has left a slew of memories, stories and physical reminders that we have once again survived \"the Baja\".\nEach Baja adventure has its own set of challenges and experiences, but its sort of like your favorite TV show that no matter the episode, the same characters, set and story lines seem to repeat itself. Yet like your favorite TV show, you continue to tune in even though you almost certainly know what the outcome will be. My Baja always starts with cold beer, warm tacos, laughter, excitement and preparation. It almost always ends with a series of hi-fives, bro hugs, thank you's, congratulations, and stomach pains. Its what happens between that make each Baja run unique, this year would be no different.\nWhile I have no clue as to how many Baja races I have experienced to this point, I do know that this was the 49th running of the SCORE Baja 500. For me my Baja stories always seem to blend, this years however will stand out to me forever and the memories will be definitive. It was a unique Baja from start to finish, not just because of the racing, but because of the characters I was surrounded by. As is the case in life, you become who you hang out with, I learned that at a young age. Being that I was going to be fully embedded with the Scanlon Motorsports Group (SMG) for the week, naturally I became one of the \"SMG Team\" and it was an amazing experience that I feel compelled to share as the foundation for my story this year.\nMy Baja story kicked off on the Sunday prior to the race. I connected with my close friends RJ Anderson and his legendary father Randy Anderson, as well as rising UTV star, Mitch Guthrie Jr. for an early departure to Ensenada where we would join forces with Craig Scanlon and his high profile SMG racing program. The week would be filled with pre-running, food, laughter, and yes, a little bit of off-road partying. But the mission at hand was to vehemently prepare for the Baja 500, the first Baja race ever for the SMG program.\nCraig Scanlon has worked hard for the past year to build his racing program while performing duties as an executive at Polaris and still maintaining a neutral role as the sports largest sponsor of racers. Its a unique situation for him, but in the end its like a dealer stacking the deck. Whether he wins or one of his supported athletes win, in the end, he wins! But Scanlon is as competitive as they come, and he wants so badly to prove beyond the flashy equipment, sponsors and coverage that he too is capable of the results that he expects of his athletes. This pressure is visible, yet Scanlon hasn't lost site of what off-road racing truly is about as a hobby, a lifestyle he embraced long ago.\nOur accommodations would be the best I have ever experienced south of the border. Scanlon splurged and treated his many first time team team and even us experienced guys to an amazing first class stay at the infamous \"La Mansion\" just north of downtown Ensenada. The 15K square foot +\/- mansion is perched directly on the coast of the pacific ocean and is one of the most amazing homes I had ever stepped foot in. Like many teams racing in Baja, SMG had a large group of guys looking to help support their driver in reaching the ultimate goal. Putting the team in a home like this for the week is more than just spoiling your guys, its a way to keep everyone together under one roof to bond. It leaves us no need to leave for food or other distracting activities, and while we all found our way to town for food and fun, this method of a home vs. hotel proved to be great for team bonding and building camaraderie leading into a race where cohesiveness and understanding is key.\nThe bulk of the team all arrived together on Sunday. By Monday AM Craig Scanlon and his co-driver Keith Redstrom as well as RJ Anderson and his co-driver Mitch Guthrie Jr., would suit up and begin their first day of pre-running. While many teams choose to \"solo\" the Baja (one driver), Scanlon had made the choice to add another amazing driver & co-driver to his team for this grueling race. Benefits of this is that you can focus on your section and perfect it during pre-running all while ensuring that a fresh set of eyes and talent is always behind the wheel. Anyone who has ever raced for 500 + miles will tell you just how exhausting a race like this can be, so to switch mid race with a fresh and talented person like RJ Anderson is a huge advantage.\nScanlon would handle driving duties that would begin at the start of the race and carry him through the first 250 miles. The duo of Anderson & Guthrie Jr. would take over at RM250 and charge onto the finish. The two pairs spent days dialing in their notes and ran their sections to gain a good understanding of what they will be faced with on race day. The team also spent time during these sessions to understand where their pit locations would be and figure out their best strategy for maintaing the vehicle through this long and brutal event. By race day everyone felt confident both in their plan and their equipment. But, one thing you can never plan for is the Baja itself. While you can prepare for most things, you can always bet on the fact that the unexpected will appear. Exactly what the unexpected will be is always just that, unexpected.\nThis years Baja 500 would see the largest field of UTVs ever for a SCORE sanctioned event. 36 total UTVs (25 PRO UTV FI \/ 11 PRO UTV NA) would head to Mexico to challenge the 49th running of the SCORE Baja 500. The 515 mile race course would take racers from Ensenada down through the scenic pacific ocean coast line, then traverse east through the long and rough mountain terrain towards the famous Mikes Sky Ranch before hitting the treacherous whoop sections and lake beds near San Felipe. From there the course would head west back to the finish in Ensenada. Much of the course has been used in previous Baja 250, 500 and 1000 races, but SCORE always manages to insert sections of course that have yet to be ran making pre-running essential. Many teams spend weeks down in Baja, while some spend days, and even others spend none. Knowing the course is important for drivers, but its also important for your team members who sometimes will be forced to make decisions on the fly as to where and how to pit a vehicle as its almost certain your initial plan will need to adapt on the fly due to the unforeseen challenges the race almost always presents.\nWayne Matlock would head to Baja on a mission to capture his third Baja 500 win in a row. The factory Polaris RZR athlete has won the Baja 500 a total of five-times leading into this years race. He joins the likes of racing legends like Rob MacCachren, Robby Gordon, Roger Mears, and Mark McMillin as racers who have five Baja 500 wins under their belt. Matlock wouldn't be the only multi-time Baja 500 winner inside of his RZR. Co-Driving duties would be supplied by friend Josh Row who has earned three Baja 500 wins during his career. Row's father Greg also has multiple wins at the Baja 500, four to be exact and he too would be racing his own RZR in the Pro UTV class. Wes Miller, another Factory Polaris RZR athlete holds three Baja 500 titles as does factory Can-Am racer Marc Burnett.\nThose stats are impressive, whats even more impressive is that Matlock, the Row's, Miller and Burnett are not the only factory UTV athlete with a reputation for winning the Baja 500 and who came to improve on their resumes. Upon doing some research I turned up that Factory RZR athlete Mike Cafro who would be looking for his first successes since earning his factory sponsorship last year, has won the Baja 500 an astonishing SIX times in his career. He shares six wins with names like Walker Evans, Johnny Campbell, Scot McMillin, Jim Dizney and only a few others. This puts a stamp on the fact that this years Baja 500 would be not only the most talented and well attended UTV field of racers, but also one of the most competitive.\nAn unfortunate fact of this years race is that off-road racing legend Larry Ragland was slated to compete for the first time behind the wheel of a new Polaris RZR he and close friend Steve Smith have built together. Ragland possesses seven Baja 500 championships, only eight other racers have ever won more. Ragland however was not able to make the trip and instead chose to stay home to be with our great friend and his son Chad Ragland who recently was diagnosed with cancer. We will soon post more on this unfortunate turn of events.\nWith the prep work complete and the stage being set, 36 of the best and fastest UTV desert racers lined up to head into the unknown. Branden Sims would lead the field of UTVs off the line followed by Wes Miller and then Marc Burnett who was anxious to redeem himself from a season of set backs and mishaps. Burnett won the 2014 Baja 500 behind the wheel of his then factory Can-Am Maverick before making the jump in 2015 to Polaris. Burnett returned to Can-Am for the 2017 season but has yet to experience the full successes he had in 2014. Behind them would be Jacob Carver in a brand new, un-tested, RZR XP Turbo built by he and Rhys Millen. Millen would not make the trip to compete.\nFollowing the 25 turbo powered UTVs would be the first of 11 naturally aspirated UTVs. Paul Champion would lead the NA group followed by Don Whitington, Dodge Poelman, and Adrian Orellana. Down the line would be Kristen Matlock and a new name to UTVs, Red Bull athlete J.T. Homes. Many were excited to see Dave Sparks AKA Heavy D of the Diesel Brothers on the list, but the week prior had to cancel his plans for competing in the Safecraft Products RZR.\nWhile I was able to catch the first twenty or so UTVs off of the line, I was forced to make my way south towards our first location at RM80, also referred to the Urapan area of the course. While I would work hard to cover the race for all UTVs, being embedded with one team presents a challenge. In some cases its beneficial because you run in the pack and know all of the story lines, but in the case of the SMG team, Baja would rear its ugly head and throw us all off line and off pace.\nWhile waiting for the lead UTVs at RM80 a few of us began to debate who we thought we would see first. I immediatley claimed Marc Burnett. Very few in the UTV class spend more time in Baja than Burnett. On top of that, he always sets a fast pace knowing majority opt for a slower pace to start. Burnett lives by the motto of checkers or wreckers and this years Baja 500 proved that to be true once again. Burnett would be the first UTV through as I expected, but what I didn't expect was for the second vehicle to be Justin Lambert. Lambert in his Cognito Motorsports Factory RZR was the 14th vehicle off the line. There were many fast UTVs in front of him and that section from the start to Ojos Negros and on through to the Urapan leaves very little room for passing. Burnett and Lambert were only separated by minutes but it would take almost 20 minutes before we would see the next UTV through.\nThe race was already beginning to take shape within the first 100 miles. It wouldn't be long before Burnett and his Maverick X3's day was over, but Lambert never looked back. While the UTVs were racing the sunset south and then headed east towards San Felipe, we continued to wait for the SMG RZR. Scanlon broke a brand new factory rear hub in arguably one of the worst areas one could possibly break on course. Not only was it only 50 miles in, it was also in a section with limited chase access. It took time for our team to double back to Ojos Negros and then send RJ & Mitchie in behind the wheel of a RZR we brought along for just this type of situation. They got the parts needed to Scanlon but by the time they got him fixed up they were down by over two hours to the race leaders. The strategy shifted from winning to finishing.\nBecause of this long delay and the massive lack of online tracking, it was extremely difficult to keep tabs on the race itself. Many people including teams and fans back home were texting me for updates knowing that we are almost always the most reliable source for information. Unfortunately I didn't have much to offer and found myself texting those I know for the same type of intel. I was reminded many times that UTVUnderground.com has become the best way to follow UTVs in Baja so to not be able to provide that coverage was tough for all of us. With that said, I too am a fan first. Long before UTVUnderground.com, I was running around Baja chasing the race as a team member and thats how I gained the experience needed to be able to provide the coverage we all have been accustomed too. Its also because of chasing and working with teams that I gained my love for this sport. Its important for me at times to dive back into those roles either spending the weekend actually racing or just being a productive part of a team to remind myself why I love doing what I do. So while I am certainly bummed I wasn't able to provide better coverage this year, I was equally as happy to get back to chasing the race with a team. I just wish we would have been on the other end of the Baja luck coin.\nOnce the SMG RZR was up and running they had a near flawless day. One freak part failure ruined the hopes of a podium for the team, but in true Baja spirit the team persevered and literally restarted the race at RM50 from dead last. From there on SMG ran fast and clean and would end up finishing the race 17th in class and only minutes behind the previous three finishers. You never give up in Baja, never! Sometimes you need throw in the towel based on circumstances, but in the case of SMG they had a perfect and fast RZR, talented and prepared drivers, and a team that was dead set on getting to the finish line. Sure, the beer would have been sweeter had it been cracked open while celebrating a podium finish, but a Baja finish line beer always tastes good, even if it is enjoyed at 5am!\nWhile we chased on through the night we got word that Lambert continued to stretch his lead. Behind him Sims, Ellenburg, Rahders, and Cafro were all jockeying for podium positions. Elenburg would fall out after his Maverick X3 would suffer a front end mechanical forcing him to finish on three wheels. Rahders and his RZR XP Turbo would also suffer mechanicals eliminating his hopes of a podium. Sims and Cafro however were still racing to the finish in their RZR XP Turbo's and both would make it separated by minutes.\nLambert however would complete one of the most dominating Baja performances we had seen in recent years in a UTV. Lambert and his #2918 Polaris RZR XP Turbo would best the competition by by almost a full hour and would complete the Baja 500 with an average of just under 40mph! Justin Lambert is coming off a 2016 season that saw him sweep the BITD series. His season this year has been a challenge as they have worked to perfect their new XP Turbo. But all the stars aligned in Baja. Lambert would drive the 515 miles solo and would claim the win for himself and his Cognito Motorsports team!\nUTV newcomer and Red Bull action sports athlete, J.T. Holmes would take home the win in the NA class followed by Adrian Orellana and then Don Whittington. They would help complete the sweep for Polaris in Baja giving the RZR the top 3 in both Pro UTV classes.\nAs impressive as the speeds and times were this year, whats more impressive is the finishing rate. 26 of the 36 UTVs that started would complete their Baja 500 runs making that the best finishing rate we have ever seen. The claim in the past has always been that if you can simply finish, your chances of being on the podium are pretty high. That clearly was not that case here. 22 Turbo machines made it across the line, only 3 would DNF.\nAs the sunset on yet another Baja adventure I was able to look back and reflect on the week. I was once again awake for over 30 hours before I finally was able to catch some sleep, and as I laid in my bed for the first time in 7 days, and as bad as I needed some sleep I almost didn't want it to be over. I further bonded with close friends, I got to help one of my closest friends compete in his first Baja 500 as a team owner, I stayed in a glorious home positioned with one of the most epic views anyone could ever ask for, witnessed the sports best thrash their junk through some of the harshest off-road terrain in the world, and I got to make it home safe to my family. But easily the best part of the week was spending time in a chase truck with Randy Anderson who holds over 30 off-road racing championships as the leader of the Walker Evans Racing program. The tales of Baja, the experiences he shared and the lessons learned in the hours spent riding shot gun with this legend was something I will never forget. I didn't have \"Chasing a Baja race with Randy Anderson\" on my bucket list, but I am going to go ahead and add it to the list and cross it off all at once!\nI want to extend a huge thank you to Craig Scanlon and his SMG team for including me in this weeks event. I truly had an epic time with this great group of friends. I want to thank every team, racer, fan and friend who took time to chat and hang out through the week, at contingency and during the race. I cherish all of you and appreciate all of your support of UTVUnderground.com and myself. Seeing all of the UTVUG decals, shirts, and hats down in Mexico really brings me a sense of accomplishment and I really do appreciate that. As for the Baja 1000, well my plans still are not made. I kind of want to race it since its a peninsula run and I have only chased those. But whether I am racing, chasing or covering the battle, either way one this is for sure, I will be there and I can't wait! For now, I am going to try and shake this Baja hangover and avoid any Mexican food for at least a couple of days.\nJoey D.\nPRO UTV FI (Forced Induction, 4-wheel Utility Vehicle)\u2013(25 Starters, 22 Finishers)\n1. 2918 Justin Lambert, 41, Bakersfield, Calif.\/Mitchell Alsup, 26\/Eric Sheetz, 33, Polaris RZR XP1000, 13:17:01 (38.67 mph);\n2. 2913 Branden Sims, 31, Prescott Valley, Ariz.\/Justin Krause, 32, Prescott, Ariz., Polaris XP4 Turbo, 14:06:23;\n3. 2975 Mike Cafro, 47, Fallbrook, Calif.\/Jamie Kirkpatrick, 36, Olympia, Wash., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 14:18:14;\n4. 2948 Zachary Burroughs, 19, Norco, Calif.\/Cain Smead, 45, Leona Valley, Calif.\/Dan Lewis, 52, Jurupa Valley, Calif.\/Brad Howe, 30, Elizabeth Lake, Calif., Can-Am Maverick X3, 14:43:47;\n5. 2990 Steve Smith, 59, Escondido, Calif.\/Larry Ragland, 73, Cave Creek, Ariz., Polaris RZR XP1000 Turbo, 15:10:12;\n6. 2917 Derek Murray, 36\/Jason Murray, 34, Eastvale, Calif.\/Monty Aldrich, 49, Las Vegas, Can-Am Maverick X3, 15:24:58;\n7. 2916 Cody Rahders, 22, Alpine, Calif.\/Kevin Sullivan, 31, Campo, Calif.\/James Hill, 32, Canyon Lake, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 15:38:00;\n8. 2912 Tony Riggs, 49, Santa Clarita, Calif.\/Kyle Melville, 26, Lancaster, Calif.\/Ryan Edwards, 30, Lancaster, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 15:40:39;\n9. 2910 Scott Trafton, 35, Santee, Calif.\/Marc Behnke, 69, El Cajon, Calif.\/Dave Price, 55, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XPT1000, 15:40:44;\n10. 2904 Cory Sappington, 51, Peoria, Ariz.\/Scott Sappington, 53, Glendale, Ariz.\/Jason Flanders, 38, Peoria, Ariz.\/Darren Sappington, 50, Phoenix, Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo, 15:41:56;\n11. 2944 Shane Redline, 41, Amarillo, Texas\/Jax Redline, 16, Amarillo, Texas\/Jonathan McVay, 41, San Tan Valley, Ariz., Can-Am Maverick X3, 16:15:428; 12. 2905 Marc Burnett, 46, Lakeside, Calif., Can-Am Maverick X3, 16:33:49;\n13. 2946 Jose Juarez, 33, Lemon Grove, Calif.\/Rodolfo Rivera, 30, Chula Vista, Calif.\/Alex Zuniga, 36, Chula Vista, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 16:41:00;\n14. 2930 Sean Cook, 51, Citrus Heights, Calif.\/Hans Luenger, Cleveland, Ohio\/Jesus Leon, Merida, Mexico\/David Jackson, Las Vegas, Can-Am Maverick X3, 17:00:23;\n15. 2977 Justin Elenburg, 39, Mesa, Ariz.\/Ernesto Taylor, 36, Mesa, Ariz.\/Bryan McBride, 35, Rocky Point, MexicoCan-Am Maverick X3, 17:07:19;\n16. 2936 Jacob Carver, 26, Phoenix, Polaris XP4 Turbo, 17:09:01;\n17. 2931 Craig Scanlon, 43, Maple Grove, Minn.\/Keith Redstrom, 49, Glendale, Ariz., Robbie Tiffany, 35, Glendale, Ariz.\/R.J. Anderson, 24, Riverside, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 17:13:42;\n18. 2919 Brandon Schueler, 28, Phoenix\/Justin Schekley, Phoenix\/Pat Stone 48, Payson, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 17:19:14;\n19. 2989 Wes Miller, 47, Carlsbad, Calif.\/Jason Luburgh, 33, Zanesville, Ohio, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 17:42:27;\n20. 2949 Alonzo Lopez, 43, Murrieta, Calif.\/Francisco Rodriguez, 45, Chula Vista, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 18:51:05;\n21. 2967 Anthony Perez, 31, California City, Calif.\/Jason Farrell, 35, Las Vegas\/Jeremiah Smith, 33, Palmdale, Calif., Can-Am Maverick X3, 19:02:55; 22. 2929 Paul Wadlington, 51, Colorado Springs, Colo.\/Chris Barnett, 36, Foxfield, Colo., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 19:04:58.\nPRO UTV (Naturally Aspirated, Stock 4-wheel Utility Vehicle)\u2013(11 Starters, 4 Finishers)\n1. 1950 JT Holmes, 36, Reno, Nev.\/Eric Clay, Reno, Nev., Polaris XP1000, 16:10:32 (31.76 mph);\n2. 1985 Adrian Orellana, 32, Jamul, Calif.\/Daniel Gonzales, 25, Menifee, Calif.\/Victor Orellana, 60, San Diego, Polaris RZR XP1000, 16:20:26;\n3. 1998 Don Whittington, 71, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.\/Angel Marquez, 34, Ensenada, Mexico, Polaris RZR XP1000, 17:44:20;\n4. 1925 Matt Scarpuzzi, 36, Alpine, Calif.\/Mark Reece, 40, San Diego\/Jeff Ring, 40, San Diego, Polaris XP1000, 19:50:40.\nBANNED4LIFE\nthe 01 general lee golfcart owes me bigtime....did he finish??\nI RENT trophytrucks and bajalite trucks for all races in north america...BAJARACINGADVENTURES.com\nBANNED4LIFE said:\nHe was chugging along at 2am towards San Matias but very slowly. One small amber light bar on the front. Looked painful lol But no, I believe they were a DNF. That was Daniel Parker I believe.\nPOLARIS RZR DOMINATES BAJA 500\nRZRs Fill Podium in Both Pro UTV Forced Induction and Pro UTV Classes\nMinneapolis, June 6, 2017\u2013 Polaris RZR dominated the Baja 500 taking the top five places in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class, all four finishing spots in Pro UTV and the overall. Nineteen of the 26 finishers raced RZRs showing the durability and race prowess of the vehicles.\nPolaris Factory Racers filled the podium in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class with Justin Lambert in his No. 2918 Cognito RZR XP Turbo EPS taking the win and overall. Branden Sims in the No. 2913 Lonestar Racing turbo took second and the No. 2975 Black Hills RZR XP Turbo EPS piloted by Mike Cafro finished third. Polaris Factory Racer Cody Rahders, racing his first year in the SCORE series, would finish in the top ten taking seventh.\nIn the Pro UTV class, RZRs would be the only vehicles to finish of the 11 starters. JT Holmes took the class win in his No. 1950 RZR XP 1000 EPS, Adrian Orellana finished second and Don Whittington took third.\nThe next SCORE race is the Rosarito Beach Desert Challenge, Sept. 14-18.\nAbout Polaris\nPolaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) is a global powersports leader with annual 2015 sales of $4.7 billion. Polaris fuels the passion of riders, workers and outdoor enthusiasts with our RANGER\u00ae, RZR\u00ae and POLARIS GENERAL\u2122 side-by-side off-road vehicles; our SPORTSMAN\u00ae and POLARIS ACE\u00ae all-terrain off-road vehicles; VICTORY\u00ae and INDIAN MOTORCYCLE\u00ae midsize and heavyweight motorcycles; SLINGSHOT\u00ae moto-roadsters; and Polaris RMK\u00ae, INDY\u00ae, SWITCHBACK\u00ae and RUSH\u00ae snowmobiles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments and accessories sold under multiple recognizable brands, and has a growing presence in adjacent markets globally with products including military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. www.polaris.com\nwe DOMINATED prerunning in our polaris rzrs.....pretty much stock units with radios and gps.....good work polaris....\nIt is kind of funny that RJ was behind the recovery rzr, i was on RM51-52 when the walker evans rzr stopped asking if we saw a red shinny rzr pass by, and i a ask them, the RJ one, the rigid rzr??? And i told them yes, of course i know who RJ is... i didnt know he was behind the helmet..\nSent from my iPhone using race-deZert\nLBZ00 said:\nhahhaah.. we laughed about that a couple of times when he told us the story.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"She says that photography saved her life\nFrom \"troubled teen\" to award winning photographer\nOne of the first photographs she ever took was used by CEPA Gallery as an ad. These day Aitina Fareed-Cooke is a professional photographer with her own business called Get Fokus'd Productions. She says the first time she walked ito CEPA she was a \"troubled teen\" and that waht she found here may have saved her life. \"Walking into this space I had burdens and weights on my heart and really had thoughts of just ending my life.\" Aitina was only three when she lost her birth mother. She and her siblings were adopted by her foster mother. She says that discovering photography gave her hope \"That changed my life and made me feel like alright, maybe I need to stick around.\" One of her photographs is a CEPA Members Exhibition Award Winner, and is on display now at the CEPA Gallery inside the Market Arcade. Aitina has become a mentor to other young people through CEPA as well as other organizations. She says \"I went into that darkroom I saw this magic, these images come up on the page, I thought-if my life can change, then I know other young people's life can change.\" More information about CEPA Gallery at their Website and Aitina Fareed-Cooke can be found at her website.\nBy: Mike Randall\nOne of the first photographs she ever took was used by CEPA Gallery as an ad. These day Aitina Fareed-Cooke is a professional photographer with her own business called Get Fokus'd Productions.\nShe says the first time she walked ito CEPA she was a \"troubled teen\" and that what she found here may have saved her life. \"Walking into this space I had burdens and weights on my heart and really had thoughts of just ending my life.\"\nAitina was only three when she lost her birth mother. She and her siblings were adopted by her foster mother. She says that discovering photography gave her hope \"That changed my life and made me feel like alright, maybe I need to stick around.\"\nOne of her photographs is a CEPA Members Exhibition Award Winner, and is on display now at the CEPA Gallery inside the Market Arcade. Aitina has become a mentor to other young people through CEPA as well as other organizations. She says \"I went into that darkroom and I saw this magic, these images come up on the page, I thought-if my life can change, then I know other young people's life can change.\"\nMore information about CEPA Gallery at their Website and Aitina Fareed-Cooke can be found at her website.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Meet the #Ecsite2016 Keynotes\nScience citizenship champion Dr. Elizabeth Rasekoala and primatologist Frans de Waal will be delivering this year's keynote speeches, respectively on Friday 10 June and Saturday 11 June.\nInnovative narratives and frameworks for inclusive science communication: The European landscape, globalisation and international co-operation\nDr. Elizabeth Rasekoala is the President of African Gong \u2013 the Pan-African Network for the Popularisation of Science & Technology, and Science Communication. The vision of African Gong is to realise a scientifically literate African citizenry driven and powered by its ownership of scientific knowledge. African Gong's mission is to embark and sustain African citizens and communities through science communication and the public learning and understanding of science (PLUS) on an evolving, empowering and progressive journey to own and include scientific notions in their everyday experience, so that they are better able to make informed choices and decisions that will improve the quality of their lives.\nDr Rasekoala has championed, advocated, researched, presented and written widely on diversity, sociocultural inclusion and race and gender equality issues in science communication and science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and skills development. She has provided extensive advisory and consultancy expertise to governments and multilateral international organisations over the past 15 years. She has also worked to advance the inclusion of climate change issues in the science communication discourse.\nHer keynote speech is entitled: \"Innovative narratives and frameworks for inclusive science communication: The European landscape, globalisation and international co-operation\".\nProsocial primates: the cooperation background of our species\nDr. Frans B. M. de Waal is a Dutch-American biologist and primatologist known for his work on the behaviour and social cognition of primates, including the study of cooperative beahaviours in these animal groups. His scientific work has been published in journals such as Science, Nature, Scientific American, and outlets specialised in animal behaviour. His popular books - translated into over twenty languages - have made him one of the world's most visible primatologists. His latest book is \"Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?\" (Norton, 2016).\nDe Waal is C. H. Candler Professor in Psychology and Director of the Living Links Center at Emory University, and Distinguished Professor at Utrecht University. He has been elected to the (US) National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. In 2007, he was selected by Time as one of The Worlds' 100 Most Influential People Today.\nIn his work with monkeys, apes, and elephants, de Waal has found many cases of one individual coming to another's aid in a fight, putting an arm around a previous victim of attack, or other emotional responses to the distress of others. There is also ample cooperation among them. In his keynote speech, he will review expressions of empathy in animals, which ranges from a core mechanism of emotional linkage (known as emotional contagion) to higher levels of perspective-taking and targeted helping. He will also discuss the sense of fairness in animals, and the many ways in which they achieve common goals.\n#Ecsite2016\n2016 Ecsite Conference\nThe 2016 Ecsite Conference took place in Graz, Austria. It was the first Ecsite conference to be co-organised by a trio of hosts and it welcomed 1,081 participants from 53 different countries.\nRead more about 2016 Ecsite Conference","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"GEO Profile Worldwide\nThe Road to Success\nBob Peebler, President and CEO of ION, helped turn the company around knowing \"there will be bumps in the road.\"\nThis article appeared in Vol. 5, No. 5 - 2008\nBob Peebler started his career with Schlumberger in wireline operations and, during his 17-year tenure, held several executive positions, including head of U.S. wireline operations and strategic marketing. He served as CEO for Landmark Graphics, and when Halliburton acquired Landmark, Bob became Vice President of e-Business Strategy and Venture for Halliburton. Then in 2001, he founded and was President of Energy Virtual Partners prior to becoming the full-time President of ION Geophysical Corporation. Photo: ION Five years ago, I\/O (Input\/Output, Inc.) was losing money, wallowing in debt, and acknowledging a real gap in its product portfolio for key market segments. This is when board chairman Jay Lapeyre asked fellow board member Bob Peebler to consider stepping in as President and CEO of the company. After pondering the situation, Bob set out, not only to remedy I\/O's current state, but to turn the company into a heavyweight within the geophysical industry.\nBob had some experience with whipping a company back into good shape; during the downturn in the 1980s, he was the Vice President of North American Operations for Schlumberger. He used the downturn as an opportunity to 'retool' the entire organization. \"In just one year, Schlumberger lost the fat,\" says Bob. \"We changed the pricing and the sales force because we were not only selling our technologies, we had to be highly competitive to survive.\"\nMapping the vision\n\"At the time when I was asked to lead the company, I felt strongly that we were approaching a supply and demand crunch within the energy industry,\" says Bob. \"This is not surprising knowing the growth in Asia and a 10-year downturn of exploration activity by the oil companies.\"\n\"I believed there would be solid growth opportunities for the industry as a whole and I believed the upturn would likely last at least 10 to 15 years,\" Bob adds. \"With this in mind, I set some early goals for the company. The first would be to get us to the breakeven point by the end of 2003. Based on the company's performance thus far, I knew this would not be easy, but was something that had to occur before we could plant hopes of raising capital.\"\nBy the end of 2003, that first goal had been reached. Now with just over 400 employees, it was time to start building the company.\nDuring the reorganization, Bob and his team were also busy mapping out a new strategy based on Bob's knowledge of the industry. They needed to be in a position to take full advantage of an industry upturn and a strategy that would take advantage of some very large R&D investments, such as the new digital full wave sensor VectorSeis. The company's products and services also needed to be broadened beyond seismic equipment.\n\"That summer, our digital VectorSeis program was lingering,\" says Bob. \"We had just one geophysicist and problems with our basic analog systems business. We needed a game-changing strategy to get things rolling and compete with the leading alternative in the market. About 70% of the known reserves were on land, yet oil companies were primarily focused on marine technology. I knew land geophysics would become a major commodity, so that year we launched the System 5 (now FireFly\u00ae) cableless system.\nAnother key tactic was to adopt a marketing plan to drive demand for our new acquisition technology by educating oil companies on the value of our new digital full wave measurement.\"\nThe capital challenge\nBob Peebler at the Durham Ranch project in Colorado, the first commercial use of FireFly\u00ae, ION's full-wave, cableless seismic system. Photo: ION \"We now had a plan after our strategy work in the summer of 2003, but the company was cash poor,\" says Bob \"times were pretty tough. In addition, we needed to raise capital to implement our newly minted strategy which included our acquisition targets - GX Technology and Concept Systems. We had a vision but no money to make that vision a reality.\"\nRaising capital was something Bob Peebler had plenty of experience doing. In his 17-year career with Schlumberger, he started out in their summer program, then became a wireline engineer, and fast-tracked into management positions. During his first stint in the New York City office, Bob was involved with portfolio management and global coordination of their technical staff. He gained much needed insight into the financial world as well as some good connections. After several positions at other locations with Schlumberger, he came back to New York and, at the age of 40, the entrepreneurial side of him kicked into full gear. He felt he did not fit into the political mold at Schlumberger and wanted to do something different and left the company.\nLater on, Bob, along with his former Schlumberger associate, Paulo Lauretti, researched Gearhart Industries, a wireline logging company. Gearhart was becoming a strong competitor to Schlumberger but the company had found itself in financial trouble during the 1980's turndown. So, Bob and Paulo built a business plan to raise over $165 million in capital to make an offer to buy Gearhart. They made a proposal to Shearson Lehman Brothers with everything ready to be signed by October, 1987. Black Monday, October 19, struck hard when world stock markets plummeted on the signing day along with their hopes of getting their capital.\nUndeterred, Bob moved on to become involved with Landmark Graphics in 1989 where he later became the CEO. He and his team were able to grow Landmark 10-fold by the time it was sold to Halliburton in 1997. He remained with Landmark Graphics as CEO, but also joined the Board of I\/O in 1999.\nEven after that success, something still burned inside of him to keep going. He founded Energy Virtual Partners, a company that was designed to manage oil company properties they want to keep but not invest in. They recruited top people and raised money to develop properties. \"All was going well until ENRON imploded,\" says Bob. \"The capital we needed to run the business simply dried up.\"\nDrawing on these experiences, Bob tackled I\/O's capital problems. \"I had developed good relations with investment bankers over the years,\" comments Bob. \"I gave them my vision and got people excited about the company. We had a good plan, and I was confident we would get the money we needed.\"\nFilling the pot holes\n\"Now that we were breaking even, we needed to start implementing our plan,\" says Bob. \"We had already launched the R&D effort for our new cableless land seismic system and it was time to acquire a high-end processing company. The oil industry was starting to pick up and we found ourselves competing for both GX Technology (GXT) and Concept Systems with bigger, well-capitalized players. GXT and Concept Systems were already marketing the sale of their companies, but both were attracted to our vision. They agreed to go out and help us raise the money and it worked. We raised the needed capital and completed the acquisition. Our next acquisition had to do with the amount of data we were going to generate with our 3-D, full-wave land seismic systems. We were able to acquire Concept Systems on the data management side of the business.\"\n\"With the essential pieces falling into place, we started generating revenue and building a new company,\" says Bob. \"We went from just one geophysicist in 2003 to over 200. We now have products and services that are in demand and have become a full service seismic solutions company.\"\nCompleting the route\n\"To continue building this new company, we needed to develop a strategy that was simple; we wanted to lead in the third wave of geophysical technology from an imaging perspective while at the same time build highly productive acquisition systems such as FireFly\u00ae,\" says Bob.\n\"You need to know the ground truth,\" adds Bob. \"Ask lots of questions of both your people and your customers; be patient. These technology cycles tend to last a long time simply because it takes time to educate our industry, which has always been slow at adopting new technology\"\nBob is still quite excited about what is happening to the company. After two successful tests of their wireless land seismic acquisition system, FireFly\u00ae went commercial at the Durham Ranch project in northwest Colorado. The area presented some challenging conditions that would be difficult, if not impossible, with a cable-based system. Evaluation of the fractured shale play required very high resolution data over an environmentally sensitive area in steep terrain: an area well suited for a cableless system.\nNow ION looks quite different from what it was in the beginning of 2003. \"We had new people and a new direction,\" says Bob. \"I wanted to change the name fairly early in the game as I felt I\/O was worn out and did not represent what we had become. Various marketing people gave me similar advice: change the name when the employees and your customers sense a real change We chose the name ION to take us forward and I was pleasantly surprised at how well our employees and customers received the change. He is also proud of how everyone has responded to the challenges that confronted the 'old' I\/O. They now have a staff that believes in the company and his vision and have become a technical leader in the digital, full-wave era in both land and marine surveys.\nLearning from his experiences, Bob Peebler is an effective leader whose style is informal and approachable. While he credits much of ION's turnaround to the people that work for him, ample credit must also be given to his competitive drive and great vision to put ION where it is today.\n\"Never stop learning. Reach out to others, including those outside of your industry for new ideas and then bring those ideas into practice. Listen to your customers, learn how your markets work; use what you have observed over time and you can anticipate the future.\"\nInput\/Output (I\/O) was founded in 1968 as a provider of highly specialized, seismic source synchronization equipment. Since that beginning, they have introduced innovative technologies and completed a series of acquisitions to become a leading independent provider of seismic imaging solutions for the oil and gas industry.\nFrom 1968 to 1988, they designed and manufactured products that improved and complimented seismic acquisition systems from other manufacturers including Texas Instruments, Geoscience, and Sercel.\nGEO Physics Worldwide\nBright Spots in Petroleum Exploration\nMichael Forrest, also known as the 'Father of Bright Spots' from his work in petroleum exploration with Shell, tells us about the success of his career in geophysics.\nGEO Profile Africa\nBen Asante: Riding the Wave\nBenjamin Asante, until recently a senior geoscientist at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, has ridden the wave of Ghana's national development. Although his story is full of significant and unusual personal firsts, it also reflects the rapid economic and social development of a postcolonial African state.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Articles, Reviews\nTrack by Track: ELA STILES \u2013 SONGS ON HARMONIUM WITH VOICE (SELF RELEASE, 2020)\nOctober 7, 2020 weirdowasteland\nWords: James Frostick and Ela Stiles\nArtist image and cover art: Cait Burgoyne\nToday marks the official release of Songs On Harmonium With Voice \u2013 the new seven-track album from Ela Stiles. Comprised of old and new compositions \u2013 reworked utilising a spartan sonic palette \u2013 the record presents a haunting reimagining of tracks born at the opposite end of the musical spectrum. Experimental and pop-driven compositions become grounded and solemn, unveiling a hidden beauty discovered via Ela's powerful vocal performance.\nUsually when an artist enacts a stylistic pivot, they typically funnel the new ideas into the genesis of fresh material. Few look back at their established catalogue and elect to rework old songs, but there aren't many artists like Ela Stiles. On Songs On Harmonium With Voice, Ela looks back at her previous EPs and records (as well as some compositions intended for a forthcoming pop album \u2013 some background info can be found here), plucking a selection of songs for some canny reconsideration and reconfiguration using a minimal palette of sounds \u2013 in this case, voice and harmonium. Ela's previous works have incorporated everything from droning synth to vocal loops, but now, freed of fripperies and presented in this spartan context, new magic reveals itself.\nBy stripping away the instrumentation of previous tracks, Ela has given her songs a new life, imbued them with a new essence, cast them in a new light. They've become different songs entirely, with added nuances and characteristics to examine and fall in love with all over again. The newer compositions hold promise of further reinvention, too. Tracks like 'Memory Can't Help', 'Lover' and 'Silence' are introduced to us on this record as sombre arrangements, but they all hold the promise of a further evolutional step. Though each newcomer boasts a shadowy beauty, I can't help but envision what they'd be like when bathed in the prismatic light of pop. That's for another time, though. For now, these seven tracks of melancholic sound make for an intense and emotionally resonant listen \u2013 a fully realised and perfectly executed idea that stands on its own as a striking work of art.\nEla Stiles has kindly shared some words on the record \u2013 the beginnings of songs and the meanings behind them.\n'S.B. Mantra'\n'Sanctimonious Bitch' wow. This song has some pretty angry themes. \"Never think of me, you bring bad luck\". The lyrics to me are quite surreal, but also I think I was feeling pretty dark when I wrote it\nand all my insecurities and anger went into it. This song was originally on my second record 'Molten Metal' and featured harsh drum machines, tape loops and strange metallic sounds. I think of it as a pop song, but I can understand it being called 'experimental'. I think it sounds more pop performed on harmonium though. This song won't be getting a reprise.\n'Memory Can't Help'\nThis song was originally written and recorded as a pop song for my next record, where it's actually a clubby, techno, pop song; so this harmonium version is a preview of what's to come. \"Are you ready for me cause I am ready for you, for you, for you\" \u2013 performed on harmonium it sounds quite sad (as with most of the songs) but its actually a bit of a sassy, playful pop song.\n'Molten Metal'\nThis song came about when I made a tape loop of the lyrics:\n\"I seethed like a pot, dark as a grave, molten metal I'm feeling afraid\". The rest of the song happened around that. I released it on a tape in 2015 then it had a reprise on my second record as the title track. It probably won't be getting another reprise unless I get around to releasing a remix I made of it ages ago.\n'Lover'\nThis one was also written for my new pop record and its nothing like the harmonium version! Again, it's a club song. I don't think I had even finished the lyrics when we recorded this. Harmonium makes everything sound sad. I think its about a very unthoughtful person who is stringing someone along in the name of 'love'. It also has a bit of a 'fuck you, I deserve better' element to it \u2013 \"You think you've won. You think I'm dumb. You. Don't. Know. Me\". So yeah, again, classic pop themes.\n'Kumbh Mela'\nThis song was on my first S\/T album, originally performed a capella.\nIt was written with my old friend Steve, who was my bandmate in my first band 'Songs' way back. We were working on music together, trying to make something to release but we never quite got there. I stole this song from that.\n'Hit Hard'\n\"Anger rose like in a dark wall, blackening the sky, when I'm mad like sheets of black glass waiting in my eyes\". It's about being so angry and sad and just seeing black.\nThis is the final new song, written for and featuring on my pop album. It was the first song I wrote when I decided to make pop music. \"All you'll hear is silence, from me and all you'll see is an outline of me.\" I really hold a grudge, so if you wrong me I very rarely forgive.\nSongs On Harmonium With Voice is out now. You can nab a digital copy via Ela Stiles' Bandcamp page.\nela stilesSongs On Harmonium With Voice\nPrevious PostPremiere: MOON RITUALS \u2013 'AURA'Next PostVideo Premiere: SCREENSAVER \u2013 'STRANGE ANXIETY'","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Ledger Stax Not Sending\nMay 13, 2022 by local\nIf you're thinking of purchasing the Ledger Stax to meet your requirements There are some things you should know before you make your purchase. We'll explain everything you need to knowabout the device, including how to get discounts and the features that are offered with this device.\nLedger Stax is a hardware wallet that is designed to assist users in managing your digital possessions. It's a credit card-shaped device that is quite different from earlier versions of the Ledger physical wallets. The latest model has an angled E Ink screen, a magnet system, Bluetooth connectivity, and an alarm screen.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax supports more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple and Cardano. The device also has NFT (Non-fungible token) support. These are special coins that can be stored and traded with Ledger Stax.\nThe Ledger Stax's security features are backed by a Secure Element chip, which can be the exact chip that is used in credit cards and passports. This chip guarantees the security of your cryptocurrency assets. protected from hackers.\nThe Ledger Stax comes with Bluetooth that allows it to connect with the Ledger Live Mobile app. Users can also make use of its wireless Qi charging function.\nAdditionally it is worth noting that the Ledger Stax features magnetic technology that permits it to be placed with similar devices. It also has offline mode, meaning that it is powered active even when shut off.\nThe Ledger Stax is a brand new hardware wallet designed to assist you in managing all your online assets. The device offers an unparalleled degree of customisation as well as a curved touchscreen and also secure components. It's capable of working with Mac, Windows, and Ubuntu, and supports more than 500 cryptocurrency.\nLedger Stax comes with Bluetooth 5.2, a USB-C port and a 200 mah battery. Additionally, it has magnets embedded which allow you to stack several Stax units together.\nA crypto wallet as a crypto wallet, the Ledger Stax allows you to safely store the keys to your cryptocurrency. It is also possible to use it as a cold storage device, which means it is less susceptible to attacks by hackers.\nThe device features a proprietary OS that lets you alter it to your requirements. You can also set a custom image or name for the screen of the lock. In addition, Ledger Stax is equipped with a reliable Bluetooth antenna.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax is built to comply with industry-leading security standards. It comes with an Secure Element chip that's certified to the CC EAL5+ specifications. It also has the capability of clear signing, which allows users to verify transaction details and reduce the risk of phishing attacks.\nLedger Stax is the latest hardware crypto wallet developed by French start-up Ledger. It has a stylish design, complete lock-in of keys, as well as the ability to store nearly 5500 tokens.\nThe device sports touchscreen and an E-Ink display that is able to support up to 500 cryptocurrencies. There is also a battery that lasts from weeks to months. It can be connected to a laptop or smartphone via Bluetooth.\nTo enhance the user experience, Ledger has designed a customized lock screen that can be customized. Furthermore the device is equipped with magnets that are able to bind several devices together. This makes it convenient to transport around.\nTo ensure the security of its customers, Ledger uses a secure design and a secure chip known as The Secure Element. This is a security system that can be used by institutions to digital asset.\nThe Ledger's most notable feature is its simple signature. It allows users to verify the details of transactions without risking their privacy. This can help you avoid scams and attacks of phishing.\nLedger is also equipped with a unique feature that lets you see NFTs directly on the device. For instance, you could look up a QR code a label, or any image.\nThe Ledger Stax is the most recent hardware wallet from the same company that created the popular Ledger Nano S and Nano X. These devices are great for long-term investments as well as being simple for carrying around.\nThey are incredibly secure and can protect your private key. They also come with unique security features like offline mode. If you are not online however, you are able to access your cryptocurrency by using a built-in magnet.\nA single of the thrilling characteristics that comes with the Ledger Stax is its touchscreen. This curved e-ink display provides the ability to read transactions and browse NFT collections. It is additionally suitable for iOS, Windows, and macOS.\nThe device is powered by Bluetooth 5.2, which allows it to join with Ledger Live through a phone. You can also create a pin code for easier access. There's a specific \"Magnet Shell\" protection case that is available.\nIf you live outside of within the United States, Ledger products generally ship for free. However, you might need to pay taxes on the product based upon your area of residence.\nLedger Stax is a wallet that Ledger Stax is a hardware wallet that combines the physical experience of a gadget with the ease of using an electronic display. It's made to be simple to manage and store your cryptocurrencies.\nThe Ledger Stax is a powerful wallet that is able to handle more than 500 coins, tokens and NFTs. You can also choose to modify the screen using photos or your preferred NFT. A curved touchscreen screen helps you keep an eye on your portfolio of crypto.\nThe Ledger Stax is also linked to the Ledger Live platform, which offers you an easy method to review transaction information and also to buy or sell your coins. A hardware wallet gives you security on-chain, since your private keys won't be accessible to unauthorised users.\nAlongside the storage and management of your cryptocurrency as well as managing your cryptocurrencies, the Ledger Stax software can also be used to manage NFT collections across various blockchains. These include Ethereum and Polygon-based NFTs.\nThe Ledger Stax is equipped with Bluetooth that lets you connect it to your smartphone , or desktop. It is also possible to use it as a screen cover. To help ensure security the device comes with an internal battery. When the device is not in use the battery will last for three months.\nThe Ledger Stax is a breakthrough consumer device. It has a 4-inch touchscreen, magnetics, and an secure structure. In comparison to its predecessors the Stax has more security and gives a better user experience. In fact, it's more secure than other wallets that use hardware!\nThe Ledger Stax can store more than five hundred cryptocurrencies which include Ethereum or Polygon-based NFTs. It also has a powerful 4000mAh battery with a touch-screen interface as well as a sleek magnetic document kit that allows for the highest stackability. If you're hoping to purchase one of the new wallets, you'll have wait a few more months.\nIt's not a reason to be concerned, though. Ledger Stax is a great product. Ledger Stax has a long way to go. It's several years away from being released in the wild. However, in the interim you'll need to buy the Ledger wallet application as well as the Ledger Nano S or the Ledger S. You can purchase the latter two items on the official website of the manufacturer.\nAlthough using the Ledger Wallet app is your best bet, there's a more sophisticated method of setting up your crypto-holding machine. It involves downloading the firm's application, installing it on your PC, and then permitting it access to your cryptocurrency holdings.\nThe Ledger Stax is a premium hardware wallet that was developed in collaboration with former Apple iPod creator Tony Fadell and design firm LAYER. Designed to be easy for users, the wallet features an E-Ink display with a brand new design that provides a clear visual interface. It also has an ergonomically curved display and magnets embedded which make it stronger and more convenient.\nThe Ledger Stax supports a wide selection of cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Monero, Ethereum, Binance Coin, BTC, and XRP. It's made to work with mobile devices via Bluetooth and USB-C connections.\nApart from being able to store and transmit different digital assets, it also has the ability to transfer and store a wide range of assets. Stax is also built to protect the non-fungible currency (NFTs). Since it stores private keys in a secure environment, it's less vulnerable to attacks by hackers than other crypto wallets.\nUsers can personalize their lock screens. Users can select the preferred image, select an individual name for the device and monitor its status when it locks and unlocks. Additionally Stax Stax is compatible with Qi wireless charging, allowing users to charge it with every Qi compatible charger.\nBattery life is surprisingly excellent. Ledger Stax's batteries can last for months on a single charge, contingent on the amount of time you spend using the device.\nLedger Stax is the latest generation of hardware wallet from Ledger the company that created its first electronic wallet. It combines the security of Ledger Live and the ease of using a touchscreen. The new model comes with a range of options that make it simple to send and receive cryptocurrency.\nThe Ledger Stax's screen comprised of a credit card-sized E-ink display. It provides a readable as well as a natural experience for reading, while avoiding reflections and offering a greater contrast. Additionally, the screen has a curved touchscreen for users to view and sign their transactions with the click of a button.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax also features a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It allows the device to remain fully operational for months after a single charge. Furthermore, it can be charged wirelessly, or using an USB-C cable.\nFor security concerns it is safe to say that the Ledger Stax comes with an element of security that can add an additional layer of security. Furthermore, the device is certified to CC EAL5+ standards. Additionally, the device is also backed by Bluetooth and a secure USB-C port for connecting directly to Ledger Live mobile application.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax vs Nano X Vs Nano S Plus. Which one should you pick? These devices are the best hardware cryptocurrency wallets. They are simple to use and include numerous features. They are easy to use and come with a variety of features. Nano X, Nano S Plus and Stax are excellent choices for beginners and advanced users alike.\nIf you're looking for a secure efficient, reliable, and user-friendly device, it's the Ledger Stax can be the way to go. It was created in the hands of iPod creator Tony Fadell, and has all the features of the Nano X, but at an affordable cost. The version with a touchscreen and a rechargeable battery, which helps it last longer.\nLedger has been a pioneer in the world of crypto. They've developed a variety of hardware wallets, and each has certain security features that protect private keys.\nThrough the Nano X, you can send cryptocurrencies to your smartphone. This is the perfect solution for people traveling. It also has Bluetooth support. You can also connect your phone to the Nano X via USB C. But, you'll have to switch on the device by pressing the left button for three minutes.\nIf you're searching for a cryptocurrency wallet, you'll be happy to know that Ledger has recently unveiled their Ledger Stax. The new hardware wallet blends an e-ink-curved screen and magnets to make an extremely mobile, reliable device.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax is an e-wallet that is the size of a credit card which lets you safely keep track of and organize the digital asset you have. It offers a unique sleek design, and has a range of additional features. Some of the features include an e-ink display , as well as NFC capabilities.\nThe Ledger Stax is built on an aluminum chassis, with a rounded edge and a soft concave surface. The Stax also comes with an integrated magnet that helps in enhancing its stackability. In addition, it has an integrated Bluetooth(r) antenna as well as an effective Bluetooth(r) battery.\nIt works It is compatible with iOS 12 and up and Windows 10 and up. It is able to connect to your smartphone through Bluetooth and a safe USB-C cable.\nIt is possible to set up your Ledger Stax with one button. It has a touch-sensitive E Ink display that creates an easy-to-read interface. It lets you customize the lockscreen as well as view your photos.\nLedger Stax is a brand-new hardware crypto wallet that comes with an industry-leading security. This wallet is designed to provide users with a user-friendly experience that allows them to complete transactions quickly and safely.\nThe device is equipped with a world-class Secure Element chip. This chip is found in passports, credit cards, payment systems, and other critical data.\nAnother feature that is unique to Ledger Stax is the E Ink touchscreen. This curved touchscreen is a first in the market. It comes with Bluetooth connectivity, and can be linked to Ledger Live mobile app. If it's not being used the device is hidden with magnets.\nA key feature of Ledger Stax is the capability to customize your lockscreen. It lets users choose their preferred photos and NFT. Users can also access the Infinity Pass to get their free NFT as well as utilities.\nLedger Stax is made for people who are passionate with their personal digital possessions. They are looking to save them from theft and invest in their assets from the threat of theft. Although this hardware wallet comes at a more expensive prices than many of its competitors but it's an excellent choice for serious cryptocurrency investors.\nLedger Stax is the most recent hardware wallet by French firm Ledger. It's a touch-screen device with an E Ink feature. There are other cool features too.\nThe Ledger Stax features a curved 3.7 inch touchscreen. It is therefore easier to use. Users can also customize the screen. A magnet allows users to attach the device to a phone.\nThe Ledger Stax can also generate QR codes. You can use it to pay cash-free. Also, it can be used on mobile devices that are cord-free.\nLedger Stax Ledger Stax can be used to iOS 13+ and Android 9and up. It has a Certified CC EAL5+ chip security system. However, its price is expensive. It costs $279US. nearly twice as costly as Nano X. Nano X.\nOne of the biggest selling points is the touchscreen. The display is made of E Ink, which is curved. Another major feature is the capacity to save NFTs which are also known as tokens that are non-fungible.\nIt's compatible with over more than 5,000 cryptocurrency, including Ethereum, Polygon, and Nano X. It also works with the DeFi suite of protocols.\nLedger Stax is a new hardware wallet that is designed to help users keep track of their assets digitally. Designed to look like a credit card, the Stax offers users the ease of carrying an electronic wallet that is crypto-friendly, while maintaining security. It comes with a magnetic case, touchscreen display and a powerful 200 mAh battery it is Stax is compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand.\nThe device comes with the 3.7 inch curved E Ink touchscreen. It is easy to see transactions and read messages. The display also has Bluetooth 5.2 which will help you to connect to your mobile.\nStax is a lock screen that Stax is compatible for iOS 10+, Android 9+ as well as Ubuntu. Users can also personalize the lock screen. They can monitor the lock\/unlock status of their device as well as keep track of the percentage of the battery. The built-in Ledger Live app allows the users to monitor their investment portfolio that includes more than 500 tokens and cryptocurrencies.\nThe Ledger Stax features a magnetic case that allows you to stack more than one device on top of it. As with the Nano S Plus, the Stax is made for use in the home.\nIf you have been using Ledger Nano for some time It could be the right time for you to consider the next-generation crypto device, the Ledger Stax. The new model joins an extensive line of hardware wallets that are popular in the Crypto market.\nThe Ledger Nano Stax, like its predecessor model, is a gadget that is built for the mobile lifestyle. It is a compact device that can handle a range of cryptos. It can manage up to 5,500 different tokens including Polygon NFTs and Ethereum NFTs.\nOne of the biggest benefits of the Ledger Stax is the touchscreen. The screen of the E Ink2 has a curved design that makes it easier to read.\nAnother major characteristic of the Ledger Stax is the rechargeable battery. A single charge could keep the device in operation for weeks or months. With Ledger Stax, you'll be able to keep your digital assets in a an organized and secure way.\nThe Ledger Stax is compatible for iOS 13+ as well as macOS 12and up. You can pair it with your smartphone via Bluetooth or via the USB-C cable.\nLedger Stax is the latest on the crypto Hardware wallet industry. The sleek, curvaceous e-ink touchscreen wallet allows users to securely manage their digital assets. It supports more than 5,000 coins and tokens and is optimized for the user experience.\nThe wallet can be charged via its Qi wireless charging protocol. The wallet also comes with a magnetic locking system. There is a USB Type-C port. A 3.7-inch electronic-ink display lets you view and sign transactions.\nThe wallet is equipped with the Ledger Live application. Users can also use other apps from the third party to broaden their options. In comparison against that of the Nano S Plus, the Ledger Stax has a larger screen and features.\nThe Stax is a round edge chassis as well as a powerful Bluetooth antenna. In addition, it has a Secure Element chip, the same chip that is used for the Nano X. These features protect the device from hackers.\nWith its big screen and magnet system, Stax has an unmatched interactivity. In contrast to other wallets, it allows you to customize the touch screen using an NFT image. It also allows you to generate QR codes.\nThe Ledger Stax is an anticipated physical wallet which promises a lot. It's designed to enhance security, accessibility, and interactivity while maintaining an excellent user experience. If you're considering buying one, here are some things you should know.\nThe first thing to note is that it is equipped with a curved ink touchscreen. It is the first of its kind. You can use the device to sign transactions, or browse NFT collections. Furthermore, it features Bluetooth.\nThere is also an integrated magnet system that lets you stack up to four Stax devices. Another great feature is its ability to be charged via Qi wireless charging. This is the same technology used in Samsung and Apple.\nFinally, it includes a built-in battery that can last for months or weeks. That's a really big deal in the case of the crypto hardware wallet.\nOverall, it's a great device. There are a few downsides to it. For starters, it's quite expensive. But, if you're prepared to put money into an electronic wallet, it's worth it.\nE Wallet Bitcoin Physcial\nBest Bitcoin Wallets That Go Into Paypal\nBest Cold Storage Crypto Wallet 2021\nHardware Wallet Bitcoin Atm\nLedger Stax Wallet Case\nCrypto Hardware Wallet Explained\nLedger Stax If New Recovery Phrases Lose Crypto Assets\nComplete Crypto Wallet\nGet Bitcoin Wallet Uk\nLedger Stax Number Of Currencies\nLedger Stax Apps Android\nWww Ledger Stax Oi Wallet","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"1\/03\/22: One Detroit \u2013 Interlochen Arts, TRIPTYCH Exhibit, Cinecyde,\nThis Week on One Detroit, Arts + Culture:\nInterlochen Celebrates 30 Years of Growth, Diversity\nGrowth, diversity and community. The Interlochen Center for the Arts hosted performances from more than a dozen students to celebrate the completion of a 30-year campus master plan that has transformed the school from a summer music organization to a year-round multidisciplinary global arts and education institution. One Detroit's Christy McDonald discussed the organization's evolution with Interlochen President Trey Devey.\nIrwin House Gallery Features Detroit Artists in TRIPTYCH Exhibit\nAt the Irwin House Gallery in Detroit, Gallery Director Misha McGlown works to curate, promote and support local artists, which is why McGlown decided to host Detroit-based artist Jonathan Harris' exhibit \"TRIPTYCH: Stronger Together,\" at the gallery. The exhibit also featuring emerging artist Crystal Starks-Webb and pyrographer Terrell Jahaun Anglin, who bring sincere depictions of family as royalty and historical think pieces around popular figures' spouses into the gallery space. Harris' work itself focuses on the social commentary of experiencing and living in America as a Black person.\nOne Detroit's Bill Kubota sat down with the three artists to hear how this exhibit came together, the meanings behind each of their pieces of work, and what it means to support local artists.\nCinecyde Stakes Claim as Detroit's First Punk Band\nThe year was 1976, and Detroit-based punk rock band Cinecyde was staking their claim as the first punk band in Detroit. Little did the band know groups like the Sex Pistols and The Ramones released their first singles that same year, all of which helped culminate into a thriving, eclectic, DIY punk scene in Detroit. Now, more than four decades later, the band is still rocking out and releasing music.\nOne Detroit's Chris Jordan sat down with the band to talk about the early era of Detroit's punk scene, and early singles like \"Gutless Radio\" from 1977. They discuss the band's latest album, out of eight, \"Vegetable Or Thing,\" an album they finished during the pandemic, and the evolution of the band's sound nearly 40 years since their inception.\nDetroit Performs: Sabrina Nelson's \"Molting\"\nPlus, we close out the show with Sabrina Nelson's moving performance of \"Molting\" for Detroit Performs: Live From Marygrove.\nView Past Episodes >\nWatch One Detroit every Thursday at 7:30pm ET on Detroit Public TV.\nPrevious12\/30\/21: One Detroit \u2013 Rivertown Market, Teacher Shortages, Detroiters Carrying Guns\nNext1\/04\/2022 \u2013 American Black Journal: Recounting the Capitol Insurrection and 2021's Best Stories\n7\/16\/20: One Detroit: Gov. Whitmer \/ Freep's Nancy Kaffer \/ New Detroit \/ Old School Deli\n5\/16\/19: One Detroit \u2013 PFAS \/ Gerrymandering \/ Last Days of Chinatown \/ Neighborhood Natives\nOne Detroit | 'Reverse gentrification' in Islandview\nDPSCD Superintendent Extends Virtual Learning in District Through January 24","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"VHS horror nostalgia\nI have very fond memories of wandering around in video stores and looking at all the movies I would love to own that were prohibitively expensive at the time.\nAnd being a big horror freak, VHS gave me my first look at the forbidden when I was too young to see R rated movies.\nAnd indeed, one night I was at a friends house, he opened a video cabinet, and we spent much of the weekend, watching a bunch of horror films we were too young to be seeing, including Friday the 13th, When a Stranger Calls (still a big favorite), one of the gorier Halloween sequels, and more.\nSoon, my parents couldn't stop me from renting horror flicks by the score, and I became a card carrying horror nut for life.\nAs Uncle Bob Martin, the original editor of Fangoria magazine, says, \"During the years that Fangoria became established and something of an institution, what really happened was the video age, and being R didn't mean you couldn't see a movie because you were 16 anymore. When video came in, that's what opened it way up. It created a larger audience for Fangoria, because kids actually would be able to see the movies that we wrote about.\"\nSo the other week I'm at Frys, browsing through DVDs (while we still have them), and notice a very large box set in the horror section, but resembling more of an overstuffed lunchbox than the usual oblong box sets you can buy.\nLooking through the New York Times, I finally figured out why. There's an underground movement right now in horror to release movies on VHS again, and the box set I was checking out, for the movie Basement, had a VHS version of the movie inside. (The box set is available through Camp Motion Pictures).\nNow I doubt this will bring VHS back from the dead, but you never know. Vinyl was phased out and declared dead decades ago, and now it's back strong because the fans don't like being told what format they have to use.\nThis could be the same with VHS among horror fans, and as I write this. And actually, as I write this article, I have a flick crankin' my VCR in the background \u2013 the same VCR I've had for ten plus years that's still in good shape.\nEuropa lake could harbor life\nSteel Panther joins the gaming world","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Studying in US: The process amid the Covid-19 pandemic\nTravel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic not only affected tourism but also the thriving international education sector, halting flights and shutting down several schools abroad.\nAmong plans canceled during this time are those of Filipino students about to fly to the United States to study.\nMatt Keener, cultural affairs attach\u00e9 at the US Embassy in Manila, said the pandemic restrictions came at a critical time because international students apply for visas around June and July ahead of the fall semester in the US.\n\"That was obviously the toughest time around the world anywhere for visas for international studies, a lot of universities doesn't know what they're going to do that time,\" he told the Philippine News Agency in an interview early this week.\n\"We didn't see anything near the number of applications then because of quarantine restrictions in the Philippines,\" he added.\nWith Filipinos now allowed to leave the Philippines for non-essential travel, Keener sees a significant volume of student visa applications coming in around November and December if there are students looking to start in the second semester, which typically begins in January and February in the US.\n\"US universities are open and are receiving international students and we certainly expect that as we emerge from this pandemic that will return to normal,\" he said.\nThe US Embassy is starting to accept applications for student visas, but Keener said this process is usually the last step for a student who wants to study in the US. The initial steps are as follows:\n\u2013 Identify and apply to your school of choice\n\u2013 Get accepted\n\u2013 Figure out how you're going to pay for the school (whether from your own income, family payment, or scholarship)\n\u2013 Get the necessary documents from the university to apply for a student visa\n\"Once you've got all that sorted and the university accepted you, the application for the student visa will come from the US university, they'll send you a document that you can use to apply for the visa at the Embassy,\" Keener said.\nWith the pandemic upending life as we know it for the past few months, Keener noted that US universities have now adapted to and approached the crisis differently depending on the condition of each state, some of which continued with virtual and in-person classes.\n'Tremendous potentials'\nDuring the interview, Keener highlighted the \"tremendous potentials\" for educational exchanges in the Philippines due to the young and mostly English-speaking population of the country.\n\"As we stay in a competitive and globalized economy, we see tremendous potentials in the Philippines and for more Filipinos to pursue international education to be successful in that globalized economy,\" he said.\n\"The US is just a fantastic match for Filipinos for so many reasons. One, the quality of our higher education system there, the diversity of opportunities, and the deeply personal, cultural, and historic ties the Philippines and the US share makes the US a natural fit for Filipinos,\" he noted.\nThis year, the Embassy had to double its efforts to attract Filipinos to study in the US and show them the opportunities out there.\nStrengthening exchanges\nAfter the two countries signed an agreement on education last year, various discussions were made to strengthen education exchanges and help Philippine and American universities partner with each other. This continues until now.\nKeener said the education deal paved for the successful partnership between the Texas International Education Consortium and over 100 state universities and colleges in the Philippines, boosting the latter's capacity to adapt to the challenges brought by Covid-19.\nThe collaboration, in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education, will help administrators from over 100 schools maximize flexible learning and distance learning systems even beyond the pandemic.\n\"The greatest thing about this program is these capacities are gonna help universities long after Covid\u2026 Having distance learning and flexible learning capacities is a way for universities to help the Philippines reach more students wherever they may be and whatever their technology challenges might be,\" Keener said.\nCAR records 206 Covid-19 recoveries, 22 new cases\nDubai International Sports Conference and Dubai Globe Soccer Awards Celebrate Football's Biggest Stars Next Month\nPolice front-liners to get regular swab test for Covid-19\nTo protect police personnel and their respective families against the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic,...\nRecoveries among Pinoys with Covid-19 abroad reach 7,564\nThe Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recorded a total of 67 recoveries since Nov. 29, raising...\nSoccsksargen logs 36 new Covid-19 recoveries\nThirty-six patients have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of Saturday night, the Department of...","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Everyday Health Emotional Health Stress\nMichael Phelps's Favorite De-Stress Technique Is So Simple, Anyone Can Do It\nIt even works for his two-year-old son.\nBy Katie Robinson\nComplications of Schizophrenia\nArianna Huffington's Wake-Up Call\nAfter committing himself to therapy, Michael Phelps learned that he suffers from depression and anxiety \u2014 here's how he handles his day-to-day stress.\nMarcelo Endelli\/Getty Images\nMichael Phelps: We know him as one of America's most decorated Olympic athletes. Winner of 23 gold medals and 28 medals overall, the former swimmer has truly shown the world what it means to be the best. In fact, one report published in August 2016 in the Los Angeles Times found that if Phelps were his own country, he would have won more gold medals than 90 countries. But with such success comes an immense amount of pressure to stay on top. The expectations, the drive \u2014 it can nearly push someone over the edge. And for Phelps, it almost did.\nAfter he was charged with a DUI in 2014, Phelps soon found himself in a spiraling state of depression, the darkest place he'd ever been. At this point, he locked himself in his room for several days and even faced serious thoughts of committing suicide. \"I questioned whether I wanted to be alive anymore,\" he said at an onstage event with Talkspace (a leading mental health app that connects people to online therapists). \"I realized that I'm the strongest person I know, but at that moment I was the weakest.\"\nAfter family members and loved ones urged him to get help, Phelps decided to enroll himself in The Meadows, an addiction and trauma treatment center in Arizona. There he learned that, in addition to his diagnosis with ADHD, he had also been living with anxiety and depression his whole life. At that point, he knew he had to make a change.\nRELATED: Celebrities Who Have Experienced Depression\nAfter winning his last gold medal in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, he decided it was time to focus on his mental health. He teamed up with Talkspace in an effort to spread mental health awareness \u2014 particularly to the younger generation. And research shows they need it.\nIn Everyday Health's United States of Stress Report, Generation Z (people born 1995 or later) clocked in as the most stressed generation of our time. Why? In our tight and competitive economy, where jobs are scarce and education is at an all-time high, the constant feeling of needing to be the best \u2014 a self-induced pressure Phelps is certainly familiar with \u2014 has caused young people to feel extraordinarily anxious, overworked, and even socially isolated.\nTo spotlight the issue, we sat down with Phelps to discuss his own strategies for fighting off stress, even on those extra down days.\nRELATED: The Best Anxiety Blogs to Read When You Just Can't Deal Anymore\nHow Michael Phelps Handles Stress and Pressure\nFor Phelps, it's simpler than you might think. His favorite stress-fighting tactic is one that he and his wife, Nicole Johnson, teach their son, Boomer Phelps. It's called \"lion breaths.\" Whenever Boomer gets upset, his parents tell him to take a lion breath. At that point, Boomer inhales as deeply as if he were trying to suck all the oxygen out of the universe, then lets out the breath in one extravagant exhale.\nBut Boomer isn't the only Phelps who uses lion breaths. \"There are times when I struggle with identity because for so many people, all they see me as is a swimmer,\" he says of the passing judgments he receives. \"Honestly, that's when a lion breath does come into play.\"\nBut how can something so simple \u2014 say, simple enough to work on a two-year-old \u2014 have such an effect on an Olympic medal\u2013winning adult? It's partially the push-to-the-limit environment Phelps grew up in, similar to that of Generation Z. \"Because my life was always go, go, go, go, on to the next thing,\" he says, \"I never had a chance to take a breath. So I don't really know how to do it, I guess.\"\nIn fact, Phelps had learned a practice called \"diaphragmatic breathing\" \u2014 a type of exercise involving deep inhalation and exhalation. This breathing method was found to be successful not just in stress-relief, but also in commanding sustained focus in adults, according to a study published in June 2017 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.\nRELATED: How to Avoid an Emotional Meltdown, and What to Do if It Happens Anyway\nOther Ways Michael Phelps Combats Stress\nIdentifying His Emotions When upset or anxious, Phelps first asks himself why he feels the way he does. After he recognizes this, he'll take a lion breath. \"Those two little things are something, for me personally, that just helps me relax and take a step back and think about everything,\" he said onstage with Talkspace. \"In the past, I would always just react. And it's not healthy.\"\nSaying a Positive Affirmation Before Entering a Room It's a way to help him change his mindset, like a personal pep talk to serve up confidence.\nHitting the Gym \"To be as healthy as I can be mentally, I know some things have to happen throughout the day,\" Phelps said onstage. \"For me, workout is so important. If I don't, I'm a nightmare, an absolute nightmare.\" And when he gets stressed, his daily routine is even more essential. He gave an example of his experience at an airport when he heard whispering comments around him. \"I got off the plane and could not wait to get to the hotel,\" he said. \"All I wanted to do was work out. As soon as I worked out, I was able to kind of relax a little bit.\"\nIgnoring the Haters For many years, Phelps struggled with identity. \"I think the biggest thing is trying to get to that point where you get comfortable with who you are, and it's hard. It took me 30 years,\" he said onstage. But now he's learned to compartmentalize the expectations of others and the expectations he has from himself. He doesn't read aggressive comments on social media; he doesn't interact. \"I am who I am. Sorry if you don't like it.\"\nAsking for Help Coming from an \u00fcbercompetitive sports background, Phelps always felt the need to stave off weakness. \"It's kind of wild and pretty incredible just understanding if you ask for help, how much you can get back,\" he said onstage. Whether it's with a therapist, a friend, or someone else, if you're struggling, it's okay to ask.\nAccepting Yourself and Where You're At Phelps's greatest weapon against stress? A motto he lives by on a daily basis, one that leads the Talkspace campaign for young adults: \"It's okay to not be okay.\"\nIf you or someone you know is coping with depression, call one of the hotlines mentioned at Mentalhealth.net for guidance.\nThe Latest in Stress\nDr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser: Q&A on Stress's Link to Metabolism, Marriage, and Caregiving\nNowhere is the potential damage greater than when chronic stress involves personal relationships and dire illness. Yet even then, proven strategies ca...\nStress Hack: Music Therapy Helps Relieve Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Symptoms\nOur writer riffs on what she's learned from creative art therapy.\nWhy Exercise and Sleep Are Your Ultimate Defense Against Stress\nPhysiologically, getting enough sleep and logging regular exercise play a major role in keeping stress in check.\nWhat's Your Stress Personality?\nTake our 3-minute test to find out your stress type.\nAre the Virtual Interactions of Social Media Busting or Boosting Your Stress?\nHere are 5 tips for using Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms to help (not hurt) well-being.\nConnected but Alone: What Toll Does Loneliness Take on Our Health?\nFacebook. Instagram. Twitter. We are more connected, and have more opportunities for connection, than at any other time in history. But more and more ...\nFrank Farley, PhD: Q&A About Risk-Takers in an Age of Stressing Over Uncertainty\nExploring why some people redefine stress-inducing situations as opportunities for positive action may help us all see change as more thrill than thre...\nStress Hack: 4 Things I Learned After Meditating for a Month\nResearch shows that meditation can relieve stress and help decrease symptoms of chronic pain and depression. Find out what happened when one of our ed...\nNew HBO Documentary Explores Stress in America\nDr. Sanjay Gupta investigates rising mortality rates in an increasingly stressed-out nation.\nQueen Latifah's Top 5 Tips for Reducing Stress\nEveryday Health sits down with the actress and rapper to talk about happiness, health, and finding balance.\nWhat's Your Financial Personality Type?\nHow Do You Achieve Financial Well-Being?\nSmall steps can address stress by helping you achieve near- and long-term goals.\nWhat Is Financial Wellness?\nSetting and meeting financial expectations can improve your general well-being.\nFinancial Stress and Wellness: Understanding the Problem\nMoney-related worries top the list of respondents' concerns in Everyday Health's United States of Stress survey.\nAmit Sood, MD: Q&A About Finding Resilience to Chronic Stress Through Neuroscience\nThe creator of Mayo Clinic's Resilient Mind is taking his program global, promoting well-being using gratitude, noticing novelty, not trying to improv...\nRacism's Chronic Stress Effects Start Early in Children, Study Finds\nFollowing 7-year-olds, researchers also see protective power of positive racial or ethnic group identity in building resilience.\nMental Health Experts Warn of Midterm Election Stress in Young People\nStudy finds 2016 presidential election caused distress for many college students, and clinicians offer tips to reduce stress in the current election s...\nIs the Netflix Series 'The Haunting of Hill House' So Scary That It's Making People Sick?\nSome viewers reported nausea and fainting. Vasovagal syncope may be the reason.\nStress Can Shrink Your Brain, Study Says\nHigh levels of cortisol can take a toll on memory function and brain volume as early as your forties.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Find a VPN\nVPN Basics\nVPN Advice\nVPN Reports\nVPN Protocols Explained\nIn this article, we are exploring all the different VPN protocols explaining how they work as well as their pros and cons.\nA VPN protocol determines how data is routed between your computer and the VPN server. Each protocol has different specifications, offering benefits to users in a range of circumstances. For instance, some put emphasis on speed, while others focus on privacy and security.\nLet's take a look at the most common VPN protocols.\n1. OpenVPN\nOpenVPN is one of the most popular VPN protocols. It is an open-source protocol allowing developers and hackers to scrutinize its source code for vulnerabilities, or use it in other projects. OpenVPN is also one of the most secure protocols and one of our personal favorites.\nOpenVPN supports what is essentially unbreakable AES-256 bit key encryption with 2048-bit RSA authentication, and a 160-bit SHA1 hash algorithm. It is available on virtually all platforms \u2014 including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and routers. What's more, even obsolete platforms such as Windows Phone and Blackberry support OpenVPN.\nSome time ago, OpenVPN was best known for its security and privacy but not so much for speed. Recent implementations have resulted in some boosts effectively helping establish OpenVPN as the industry standard.\n2. L2TP\/IPSec\nA successor to the depreciated PPTP, Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol (L2TP) doesn't actually provide any encryption or privacy itself. Therefore, it is commonly bundled with security protocol IPsec and this combo (L2TP\/IPSec) then delivers one of the most secure VPN connections backed by the AES-256 bit encryption.\nHowever, while L2TP\/IPSec has no known vulnerabilities \u2013 it does have its flaws. For start, it defaults to UDP on port 500, making it relatively easy for government agencies, companies and other entities to spot and block its use.\n3. SSTP\nAnother popular option, Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) has been developed by Microsoft and has been fully integrated with every version of Windows since Vista Service Pack 1. This means you can use SSTP with Winlogon.\nThe protocol uses 2048-bit SSL\/TLS certificates for authentication and 256-bit SSL keys for encryption \u2014 making it another option you can safely rely on.\nIn addition to Windows, SSTP has native support for Linux and BSD systems, while Android, macOS, and iOS have support via third party clients.\n4. IKEv2\nDeveloped by Microsoft and Cisco, Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) is essentially just a tunneling protocol, providing a secure key exchange session. In that sense, it is frequently paired with IPSec for encryption and authentication.\nIKEv2 isn't as popular as other VPN protocols, but it comes included in many mobile VPN apps. This is because it can quickly reconnect during moments of temporary internet connection loss, as well as during a network switch \u2014 i.e. from Wi-Fi to mobile data.\nIKEv2 comes natively included with Windows, iOS, and Blackberry devices; with Linux and Android being supported through third-party apps.\nOn the downside though, there is strong evidence that the NSA is actively exploiting IKE flaws to undermine IPSec traffic. In that sense, using an open-source implementation is suggested.\n5. PPTP\nOne of the oldest VPN protocols, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is still in use in some places, but the majority of services have long upgraded to faster and more secure protocols.\nIntroduced way back in 1995, PPTP was integrated with Windows 95 and was able to work even with dial-up connections.\nThe technology has progressed ever since, and PPTP is no longer the most secure option, with governments and criminals being able to crack PPTP's encryption.\nHowever, some people still use it when they are willing to sacrifice security for the connection speed. Think: video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. If nothing else works, chances are PPTP will be able to deliver the buffer-free experience.\n6. Catapult Hydra\nThe proprietary protocol developed by AnchorFree that is powering Hotspot Shield as well as the majority of large cybersecurity companies that offer VPN services from within their apps \u2014 including McAfee, BitDefender, Cheetah Mobile and many others.\nCatapult Hydra is said to be one of the fastest protocols out there, with various reviews giving it an edge over other solutions when testing it with video streaming services. On the other hand, it can be detected by tech-savvy government authorities such as those in China. Therefore, we've never suggested using Hotspot Shield there \u2014 for everything else, and for most users, Hotspot Shield rocks. It's simple, secure and fast \u2014 what else do you need?\n7. WireGuard\nDubbed \"the future of all VPN protocols,\" WireGuard is the open-source VPN protocol that can deliver the highest level of privacy, security and speed. While it is effectively a newcomer to the VPN industry, many experts anticipate it will become the gold standard of VPN protocols, with some services betting it will become the \"default protocol for all users.\"\nThere are a few things that \"work\" in WireGuard's favor. First, it uses cutting-edge cryptographic algorithms that other VPN protocols will not be able to easily support due to many separate implementations and required legacy support. Second, WireGuard's code counts a few thousand lines compared to OpenVPN's hundreds of thousands, making it easier for developers to review and validate the security of the protocol. And third, new security advances in connection roaming make WireGuard uniquely superior to any other protocol.\nThat last bit, about connection roaming, is especially interesting as it allows users to maintain their connection even when switching from one network environment to another. With other protocols, the connection is dropped.\nBecause of all this, WireGuard is significantly faster and more secure than any protocol that still relies on heavy, conventional codebases. Mobile users, in particular, should experience a noticeable improvement as soon as they connect \u2014 they'll get a faster connection as well as slightly extended battery life (that's where the smaller codebase kicks in).\nThese days, WireGuard is supported by most of the leading VPN services.\nWe've looked at all major VPN protocols, here's the summary:\nOpenVPN \u2013 the most popular VPN protocol offering strong encryption and fast connection; also an open-source project.\nL2TP\/IPSec \u2013 very popular with good speeds but easily detectable.\nSSTP \u2013 solid security, difficult to detect and block.\nIKEv2 \u2013 fast and very popular in mobile apps.\nPPTP \u2013 widely supported despite the fact that it's full of security holes.\nCatapult Hydra \u2013 Anchor Free's proprietary protocol that is said to be among the fastest out there.\nWireGuard \u2013 the next-generation protocol that is being supported by the increasing number of VPN services.\nNow that you know a lot about VPN protocols, you should be able to more easily select the best VPN service for yourself. Start by visiting our Best of the Best VPNs page and take it from there.\nvpnreports\nFeatured VPNs\nPrice from: $3.71\/mo\nSurfshark review\nIPVanish review\nCyberGhost review\nHotspot Shield review\nBest VPNs for iOS\nBest VPNs for Android\nBest VPNs for Torrenting\nBest VPNs for China\nBest VPNs for Chrome\nAll VPN categories\nVPN Reports aims to help you get the best VPN for your specific needs.\nAbout VPN Reports\nHow We Test VPN Services?\n\u00a9 VPN Reports. All rights reserved.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"NOAA Library Network\nLibrary Seminars\nTraining: Library Resources\nCoast and Geodetic Survey Heritage\nFisheries Heritage\nNOAA Collections\nNOAA Photo Library\nRare Books & Archival Materials\nCollections \/ Digital Collections \/ Fisheries Heritage Digital Collection\nFisheries Heritage Digital Collection\nFisheries Heritage Digital Collections\nThe Office of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, commonly known as the U.S. Fish Commission, was established by a joint resolution of February 9, 1871, as an independent agency to investigate the causes for the decrease of commercial fish and aquatic animals in U.S. coastal and inland waters and to recommend remedies.\nThe U.S. Fish Commission, initially under the direction of the naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird and later by George B. Goode, undertook numerous scientific surveys of the marine environment and collected extensive and varied data about human exploitation of marine animals. Scientific research and subsequent government publications conducted in this period laid the groundwork for fisheries research in the United States. This is an extensive collection of publications, letters of correspondence, research notes, scientific survey expedition logbooks, photographs, and published statistics relating to commercial fishing, resulting from the research and work under the direction of Baird and Goode.\nThis digital collection was made possible by NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program Historical Ecology program as part of their effort to research and analyze historical records that document changes in the condition of fish populations and ecosystems within national marine sanctuaries. This collection of records from the U.S. Fish Commission, the legacy agency of NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service, provide detailed information on environmental conditions observed by scientists in the late 19th century.\nFor additional fisheries history, please see the Fisheries Historical page from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.\nScientific Survey Logs from Early U.S. Fish Commission Research Vessels\nU.S. Fish Commission research vessels collected scientific measures, sea temperature and salinity in the early 19th and early 20th centuries. These documents were imaged from the Smithsonian Institution Archives, Museum of Natural History, RU 7220 and Smithsonian Institution Archives, United States Bureau of Fisheries, RU 7184.\nFishawk\nGannet Logbooks, 1924-1925. Stations G1-G69.\nGannet Logbooks, 1924-1925. Stations G50-G49.\nGrampus logbook 1914, daily observations, journal\nSchooner Grampus, Summer Cruise of 1914. Stations and Hydrographic data. H.B. Bigelow, W.W. Welsh, Stations 10213-10264.\nSelect original logbook you wish to view\nStation numbers 1387-1390 Station numbers 1639-1659 Station numbers 1685-1808 Station numbers 1809-1828 Station numbers 1829-1848 Station numbers 1849-1898 Station numbers 1899-1927 Station numbers 1928-1977 Station numbers 1978-6027 Station numbers 6028-6075 Station numbers 7000-7049 Station numbers 7349-7395 Station numbers 7396-7445 Station numbers 7446-7495 Station numbers 7496-7545 Station numbers 7595-7627 Station numbers 7628-7675 Station numbers 7676-7723 Station numbers 7724-7766 Station numbers 7767-7783 Station numbers 7784-7786 Station numbers 1387-1390 Station numbers 7928-7977 Station numbers 7978-7999 Station numbers 8000-8047 Station numbers 8048-8095 Station numbers 8096-8126 Station numbers 8197-8247 Station numbers 8248-8298 Station numbers 8299-8349 Station numbers 8350-8398 Station numbers 8399-8449 Station numbers 8450-8496 Station numbers 8497-8545 Station numbers 8546-8594 Station numbers 8595-8640 Station numbers 8641-8691\nView Logbook\nTypewritten copy of dredging record, 1883-1922\nOriginal logbook of the Yvonne covering station numbers 1-6 and A-D and the period August 1924.\nInterviews of Fishermen by the U.S. Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries\nThese documents are primarily field notes and transcripts of reports of interviews with fishermen concerning species taken, gear and methods used, regulation of the fisheries, opening and closing of seasons, and related matters. The final report of the commission was published as House Document 315, 54th Congress, 2nd Session. Richard Rathbun of the Office of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries was the American member of the Joint Commission. In some cases, there are both handwritten and typed copies of the interviews. The documents were imaged from records at the National Archives, College Park, Md, Record Group 22, Records of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Records of the U.S. Fish Commission & the Bureau of Fisheries.\nExpand for Interviews\nUnited States and Canada. Investigations and Interviews. 1893. Volume 1.\n1. Gloucester, Mass. Interviews by Joint Fisheries Commission. November, 1893.\nVol 3: A -- Lake Huron Investigations by William Wakeham and Richard Rathbun; Joint Fisheries Commission; 1884. Arranged by Subjects.\nVol 4: B -- Lake Huron Investigations by William Wakeham and Richard Rathbun; Joint Fisheries Commission; 1884. Arranged by Subjects.\nLake of the Woods, 1894. Interviews and Field Notes. Investigations by Joint International Commission.\nLake of the Woods, August, 1894. By Willliam Wakeham and Richard Rathbun.\n3. Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Me. Interviews by Joint Fisheries Commission. November 1893\nSt. Croix River, N.B. and Maine, Joint Fisheries Commission, Inquiries, 1893, Notes and Interviews, recorded by Richard Rathbun\nRelated Fisheries Heritage Content\nNOAA Photo Library's Historic Fisheries Collection of Images\nBulletin of the United States Fish Commission\nU.S. Fish Commission Annual Reports\nThe Origins and Early History of the Steamer Albatross, 1880-1887\nNMFS Legacy Publications\nIf you have questions or comments concerning the bulletins, or you need further assistance, please contact:\nLibrary.Reference@noaa.gov, 301-713-2600 ext. 157.\nLIBRARY HEADQUARTERS\nPhone: (301) 734-2607 ext. 157\nEmail Us: library.reference@noaa.gov\nThe NOAA Central Library's mission is to support and further NOAA's mission of promoting global environmental stewardship in order to conserve and wisely manage the Nation's marine and coastal resources; and describing, monitoring, and predicting changes in the Earth's environment in order to ensure and enhance sustainable economic opportunities.\n\u00a9 Copyright 2023 by NOAA | Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Carrie Underwood and her hockey player husband Mike Fisher seem like the ultimate power couple. Underwood has become a successful country music star since winning American Idol back in 2005, and Fisher has made a name for himself in the NHL.\nTwitter | @carrieunderwood\nThe Canadian hockey star was friends with Underwood's bass player who wanted to set them up. After meeting at a meet-and-greet at one of Carrie Underwood's concerts in 2008, they went on a date for drinks and the rest is history.\nThe two had a dream wedding less than two years later in July 2010 in Georgia. But the first six months of their marriage weren't a fairy tale.\nBecause the two were so successful in their careers, it was hard to make time for each other and meet the demands of their jobs. The newlyweds found it incredibly difficult to find that time for each other and went weeks without seeing each other.\nInstagram | @mfisher1212\nThen came the news that would save their marriage. Fisher, after playing with the Ottawa Senators for more than 11 years, was traded to the Nashville Predators in February of 2011.\n'When trade talks had heated up, a few teams had been interested in me, but Eugene and Bryan agreed to make sure that my destination would be Nashville,' Fisher wrote in a post for The Players Tribune. 'They could have traded me anywhere, but they were genuinely looking out for me and my family.' According to Fisher, the Senators' management specifically traded him to the Predators so he could spend more time with his wife, as Nashville was where Carrie Underwood lives and works.\nThis trade changed their lives for the better. Four years later, Fisher was named the captain of the Nashville Predators and led his team to the Stanley Cup finals all the while being able to spend more time with his wife and their son, Isaiah. Fisher announced last August he was retiring from hockey to focus on raising their newborn son. However, six months later Fisher announced that with Carrie's blessing he was coming out of retirement for one more chance at the Stanley Cup with his team. One thing's for sure; these two make a solid team themselves!\nClick 'NEXT POST' to read more stories like this one and don't forget to 'SHARE' with friends on Facebook!\nGinger Water: One The Healthiest Drinks To Help Burn All The Fat\nLosing weight can be frustrating. Putting together a healthy diet and exercise program is grueling work. The long hours you put in at the gym, only to come home and step on the scale and see no progress isn't easy. When this happens, people tend to turn to expensive supplements \u2026\nBay Area Earthquake Could Lead To Massive Loss Of Life And Property: USGS Report\nA new report by the United States Geological Survey predicts what devastating effects could come from a hypothetical major earthquake on a California fault. According to the report, if a 7.0 quake were ever to hit directly under the city of Oakland on the Hayward fault, the results could be \u2026\nPeople Are Still Angry About Cadbury's Easter Eggs\u2014And It's Completely Ridiculous\nThis past Easter, Cadbury UK and National Trust received a lot of criticism from people online for supposedly eliminating the word 'Easter' from advertisements for their annual Easter egg hunt. The problem was that they never actually did that, and the outrage has prompted its own funny Twitter responses. Cadbury \u2026\nFive Pharmaceutical Drugs That Can Destroy Your Health\nMore often than not, prescription drugs aid with certain health problems and can also save lives in the process. We take certain pharmaceutical drugs more often than we would like to admit, but what many of us are unaware of is that some of these pharmaceutical drugs are doing more \u2026\nSouthwest Passenger 'Did What Any Registered Nurse Would Do' In Attempt To Save Woman\nDuring a time of utter panic and chaos, passengers and crew aboard a Southwest Airlines flight banded together in an attempt to save an injured passenger when the plane's engine exploded midair. Among them was retired nurse Peggy Phillips who did \"what any registered nurse would do,\" she told ABC \u2026\nRichard The Gorilla Can't Get Enough Of The Camera\nWe all tend to have our own favorite animals but apparently, this one animal seems to be everyone's favorite over at Czech Republic's Prague Zoo. Richard the Gorilla is known for his 'smouldering poses' and sultry glances. Richard has been described as photogenic, and he has become famous for his \u2026\n25 Of The Funniest Wikipedia Edits By Internet Vandals\nGood morning readers, it's me, your curator and tour guide of the Providr museum. Well, at least I was, until it was canceled and I was put out of a job. See what happens when you people don't immediately comment on Jake's genius? Real lives get affected people, please for \u2026\n10+ People Who Randomly Overheard The Most Hilarious Conversations Ever\nWhen you were younger, did your parents ever tell you to use your \"indoor voice?\" Not only is it respectful to others around you, but it can also prevent you from sharing personal, hilarious conversations with everyone around you as well. Usually, when someone overhears a hilarious conversation, the first \u2026\nReason Prince Harry Is Disappointed Michelle Obama Can't Attend Royal Wedding\nNaturally, when one is getting married, they have a particular idea of how they would want it to be, and who will ideally attend. Sitting down and planning can be stressful, from aiming to make it perfect, to ensuring everyone important will be there, especially if someone significant, for whatever \u2026\n104-Year-Old Man Dies After Traveling To Switzerland For Assisted Suicide\nAustralian scientist David Goodall lived a remarkable life, and at age 104, he chose to end it on his own terms. Goodall made the trip from Australia to Switzerland, where, with the assistance of medical professionals, he received a lethal dose of barbiturates in an assisted suicide procedure. He fell \u2026\nMassage These Stress Points To Immediately Relax A Crying Or Fussy Baby\nIf you've never heard of reflexology, it's pretty beneficial to get into it. Especially if you are a new parent! According to naturaltransition.com, Reflexology is based on the principle that reflex points found on the feet and hands correspond to specific organs, muscles, bones and body systems. The site continues \u2026\nWoman Saves Her Own Life With Stunning 231 Pound Weight Loss Transformation\nHeather Oset is a hairstylist from New Jersey and she got the scare of her life when she experienced chest pain and heart palpitations while working on a client. Trying to work through it, she soon found it impossible and had to have her husband drive her to the hospital. \u2026\n16 Times Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Tour Slayed My Entire Existence\nThe opening night of Taylor Swift's Reputation tour kicked off May 8th at the University of Phoenix Stadium, in Arizona, packed with over fifty thousand cheering fans, a record-breaking crowd for the venue, according to USA Today. \"And in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive,\" is the \u2026\nThis Mom Flew Across The Country Because Her Daughter's Head Hurt And People Love It\nGrace Li is a 22-year-old high school biology teacher in New York City and her mother, Shixia Huang, is a cancer researcher who lives in Texas. So when the 22-year-old graduate of Duke complained of a headache, one would assume that Shixia would call her daughter or at best video \u2026\n25 'Hmmm' Photos That Raise More Questions Than They Will Answer\nAlright, so you'll find yourself posing a lot of questions while reading this here article. Mostly what you'd expect: the who, the why, the how, the where and the what am I looking at? Sure, you can seek out answers, but cross every desert, swim every ocean, climb every mountain \u2026\n25 Things That Don't Need To Exist, Please And Thank You\n\"And remember, it's okay that you don't exist\" Why are you even here? This congregation of low-tier\u2026 well, things. There's really no better way to describe them, because they don't exist. Or, at least in the eyes of the public your fellow group members are non-existent. The only reason they're \u2026\nBurger King Asked Wendy's To Prom And The Reply Did Not Disappoint\nLove is in the air. Apparently, it's also in the air for non-human entities. It happens to be in the air for two famous fast food places: Burger King and Wendy's! In fact, these two fast food places are rivals and have been for the longest time. However, this is \u2026\n8 Times Kids Were Way Smarter Than Their Test Questions\nKids say the darndest things. Adults have a way of underestimating a child's mind. We think they don't notice certain things, or that they don't understand certain things, but you'd be surprised to know that a kid is more aware than you think. In fact, when powerful words come from \u2026\nTruth About Six Inch 'Alien' Found In Desert Finally Revealed\nAn \"alien mummy\" found in Chile's Atacama desert has been identified as the remains of a human child with an unknown bone disorder. In 2003, Chilean explorer Osca Munoz found a tiny, mummified skeleton while exploring a ghost town. The mummy was six inches long, the size of a fetus, \u2026\n5 Belly-Blasting Exercises You Can Do Sitting Down\nWorking in an office has its benefits. A nice view, comfortable chair and no strain on the legs. But despite those benefits, sitting down for most of the day has its health risks. Your body is built to be moving throughout the day. In fact, Harvard Medical School examined 47 \u2026\nCop Pulls Over Erratic Lady And Breaks Down After Looking In Her Trunk\nToby Lafave is a New Mexico State Police Officer who has developed a reputation for catching DUI offenders and taking them off the road. Although this has become his specialty, one DUI situation, in particular, had an overwhelming emotional effect on him and the officer broke down. In August of \u2026\nFirst Trailer For Queen's Biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Arrives And It Looks Amazing\nIconic would be too small of a word to describe the greatest pomp-rock band of the 70's, Queen. A quartet of talented Brits that changed the world with their complex harmonies, elaborate instrumentals and opera-like vocals with timeless anthems like We Will Rock You, Somebody to Love and We Are \u2026\nVideo Captures The Moment A Cop Punches Bikini-Clad Girl In The Head During Arrest\nSeveral police officers from Wildwood, New Jersey have been put on administrative duty after a video was posted to Twitter showing them punching a woman in the head during an arrest on the beach. The video, posted May 26th on Twitter by Alexis Hewitt, shows officers punching 20-year-old Philadelphia native Emily \u2026\nMother Claims That These Makeup Removing Wipes Caused Skin Reaction\nNeutrogena, which calls itself the #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand in the world, has a wide variety of skin care products. Like any product, there are good and bad reviews, but Neutrogena came under fire when a mother decided to make a 'rash' decision and take to social media about \u2026\nHusband Of Woman Killed On Southwest Flight: 'I Immediately Thought Of The Kids'\nWhen Michael Riordan received a call from a Philadelphia hospital chaplain concerning his wife, Jennifer Riordan, he thought they had the wrong number. When asked if he was married to Jennifer Riordan, Michael replied, \"well, my wife was flying to Chicago today so you must be looking for somebody else,\" \u2026\nTexas School Shooting Suspect Won't Face Death Penalty\nDimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year old accused of committing the recent shooting in a Santa Fe high school that left 10 people dead, will not face the death penalty if he is convicted. He would also be eligible for parole after 40 years in prison. This is because of two Supreme \u2026\n5 Exercises To Get Rid Of Underarm Fat And Breast Side Fat\nToday, it's not so much about being skinny. Rather social media and society, in general, like to promote a healthy body. Though dieting is a big part of that, exercising has a huge role in this as well. We all may have different bodies, but we all want to be \u2026\nShe Spent Her Life Lying About Who She Was, Her Daughter Found Out And It Changed Everything\nGail Lukasik is a writer and she recently appeared on Megyn Kelly Today to discuss her memoir, White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing, and to talk about her mom's racial secret. Gail is also a mystery writer and is the author of the Leigh Girard mystery \u2026\nInternet Goes Crazy About Man Who Looks Like Disney Prince After Losing 70 Lbs While Taking Care Of His Sick Mom\nAh, spring. A time where the winter blues start slowly disappearing, the winter jackets start getting put away and a time where we all start thinking about our summer bods. I mean, it's definitely easier said than done, but if you put your mind to it, anything is possible. Meet \u2026\nIf You Own An Original 'The Little Mermaid' VHS, You Could Be Sitting On A Small Fortune\nWere you a Disney kid growing up in the 90s? If you were, then you probably had a bookshelf filled with classic Disney movies on VHS, all contained in those bulky, plastic clamshell cases. Well, according to some auctions on eBay, if you held on to a VHS copy of \u2026\nSelfie From Top Of Everest Attempts To Destroy Flat-Earth Theory Once And For All\nWe are in the year 2018, and to our utter dismay, there is still a segment of the population that requires photo evidence that the earth is in fact not flat. Although anyone who has a particle-sized belief in science knows this is ridiculous in the extreme, there are skeptics \u2026\nJessica Tedesco is a York alumni with a journalism degree from Humber College. She is a celebrity enthusiast, avid movie-goer and unbearable Leaf fan. Her happy place is Indigo.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The gold price hit another all-time high on Wednesday, rising to $1,567.70 an ounce as the euro crisis deepened and on the prospect of more quantitative easing in the US.\nBy Garry White 13 July 2011 \u2022 16:56 pm\nThe premium on gold coins such as Krugerrands is quite wide. This means you have to pay more than their weight in gold to buy these investments Credit: Photo: Reuters\nGold has always been about wealth preservation - it does well in a time of crisis. It does not pay any interest and there are costs associated with its storage, but many investors have lost faith in \"fiat\" currencies as governments across the world have printed money.\nA fiat currency is one that is not backed by gold in a central bank depository. Today, all currencies are fiat currencies. US President Richard Nixon cancelled the direct convertibility of dollars into gold 40 years ago.\nHow to invest in gold:\nThe premium on gold coins such as sovereigns and Krugerrands is quite wide. This means you have to pay more than their weight in gold to buy these investments.\nHowever, they are portable and easily stored, as well as being a collectable. You are, in effect, buying a piece of history.\nHowever, there will be security issues and insurance costs to consider as well.\nYou can also buy gold bars through bullion dealers. However, storage and insurance is a problem here, too.\nThere are a number of organisations and mints that run certificate schemes for gold in their vaults.\nThis means you can invest in the precious metal without having to store the bars yourself. You receive a certificate of deposit showing how much gold has been allocated to you.\nPerhaps the most famous is the Perth Mint Certificate from Australia, but there are a number of UK business now offering this service. This programme is the only government guaranteed certificate program in the world.\nGold exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been around since 2003. It is a way of buying into movements in the gold price without physically storing the metal yourself.\nIt is preferable that any ETF purchased is backed by physical gold.\nGold shares\nGold shares have been falling this year, despite the rising price of the metal. This is because investors are worried about rising costs for staff, energy and equipment.\nHowever, this situation may be about to reverse.\nThere are a plethora of gold miners listed in London - from blue-chips like Randgold Resources and African Barrick Gold to tiddlers listed on Aim.\nThis is perhaps the best way to invest in gold, since the price of the metal can be volatile. It is important to invest in companies that are increasing production in the next few years, as it acts as a hedge against any falls in the metal.\nGold miners currently recommended as buy by the Telegraph's Questor column include Centamin Egypt - which is a risky play because its gold mine is in Egypt \u2013 Petropavlovsk, European Goldfields and Cluff Gold.\nFor professional, no-obligation financial investment advice visit the Telegraph Investment Service , call free on 0800 345 7531 or request a call back\nTelegraph Investment Service is provided by Skipton Financial Services Limited, which is authorised & regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Skipton Building Society.Skipton Financial Services FSA Registration No. is 100013. Telegraph Media Group is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Skipton Financial Services.\nFrom Charlottesville to the Capitol: how the far-right went mainstream in America\nBy Josie Ensor 16 Jan 2021, 5:35pm\nCoronavirus latest news: Ending lockdown in February would be a 'disaster', Sage scientist warns\nBy Mason Boycott-Owen 16 Jan 2021, 5:33pm\nBy Jordan Kelly-Linden 16 Jan 2021, 5:31pm\nWentworth hacked and personal details of entire member list stolen\nBy Robert Mendick 16 Jan 2021, 5:28pm","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"The prices of 8 Mahindra vehicles went up, the highest increase of \u0a95\u0abf\u0a82\u0aae 92 thousand\nThe price of raw materials used in vehicles has been steadily rising due to the Kovid epidemic. Prices from two-wheelers to four-wheelers are rising 2 to 3 times this year. This has also affected Mahindra's four wheeler. Prices of the company's vehicles have gone up from Rs 3,356 to Rs 92,000. Mahindra's demanding off-road SUV Thar has become the most expensive. However, this car is also the most expensive compared to other companies.\nThe price of Thar increased from Rs 32,000 to Rs 92,000\nDepending on the variant, the Mahindra Thar is priced between Rs 32,000 and Rs 92,000. That is, the company has increased the price of this car from 2% to 7% since its launch. Thar has become Mahindra's popular SUV. Its delivery is taking more than 3 months. Even after this, it has received more than 50,000 bookings. The company is constantly trying to increase its production. But the situation is not getting normal.\nMahindra car prices from July 1 (in rupees)\nModel Minimum Maximum\nUltras G4 - 3,356\nBolero 22,452 22,508\nKUV100 2,670 2,672\nMarazo 26,597 30,867\nScorpio 27,211 37,395\nXUV300 3,606 24,029\nXUV500 3,062 3,068\nThar 32,000 92,000\nSince July 1, almost all Mahindra vehicles have become more expensive. The Mahindra Ultras G4 has seen the lowest increase of Rs 3,356. However, its price starts at around Rs 29 lakh. On the other hand, Bolero has gone up to Rs 22,508, KUV 100 to Rs 2,672, Marazzo to Rs 30,867, Scorpio to Rs 3,395, XUV 300 to Rs 24,029, XUV 500 to Rs 3,068.\nMahindra's new 2021 model\nThe company may launch the new Bolero Neo, TUV300 on the 15th of this month. As well, the all new XUV700 is also planned to launch this year. The company may also announce its price soon.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"MetokaBooks.com\nStories, blogs, and thoughts from Robin Morph\nInsomnia Posts\nSneak Peeks and Samples\nSampleScraps\nTalismen: Birthstones\nChapters 1-5\nIs there only one story?\nPosted on April 30, 2018 April 30, 2018 by Robin Morph\nOriginally published 4\/30\/2018. Includes minor grammatical edits. Lead image from Pexels.\nMany of you have heard that there is only one story, and it keeps being retold in different forms. Is this real, and should we even care?\nThe side you take in this debate boils down to your definition of a \"story\". Of course every combination of letters in the alphabet is different. But the \"one story\" theory states that every story ever told asks the question, \"Who am I?\" or \"What is man?\" or something along those lines. In a way, this is true. Every human wants to find herself, and every society wants to know its place in the world.\nBut in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't entirely matter.\nToday, we're talking about the implications of \"cliches\", and how many people believe that it's impossible to have an entirely original story.\nIs a story unoriginal if it's happened before?\nI think we can all agree that every story is different, yet some still seem more original than others based on our exposure to the topics\/technology discussed. How would we view West Side Story differently if no one had ever heard of Romeo and Juliet? Does Romeo and Juliet's fame make all stories of forbidden love cliche or unoriginal?\n1. New technology\nStories themselves obviously vary over time because certain things exist now which didn't exist twenty years ago. A story about someone getting sucked into a battle in Pokemon Go must be original then, right?\nWell, the \"one story\" theory isn't based on what happens in the story; it's based on what the story is about. What moral does the protagonist learn from fighting Pikachu instead of having him fight for her entertainment? Surely every moral known to man has been used before?\n2. Themes vary by society\nName a lesson you learned through watching Zootopia. Now name the theme you learned through reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Sound similar? How similar are themes between superhero movies? Love stories?\nThis seems to support the \"one story\" theory by demonstrating that common themes can be used in drastically different stories. But then there's one question\u2026.\nWhat if the morals change?\nThree hundred years ago, a very common moral might have been \"be a dutiful son\/daughter\". Would that fly today? What about societies that place more emphasis on teamwork than individuality? What about xenophobic societies vs. diverse societies? Are the morals of their stories not different at all? Sure, we found similarities between Shakespeare and Harper Lee, but they are both descendants of the same culture, even within 300-400 years of each other. Humans have been telling stories for ~20,000 years, and we can't just exclude non-English speakers.\n3. People should be reminded of lessons.\nFinal question: does it matter? Should you really care if a story has been told before?\nI once watched a Nostalgia Critic review of Lilo & Stitch, and he thought the idea of a hostile alien experiment learning to love was cliche. But he is 10 years older than I am. When I watched Lilo & Stitch as a child, I thought it was the coolest, most original idea ever.\nEven though I've already learned the lesson taught in Zootopia, that doesn't mean I think any less of it. In fact, I think more of it, because sometimes people need to be reminded of these lessons. Kids need to learn them for the first time. I need to see the same lesson in a different light so that I don't lose sight of its true meaning.\nOverall, I think the \"one story\" theory is a great conversational topic.\nBut otherwise, it's kind of pointless.\nPosted in Insomnia PostsTagged art, blog, books, cliche, history, learning, life, media, movie, new, novel, school, science, society, story, writing\n6 Real Problems with an Alien Invasion\nYour Name by Makoto Shinkai (2016)\nView Metoka Publishing's profile on Facebook\nView RobinMorph's profile on Twitter\nView BlackPage13's profile on Instagram\nTalismen\nRequest at Your Local Library\n2 Star Book Reviews (3)\n5 Star Book Reviews (10)\nAll Book Reviews (28)\nInsomnia Posts (40)\nVertical Integration (1)\nWriting Samples and Scraps (22)\nObligatory Copyright Statement\nCopyright @ 2017 Metoka Publishing\nThose who plagiarize this site will be subjected to the worst torture our site can offer: being forced to read the first draft of Charango.\nFollow MetokaBooks.com on WordPress.com\nMetoka Publishing on Facebook\nProud Member of Amazon Associates\nElizabeth Robinson is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}
{"text":"Biden reveals details of his conversation with Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of Khashoggi\nJuly 21, 2022 by propeciapharm.com\nA resort owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump in New Jersey will, according to New Yorker magazine, host a round of the international golf tournament invited by Riyadh in a move that has sparked controversy.\nA group of families of 9\/11 victims who have long accused Saudi Arabia of aiding the terrorists who carried out the attacks sent a letter to Trump last Sunday, saying they had \"extreme pain, frustration and anger \"felt as a result of the decision to host the Saudi-sponsored competition at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey for three days from July 29.\n\"The evidence against Saudi Arabia and its role in the attacks is clearer than ever,\" said Brett Eagleson, president of 9\/11 Justice and the son of one of the victims of the World Trade Center attack. .\nThe group has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Saudi Arabia of complicity in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001, according to the Associated Press.\nIt also sought the release of classified FBI documents related to Saudi Arabia's role in the attacks.\nThe Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks. But family members said Trump blamed the Saudis in a 2016 Fox News interview.\n\"Who blew up the World Trade Center? They were not Iraqis, they were Saudis. Look at Saudi Arabia. Open the documents,\" Trump told Fox and Friends.\nAccording to the \"New Yorker\", Trump on Monday indirectly responded to the criticism of the families of the victims of September 11 when he advised through his social platform that professional golfers who did not join the Saudi tour, in some circles known as the \"Ponso Tour\", \"get a chance to get a chance to win the tournament.\" money now. \"\nIn its report, the magazine noted that Trump \"avoids talking about the events of September 11, the message of protest he received or talking about the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, or that the Saudi government through its investments in golf, football and other professional sports, is clearly trying to distract. \" its oppressive and tyrannical nature.\nJohn Hirsch, program director at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a research and advocacy group co-founded by Jamal Khashoggi, said Riyadh's spending on the sports field was \"part of a broader game by the Saudis. regime so that people forget events and facts like September 11 or the execution of 81 people in one day, as happened recently. \"\n\"Instead of acknowledging these issues, Trump wrote in his post that all golfers who remain loyal to the PGA Championship will pay an inevitably expensive price,\" Hersh said, criticizing the former US president.\nTrump referred to the monopoly issues that the U.S. Department of Justice is considering to prevent PGA Tour players from participating in the Saudi-backed LIV tournament.\nold enmity\nThe \"New Yorker\" indicated that Trump is not only trying to make a profit and make money by hosting that tournament, he also has a \"willingness to take revenge\" on the \"BGE\" tour that took place in 2016 withdrawn, and during Trump's successful presidential campaign, the championship A large number of another track he owns, known as the \"Trump National Doral,\" made him furious.\nSince his purchase of New Jersey in 2002, he has invested heavily to make it worthy of one of the four major golf tournaments.\nBut in January last year, following the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, the PGA withdrew its 2022 tournament from Bedminster, and PGA President Jim Richerson said at the time that pairing the tournament with Trump Stadium \"the trademark would be damaged. \" And it endangers. his ability to provide many programs and the continuation of his mission. \"\nThe decision comes after many politicians and others blamed Trump for the attack on the Capitol by his supporters, which killed five people.\n\"We felt that given the tragic events of Wednesday, we could no longer hold the championship in Bedminster. The damage from having it was irreparable and the only real way of action was to leave.\"\nThe association, which has a membership of 29,000 golf professionals in the United States, signed the contract to host the tournament in Bedminster in 2014.\nThe federation previously canceled a Grand Slam tournament at Trump National Stadium in Los Angeles in 2015 after derogatory remarks made by the outgoing president in 2015 about Mexican immigrants.\nCategories Money Golf\nOpening of the \"W Algarve\" in Portugal\nThe aesthetics of pedagogical discourse in 'A time travel through time' | Aqil Hashem","meta":{"redpajama_set_name":"RedPajamaCommonCrawl"}}