text:
LOOTERS cleared the shelves at a storm-damaged Lidl supermarket before a crime gang ripped its roof off with a digger.
Video footage posted on social media shows youths fleeing the popular discount giant in Citywest, Dublin, loaded down with stolen booze and food.
The drama came as thousands found themselves stranded miles from home tonight as transport networks ground to a sudden halt during the ice storms - which have so far left 16 people dead.
Armed police and soldiers were called to the looting scene after a digger was used to get to the store's safe and nine people were arrested.
The supermarket - which was cut off to traffic by snow - was closed at the time and local crooks had taken advantage of the fact to force their way in.
Eight men aged between 24 and 47 years were due to appear in court today charged with theft, burglary and trespassing offences.
Local Labour councillor Mick Duff said he was outraged by the group's actions, describing the incident as "gangsterism".
He told the Irish Sun: "At a time when our emergency services and public services are stretched to the limit that people would exploit a situation like that to do this.
"There's no need here, this is just pure gangsterism. It literally brings shame to the area."
Earlier commuters in London risked their lives when they jumped off stranded trains and walked alongside live rail lines after being trapped for hours.
Dozens of travellers jumped off Southeastern trains stuck between St Johns and Lewisham after pressing emergency buttons to open the doors.
Network Rail said it had to urgently turn off the track's power supplies to "stop the passengers from being killed."
The rebel commuters later claimed they had been stuck in packed carriages with overflowing toilets, no heating or lighting for more than three hours.
Some of those on board had started to get "hysterical" say passengers while others were panicking as they needed to get home to take medication.
Some even said that customers were forced to urinate into cups due to overflowing toilets.
Emergency services rushed to the scene to attempt to round up trespassers and rail companies issued warnings over safety and further delays.
Power was switched off on trains because of the incident and the police and fire service were brought in to help get people off trains.
Southeastern tweeted: "We know it's difficult and really unpleasant on board the trains but you're safer remaining on board."
One woman wrote: "Been on a train trying to get home for 3 hours now. 2 1/2 hours spent between #Lewisham and #Blackheath with hordes of ppl having jumped off @Se_Railway what exactly are you doing?
"You've been saying you're about to turn the power back on for about an hour now."
Another said: "Three-and-a-half hours now. No toilet, heating, lights. #TRAINMAGEDDON."
British Transport Police said it had "deployed all available officers and emergency response teams" to evacuate passengers.
They added: "Whilst we understand peoples concerns & frustration, please, please remain on the trains.
"We are working with rail staff to evacuate passengers from a number of services along the line but please be assured we will get to you as soon as we are physically able to #Lewisham"
Other commuter called for the "idiots" who had jumped onto the tracks to have their season tickets taken away.
Many commuters were forced to book into hotels or crash with friends as three of the south's major rail firms warned people not to travel.
Enormous crowds crammed onto concourses at Waterloo and Victoria, two of the capital's busiest stations, as they tried to make their way home.
Some incoming rail passengers said they had been travelling for up to seven hours as icy rails caused by the sub-zero temperatures sparked train cancellations, delays and breakdowns.
On the Underground, the Bakerloo, Jubilee, London Overground and Metroplitan lines were part suspended with delays.
To make things worse for those looking to escape the capital, a fire alarm caused London's Euston Station to be evacuated in the middle of rush hour.
Who has died in the treacherous weather battering Britain?
- A 52-year-old homeless man, known as Ben, was found dead in a tent in Retford, Lincolnshire, on Tuesday
- Three women died on Tuesday when a Renault Clio collided with a Scania lorry on the A15 in Baston just after 6.15am
- Hours later a man was killed in a three-vehicle smash on the A47 near Peterborough
- Stephen Cavanagh, 60, died on Wednesday after falling through a frozen lake in Welling, south east London
- A 46-year-old man died in a crash on the A34 in Hampshire on Thursday
- The body of a 75-year-old woman was found underneath a car near her home in Leeds on Thursday
- Elaine McNeill, a care worker, was found dead in the snow on Thursday in Galsgow after she failed to turn up for work
- A seven-year-old girl died in a car crash in the Cornish port of Looe yesterday afternoon
- A man was found dead in his sleeping bag at a night shelter for the homeless in Canterbury this morning
- A 20-year-old man died after falling over in Haddington, East Lothian
- Police say a 70-year-old died after being rescused from cliffs in Torquay
- Another man was found lying on a pavement in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent
- The body of a woman has been found during the search for a missing hillwalker in the Forth Valley
Several rail networks told people they should not travel on their routes after Storm Emma and the Beast from the East collided - including Southeastern, South Western and ScotRail.
Just after 4.30pm all routes through Birmingham New Street stations were suspended, due to a loss of power.
Two police forces declared "major incidents" in response to the widespread disruption, turning to the military for help with rescues and to provide assistance to hospitals and medics.
Public Health England (PHE) urged people to plan ahead to ensure they have enough food and medicine.
What has happened so far during Storm Emma:
- Thousands of commuters were left stranded at rail stations across the country
- Looters targeted a storm-damaged Lidl store in Dublin - even ripping its roof off to get to the safe
- Cops launched a hunt for a teen last seen wandering around Manchester city centre at 5am in sub-zero temperatures
- Fifteen people including a seven-year-old girl have now died in the wintry conditions
- Some rail passengers jumped onto the tracks after their train became stranded in Lewisham
- A completely frozen car was pictured in north London after a water pipe burst and an incredible video of a man jumping onto a snow-covered trampoline went viral
- The military was pulled in to help clear traffic after hundreds of drivers were stranded overnight on Britain's roads
- In a bizarre phenomenon freezing rain was pictured turning the nation's roads into ice rinks
- More than 40 cars were involved in a pile-up on the A38 in Devon
- A number of councils and police forces declared major incidents in the freezing conditions
- Motorists were evacuated from the Isle of Wight by helicopter as the roads became too dangerous to use
- Football matches were cancelled throughout the lower leagues and Scotland
- At least 9,000 were left without electricity in the north of the country as power supplies suffer in the chill
- Hundreds of flights in and out of UK and Irish airports were cancelled
- A heroic bus driver managed to avoid disaster by swerving her bus around an out of control car on the snow
- Travellers were forced to huddle under blankets and makeshift shelters on stranded trains, cars and at airports
- Many Brits have seen non-urgent ops postponed due to staff shortages and a lack of beds in some hospitals, as NHS bosses warn of the 'perfect storm' of the storm, norovirus and flu
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at email@example.com or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


text:
Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart have announced details of two huge shows at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Having previously united in August 2017 when Stewart made a surprise appearance during Chappelle's set at New York's Radio City Music Hall, the topical talk show giant and comedy legend then embarked on a sold out run of US shows.
Now, they'll be making their UK debut together. Full dates are below. Tickets are on sale from 10am on Friday August 17 and will be available here.
- Sunday October 21 – London, Royal Albert Hall
- Monday October 22 – London, Royal Albert Hall
Just as Chris Rock did during his recent UK tour, the duo will be banning phone use during the shows.
A Live Nation statement reads: "These shows will be utilising Yondr technology and are strict no mobile phone allowed shows. Attendees are advised to leave their phones in their cars or at home. Anyone who brings a moobile phone will be required to place it in a locked Yondr pouch.
"Everyone is subject to a pat down and wanding. Anyone caught with a mobile phone inside the venue will be immediately ejected."
Meanwhile, Chappelle made headlines earlier this year when it was reported that he was being sued by a man who threw a banana peel at him on stage.
The comedian previously addressed the incident in his 2017 Netflix special Deep in the Heart of Texas, dubbing it "Bananagate" and suggesting the attack was "premeditated" due to the brownness of the peel.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Connecticut's top judge enlists the help of out-of-state colleagues
HARTFORD -- Connecticut's top federal judge is enlisting help from out-of-state colleagues to preside over a backlog of civil cases created by a shortage of U.S. District judges.
The Connecticut Post reports (http://bit.ly/Vvy0kz ) that Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson has reached out to the chairman of the federal court system's assignments committee.
Nine judges have responded to calls for help. They've come from Ohio, Kentucky, Montana, New York City and South Dakota.
Judge Peter C. Dorsey died in January, another judge is ill, a the promotion of Judge Christopher Droney to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals created a vacancy and a senior judge is no longer taking criminal cases or conducting civil trials.
In addition, numerous criminal cases are creating a backlog of civil lawsuits.


text:
School of Humanities and Sciences
Showing 1-20 of 207 Results
Emilius Aalto
Temp - Non-Exempt
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy primary research interest is theoretical fisheries ecology, with a focus on population dynamics, spatial dynamics, and response to disease and catastrophic events. My current work involves the incorporation of the effects of ocean acidification and low-oxygen events into an abalone growth and reproduction model. Past projects include modeling indirect positive effects from fishing-induced competitive release and the effects of size-specific obligate predation on post-harvest recovery time.
Tom Abel
Professor of Particle Physics and Astrophysics and of Physics
BioWhat were the first objects that formed in the Universe? Prof. Abel's group explores the first billion years of cosmic history using ab initio supercomputer calculations. He has shown from first principles that the very first luminous objects are very massive stars and has developed novel numerical algorithms using adaptive-mesh-refinement simulations that capture over 14 orders of magnitude in length and time scales. He currently continues his work on the first stars and first galaxies and their role in chemical enrichment and cosmological reionization. His group studies any of the first objects to form in the universe: first stars, first supernovae, first HII regions, first magnetic fields, first heavy elements, and so on. Most recently he is pioneering novel numerical algorithms to study collisionless fluids such as dark matter which makes up most of the mass in the Universe as well as astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas. He was the director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology and Division Director at SLAC 2013-2018.
Christina Ablaza
Assistant Director of Creative Writing, English
Current Role at StanfordAssistant Director, Creative Writing Program
Ran Abramitzky
Senior Associate Dean for Social Sciences, Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
BioRan Abramitzky is a Professor of Economics and the Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences at Stanford University. His research is in economic history and applied microeconomics, with focus on immigration and income inequality. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is the former co-editor of Explorations in Economic History. He was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, as well as National Science Foundation grants for research on the causes and consequences of income inequality and on international migration. His book, The Mystery of the Kibbutz: Egalitarian Principles in a Capitalist World (Princeton University Press, 2018) was awarded by the Economic History Association the Gyorgi Ranki Biennial Prize for an outstanding book on European Economic History. He has received the Economics Department's and the Dean's Awards for Distinguished Teaching. He holds a PhD in economics from Northwestern University.


text:
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Market Size Worth $3.01 Billion by 2025: Grand View Research, Inc.
01 Nov, 2017, 09:00 GMT
SAN FRANCISCO, November 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
The global atomic layer deposition (ALD) market is expected to reach USD 3.01 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to grow substantially over the forecast period, owing to its excellent efficiency of depositing conformal coatings equivalent to thickness measurement of nano-layers for the intricate semiconductor components.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO )
Atomic layer deposition is a key manufacturing process in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, and part of the set of tools available for the synthesis of nanomaterials. It is considered as one of the significant deposition method for producing thin conformal films. The demand for complex and miniaturized components coupled with the advent of nano-technology has driven the ALD market.
The thin-film deposition market constitutes of other major technologies such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, sputtering and epitaxy equipment. Though CVD accounts for a larger market share currently, the advanced & feature-rich ALD process holds its own significance due to its performance of delivering high deposition, and high production rates with minimal waste. CVD is the only alternative to ALD but to a limited extent, and it cannot deliver precise conformity to films similar to the atomic layer technology.
Plasma Enhanced-ALD is expected to be the fastest growing product type owing to its excellent output properties and fastest surface reaction mechanism rate. ALD is surface-sensitive deposition process, and PEALD enhances the surface modification through plasma exposure, which enables to alter nucleation. The PEALD deposition films are ultra-thin films with exceptional flatness and uniformity. The current process development effort by the top companies globally, is mainly focused on delivering new, higher quality & throughput and progressive dielectric materials.
Browse full research report with TOC on "Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Market Analysis By Product Type (Metal, Aluminum Oxide, Plasma Enhanced, Catalytic), By Application, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/atomic-layer-deposition-market
Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest:
- The global atomic layer deposition industry was valued at USD 1.09 billion in 2016 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12% from 2017 to 2025
- Solar device & medical equipment industry are the two fastest-growing applications for the ALD market owing to the growth of each industry globally
- Rise in consumer electronics spending for personal computers, smartphones, laptops and other modern gadgets has led to increased utilization of complex chips and ICs
- Asia Pacific accounted for over 42% of the overall revenue in 2016 owing to strong presence of strong manufacturing base and growing semiconductor & electronics, solar, and medical device industries, especially, in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
- Some of the major companies operating in the global atomic layer deposition market include Adeka Corporation, Aixtron SE, ASM International NV, and Lam Research Corporation
Browse related reports by Grand View Research:
- Smart Lighting Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/global-smart-lighting-market
- Static RAM Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/static-ram-market
- Thin Film Material Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/thin-film-material-market
- Graphic Processors Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/graphic-processors-market
Grand View Research has segmented the global atomic layer deposition (ALD) market on the basis of product, application and region:
- Atomic Layer Deposition Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025)
- Metal ALD
- Aluminum oxide ALD
- Plasma Enhanced ALD
- Catalytic ALD
- Others
- Atomic Layer Deposition Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025)
- Semiconductors
- Solar devices
- Electronics
- Medical equipment
- Others
- Atomic Layer Deposition Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025)
- North America
- Canada
- Europe
- Germany
- France
- Asia Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
- Middle East & Africa
- Central & South America (CSA)
- North America
Read Our Blog By Grand View Research: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/semiconductors-and-electronics
About Grand View Research
Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.
Sherry James
Corporate Sales Specialist, USA
Grand View Research, Inc
Phone: +1-415-349-0058
Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519
Email: email@example.com
Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com
SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.


text:
While many argue that the Federal Reserve should wait on another interest rates hike until there is a clear sense of the health of the economy in the wake of the Brexit vote and the weak May job report, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester on Friday countered that there are risks of delaying another move.
"Waiting too long increases risks to financial stability and raises the chance that we would have to move more aggressively in the future, which poses its own set of risks to the outlook." Mester said in a speech to a business group in London.
Mester said the Fed should aim to "gracefully navigate back toward a more normal policy stance."
In a new argument, Mester said that the public may sour on the Fed's innovative quantitative easing program launched in the wake of the financial crisis. This would essentially take these tools "off the table because the public will have deemed them as ultimately ineffective."
"This is a risk to the outlook should we ever find ourselves in a situation of needing such tools in the future," Mester said.
The Cleveland Fed president, considered to be relatively hawkish, is a voting member of the Fed policy committee this year.
Mester did not seem shaken by the weak May job report, where only 38,000 jobs were created.
"I do not think we are at the start of a significant reversal in labor markets," Mester said.
Mester said she did not advocate for a rate hike in June simply because of the looming Brexit vote, and did not mention the May jobs data.
The Fed raised interest rates for the first time in a decade in December but has been unable to hike ever since.
Mester's comments run counter to financial market expectations of no rate hikes this year.
The Cleveland Fed president said it was too soon to judge the effects of the Brexit vote on the U.S. economy. She noted that some of the tightening in financial conditions immediately after the vote has been reversed in recent days.
In earlier television appearances, both Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard played down the impact of the decision by U.K. voted to leave the European Union.
Read: U.S. central bank in 'wait-and-see' mode


text:
Although I'm not really jumping at a chance to be in front of the camera, I couldn't resist when my friend and amazing photographer, Marianna Jamadi, asked me to play model for her giveaway collaboration with Sanuk Shoes for their new Kat Collection. We met in Hayes Valley and had lots of fun browsing around, looking for colorful walls, riding a bike and trying to put the shoes in the best light. I discovered Marianna's work few months back on Tiny Atlas Quarterly and have been following her since then on Instagram until we met in person few weeks ago. She moved to SF!
You can admire her beautiful photography and her travel adventures over at her blog, Nomadic Habit and for more behind the scenes check out her Instagram. Also don't forget to enter her giveaway for the chance to win a pair of these red beauties I'm wearing.
What you have to do: Head over to her instagram (@nomadic_habit.com) and repost the giveaway photo with the hashtag #nomadicKat and tag @nomadic_habit and @sanukfootwear for your chance to win. You can also post a picture with the hashtag #nomadicKat of an exciting place where would you wear your new pair of Sanuk Shoes. Giveaway ends on Dec 23rd, so right in time to get your own present. Good luck!


text:
Reddit video addons for Kodi Helix
Just recently I upgraded my HTPC from XBMC to the latest version of Kodi Helix. After the upgrade I was quite disappointed to notice the lack of any Reddit-Video addons and decided to fix that.
Last time I upgraded XBMC, I found this post on reddit.com with Gotham-compatible versions of both the Reddit.com and Reddit Videos addon. However, this time I couldn't find any versions compatible with the latest version of Kodi.
How to install
Installing the two addons is quite easy.
Download this archive that includes all the dependencies not yet available in the official Kodi repository. Extract the files anywhere and you should now have five separate archives ready to be installed.
Switch to Kodi, navigate to "Install from zip file" and select each zip in order to install it. I recommend to install demjson and chrome.launcher first, followed by vimeo if you encounter any issues.
Once that's done you might want to install the Reddit.com (plugin.video.reddit_tv-1.1.7), BlueCop's Reddit Videos addon (plugin.video.reddit.bc-0.0.4) or both.
I've created a Kodi Add-on repository that features an updated version of this add-on.


text:
Heard on Campus: Arianna Simpson of BitGo
Heard on Campus: Arianna Simpson of BitGo
"I'm going to blow your mind: Bitcoins don't actually exist. The concept of a Bitcoin isn't real. What is real is Bitcoin's ability to allow parties who don't have trust between each other to conduct business. Bitcoin allows unbanked people, and those living in unstable economies, to function as their own wallets and get paid for their work.
"What I captured from the beginning was Bitcoin's revolutionary potential — it is constantly evolving as a living piece of software. In 2014, about 700 data breaches affected millions of peoples' personal data, and Millennials are wary of this — they see the costs of revamping banking security passed back to them. They don't think traditional banks support their best interests, and Bitcoin offers transparency. The public ledger is at the core of Bitcoin; everyone in the network sees it, and no one can make changes to it without being seen."
-- Arianna Simpson, account specialist for BitGo. Simpson has spent her career working in tech, first co-founding an enterprise software startup in the loyalty program space, and later leading sales and partner relations at Shoptiques, a Y Combinator-backed e-commerce startup. She then worked at Facebook in Global Marketing Solutions before she decided to pursue her interest in bitcoin full-time, and joined BitGo as the third employee. Simpson frequently speaks and writes about the financial, political and technological implications of bitcoin and the underlying protocol. While at Penn State, she was a Schreyer Honors College scholar, and holds a dual bachelor of arts degree with highest honors. Simpson is also an adviser to the Penn State University Bitcoin Club.
Simpson spoke April 16 at IST Startup Week, a week-long celebration showcasing talented innovators and entrepreneurs from around the country, including alumni from the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Penn State. Tune in to live streaming of events at http://startupweek.weebly.com/live-streams.html.


text:
Please enter a search Criteria
Item: 2056005
Price: $11.99
This item has been added to your Cart.
Item: 2055994
Item: 2056046
Item: 2056011
Item: 2013324
Price: $7.99
Item: 2055038
Price: $27.99
Suggested Related Items or Add-Ons...
Tumbler: Arizona Team Logo 30oz by Gametime Sidekicks-Red
Tumbler: Arizona Team Logo 20oz by Gametime Sidekicks-Gray
Item: 2054560
Price: $37.99
Tumbler: Arizona Team Logo 30oz by Gametime Sidekicks-White
Item: 2060724
Price: $15.99
Showing Results 1 - 8 of 8
Items Per Page
Enter your email to stay up to date with sales and events!
University of Arizona BookStores is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Start Shopping on Amazon.com »
Critical Error!
Failed to call the server.
Session Timeout
Your session has timed out and requires a page refresh.


text:
MLK Jr Day
MLK Jr Day of Service January 15, 2018 Painting mural at Project Light, a School for English as a second language. Click on a picture to see a slide show.
MLK Jr Day of Service January 2017
Joseph Storehouse Restoration Center. Working with Habitat for Humanity with Pastor Al Davis, Director


text:
Organic Poncho, Natural Heather, India
|In stock (1)
100% organic cotton solid knitted poncho cardigan, classic design wrap featuring a stylish universal fit. No harmful dyes & chemicals.
Trendy, classy and sophisticated, buttery soft natural cotton poncho wrap is suitable for all seasons without being itchy and scratchy. Wear it 5 ways!
Wear it with jeans or evening dress, versatile and stylish. Great travel accessory or everyday use, lightweight, warm and cozy.
Experience PURE COMFORT by Viverano. Ethically woven and stitched at a GOTS and Fairtrade certified facility in India.
ONE SIZE: Approx 28"x30", 13" neck opening.
0 stars based on 0 reviews


text:
Mega Fast Karts Wanneroo
- Catering
- FAQ's
Do you want to experience REAL motor racing... on REAL racetracks?
We operate 6 days a week (closed on Monday) and we're also one of Perth's premier corporate day events.
Bookings can be made for multiple types of events and lengths of race sessions.
There's something for everyone at Mega Fast Karts, so contact us for bookings.


text:
Conceiving is nature's way of bringing new life into this world, and the joy of having a child is priceless. Most childless couples would do anything and everything to get this free blessing. It would give them a reason to wake up in the morning and nurture their little bundle of joy. With them, they would choose pregnancy now than later. But for a couple to conceive, the man and woman must be fertile. Different factors can influence fertility. These include a person's diet, the timing of sex, lubricants and more. Fertility experts have also ruled on other ways to boost fertility. Following these ways, the couple can have their wish come true for that stork's visit. Some couples have to deal with fertility issues. They usually resort to natural ways to increase fertility to get pregnant. To help you out, here are some tips on how to boost fertility:
Weight has been an overlooked factor when it comes to conception. Women who are either overweight or underweight have fewer chances of conceiving. Studies show that keeping a healthy weight can help with conception
Women who are obese or overweight have a harder time getting pregnant. So if you want to boost your fertility, make sure to keep a healthy weight. You can do this by eating healthy foods and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle.
This site offers information designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on any information on this site as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or as a substitute for, professional counseling care, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.


text:
Whoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.
Knowledge is not intelligence.
In searching for truth be ready for the unexpected.
Change alone is unchanging.
The same road goes both up and down.
The beginning of a circle is also its end.
Not I, but the world says it: all is one.
And yet everything come in season.
—Heraklietos of Ephesos


text:
A standard of excellence in personalized dental care enables us to provide the quality dental services our patients deserve. We understand every person's dental needs are unique and that is why we provide comprehensive treatment planning tailored to each patient's specific needs and offer a wide range of services to achieve your optimal dental health.
Jason Northcutt, DMD
Jason Northcutt, DMD, is a lifelong resident of Alabama. He graduated from Haleyville High School in 1989 and continued his education at Auburn University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in 1993. Following Auburn, Dr. Northcutt attended the University of Alabama School of Dentistry from 1994-1997 and completed his dental degree.
He continues to learn more every year through lectures and advanced continuing education classes. Dr. Northcutt is a member of the The American Academy of Implant Dentistry, American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and the South Baldwin Dental Study Club. He received his Sedation Certification in 2004 from the University of Alabama Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Most of all, Dr. Northcutt brings kindness and understanding to dental medicine, helping to restore his patients' confidence, achieve better health and happiness.


text:
Legal Question in DUI Law in California
I got a DUI in CA and DMV suspended my driving privilege for couple months.
The DMV notice of suspension says; in order to get my driver's license back, I have to provide an SR-22 and do traffic school. I finished the traffic school. Do I still have to show DMV CA an SR-22? My driver's license has never been suspended and I never turned it in since it is not even CA license.
Asked on 1/25/19, 2:12 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless
The CA suspension is honored by all states, therefor your out of state license is also supposed to be suspended until CA clears the suspension by you doing all the things required here.
Answered on 1/26/19, 2:02 pm


text:
Agam's Gecko
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Until today -- if we can trust the statements by the Chinese Foreign Ministry -- the Tibetan Tulku, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche remains alive following his two year temporary reprieve from execution for "terrorism". An official at the Southwest Sichuan Province Prison Administrative Bureau told AFP that the monk had not been executed yet, and that he thought there was a consideration being made for changing the sentence to life imprisonment, "... because he behaved himself well in prison." Thankfully, they've evidently forgiven him for the highly embarrassing audio tape he recorded shortly after his first sentencing, and passed through sypathetic prison channels to the outside.
"Even if I have to remain in prison, and eventually suffer the loss of my life, my only motivation and aspiration would be to wish and pray for the well being of all sentient beings. I've always [advised] people to avoid harmful practices of any kind, saying that even raising your hand in a clenched fist is harmful...The only reason for subjecting me to those false accusations [of orchestrating bombings] is the fact that I'm widely known to have a deep concern and attachment to Tibet. Therefore, I appeal to the sense of justice of all unbiased people of the world to kindly investigate and ascertain the truth in my case."The embarrassment generated by this tape was caused by the Chinese authorities themselves (as is usually the case), for they had insisted to international diplomats and media (following the secret, closed trial) that both the accused, Lobsang Dhondup and Tenzin Delek, had admitted their part in the Chengdu bombing, and had confessed.
So while the Chinese are being coy about Rinpoche's fate, citizens and parliaments in many parts of the world have been busy this month, in coordinated efforts to save the monk's life. Take a look at the Students for a Free Tibet updated page on the week of worldwide action on his behalf -- lots of small pics to round out the reports from Canada, US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific areas, and great to see Vancouver taking a strong role here. The case was raised in the Commons in Ottawa by Mr. Rob Anders (Calgary West, CPC) and in the Senate by Sen. Consiglio Di Nino, but I've heard of no resulting governmental action. The government's assurances that quiet words were passed at the deputy ministerial level, notwithstanding.
South of the border, a very different story. The US Congress has been having its lame duck session and trying to finish up urgent business before the Christmas - New Year break. Passing essential funding measures, not to mention the contentious reform bill for the intelligence services, clearly took precedence during this short but busy period. One would not expect non-urgent issues to be dealt with at that time -- but in fact a suprising thing happened. Two last minute resolutions were rushed onto the order paper and passed unanimously in the Senate. One dealt with the then-ongoing popular rejection by Ukrainians of their fraudulent election, and called for a transparent and peaceful legal settlement of the dispute. The second urgent resolution concerned Tibet's situation under Chinese occupation, specifically the ongoing plight of political prisoners there, and the particular case of Tenzin Delek. And once again, we see moral leadership on the Tibet issue coming from the ever-maligned United States. And I would point out that the US Congress actually has a stronger position on Tibet than does the government through its State Dept. (which is obliged, unless and until there is a change of policy, to adhere to the "One China Principle"). In the eyes of Congress, Tibet has been and remains a legitimate political entity. The sense of Congress, fixed in resolutions for many years now, is that Tibet is a sovereign nation under foreign occupation.
I can almost hear the charges of "hypocrisy" from here. An occupier crying "occupier!"? Hands up, anyone who predicts that 50 years hence Iraq will be ruled by an American governor, English will be the language of education and business, hundreds of thousands of US troops will remain to permanently enforce US direct rule, millions of Americans continue to relocate into the colony buying land, businesses and resources to the point that these non-Iraqis control virtually the entire domestic economy, and peaceful expressions of Iraqi patriotism result in long prison sentences if not worse. Change "American / English / US" into "Chinese", and "Iraq" into "Tibet", and you have what that occupation looks like 50 years after initial invasion.
Actually, I'm not fully convinced that the situation in Iraq now can legitimately be called "occupation" (even though GWBush himself used the word): see Steven Vincent's piece on why language matters, for more on this.
For example, it seems normal to refer to "Nazi-occupied France" -- but why does nobody call the post-liberation country as "Allied-occupied France"? Silly, right? It was "Allied-liberated France". Perhaps because the attitude of the liberators was one that affirmed French self determination. The Chinese (as they refer to it) "peaceful liberation of Tibet" had nothing to do with self determination in any form. More than half a century after their country was invaded by Mao's hordes of armed social revolutionaries, Tibetans remain fully under direct Chinese rule without any openings in which to express themselves as a nation and a people. There is no other word for that than "occupation", and it bears no resemblance to the burgeoning civil society we see now developing in Iraq. Indeed if anything, it seems that the "occupier" of Iraq is nudging the entire society toward full self determination and legitimate representational government, a little more quickly than some of them are wishing to move.
For all those who do not studiously avoid knowing about the full odiousness of Saddam's Stalinist-inspired regime, the multi nation coalition would sensibly be seen as having completed the liberation of that country from what was certainly fascism. That is, the Iraqi society is now free to set about the business of structuring their political foundations and institutions through democratic process, in their own way and for their own national interest. The remaining hindrances are well known, and danger of failure still exists. But the fact that these processes are taking place (and have been happening since soon after Saddam's fall), show that "liberation" has in fact happened. That there remain stubborn ex-regime forces combined with foreign jihadist mercenaries trying to thwart this self determination by any means possible, does not negate the fact that liberation has happened. The liberators, now along with the liberated, continue to work together to defeat -- not "insurgents", not "the resistance", and certainly not "dissidents" (a la BBC) -- to defeat the fascist paramilitaries desperate to kill Iraq's democratic future. Whatever stands in the way of the realisation of this ideal, it is not the multi-nation liberation forces, but rather the underground anti-democracy paramilitaries -- the fascist-Islamist ones and the fascist-Saddamist ones alike. Whereas the realisation of that ideal (the Iraqi version of that, whatever it turns out to look like) has been made possible and coaxed along by the power and sacrifices of a willing coalition, it seems just a bit twisted to describe the largest contributor in the effort as "the occupier". I believe that I'm using these words properly.
But with Chinese communist double-speak, words are rarely used properly. So Tibet was not invaded in 1950, it was "liberated". Now, more than half a century later, it remains in an equally "liberated" condition, its traditional political institutions in exile, and with foreigners (Chinese settlers) outnumbering the Tibetans themselves. When such a situation exists against the will and the interests of the Tibetan people, and is held in place only by overwhelming presence of the military forces of that foreign power, then it's a real, actual "occupation". Language matters. I appreciate the straightforward language used to encapsulate the Tibet situation regarding political prisoners as it is set forth in the Senate resolution, particularly the opening recognition that Tibet was sovereign prior to the Chinese invasion, and the succinct itemization of the facts in this particular area. For these reasons I will include the resolution's full text here:
Full Text of US Senate Resolution 483 on Tenzin Delek RinpocheCheers to you, US Senate, willing to take the time to present and unanimously pass this resolution while you all (I'm very sure) had your minds on other more immediate and contentious matters during a hectic few weeks. Paul Martin says we should do more business with China. I would wager that this unanimous resolution will have reverberated in the halls of the People's Edifices somewhat more than the off the cuff obsequiousness of our Prime Minister.
The resolution was passed with unanimous consent December 7th 2004 by the US
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the detention of Tibetan
political prisoners by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the detention of Tibetan
political prisoners by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
Whereas, for more than 1,000 years, Tibet has maintained a sovereign
national identity that is distinct from the national identity of China;
Whereas armed forces of the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet in
1950, according to the memoirs of the Dalai Lama and other sources;
Whereas, according to the Department of State and international human rights
organizations, the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to
commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in Tibet;
Whereas the People's Republic of China has yet to demonstrate its
willingness to abide by internationally accepted standards of freedom of
belief, expression, and association by repealing or amending laws and
decrees that restrict those freedoms;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has detained
hundreds of Tibetan nuns, monks, and lay persons as political prisoners for
speaking out against China's occupation of Tibet and for their efforts to
preserve Tibet's distinct national identity;
Whereas Phuntsog Nyidron was arrested on October 14, 1989, together with 5
other nuns, for participating in a peaceful protest against China's
occupation of Tibet;
Whereas, on February 26, 2004, following a sustained international campaign
on her behalf, the Government of the People's Republic of China released
Phuntsog Nyidron from detention after she served more than 14 years of her
16-year sentence;
Whereas Tenzin Delek, a prominent Tibetan religious leader, and 3 other
monks were arrested on April 7, 2002, during a nighttime raid on Jamyang
Choekhorling monastery in Nyagchu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture;
Whereas, following a closed trial and more than 8 months of incommunicado
detention, Tenzin Delek and another Tibetan, Lobsang Dhondup, were convicted
of inciting separatism and for their alleged involvement in a series of
bombings on December 2, 2002;
Whereas Lobsang Dhondup was sentenced to death and Tenzin Delek was
sentenced to death with a 2-year suspension;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China told senior
officials of the United States and other governments that the cases of
Lobsang Dhondup and Tenzin Delek would be subjected to a ''lengthy review''
by the Supreme People's Court prior to the death sentences being carried
Whereas the Supreme People's Court never carried out this review, and
Lobsang Dhondup was executed on January 26, 2003;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has failed to
produce any evidence that either Lobsang Dhondup or Tenzin Delek were
involved in the crimes for which they were convicted, despite repeated
requests from officials of the United States and other governments;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to
imprison Tibetans for engaging in peaceful efforts to protest China's
repression of Tibetans and preserve the Tibetan identity;
Whereas Tibetan political prisoners are routinely subjected to beatings,
electric shock, solitary confinement, and other forms of torture and
inhumane treatment while in Chinese custody;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to exert
control over religious and cultural institutions in Tibet, abusing human
rights through the torture, arbitrary arrest, and detention without fair or
public trial of Tibetans who peacefully express their political or religious
views or attempt to preserve the unique Tibetan identity; and
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has paroled
individual political prisoners for good behavior or for medical reasons in
the face of strong international pressure, but has failed to make the
systemic changes necessary to provide minimum standards of due process or
protections for basic civil and political rights:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that-
the Government of the People's Republic of China is in violation of
international human rights standards by detaining and mistreating Tibetans
who engage in peaceful activities to protest China's repression of Tibetans
or promote the preservation of a distinct Tibetan identity;
sustained international pressure on the Government of the People's Republic
of China is essential to improve the human rights situation in Tibet and
secure the release of Tibetan political prisoners;
the Government of the United States should-
raise the cases of Tenzin Delek and other political prisoners at every
opportunity with officials from the People's Republic of China; and
work with other governments concerned about human rights in China, including
the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas, to encourage the
release of political prisoners and promote systemic improvement of human
rights in China; and
the Government of the People's Republic of China should, as a gesture of
goodwill and in order to promote human rights, immediately release all
political prisoners, including Tenzin Delek.
Twelve years ago, a young couple became the first to trek from Lhasa to Kathmandu, and their experience has now become a book. Without having set out with any other goal in mind, the story apparently sheds light in many different ways into the real-life plight of Tibetans today. Those twelve years haven't been so good to the Tibetans, with much greater state control of their traditional institutions, more restrictions on individuals in general, and many hundreds of thousands more Han Chinese having flooded the country. Coming soon: the Last Spike on the Beijing - Lhasa railroad, possibly the last nail in the coffin of Tibetan cultural survival as we will see Tibetan resources pouring out of the country over that rail just as fast as the Han colonists pour in. So while the book sounds interesting, even though somewhat dated, everything that could raise awareness will help. Oh yeah, the title: Yak Butter Blues. Heh, what's a book without a website, eh?
Back onto Tenzin Delek's case for a moment, a documentary film has been produced on the subject by an American and a Tibetan, working together in India. Tsering Ngodup had been doing his part over the past two years, painting the now well-known image of Tenzin Delek's face on whatever flat surfaces he could find around Dharamsala, India, and moving onto tourists' umbrellas and t-shirts etc. This image is by now quite ubiquitous in many cities around the world, as part of the concerted campaign for Tenzin Delek's life. Tsering collaborated with film maker Elinore Burke to create the documentary, Sentenced To Die. Heh, what's a movie without a website, eh?
It was surprising to see an op/ed piece by Ted Rall (of all people) included among the stories compiled by the World Tibet Network Newsletter (put out by the Canada Tibet Committee). The newsletter is great, by the way, and is sent almost daily. But creepy Ted, who apparently thinks the Zarqawi gang are Iraqi patriots, wishes for more US deaths in Iraq, and cheers for American defeat because under Saddam, Iraqis never had it so good (yes that Ted Rall), has a soft spot for Uygurs. Who'da thought? Except that the piece was so superficial, lightly based on his own visit to Urumqi over seven years ago. There wasn't much new, a little quoted history, some background on the Chinese repression methods, transmigration of Han to marginalize the Uygurs, Chinese use of the "terrorist" card after Sept. 11 to clamp down harder, and the naming of one of the Uygur nationalist groups to a "terrorist group" list by the US. There were a few Uygurs fighting with the Taliban, and there are a number in Guantanamo Bay detention.
But anyone who is familiar with Xinjiang (as the Chinese call their far western acquisition, formerly East Turkestan), will tell you that the Islam practiced there is not the rigid, dogmatic and intolerant Wahhabi doctrine pushed by the Islamists. They are, in fact, mostly Sufis -- that mystical and tolerant form found across central Asia. Naturally it should come as no surprise that a few people get radicalised, maybe become jihadists even, possibly after some time in a Pakistani madrassa or something. But the Uygurs as a whole, are very tolerant when it comes to religion (despite the Chinese government's disgusting intolerance toward their faith, because of its link with their national identity). The other thing Xinjiang scholars will tell you, is that the Uygurs are by and large extremely pro-American and pro-western. If anything is ever to free them from the Chinese communist yoke, they seem to feel it is the eventual success (somehow....) of idealistic stuff like democracy, freedom of expression, the worldwide trend toward national self determination. And the US is seen as the major proponent of these ideals. Rall finds a man who believes that the US will invade and kick out the Chinese, as if to say "You poor, deluded soul." But it's doubtful very many sensible Uygurs actually think about it in those terms.
It was the sub-headline of this article that caught me. "Why 8,000,000 People You've Never Heard Of Hate Us" The "us" is of course, the despicable, imperialistic Americans -- those who Rall believes every reasonable and progressive person on the planet should hate. And should help to defeat in any way possible. And so on and so forth (see almost any Rall cartoon apart from his celebrated racist attacks on Condi and Colin). Now we hear that 8 million Uygurs hate America too, just like every good progressive Eurotopian does. I had to laugh, reading his article to find any substantiation for this gross generalisation, for there wasn't any. Basically, the text supports the fact that Rall thinks they should hate Americans, as well as the fact that they don't do as he wishes. In fact people exclaim to him that "We love the United States!" and "I listen to Radio Free Asia!" Slim pickings for sure, but more positive quotes than one would normally expect from an anti-American creep like Ted Rall, and notably contradicting Rall's own sub-hed. On the other side of the ledger, there were exactly.... um... zero references to people who actually hate America -- and of course no quotations at all to that effect.
Last month, there was a much more serious article on Xinjiang, The Real Terror in East Turkestan by D.J. Maguire. This tip is courtesy of the China Letter blog. The blogger, Steven Sullivan, makes a couple of small historical corrections, but writes that Maguire makes a very important point:
One very important point spelled out by Maguire is that the Uygur, albeit Muslim, are extremely western oriented. They believe that America can save them from Chinese persecution; that America and the west can help them to gain a degree of autonomy at least to the level promised to them by Mao Zedong back in 1949 but never delivered.Quoting the original article now, where Maguire writes:
As America fights the terror triumvirate of Wahhabism, Ba?athism, and Khomenism, her people have asked: where are the Muslims who don't hate America? Where are the Muslims who do not see the fulfillment of their faith in emulating the hijackers of September 11, 2001? Where are the Muslims who understand us, our vision, and our desire for freedom for all?Steven, who has had a first hand knowledge of the Uygurs, then continues:
Those of us fortunate enough to know the Uighur people do not ask these questions. We don't have to ask them. We see these Muslims every day; we work with them; we are proud to call them our friends.
These are true words. The Uygur people are truly friends.I know what you mean, Steven! I think we (the democratic world) probably let others down in disappointment more often than we meet their hopes.
They believe in us, we in America, Australia, Britain, Canada et al.
They believe in our proclaimed "goodness", they believe in our system of democratic government, they believe above all that we we have humanity.
Sometimes I wonder if we deserve such blind faith!
What's all this stuff about having to "de-Christianize" Christmas, so that nobody has to feel "uncomfortable"? Can't have a Merry Christmas sign, school districts ban caroling, nativity scenes are unacceptable of course... right out, and "I'm sorry sir, we have only 'holiday trees' this year." A mayor had to apologise for publicly using the words "Christmas party" when referring to his town's "holiday party". It's bizarre, like the premise for a Monty Python skit or something.
This is a phenomenon of the more "progressive" side of the liberal democracies. Western Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, even the US. A subset of the dominant culture convince the rest that they must not express their religion (if they have one) too openly, lest they make someone of a minority faith to feel excluded. Or creepy, or sad, or afraid or uncomfortable. Or something. Solid examples of this hurtful phenomenon have been hard to come by, but it sounds awfully fishy to me.
How different it is over here, where local Christians, Hindus, Muslims do their festivals and observances without any fear of restriction or interference (except for the jihadist activities, and worries about same). The majority Buddhist population has many annual events of its own, and in the ensuing combinations of national and religious fetes, everybody else is welcome to join in, watch, or just ignore it. It would be the strangest thing to imagine, that the majority of Buddhists would be thinking, "Gee, just think how the Muslims and Christians must feel when they see us doing this. I'll bet it makes them feel very uncomfortable, maybe we shouldn't do it anymore." Stupid, right? It seems fair to me that the most tolerant societies, which enrich themselves by means of a generous attitude toward free expression by their religious minority groups -- like Thailand -- would be rewarded for their progressive values by not having the political correctness moral police calling for the reduction of Buddhism references in major holidays and festivals. But of course there are no such "progressives" around trying to make Thai Buddhists feel guilty for being 87% of the population, hounding them over all the shameless overt displays of their majority religion. It has never happened. It will never happen either, because it's silly. Thai tolerance is rewarded by not being hounded for insensitivity, whereas western societies seem to hound themselves regardless.
Charles Krauthammer apparently sees it my way. Right after pondering the contrast between what I see in downtown Bangkok -- which includes huge Christmas tree lights displays, Santa Claus scenes and nativity scenes, Christmas carols including the Christian ones, "Merry Christmas" signs in English and in Thai strung up in public -- with the holiday atmosphere which must prevail when these expressions are severely frowned upon (if not banned outright), I found that Krauthammer had written on the same theme. "Leave Christmas Alone" says he, and I agree. Funny that it should matter either to me, or to him. He's Jewish of course (the lefties envision him Doctor Strangelove-like in his wheelchair, emitting his powerful Jew-beams to Zionists and neo-cons worldwide), and all that Christmas stuff in public never mattered that much to me either (except for when we were kids, of course!). It's the faux offendedness (if there is any) and faux anti-offensiveness empathy (perhaps covering for some other social pathology) that seems so weird, and annoying. What the heck is going on with these "progressive societies" anyway?
The attempts to de-Christianize Christmas are as absurd as they are relentless. The United States today is the most tolerant and diverse society in history. It celebrates all faiths with an open heart and open-mindedness that, compared to even the most advanced countries in Europe, are unique.I would like to think that Canada might have a similar degree of tolerance and diversity (Australia too), but I suspect that Charles' second sentence is most likely true.
In promoting openness toward the ways and traditions of others, there is no benefit in making the majority to feel like loutish cultural imperialists just because they want to sing a few Christmas carols. Who has ever been hurt by a few Christmas carols? And if someone feels offended about it, or just plain uncomfortable, it's his problem and not anybody elses. If a Christian claimed offense at seeing a Hindu Krishna pageant performed in public, the political correctness police would be all over him. For everyone else the default is tolerance, while for the Christians it seems, the default is now to be offended. Krauthammer finishes his article:
I'm struck by the fact that you almost never find Orthodox Jews complaining about a Christmas creche in the public square. That is because their children, steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public. They are enlarged by it.And to all, a goodnight. Let us hope for a peaceful Christmas in Indonesia, where the nation is now on top alert for possible terror attacks over the next few weeks. I hope that the Christian minorities there, in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East will have a safe one, and that the cultural elites in the Christian majority countries of Europe, the Americas and elswhere will get off their own backs a little bit, and just enjoy it. Or don't enjoy it, as they wish.
It is the more deracinated members of religious minorities, brought up largely ignorant of their own traditions, whose religious identity is so tenuous that they feel the need to be constantly on guard against displays of other religions -- and who think the solution to their predicament is to prevent the other guy from displaying his religion, rather than learning a bit about their own.
To insist that the overwhelming majority of this country stifle its religious impulses in public so that minorities can feel "comfortable" not only understandably enrages the majority but commits two sins. The first is profound ungenerosity toward a majority of fellow citizens who have shown such generosity of spirit toward minority religions.
The second is the sin of incomprehension -- a failure to appreciate the uniqueness of the communal American religious experience. Unlike, for example, the famously tolerant Ottoman Empire or the generally tolerant Europe of today, the United States does not merely allow minority religions to exist at its sufferance. It celebrates and welcomes and honors them.
America transcended the idea of mere toleration in 1790 in Washington's letter to the Newport synagogue, one of the lesser known glories of the Founding: "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights."
More than two centuries later, it is time that members of religious (and anti-religious) minorities, as full citizens of this miraculous republic, transcend something too: petty defensiveness.
Merry Christmas. To all.


text:
My cart
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Award-winning author, Rosalie Lario, double majored in Anthropology and Classics at Florida State University. She briefly considered becoming an archaeologist before realizing that: (a) they do not actually live the life of Indiana Jones, and (b) she hates getting her hands dirty. She never imagined all the mythology she learned might someday come in handy, but it makes perfect fodder for the stories she now dreams up. Best of all, no dirt involved! When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in their home state of Florida.FOLLOW THIS AUTHOR!


text:
TThe European fine chemicals sector steamed into this week's DCAT Week, a pharmaceutical service event held each year in New York City, with signs of continued strength.
Siegfried, which has grown through a string of acquisitions to become one of the largest contract development and manufacturing organizations, announced it is buying back a finished-dose drug facility near its headquarters in Zofingen, Switzerland, that it sold to Arena Pharmaceuticals in 2017.
Arena manufactured Belviq, a weight-loss drug, in Zofingen and provided services to Siegfried and other customers. Arena no longer needed the plant after selling Belviq to the Japanese drug firm Eisai last year.
Siegfried CEO Rudolf Hanko says a contract with Eisai was an incentive for taking back the plant. In addition, Siegfried needs the capacity for its growing finished-dose drug manufacturing business.
Siegfried recently reported sales growth of nearly 5% in 2017 to $789 million. The company completed three acquisitions in the past three years and says it is still on the acquisition trail.
The contract manufacturer Minakem, meanwhile, said last week that it will invest $18 million to expand its plant in Dunkirk, France. The project will establish a new production line that adds 28 m3 of capacity. Overall, capacity in Dunkirk will increase 54 m3 to a total capacity of 148 m3.
And Indena, a Milan-based firm specializing in drug ingredients from plants, announced the opening of a kilolab for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company adds that it will open a pilot facility later this year for grinding, extracting, and purifying material from toxic plants.


text:
2008 The Politics of Passover
posted by January 16 at 11:45 AMon
Oops. Looks like the Washington State Democrats scheduled the party's county conventions for the eve of Passover, sparking a Move the Convention online petition that declares:
The eve of Passover is not an acceptable day for an inclusive party to hold county conventions.
In this relatively un-Jewish state, how many Jews with strong opinions about the county caucuses can there actually be? As of this moment, looks like 259.


text:
Three men and one woman will face the ACT Magistrates Court this morning (2 August) with a total of 21 drug trafficking charges after a recent police operation targetting drug dealers outside Civic nightclubs.
Between May and July this year, ACT Policing undertook a targetted surveillance on ACT nightclubs as part of Operation Ghar and identified people who were selling illicit drugs.
On Wednesday (1 August), officers seized a trafficable quantity of cocaine, more than 1,000 MDMA pills and around $5,000 in cash in four raids in Macgregor, Cook, Macquarie and Queanbeyan.
ACT Policing also arrested a 39-year-old Mackellar man, a 32-year-old Cook man, a 46-year-old Macquarie man and a 20-year-old Queanbeyan woman who will face a combined total of 21 charges of trafficking a controlled drug.
Detective Station Sergeant Harry Hains said these are serious offences and can carry up to 25 years imprisonment.
"The concerning thing for me is the prevalence of drug dealing in the nightclub district," Detective Sergeant Hains said.
"People need to realise that if they are involved in the sale or purchase of drugs, they are actually supporting international, vicious criminal cartels that are actively engaged in murder. They are the end users of this business model."
Detective Sergeant Hains said the four dealers had loose links to drug syndicates in the territory, but their level in any syndicate was currently unknown as the investigation remains ongoing.
"ACT Policing will continue to conduct operations such as these. If you are involved in drug supply you never really know who is watching," he said.
"Operation Ghar remains ongoing and we will continue to target drug dealers to disrupt the supply of drugs in our community."
If you have information about the trafficking or supply of illicit drugs please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the ACT Crime Stoppers website.
Information can be provided anonymously.


text:
Recreating the Minivan: The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica
It is always a challenge to completely develop a vehicle. The challenges
that faced the team for the sixth-generation Chrysler minivan were
a bit more daunting.
#Chrysler #HP #engineer
"I remember the first time I picked up my minivan at a dealership. It was as if I had a big neon sign over my head that said 'Mom to Be.'" That's Jessica LaFond, recalling her experience some 15 years ago. Things are different now. One reason is that LaFond is the lead engineer for the 2017 Chrysler minivan.
And while she is a proud mom, she is also proud of what they've accomplished in terms of creating something that transcends the check boxes that are associated with a maternal transportation instinct.
Featured Content
Then there's Irina Zavatski. She designed the exterior. "When I started working on this, I went and bought a minivan." Zavatski had been driving a MINI Cooper. "I really don't need a minivan because I just have two kids. But everyone was talking about the stigma. So I wanted to know what the vibe is when driving a minivan.
"If you drive it once or twice, you don't get it. But every day, when I get cut off or don't get respected on the road, I feel it. I wanted to make it different. Much better. So you'd get respected."
Trying to create a minivan with visual zip that rivals almost anything else out there isn't easy. But that doesn't mean that that's something they didn't set out to do.
Brandon Faurote is the head of Chrysler Design, FCA-North America. He says that he grew up as an only child, so there was no minivan in his past. "When I knew this project was coming into the studio, I went out and got a Town & Country so that I could experience it. It was important to understand what it is all about. My wife and I were really blown away by the practicality of the vehicle, by all the features and functions."
But he discerned something. Or the absence of something. "One thing the Town & Country is lacking is an image. So we were never really comfortable driving the vehicle. We preferred our Durango to the Town & Country."
Which brings us to Chris Benjamin, head of Interior Design at FCA, North America. "A lot of people know the minivan as a tool. It makes their lives easier. It helps them accomplish tasks," he says.
Then he shows a picture of four chairs. Four identical, rather ordinary, chairs. He points out that they are tools, serving the function of allowing people to sit. "As a design team, we need to take the tool and turn it into an object of desire. How do you do that? How do you make something functional special?
"You start by making it unique. You make it something that is not only functional, but has that extra amount of beauty, style and sophistication."
And then he shows a picture of four chairs, three of which are identical, functional. And one that is extraordinary. It is no less a tool. But it is much more.
Winnie Cheung, who headed up the interior design for the vehicle, points out that after her family emigrated from Hong Kong to the U.S., their first vehicle was a second-generation Town & Country. She says, "Typically people buy a minivan out of necessity. We want to turn it into an emotional purchase." It's not that the functionality goes by the wayside. But it is that there is something special added to the mix.
Arguably, the minivan is one of the more atypical products in the entire auto industry.
Let's not quibble about things like the 1935 Stout Scarab. Chrysler invented the modern minivan when it launched the model year 1984 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. Think about it: this is the creation of an entire new form of vehicle that had its start in the lifetime of many people who are reading this—and so far as the people at Chrysler are concerned, the 2017 minivan has to be relevant even to those who were born post-1984. Maybe more relevant than to those who came before.
And the minivan has become, over the past several years, as we've seen the rise of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the crossover (CUV), something that is perceived by some—especially women who have become mothers—as something that, for all of its functionality and capability, something of a perceptual deficit. Maybe orthopedic shoes is a metaphor too far, but there was consensus that functional had trumped fashionable when it came to the minivan in the minds of many.
So when LaFond, Zavatski, Faurote, Benjamin, Cheung and their colleagues set about to design and engineer the new Chrysler minivan, the sixth generation, they'd keep the functionality. They'd enhance the number of useful innovations (Matt McAlear, senior manager, Chrysler Brand product marketing, FCA, notes that there are 37 segment firsts in the new vehicle). But they'd make it more appealing.
Zavatski says that when they started working on the project, the entire team—the designers and engineers alike—all watched a "Saturday Night Live" skit titled "Mom Jeans." Minivans were, in effect, mom jeans. Not cool. "We were all trying to make sure that this one is cool. You're a mom. You're still cool. And you're driving something you're proud of."
She adds, "My goal was to get more people into it. People with two kids. People with one kid."
And it seems as though they've succeeded. Zavatski says "Guys that I went to school with in Cleveland"—at the Cleveland Institute of Art—"love it." Faurote says that his kids—"What's really great about kids is that you get unfiltered, direct feedback"—are more keen on the 2017 minivan than climbing into the Durango.
And the long-time minivan owner and driver LaFond says, "With this, the neon sign on top of my head has changed. It now says 'Cool Mom on Board.'"
One more thing before we look at what they've done. As noted, Chrysler has been making minivans for more than 30 years. In that time, a lot has changed. Plymouth no longer even exists. So they decided that not only would they make an entirely all-new minivan—a new platform, new sheet metal, new styling, new technology, new everything—but that they would give the minivan a new name: Pacifica.
Some people will recall that there was a Pacifica in Chrysler's not-so-distant past. There was the 2004 Pacifica, a three-row vehicle that was unlike anything else on the market. Arguably, it helped give rise to the CUV. When the original was launched, then-Chrysler Group president and CEO Dieter Zetsche said, "There's simply nothing else like it." Back then they described the Pacifica as a "sport tourer." It featured a low profile compared to other vehicles that were capable of handling multiple people and/or cubic feet of cargo. But it wasn't a minivan.
The Pacifica had a short run. Production commenced in 2003 for MY 2004. Production ended at the Windsor Assembly Plant in the fall of 2007, building the last of MY 2008 vehicles.
But there was another "Pacifica" in the history of Chrysler. There was the Pacifica Advance Product Design Center in Carlsbad, California. It closed in 2008.
And so they've taken a great name and given it new life by putting it on a vehicle that is arguably the most important vehicle in Chrysler's lineup.
"We decided very early on to build a brand new architecture for the Pacifica, from the bottom up," says Jessica LaFond.
They knew that they had higher safety standards to meet, they wanted to reduce the weight, and they wanted to change the overall proportions (e.g., the outgoing minivan has 17-inch wheels; the Pacifica is available with 20s).
Then they looked at the competitive set and determined areas that would help differentiate their vehicle from the rest. "We selected ride and handling and NVH. Our mission was clear: Make the ultimate family room on wheels that's fun to drive and quiet," LaFond says.
She says they started at the very center of the vehicle. One of the innovations that Chrysler brought to the minivan is its "Stow 'n Go" seating. The company has been offering it since model year 2005.
There is a tub fitted into the floor of the vehicle into which the rear seats submerge. LaFond explains that one of the problems with sliding door vehicles is to have continuity from front to rear in terms of stiffness, which can have a deleterious effect on the fun factor when, say, going through curves. And the Pacifica, of course, has sliding doors. "So we made a key decision to integrate the actual tub structure into the floorpan so we can have a continuous rail from the front to the rear, giving it the stiffness we need." They've increased the stiffness by about 68 percent.
The front suspension is a MacPherson strut layout; there is a twist blade independent rear suspension.
Up front, there is a full-perimeter front cradle that's made with thin-gauged, high-strength steel. There are hydroformed side rails that are octagonal and splayed so that they are light yet able to manage crash energy. This is one example of how they've reduced mass without sacrificing any safety.
Overall, the mass of the vehicle is down on the order of 250 pounds. This is achieved in a variety of ways, such as building the liftgate with a magnesium casting inner and an aluminum outer; featuring the first-ever all-aluminum sliding doors; deploying a magnesium cross-car beam in the instrument panel; and using 22 percentmore high strength steel (nearly half of which is advanced high-strength steel) than its predecessor.
Also contributing to the ride and handling and reduced NVH is an overall shape that cuts through the air. The 2017 vehicle has a coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.30; the 2016 model comes in with a Cd of 0.316. The better number was achieved after 1.2-million CPU hours running computational fluid dynamics and more than 400 hours in the wind tunnel.
The solid, smooth structure helps with NVH, as does a standard noise cancelation system.
As Faurote indicates, an objective was to give the Pacifica an image that's appealing to people from both the rational side as well as the emotional side. "We used a new form vocabulary. The design is very emotional. There's beautiful life work and section work."
Zavatski describes what they did: "Everything is drawn, as with a brushstroke. It is deliberately sculpted; every detail got a lot of attention."
There is a lot of detail, from the front of the vehicle, where there is the Mobius-strip approach for both the upper and lower grilles. Along the side there is an A-line that travels along the vehicle and goes downward into the rear fascia. There is a lower character line that sweeps up as it travels from front to rear. The back of the roof tucks down. The backlight tucks into the D-pillars. Faurote points out that because of the new platform, they were able to lower the vehicle occupants, which allowed them to have a faster windshield in the front, and to not only lower the rear roof profile, but to tip the tumble home in at the top with a wider track of the vehicle at the bottom.
Zavatski notes that they worked so that "you don't see the corners of the vehicle." If a minivan is thought of as being something of a box on wheels, they've made this one so that the corners of the box are not readily discernable.
Inside the Pacifica is more commodious than its predecessor. The maximum passenger volume is 168-ft3, compared with 158.6-ft3 for the 2016 model; the total passenger volume plus volume behind the third row is 200-ft3, compared with 190.8-ft3.
So the interior design team had more to work with, and they executed it with a new approach to the interior execution. Similar to the way that the tail lights of the Pacifica are horizontal compared to the vertical orientation of the Town & Country, the instrument panel and the center stack of the Pacific also are more horizontally biased for a sense of spaciousness (although given the fundamental roominess, that goes with the territory).
Storage was taken exceedingly serious as the design team worked to find the places for driver and passengers to accommodate whatever—all the way to the point that they worked with engineering so that there is actually a depression in the floor pan of the Pacifica such that there is a deeper storage space just ahead of the center console.
Technology is certainly a price of admission in any segment, and the implementation in the Pacifica is exemplary. For example, there is an available 8.4-inch touchscreen for the center stack, a tablet-like screen. Benjamin points out that this screen is mounted flush and has a gloss black surround. Again, this was something accomplished by working with the engineering team: the screen is separate from the "silver box" that is usually attached to it. Those electronics are located elsewhere within the instrument panel structure, connected to the screen by a cable.
Because minivans are largely about the kids in the backseat (a "Cool Mom" is still a mom), there is what's called the "Uconnect Theater" rear seat entertainment system, which puts two 10-inch touchscreens on the back surfaces of the two front seats; this not only allows the streaming of videos, but they've developed the "Are We There Yet?" app so that those who might otherwise be asking that question can see the answer on an animated navigation display.
One thing that Benjamin emphasizes in relation to this rear seat system is that the design team paid careful attention to the remote control unit: "We designed it so that it feels like a piece of high-end audio equipment, not a piece of cheap, black plastic. It is really meant to be as high quality as the rest of the vehicle."
And that is wholly telling of the care and attention that went into the entire execution of the Pacifica.
Speaking of the second row, they did research and determined that of all areas within a minivan, that's the place where the Cheerios and other detritus tends to be in greatest abundance. (The driver's position is second.) So they put a vacuum cleaner in the second row quarter trim. The "Stow 'n Vac" has 14.2 feet of hose that accordions in and out of the C-pillar trim. LaFond says that there is an extension, as well, of 14.2 feet, so that the whole vehicle can even become a tool from the standpoint of facilitating the vacuuming of other cars in one's driveway.
Then there is the powertrain. The 2017 Pacifica comes in two flavors: gasoline-only or a plug-in hybrid. Both types use the same redesigned 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. In the gas-only configuration, the engine produces 287-hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. An objective in the engineering work that was done on the engine was to improve overall fuel economy through such measures as reducing mass (by about 13 pounds) and minimizing friction. The engine—which is mated to a 948TE TorqueFlite nine-speed automatic transmission—delivers a highway EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg, which is 12 percent better than the outgoing model. The combined cycle rating is 22 mpg (city is 18 mpg), which is 10 percent better.
At the time of this writing, the hybrid version of the Pacifica is not commercially available. However, here's what we do know about what will become the industry's first electrified minivan.
The same Pentastar V6 is used, but it features an efficient Atkinson cycle combustion system for improved pumping efficiency. The engine produces 248 hp and 230 lb-ft of torque. It is supplemented by an in-house-developed electrically variable transmission that features two motors, both of which can drive the wheels. The company estimates that the vehicle will have an electric range of 30 miles, based on the 16-kWh lithium-ion battery that's housed in the tub where the second-row Stow 'n Go seats in a gasoline-only vehicle descend into. (There is still a third row Stow 'n Go capability in the hybrid.)
An interesting aspect of the two-motor setup is that whereas in other hybrid systems one motor operates as a generator (e.g., for collecting energy during braking) and the other a wheel-driving motor, this features a one-way clutch so that the "generator" motor can also be used to drive the wheels, depending on driving conditions.
Let's be clear. Any vehicle development project is a challenge. When the vehicle in question is one that your company pioneered and is responsible for a considerable portion of overall sales, it is all the more challenging. And when the vehicle also carries an image (or, as Faurote says, the lack of an image) that is unappealing to a major segment of the buying public, then that challenge is exponentially increased.
The 2017 Pacifica team has clearly met and overcome those challenges. Whether moms (and dads) are going to start foregoing SUVs and CUVs for a minivan remains to be seen. But what is certain is that the Pacifica team has created a compelling, attractive, capable and appealing reason for them to do so.
Related Topics
GM Faces Lawsuit Over Faulty 8-Speed Transmission
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors Co. over claimed flaws in the company's 8-speed automatic transmission used in 2015-2019 model rear-drive vehicles.
2019 Lexus ES 350 Introduced
The Lexus ES sedan is more than just an offering within the company's lineup.
Ford Makes an Astounding Achievement
Ford has made an accomplishment that will never be bested, never even be tied.


text:
Our Clients
Our clients are MBA students who decide to pursue the MBA degree whilst or after working in industry for some years. The MBA has particular academic requirements that can be challenging.
The study of academic models and theories remains an important part for how MBA students are able to develop a strong argument in their coursework that will enable them to achieve the highest grade possible.
Upon returning to university MBA students often lose touch with how to write academic assignments and of what is expected from them. Understanding how to tackle the exam becomes frustrating because it has been considerable time since students engaged with academic assignments. A vivid example of a an academic challenge concerns the use of academic theories which remain integral to the MBA programme. However, MBA students who already work in the industry have little exposure and for using academic literature. It is not immediately required from them at work and it becomes difficult to understand how to use it.
The design and structure of an MBA curriculum and the coursework is concerned with your ability to justify the reasoning process in producing claims rather than identifying the practical business implications per se. This gap between 'theory' and 'practice' becomes a real challenge for MBA students who lost familiarity with writing academic assignments.
MBA students who come to us for advice need guidance and support. Their university tutors happen to be limited or/and restricted with providing comprehensive and personalised guidance. However, the ongoing lack of access to personalised support can lead to a very frustrating impasse with having to meet expectations for which you are not fully confident.


text:
We are having another BOARD-GAME NIGHT ?✨
Do you love playing games but you don't have the space at home, or you have sensitive neighbors that complain about the noise, or you just don't feel like vacuuming and inviting people over…? Then this night is for you!
The main idea is for people to bring their favorite board-games and play them in the bar, while enjoying delicious drinks and meeting new people. Our hosts will help filling up empty table slots and welcome those who are new to Gaukurinn ?
We also supply a small collection of board-games for loan, for those who are not able to bring any, and we have chess, backgammon and regular playing cards available as well ?
…Pssst, we are adding to the collection!
Of course entry is FREE and we will have specials at the bar! ?
Happy Hour is until 21 and the amazing, cruelty-free Veganæs kitchen is open until 21 as well.
Gaukurinn is a LGBTQ+ supportive space, with gender neutral bathrooms. We want everyone to feel safe and respected, and there is no tolerance towards prejudice and bigotry.