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Now that we have had a couple of days to play with and dissect Apple's new Safari 4 beta, it's time to survey the state of its third-party add-ons and utilities. Most of the major players have already added Safari 4 support, but updates are arriving quite quickly from across Safari's third-party ecosystem. Here's a list of recently-updated add-ons that now work with the Safari 4 beta.
1Password - Always on the ball, Agile Web Solutions has released version 2.9.9 of its cross-browser password and identity manager, 1Password. You can use the built-in updating system (without checking for betas if you prefer to stick with official releases), or grab the new version from the company's site.
Glims - This donationware add-on from MacHangout brings a "cocktail of features" to Safari like tab-opening options (open to right of current tab, etc.), a full screen mode, more search engines, more download features, and tab favicons. Version 1.0 build 13 brings Safari 4 beta compatibility, a handful of bug fixes, and a couple of tiny new features. However, we should note that in this version, favicons in tabs does not seem to be working.
Saft - If you use Safari but have never hear of Haoli's Saft, we recommend you start looking for a new apartment so you can move out from underneath that rock. Saft adds roughly one bazillion features to Safari (scroll down on the product page to dive into the list), and a new version 11 beta brings Safari 4 compatibility while removing a couple of features ("bookmark this group of tabs" and tab thumbnails) that Apple has incorporated natively.
Keywurl - This clever donationware add-on allows for performing targeted search queries in the address bar for a variety of services and communities, such as Google, IMDb, and Amazon. Typing something like "flickr beautiful sunsets" will take you directly to a Flickr search page for that query, or you can right-click words on a page to use them as a keyword search as well. Keywurl 1.4 beta 3 brings Safari 4 beta compatibility.
CosmoPod - CosmoPod allows users to easily download most Flash, DivX, Windows Media, and Real Media files, then convert them for Apple's media gadgets. A small icon is added to Safari's address bar to make the process about as simple as can be, and a variety of settings allow for customizing quality. Files can be played during the download and conversion process, and iTunes movie tags can even be set right from CosmoPod. Version 2.9 brings Safari 4 beta compatibility, as well as support for H.264/AAC Flash videos.
Besides ad-blocking add-ons (which we are not linking to for obvious "need to feed families, pay rent" reasons), that's about all that we have seen so far. If we missed updates for your favorite Safari add-ons, list them in the comments and we'll update.


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A stronghold of shady politicians and ruthless criminal gangs, Nanchenkotta is beset by problems and civilian life in here is a nightmare. However, the arrival of a fearless police officer with a strong sense of justice is about to change Nanchenkotta`s law and order situation - once and for all.
Sorry! None of the critics have had a chance to review this movie yet.

subset: commoncrawl


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An article that is attributed to Sync NI Team has either involved multiple authors, written by a contributor or the main body of content is from a press release.
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La sécurité routière au Mali : États des lieux et perspectives. Presentation by Tidiani Ibrahima Diabate, Agora, Mali
|Date of Publication
|12 October 2017
|Publication Type
|Presentation, slides, speech
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Things were not going well for Amelia Earhart on the morning of 2 July 1937. Around 19 hours earlier, she'd taken off from New Guinea bound for Howland Island, a minuscule, 0.7-square mile (1.8-square kilometre) speck of land situated between Hawaii and Australia. She had already travelled 22,000 miles (35,400 km) around the equator, and just 7,000 miles (11,300 km) of Pacific Ocean stood between her and the record for world's longest round-the-world flight. But one by one, problems had been accumulating on that fateful flight. Now, it was becoming apparent that not just her goal, but also her life was at stake.
"We must be on you, but cannot see you – but gas is running low," she radioed to the United States Coast Guard ship assigned to help guide Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, to Howland Island. Due to a series of still-debated misunderstandings and errors, the pair could not hear any of the voice transmissions from the ship, and their attempts to use radio navigation to locate the island failed.
At 8:43 am, reportedly sounding close to tears, Earhart broadcast her last known transmission – "We are on the line 157 337... We are running on line north and south" – indicating that she was following a particular bearing in the hope of stumbling across her destination. As history shows, she never made it.
Few missing persons have inspired such enduring intrigue as Earhart. After her disappearance, the US government offered $4 million – the most ever spent on search and rescue until that time – on a 17-day air and sea mission to find her. Rumours and outlandish theories of what became of Earhart – that she was captured and executed by the Japanese; that her disappearance was a hoax so she could assume an alternate identity as a New Jersey housewife – made their way into popular culture. Most assumed Earhart simply crashed into the ocean and died.
There is another possibility, however.
Some evidence indicates that Earhart may have become a castaway on Nikumaroro Island (formerly known as Gardner Island), an uninhabited atoll about 350 miles south of her intended destination. For five nights after Earhart disappeared, the Navy picked up distress signals originating from bearings crossing Nikumaroro. It took them a week to get a battleship carrying airplanes out to the remote island, and by that time the signals had stopped. When the planes flew over Nikumaroro, the pilots saw no sign of Earhart or of recent habitation. The Navy wrote the signals off as bogus.
'Skeleton, Human…'
Three years later, a British coconut harvesting expedition to the island found a partial skeleton of what appeared to be a castaway. Giant coconut crabs, apparently, had dismembered and carried off many of the bones, but the crew collected those that remained. They gathered up a few other items found at the scene, including pieces of a woman's and a man's shoe and a box that once contained a navigational device. In the spring of 1941, the bones arrived in Fiji, where a local doctor examined them and concluded they came from a short, stocky man. The bones and objects subsequently disappeared, and only a few dozen members of the British colonial administration ever heard about the findings.
Few people believed the whispered, lingering rumours about the mysterious skeleton until, in 1997, the original paperwork turned up. Peter McQuarrie, a member of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or TIGHAR, stumbled across a file labeled "Skeleton, Human, finding of, Gardner Island" while conducting research at the National Archive of Kiribati, in Tarawa. Those documents led TIGHAR to the archive of the British Western Pacific High Commission, located at the time in the basement of a secure government communications facility in Hanslope Park, around 60 miles north-west of London. In 1998, TIGHAR secured clearance to enter the Hanslope facility and discovered the remainder of the paperwork related to the bones.
For TIGHAR members, this served as a sort of eureka moment. The group had already been leading excursions to the island since 1989, slowly gathering evidence – a piece of a plane that didn't match any from World War II, a woman's shoe heel – that hinted at Earhart's possible presence but never confirmed it definitively. TIGHAR asked two forensic anthropologists to examine the Fijian doctor's notes. Both concluded that he had been mistaken in his interpretation. The bones actually belonged to a woman, most likely of northern European descent, who stood around five feet and seven inches tall.
Encouraged, the TIGHAR team subsequently carried out three archaeological surveys on the island, uncovering artifacts that speak of an American woman from the 1930s, including a broken compact, personal care products and anti-freckle cream (Earhart reportedly considered her freckles unattractive). A bone fragment that came from a human fingertip raised hope, but geneticists at the University of Oklahoma were unable to recover enough mitochondrial DNA to test it against samples provided by the Earhart family.
Evidence pointed towards Earhart possibly landing in the coral reef surrounding Nikumaroro. It would have been low tide when she landed, meaning her plane could have stayed upright long enough for her to send out distress signals. Eventually, TIGHAR members hypothesise, the tide washed it down the steep reef shelf, engulfing it in several hundred feet of ocean. A photo taken by a British expedition in 1937, three months after Earhart's disappearance, reveals an object sticking out of the reef that should not exist on an uninhabited island. The US State Department confirmed that the debris could be a piece from a Lockheed Electra 10E, Earhart's plane, as did independent forensic examiner Jeff Glickman.
"I think the fact that we have a photograph of an object on the reef that was taken 90 days after she was lost and, by every measure, has the right configuration for being Lockheed Electra 10E landing gear is pretty convincing," says Glickman, who specialises in image analysis.
New clues
Last summer, TIGHAR returned to the island for the tenth time and deployed a Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to collect sonar imagery of the vertical face of the reef for the first time. The AUV gathered dozens of hours of recordings by scanning from the shallows to the depths in the area near the unknown object pictured in the 1937 photograph. Nothing of note turned up during the trip, but in March, a TIGHAR forum member spotted an anomaly in that data. Further analysis revealed a large object, about the size and shape of the Lockheed Electra's wing or fuselage. Another $2-3 million dollar expedition will be required in order investigate the anomaly up close, to see whether it is an odd coral formation, a sunken ship or, perhaps, the evidence that solves the Earhart mystery. "What we need is that last piece, the thing that connects all other evidence to Earhart," says Ric Gillespie, TIGHAR's founder and executive director.
"I think we'll find the plane," Glickman adds confidently. "My goal is to get it back to the Smithsonian [Museum] where we can have an intelligent conversation about the courageousness of this woman and what she accomplished."
A tin box in New Zealand discovered earlier this month by an archivist at the New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch may also offer vital clues. Containing a slip of paper with the words "Gardner Island", the box is said to contain 45 aerial photos taken for the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey 15 months after Earhart's disappearance, which could provide detailed views of the area.
If Earhart did crash land on Nikumaroro, her last days were most likely a struggle. "There are a lot of ways to die on that island," Gillespie says. "I've [accidentally] tried several of them."
No freshwater exists, save that that falls out of the sky. Plenty of fish and marine birds inhabit Nikumaroro and its surrounding waters, but a person could still starve to death if they expended more energy chasing after darting fish and skittish birds than those small snacks would provide. Alternatively, falling on the jagged reef while hunting for food or checking the plane could have resulted in lacerations, making a fatal infection more likely. Gillespie does not know how long the castaway survived, but speculates weeks to months, not a year. Archeological evidence has revealed a campfire pit, animal bones and partially melted broken bottles – perhaps used for sterilising water. "It's honestly a tragic tale," Gillespie says. "Someone was really using their imagination, working hard, but ultimately not making it."
TIGHAR has searched available historical documents – Lloyd's shipping records, Colonial Service records, newspapers and more – and has not found any accounts of Europeans who went missing in the South Central Pacific between 1933, the date stamped on the glass bottles found at the castaway's campfire site, and 1940, when the bones were found.
Still, the evidence on Nikumaroro could turn out to be an odd coincidence and wishful thinking, meaning that the castaway's bones actually belong to some other poor, stranded soul. In this scenario, Earhart simply crashed into the ocean and died on impact – probably a preferable ending to being eaten by giant coconut crabs.
If you would like to comment on this article or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter


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Honda Fit EV
The gas-powered Honda Fit, with its quirky exterior and roomy interior, has always been a popular ride. Beginning in 2013, Honda will offer an all-electric version. The Fit EV retains the same fan-favorite seating and stowage, but comes with a rating of 118 miles-per-gallon of gasoline equivalent (MPGe) — the highest among all EVs.


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Varsity Dance Team
Team Albums.
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Home of the Patriots
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Yorktown High School
5200 Yorktown Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22207
The official website of Yorktown High Patriots Athletics
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Terms And Conditions1) This Deal is Fully Customizable according to the needs and preferences of the customer.
2) For Booking WhatsApp DealsHai Help at 8335083753.
3) It is mandatory to provide the QR code or alphanumeric code to the merchant to avail the deal/s.
4) Cancellation : Not Applicable


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Wordscapes Field 5 Answers for the Android & IOS game "Wordscapes" by PeopleFun. Get the letter and word solutions for this level below. Both the Itunes and Droid flora answers are highlighted in yellow.
This Wordscapes Answer = BRIBERY-BRIBE-BERRY-EBB-BIB-RIB-RYE
Above in yellow you should see the correct Wordscapes Field 5 Solution. Note that, all the answers you see above are the same for both the Google Play and Itunes versions of the game, as both versions of Wordscapes use the exact same questions and answers in all of their game apps. Also, please note that this site is in no way affiliated with People Fun (the makers of Wordscape). We're simply here as solution site, so you can continue on progressing through the game. Don't forget to bookmark OozeGames.com for all your word solution needs!
Go Back to the Full List of Wordscapes Field Answers


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South Kensington, London
South Kensington is a charming area to the southwest of Hyde Park. Here you'll find the affluent Kensington High Street and Gloucester Road areas, but also the more down-to-earth Earl's Court.
If you have a thing for designer labels or high-class restaurants, then you should head straight to Kensington High Street. Here you'll also find Kensington Roof Gardens which are open to the public.
London's Albertopolis is located east of Gloucester Road. This is a must-see area which includes the Royal Albert Hall, Science Museum and many more cultural highlights.
1.2 km
Natural History Museum
3.4 km
Buckingham Palace
3.7 km
Portobello Road Market
3.9 km
St. James's Park
4.2 km
Regent Street
4.2 km
Oxford Street
4.2 km
Westminster Abbey
4.5 km
Madame Tussaud's
4.6 km
Big Ben
4.6 km
Trafalgar Square
4.9 km
London Eye
5.2 km
Covent Garden Piazza
6.4 km
Tate Modern
6.6 km
Camden Market
6.7 km
St Paul's Cathedral
6.9 km
Borough Market
7.2 km
London Dungeon
7.9 km
Tower Bridge
8 km
Tower of London
+1 646 810 8678
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Sweet pair of mid-century glazed pottery mugs in olive with abstract rust designs. No markings, but they are possibly of German origin. Clean condition.
3 5/8"h x 2 3/4"w(rim only).
Shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer. Please make sure your shipping information is correct. Re-shipping orders returned to us due to buyer error(incorrect address at checkout) will incur new shipping charges which are the sole responsibility of the buyer. If you refuse, send back, or re-route your shipment to a location other than the shipping address on your receipt, you will be solely responsible for reshipping costs. Items returned to us without a prior agreement will not be refunded. Shipping charges are non-refundable.
Feel free to contact us for a shipping quote on furniture items. Items that are too large to ship UPS will be shipped via U-Ship carrier. The estimated delivery time for out of state shipments is approximately 3 to 4 weeks from the time you make your purchase. Sometimes it can be sooner. Certain areas of the country take longer to book a carrier and delivery may take additional time.
Local pick-up welcomed! Simply contact us before making your purchase and we will remove the shipping fee.
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
We truly want you to be happy with your purchase. We do our best describe items accurately and to the best of our knowledge. We are glad to assist you and encourage you to ask any questions. Additional photos provided upon request.
Kindly understand, we do not accept returns or exchanges. All sales are final.


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Bought A LOT of things today. Lol
After work I drove to Petaling Street. OMG FOR THE FIRST TIME!! I wanted to get a magazine or book of Michael which my sis saw last week. But I couldn't find it. This trip wasted my time where I couldn't find the book I want, I couldn't find the comics I want and a fucking pervert brushed his hands against mine when we walked pass. Ugh fucking middle age fuktard. I bought 3 comics though.
Then I went to Jusco to get my Thriller CD. Yes I got Thriller! But before that I went to MPH and holy crap there was a tribute magazine by People magazine! I bought it immediately and atm more cash to buy my CD. Lol That book is worth every penny. It has such awesome photos and details inside and I love it. And I bought the last 1! =D
But when I reached home I noticed the part that holds the CD, you know that thing that keeps the disk from falling, IS ALL BROKE. I was like wtf. I went to exchanged it for a new 1 later. XD
Ahh, I need more money.
P/S: I cried out loud just now watching "Michael Jackson Unmasked" on TV. =( It's just too sad.


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Sri Lanka opposition pull out of judge's hearing
Sri Lankan opposition lawmakers Friday withdrew from a committee looking into impeachment charges against the country's chief justice, saying the process is flawed and unfair.
The United States added to criticism, saying the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was "part of a disturbing deterioration of democratic norms in Sri Lanka."
The government President Mahinda Rajapaksa accuses Bandaranayake of having unexplained wealth and misuse of office, a charge she denies. The opposition says the impeachment is a move by the government to stifle judicial independence and concentrate more powers in the hands of Rajapaksa.
A parliamentary committee with seven government lawmakers and four opposition party members was appointed to look into the charges against the chief justice. On Thursday, she said she would not appear before the committee again because she will not get a fair hearing.
On Friday, lawmaker John Amaratunga told reporters that four opposition lawmakers who sat on the committee walked out because they could not be party to an unfair process.
The lawmakers said the government members using their numerical majority rejected what they said were reasonable demands to establish a procedure for the inquiry, and give Bandaranayake an opportunity to cross examine her accusers and enough time to study the 300 documents relevant to the case.
The opposition said that too many of the accusers and judges in the case were from the same group - government lawmakers, whereas in other countries such inquiries are assigned to separate legal professionals appointed by parliament.
With no clear precedence and no agreed procedure the inquiry was held in an ad-hoc manner, they said.
Also government lawmakers treated Bandaranayake in an insulting and intimidating manner and their remarks clearly showed they had already found her guilty, the lawmakers said.
The impeachment is a culmination of a months-long dispute between the parliament and the judiciary.
Bandaranayake began to be heavily criticized by the government after she ruled that legislation giving sweeping powers to the economic development minister violated the constitution. The minister is Rajapaksa's brother.
The case has drawn international attention.
In a statement Friday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S is deeply concerned about actions surrounding the impeachment trial and urged the government to ensure due process.
"These latest developments are part of a disturbing deterioration of democratic norms in Sri Lanka, including infringement on the independence of the judiciary," Toner said, calling for the government to uphold the rule of law and democratic governance.
Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.


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STELLENBOSCH, South Africa - For any track athlete, time counts more than anything else. The minutes, the seconds and the fractions of seconds. For Oscar Pistorius now, it's the days, weeks, months and — maybe — the years that pass.
The South African national championships came and went this weekend. No click, click, click of carbon-fiber blades. No orange-tinted lenses on sponsored sunglasses. No double-amputee running freely alongside able-bodied athletes. No Oscar Pistorius.
Exactly a year ago, this meet sent Pistorius on his way to the London Olympics, an important step on his celebrated path to the biggest sports event of all and his great achievement.
This year's South African track season began on a sunbathed university track in the historic old wine-producing town of Stellenbosch in southwest South Africa as the 2013 international circuit may well end — without Pistorius.
But even though the last 12 months have seen him reach unprecedented highs for a disabled athlete, should that hold any significance now in the context of the terrible tragedy that unfolded two months ago at Pistorius' home and sent the South African — in a swirling frenzy of front-page headlines worldwide — from Olympic inspiration to man accused of murder?
Where does Pistorius the athlete go from here? Where does he end up? And does he matter anymore?
To talk about Pistorius' track career so soon after the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp can be seen as insensitive. Where is its importance or relevance in the larger story? More specifically, why should he be able to run again and earn money after he shot and killed his girlfriend? The lives of Steenkamp's family will never be able to return completely to normal.
It's a difficult question.
A South African high court judge ruled swiftly and decisively that Pistorius could continue his running career, invoking the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty. The IAAF, the body that governs the sport, said a similar thing when it announced that Pistorius would be able to run at this year's world championships if — like any other athlete — he qualified.
The world hasn't found it anywhere near as easy as Judge Bert Bam or the IAAF to make a decision on Pistorius the runner.
The image of Pistorius running on track on his blades once inspired many. Now it repulses some, maybe even those who used to cheer for him. At the very least it causes strong conjecture.
A grainy photograph taken by a South African high school student last month is the only public image we have of Pistorius on the track since the Feb. 14 shooting death of Steenkamp. He's alone in the photo, walking on his blades at his regular practice facility at the University of Pretoria, hands on his hips as if he's catching his breath after a tough workout. His image in the distance is trapped between the bars of a metal fence in the foreground. The amateur photo, taken by a teenager on a cellphone, encapsulates Pistorius the athlete and Pistorius the alleged killer in a moment.
When and if Pistorius does return to competitive running, there's a second time element to play out.
Facing a likely lengthy murder trial, there is a chance that Pistorius the athlete might be back on track and under the closest and sternest of scrutiny while on trial for the premeditated murder of his girlfriend. In terms of any track comeback during that time, he'll be far, far more isolated than he was when he first wanted to run against able-bodied athletes and fought through an international ban and the doubts of many fellow competitors.
There will — and some say there should — be little sympathy.
But this might be the last remaining thing to hold on to for the disabled boy who became an Olympian, an inspiration and then a man facing life in prison for murder: He always ran for himself, he said. He didn't aim to be an icon for others, he said. Running, for him, is personal.
To understand Oscar Pistorius fully, you might always have to take into account his running, and the role it played — and still may play — for him. He might need it, not because it's what made him famous and known to millions, and quite wealthy at the age of 26, but because it's what made him just able to stand alongside others in the first place. It made him accepted and a triumph in his own thinking before it made him exceptional and a triumph to others.
His agent, Peet van Zyl, went some way toward explaining the meaning when talking about a possible track return recently. Pistorius' running future now depends on him and only him, Van Zyl and Pistorius' family have said. But "Oscar puts his blades on like we put our shoes on," Van Zyl said.
The message Pistorius has often conveyed when talking about running might be significant in the weeks, months and possibly years that come.
"I struggle when people ask, 'What are you trying to prove? What message are you trying to give?'" Pistorius said in an interview once with The Associated Press. "It's not about sending a message. I'm not trying to prove a point, I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can be the best that I want to be."
Pistorius' success on the track should now be irrelevant in the larger tragedy.
And maybe, rightly or wrongly, he will never run again at a major meet. Maybe there's meaning in the fact that a new young runner Van Zyl represents called Wayde van Niekerk won the 400-meter title at the South African nationals this weekend under the mountains in Stellenbosch. And maybe there's something in the fact that Pistorius' name was whispered here and there at Coetzenburg Stadium, but it wasn't as prevalent as you might think at the two-day meet of South Africa's top athletes.
If ever Pistorius was going to run for himself, and what it may mean to him and him alone, it's now.
Follow Gerald Imray at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP


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Lockheed Martin, the lead contractor on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, wants the Pentagon to sign longer contracts for more planes as part of an effort to reduce the per-unit price of the world's most expensive weapons system. The idea is to move toward full production more quickly, so the program can start benefit from economies of scale sooner, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Lockheed Martin is expected to present its proposal to the Defense Department later this month.
The price of the F-35 continues to be a sticking point as the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin negotiate the contract for the next batch of fighter jets. The price has fallen steadily as the production process has slowly ramped up, from more than $250 million per aircraft in the first order in 2007 to roughly $95 million in the most recent order in 2016. (The prices are for the F-35A, the Air Force version that will be built in the largest numbers. The Navy and Marine versions of the plane cost millions more, though their prices are expected to drop, too.) The goal is to achieve a per-unit price of $80 million, but it's still not clear when that milestone will be achieved.
Critics worry, though, that it could be a big mistake to agree on a contract covering hundreds of aircraft when the program itself is still experiencing significant technical problems, ranging from buggy software to flaws in launching missiles and firing its onboard cannon, which will require billions more to identify and fix. (Just last week, the Pentagon announced that it will cost an estimated $16 billion to modernize the existing fleet of 270 F-35s.) And even if the per-unit price does come down faster, it probably won't put much of a dent in the program's estimated $1.5 trillion lifetime cost.


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Therapy monitoring
Therapy monitoring is an important emerging application of imaging modalities. These and other current research topics include:
- near-infrared imaging of brain tissue;
- near-infrared spectroscopy for diagnosing peripheral vascular disease;
- electrical impedance spectroscopy for radiation therapy monitoring;
- magnetic resonance elastography for detecting brain or prostate lesions; to follow the progression of diabetic damage in the foot; and to answer basic questions of wave propagation in tissue;
- microwave imaging spectroscopy for hyperthermia therapy monitoring, brain imaging, and detection of early-stage osteoporosis;
- electrical impedance tomography for monitoring traumatic brain injury progression and therapy.
Faculty contact: Ryan Halter, Paul M. Meaney, Keith D. Paulsen


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Quality Stables is a full service recreational and showing facility offering training and boarding as well as a personalized lesson program for riding students - ranging anywhere from pre-schoolers to senior citizens - novice to advanced. Quality instruction is provided for both the rider and the horse in a safe and caring environment.
Quality Stables facilities include:
Both an indoor & outdoor riding ring
A 1/2 mile harness track
An outdoor Dressage arena
A round pen
A jump course
2 barns with stabling for 25 horses
Contact Quality Stables for Boarding, Training & Lesson openings
The owner, instructor, and trainer at Quality Stables is Jackie Ross who has blended her former successful teaching career together with her accomplished equestrian skills. Jackie continues to build Quality Stables' reputation by providing knowledgeable, personable and professional services to her customers. At Quality Stables personal attention is given to each rider and or horse whether riding or training, for pleasure or show, with the emphasis being on safety and building a long lasting relationship between the rider and their horse.


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Tag: Harvard Sustainability and Environmental Management
Environmental Master's Programs in Boston
I may have a hard time keeping to my posting schedule in the coming weeks, because I'm starting classes in the Tufts Urban Environmental Policy and Planning program. Writing and Public Communication is the first one, starting this week, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'd originally been planning on enrolling at Lesley University, […]
Posted: May 24th, 2011 under Miscellaneous.
Tags: Boston, Boston University Energy and Environmental Analysis, Boston University International Relations and Environmental Policy, environmental master's degree, Harvard Sustainability and Environmental Management, Lesley Ecological Innovation, Lesley Urban Environmental Leadership, Sorry folks - no more recipes - only white papers, sustainability master's degree, Tufts Urban Environmental Policy and Planning
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A couple of other drug firms, including Torrent Pharma and * Cipla have restored margins payable to wholesalers and retailers after the trade protested that margins were not attractive.
GSK was earlier offering wholesalers and retailers 10% and 20% respectively, but these were lowered to 8% and 16% respectively after the Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO) was amended in May, 2013, capping the prices of 348 drugs. The rules came into effect in end-July.
The company could not be reached for comment and an email sent to it remained unanswered.
On December 16, GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced it wanted to raise its equity stake, in the Indian arm, to 75% from 50.7% through an open offer for shares at R3,100 apiece.
Sales of Glaxos products, which came under price control thanks to the new DPCO, fell 27.5% y-o-y in December 2013 while November sales fell 31.8% y-o-y, according to AIOCD-AWACS data.
Sales from products adversely impacted by the DPCO constitute more than 30% of the companys total revenues according to analysts. In CY12, Glaxo reported revenues of R2,669.97 crore.
Following trade protests across India, GSK Pharma had put out a sales warning in October, saying major pockets of the country were not buying its products. The company later withdrew the warning on December 11 saying, trade has resumed the purchase of the company's products across the country since the last week of November, 2013.
GSK Pharma's sales of DPCO drugs in Q1CY2013 grew 3.1% y-o-y but fell 7.3% y-o-y in the following quarter while Q3CY13 witnessed the sharpest fall of 24% y-o-y, according to analysts quoting AIOCD-AWACS data.
Total sales of Glaxo in Q3CY13 fell 7% y-o-y to R620.54 crore. Its net profit fell 33.7% year-on-year to R100.95 crore. The company had said it expects the weakness to continue for the next few quarters.
Analysts said they expect the impact to continue for the next two to three quarters.
Sales of GSK Pharma's top-selling drug, the antibiotic Augmentin fell 22.6% in August 2013 with sales of about R19.8 crore, compared with the same period in 2012, according to IMS Health data. The worst year-on-year fall was seen in October Augmentin sales, which plunged nearly 41.5%, recording sales of Rs 17.3 crore. Mumbai-based GSK Pharma's share price fell about 1.5% from early June to December 15. After the announcement of the open offer, the share price has jumped nearly 21%. On Tuesday, the stock closed at R2,978.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.


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7-Speed DSG
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Goodbye analogue, hello digital with the Active Info Display. This feature replaces the traditional instruments that sit behind the steering wheel with a 12.3" high-definition digital screen and puts everything you need, right in front of you with configurable views such as navigation, infotainment, driver assistance and vehicle performance functions.
Individualism is taken to a new level with the Golf Alltrack's personalisation function. Set your preferred driver settings including air conditioning, radio station, safety assistance and more, directly to your key. Even with multiple drivers, your personalised settings remember you and adjusts accordingly, making for a more personalised driving experience every time.
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We've made unlocking your car door even easier. You don't even need to press a button to unlock anymore. Simply approach your Golf Alltrack with the keys in your pocket and the car will automatically unlock when you reach to open the door. Once inside you still won't need to take your keys out, you just fire up the engine with a simple push of a button.
This feature allows the driver and front passenger to choose the temperature that suits them. Plus, there's the added benefit of an air-quality sensor and allergen filter to maintain optimum air quality.
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There's a whole suite of advanced and helpful driver assistance features available on the Golf Alltrack. Some include lane assist, adaptive lane guidance, traffic jam assist, emergency assist, park assist. Download a brochure to see the inclusions and discover the future for yourself.
In-car entertainment and navigation has just taken a giant leap forward. The Golf Alltrack has a Dynaudio Excite 400W premium audio system with 10-channel digital amplifier and subwoofer amongst other features all for your pleasure.
Personalise your Golf with our range of Volkswagen genuine accessories.
The carrier holds two surfboards with masts, and features four plastic holders that adapt to the shape of your surfboards. Base carrier bars are required and sold separately.
The black high gloss look roof box is available in 340L & 460L capacity and has an innovative "DuoLift system" which allow opening from both sides as well a 3-point central locking system.
Protect your boot from the effects of heavy, or even just everyday, use. This accessory will keep your boot in top shape for years to come.
Keeping your Volkswagen running at the top of its game costs a lot less than you think.
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Sapphire World Pendant Necklace
Item # SK-33091402
- Handcrafted in 18-karat white gold and black rhodium.
- Detailed in sapphires, tsavorites and diamonds.
- Diamonds total 0.22 carats.
- Gemstones total 0.23 carats.
- Globe measures 1/2-in. in diameter.
- Necklace measures 30-in. long.
- Finished with a lobster clasp.
Sharon Khazzam's career began in 1984, with a degree in jewelry design from New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology. Shortly after graduation, Sharon was hired by Asprey in New York for the position of sole In-House designer. As part of her training, Asprey sent Sharon to continue her education under the supervision of Carvin French's Andre Chervin. During this eight-year period, Sharon continued her studies at the Gemological Institute of America and the Cooper Union, While continuing to attend countless lectures and workshops led by experts in her field.
In 1993, Sharon debuted her first collection at Asprey, in addition to the continuous creation of Bespoke pieces for private clients.
In 2001, Sharon launched her eponymous collection, creating one-of-a-kind handcrafted pieces and she has built a large audience of collectors who covet these elegant, and often whimsical, creations.
In 2013, Sharon was honored with the position of member-at-large for the American Society of Jewelry Historians, and in 2014, Sharon was inducted into the council of Fashion Designers of America.
Sharon's love of beautiful jewels is apparent in the meticulous care taken in creating and cataloging every single piece. Today, Sharon continues to draw, paint and create individual pieces that are clearly unique to her sense of design and style. Sharon aspires to turn her creations into timeless collectibles, destined to tell a tale to future jewelry lovers.
Any order of $100+ receives free ground shipping at YLANG23.com.
Ship times follow the processing of your order.
All orders are shipped with signature required upon delivery to protect your purchase.
We ship FedEx insured, and offer three shipping options within the continental United States:
- Standard/Ground (5-7 day delivery)
- Second-Day Air - Free with orders $150+
- Overnight Next-Day Air (does not include Saturday delivery)
For specific information on international delivery estimates, detailed shipping rates and more click here.
Holiday Return Policy:
Gifts purchased on the website between November 22, 2018 and December 24, 2018 can be returned for a full refund until January 4, 2019. Special orders may not be cancelled or returned.
We want you to be completely happy with your purchase, but if you are not satisfied for any reason, we offer free returns on regular-priced orders over $100 within seven days of receipt in their complete original packaging and in unworn condition. Please call us toll free at 1-866-952-6423 or email email@example.com for a prepaid return label that will be sent to the original email address associated with the order. Merchandise will be insured to YLANG23.com. Credit will not include original shipping charges.
Special orders may not be canceled or returned. We reserve the right to not ship special occasion jewelry or to ask for a written confirmation indicating your commitment of a final sale during holiday periods.
Unfortunately, exchanges cannot be issued at this time. If you wish to purchase a different item, the original item should be returned to Ylang 23 and a new order can be placed on the website.
Ylang 23 specializes in unique and one-of-a-kind designer jewelry, and we're happy to special order pieces on your behalf.
Special orders are outside the scope of regular designer production and, therefore, must be paid in full at the time of purchase.
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Please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 1-866-YLANG23 with your questions and requests.


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Salton Sea
I arrived in my nice, clean, white, rented Equinox. The windows were up, and the cool air was coming from the air conditioner. The sun was shining, and I was loving being away from the cold and snow of Canada. When I arrived, first at Salton City, I drove close to the beach and stopped. I looked out over the shimmering water, turned off the engine and got out... THE STENCH! Nothing had prepared me for the smell. Like seaweed and rotting fish, yet somehow much, much worse. I looked around, noticed that some of the houses were actually occupied and thought,


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Thomas E. Reilly 1953-2014
Funeral service for Thomas E. Reilly of Emmetsburg was held Monday, Jan. 27, at Holy Family Catholic Church in Emmetsburg. The Rev. Richard Ries officiated. The Martin-Mattice Funeral Home in Emmetsburg was in charge of arrangements.
Thomas Eugene Reilly, 60, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014.
Thomas was born on July 10, 1953 in Sioux City to Joseph O'Donnell and Betty Lou (Lensing) Reilly. He attended school in Sioux City at St. Joseph Catholic School through eighth grade. He then attended Bishop Heelan High School where he played baseball, basketball, football and track. He lettered in all four sports and set a school record in track. In 1968 the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where Tom graduated from Cortez High School in 1971.
After graduation, Tom started working as a brick layer and continued in this profession for 30 years. He moved to Spencer where he worked in maintenance for five years for Ray Narsi.
Tom and Cindy Johnson were married on May 20, 2003. They made their home in Emmetsburg where Tom a self employed contractor.
Tom was an avid fisherman. He was a big fan of Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Cindy of Emmetsburg; his mother, Betty Klanderud of Hartington, NE; children, Jennifer (Paul) Wade of Lake- side, AZ, Susan (Jamie) Manwarren of Emmetsburg, Patricia (Michael) Buckholtz of Belle Chasse, LA, and Becky Hedman of Pierre, SD; brothers, Bill (LuAnn) Reilly of Waxahachie, TX, and Kevin (Sharon) Reilly of Sioux City; sisters, Deborah (Ed) Schwegler of Hubbard, NE, Karen (Jerry) Iler of Kennesaw, GA, and Christina (Jim) Knudson of Silver Dale, WA; his grandchildren; two sisters-in-law and three brothers-in-law; many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Tom was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Reilly; step father, Kenneth Klanderud; and granddaughter, Jadie Lynn Marie Manwarren.
Condolences can be left at


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Ichibantei Nails Japanese Snack Food, Slips on Ramen
"I believe there is a mistake on the menu," I tell the waiter, pointing to a dish featuring "wagyu" described as "tuna," and hoping it was the former. "Oh there are lot" he replies "for one we aren't open 23 hours a day!" Ichibantei is a quirky Japanese "soul food" joint on a quiet little part of East 13th Street.
I'll admit that I was predisposed to like the place when I heard that they crank reggae music and have a wall covered in LP covers of some of the genre's biggest stars: Bob Marley, Buju Banton, Shaba Ranks, and others. The place has an undeniably laid back vibe which bleeds into service that can seem glacial at times. But the menu of Japanese comfort food, ramen, and steak has some standouts that make it a good neighborhood joint.
I love that they sell icy mugs of Sapporo for $5.
....and Suigei for $10.
What is described as Black Pork Sausage ($7) on the menu isn't a black pudding or blood sausage as the name suggest, but rather a Frankfurter-style hot dog. (I suspect the "black" refers to Japanese Kurobuta pork.) Either way it makes a fine appetizer and pairs nicely with the beer.
Chicken Nanban ($12) is the sort of thing that Ichibantei does best, which is to say it's deep fried. Tender hunks of chicken in a crunchy batter come doused in sweet and sour sauce under a dollop of homemade tartar sauce.
Less easy to recommend is the Ramen ($11.50). I don't love the broth, which lacks the viscosity and depth of flavor you can find at other neighborhood spots. That said, the noodles have a pleasing firmness, and the broth laced with garlic and a peppery finish is delicious.
The "wagyu" dishes turned out to be beef and not tuna. I ordered the Ichibantei Steak (7 oz. for $20 or 11 oz. for $30). The beef was from "washugyu" cattle, but I wondered what specific cut it was beyond "cow." Although described as "rib" by the owner, a peek at the raw product revealed boneless short rib. Sliced thin and simply grilled, the dish had good, beefy flavor and pitch-perfect saltiness, but I don't think the restaurant gets enough sear on the beef—it never develops the crust that makes beef so delectable.
Ichibantei might lack the glitz and gleam of the ramen houses and sushi joints that proliferate in the East Village. And there are certainly places that do ramen and steak with more proficiency. But almost anything that is deep fried or that you eat with your fingers at Ichibantei is worth your time, and the general vibe—with the dim lights and pulsing reggae beat—makes the joint a great place to hang, snack, and knock back a few drinks.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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You'll be glad to know that the ever-vigilant British tab The Mirror is concerned about Kate Moss' well-being. Specifically, the toll "cigarettes, sunbathing and late nights" are taking on her "weathered chest." They diligently report that recently at Heathrow, "her decolletage looked more like a 40-year-old's with its crepey texture, sunspots and deep creases." Their evidence is a picture of Kate's...completely normal-looking skin. Now, no one's claiming the model's lifestyle is the epitome of wholesomeness, but let's reserve criticism for more actively self-destructive behaviors, shall we? [Mirror]
More from Jezebel
Cigarettes are about as actively self-destructive as you can get, short of shooting 8-balls or drunk driving.


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We were a proud sponsor this weekend at "Rock the Cradle for Johnny Romano". Pros such as Rune Glifberg, Dave Duncan, and Lance Childers showed up big at Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark this weekend. We hope everyone had a good time, and that the event offered the Romano family both financial and moral support.
We snapped some great photos of the event, which you can find in our Flickr account. We also set up a Flickr Group, which pools together all the photos from the event. If you took pictures, feel free to upload them here so you can share with your friends who couldn't make it out. All of our photos are protected by the Creative Commons license, which allows you to use them in any way as long as you attribute them back to Sun & Ski Sports.
We also created a sweet music video in honor of the event. You can find that here.
Many thanks to all who showed, volunteered, or skated at Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark this weekend.


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"If the catacombs were good enough for the early Christians, then I can survive Obama's America"
An increasingly common narrative amongst the contemporary American evangelical movement is that of the persecuted Christians. Good men and women whose religious rights are increasingly trampled by a dominant secular, atheist, liberal majority who are trying to bend and subvert their beliefs to their amoral godlessness. The questions of gay marriage or birth control or abortion aren't matters of protecting the human rights of those with same-sex attractions or the reproductive rights of women, but instead an instance of violating the religious rights of Christians, one of which is apparently the "right" to impose one's own moral doctrine on everyone else, and to force one's particular religious ethics into public space and law.
In the more extreme interpretations of this narrative, evangelicals quite literally liken themselves to early Christians, persecuted by the Romans, ready to be tossed to the lions. They imagine that the dominant authority in our culture is a ruthless secular humanism, and that Christians are a small, victimized underdog. Nevermind the remarkable consistency with which the most powerful, wealthy and elite in North America have been Christian, including ALL presidents of the United States to date.
No, Obama is not a muslim.
Let's turn to MRAs. A dominant feature of the entire mythos that supports this movement, and lends the veneer of "human rights activist" legitimacy to its proponents, is the idea that western culture has, in varying degrees, become dominated by a feminist ideology that benefits women at the expense of men. Many will make dead serious claims about the "gynocracy" that now governs our lives. Men are oppressed by women's sexuality, by women's rights, by women's employment, by women's capacity to make choices about who they do or do not sleep with, by women's reproductive rights (which allegedly ignore "fathers' rights"; it's not your body going through that process, dudes. You already consensually performed the portion of your own physical involvement. Unless you were raped, your rights were wholly respected), by women's role in the home, by women's acceptance of "chivalry" and benevolent sexism, by women's rejection of "chivalry" and benevolent sexism, and in some claims, even women's right to vote is regarded as "misandry" and a violation of what men fairly deserve.
There is also a narrative spinning off from this in which it is regarded as an act of injustice, misandry and bigotry for women to regard certain men as "creepy". The language women (and anyone else, really) use to assert their boundaries of intimacy and prevent harassment or sexual assault has come to be painted as itself a form of "persecution", classified under the banner of "shaming language" or "shaming tactics". In some cases, feminist terminology is outright appropriated to prop up this conceptualization of social/sexual dynamics; such as when I was once called out as having no right to describe myself as feminist due to my previous association with Rebecca Watson, who had "slut-shamed" the so-called elevator guy by (quite mildly) admonishing his aggressive and frightening attempts to solicit intimacy.
Slut-shaming, to be clear, is not simply ANY act of shaming someone for an expression of sexuality. It is a very specific means of disaabusing women, men-who-have-sex-with-men (especially if femme), and trans men (if misgendered and conceptualized as women), of the notion that they have a right to express sexual agency AT ALL. A straight man literally cannot be slut-shamed. That is the nature of patriarchy. If you doubt this, show me a significant set of examples of straight men being directly admonished as "sluts / "whores", in earnest, with no irony. And the assertion of boundaries, the right to say no, is never an act of "slut shaming" or "sex negativity", regardless of gender (though slut-shaming may coincide with a refusal, of course. Saying "no" is always someone's right, but saying "no, because…" can be considerably more complex).
Amongst the most terrifying examples of "shaming language" that MRAs describe as an unfair persecution is the very direct, basic, and absolutely necessary phrase "you make me feel afraid". Seriously.
The commonalities between the narrative of the "persecuted Christian" and the "persecuted men" are hard to ignore.
This extends into race as well. White supremacism is often smuggled into "reasonable" discourse through the concept of "reverse racism", the idea being that civil rights and racial equality were good things, but they did their job, and have now gone "too far" and on into the direction of creating an inequality from which white people now suffer. This is, naturally, absurd, but the concept is incredibly stubborn. Affirmative Action, for instance, rather than being seen as an attempt to respond to the unfair advantages and privileges conferred on white people by the legacy of wealth and status and nepotism handed down over the generations, an attempt to "level the playing field", it is regarded as some unfair attempt to "get back" at white men and give minorities an unfair advantage. People of colour who engage in race-related activism are regarded as "angry" and as simply having not "gotten over" various "things our ancestors did". White people who regard race activism in a positive light are seen as simply masochistic and suffering from an exaggerated sense of guilt, "sins of the father". Etc.
"Why is there no White Entertainment Television? Why is there no White History Month? Where's the White Young Achievers Scholarship for MY kids, huh?"
And along with that: "Where the straight pride parade?" (it's called "traffic", and it runs 24/7).
The most overt racists and white supremacists, the kind who lots of everyday racists point to as examples of who the "bad guy" is so as to absolve their complacency in the various microaggressions, privileges and power imbalances they benefit from that define daily life for everyone not in the white / cis / straight / male / currently-able-bodied lottery-winners' club, will directly make threats about what might happen when all the white people in the country (whichever country) finally have "had enough" of being "persecuted" by the other races.
Yes. I am so not kidding.
The mentality, however, is not restricted to Stormfront. It pervades not only evangelicism, MRA thought, white supremacism and various other fringe elements, but is a defining feature of the Tea Party (branding themselves after a small instance of underdog civil disobedience that sparked a revolutionary war- admittedly, a revolution of privileged colonists against the slightly more privileged colonial power, but a revolution nonetheless, which the same "persecuted underdog" vs. "evil empire" motif available for appropriation). And it drives a whole lot of the energy in contemporary Conservatism itself.
It isn't even alien to the left, or to feminism and the queer rights movement, where trans women are regarded as evil patriarchal oppressors by some highly vocal elements of feminism and as an angry fringe "appropriating" the gay rights movement by many of the more powerful cis elements of the barely-held-together queer community, where non-op, queer and visibly gender variant trans women, and non-binary transitioners, are regarded as "stealing" trans rights away from the "real" trans women. And don't even get me started on the poor, brutalized "cis scum" and the horrible imposition of having to learn all those ever so COMPLICATED pronouns.
And of course there are the small victimized underdogs fighting against Big Pharma for the "rights" of children to be denied potentially life-saving vaccines, when they're in no position to offer or deny consent.
The TERFs, the HBSers, the transphobic cis gay men, the conservatives, the tea party, the white supremacists, "the white race", straight people, men, Christians… these are all the "real victims". We're the real oppressors.
Oh, right, I almost forget to mention: FTBullies.
Somewhere, on the cube-shaped Bizarro homeworld of Htrae, amongst it's ocean-shaped continents, this stuff is all a very real phenomenon.
I've heard it argued many times that this phenomenon, the constant insistence of those in power, struggling to stay in power, that they are "persecuted" by the efforts of disenfranchised groups to claim equal footing is a simple appropriation of what they see as an enemy tactic. The claim runs that feminism, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and so on positioned themselves as the underdogs and victims and this successfully wooed the sympathies of the media and public, leading to the achievement of their goals, and Conservatives cynically regarded this as a "tactic" or PR movement, and adopted it for their own ends.
I do not believe that's true.
I can absolutely believe that somewhere in some little Conservative think tank, conservative strategists and media figures like Karl Rove or Ann Coulter or Karen Kersten have indeed developed cynical plans for constructing and appropriating public narratives. And I absolutely believe that they've deliberately used their arms in the media, that Fox News, to directly sell such narratives to the American public. Yes.
But it's not the think tanks that believe the narratives or give them their momentum. The think tanks aren't the voting public, and certainly aren't A Voice For Men or Stormfront. MRAs and White Supremacists fiercely believe in the literal reality of their fictions. They actually feel that they're persecuted by women and people of colour.
And you can't sell someone a lie that they don't want to believe, anyway.
These narratives, as said, are also pervasive well beyond Conservatism. I've recently been thinking a lot about movement atheism and its overlaps with things like mens' rights activism, and the intensity with which the "persecuted atheist" narrative is clung to, maintained, beloved, packaged and repackaged and told over and over again. If an atheist blogger really wants hits, they don't go for controversy: they find or write or exaggerate a news story about Christians picking on atheists, or violating their rights. Like that whole gelato thing last year. How does that relate?
The sense I get is that people, relative to their privilege, are often very desperate to regard themselves as victims and underdogs, and that this is something that occurs on its own, regardless of the precise social, cultural or political context. It certainly occurs often enough, and with enough consistency and recognizable patterns, as to regard it as something that isn't limited to particular circumstances.
I wonder if it's connected to the whole cognitive dissonance that surrounds the recognition of privilege itself. People routinely become very defensive when the subject of their privilege is brought up. And I understand that. I still often get defensive when my own privileges are directly addressed. It's not something that's at all easy for people to look at and think about.
I think there's a sort of basic cognitive… thingy… that underlies that. Generally speaking, we want to believe that all the good things we have in our lives are earned, and that all the bad things in our lives aren't our fault at all. When it comes to other people, whatever good things they have that we don't was just because of luck, and whatever bad things in their lives we don't have to deal with were deserved. At the same time as allowing us to avoid guilt or anxieties over our relative position in life, this kind of distorted thinking (which is ridiculously common, and hard to overcome) also keeps us from having to face the chaotic, uncontrollable nature of the world: that life isn't fair, consequences aren't predictable, and sometimes people just get things they don't deserve, good or bad.
These cognitive distortions obviously run directly counter to an individual's ability to recognize social privilege, but when applied to a situation in which another party is trying to overcome social disadvantages and undue that privilege… well… that creates a situation in which you're apt to perceive yourself as being treated unfairly. Someone who is trying to unfairly break free of the negative consequences of their own actions, and take away all your rightly-earned advantages in the process. Presto: the "we're the real victims" mentality in a nutshell.
The sad thing, though, about the way that these kind of highly destructive, highly pervasive social phenomena can stem from very basic cognitive distortions is that it casts a rather pessimistic outlook for being able to address and overcome them. If it were simply a manufactured narrative disseminated through Fox News, a reasonable conclusion drawn from falsified information, it would be as simple as disseminating new narratives and providing people with the actual facts (though the sad thing? The facts that men have more power than women, that white people have more social power, that Christianity isn't a persecuted minority religion, they're already obvious. People just have reasons to ignore them). When it's a result of how our brains work in order to cope with the world… well… we can't just change our brains, can we? Things get a lot more complex.
It would be nice to believe it's just a fabricated narrative. But facing what's really there instead of what we'd like to see is one of the most important things keeping us from becoming just another faction in a big make-believe game of "oppressors vs. victims".


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The government has done what it had to do. It has kept its budget numbers in the black, in a fiscal exercise driven by the imperative of preserving its political credibility rather than by economic necessity. Many economists could live with a deficit in these uncertain times but politicians no longer can.
Never mind that the surplus is lower than the budget had estimated: $1.1 billion compared with $1.5 billion. Of course in theory that makes achieving it more precarious. But with an election coming up next year and a surplus now totemic for both sides of politics, you can bet that in the May budget, the figures won't have strayed into the red. That's assuming, of course, that there is not an economic collapse — which is not anticipated in the mid-year review despite a difficult international outlook.
And now to the juggling act to make it all add up.
Saul Eslake, chief economist with the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says the government ''continues to deliver through genuine savings and accounting fiddling''.
The biggest ''fiddle'' is on how big companies will pay their tax. Some $8.3 billion of the $16.4 billion savings over the budget period comes from having large companies move from a quarterly to a monthly system. Wayne Swan argues that this is a desirable reform in itself, but it is a timing change rather than a substantial saving.
There are some genuine and substantial cuts, however. Among those which will grab the attention of voters are the shrinking of the baby bonus (from $5000 to $3000) for second and later children, saving $461 million over three years, and a less generous government contribution to the subsidy it provides to private health insurance (saving $700 million over three years).
Both are justifiable though there will be some gripes. But on the whole the government has avoided risking too much electoral angst by its decisions. With Labor's position improving gradually in the polls, it judges this is no time to inflict real pain on hip pockets.