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As predicted weeks ago, the Big Brother house will be one step closer to turning into a sausage factory after tonight. The sixth girl of the season will walk out the door out of eight evictions! Hopefully Big Brother has something up their sleeve because I have news for them – girls are good for reality TV. Zach (bless his heart) tries to create drama, but considering everyone knows that's his shtick going forward, few will actually take the bait.
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My biggest hope is that production has a few more twists up their sleeves. A houseguest will return, but that's nothing new. A Pandora's Box will likely happen, but rewards the last few seasons haven't really been very game changing (I don't remember them all off-hand, but most were meh). I'd like to see something new for the last few weeks, something that will get the house stirred up somewhat. Shake up the alliances. Make Team America mission a big deal.. something, anything! I beg you!
I realized I'm running out of time for this, so I'm going to publish and get in my Big Brother watching spot on the couch…
- 6:00pm – Big Brother starts and mentions about the HoH warning. Just because you're HoH doesn't mean you're safe. We get it, Nicole is screwed.
- Julie talks about how the detonators alliance is still together, but when will it turn on each other? She then leads us into the post-POV fallout with Christine/Nicole.
- Highlights of Donny crying because he's been alone most of the season. He sits there and watches everyone play pool. Nicole is also crying about Christine.
- They show Nicole talking about how Christine acts around Cody and then a clip of Nicole laying on his lap.
- The clip of Cody punching himself in the face while sleeping. I am shocked I haven't done that yet. I woke up punching the bookshelf before.
- Mostly highlights pretending Nicole has a chance.
- 6:13pm – Commercial Break
- 6:16pm – Back
- Showing clips of Frankie, Caleb and Christine going to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. Caleb wants to meet his man Jerry Jones. (he does)
- Jones to Frankie – It's going to take some work to make you look like a football player. To Caleb – Better watch out, they may throw you in some drills.
- They also met Tony Romo who tried to give Caleb an autograph but it was intercepted
- Note – I am extremely jealous. I would love one of those experiences for the Patriots.
- CBS is done their Thursday Night Football promo segment. Time for Julie to talk to the house
- Julie – You met a lot of people, who was your favorite. Caleb – Jerry Jones. I know a few NFL football players personally, so it was nice meeting him.
- Julie mentions the drama in the house this week and what it meant to Victoria. Victoria rambled on about nonsense with everyone looking at her like she had 2 heads. Everyone in the room except Victoria knew Julie was setting her up to mention Ariana Grande… she didn't. Julie changed the topic.
- 6:22pm – Commercial Break
- 6:25pm – Back and Votes
Zach – Nicole
Derrick – Nicole
Frankie – Nicole
Caleb – Nicole
Cody – Nicole
Victoria – Nicole
Nicole is evicted 6-0
- Julie confirms there will be two HoH's, although that was pretty much a given. I'm pretty sure this will be the last week though.
- 6:30pm – Commercial Break
- 6:33pm – Back
- Interview with Nicole
- Julie mentions about going from HoH to evicted. Nicole said she just really wanted to be out of the house.
- Julie – Do you like anyone left in the house? Nicole – I like Donny!
- Julie – What do you think of Christine? Nicole – It was a smart move on her part I guess. I'm frustrated with her right now. She was my friend. I don't think very highly of her as a person but as a game player good move.
- Derrick, Frankie, Christine and Donny all give Nicole nice good-bye messages. Donny said it will be lonely in the house without her.
- 6:40pm – Commercial Break
- 6:44pm – Back
- They show highlights from the ghost thing last night to prepare for the HoH competition.
- Note – there is a movie about a zombie outbreak that takes place while people are in a fake Big Brother house. I linked it in an earlier post
Question 1 – Caleb out
Question 2 – Nobody
Question 3 – Victoria, Donny out
Question 4 – Zach out
Question 5 – Nobody
Question 6 – Nobody (Cody, Derrick, Frankie remain)
Question 7 – Nobody
Question 8 – Cody out
Derrick and Frankie HoH
- America's Choice options. Terrible as expected…
- A) Hide a piece of clothing from each houseguest then organize a neighborhood watch program
- B) Weaken another players game by keeping them up for 24 hours straight
Check back for more


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Heteroflexibility and Sexual Orientations : how can homosexual guys have intercourse
Through the belated nineteenth century to recently, there have been only two feasible intimate orientations: straight and gay/lesbian. Bisexuals, pansexuals, along with other queer orientations have recently expanded the product range of intimate orientation identities.
But, our culture nevertheless expects individuals to be phenomenon that is heterosexual—a heteronormativity. In a nutshell, culture treats heterosexuals as normal and unworthy of notice, while folks who are perhaps not face that is heterosexual scrutiny, sexualization, and stigma.
Therefore, it is predictable that individuals with same-sex desires and habits might nevertheless wish to be viewed as heterosexual if perhaps in order to prevent all of the negative effects of « coming away » as non-hetero. What's this category that is new of and so what does it suggest? Continuer la lecture
Just How Long Must I Wait To Try For The STD?
Exactly Exactly How Immediately After Unsafe Sex Must I Get Tested?
With over 80 million brand new instances of sexually diseases that are transmitted each year in the usa, one cannot but be too careful whenever intimately active. The United states Sexual wellness Association describes that certain in 2 American that is sexually active will an STD because of the time they reach the chronilogical age of 25 years. While situations are regarding the increase, exponentially, surveys reveal that just 12% of young intimately active United states had been tested just last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adds that undiscovered infections that are sexually transmitted causing infertility in 24,000 females annually. Undiagnosed STDs that stay untreated result in health that is numerous, with a few being life threatening. It is crucial to be tested element of a routine checkup.
Then, you need to evaluate what has happened if you are sexually active and have been engaged in a sexual act (oral, vaginal or anal. First, having unprotected intimate contact can always put you susceptible to contracting an STI, particularly if you are unsure regarding the status of one's partner. Second, having many lovers or having intimate experience of a partner who's got many partners will place you at risk as well. Third, maybe not knowing the intimate health of the partner could keep you at high-risk for such intimate infections. Continuer la lecture
How Exactly To Tell Your Lover What You Need During Sex, yourself, Too because you deserve To Enjoy
Having precisely what you desire during sex is pretty great.
Having said that, sporadically in a long-lasting committed relationship, the intercourse may also be good, sometimes maybe perhaps not, and it will be difficult to ask for just what you prefer during intercourse.
We got hitched simply eight days after our very first date, but the rate did not matter for the sex life: we had been perfect together in sleep straight away. We liked the things that are same we'd a huge amount of chemistry, and neither of us had been ever frightened to inquire about to get more of that which we want.
I obtained pretty happy with him, but i am aware it isn't constantly so easy to talk freely by what you prefer intimately.
If you should be wondering precisely how to inform your spouse what you would like during sex, worry perhaps not: We talked with a specialists for guidelines.
Dr. Martha Tara Lee, a medical sexologist (DHS, MA, BA) andВ founderВ ofВ Eros Coaching, claims it's perhaps not uncommon for females to feel they need out of their sex lives like they may not be getting everything. Men, she claims, tend to concentrate on the primary zones that are erogenous the cost of this remaining portion of the human anatomy because this will be exactly what they believe they must be doing from culture, pop music tradition, porn. you name it.
Dr. Lee claims regardless of what the explanation for your dissatisfaction within the room, it's always в that is OK ask for just what you need: « You're you, and also you have to take proper care of you — just exactly just what you will need, wish, desire with regards to intercourse. Do not blame, don't shame, simply take proper care of you, you bedroom goddess! »
american brides for marriage
Over the past 4 years, I have actually virtually brought in a (pro bono) profession of studying the Frenchas well as their laissez-faire stance on every thing, going out withincluded. Consequently I thought it will only be actually decent to ultimately provide la parole to among their agents –- a Frenchman that has invested the past nine years acclimating himself to l' amour à l ' Americain. Considering that he declined to pen down his observations (Frenchfolks are actually THEREFORE obstinate), I had no choice however to catchan audio-cassette recorder under his nose as well as allowed myself some » creative rights. »
The First Time
The first thing you find out when you begin courting in The United States is that it genuinely is a Land of Chance. No, certainly not due to the fact that you can create anything away from yourself, neither because effort will certainly take you muchin lifestyle. Rather, because, no matter that you are or even where you come from, YOU ARE GOING TO HAPPEN MULTIPLE FIRST GOES OUT WITH. You can have the lexicon of Donald Trump or even appear like Steve Bannon and Quasimodo' s love child- it doesn ' t matter. You are actually, most of all, a DINNER COMPANY, predestined to consistently nurture the female population of this particular country along withoverpriced sushi. Therefore, nourishall of them you will.
The First Kiss
The other merit of United States is that, regardless of who you are or when your last oral see was, YOU WILL DEFINITELY SMOOCH A LOT. Why? Since, listed here in The United States, there is actually an overlooked rule that 2 folks must embrace in the end of the day to » exam out the chemistry « . Call me ridiculous, but, where I originate from, if you feel like you require to » examination » the chemistry, this means that there most likely is actually no chemistry. If there was, wouldn' t you only would like to kiss the individual?!
The Hang Around
Ok, so permit ' s state you took place a terrific supper date as well as slashed an 8.5 rating on the Chemistry Scale. (Withroom for remodeling, obviously! Given that there is actually constantly » area for renovation » in The United States!) You will think that the following logical step would certainly be to ask her on a 2nd time, right? Lo and also catcha glimpse of –- there' s a hitch! Within this country, if you like a girl, YOU HAVE TO WAIT 4 DAYS TO TEXT MESSAGE HER. Seemingly, it possesses one thing to perform with » creating her'wait. » Please put on ' t inquire me what you are expected to carry out in these 4 days- Time various other females? Sit at home withyour pet dog? Eat pizza and also imagine her having sex along withsomeone else? I will certainly never recognize. And also, allow' s be actually straightforward- I ' m French, I never ever stand by four days. I merely may ' t.
The 2nd Date
The 2nd date is what I as if to call the Bernie Sanders of times. You can easily ' t really take it seriously, considering that you understand it will never get chosen, as well as however you recognize that you must get throughit to get to the next level. Why? Due to the fact that it shows up that the entire women populace of United States has collectively made a decision that they are going to certainly not, under any instances, » give it up » on the second date. Prior to you beset me withfatality hazards, let me point out that WE (GUY) ARE ACTUALLY NOT SIMPLY TRYING TO SLEEP AROUND WITH YOU. As well as yet, our experts would love to know that there goes to the very least a possibility of it taking place, rather than being preemptively deprived of all chance.
Oh, and if this ineffective prognosis wasn' t sufficient, right here ' s an additional secret: The second time likewise requires your CREATIVE THINKING. That' s straight- you may ' t simply take a woman to supper, that would be muchtoo uninteresting! No, in America « , you must organize an » activity. » You have to present her your sweat, your muscular tissues, your endurance. You have to take her on an » – journey « – yet certainly not too muchof a journey, feel free to! In fact, in L.A., all adventures MUST be actually confined to the West Hollywood or Santa Monica areas, whichbasically just indicates a whole lot of trips. The only victor on the 2nd time? My canine.
The Third Day
If the 2nd time is actually the Bernie of days, at that point the 3rd date is actually the Income tax return of times. Depending on to the laws created by the hands of Hollywood, the 3rd day is when you officially experience the incentives of all your eating/ waiting/ treking and » get blessed. » (In L.A., this has recently moved to the 4thtime, yet I will certainly stay with# 3 as I can not bear pair of walks.)
Here, I strongly suggest cooking food for a female. One pasta dinner; multiple advantages:
To you: » You ' re therefore cute, you cooked for me »! & rdquo
To her buddies: » He ' s therefore enchanting, he cooked for me! »
In her mind: » He can be an excellent husband, he cooks for me! »
For you, there is actually just one advantage: » She ' s at my place. » Be advised that this day is hardly exciting- because whatever is conscious and you eachrecognize what' s heading to happen once the last sip of Beaujolais is gone, uncomfortable tension is actually inescapable.
The Sexual Activity
Now that all the » steps » run out the way, you will presume you can only relax as well as appreciate yourself, straight? Not so prompt! There' s another hoop to jump through–- essentially. Currently, you have the » stress to carry out. » » You observe, eachtime I have sex withan america dating site , I believe that I have voluntarily enlisted myself in some sort of room Olympics, throughwhichI require to be awaiting upside-down, blindfolded, along withone palm behind my mind and also one foot suggesting the roof. I really don' t wishto launchinto a Frenchode to lovemaking below, however'I ' m not sure if you automatically require eachof these procedures to experience sex-related delight. Unless you' re in United States. In America, you need to be a Cirque du Soleil entertainer!
The Talk
Ok, so permit' s claim your acrobatics duet takes off and you continue observing eachother. You have extra sexual activity and happen even more walkings and consume more costly sushi and you think it' s all going rather properly, until, someday & hellip;
» Are our company unique? » she inquires you, entirely out of nowhere.
You are actually shocked. Not considering that you are » terrified of commitment » » yet because, in France,'you ' re exclusive pretty muchfrom the 1st kiss. So when a girl you have put up a sex swing in your residence for quickly talks to if the two of you are actually unique, you can easily' t assistance yet feel completely puzzled. Like, WHAT WAS ACTUALLY WE BEFORE?
» Yet our team didn ' t possess The Talk! » she reacts, making you think that your lifestyle previously months has actually been actually nothing but a big deception. Consequently, you possess The Talk, throughwhichit is actually set up that she will certainly currently pertain to you as her partner as well as avoid copulating other dudes.
The Plan
To any sort of guy that wants to quicken The Chat, do on your own a support and postpone about that urge. Given that, once you possess The Talk, all bets are off. She is officially allowed to get started on the The Planning, that includes getaways, adult intros, holiday season plans, move-in schedules, interaction target dates and also, potentially, a wedding ceremony day. That' s right- it may take American girls months to » end up being exclusive « , however it takes all of them DAYS to begin intending the wedding celebration. And afterwards they ask yourself why American guys are so » unwilling to dedicate. »
In scenario you are actually a fellow expat, wear' t quit your Green Card app quite yet. There is a bright side to dating in United States –- 2, in reality. # 1 It' s certainly not as structure as it appears. As soon as you learn the rules, this unit could be related to essentially everyone you date in this country, due to the fact that AMERICAN PEOPLE DAY EVERYBODY IN THE EXACT SAME TECHNIQUE. # 2 Unlike their International versions, american brides for marriage females are actually perfectly poised, probe a Frenchaccent, and are going to create you feel special –- at the very least for a couple of hrs. And, sometimes, that' s all a fella needs to have for happiness.
About Bad Credit Debts in Fulton
exactly How dangerous tend to be bad credits financial financial financial loans in Fulton?
Rather dangerous, is entirely frank. Also riskier if you are offered by the creditor money without examining your score and/or record. When this happens, interest will be sky-rocketing usually. Besides, in the event that creditor will not worry about your position as well as your repayment abilities, he clearly doesn't provide a fig about yourself. Continuer la lecture
From your own husband sex that is having someone appropriate right in front of one to getting out of bed naked at work: just just just what do your ambitions actually suggest?
Dream expert Dr Ian Wallace has analysed over 25 % of a million ambitions throughout their job, and right right here he reveals exactly what your fantasies actually suggest
You dreamt about last night CAN you remember what? The possibilities are it off that you've already forgotten or shrugged.
The after-effects of my own fantasy took only a little longer to dispel: we woke up convinced that my hubby had cheated on me personally after watching him disappear completely right into a bed room with another woman, powerless to intervene. Continuer la lecture

subset: commoncrawl


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State Management with MobX State Tree – React Native Training
Introduction to MobX State Tree
To see a completed React Native example using MobX State Tree and our example BookStore, check out the repo here.
If you would like to give MobX State Tree a spin, you will also need to install a babel plugin so we can use ES7 decorators:
npm i babel-plugin-transform-decorators-legacy --save-dev
And also update the .babelrc file to configure the babel plugin:
{ 'presets': ['react-native'], 'plugins': ['transform-decorators-legacy']}
Working with the community as well as companies that are using React & React Native over the past year or so, I get this question a lot: should I use Redux or MobX?
Well, the answer I give to that question varies depending on the client, person, or project I'm working with, but in general I am not biased towards either as they both competently accomplish the goal of state management and do so with elegance and fairly robust communities / documentation.
Now with MobX State Tree, we have another first class contender that should be thrown into the mix. While it is not completely its own separate state management solution (it is very similar to MobX), it is different enough to not categorize it as just "MobX".
From the docs:
Central in MST (mobx-state-tree) is the concept of a living tree. The tree consists of mutable, but strictly protected objects enriched with runtime type information. In other words; each tree has a shape (type information) and state(data).
How MobX and MobX State Tree are different:
- Opinionated — MobX State Tree is very opinionated on how data should be structured and updated, while MobX allows you to structure your data and actions however you would like.
- Typed — Includes its own typed API, MobX has no preference
- Models — With MobX State Tree, you build trees of models
How MobX and MobX State Tree are the same:
- Uses observable data
- Mutable
Downsides to using MobX State Tree vs MobX
The type safety of MobX State tree may add some runtime overhead. (Read more about when not to use MobX State Tree here).
To use decorators with MobX State Tree and React Native, you must also install this babel plugin and configure your .babelrc. I have a demo of how to do this in this blog post.
Creating a Store in MobX State Tree vs MobX
Let's take a quick look at a very basic store using MobX State Tree. We will modify and work with this store to add functionality as this post goes on.
// BookStore.js
import { types } from "mobx-state-tree" // A
const Book = types.model('Book', { // B title: types.string, author: types.string, read: false})
const BookStore = types.model('Books', { // C books: types.array(Book)}).create({ // D books: []})
export default BookStore
A. We import the types namespace from mobx-state-tree. This is what you use to define the types in your store.
B. We then create a Book type with title, author, and read properties.
C. Using the Book type, we then create a BookStore type using the Book type to create .
D. We call .create on the BookStore, passing in an empty array of books.
The following store would be the same if we were using MobX:
import { observable } from 'mobx'
class BookStore { @observable books = []}
export default new BookStore()
To use either of these stores, you can just import the store into your component, so this part does not change between the two libraries:
// SomeComponent.js
import BookStore from './pathtoBookStore'
const { books } = BookStore
// somewhere in your UI:books.map(book => /* do something with book */)
There are three types of types: primitive, complex, and utility.
Primitive types:
Complex types:
Adding functionality to our store
The next obvious step would be to add an addBook function that would allow us to add books to our store. In MobX State Tree, we need to do that using actions.
From the docs:
By default, nodes can only be modified by one of their actions, or by actions higher up in the tree. Actions can be defined by returning an object from the action initializer function that was passed to actions.
Let's update the BookStore to have the addBook action:
const BookStore = types.model({ books: types.array(Book)}).actions(self => ({ // A addBook(book) { self.books.push(book) }})).create({ books: []})
A. We chain an action initializer function, which gives us a reference to self, and returns an object. The initializer function is executed for each instance, so that self is always bound to the current instance. We then reference self.books and call .push, passing in the book we would like to add to the books array!
What if we wanted to add a function that just affected the book within the books array? The easiest way would be to add an action to the Book model.
Here, we will add a function that toggles the books' read boolean property:
const Book = types.model('Book', { title: types.string, author: types.string, read: false}).actions(self => ({ toggleRead() { self.read = !self.read }}))
The beauty of this is that we do not need to do any extra work to find the item in which we would like to perform this action on. For instance in redux, we may have to search for this item in the array, make the manipulation, then reconstruct and return the array.
Here, because we have access to the item as self, we can just manipulate the property directly, which is really nice.
We can now work with this function as if it were a property of the book:
books.map(book => ( Read: {book.read ? 'Yes' : 'No'} ))
There are also some really useful helper functions, like destroy:
import { types, destroy } from "mobx-state-tree" // A
const BookStore = types.model({ books: types.array(Book)}).actions(self => ({ remove(book) { // B destroy(book) }})).create({ books: []})
A. We import destroy from mobx-state-tree
B. We create a remove action, calling destroy and passing in the item.
When using destroy, MST will remove it actually from the books collection so that you don't have to find it yourself.
There are also lifecycle hooks for models, like beforeDestroy, that can be hooked into for more granular control.
Computed Properties
Introducing views
From the docs:
In MobX, anything that can be derived from your state is called a "view" or a "derivation".
…Views come in two flavors. Views with arguments and views without arguments. The latter are called computed values, based on the computed concept in MobX.
Computed values are defined using getter functions.
Let's add a couple of views to our BookStore model to demonstrate this:
const BookStore = types.model({ books: types.array(Book)}).views(self => ({ // A get readBooks() { // B return self.books.filter(book => book.read) }, booksByAuthor(author) { // C return self.books.filter(book => book.author === author) }})).actions(// previously defined actions)
A. We chain the .views initializer function onto our Model, which gives us a reference to self, returning an object with the views we would like available.
B. Our first view is a computed value readBooks, that returns only books that have been read
C. We also create a booksByAuthor view which takes an argument, returning only books written by the author passed in.
In general, the API is pretty large and all of it cannot be covered here in this post, but overall I can say that almost anything that you need can be accomplished with this library when it comes to state management.
If you like MobX but are looking for something more opinionated, check out MobX State Tree.
My Name is Nader Dabit . I am a Developer Advocate at AWS Mobile working with projects like AppSync and Amplify, and the founder of React Native Training.
If you like React and React Native, checkout out our podcast — React Native Radio on Devchat.tv.
Also, check out my book, React Native in Action now available from Manning Publications
If you enjoyed this article, please recommend and share it! Thanks for your time


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High-end stroller brand Joolz just created a new system that allows you to customize your baby's buggy. The Dutch brand launched Joolz Tailor, a pram that can be customized to create more than 360 combinations by picking particular combinations of colors and materials. You can also adapt it so that it can fit two babies, should you have twins or babies close in age. The customized versions don't take any longer to ship to the customer than the regular version, so you can rest assured the stroller will arrive before baby does.
And given the high price tag of $1,299, it comes fully loaded with a matching diaper bag, because how dare you carry your child's diapers in a bag that doesn't color coordinate with your stroller? Given the luxurious nature of these baby carriages, it's no surprise that the brand has been a hit with the celebrity set–with people like Serena Williams, Katherine Heigl, and Lauren Conrad spotted pushing their little ones around in these buggies.


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Leia, Thunder and I kicked off the weekend by going for a morning run. At first it felt a bit cold at -3 C (27 F) but once you start running you quickly warm up and the colder the weather the better it is for the dogs. There was some ice on the pavement so we headed for the woods instead, where we didn't have to worry about slipping.
The Big Bears, Leia (8 years) and Thunder (9 years), are ideal running partners as they keep an even pace and are not distracted by scents along the trail. Not all our dogs are that easy to jog with, some pull so hard in harness that it is better to take them out with the bike or wagon.
After having had back surgery last year I have decided to get fit again. Part of my health regime is cutting out sugar from my diet and spending as little time as possible in front of the computer. As you may have noticed, I am taking a break from Facebook during fall and winter.
So I may not be ready for a marathon just yet, but running is a great way to start the day.
Have a great weekend everybody! 🙂


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From tips on how to win college scholarships, to ACT/SAT prep, college admissions advice, how to find easy scholarships and other important financial aid information our articles cover it all. Dive in to find out all you need to know about deciding which college is right for you, and how to prepare for attending that college.
Disclosure: EducationDynamics receive compensation for the featured schools on our websites (see "Sponsored Schools" or "Sponsored Listings" or "Sponsored Results"). So what does this mean for you? Compensation may impact where the Sponsored Schools appear on our websites, including whether they appear as a match through our education matching services tool, the order in which they appear in a listing, and/or their ranking. Our websites do not provide, nor are they intended to provide, a comprehensive list of all schools (a) in the United States (b) located in a specific geographic area or (c) that offer a particular program of study. By providing information or agreeing to be contacted by a Sponsored School, you are in no way obligated to apply to or enroll with the school.
The sources for school statistics and data is the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
This is an offer for educational opportunities that may lead to employment and not an offer for nor a guarantee of employment. Students should consult with a representative from the school they select to learn more about career opportunities in that field. Program outcomes vary according to each institution's specific program curriculum. Financial aid may be available to those who qualify. The information on this site is for informational and research purposes only and is not an assurance of financial aid.


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With Valentine's Day so close and one of our Behaviorists so recently engaged (huge congrats, Laurie and Chris!), I thought it would be fun to check in with each of our Behaviorists in a long-term, committed relationship. I wanted to know how different women mentally prepare themselves for that in-it-for-the-long-haul type of love.
Here's what they each had to say.
It seems like just yesterday I started writing for Model Behaviors. My bio was posted recounting the beginning of my journey of rediscovery after a recent breakup. I was raw, open, and fresh into healing. So I wrote, and wrote, and wrote some more, channeling all of my pain, hopes, dreams, and critical analysis into writing and into myself. I was putting energy into the universe that would eventually lead me to my partner, my love, and my best friend.
I got ready for this relationship by learning to fully and unapologetically love ME. I honed in on all the things I wanted in my life and the love I wanted to cultivate. Then I became that for myself. I got honest about the things I was struggling with (and still struggle with), I removed unhealthy habits and people from my life, and I sent liberatory love out into the world, expecting nothing in return but gaining all the best things along the way.
On Friday February 13, 2014 I sent a message on Facebook to the man who would become my partner in the work of social justice and my partner in life. It was the luckiest day of my year.
"I love myself. The quietest, simplest, most powerful revolution ever." – Nayyirah Waheed
I knew myself and what I believed. A healthy, committed relationship will demand sacrifice, but I needed this strong foundation to build on. My relationship with my husband is dependent on our individual faith, submission, and relationship with God. We don't have a perfect marriage, just like we're not perfect people, but we're in it together as a team on our journey.
I'm definitely a planner and a prepper. For everything. But I'm not sure I ever consciously, specifically prepared myself to be in a relationship. I learned lessons and gathered tools through past relationships that I think all came together in a meaningful way and finally made sense when I met my husband. I was unknowingly preparing myself to be a partner for many years through experiences, trials, and sometimes failures. And still each day I come across things in my marriage and friendships that force me to think harder and dig deeper.
For me personally, I don't believe a relationship of any kind is something I could ever have been 100% prepared for. Each one is so different and constantly evolving.
Kellen and I began dating in 2013, and I quickly fell head over heels! For us, the key to maintaining a healthy, successful, and committed relationship is communication, trust, and allowing God to be at the center of it all.
At the beginning, mentally, I prepared myself by writing down what I wanted in a husband, hammering down my intentions and asking myself, "Is this something that could last forever or is it just something that is fun right now?" I had to know in my heart, and I needed to answer without a doubt that, "Yes, this could be forever," in order for our relationship grow, flourish, and become something serious, instead of just another fling.
For two years we were together in Kansas City, but then I moved to San Antonio for my job, so for the last ten months we've been dating long distance. It's difficult and sometimes painful, but it's one of those tests that will make or break your relationship. For us, it's helped both of us grow as individuals, strengthened our relationship, definitely made the heart grow fonder, and has helped us to further improve our communication skills and our trust in one another, all while maintaining God at the center of our hearts.
Before I even met my fiancé Chris for our first date, I mentally prepared myself. I knew exactly what I needed from a mate and more importantly, what I deserved! People will tell you who they are right from the beginning, so I was looking for all the clues that would let me know whether or not he exuded integrity, loyalty, dedication, trust and had a big heart. I promised myself to pay very close attention to my instincts and trust whether or not I had the feeling that I was "at home" with this man.
From the moment I met him, Chris consistently showed genuine interest in wanting to connect and truly get to know me, and he let me get to know all the wonderful things that made him who he is too. All the scars, lessons, accomplishments, and treasures. After twenty-one months of dating, he proposed, and I've never been more excited and confident about saying YES to sharing my life with someone! We are truly blessed.
After ending a pretty tumultuous relationship, I knew everything that I absolutely didn't want. Because I knew that relationships didn't have to take a lot of work and that real love didn't have to be so difficult. But who wants to meet someone on the defensive—with a series of do-not-pass-go's? For me, being open for a healthy kind of love meant ditching that old mindset of what I didn't want and developing a new one of what I did want and need in a lifemate. And being deserving of those things meant that I too had to bring them to the table.
Which led me to the creation of my four-question test: 1) could I roll over and look at this person for the rest of my life? 2) Could this man be the father of my future children? 3) If something were to happen to me, would this person want to take care of me and vice versa? 4) Lastly, does he believe—in me, God, something more in life—and live it?
Though I didn't have much of a test audience, I'm still one for one. I call that a success.
How did you find what you were looking for? Or, how will you find what you're looking for? We'd love to know…


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Small Moonwalks
Use Indoors during Winter, Rainy, hot and cold day
Custom made commercial grade bounce houses designed for little kids. All of these units are 9 feet or shorter, which can fit indoors for many venues. Easily have a party indoors on cold or rainy days.
Plan a party any time of the year and set up in a garage, great room, carport, covered patio, etc. Check your ceiling height and start planning a fun birthday.


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Blueface Leaks Cardi B Verse On "Thotiana" Remix
Blueface recently announced to fans he would be linking up with French Montana, YG and Cardi B on his upcoming "Thotiana" remix.
The Rapper now comes through hitting up Instagram with a preview of Cardi B's verse in the studio. The original song is currently number 28 on the Billboard 100 chart, so his new posse mix should take it even further up the singles chart.
Cardi B is going to be on the "Thotiana" remix. (Via BlueFace's Instagram Story)
— Cardi B Team (@CardiBTeam) February 6, 2019


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The end of May in the warm sunshine and no cold wind. :o)
By homebird
28 comments
This last weekend has been glorious here for a nice change. We went to Emily's 4th birthday party on Saturday and spent the whole of the day outdoors in the brilliant sunshine and warmth. We had the first Barbee of the year in the evening. Sunday was spent in our garden mowing the lawns and tidying the borders
and today I potted up a load of plants in the greenhouse (the temperature in there was 30c and I loved it. I really am a hot house flower..lol) Meanwhile T built me another cold frame to move some of the plants into that are ready for hardening off.
I got the rest of my runner beans planted out and sowed a row of beetroot and carrots. Then T sprayed the wing of my car which I had scraped down the drive wall pulling in too sharply!!!! Looks good as new now, bless him. The Butternut Squash seeds I set this year have produced nice healthy looking plants and I am going to try and grow them vertically up a trellis frame when T has built me one!!!
I was upset to find my two Bottle brush bushes were brittle and dead a couple of weeks ago so I dug one out of the planters and potted it up in the greenhouse. I was pleased to see a tiny green shoot low down on the plant today. T had dug the other one out for me this morning and put it in the bin. I nipped down to get it out and examine it properly and that one has a couple of green
buds on the lower stem too.
I have potted it up and fingers crossed they may both recover in time. (with my luck——about ten years time…lol)
3 years ago I bought a male and a female Kiwi plants. They have grown and spread well across the fence at the side of the flat lawn,
but there has never been any flowers. Last year I moved the female nearer to the male. Anyway, while I was tidying the border yesterday I noticed little bumps appearing on the stems…..hooray….fingers crossed we may have flowers this year.
I have taken a few more photo's as I pottered around the gardens because I am so pleased to see the borders filling up and looking pretty colourful. Here's what happening now…
Isn't it great to see the garden really coming to life with so much more to look forward to.
- 27 May, 2013
- 17 likes
Previous post: Recycling fun...
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your garden is so pretty, so much colour and so many different things going on. The gardens seem to have put on a riot of growth in the last week!
27 May, 2013
Lots of interesting things in your garden and some very pretty plants!
27 May, 2013
It looks very much like summer down there HB!
You are miles ahead of us from what I can make out from your pictures.
That's a good sized cold frame - he's a very useful man to have around, your OH!
You have a beautifuly laid out garden and I hope your bottlebrushes don't take to long to recover.
27 May, 2013
Fantastic garden Hb....The weather here was lovely saturday...sunday cloudy and today torrential rain...:<(
27 May, 2013
Always love looking at your garden Hb, so much going on in there. Love the shape, and the arches full of flower.Going to try and covert my OH to "green" fences and shed next year so much better than brown :-)
28 May, 2013
Wonderful colour,H.bird,and glad to see your bottle brush has signs of life,also the buds on your Kiwi's..I hope Emily enjoyed her birthday,and what a lovely day you all had for it :o0
28 May, 2013
Thank you all, it's been so nice to have a taste of early summer at last hasn't it, even though we are nearly all under a blanket of cloud and getting soaked with rain again. It started in the night here. At least it's not sleet or hailstones like last week...and it will settle the new plants in...
I was intending to give the trellis, shed, summer house and fences a coat of paint before the plants got going but it's been too cold, so they will have to do as they are until the end of the year. At least I got the garden benches cleaned and treated and the bird poo off the swing seats. I used to have covers for them until I realised they turned into flying objects every time the wind got up...
You can always find something else to do in a garden can't you....but I enjoy it.
28 May, 2013
What a lovely garden Homebird, this weekend has been so nice, such a treat, its been a pleasure to be out there.......
28 May, 2013
Yes it has Pam. It would be great if the weather started to behave now and brought us more of the same. Raining steadily here now though.
28 May, 2013
And here as well Hb, glad I was outdoors all day yesterday, moving and planting....shan't be going anywhere today! Oh just remembered got to fill my food cupboard up, grandchildren sleeping over, so they'll want feeding, can't neglect them for a drop of rain! lol
28 May, 2013
This will settle your newly moved plants in Gralew. I hope you have fun with your grandchildren and remember to get everything they like. I usually forget something...lol. Samuel is into ice pops in a big way at the moment....insisted on three, one after the other on Saturday. It amazes me how he can crunch he's way through one so quickly.....and he's not choosey what colour it is......
28 May, 2013
Your garden looks lovely, glad you had the nice weather, wasnt it lovely, back to rain here today...
28 May, 2013
Thank you Hollyeves. It seems the rain is covering most of the country now. Better weather again is forecast from the end of the week. Fingers crossed.
28 May, 2013
your garden looks amazing and much more advanced than mine which is still just green. I think its great that your bottle brush has sprung to life again, plants are amazing, you think they are dead and suddenly life appears and you must post photos of the kiwi's flowers, so long as they do turn into flowers and dont stay little bumps! lol. well done.
28 May, 2013
Thanks Sb, mine looks mostly green until you really look. I will be getting obsessed with feeling the bumps or at least watching them to see what they turn into....lol. I am sure it must be the result of moving the female closer to the male unless of course it's taken them 3 years to settle in before they do the business.
28 May, 2013
I wonder what the flowers will look like? and the colour? i cant wait! I feel like im waiting on a grandchild to be born...lol
28 May, 2013
A wonderful garden Homebird and isn`t it lovely to have a handy OH.
28 May, 2013
It all looks lovely, it's so nice to see things filling out at last :o) I tried potting a couple of things up in the greenhouse on Saturday and had to come out it was so hot! No chance of that today though...let's hope for that nice weather to come back soon.
28 May, 2013
Oh! Sb, you do make me laugh. I can't stop chuckling.
Thanks Stroller it's perking up a bit now. I don't know what T would do without me here to stimulate him....
Geraniumg I hope the forecast is right as they say its going to improve again for the weekend and next week. Its been dull and wet all day today. The plants don't seem to mind though.
28 May, 2013
I had a new lawn laid last weekend so all this rain is probably doing it the world of good! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for an improvement by this weekend though.
29 May, 2013
Your garden really is filling out now Hb, lots of colour and all very healthy. Lawns are looking brilliant too :o))
30 May, 2013
Geraniumg, It's been the perfect weather for your new turf to settle down, sunshine and showers. proper growing weather as my dad used to say.
Thankyou so much Annella. Hasn't it been lovely again today. A treat to be out again in T shirt and shorts.
31 May, 2013
There's a lot going on in your garden, Homebird! It all looks lovely - and yes, it is wonderful to see flowers emerging at long last. I think your garden is more advanced than mine is yet. I love the aquilegias.
1 Jun, 2013
It's great to see the borders filling up with plants and less soil evident every day isn't it Melchi. It's also a relief to see that most of the plants have survived from last year. The Aquilegias are so pretty with so many self seeded colours too. We have had a perfect 2 days here, weatherwise, I hope you have too.
1 Jun, 2013
Yes, it's been lovely here for the last couple of days. We went to see daughter and s-i-l's new house in Paisley on Friday - they've just moved in. The garden is enormous, fortunately mostly laid to grass at the moment, because they won't have time to do much to it yet. They have some very nice rhododendrons and azaleas around the boundaries and a promising small rose bed just in front of the house. Quite exciting, but I'm rather glad to have my smaller plot. Everything is bursting forth here - I planted up some baskets this pm, but I'm not intending to have quite so many this year. A lot of my pots seem to have acquired more permanent residents over the last few seasons. Mind you, I'm off to the nursery tomorrow - I'll probably succumb and end up with as many pots and baskets as usual!
2 Jun, 2013
I wasn't going to do any hanging baskets this year as I they never do very well for me but I was given some trailing tomatoes so I have used a couple of the old baskets for them. Your Daughter's garden sounds lovely. I hope they settle in and are very happy there. It's so difficult for them to keep on top of their gardens these days when they are both working and they seem to have so many other things they want to do on their days off. My daughter and son in law are the same, always off visiting or taking the children off somewhere. Their lovely garden only gets a good sort out when I am up there childminding. It's such a shame because it's laid out so beautifully but gets full of weeds that are a pain to remove.
6 Jun, 2013
If you look at my latest blog, Hb, you'll see that I did indeed succumb - I've got almost as many containers as usual!
6 Jun, 2013
Ha! Ha!....
10 Jun, 2013
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Ever scrambling for more storage space, who wouldn't want to find an extra room in their home? Perhaps Brittany Bush.
She and her husband woke up to loud noises around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. They thought somebody was breaking into their Idaho Falls, Idaho, home. But they didn't find anything and went back to bed.
They woke up in the morning and went about their day until Brittany opened the garage.
"As I was pushing the garage door up, my right foot was stepping into the garage and just kept going down," she told EastIdahoNews.com.
Unbeknownst to her, a better part of the garage floor was consumed by a huge sinkhole, causing the mysterious sounds.
"I was holding onto the garage door and looked down and just started screaming," she said. "I'm like, 'Our whole garage is sunk down!'"
This was no ordinary sinkhole though. It revealed a hidden room, furnished with shelving units still holding children's toys, a woman's handbag, hair curlers, and a letter.
They called an insurance agent to see if the damage would be covered by their policy.
The agent came with an engineer, who found out the garage was separated from the hidden room by only two inches of cement. The engineer was surprised the thin floor/ceiling lasted so long.
The house was built in the 1950s as a basement home with a second story added sometime later, Brittany said.
"[The room] doesn't appear on any city or county records," she said.
The couple thought perhaps somebody dug a bomb shelter beneath the house, but the engineer disagreed.
"He said it is definitely not a bomb shelter," Brittany said. "He says this looks very sketchy and is wondering what the backstory is."
The engineer also said there could be another room hidden under the house.
"They [the insurance agent and engineer] said don't be alarmed if there is a body down there," Brittany said. "'We hope there's not but if there is stop what you're doing and call the police.'"
Recommended Video:


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No backlog, no bueno
You need to have something to do. Don't set yourself up for slacking.
There's currently three could-be posts in my "drafts" folder. Just a couple of sentences describing ideas to write about. They seem like pretty interesting topics, and I'm excited to do something with them. And yet, I'm not using those today. But why not? If I worked through them all, I'd have three days' worth of posts ready to go. But then, I'd also have zero ideas in the backlog. Not only that, but I'd have nothing left to spur me on, to tell me "make something cool".


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Enter your text to find synonyms and click Synonyms Search
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terms 84 results
- minutes, treaty, appellations, names, seconds, identities, degrees, provisions, conclusion, christens, periods, ground, steps, marks, agreement, provisos, toll, footings, footing, millennia, years, vocabularies, equipment casualty, identifies, designations, generations, lexicons, foothold, impairment, wrong, basis, understanding, damage, monetary value, places, post scripts, times, tags, articles, lifetimes, calls, details, clauses, semesters, nomenclatures, labels, standings, months, centuries, grades, codicils, caveats, cost, harm, milliseconds, jargons, titles, stages, eras, weeks, hurt, epochs, statuses, epithets, decades, days, ranks, thesauri, designates, stations, legal injury, circumstances, hours, ranges, states, scales, ages, words, price, scathe, microseconds, positions, terminologies, conditions
- - Don't let him out on any terms at all! - "King--of the Khyber Rifles", Talbot Mundy
- - Yet how can I accept the terms you offer? - "The Woman Who Did", Grant Allen
- - " Next season, when I got around to him, I had forgotten all about the special terms that I had made this man. - "Tales of the Road", Charles N. Crewdson


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John Robert Neumann Jr., was fired in April from his job at a factory that manufactures awnings and accessories for recreational vehicles. He returned to the isolated industrial area on a Monday morning in June, authorities said, armed with a semi-automatic handgun and a hunting knife. According to authorities, Neumann got in through a rear door of the building, apparently looking for specific company employees. He at one point encountered a woman, pointed a gun at her and told her to get out of the building. Then he allegedly singled out other employees, shooting and killing five former colleagues. He stopped at least once to reload. Neumann shot and killed himself before authorities arrived.
Final Word
Workplace violence isn't something that only happens to other people or at other companies. It can and does happen with seemingly increased frequency. Employers must have a plan for recognizing the signs of potentially violent people, methods for preventing or pre-empting violence at work as early as possible. Finally, employers must have a plan in place for responding to violent workplace events like the one above.


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Visa requirement to travel from Italy to Kyrgyzstan
Admission accepted ?
Visa Free
Visa required ?
60 Days
Maximum stay
Check visa requirement for traveling from Kyrgyzstan to Italy !
Looking for embassy and consulates of Kyrgyzstan in Italy ?
Travel from Italy to Kyrgyzstan, Travel to Kyrgyzstan from Italy, Visit Kyrgyzstan from Italy, Holidays in Kyrgyzstan for a national of Italy, Vacation in Kyrgyzstan for a citizen of Italy, Going to Kyrgyzstan from Italy


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Amitamin Middle East Products Refund and Return Policy
We aim to provide quality and exceed your expectations with every product you purchase. All products are made based on the ingredients & composition quantities displayed on each product page.
If you are not satisfied for any reason, you may return any unused products for a replacement, refund or account credit within 7 days of receipt, subject to the exceptions listed here. As Amitamin Middle East lists new products, it will update this section as necessary.
Undeliverable Packages
On very rare occasions, packages are returned to us as undeliverable. We will attempt to re-ship orders that are returned to us as undeliverable. In an effort to reduce the impact of returned Products, Amitamin Middle East retains the right to donate or recycle any returned or undelivered items as deemed appropriate in its sole discretion.
Damaged Items
We always want to make sure your purchase arrives in perfect condition - so if you have a complaint about your product or think it might be damaged or incomplete, please contact our customer services team at email@example.com before returning it so we can start investigating the problem as soon as possible.
If your product arrives damaged or missing any details, you can request a refund or exchange. If you paid COD (Cash on Delivery), you will be given a replacement or account credit. If you purchased your product by Credit Card or PayPal, we will credit your card/ PayPal account or exchange the item.
Please note that the online account credit expires within 12 months from issue date.
Undamaged Items
If you change your mind about an item, or realise that you chose the wrong package quantity or product, you can return your item within 7 days. You will be offered a refund in the form of account credit for the full value of the returned product or a replacement item.
Product Returns
Your satisfaction is our top priority. If you're not absolutely satisfied with your purchase, you can return it for a full refund or exchange, within 7 days of receipt.
The refund or exchange process is simple:
- Contact Customer Support on email@example.com to receive a Return Ticket (RT) number and specify whether you want a replacement or a refund.
- Make sure to pack your item in the same packaging it arrived in.
- Write the RT number on the packing slip and include the slip in your return package.
- Return the package to:
Amitamin Middle East Returns
International Industrial Medical Suppliers (IIMS)
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone Authority
Al Nakheel, Ras Al Khaimah
United Arab Emirates
You can request a free courier pick up service from anywhere in the GCC if the value of the products is above USD 300. All orders below USD 300 will need to be returned by you to the Amitamin Middle East address above. Regional and International customers should send all returned items, with the correct postage to the address above.
You will be notified when your goods are received at our facilities, after which, it typically takes 7-21 days for your card or account to be credited.
Re-packaging for Return Items
You must repack any items you want to return in the same packaging and condition they were delivered in. Please include the RT number along with the package so our support team can take necessary action.


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Family Options offers services to individuals with developmental disabilities both at home and in the community. We work with the family and individual to offer supportive opportunities to fully participate and integrate with the community.
Family Options is committed to offering services that support children and adults with developmental and or complex/unique needs to reach their maximum potential, visualize their valued role in society and participate in their community.
Family Options will partner with individuals and their families/guardians to provide services and programs that enable each person to live life to their maximum potential.


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I ordered two lots of pills (Green Coffee Maxx and Liposom) and paid for postage. Two charges of £77.00 and £69.00 have appeared on my Virgin credit card bill
Thank You for reading of this Complaint / Review. Complaint author: Evelyn
Country: USA
State: Florida
City: Clearwater
Address: 611 S Fort Harrison Ave, Suite 231
ZIP code: 33756
Phone: 8883760708, 8883760713, 8885364806, 442079792667
Site: www.instfrhealth.com


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Gather your ingredients together:
4 oz of fresh mozzerella
1 box pasta of your choice
1 jar Red Sauce of your choice
1 jar of white sauce of your choice
These meatballs are just like the ones I posted previously except for the addition of a piece of fresh mozzerella in the center of each.
Cook your pasta and drain. Pour both the red & white sauce into a pot (get simmering)
After cooking the meatballs in the frying pan, put into the sauce to finish cooking.
Serve up and top with parmesean cheese.
Tastes JUST like the Olive Garden 4 Cheese Marinara


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Third Annual Citizens for Animal Protection Howl-O-Ween Dog Walk and Expo
Costumed Canines Take to the Streets for the Third Annual Citizens for Animal Protection HOWL-O-Ween Dog Walk and Expo at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch! Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP), along with Rover Oaks Pet Resort and LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch are teaming up to present the third annual HOWL-O-Ween Dog Walk and Expo at LaCenterra […]
"Call To Doody" Now Offering More Services & Products
A local waste removal service, Call To Doody, is wasting no time expanding their business by offering additional products and services. In addition to their residential yard cleaning service, Call To Doody also offers commercial services for businesses and events. There's no doubt that it is more pleasant, sanitary and healthy to have pet waste scooped and disposed of routinely. (There are many health hazards to leaving waste on the ground and you can learn all about the diseases and parasites that can take hold in a yard by visiting Call To Doody's "Why Scoop Poop" page.


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For years the technology sector has received significant antitrust scrutiny, but that scrutiny has increased markedly in recent months. Legislators and political candidates are focusing on leading technology platforms, often demanding more aggressive enforcement and sometimes going so far as to suggest breaking up specific companies, unwinding consummated mergers and applying more stringent standards to acquisitions and business practices in technology markets. Most immediately relevant, antitrust enforcers seem to be directing additional resources into investigations in this space. A successful enforcement action against one or more of the leading digital platforms or the imposition of a new regulatory framework could lead to significant changes in the technology sector. Antitrust enforcers have expressed the view that the existing legal framework is sufficiently flexible to address dynamic technology markets, while simultaneously noting that potential enforcement efforts in this sector, as in any other, are bound by the facts presented and thus may in some instances face hurdles. Thus, while the increased interest of lawmakers may lead to more or longer investigations in the high-tech sector and may create additional emphasis on such investigations by the antitrust agencies, it remains to be seen which business strategies and proposed acquisitions in the tech sector ultimately will be the subject of enforcement actions.
Both US federal agencies as well as state enforcers appear to be increasing their focus on competition in digital markets.
It has been widely reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have approved a "clearance agreement" to divide responsibility for investigating the "big four" technology companies, with DOJ responsible for Google and Apple and the FTC responsible for Amazon and Facebook.1 Neither agency has confirmed the reports and indeed Bruce Hoffman has told the media, "I would be skeptical and cautious about any media story indicating there is some allocation of companies. That would be atypical of the way we clear matters."2
The FTC has hosted a series of hearings on competition and consumer protection where the topic of competition in digital markets was prominent,3 and recently Commissioner Chopra argued that "[o]ver the past decade, we have watched the decentralized internet converge under a handful of corporate umbrellas," and suggested that "[w]e should all be asking whether tech convergence is choking off competition in markets where platform and content intersect."4
The FTC recently launched a "Technology Task Force," which is "dedicated to monitoring competition in U.S. technology markets, investigating any potential anticompetitive conduct in those markets, and taking enforcement actions when warranted."5 The Task Force, unlike most FTC sections, appears to have responsibility for both mergers (proposed and consummated6) and conduct investigations.7 Patricia Galvan, the head of the Task Force, has confirmed that investigations are underway.8 In a filing with the SEC, Facebook acknowledged that the FTC opened an antitrust investigation of the company in June 2019.9
Similarly, the DOJ has engaged repeatedly on this topic. A press release on July 23, 2019 confirmed that the "Justice Department [is] reviewing the practices of market-leading online platforms."10 Earlier, the DOJ held a public workshop with a high-tech focus last month,11 and Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim recently offered his views regarding "digital gatekeepers" and the DOJ approach to antitrust enforcement in technology markets. Delrahim promised to pursue enforcement against antitrust violations in the sector and offered the view that certain technology markets (such as search, social networks, operating systems, e-books, and online advertising) appear to have only one or two major competitors. He also analogized antitrust enforcement against digital sector participants to landmark monopolization cases such as Standard Oil, AT&T (1974), and Microsoft.12 Jeffrey Wilder, the DOJ's chief economist, has recently suggested that DOJ may give closer scrutiny to incumbent platforms that attempt to acquire start-ups in adjacent markets and consider monopolization theories in the acquisition context as well as in potential standalone conduct investigations.13
State enforcers are also focusing more on competition in digital markets. Forty-three state attorneys general recently encouraged the FTC to emphasize "non-price aspects of competition"—including impacts on privacy —as a way to increase enforcement against potentially anticompetitive acquisitions by technology platforms.14 Moreover, Attorney General William Barr also reportedly met with a group of eight bipartisan state attorneys general to discuss antitrust topics related to the tech sector.15 Multiple state attorneys general have also voiced interest in independently investigating and challenging conduct and acquisitions by major technology platforms.16 The Attorneys General for Nebraska and Louisiana gave a joint interview in which they described broad, bipartisan interest in investigating major tech companies.17 Similarly, the Attorney General for Tennessee suggested that ". . . structural change driven by the government may well be necessary" to address concerns about concentration in this space.18
European competition authorities have been even more focused on digital competition. EC Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager recently suggested that dominant technology platforms are "a different beast" and thus require a different approach than other companies.19 Vestager argued that platforms leverage masses of data that smaller rivals and new entrants cannot match and thus not only competition enforcement but also regulation will be necessary for "governments to reassert control of parts of the digital world."20 German competition enforcers have suggested that laws could be changed to allow for enforcement against platforms that have non-dominant power in multiple markets if other companies are nonetheless dependent upon them.21 Other European authorities have also advocated for a more regulatory approach; for example, the Chairman of ARCEP, the French telecommunications regulatory authority, suggested that the largest technology companies should be regulated as public utilities.22
Most recently, the EC has taken the very unusual step of publishing a Statement of Objections to support imposing so-called "interim measures" in connection with its recently opened investigation of Broadcom. These measures will block certain exclusivity provisions, based on the preliminary finding of the EC that "Broadcom's conduct may result in the elimination or marginalisation of competitors before the end of [full] proceedings."23 This effort to halt conduct before a final conclusion is reached in the investigation appears to be a reflection of the EC's increasingly aggressive approach in the technology sector.
Other jurisdictions around the world have also committed more resources and attention to antitrust scrutiny of large technology platform companies. For example, Australia has established a special office of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission dedicated to policing Facebook and Google on a range of issues including competition, algorithms, "fake news," and hate speech.24
There is increased Congressional interest in these issues as well. The House Judiciary Committee has announced a "top-to-bottom" antitrust investigation into digital competition issues.25 A series of hearings, interviews, and depositions is scheduled to last approximately 18 months.26 After the hearing was announced, Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), Chair of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, expressed displeasure with the state of antitrust law and enforcement in the high-tech sector, offering the view that "Congress has retreated" from shaping U.S. antitrust laws, and instead "allow[ed] the laws to become more technical, less effective, and altogether less democratic in the hands of the courts."27 Representative Cicilline described the state of antitrust enforcement as "a failure by everyone" and argued that "[t]here hasn't been a serious investigation in 20 years, and we want to understand why."28
In addition, the Senate Judiciary Committee also announced an antitrust oversight hearing for July 23, 2019, but that was postponed until September 17, 2019.29 Separately, seven Senators, led by Senator Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Antitrust Subcommittee, sent letters to the DOJ and FTC requesting that the agencies disclose any existing conduct investigations into Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. The letters also ask the agencies to commit to issuing public statements explaining their findings and the outcome of any such investigations.30
Rhetoric encouraging enforcement against digital platforms has increased across the political spectrum. President Trump previously has suggested that digital platforms are politically biased, and recently suggested that US antitrust enforcement should be more vigorous in its approach to major platform companies. He noted EC efforts in this regard and said "we should be doing what they're doing."31
On March 8, 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a proposal to "break up big tech."32 The proposal would require large digital platforms to adhere to certain conduct requirements (such as non-discrimination) and would prohibit them from owning businesses that operate on their platforms.33 Senator Warren's plan also includes unwinding some recent acquisitions by major platforms, such as Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods.34 Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also indicated his support for breaking large technology companies,35 and other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, including Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Andrew Yang have backed a "break up big tech" plank as well.36
Senator Klobuchar has characterized previous investigations into large technology companies as inadequate 37and has proposed modifying the Clayton Act to make it easier to block proposed acquisitions; deals could be blocked if they are found to "materially lessen competition,"38 which is intended to be a lesser standard than the current "substantially lessen competition" standard. Senator Klobuchar's proposal would also shift the burden of proof in what her proposal designates as "mega-mergers"39 to require that the parties prove that such transactions do not harm competition.40 The proposed legislation also modifies the Clayton Act to prohibit transactions that tend to create a monopsony in a specific line of commerce. 41 Recently, Senator Klobuchar has introduced another bill to authorize civil monetary penalties for Section 2 violations.42 The penalties could be as high as 15% of the defendant's total US revenues or 30% of their revenues in the relevant markets.43
What Does This All Mean in Practice?
It remains to be seen what enforcement actions will emerge in the coming months or whether any proposal to reform the existing antitrust laws or to impose a regulatory framework on digital platforms ultimately will come to fruition. But the agencies do not embrace the view that reforms are a necessary predicate to enforcement. AAG Delrahim recently noted his view that "U.S. antitrust law is flexible enough to be applied to markets old and new."44 FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson "emphatically reject[s] any suggestion that these [high-tech] markets are different enough to warrant different treatment."45 And the competition authorities of the G7 released a "Common Understanding" on "Competition and the Digital Economy" on June 5, 2019 that emphasizes "[t]he flexibility and relevance of existing antitrust rules."46
Even while the agencies increase their emphasis on competition in technology markets they remain focused on the practical requirements of bringing a successful enforcement action. FTC Chairman Joseph Simons recently emphasized, "as a law enforcement agency, [the FTC is] constrained by the parameters of our authorizing statute and the facts of the case in front of us."47 Principal DAAG Andrew Finch made a similar point in a speech to the OECD, while noting some of the challenges associated with bringing a successful action in the high-tech sector.48 And Enforcers have voiced reservations about drastic measures like "breaking up big tech" and utility regulation.49
Nonetheless, the antitrust authorities do seem to be more interested in the high-tech space and particularly platform competition and are investing additional resources to assess such competition issues. This increased interest may already be leading to more investigations, and if the antitrust agencies are concerned about competition in particular markets, they may be more inclined to dig deeper and investigate longer in these market segments. Of course, additional scrutiny does not necessarily mean that new enforcement actions will materialize, but it is worth watching carefully to see whether any new challenges develop under the current framework, and whether that framework itself is shifted by lawmakers around the world.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.


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Hate speech online – EU Code of Conduct ensures swift response
- Awareness
- 14/02/2019
- BIK Team
The fourth evaluation on the EU Code of Conduct has been published on Monday, 4 February 2019, for Safer Internet Day (SID) 2019, demonstrating that this initiative by the European Commission (EC) delivers successful results.
The EU Code of Conduct – Fourth evaluation
IT companies are now assessing 89 per cent of flagged content within 24 hours and 72 per cent of the content deemed to be illegal hate speech is removed, compared to 40 per cent and 28 per cent respectively when the Code was first launched in 2016. However, companies need to improve their feedback to users notifying content, and provide more transparency on notices and removals.
The Code of Conduct has been delivering continuous progress, and companies are removing illegal hate speech online more and more rapidly. Yet, this does not lead to over-removal: the review made by companies is still in compliance with freedom of expression. The Code is also a step forward in that it has enabled fruitful partnerships between civil society organisations, national authorities and IT platforms on awareness raising and education activities.
Finally, four new companies have decided to join the Code of Conduct in 2018, namely Google+, Instagram, Snapchat and Dailymotion. French gaming platform Webedia has announced their participation just before SID 2019.
Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market said: "Today's evaluation shows that cooperation with companies and civil society brings results. Companies are now assessing 89% of flagged content within 24 hours, and promptly act to remove it when necessary. This is more than twice as much as compared to 2016. More importantly, the Code works because it respects freedom of expression. The internet is a place people go to share their views and find out information at the click of a button. Nobody should feel unsafe or threatened due to illegal hateful content remaining online."
Vĕra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said: "Illegal hate speech online is not only a crime, it represents a threat to free speech and democratic engagement. In May 2016, I initiated the Code of conduct on online hate speech, because we urgently needed to do something about this phenomenon. Today, after two and a half years, we can say that we found the right approach and established a standard throughout Europe on how to tackle this serious issue, while fully protecting freedom of speech."
The EU Code of Conduct – Background
As a reminder, the "Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online" has been presented by the EC and four major IT companies (Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube) in May 2016. Its purpose is to respond to the proliferation of racist and xenophobic hate speech online, which are deemed illegal in the EU, under the Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia.
Along with regular monitoring exercises to evaluate the implementation of the Code of Conduct, the EC has adopted, on 28 September 2017, a Communication providing guidance to platforms on notice-and-action procedures to tackle illegal content online. In this document, the importance of countering illegal hate speech online and the need to continue working with the implementation of the Code of Conduct feature prominently.
To learn more about the EU Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online, view the following EC document:
- Factsheet with key figures on the fourth monitoring of the Code of Conduct
- Factsheet: "How the Code of Conduct helped countering illegal hate speech online"
- Questions and answers on the fourth evaluation of the Code of Conduct countering illegal hate speech online
The activities of the Insafe network European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), including awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation, encompass the prevention and removal of illegal hate speech online.
Additionally, for comprehensive information about online hate speech, visit the SELMA (Social and Emotional Learning for Mutual Awareness) website.
Related news
Hacking online hate speech with SELMA
- Awareness
- 21/02/2019
- SELMA project
Hate speech is increasingly common on social media; but that does not make it any less problematic. A recent study released by the SELMA (Social and Emotional Learning for Mutual Awareness) project shows how online hate speech has become an inevitable part of young people's daily experiences online, with education and awareness-raising efforts on the topic lagging behind. To complement existing initiatives to regulate, monitor or report online hate speech, a more pro-active answer is needed.
School visit in Berlin by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and film director Wim Wenders
- Awareness
- 14/02/2019
- German Safer Internet Centre
On Monday, 11 February 2019, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, as well as film director and #SaferInternet4EU Ambassador Wim Wenders were invited by the German Safer Internet Centre (SIC) klicksafe to a school visit at the John-Lennon School in Berlin.
European Commission – New measures to keep children safe online
- Awareness
- 07/02/2019
- BIK Team
On Tuesday, 5 February 2019, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (SID), the European Commission announced the next steps in the EU to increase the protection of children and young people on the internet.
New code of conduct for IT companies fighting hate speech
- Awareness
- 14/06/2016
- BIK team
In line with recent activity of the European Commission on combating hate speech and the spread of terrorist material and exploitation on communication channels, as well as protecting the freedom of speech, a new code of conduct for companies fighting hate speech was announced in May 2016.


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Tribhanga is an Odissi dance pose that is disjointed and asymmetrical, yet mesmerizing and beautiful, so much like the lives of the three women from Netflix's upcoming film, Tribhanga. A drama set in Mumbai, Tribhanga weaves a complex tale that goes back and forth through three generations of the same family, from the late 1980s to modern-day. The heart-warming storyline looks at the importance of family in everyday lives.
Tribhanga will mark the digital debut for Kajol, Mithila Palkar, Tanvi Azmi and Kunaal Roy Kapoor will be seen in pivotal roles in the film. The film is directed and written by veteran actress Renuka Shahane. Ajay Devgn Films is the producer along with Bannijay Asia and Alchemy Productions.
Talking about Tribhanga Renuka Shahane said, "I am looking forward to directing Tribhanga. This is an incredible opportunity and it feels amazing to collaborate with Netflix for the film and know that it will be available across the world on literally the same day! We have a great cast and a beautiful storyline. I cannot wait to begin shooting."
Talking about producing Tribhanga, Ajay Devgn said, "Talking about producing Tribhanga, Ajay Devgn said, "We are excited to collaborate with Netflix for Tribhanga, a story of three incredible women. The film marks the digital debut for Ajay Devgn Films and I am looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts to this story."
Talking about Tribhanga, Aashish Singh, Director, Original Film, Netflix India said, "At Netflix, we are focused on building a diverse film catalog for our members. We are thrilled to work on our first production with Ajay Devgn Films, Bannijay Asia and Alchemy Productions and bring Tribhanga to life. The film is being led by a wonderful cast and crew and we hope its story will resonate with our members in India and around the world."
The film starts filming today and will be available exclusively on Netflix.
ALSO READ: Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Karan Johar, Ayan Mukerji enjoy Sindoor Khela on Dussehra
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2020 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.


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kj retreats was created after a lifetime of travel experiences in my youth and living abroad in places like Japan and France.
I realized that during my travels, eating at restaurants for every meal can become redundant and also a challenge to seek out places that didn't cater to tourists from far flung destinations. I've also found myself inspired to cook, and wanted people to share it with.
I wanted to create an experience where you could enjoy living like a local. Go to the markets and buy all the fresh foods you want to bring 'home' not a cramped hotel room with no kitchen. Learn from local chefs about how to prepare local inspired meals, while sharing the experience with others.
The mission is to provide you with unique and unforgettable adventures in places you have always wanted to visit, but didn't have the time to plan for or know the best spots to ensure a special trip. Whether staying in a medieval village in France or a boutique Rhiad in the heart of the medina in Marrakech, I believe sharing good food and gathering around a table, while discovering new places, creates lasting memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.
This is a holiday with a culinary and market focus, but by no means is an intense "cooking school." The experience is meant to be a discovery of the region in all areas, but it's foremost your vacation, itineraries are flexible and meant to be an enjoyment, not a rigid plan.
I want to share my passion for food and travel with you, share my "best of gems" and for you to leave feeling rested, satiated and inspired to continue cooking and discovering beautiful destinations while doing so.


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YOUR GUIDE to the 2016 Oscar BEST PICTURE Nominees
So for the purpose of making sure you have at least some knowledge of what you're talking about when you inevitably start ranting on Twitter Sunday night (and so I can shamelessly rip off the format of my last post), here's some basic info on The Oscars' nominees for Best Picture.
The Big Short
The one that you thought was really cool and important, but you still don't understand it
This was directed by the same guy who did Anchorman 2. Good conversation starter.
Yeah, banks are so evil. They really screwed us over, huh. You know, with the trading, and the lending, and the lack of regulation, and the, uh…
Ok, no matter how many Margot Robbies in bathtubs it throws at you, you still don't understand exactly how the financial crisis happened. Basically, all you remember from this film is that something happened, it involved banks and money, it was bad, and Margot Robbie appeared in a bathtub.
Bridge of SpiesRemember long ago, when the young little cinephile in you would drop your lucky charms to the floor and rush to the nearest theater at the mere prospect of a new Spielberg movie? Spielberg, the guy who brought you Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, ET, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, The Color Purple, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Munich, and Minority Report? And Hook, but you like to forget about that one.
Now, you see his movies out of obligation. War Horse, Lincoln, The Adventures of Tintin… none bad, but none that you view any higher than an enjoyable two hours. Add Bridge of Spies to that list.
BrooklynNobody has seen Brooklyn. The only people who've seen Brooklyn are either film critics, people who work for really fancy theaters, and douchebags who just wanna criticize you for not having seen everything.
But, c'mon! You don't care how high its Rotten Tomatoes score is (it's high), how many critics have told you it's actually really good (a lot), how many best-of lists its included on (tons), you refuse to see Brooklyn out of principle. Because as the type of pretentious arty kid who reads Pitchfork daily, right now having not seen Brooklyn is all that connects you to the mainstream.
Mad Max: Fury Road
"Like, oh my god, remember when they rode into the sandstorm? And the pole vaulting, from CAR to CAR! And, like, all practical effects, like, can you believe that! So awesome! So fucking awesome! And the cinematography! And editing! Like, wow! George Miller, man, George Miller. And Furiosa! Character of the year, amirright? So badass, so badass… And the flaming guitar, like, what the fuck? So imaginative! Like, just wow. Classic…classic"
The MartianYou: "I love The Martian, the effects and science were so cool."
Your mom: "I love The Martian, Matt Damon was great"
Your dad: "I love The Martian, can you believe all the shit he did with potatoes?"
Your best friend: "I love The Martian, I still can't believe Childish Gambino was in it!"
Your Grandma: "I love The Martian, I like that it was serious, but fun, but not too fun, mainly serious, but you could still laugh."
Nobody: "I want The Martian to win Best Picture."
The RevenantYour thoughts on the movie: "It was alright. It really wasn't anything that great, if we're being honest. It was basically just 2+ hours of torture porn, the characters weren't that well drawn out, and sure it looked beautiful, but that doesn't make a movie alone."
Your thoughts on Leo: "OH MY GOD. GIVE HIM AN OSCAR ALREADY!!!"
Room"The one that's sad. Really, really sad."
All respects to Leo, but give that kid an Oscar, now!
Did you cry when seeing this? — Yes
Are you ready to talk about it? — No
Are you still crying? — Yes
Do you wanna be left alone to ponder how much you love your family and how fucked up the world is? — Yes
Spotlight"The one you pretended to have seen to sound intelligent"
The award for the one actually cool movie poster goes to…
"What? Yeah, I totally saw Spotlight. It's so important, you know? It's so terrible, what those priests did, and people really need to see that, and also see what good journalism is, like, can we give a hand to the good journalists at the, uh, what was it, yes, the Boston Herald, Globe, I said Boston Globe, and it's a shame that good journalism like that doesn't exist anymore, because journalism is really important, as this movie shows, just like how pedophilia is bad. Yeah."
Ignatius N exists to write various things that you may enjoy reading. If you found this worth reading, please hit "recommend" or click the little "share" icon (whatever it looks like now) and send this piece to all of your friends that won't send me hate mail in return.
Also, feel free to follow me on Medium, as well as check out my Twitter and my Tumblr.
Shameless self-promotion is over now.


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Back in the day, pioneers were those who ventured off into the unknown, made grand discoveries or came up with new inventions that could revolutionise the world. But today, equally revolutionary innovations are more likely to build on existing ideas. We examine how the very concept of pioneers has evolved as technology has become ubiquitous and the world increasingly complex.
What does it mean to be a pioneer in the business world these days? Does it mean you're someone like Nikola Tesla? Or Henry Ford? Or what about Steve Jobs? Or Mark Zuckerberg? How about thinkers like Christel Kammerer, the German management consultant who invented flexitime? Or Robert Propst, the man whose Action Office system gave rise to the cubicle? You could make a pretty good case for any of them as they have all influenced the way we live and work, sometimes with very simple ideas.
However, a lot of our thinking around business pioneers is rather old-fashioned. We still tend to imagine them as people who come up with brilliant inventions: the internet, the production line, the smartphone and so on. The originators of these were, of course, all pioneers. But over the past few decades pioneering has become more about the way we do things than about physical things themselves. A good example of this is the iPod. This was not the first hard-drive MP3 player – there were a number launched before it (notably from companies such as Creative and Archos), but these remained fairly niche while the iPod created a huge new market and revolutionised the way we consumed music. The reason? Unlike its rivals it had a brilliant, highly intuitive user interface. So here's a question. Was the pioneer in this area Compaq (which designed the first hard-drive MP3 player and licensed it to a Korean company called HanGo) or Apple?
It's tempting to say that that Steve Jobs just took someone else's brilliant idea and ran with it. But maybe he didn't. Maybe Jobs and Apple were the real pioneers for seeing how an idea could be executed so much better. Perhaps the greater innovation was from the user's perspective – you could argue that a brilliant click wheel is more innovative than putting a hard drive into a music player.
You could, incidentally, make the same argument for the GUI (graphical user interface) and the smartphone, both of which Apple did not originate but did bring to the mainstream.
In terms of pioneering business ideas, the days of the iPod can seem like a lifetime ago. But it's indicative of the way the world has moved on. Talk to people who are innovating in the world of cloud computing and they are likely to be building on technology platforms. Effectively, they are finding ways to build and innovate using the tools provided by others such as Microsoft. Similarly, devising a new way to target Facebook ads (even if it is to influence elections) is every bit as much an innovation as developing new code.
You see this everywhere. Some of the superstar YouTubers and Instagram influencers are genuine pioneers: they saw what could be done with new tools. It is likely that we are going to see much more of this, not less. Increasingly innovations will be built upon innovations that will themselves be built upon innovations.
Working together
In a related vein, we are seeing another trend with developments. This is that innovation tends to be more collaborative than it once was. The big companies of the mid-20th century often had huge on-site labs. They owned all the expertise, and everything from basic research to prototyping was done in-house. It is hard to imagine that now in many industries.
There are several reasons for this. One is that the world is an incredibly complex place and it is unlikely that any one organisation has the necessary expertise in-house to develop big items like an aeroplane or a reactor. Thus, increasingly, innovation is done collaboratively between businesses and other organisations – which may range from small, specialist companies to universities. For big-ticket items, the days of the lone pioneer are over.
What is more, it is now very hard to innovate in one area without spilling over into others or making use of other technologies. The most obvious example of this now is how virtually all new products have some sort of digital or informational component – and, moreover, their development will have been enabled by modern computing power. This will only become truer as the internet of things takes off and artificial intelligence and machine learning become part of every innovation process. Never has the phrase 'standing on the shoulders of giants' been more fitting.
Innovation tends to be more collaborative than it once was.
What, then, of being a pioneer in the realm of business ideas? This sometimes gets a bad name because many people are happy to slap the innovation label on everything they do. Yet this is probably unfair. Is an innovative new form of banking or tax planning or corporate structure different from straightforward technological innovation? After all, limited liability (which first appeared in its modern form in New York in 1811) and joint stock companies (which developed, probably independently, in places like 10thcentury China and 16th-century England) are among the foundations of the modern economy. They revolutionised the financial worlds.
Again, often these idea-based innovations in process will be blended with technology. Wikipedia is an example here. The enabling technology is not especially complicated. But the idea, while simple, is revolutionary. Huge companies like Uber and AirBnB are based on an idea and the connecting power of the internet via smartphones. Technologies like 3D printing and blockchain and virtual reality will doubtless soon be used in ways their inventors could not even imagine.
Over the past few decades we have seen the rise of the innovation consultancy – small outfits that specialise in being agile, having new ideas, and looking at things in new ways. Being a pioneer has become a kind of specialisation in its own right. For those of us who have a desire to do things differently and are prepared to push for change, the opportunities to innovate have never been greater or more widely available. In our complex, modern world, perhaps we should all aspire to be pioneers.


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© Copyright ATA Architects Inc.
All rights reserved. 2012
ATA recently completed work on the creation of a Centre for Sexual Violence Support and Education at York University. This interior renovation occurred on the existing third floor of the York Lanes building, and the space was redesigned to emphasize feelings of home and comfort through the integration of materials and finishes that suggest warmth, while clearly separating the staff office space. The result is a subtle but clear difference between the home and office environments.
Throughout the process of working on this centre, ATA was sensitive to the needs of the University, and it's very specific design requirements. The hope is that this centre becomes the prototype for other similar services at other universities throughout Canada.


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I've been thinking a little about the Sharia law concern, and I've come to realize that the only way to counteract it, short of genocide or birthing tons of alternately minded kids (which seems barbaric and like the wrong reason to be having a kid), is to enact a sound-proof system of law, which can't be removed by a simple majority, that respects the general rights of every individual. It's the very thing America's laws were supposed to be founded on. Except we can't really do that so long as Christians and any other religious group is trying to make their specific way the only way. Short of that we may end up in yet another Crusade-era period while some sort of reform goes on in the religion to the point it becomes reasoned, if ever.
Of course that could just be my naive view.


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Federico Guerrero holds a Master degree in International Relations and European Integration by the UAB. He is an Associated Professor at the same university teaching the following degree subjects: (1) Introduction to International Relations; (2) European Foreign Policy. He also teaches at UAB in the following Master degrees: (1) Official Master in International Relations, Security and Development at the Faculty of Political Science (course "Human Security in Africa: economics, politics and security"); (2) Official Master in EU-China relations: Culture and Economy at the Faculty of Tourism (course "EU Foreign Policy"); (3) Official Master MIM at the Faculty of Journalism. He is also an Associated Professor at the International Relations Degree of the School of Communication and International Relations at the Blanquerna-Ramon Llull University teaching the following degree subjects: (1) International Relations Theory; (2) Foreign Policy Analysis. From 2008 to 2012 he was the academic coordinator of the Master programme in European Policies on International Cooperation for Development at the University Institute of European Studies at the UAB. From 2001 he is member of the Research Group "European Foreign Policy Observatory" at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), focused on the analysis of EU-Africa relations, as well as in the African Peace and Security Architecture.
Erasmus Mundus
Joint Master Degree
Joint Master Degree