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One was when my brother Joe and I pulled putty off the newly installed windows at our elementary school, which resulted into at least two trips to the principal's office (more than one to heighten the fear factor, I'll bet). And like the baby that I was (am?), I ratted on him--I wasn't going to take all the blame.
But probably the stupidest thing I did at that age was when I was goofing around in class and put an eraser in my ear. Suddenly, I couldn't get it out--it somehow went into the ear canal (must have a pretty dull subject we were covering that day). I think the folks at the nurse's station finally flushed that thing out of my ear.
All right. Your turn now. Tell me your moments of anarchy--I was trying to make that sound important, but "error" is a better word for it--at school.


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Bolivia is just dripping with rich and varied cultures. The kaleidoscope of different lifestyles, culinary inclinations, and music is plainly apparent when walking down any of its various cities. Each region's own history has given rise to unique traditions and individual characteristics, for example the carnival in Oruro or the mines of Potosí have become defining factors when referring to these towns. A unique blend of many of these traditions and modern culture is probably focused in the country seat of government, La Paz, where dried llama foetuses can be found next to the latest computer software. While never denying its rich colonial heritage, as the beautiful 'White City' – Sucre will show you, Bolivian culture is by far more centred on its indigenous roots with over fifty percent of its people remaining with their traditional way of life and beliefs.
The indigenous groups that live in Bolivia are very proud of their own separate identities and languages. The main sub-groups are the Pano, MatacoMac 'a, Uru-Chipaya, Quecha, Tacana, Arawak (Mojo), Tupi-Guarani, Chiquitano and Aymara. Only sixty to seventy percent of the population speak Spanish, and many then as a second language, preferring the pre-conquest languages of Quechua and Aymara to keep a strong link to the country's past. Quechua, which means 'of the temperate valleys', is still spoken by millions of natives in the Andean region, and is often associated with having its roots with the Incan Empire that brought the language over to Bolivia. Aymara, thought to have originated from the Tiwanaku era, is also the main pre-Inca language of Bolivia and is spoken around the area surrounding Lake Titicaca, and in major cities such as La Paz.
Language itself seems to be a source of cultural conflict. Despite the fact that only fifteen percent of the population is from Hispanic origin they still seem to be higher up in the social and political hierarchy compared to the native speakers.
The Conquistadores left their mark in other ways; Bolivia like much of Latin America also took on their faith, so that now ninety five percent of the population accepts Roman Catholicism. The remaining five percent are mostly Protestant (Evangelical Methodist), although there are smaller pockets of other religions. There are, surprisingly, a large number of Buddhists and Jehovah's Witnesses: around seventeen and a half thousand.
However, a vast majority of the indigenous population, especially in rural areas follow their own blended brand of folk-Catholicism far removed from orthodox Christianity. They have integrated their own traditional beliefs and deities, for example Pachamama (Mother Earth) has become almost synonymous with the Christian Virgin Mary. Also, no inconsistency is seen in mixing modern technology and medicine with traditional remedies, or indigenous ritual with professed Roman Catholicism.
A perfect example of local ritual interwoven with Christian tradition is shown in Carnival. Dance and music are the most popular form of cultural expression to be found in Bolivia. Dances for example representing the legend of the Virgin of El Socavón, known also as La Candelaria, depict her defeating plagues and armies of ants, vipers, toads, and lizards sent, by "Supay" or "Huari", God of the mountains – who later became the devil of the Catholic clergy. Also, dances in honour of Our Lady of Copacabana, called El Gran Sicuri, which use drums and flutes, the puli-puli dance which is characterised by its flowery crest and feathers, and the participation of women dressed in the traditional garments of the Andes.
But the Spanish weren't the only people to have contributed to the rich cultural tapestry that is Bolivia. I have always had the strong belief that in order to get under the skin of a country you should look to see how other cultural or ethnic groups have adapted to living in a country. As with many other countries today Bolivia also has many other ethic minorities living in its borders, which have each in their own ways added something to the traditions and way of life here.
The largest group of settlers in Bolivia have been the Japanese who began to arrive over a hundred years ago. The majority of settlers came, however, after the Second World War when Japanese government not only faced high unemployment but also had troubles providing for their people, so many Japanese came to Bolivia in hope of job opportunities and a better future.
By 1953, the Japanese government had made an agreement with the Bolivian government that would allow Japanese people to immigrate to Bolivia with the offer of property and land. In return the Japanese have given much aid to Bolivia by giving the Japanese farmers money to buy tools and by setting up schools and other foundations. It was based on this agreement that many poor farmers came to Bolivia and settled into two main colonies in the regions of Santa Cruz and Beni. It is estimated that over five and a half thousand people came to Bolivia around this time in search of job opportunities. Since the 1970s this figure has almost doubled. Of the people that decided to stay, many moved to the larger cities and set up their own businesses and began to call over family, friends, and acquaintances.
As many as eight hundred Japanese now live in the capital city of La Paz, as well as around a thousand in Santa Cruz, and over eight and a half thousand descendants still living in the Beni region. Nowadays, it is easy to find fifth generation Japanese living in Bolivia. Knowing how extremely different the two cultures are it often surprises people that so many Japanese have came to live in this impoverished South American country. Asking this of Reiko Miyazona, who has lived here for over 11 years, I was informed that it was incredibly difficult to adjust to the lifestyle, which wasn't helped by being unable to speak the language and by differences in customs like, for example, as Reiko emphatically stated "…the fact that the Japanese tend to be more punctual."
Reiko first came to Bolivia to study for a few years at the UMSA but then married a Japanese Bolivian and decided to stay. When she first arrived she felt that being easy identified as a foreigner meant that it took time before she was accepted into the culture. Her children, she thought, haven't had the same troubles, being able to speak Spanish and understanding the culture better from being brought up in La Paz. However, keeping in touch with Japanese culture has perhaps been difficult, especially since the children had never been to Japan. When I enquired why she had not returned, even for short holidays, she soberly advised me that Japan was by far a more expensive country to live in. Also with her qualifications in languages, and experience of South America, she had more opportunity for better work here in Bolivia than she could hope for in Japan.
Despite this, maintaining the Japanese culture, especially with her family, has remained paramount for her. So she enforces the 'speak only Japanese at home' rule and remains very true to her Buddhist beliefs, as many other Japanese have done in Bolivia, although again if only at home due to the lack of temples here for her to worship at.
Walking down various streets in La Paz it is hard not to notice the varied culinary inclinations the city seems to have. With restaurants ranging from Italian, Lebanese, to Buddhist, you do begin to wonder how ordinary Bolivians have heard of most of these places being tucked away in the heart of South America. It's surprising to know that many of these places aren't Bolivian owned, and then you wonder how most of these people have heard of Bolivia. Ali Kakhar is one such owner, of Keren's restaurant in central La Paz.
Living in Bolivia now for three years he has faced many of the same complications as Reiko Miyozona. Most Indians that live in La Paz live in the suburb of Calacoto, (all 8-10 of them) although I was told that there are many that live in Sucre. So, being one of a tiny minority of Asians in La Paz, his only comforts in reminders of home is listening to out-dated Indian music he has sent over from Pakistan and by talking to some of his Indian costumers. However, like many of the other settlers to this country he did not come to Bolivia to be constantly reminded of home and he maintains that "It's not a big deal that there isn't much here to do with Pakistan". Having seen much of the rest of the world Ali came to Bolivia because it was a place where "the people speak to you nicely, and treat you well". Like Reiko he made the decision to stay after marrying a Bolivian, and seeing plenty of business opportunities for an Indian restaurant.
There are a variety of many different people from all over the world. Many simply travel through, or volunteer and live out here for a year. Significant numbers of Europeans migrated before and during the Second World War; in the mid 1980s, large German-speaking communities existed in La Paz and Santa Cruz.
On the surface Bolivia appears to be a very simple country, but look under the covers, there is more there than that meets the eye. Kiran Summan

subset: commoncrawl


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Insurtech conversations are evolving from "Disruption to Tamer Notions of Efficiency and Incremental Innovation"
The Insurtech Revolution has taken a decidedly sober turn is the biggest take-away from the latest Quarterly Insurtech Briefing by Willis Towers Watson and CB Insights. While the report emphasizes that "the party is not over", and that investment in insurtech is still at an all-time high, the consulting firm noted that incumbents within the insurance industry have made it clear that they have no intention of handing over their business to the "start-ups and upstarts".[pullquote]$697 million of InsurTech funding in Q4 rounded off 2017 at a total of $2.3 billion, a 36% increase from $1.7 billion recorded in 2016 and the second highest total for any year to date.[/pullquote]
Rafal Walkiewicz, CEO of Willis Towers Watson Securities said: "Incumbents sent a clear message to potential disruptive outsiders: by investing heavily in start-ups and technology, (re)insurance companies appear to have assumed a semblance of control over the InsurTech revolution. During the year, conversations about disruption of the existing value chain evolved towards an efficiency-driven search for incremental innovation. However, technology revolutions rarely result in redistribution of power among incumbents. It can be argued that incumbents' collective response to InsurTech hype has diminished their ability to recognize true disruption."
Recent research from McKinsey & Company, included in the report, further bolsters that position, with 61% of InsurTech companies aim "…to enable the value chain, while 30% are attempting to disintermediate incumbents from customers and just 9% are targeting full scale value chain disruption."
The following two-minute video features Rafal Walkiewicz, global CEO of Willis Towers Watson Securities, discusses the major points of the latest quarterly briefing as well as his insights on InsurTech activity in 2017.
Insurtech Investments in the Fourth Quarter of 2017
There was a 36% year-over-year increase in insurtech funding in 2017, up from the $1.7 billion invested in 2016 according to the latest data. This marks the second highest investment total for any year to date.
The following are some additional data points from the report:
- Activity reaches near record level with InsurTech funding volume totaling $697 million in Q4 2017; This is a 123% increase from $312 million in Q3 2017 and a 157% increase year-over-year from $271 million in Q4 2016.
- 53 total transactions in Q4 2017 represents second most transactions completed in any quarter to date;
- P&C funding volume increased 175% from Q3 2017 and
187% year-over-year from Q4 2016;
- 45 P&C transactions in Q4 2017 represents 80% increase from 25 P&C transactions in Q3 2017 and 67% increase year-over-year from 27 P&C transactions in Q4 2016.
- This was the third highest funding volume recorded in any quarter to date with seven companies receiving $30+ million in investments.
- Lemonade raised the most amount of money closing a $120 million Series C round in December 2017.
- Incumbents and Re/insurers drove the majority of the investments in Q4, with 35 private technology investments in Q4, the most recorded in any quarter to date.
- Back-End Administration and Processing Applications Emerged this Quarter as a major area of focus for investment.
- According to data provided in the report, 64% of investment rounds closed in Q4 2017 were for companies focused on front-end processes (product
& distribution);
- The remaining 36% of investment rounds closed during the quarter were for companies focused on back-end processes (business process enhancement, data & analytics and claims management).
- According to data provided in the report, 64% of investment rounds closed in Q4 2017 were for companies focused on front-end processes (product
Many the re/insurers feel insurtech innovation is "ad hoc"
The quarterly briefing also includes the results from a re/insurance survey of almost 600 (re)insurance and investment professionals conducted on the top of innovation. The majority of respondents, approximately 75%, felt their company is "moderately" to "extremely" at-risk of disruption, even as 72% of company innovation resources, on average, are devoted to incremental technologies (instead of disruptive or radical ones).
Interestingly, almost half of those survey though, characterized their own company's innovation philosophy as "ad-hoc", "…meaning their company is neither explicitly a first mover or a fast follower."
In commenting on the survey results, Alice Underwood, global head of Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson added: "(Re)insurers are evaluating the cost associated with early adoption of new technology; this investment can yield great reputational and financial benefits if handled well, but companies that position themselves as fast followers can reap a fair amount of benefit with relatively less risk. However, companies that wait too long may find they can't make up lost ground once anti-selection and other competitive pressures set in."
Boston-based Goji a featured company in this quarter's briefing
In an attempt to get a handle on the Insurtech Universe, the quarterly report also has segmented the top 100 insurtech companies it has been tracking over the past year. The report groups the companies into four major areas of development based on each of the companies core focuses:
- Product & Distribution;
- Business Process Enhancement;
- Data & Analytics; and
- Claims Management.
In taking a look at these segments, the report highlights various companies in each of these sectors. For this quarter, Boston-based Goji was featured in an in-depth profile for the Product & Distribution section of the report.
Ranked number 10 on the list of the top Product & Distribution insurtech start-ups, the company has raised an impressive $109.9 millions in total funding with company investors including Coffin Capital & Ventures, Hudson Structured, Five Elms Capital, Thayer Street Partners, Village Ventures as well as other undisclosed investors.
As many in the Massachusetts industry know, the company has gone through various evolutions since its beginnings as Consumer United back in 2007. In 2017, the company announced the appointment of a new CEO, Peter Breitstone.
For those interested, both Mr. Breitstone and Goji's Executive Chairman, Matt Coffin, were interviewed and asked to discuss the advantages of Goji's hybrid distribution model as well as the companies strategies going forward.
For those readers interested in reading the interview and/or the full report, please contact us here and we will send you a copy.


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wikiHow is a "wiki," similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 9 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.
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With few exceptions, successful fiction needs to have a clear plot that takes your characters from their normal lives and through a series of battles. This journey leads to a moment when characters succeed or fail at some ultimate battle that changes them. One way to plot fiction is to imagine it as a movie, because movies have very strict plot structures.
Method 1 of 2:
Plotting Your Story Like a Movie
1Study some of your favorite fictional stories and their movie adaptations. Every story, no matter what it's about or when it was written, is adapted for film in the same way, with specific events that happen at specific times.
2Imagine that your novel or short story is a movie, and you're looking in the TV listings to decide whether to watch it based on the 1 sentence you're given. Write that sentence down and keep it where you can always see it.
- This 1-sentence description is borrowed from the film industry, where it is called a logline. Knowing the logline will keep you from getting so bogged down in interesting characters and situations that you forget what your story is about.
3Decide on a good opening. The first scene in a movie transports the audience in their imaginations from the theater to the world of the movie. In a book, the opening intrigues readers so they will commit to reading the rest of the story.
- Introduce your main character, who will go on the journey, fight the ultimate battle and be changed by the experience.
- Show your main character in his daily life, and make sure he is unhappy. If he's happy, there's no reason to go anywhere or do anything, and therefore nothing to write about. Another way to force the main character out of his life and into your story is to destroy his happy life.
- Don't spend too much time on the opening. You want only enough to give your reader a good idea of who your main character is before you jerk him out of normal life and into your story. The sooner you do this, the happier your readers will be.
4Come up with a good ending. Filmmakers want the audience to leave the theater misty-eyed and satisfied that whether the main character ultimately triumphed or failed, all is as it should be. In your story, the reader should get to the last line and sigh with that same satisfaction.
- Your main character should return to normal life, though not necessarily the life she was living at the start of the story. In many stories the character leaves her old life behind and begins a new one in which she is happier.
- The ending, called the denouement (DAY-noo-mahn), is shorter than the opening because you don't have to introduce your characters or your setting. Once the main character survives the ultimate battle, theater audiences start gathering their coats and purses. Readers are no less impatient to see things wrapped up.
- As you build on your story, you need to make sure that all subplots are wrapped up in the denouement as well.
5Describe the ultimate battle. This is the live-or-die moment for your main character, when it seems that there's no way to win unless the he does something that he has not been capable of doing before. In a movie, this is the scene that has the audience on the edge of their seats, worried that the main character might lose everything he cares about or even die.
- The ultimate battle doesn't have to be an actual, physical battle against an enemy. It can be any sort of battle, even one that occurs only within the character's own mind as he decides to change his life in order to get what he needs. Keep in mind that this may not be what the character wants.
- Give your main character a reason to fight the ultimate battle. It must be very important so he doesn't quit and go back to the life he was leading before the story started. However, it doesn't have to be important to anyone but him.
- In this battle, as in everything that comes before it, the main character must be the one who takes the action necessary to succeed or doesn't take action and fails.
6Give your main character a black moment, when she seems to have lost it all, when the enemy seems sure to win and there's no way to survive the upcoming ultimate battle.
7Make a list of everything your main character needs to win the ultimate battle. Then make sure that he doesn't have most of them when the story begins. This includes physical things like weapons, allies and clues, as well as nonphysical things like courage or mercy.
8Connect your opening to your ultimate battle by giving your main character a series of challenges, obstacles and battles, each one more difficult than the one before. At the end of each challenge, there will be a period of calm while the main character reacts to the outcome and prepares for the next one.
- At first the challenges will be easy, and the main character will win. But at about the midpoint of the story, the main character will start losing. In a movie, this point is easy to find because it's where the audience stops cheering for main character and starts worrying about her.
- Study the list you created of the things your main character needs to win the ultimate battle. Have him acquire things or learn things after each challenge so he is missing only the most important one when he gets to the ultimate battle. He must find this last thing within himself just before he's defeated.
9Weave in other characters, subplots and story elements. All these must serve the main character on her journey from who she is at the opening of the story to who she is at the end.Advertisement
Method 2 of 2:
Writing Down Your Plot
1Choose a title and write down your logline.
2Pretend that you're summarizing the story for a friend who has no interest in reading it but nevertheless wants to know everything about it.
- Write in present tense.
- Leave off everything but the bare bones of the story. Write the plot in a straightforward manner. Your main character is living his normal life, then something happens. He reacts, then something else happens. Continue in this manner throughout the story.
3Write in a series of short paragraphs separated by blank lines, each containing a single, small part of the story. This makes it easier to take something out and substitute something better or to rearrange the paragraphs.
- If you like, write down each paragraph on its own index card, then lay the cards out in order and rearrange them.
4Begin writing your story only when you're satisfied that the plot is as good as you can make it.Advertisement


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It is amazing that everyone has been brainwashed into remembering the so called Jewish "holocaust" of World War II, but few have ever heard of the Bleiburg Massacre that happened between May 14th-May 16th, 1945. I recently came across the facts about this horrendous massacre that quite possibly took the lives of some 300,000+ innocent people, and I want to share that important information here for everyone to see for themselves. This article comes from the Stormfront.Org forum (www.stormfront.org) from writer: "Ustasha no. 1", and is simply entitled: "The Bleiburg Massacre". I have it right here for everyone to view for themselves, and of course some of my own comments to follow:
In communist Yugoslavia there were some taboo themes whose very mention raised the suspicion of enmity against the regime. The entire state and party machinery contributed to an organized ignorance of these themes and organized non-repentance for them. One of these subjects was Bleiburg. The relative silence about Bleiburg lasts until today, because the former communists, and their children, make great efforts in preventing the whole truth about that horrible slaughter to be widely known. But, as Cardinal Bozanić said in his speech in Bleiburg on 13th of May 2007, the Croatian nation has the right to know the truth about the suffering of their own people in Bleiburg and on their subsequent Way of the Cross, where mass crimes were committed with the knowledge, consent and order of the top officials of the "democratic" Federal State of Yugoslavia led by the supreme commander of the Yugoslav People's Army, the first secretary od the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and the president of the "democratic" Federal State of Yugoslavia - Marshal Josip Broz Tito.
on 14th, 15th and 16th of May 1945?
On the 4th of May 1945 began the exodus of the greater part of the Croatian Armed Forces and civilian population westwards in order to surrender themselves to the Allies before the advancing communist partisans. According to the British war archives (War Office 1704465) towards Bleiburg, at the Yugoslav-Austrian border, were approaching altogether 200,000 Croatian troops which accompanied and protected about 500,000 civilians , with the intention to cross over to the British-controlled territory, to surrender to the British and put themselves under British protection. This part of the Croatian mass exodus arrived on Loibach Field in front of Bleiburg in the afternoon hours of the 14th of May , where the commanding officers of the Croatian Armed Forces led by General Herenčić established contact with the command of the British unit which was stationed there and told them, that they wanted to surrender to the British Army and to put the civilian population under British protection. The British commending officer replied that he had been informed of the coming of the Croats , and that the Croats would be allowed tomorrow to continue their march towards the West and to keep their arms. However, next day on the 15th of May the whole situation changed. The reversal happened after the political adviser of the Supreme Allied Commander for the Mediterranean Field Marshal Harold Alexander , with his seat at Caserta near Naples, Harold MacMillan, directly responsible to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on the 13th of May 1945 in Klagenfurt ordered to the commander of the 5th Corps of the British 8th Army, General Charles Keightley, that "a great number of the renegade Yugoslav troops, excluding the "chetniks", should be handed over to the Yugoslav partisans." That order was contrary to the promise given by Field Marshal Alexander that the Allies would receive as war prisoners the Croatian troops after these surrender their weapons. This promise was given by Alexander to a representative of the Holy See, when Pope Pius XII, at the request of the Croatian Cardinal Stepinac, intervened with the Allied Commander to save the fleeing Croatian people. That the intention of the partisans was to prevent the surrender of the Croatian refugees to the Allies could be concluded from the following telegram sent by Tito, as the supreme commander of the Yugoslav Army, to his troops on the 13th of May 1945, that is after the end of the war. The command in the telegram ran as follows: "The Third Army reports that on the area Konjice Šoštanj towards Dravograd there is a group of "ustashas" (the word in Croatian means "insurgent") with some "chetniks" (Serbian soldiers loyal to the king) , altogether over 50,000 persons. With them are Pavelić, Maček, members of the Croatian Government and a great number of criminals. They are trying to cross over Dravograd and to surrender to the English.
One division of General Kosta is holding the area of Naravosinrodo, and the other has near Šentilj cut the road between Velenje and Dravograd. You must at once go forward with your forces from the Celje region in the direction Šoštanj – Sloven Gradec in order to concentrate the attack to destroy this group."(The original cable is kept in the Military-Historical Institute in Belgrade). We must add to the above telegram what Tito's general Kosta Nađ, who at that time commanded the Third Army which was responsible for the fate of the Croatian soldiers and civilians, told the Belgrade weekly "Reporter" on the 13th of January 1985. In that interview Nađ said, that at that time 150,000 enemies fell into his hands, and that "of course, at the end we liquidated them". Nađ added that he had immediately reported to Tito about this "success", and that it was "the last war report in the Second World War".
However, let us return to the negotiations at Bleiburg. The commander of the 8th British Army which occupied those parts of Austria was General Sir Richard McCreery, and the commanding officer of the 5th British Corps was General Charles Keightley. Two Croatian Armies which together with civilian population were withdrawing towards the British troops in Austria counted on the 13th of May 1945 17 divisions (over 200,000 men). At 9 a.m. on the 14th of May 1945 the Croatian liaison officer of Jewish extraction Deutsch-Maceljski offerred to the British the surrender of these two armies and of the civilians. We must keep in mind that the Second World War had already ended. The British procrastinated with the negotiations until Tito's negotiator Commissioner Milan Basta and the British negotiator Brigadier Patrick Scott succeeded in cheating and intimidating General Herenčić that the Croatian Army lay down its weapons and raise the white flags of surrender.
The surrender to the communists began on the 15th of May 1945 at 4 p.m. This was in keeping with the order given by MacMillan and Harold Alexander to hand over the Croats to Tito's commuinists. According to the eyewitness report of the Dominican priest Drago Kolimbatović, during the surrender English soldiers were lying at the rims of the meadow with machine-guns pointing at the Croats. Kolimbatović further states:" What followed was a bitter experience which we could have expected from the wild Bushmen but never from the cultured Englishmen.
Under the pretence of checking whether we were hiding weapons, their soldiers indulged in robbery. They took away all golden and valuable objects which some of the Croats carried with themselves in order to ease their hardships in foreign lands." Kolimbatović summarizes the behaviour of the British in the following words:" In the English instead of refuge, we found executioners." (Quoted from the weekly "Glas Koncila" of 13th May 2007). In order that the British perfidy be even greater , Fieldmarshal Alexander sends Tito a strictly confidential telegram on the 16th of May 1945, that is one day after the surrender of the Croats to the Yugoslav communists, telling Tito that the British would like to hand over the Croatian prisoners to him and asking Tito, whether he agrees with this proposal. Tito replies to Alexander on the 17th of May that he had received his telegramme concerning the proposed handover of 200,000 "Yugoslavs" and that he (Tito) consents with gratitude to this proposal. All this was happening after the Croats had already been extradited to Tito's communists and after many of them had already been slaughtered.
What has actually happened on the 15th of May 1945, the day of the surrender ? When after the laying down of the weapons Tito's partisans were certain that their victims could no longer defend themselves and that the British did not intend to intervene (the British, namely, threatened that they would bombard the Croatian troops and civilians if the Croats did not immediately lay down their arms), the partisan commissioner Milan Basta, a Serb from Lika, issued his order. What thereupon followed could be described only by those who were present at that apocalyptic massacre. Here is the testimony of one eyewitness. "Men, women and children were falling down in sheaves while the partisans were mowing left and right with their machine guns over the open field. Soon so many people were slaughtered that the partisans ventured to descend among the survivors and with visible pleasure to beat them to death, to kick them with boots and to stab them with bayonets." (Report of the eyewitness Ted Pavić in Nikolaj Tolstoy's book "The Minister and the Massacres", London 1986, p. 104). Another eyewitness Jure Raguz reports, that in his vicinity he saw a desperate Croatian officer shoot his two small children, a boy and a girl, then his wife and in the end himself (quoted on the above indicated page). When the slaughter at Bleiburg was finished on the 16th of May, the remaining mass of disarmed and frightened Croatian prisoners was driven on foot into Yugoslavia, to the blood-fields of Kočevski Rog and others further on, on a death march known as the "Way of the Cross". A Slovenian Franc Perme in his documentary book "Concealed graves and their victims" proves, that in the first days after the end of the Second World War, only within the area of Slovenia, therefore outside of Austrian Bleiburg, 189,000 Croats were killed, and further 144,500 died in the death columns on the Way of the Cross from the Slovenian-Croatian border to the Romanian border.
As regards Kočevski Rog, a place in Slovenia, the Croatian daily "Slobodna Dalmacija" on the 12th of September 1999 printed the statement of Albert Svetina, the first party secretary (1944-1945) of the Slovenian branch of the odious secret service OZNA (later called UDBA), that at Kočevski Rog the communists killed at least 40,000 persons , men, women, and children. Among the executioners at Kočevski Rog especially prominent were soldiers of a company numbering 60 to 70 members which belonged to the 26th Dalmatian division. These threw their victims into deep gorges, some of the victims still alive and with their hands tied by wire, some of them already dead.
This company was commanded by Captain Nikola Maršić, and its deputy commissioner (ideologico-political function) was Albert Štambuk. This company was protected by the 11th Dalmatian brigade. According to the report of one eyewitness, a young partisan, member of the 11th Dalmatian brigade, during his stay of eight days at Kočevski Rog 30,000 to 40,000 prisoners were killed and thrown into two neighbouring mountain ravines. According to the testimony of the Slovenian secret service (OZNA) official Zdenko Zavadlav a group of killers headed by Simo Dubajić were especially zealous in the slaughter of Croats. Zavadlav said that the order to kill the enemies came from the very top, because the revolution was still lasting. (Sunday's daily "Jutarnji list" of 25th of May 2003). It should also be added that the British General Keightly on the 24th of May 1945 handed over to Tito also those Croats which were sheltered as refugees in the Austrian refugee camp Viktring. Probably after hearing about mass killings and massacres committed by Tito's soldiers to the extradited Croats, Field Marshall Alexander issued on the 4th of June 1945 an order about the so-called new army policy regarding the "Yugoslavs" to be implemented at once. That order forbade the extradition to Yugoslavia or to the Yugoslav troops of any "Yugoslav" against his or her will, and that all those "Yugoslavs" who carred arms against Tito would be treated as surrendered persons and sent to Viktring Camp in Austria.
Unfortunately, for many so-called "Yugoslavs", soldiers and civilians, this Alexander's remorse came too late.
Here we put the question of legal qualification of criminal offences committed by the British and the Yugoslav communist armed forces at Bleiburg and of the accountability for those crimes.
Although Bleiburg is a small part of those heinous crimes committed by the Yugoslav communist army after Bleiburg, at Kočevski Rog, on the death marches and on many other places, we shall limit our presentation to the crimes committed at Bleiburg. The act of the British commanders at Bleiburg of handing over to the Yugoslav communists the Croatian soldiers and civilians who surrendered to them is almost without precedent in the history of civilised nations, and it is contrary to the provisions of international convention and customary law of war. When they surrendered at Bleiburg, members of the Croatian armed forces acquired the status of British prisoners of war and the Croatian civilians that of asylum seekers, in consequence of which there arose between the Croats and the British mutual rights and obligations prescribed by international law. These rights and obligations are especially set out in the Geneva Convention of 27th of July 1929 on the procedure with prisoners of war, which was applicable at that time.
This Convention was signed, among other states, by Great Britain and the other participants in the Second World War. In January 1943 the Independent State of Croatia acceded to the Convention through the for this purpose competent Swiss Allied Council. In accordance with the provisions of this Convention Great Britain had to take care about the safety of life of its Croatian prisoners of war, protect them against violent acts (art.2) and settle them in areas sufficiently distant from battlefields to put them out of danger (art.7). The objection cannot be admitted that Great Britain did not have that obligation in view of the fact that it did not formally recognise the Independent State of Croatia, because Great Britain was properly informed about the accession by the Croatian State to the above mentioned Convention, in consequence of which it had an unconditional obligation based on international law to protect the imprisoned Croatian soldiers. Great Britain could perhaps use another pretext for extraditing its Croatian prisoners of war into Tito's hands. The above mentioned Geneva Convention was unilaterally altered to a certain extent by decisions made during the war by the four great powers, USA, Great Britain, USSR and France. According to these alterations the so-called war criminals which could be found among prisoners of war could be extradited for trial and punishment to any allied state which demanded that.
After the end of the Second World War the above mentioned four great powers concluded in London in August 1945 an "Agreement for the court proceeding and punishment of the main criminals of war of the Axis states" to which also a Statute was appended. On the basis of this agreement an International Military Tribunal was set up to try those war offenders "whose offences cannot be localised to particular countries"(art.1). That London Statute for the International Military Tribunal was later in March 1947 approved by the United Nations' General Assembly. However, this pretext also is untenable. First of all, when the Croatian soldiers were handed over to Tito's partizans (mid-May of 1945) the mentioned London Agreement had not yet been concluded, nor did any circumstance arise which would derogate the provisions of the 1929 Geneva Convention on prisoners of war.In addition to that, Great Britain did not extradite to the communists persons which were suspected of being so-called war criminals, but handed over to them the entire mass of prisoners of war and the entire civilian population which sought asylum against the Yugoslav communists. That the English even before the extradition knew that Tito's communists kill all those persons whom they thought could be an obstacle to their absolute rule is evident, among others, from a confidential report of the British Legation to the Holy See sent on the 11th of May 1945, i.e. four days before the Bleiburg extradition of the Croats, to the Britsh Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden. In the report it is stated:"Soon after the occupation of each town and village, the partisans introduced a terrible dictatorship of the communist party. They began with the "liquidation" of all "suspicious" elements or such as seemed so to them….. Intending to introduce in liberated Yugoslavia the dictatorship of the communist party, they must – so they thought – above all eliminate all leading personalities who didn't agree with communist political aspirations. In keeping with their decision, they sought (everywhere they became masters of the public life in the liberated parts of Yugoslavia) those who enjoyed among the people some importance or esteem; they arrested them and, without trial, they shot them or deported them to concentration camps, where they – it seems – killed them later. The aim of such actions of the Yugoslav partizans is evident; they intend to eliminate all those men of the nation, who could one day hinder them in their effort to bolshevize liberated Yugoslavia Among those are certainly the Catholic priests, who enjoy among the people high esteem and authority and who are in fact spiritual leaders, especially in Croatia and Slovenia" (quoted from page 3 and 4 of the report).
Then on 16 following pages the writer describes the slaughters by Tito's partizans in Dubrovnik, Metković, Ljubuško, Makarska, Mostar, Široki Brijeg and Sinj. And yet in spite of this knowledge, only four days after the writing of this report, the British at Bleiburg send the Croatian civilian asylum seekers and prisoners of war back to their certain death at the hands of Tito's partizans.
The responsibility of the British military authorities for the unheard of slaughter of the Croats at Bleiburg and after it on the death marches throughout Yugoslavia does not in any way diminish criminal responsibility of the partisan army and its commanding officers. The partizan army and its commanders, including its supreme commander Tito, are without any doubt responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity by breaking the provisions of international law of war.
However, we may ask, whether they committed also the crime of genocide against the Croats?
According to the words of President Mesić which he spoke at Jasenovac in 2005, "those killed at Bleiburg are victims, but they are not innocent of other crimes". May we ask, what is the guilt of the children, women, old men , or of the great number of Croatian soldiers, some of them still merely military cadets, which were mercilessly and without trial slaughtered at Bleiburg, Kočevski Rog and the other stations of the Way of the Cross? And those other words of Stjepan Mesić, the man who earlier in his life was a zealous communist, sound also unbelievable when he in 2007 said that at Bleiburg were killed those who were responsible for the camp of Jasenovac. Although the crimes committed at Jasenovac by the "ustashas" ought to be condemned, as well as the partisan crimes committed in the same camp of Jasenovac after the fall of the Independent State of Croatia, to say that the civilians, women and children, and all the Croatian soldiers massacred at Bleiburg and after it were responsible for the "ustasha" crimes at Jasenovac, is incorrect and unworthy of the president of the Croatian State, who ought to be the president of all Croatian citizens and not only of those with whom at festive gatherings he sings the well-known partisan song "across the forests and the mountains". We have another example of distorting the truth and of underrating the intelligence of the citizens of Croatia when the former communist public prosecutor downplays the crimes committed by the communists by saying, that after Bleiburg only 12,000 to 14,000 persons were killed. The truth is that only at Kočevski Rog twice that number were murdered.
But let us return to our question, whether at Bleiburg , and on the death marches which followed, the crime of genocide was committed. According to the 1948 Genocide Convention the crime of genocide consists of acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial or religious group as such. These acts include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
For an act of genocide , therefore, two preliminary conditions are required, the criminal act (actus reus) and the criminal intent (mens rea) that a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such be destroyed, in whole or in part (art.II of the Convention). And that is what actually happened at Bleiburg, Kočevski Rog, other stations of the Way of the Cross accross Yugoslavia, Macelj and numerous other pits and crevasses which are almost every week being discovered in Slovenia and Croatia. It happened what Fotić, the Serbian ambassador in Washington, told Bogdan Radica during the Second World War, that after the war at least one million Croats should be killed in order that a "biological balance should be established with the Serbian victims". A similar view expressed Tito in 1959. When asked in his private retreat on the island of Brioni by the world-famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović about the mass slaughter of the Croats in the spring and summer of 1945 Tito replied :"It couldn't have been evoided. We must have allowed the Serbs to have their fill." The saying of Milovan Đilas about the innocent Croatian victims of communism is well known, that they had to die in order that Yugoslavia could live. All this is in conformity with the instruction which Lenin on 8th of June 1919 gave to Slanski, an agent of the Soviet secret police CHEKA:"What a shame it would be to show ourselves indecisive by stopping with firing-squad executions because of a lack of the accused."The only "guilt" of the vast majority of those killed was that they belonged to the Croatian people and were members of the Catholic Church. These crimes have been committed even against the innocent people because they wanted their own independent state. There is, therefore no doubt that the partisan army has committed in this case the crime of genocide with the knowledge and order of their political and military leaders, with Josip Broz Tito at the top.
atrocities and the punishment of their perpetrators?
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted on 25th of January 2006 a Resolution for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes. In the Resolution it is stated that the totalitarian communist regimes are, without exception, characterised by massive violations of human rights which include individual and collective assassinations and executions, death in concentration camps, starvation, deportations,torture, slave labour and other forms of mass physical terror, persecution on ethnic or religious grounds, violation of freedom of conscience, though and expression, of freedom of the press, and also lack of political pluralism (item 2). The Resolution further points out that the fall of totalitarian communist regimes in central and eastern Europe has not been followed in all cases by an international investigation of the crimes committed by them, and that the authors of these crimes have not been brought to trial by the international community, as was the case with the horrid crimes committed by National Socialism (Nazism) (item 5). The Assembly is convinced that the awareness of these crimes is one of the preconditions for avoiding similar crimes in the future, and that moral assessment and condemnation of crimes committed play an important role in the education of young generations (item 7). The Resolution calls on all post-communist parties to distance themselves clearly from the crimes committed by the communist totalitarian regimes, and to condemn them without any ambiguity (item 13).
We can ask now why in today's independent and democratic Croatia is lacking an effective condemnation of the crimes committed by the communists at Bleiburg and in Croatia during and after the end of the Second World War?
Answering the above question it should be at the outset unambiguously stated that communism, which killed over 100 million people in the world, did that in accordance with its ideological tenets and not contrary to them. The slaughter and killing were not committed by those communists who misunderstood their marxist dogmas, but by those who were faithful to their marxist ideology. The communists did not kill because of their ideological "deviation" from the authentic marxist philosophy, but because of their thorough indoctrination with marxism. The sociologist Klaus Jacobi puts Tito in the unenviable 10th place of the list of so-called "megakillers" of the 20th century, because Tito in peacetime , i.e. after the end of the Second World War, ordered approximately one million and one hundred thousand persons to be killed (see the Croatian daily "Večernji list" of 13th of September 2003). Tito didn't do that primarily because he was an evil man, but because he was first of all a good communist . The very essence and faithful implementation of the marxist dogmas are the source of Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, Titoism, and of the other historical forms of communist totalitarianism. If you are convinced that you and your party are the carriers of the bright and progressive future of mankind, and that everyone who does not agree with you hinders the progress of the human race, then you can easily persuade yourself to "liquidate" those "enemies of the people" without the slightest pangs of conscience, and to hate them , as Tito's comrade-in-arms and communist ideologue Milovan Đilas put it, with "a noble hatred" (his article in the communist newspaper "Borba" on 8th of October 1942). Then into that category of "enemies of the people" you can put all those whom you hate on national, racial, class, religious and even strictly personal grounds.
Let us now turn to our question, why even today in the democratic, pluralist and independent state of Croatia there is no effective condemnation of communist crimes, why the persons who committed those crimes, and who live unpunished among the offsprings of their victims, are not brought to justice, since many of the crimes are not time-barred, and why the implementation by the Croatian "Sabor" (Parliament) of the Resolution for international condemnation of crimes of communist regimes was extremely lukewarm and half-hearted. I think that the answer to these questions should be sought in a number of circumstances. First it is psychologically understandable that it is very difficult to the former communists to admit that they served the bloodiest utopia in the history of mankind. If they admitted this, they would have to repent before the people and their own conscience for many things, such as spying on their fellow citizens and informing the secret police about them, for killing and torturing "hostile elements", imprisoning them without trial, or for being cowardly silent while the communists persecuted their neighbours, threw them out of their jobs, for the only reason that these victims did not want to live under an oppressive totalitarian regime. Because the Croatian Government has not held these people responsible for their crimes, from the prison torturers, the executioners at Bleiburg and other slaughter-fields, to those at the top of the party and state nomenclature who ordered these crimes, it has strengthened them in their illusion, that they are not accountable for these misdeeds. So it comes that these ex-communist dare even today to praise Tito, the man who is primarily responsible for the genocide at Bleiburg and the crimes committed by the communists thereafter. These former members of the communist party and their children occupy today the leading places in politics, courts, schools, media, army, intelligence services, public prosecutor's office etc. They hinder or slow down the process of democratization of the Croatian society, and try to hide the truth about the suffering of the Croats during and after the Second World War. We must, therefore, agree with the following text of the editor of the Croatian Church weekly "Glas koncila" rev. Ivan Miklenić:"In its 15 years of independent existence Croatia, regardless of its governments and governing parties, not only has not had the stamina, but has even lacked the slightest will to confront itself with the terribly black and enormously sad side of its past. All organisations which claim to defend and promote human rights have failed in this task, and the public media have sometimes in a sophisticated way prolonged the life of some ideological forms of totalitarian communism, instead of unmasking it and freeing the Croatian society of those inhuman, unfree and criminal shackles…. Yet inspite of this fact, if the Croatian society wants to become really democratic , it shall inevitably have to confront itself with those facts of totalitarian and criminal communist ideology, to rightly appraise them and to take care that they never be repeated." ("Glas koncila" of 4th of Bebruary 2006).
The English writer J.B. Priestley has written about his compatriots the following lines:"The reputation of the English Establishment and its admirers for smug self-deception, hypocrisy and perfidy, has long had some notoriety in the outside world.We are famous for our pious treacheries." ( "What happened to Falstaff", in "Essays of five decades", Penguin Books 1969).
Let us add in confirmation of this opinion that the British army in Austria sent at the same time a great number of Cossak soldiers, their wives and children, who had fought against the Russian communists, into their certain death by handing them over to the Soviets, although these people were never Soviet citizens, having emigrated from Russia during the communist October Revolution. That was contrary to the Yalta agreement of February 1945 that only those prisoners of war who are Russian citizens should be extradited to the Soviets. A great majority of the Cossaks were after their extradition either killed , or perished in the Soviet Siberian concentration camps, what those who extradited them ought to have known. This however should not astonish us, because during the 1896 Boer Wars in South Africa England set up a chain of concentration camps in which wives and children of the Boer fighters were imprisoned and tortured with hunger in order that their husbands should be psychologically induced to surrender. Or, to mention another example, in order to conquer Ireland England in 1847 caused in Ireland a terrible starvation which killed every fifth Irish citizen.
Although much has been written about Bleiburg and the death marches which followed it, we still do not have a complete picture of what happened there, because the British archives as the most important ones are still not accessible to the public. According the the British legal provisions the strictly confidential military and intelligence documents relating to the Second World War are not available to the public for 75 years. Hence, these documents will be available in 2020 at the earliest.
In this entire tragedy of the Croatian people one historical irony cannot escape the attentive observer. The Croats are the only European people who in their recent history moved from the West towards the East of Europe, when after the First World War they severed their state bond with the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and hastened towards their eastern neighbours to set up new state ties with them, thereby obeying the wish of Great Britain and other tailors of post-war unnatural state structures in Europe. Later, as a nation fleeing from these same eastern neighbours, the Croats knocked at the doors of the West to save themselves, with the experience which they had at Bleiburg, where the British policy sent them once again to their eastern neighbours, now not to the Serbian Karadjordje monarchists, but to Tito's communists, where massacres and death awaited them. Therefore by bringing up the subject of Bleiburg and of other communist slaughter-fields , we want to contribute to settle the questions of truth and justice, which are essential for every democracy. Without an answer to these questions there cannot be a healthy democracy in Croatia. For it is crime to conceal crime.
NTS Notes: Honestly, what else is there to say other than "wow"....
Again, I had never even heard of the Blieburg Massacre myself until very recently. It shows again how these parts of real history that show the so called "victors" of the second World War as mass murdering criminals are kept out of our so called "history books".... The victors always write the history.
The fact is that the British refused to allow these civilians to escape the Communists under Tito, and are therefore guilty of either being accessories to, or allowing, the slaughter of some 300,000 innocent men, women, and children. It is no wonder that you never see the Blieburg Massacre in any of our so called "history" books.
I agree with the author of this article that the government of Croatia should allow for full research and full disclosure of the truth about this massacre to be seen by everyone. Everyone deserves to know our real history and not the bull crap that has been spoon fed down our throats for centuries.
Definitely another sad piece of our hidden history that everyone deserves to know about. It does beg the question though: How many more of these horrific massacres are being kept purposely out of our history books?
More to come


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How did I neglect to post this here? Date and venue are set for a
Timey-Wimey Christmas Party in Utah County!
22 December
Lindon, UT, USA
- Costumes enthusiastically encouraged, as well as T-shirts and accessories, if not inclined toward costume.
- Costume contest with lots of categories.
- Young people allowed. Teens and tweens especially.
- No cost to attend.
- Food, activity, and decorative help most, most appreciated!
- Please contribute any ideas you have!
Originally published at It's Timey-Wimey!. You can comment here or there.


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Click on the labels to refine your search:AllContemplative tourism
A few minutes away from Viedma, there lies El Cóndor, one of the best beaches in the south of the Province of Río Negro. Unique in its kind, it is much more than sea and shore.
A tour around the historical sites to learn about the past. An invitation to discover everything historical Carmen has to show us.
Sport SCUBA diving is one of the most fascinating sea activities. Both Viedma and Carmen de Patagones offer a variety of sites.
The City of Carmen de Patagones has enough merit for visitors to stop and have a look around. A journey back in time in which travelers will succeed in understanding the beginnings of regional history.


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How to Prepare for Hair Transplant Surgery
Posted on 25th November 2016 at 09:57
If you're considering opting for a hair transplant, it's vitally important that you spend some time doing your homework in order to identify a suitable clinic. Be sure to choose a hair transplant surgeon who has sufficient experience in carrying out the procedure, and ask to see some before and after photographs of previous patients. Find out if the surgeon is up to date with the latest advances in technology and procedures to ensure that you will receive the best form of care during your treatment.


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Dodge participates in Duke University conference
Assistant Professor Jaime Dodge served as the reporter for Duke University School of Law's Multi-District Litigation Best Practices conference in Washington, D.C. during September. The invitation-only conference brought together dozens of current District Court and Court of Appeals judges, as well as the most prominent multi-district litigation attorneys from both the plaintiffs' and defense bars.
Repository Citation
Office of Communications and Public Relations, "Dodge participates in Duke University conference" (2014). Faculty Highlights. 739.


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Digitalforce is leading the way as one of the world's largest Search Engine Marketing companies. It employs around 300 people throughout offices in India. Digitalforce offers a unique concept where we can help you with full End to End Internet Marketing solutions. The company's main focus is to provide complete Internet solutions which allow Entrepreneurs along with Marketing and Sales Directors to focus on other tasks while we bring relevant visitors to their websites, which later transforms into business. Executives see Digitalforce as total provider for their Internet Marketing needs.
The most important aspect of any successful search marketing campaign is metrics. Planning, implementing, and measuring correct ROI on the site is crucial to ensuring the success of any client campaign – and Digitalforce ensures that your SEO campaign is managed optimally by making the right decisions, based on correct and timely reporting.
We strive to ensure that you remain at the forefront of the digital marketing revolution instead of just being a part of it.


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Table of contents
31 January 2011
Prerequisite knowledge
Knowledge of ActionScript 3 and Flex is required to make the most of this article.
Additional required product:
User level
This article describes a custom survey application that extends the functionality of Adobe Connect 8 for end users by providing a way to prepare and conduct surveys in meetings. The application, Survey.swf, was built using the Adobe Connect Collaboration Builder SDK, which includes SyncConnector.swc, an Adobe Flex component that enables synchronization of SWF files in Adobe Connect. After Survey.swf is loaded into an Adobe Connect Share pod, the host can initiate a multiple-question poll of all attendees.
Unlike a Poll pod, which can only pose one question at a time, Survey.swf can be configured, via XML, to pose multiple questions, including true/false, multiple-choice, and Likert scale style questions. This application can be used before the start of a seminar to get a better understanding of the participants' expectations or at the end of it to gather feedback.
The Survey application provides several features to support the creation, import, export, and execution of survey questionnaires:
- Create survey: Once the application is loaded into a Share pod, the host has the option to create a new survey from scratch by composing a series of true/false, multiple-choice, and Likert scale questions (see Figure 1).
- Import survey as XML: Instead of composing the survey questions during the meeting, the host can prepare a survey in XML format before the meeting starts and simply import the XML file during the meeting (see Figure 2).
- Export Survey as XML: Once a survey has been created, the host can export it in XML and use it in future meetings and seminars. The export feature requires the Adobe Connect 8 Meeting Add-in, which enables the XML data to be saved locally as a file on the host's computer.
After the survey is initiated, or opened, all meeting participants have the opportunity to answer the questions and submit their responses. After completing the survey, the participants are presented with the survey results, which update automatically as each participant finishes until the survey is closed (see Figure 3).
Survey.swf was created using Adobe ActionScript 3 and the Adobe Flex framework. It uses XML objects not only to save questions but also to store and communicate the results of the survey.
When a user submits his or her survey, the Survey.swf application must synchronize with the other instances of itself in the Adobe Connect meeting. Synchronization support is provided by the SyncConnector.swc library, part of the Adobe Connect Collaboration Builder SDK. This library must be included with the project files when the project is compiled for Adobe Flash Player.
To use the synchronization APIs, you create an instance of the SyncConnect object—for example:
<components:SyncConnector id="syncConnector"/>
On the application's
creationComplete event, add event listeners for the SyncConnector object's
CAUGHT_UP and
SYNC_MSG_RCVD events:
In the
CAUGHT_UP event handler, perform any tasks that are required immediately after the SWF loads. In the Survey application, for example, this handler ensures that any new participant entering the room is shown the questionnaire if a survey is already open.
SYNC_MSG_RCVD event handler is invoked when new synchronization events are received. For example, in the Survey application, this event handler is triggered when a new survey is opened and sent to the attendees.
You can use
syncConnector.dispatchSyncMessage to send an XML object or any string to other instances of the application loaded in the Share pod. For example, Survey.swf uses the following code to send the survey to all participants in the meeting:
syncConnector.dispatchSyncMessage "SendQuestions",SurveyQuestionsXML,false ;
The same mechanism is used to send the survey responses back to the host, so they can be parsed and added to the results in the survey's final report.
The Survey application is a small example of what can be done using the Adobe Connect Collaboration Builder SDK. You can begin using the application as is to conduct surveys in your own meetings, or use it as inspiration for your own custom Adobe Connect application.
For more information, including details on how to test an application in Flash Builder without Adobe Connect, see Using the Adobe Connect Collaboration Builder SDK 2.0 (PDF, 204 KB).
Read other tutorials on the also Adobe Connect Developer Center.


text: Summit Home Entertainment Ups Two Executives 4:50 PM PDT 6/7/2011 by Charlie Amter FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME T.J. Moffett and Jo Dee Freck promoted to EVP & SVP titles at the financing, production and distribution studio. Summit Home Entertainment has promoted two senior executives. T.J. Moffett was upped to Executive Vice President of Home Entertainment Marketing, while Jo Dee Freck is now senior vice president of technical services in Summit's home entertainment division. In his new role, Moffett will continue to report to Steve Nickerson, President of Summit Home Entertainment, and Nancy Kirkpatrick, Summit's President of Worldwide Marketing. The executive, a Warner Home Video alumnus, will continue to lead the development of all domestic marketing campaigns for all of the studio's home entertainment products. Meanwhile, Freck will continue report to Sandy Friedman, executive vice president of Summit's home video operations. Freck in her new role will supervise the creation of all video and digital files, including home video, network, pay TV, video on demand, electronic sell through, airline versions and downstream syndication. Moffett has been with Summit since 2008, when he joined the company as SVP of Home Entertainment Marketing. Freck, a Deluxe Digital Studios and DreamWorks SKG vet, also joined Summit three years ago, previously holding the title of vice president of technical services for Summit Home Entertainment before his promotion to senior vice president of technical services. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Charlie Amter email@example.com @thr


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Giggle Golf Bling Friends Don't Let Friends 3 Putt Magnetic Ball Marker Necklace
Product Features:
This golf ball marker necklace is perfect for using during a round of golf, or as an attractive accessory! It features a Giggle Golf bling ball marker on a 17" leather necklace, with a 24mm circular magnet.WHERE DID YOU GET THAT ADORABLE MARKER? - Get used to it.…


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|Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister
Re^2: Passing Data Back From Mason templateby water (Deacon)
|on Jun 04, 2006 at 00:29 UTC ( #553456=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
Hmmm... don't like embedding roles in URLS -- we often need to change who can do what, create new roles, etc -- would be mess if necessitated remapping urls.
so basically each action (method) in the controller needs a role-list, and jumps off to confirm current user is a member of at least one allowed role, else redirects off to a not-enough-access-to-do-that page, yes?
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Ancestry.com - Genealogy Podcasts
From Along Those Lines by George Morgan.
BBC - Podcasts - Tracing Your Roots
From BBC Radio Four - Inspirational family history stories and key genealogy advice for the United Kingdom. Sally Magnusson and Nick Barratt uncover personal perspectives on social history and give listeners the tools to become family history detectives. Past episodes are available to listen.
Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Extreme Genes - Family History Radio
Radio program and podcasts by Scott Fisher.
Extreme Genes Podcast on iTunes
Extreme Genes is a genealogy show hosted by Fisher. Fisher has 30+ years of radio experience and has had a passion for genealogy since he was a teen. On Extreme Genes Fisher sets out to educate the audience on resources and techniques for completing any gaps found in your family tree. Each week Fisher interviews national experts in the field of genealogy as well as news related to all of our genealogy. Be sure to visit ExtremeGenes.com for all the latest on the show.
Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Podcast
From Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. This step-by-step podcast series for beginning genealogists also helps more experienced researchers brush up or learn something new. Listen and/or read the show notes for software choices, records research, technology tools, organization strategies and more.
Hear about the best genealogy tools and tips directly from Family Tree Magazine's editors and experts! Tune in to the Family Tree Magazine Podcast for a dose of genealogy education and fun. In this monthly online radio show, host Lisa Louise Cooke
Northeast history and genealogy radio, with a new episode every Thursday hosted by Marian Pierre-Louis.
The purpose of GeneaBloggers TRIBE is to support genealogy bloggers and content-providers on a variety of platforms, share information on resources, and more. This team at GeneaBloggersTRIBE will continue the providing helpful resource links, daily blogging prompts, blogiversaries, spotlights with an eye to new and emerging content-providing technologies. Find support at GeneaBloggersTRIBE.com for vlogging (video blogging), podcasting, content curating, micro-blogging in addition to traditional blogging.
GeneaBloggers TRIBE - Our Members
A listing of 3,400+ genealogy and family history-related content providers: bloggers, podcasters, vloggers, micro- bloggers, etc.
Producer and host Lisa Louise Cooke delivers genealogy news, research strategies, expert interviews and inspiration to genealogists in 75 countries around the world with a fun, engaging style.
A podcast exploring the perils, pitfalls, and payoffs of accurately documenting family history, two genealogists discuss how to properly document facts and analyze evidence used in family historical research. This is a wonderfully informative genealogy podcast for anyone new to or beginning genealogical research. As a side note, we know that a nice glass of wine will help soothe the frustration that accompanies running into the occasional genealogical brick wall and may even recommend some of our favorite bottles.
Each brief episode will feature 10-15 minutes of genealogy and family reunion information.
How to Be a Better Genealogist Podcast
Each week Michael J. Leclerc, CG, brings you tips, tricks, and discussions to help you improve your research skills on the Genealogy Professor podcast.
George G. Morgan and Drew Smith discuss genealogy. Their weekly, 60-minute podcast is the longest-running, continuous genealogy podcast in the world.
The Genealogy Professional podcast | Genealogists learning from Genealogists
With Marian Pierre-Louis
The National Archives Podcast Series
Listen to talks, lectures and other events presented by The National Archives of the United Kingdom.
Podcasts for Genealogy » General Resources
21 Links


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Few opera singers have reached a truly global audience, and even fewer have achieved the status of superstar. The six singers on this list have done both and more. Though not necessarily the greatest of all time—critics and connoisseurs may prefer other singers—their immense talent cannot be denied. Live or through the medium of recordings, their voices have been heard all over the world and have helped introduce opera to a wider audience.
6. Joan Sutherland
The celebrated Australian soprano, nicknamed La Stupenda, had a remarkably unique voice and a repertoire ranging from Wagner to bel canto. It was, however, the latter style, which her conductor husband Richard Bonynge encouraged her to explore, that made her into a superstar in the opera world. Sutherland was instrumental in the rise of Luciano Pavarotti, who toured Australia with her, and became a friend and frequent collaborator. Dame Joan Sutherland retired from performing in 1990, after a distinguished career spanning four decades. She passed away in 2010.
5. Montserrat Caballé
Famous for the beauty and power of her voice, especially in bel canto roles, Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé is among the most acclaimed singers of the 20th century. Her first great success came in 1965, with Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, and many more followed, including Bellini's Norma and Verdi's La Traviata. In 1987, Caballé scored a memorable pop hit with the song "Barcelona", a duet with Freddie Mercury, lead singer of British band Queen. The song went on to become the anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics. Caballé's daughter, Montserrat Marti, is also an opera singer.
4. Plácido Domingo
The Spanish-born tenor, one of the most successful operatic performers of the last half-century, is also one of the most prolific, having sung close to 150 roles as well as tackling other musical genres and conducting. As member of the Three Tenors, along with Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras, he helped introduce opera to a global audience, performing on stadiums around the world and releasing the best-selling classical album of all time. Throughout a career that's still going strong, Domingo released several crossover albums, won 14 Grammy awards and collaborated with various pop stars.
3. Enrico Caruso
The first superstar of the recording era, Italian tenor Enrico Caruso is perhaps the greatest opera singer of his time and still highly praised to this day. Born in Naples in 1873, Caruso sang a large variety of roles throughout the world, many at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He premiered roles for various distinguished composers, including Giacomo Puccini, and reached amazing popularity before his death in 1921. He made more than 250 gramophone recordings, the first as far back as 1902, playing a huge part in promoting the emerging medium. Many of these can be enjoyed today in digital format.
2. Maria Callas
The most celebrated soprano of all time, Greek-American singer Maria Callas charmed audiences all over the world with her beautiful and versatile voice, which brought her the nickname La Divina. She shone in a wide range of roles, from Puccini's Tosca and Bellini's Norma to Verdi's La Traviata and Bizet's Carmen. Her tumultuous personal life and the early decline of her voice have only contributed to her legend. Almost 40 years after her death, Callas remains one of the biggest icons of the opera world—the quintessential diva.
1. Luciano Pavarotti
Everybody, or almost everybody, has heard of the great Italian tenor. He's almost as famous as Michael Jackson or Madonna, which is a feat not many classical musicians have achieved. Probably the most commercially successful opera singer of all time, Pavarotti was famous for his powerful voice, often reaching spine-tingling heights in arias such as Puccini's "Nessun Dorma". His many charity performances included collaborations with some of the biggest pop artists of his day. Born in 1935, Pavarotti passed away in 2007, leaving behind an amazing legacy of best-selling recordings—proof that classical singing isn't only for the elites.


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HamarSweat-shirt Detail
The Hamar knit sweatshirt is both lightweight and elegant.
Its trendy unisex cut and modern details like the rolled-up collar, cuffs and hem make it an up-to-date piece to wear for formal or casual occasions. Thanks to its regenerated cotton composition, it is a model that is fresh, contemporary and gentle to the environment.
Composition: 70% regenerated cotton, 30% polyester. 8 lbs / dozen, 7 gauge
72,00 €


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This type of discrimination is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At Kennard Law, P.C., our Houston gender discrimination attorneys use this federal law to fight back against employers and stand up for the rights of workers like you.
If you believe you have been the victim of gender discrimination, contact our firm today to arrange a consultation. We fight to protect the rights of employees throughout Texas.
When people think of gender discrimination, they often think of sexual harassment, which is a common form of gender discrimination. However, harassment is not the only form of discrimination based on gender, and the victims can be women or men.
Gender discrimination is often tied closely to pay. For example, when women in a workplace are paid less than their male counterparts who perform the same duties, it is a clear example of discrimination. Similarly, women may be passed up for raises and promotions, while men who do the exact same work obtain these pay increases.
Pregnancy discrimination is often considered a kind of gender discrimination as well.
Gender And Sexual Orientation
In addition to standing up for women and men who have been mistreated in the workplace because of their gender, our lawyers also represent people who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Gay men and women and all members of the LGBT community can turn to us when their workplace rights have been violated.
Discuss Your Case With A Dedicated Employment Law Attorney
Call us toll free at 855-KENNLAW or contact us via email to discuss a gender discrimination claim with an experienced Texas attorney. Se habla español.
With offices in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Southern California, Rio Grande Valley, El Paso, and Washington D.C.


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The following proposed Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) for NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code®, is being published for public review and comment:
- Proposed TIA No. 1157, Reference: 517.41(E) of the 2014 edition
Anyone may submit a comment on this proposed TIA by the August 22, 2014 closing date. Along with your comment, please identify the number of the TIA and forward to the Secretary, Standards Council by the closing date.


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|10/20/2020 08:38:02am
The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show On Earth The World's Largest, Grandest, Best, Amusement Instituition. Spotted Leopards. Bengal Tigers. American Pumas. African Lions. Grave Digging Hyenas. The Saddle Back Tapir. The Wart Hog. The Red River Swine. A Group Of Polar Bears. The Cassawary. A Flock Of Pelicans. Australian Emu. Rare Beasts and Birds From Every Clime As Seen In The Great Menagerie. This reproduction 1903 Poster shows images of the animals featured in Barnum's menagerie.
|Poster Details
|Viewable Size Chart


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Purchase all Operation World products here: The book, CD-ROM, book/CD-ROM combo pack, DVD-ROM, and wall map
click map to enlarge
click graph for key
Area: 103,000 sq km
A volcanic island in the North Atlantic; mountainous, largely barren with many large glaciers.
Population: 329,279 Annual Growth: 2.17%
Capital: Reykjavik
Urbanites: 92.3%
HDI Rank: 3 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples: 11 (9% unreached) All peoplesUnreached Peoples Prayer Card
Official language: Icelandic Languages: 2 All languages
Largest Religion: Christian
The Bible Society launched in 2000 a new Bible translation, which was well received. The 2007 release of The 100-Minute Bible in Icelandic resulted in many acquiring Bibles. Pray that many would come back into contact with the transforming Word of God.
Christian Radio. Radio Lindin, which can reach about 90% of the population, remains on air and is a blessing to believers. And it has been used to bring some unbelievers to faith. It is also available via the Internet.
For an additional 4 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Iceland.


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Accessorizing Your Tech Life with Natural Materials
Editorial Rating:
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I like to look out for natural material tech devices or accessories made with biodegradable materials, whether it is office furniture or small objects like lights, to balance all the manmade material in my home. In that spirit, here are three of the coolest green tech I've discovered recently. More Read More...


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The first Thomas Mercer calibre of the 21st century
This spring detent escapement, formed of a helical spring and ovalising balance, confirms Thomas Mercer's commitment to combining relentless innovation with heritage and authenticity.
Aspiring to the theoretically perfect balance, the mechanism delivers the best results in terms of isochronism. The innovative ovalising balance features a bar which does not expand or contract with changes in temperature and which forces the balance into an oval shape. This, coupled with an uncut rim that makes centrifugal errors practically disappear, leads to a significant reduction in residual and 'middle temperature' errors.
8 days
Spring Detent with fusee-and-chain drive
Hour, Minute, Second, Power Reserve
Diameter: 160mm
Height: 100mm
"The Calibre TM0801 reinvents nautical timekeeping. By retaining the traditional elements of a pure chronometer, the movement represents the revival of an historic craft".
Joel Mercer


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PhoneGap gets a fancy new demo
The PhoneGap demo is really starting to grow beyond the capacity of a single screen since tons of new features are being added all the time. It's even showing a few examples of the tab and navigation bar features, but they didn't really do anything beyond just throwing out alerts and log statements. I decided to change that to show just what's possible with a PhoneGap app.
(Forgive me for the ugliness of the video…this is my first upload to YouTube, so I had assumed I could resize the embedded viewer to fit the aspect ratio of the original).
I'm pretty excited about it. Not only does it give developers a starting place for developing apps, but it allows us to improve the demos to give the user a better experience. I'd like to show a Canvas graph of the accelerometer values, or even show a rolling ball in a box to see how the accelerometer can influence JavaScript.


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In this tutorial you will learn how to add multiple existing users to a new course.
Instead of adding a (new) course to existing users individually, it's also possible to add a course to multiple users by sending them a special invitation code.
*We recommend to use Google Chrome to ensure an optimal experience when using AppicalNow.
Step 1. Click on User Management in the menu on the left.
Step 2. Click on "Add Users" in the top right of the screen.
Step 3. Select 'Open Invite'.
Step 4. Enter a title for this particular open invite. This makes it easy to find the open invite code again afterwards. Example: "Add 'xx course' to existing users"
Step 5. Set the number of days that the invitation code is available. The code will not work after the set amount of days.
Step 6. Set the maximum amount of users that may use the code. The code will not work once this number is reached.
Step 7. Only a course can be added to an existing user this way. To add one, simply click on the checkbox next to the course that you want to add. In the example above I want to add the course 'Support Appical' to existing users.
Step 8. Click on 'Submit'.
Step 9. A pop up will appear with the links to webpages and the invitation code.
In this case only the 'Link for users that already have an account' appicalnow.com/invite_existing_user and the invitation code are needed.
Step 10. Click on 'Copy code' to save the text in this pop up to your clipboard.
Step 11. Paste the the links and the code into an email that you will be sending to the existing users.
* Make sure only the 'Link for users that already have an account' appicalnow.com/invite_existing_user is added. Delete the the 'Link' appicalnow.com/invite from the email.
The should contain information on what the user is supposed to do and what happens when they enter the invitation code at the site.
Hooray! You now know how to add a (new) course to multiple existing users!


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286 Rooms include 20 Standard Rooms, 77 Beach Villas, 83 Jacuzzi Beach Villas, 27 Water Villas, 77 Jacuzzi Water Villas, and 2 Honeymoon Suites.
All rooms feature tropical décor, a king size or two twin beds, tile or wood floors, private patio with furniture, air-conditioning, overhead ceiling fan, sitting area, stocked Mini Bar with refrigerator, tea/coffee machine, IDD telephone, color cable TV, personal safe, bathroom with hot water, shower, bath accessories, hair dryer, and nightly turndown service. Electricity is 220VAC, 50HZ. Also provided is complimentary use of chaise lounges at the pool and beach and beach towels.
No fuss dining, just good food is the order of the day at Meeru. No dressing up to impress. Just stroll in from the beach or from your room, and sit down and enjoy. There are five restaurants and six bars where you will find everything you want, and at all hours of the day. So just continue to have fun and there'll be plenty of food on offer just when you want it.
Two main "sister" restaurants, serving the same buffet menu, conveniently located to best serve our guests.
Duniye Spa
Harmoniously designed in the turquoise lagoon, our Two Spa's, one Over-Water-Spa and the other one on land offers the perfect environment to sooth your body, stimulate your mind and strengthen your spirit.
With an innovative approach, combining West with East, traditional rituals with modern modalities, high touch with high tech, we honor our guests entirety and provide a most rewarding spa experience with a true sense of inner-self, well-being and beauty ensuring best results and benefits.
Contact Meeru Island Resort
North Male' Atoll
Telephone: (960) 664 3157
Facsimilie: (960) 664 5946
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.meeru.com
See Also Pictures of Meeru Island Resort


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A new box of Social Thinking goodies arrived via FedEx this week. I'm sure my delivery guys wonder why I have SO many deliveries, but between Amazon Prime for dog food and cool SLP stuff to review, I keep them in business.
The newest Social Thinking product to hit the shelves is actually a second edition. We Thinkers! Volume 2 is the second edition of the program for early childhood children. The first edition was called Incredible Flexible You but ST decided to change the name due to the multiple of products named 'flexible'. Here is a review of Volume 1. Social Thinking provided me with a copy of this set of materials in exchange for review. No other compensation was provided. The opinions are all mine!
This time, instead of writing a full review, I decided to do a Facebook Live post! Watch below:
To watch the Live interaction of the FB audience, click videos on SRN Facebook page!
Find the set for download here on the Social Thinking Website.
I'd love to hear if you've got a copy of the downloads and how you're using them!
Join the SRN newsletter!
I'm so glad you stopped by! If you'd like to keep up with the newest posts and get exclusive free downloads, please sign up for the newsletter! Your first freebie is ready as soon as you subscribe and confirm your email!


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HBO Renews VICE for Second Season
LOS ANGELES, June 13, 2013 – HBO has renewed the news magazine series VICE for a 12-episode second season, with debut set for 2014, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.
Hosted by Shane Smith, founder of the revolutionary new media company of the same name, VICE smashes barriers of decorum to cover the kinds of stories often overlooked by mainstream media outlets.
"VICE's fearless, irreverent style of news coverage has produced a uniquely provocative show," noted Lombardo. "We look forward to more of their groundbreaking reporting in season two."
"I honestly don't think there is another network in the world that would have given us the opportunity and support that HBO did over the last year," observes Shane Smith. "We learned a lot over the course of shooting season one, and are insanely excited over our story selection for season two. Now that our various parasites, hernias and virulent rashes have been treated, we are ready in mind and in body to go out there and get the gold."
"Damn them, I don't hear about my own show any more from people on the street," says executive producer Bill Maher. "They stop me and say, 'I love that VICE show!'"
VICE kicked off its ten-episode first season April 5, debuting new editions Fridays (11:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT), following new editions of "Real Time with Bill Maher." The season finale, which debuts tomorrow, Friday, June 14, is devoted entirely to the show's recent headline-making trip to North Korea.
Great news! We've reveiwed every episode so far so be sure to give those a read. We're loving this series and think it's an important part of HBO's lineup. Goes great alongside Bill Maher. The season finale airs tomorrow night at 11 and it should be MAJOR! It covers the "Basketball Diplomacy" you'd heard so much about in North Korea a few months back. Well, VICE was part of that and filmed it all. Here's a peek:
Exciting times. Congratulations to the VICE team. We look forward to more hard hitting journalism on HBO.


text: I just got the negs (and CD) back from the first roll of film I've run through the old AGFA Record III 6x9 folder I picked up at a pawn shop. I just ran a quick roll to check focus, shutter, light-leaks, etc. I used color but converted this to B&W. Not bad for first attempt on an old camera. I think it looks a little soft in places but I had some fogging on some of the shots - the paper was wound a little loosely. I've got another roll ready to try some more.


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The Twenty Mile House offers you and your guests exclusive use of our secluded 200-acre eco-estate for your next retreat, workshops or special event.
A historic 1854 stage-coach stop located in the spectacular Sierra Nevada Mountains, Northern California, just 1 hour from Lake Tahoe/Reno and 2.5 hours from Sacramento, our stunning gardens, charming facilities and accommodations will provide everything you need to host your event.
Available for EXCLUSIVE USE, by groups of 10 or more, seeking privacy, serenity and a feeling of truly getting away from it all. Our facilities, beautiful grounds and accommodations provide a unique, comfortable and spectacular setting for your event.
Whether you are looking to host a business meeting or retreat, yoga, meditation, healthy living, personal development or any other style workshop retreat or getaway such as a family reunion the Twenty Mile House is excited to be your host!
Our goal is to help support each group create the absolute best possible experience for their unique retreat, workshop or special event. Our staff is expert at ensuring everything you need for your event to be a success is taken care of.
Click here to contact us about availability and pricing for your special event


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UK Facebook application specialists Techlightenment have won the account to create an application for one of the legends of modern music: Bob Dylan.
The application was created for Bob Dylan's forthcoming single and his recent album for SonyBMG.
Users fill out ten boxes with words they want Bob to read out on his boards during one of his most famous tracks, Subterranean Homesick Blues. The app also appears on profile pages.
The app has yet to be announced, so you heard it here first…


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ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): Ambassador of Pakistan in Turkey Sohail Mahmood said that Kashmir would continue to haunt the conscience of humanity unless the continuing unspeakable atrocities in Occupied Kashmir are immediately stopped and until a just and durable solution to the long-standing Kashmir dispute is found.
In his article published in Turkish newspapers, the envoy highlighted the miseries of Kashmiri people and drew attention of the world community to play their due role to help resolve Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security resolutions.
The ambassador quoted a New York Times report narrating the ordeal of an eight-year Kashmiri boy Asif Sheikh who underwent third eye surgery in a Srinagar hospital.
Asif Sheikh is one of the hundreds of victims of indiscriminate use of pellet gunshots, employed by military forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to quell the latest intifada, which intensified on July 8 with the extra-judicial killing of a Kashmiri youth leader, Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
Defying the curfew, hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris poured into the streets after his funeral in a spontaneous outburst of anger against the cold-blooded methods being used by the occupying forces. The response to this Kashmiri outburst of anger, grief and frustration was, again, characteristic of what they have faced under occupation for decades.
Live ammunition, pellet gunshots and tear gas were directed indiscriminately at protestors, and for that matter anyone in the vicinity, including by-standers and on-lookers, like young Asif Sheikh. They were baton-charged and dragged on the streets.
Ambulances transporting those injured were stopped and attacked. Hospital and clinics providing medical aid were raided and medical staff and doctors harassed. Kashmiri leaders were arrested or put under detention. Media and independent human rights observers were denied access to the region. For months, Jammu & Kashmir has remained a virtual black hole under a crippling curfew.
Meanwhile, India's relentless drive to quash the will of the Kashmiri people since July 8 has resulted in the death of over 150 Kashmiris and injuries to a staggering 15,000 others.
There have been over 700 victims of severe eye injuries from the use of pellet guns alone, many of them as young as Asif Sheikh.
Most of these victims will never see the light of day again, being permanently blinded. Others will spend their remaining lives living under the shadows of impaired vision and psychological trauma.
On Sept. 17, 11-year-old Nasir Shafi's pellet-ridden body was found in Harwan. Nasir Shafi had gone missing a day earlier when protestors from his village were chased by Indian security forces.
After witnessing the tell-tale signs of yet another unspeakable atrocity, thousands of Kashmiris again took to the streets for the young boy's funeral, despite the curfew.
The pictures of crimson-colored, blood-drenched eyes of victims and wailing mothers over the coffins of their young sons are enough to send shudders down one's spine.
Yet, this is a mere glimpse of what Kashmiris have endured under occupation for almost 70 years now, merely for asking for what they had been promised not only by the United Nations Security Council but also by India itself – the right to self-determination.
Since 1990, an estimated 94,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives in their just struggle, many in the custody of the occupying forces. Thousands of mass graves have been discovered. More than 10,000 women have been raped and molested.
Still, according to Amnesty International, not a single member of the security forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir over the past 25 years has been tried for human rights violations in a civilian court. The "draconian" laws enforced by the occupying authorities provide complete impunity to the perpetrators.
On Oct. 27, Kashmiris in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir as well as millions across the world observe "Black Day" – to mark that infamous day in 1947, when the overwhelmingly Muslim Jammu and Kashmir was forcibly and illegally occupied by India, against the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris.
On this day, Kashmiris across the globe appealed the international community to fulfill its moral responsibility to help bring an end to the gross violations of human rights in Jammu & Kashmir. They called for the implementation of the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif demanded an independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings in Jammu and Kashmir and a UN fact-finding mission to investigate brutalities perpetrated by the occupying forces.
He also demanded the immediate release of all Kashmiri political prisoners, an end to the curfew, freedom for the Kashmiris to demonstrate peacefully, urgent medical help for the injured, abrogation of draconian laws and removal of the foreign travel ban on Kashmiri leaders.
Above all, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions that provide for the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Jammu & Kashmir through a free and fair plebiscite under U.N. auspices.
Hopefully, the international community will not fail the Kashmiri people again.
And, hopefully, when the bandages are removed from the eyes of little
Asif Sheikh, he will not only be able to see the faces of his loved ones around him, but also his generation will one day see the colors of freedom.
ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): Ambassador of Pakistan in Turkey Sohail Mahmood said that Kashmir would continue to haunt the conscience of humanity unless the continuing unspeakable atrocities in Occupied Kashmir are immediately stopped and until a just and durable solution to the long-standing Kashmir dispute is found.


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Cover and illustration for the Swedish Women's Lobby and their report "A feminist examination of public health policy". The print is in purple and neon orange. In collaboration with Kerstin Hanson.
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Robotic Process Automation Market Snapshot
Robotic process automation (RPA) has emerged as a hugely popular business-IT priority – and with good reason. RPA platforms grow more and more sophisticated by the day, opening up fresh automation opportunities throughout the enterprise and business.
But RPA platforms generally aren't a one-size-fits-all investment.
In this market guide, find out how the top RPA vendors stack up against one another on key investment criteria, including ideal use cases, unique RPA capabilities, and more.