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New members join the PR & Media team
We have appointed four new members of our Public Relations (PR) & Marketing subcommittee.
Matt Bayford, Katie Ellis, Mark Sanderson and Joanna Sweeney have joined Dean Woods in the England Korfball PR & Marketing team. The appointments have been reviewed and approved by the England Korfball Board following a recent open recruitment process.
The aim of the PR & Marketing team is to work closely with the England Korfball Board, Hannah Stockley, our National Development Officer and the other subcommittees. The objective of the team is to inform, educate, increase awareness and raise the profile of the sport.
Highly skilled professionals
"I'm delighted that Matt, Katie, Mark and Joanna have joined us. It's brilliant to have enthusiastic and highly skilled professionals on the team. Their energy and enthusiasm shown during the interview process was inspirational. It's clear that they are all passionate about the sport and already understand the benefits of the only mixed-gender team ball sport in the world. I can't wait to start working with the new team!" Dean Woods.
Meet the team
Matt Bayford
Hey, I'm Matt and I've been working in Marketing and Graphic design for over 6 years. I started playing Korfball just under 3 years ago, with a team based on the south coast called Southampton Spartans. It's been a fantastic experience for me where I have been able to meet some great people and play a fun and inclusive sport! I'm excited to start volunteering with England Korfball and can't wait to bring my design skills to the organisation.
Katie Ellis
I started playing korfball at university in Cambridge and Lancaster, then after spells playing at Bec, Supernova and Nottingham, moved to Milton Keynes where I have been involved in the setup of, and volunteering on an ongoing basis ever since with, MK Bucks Korfball Club, MK City (now Lakers) Korfball Club and the South Midlands Korfball Association. I have also been involved in the organisation of the local league and the "Korfstock" Milton Keynes tournament, as well as arranging several times for korfball to be featured on local TV. Outside of korfball, I work in banking building mathematical models, and my children keep me busy.
Mark Sanderson
I have an overall love for sport and was introduced to Korfball a number of years ago in the Milton Keynes area. I enjoyed playing for the newly formed MK Lakers and competed at local and regional level, as well playing at the inter-regional tournaments. My professional career for over 20 years has seen me work on projects for clients that have included Amazon, Visa and Samsung, as a designer across both print, digital and video.
Joanna Sweeney
Joanna started playing korfball in 2016 and is incredibly excited to join the England Korfball PR & Marketing team to help shape the future of korfball in England. Professionally Joanna works within the sports industry as a Data and Insights Analyst based in Manchester.


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One Night in Bremen (Live)
MiG records MIG 02062 CD
1. The Pursuit Of Farmer Michael Hayes; 2. Slip Jigs (Ride A Mile / Hardiman The Fiddler / The Yellow Wattle) 3. The Bonny Light Horseman 4. Double Jigs (East Of Glendart / Brian O'Lynn / Pay The Reckoning) 5. The Rambling Boys Of Pleasure 6. The Good Ship Kangaroo 7. Reels (The Humours Of Carrigaholt / The Chattering Magpie / Lord MacDonald's) 8. The Rambling Siuler 9. Smeceno Horo 10. Raggle Taggle Gypsy/Tabhair Dom Do Lámh 11. Nancy Spain 12. Reels (The Blackberry Blossom / Lucky In Love / The Dairy Maid).
Planxty was one of the most significant bands to emerge in the early 1970s folk revival. They were initially formed following a session to record Christy Moore's second LP and produced three LPs of contemporary and traditional songs mixed with tradition irish dance tunes, with slightly changing line ups between 1973 and 1975. Rumours that Planxty would reform started to circulate following the appearance of all four original members in different ensembles at the 1978 Ballisodare Folk Festival. In early 1979, the rumours were confirmed when they played a small venue in Dublin before the band finally announced a mammoth European tour starting at the Hammersmith Odeon in April and ending up eight countries and 45 gigs later back in Dublin in June. The band recorded the LP After the Break after just a week off at the end of the tour and it was released later in 1979.
This concert, given on 24th April 1979 at Bremen University, was broadcast on German radio and has now been released by MiG records (MiG being Made in Germany). Clocking in at around 60 minutes, it's a fantastic reminder for those who saw the band on this tour; and a taste, for those that didn't, of what the buzz was all about.
The original four members, Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam Og O'Flynn were joined by flautist Matt Molloy who had been playing with Lunny in the recently defunct Bothy Band. Molloy and O'Flynn had a long musical and social connection from the Dublin session scene. The pleasure of playing together again and playing mostly new material is palpable in the way the band interact on stage and the audience are whipped into excitement by the power of the music and songs. There's a confidence in their playing that comes from years of hard touring that had earned them a reputation for excellence among folk fans and a wider audience.
Both O'Flynn and Molloy are acknowledged masters of their respective instruments and the duets are simply stunning. Molloy's bubbly finger work contrasts and complements O'Flynn's tight piping tricks and you can hear the rest of the band enjoying the sparks flying between the two tune players. Molloy and O'Flynn played a set at the end of June 1979 at the Causeway Festival in Portrush, County Down but a planned duet tour fell by the wayside when Molloy accepted an invitation to join the Chieftains.
The opening song on the CD, The Pursuit of Farmer Michael Hayes suggests that the opening set of reels starting with The Lady on the island has been missed from the broadcast as it is the only track from After the Break not on this CD. Christy Moore's singing on this and The Good Ship Kangaroo is in his typical robust style and it contrasts well with Irvine's more contemplative Rambling Boys of Pleasure. Irvine has two other higher tempo songs as the two vocalists alternate their songs. The songs are separated by sets of tunes; slip jigs, reels or jigs, all now familiar from the LP and the High Kings of Tara LP that featured three tracks that didn't fit on the LP.
The band heads for the end of the set with Irvine's Balkan fusion piece Smeceno Horo where Molloy's flute is especially atmospheric and the show climaxes with the combination of the Raggle Taggle Gypsies and Tabhair dom do lamh that had opened the Prosperous LP in 1972 and featured on the first Planxty LP. Molloy mirrors O'Flynn's harmony lines around Christy Moore's vocal and when the change into the tune comes, the crowd go wild. The band return for an encore of Moore' s Nancy Spain and a final set of reels. The crowd go home happy, having seen a band on top form.
The recording is of high quality and the mix is generally good and the cross rhythms and harmonies on the bouzouki and mandolin are clear although the mix has a little too much flute compared to the pipes. The packaging is pretty basic, with little or no information, other than a short note from Andy Irvine remembering the tour and a track listing. A couple of tunes are misidentified in the track listing; Ride a Mile is usually known as The First Slip and it's listed as such on the High Kings LP. Lucky in Love is actually The Bloom of Youth, the second tune that John McKenna recorded with Lucky in Love in 1934. This error follows the original LP and it's not uncommon for players to mix up the names on a pair of tunes from an old 78. The Humours of Carrigaholt is usually called Stay another While and O'Flynn recorded it on his Fine Art of Piping CD in the early 1990s.
There are a few live recordings of Planxty available, notably a bootleg circulating of the band from 1980, and the 2016 retrospective Between the jigs and reels which includes video recordings from gigs from 1972 to 1982. The band reformed for one last time in 2004 and this was captured on DVD and CD, but 1979 was a unique time in the band's varied life and this CD captures all the verve and excitement of that time.
It's a shame the CD was released just two weeks after Liam O'Flynn's death as the media has been, rightly, preoccupied with paying tribute to the piper. As we mourn his loss, the opportunity to hear him doing what he did best, on stage with his friends, should not be missed. Highly recommended, the CD is available from Claddagh records and surprisingly also from Amazon.
Ken Ricketts & Marya Parker - 21.4.18
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subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to Clinical Research Specialists
Our research team is composed of medical professionals with over 40 years of clinical research experience. We believe that by providing disease-specific education, monitoring, and support, every volunteer will leave a clinical research trial with a better understanding of how to manage their illness.
Clinical Research Specialists, LLC, understands how important clinical trials are to our patients and our sponsors. We extend our services to research patients, sponsors, physicians, and CROs. We are committed to exceeding our enrollment goals.
Stages of Research
Once a medication, device or treatment has been developed, it must be tested. Clinical trials allow us to explore how a medical method interacts with the human body. Clinical trials are used to determine whether a specific method can be deemed safe and effective for human use. This mission is the basis of all 4 phases of a clinical trial.
Phase I
First Safety Study with 20-100 healthy volunteers
Phase II
Hundreds of volunteers receive multiple doses to study efficacy
Phase III
Long term trial with thousands of volunteers to prepare for FDA approval
Phase IV
Post marketing, once the FDA approves the medication, device, treatment, etc.
Taking part in a clinical research study is entirely voluntary.
In order to ensure you understand what is involved with a clinical trial, participants receive an informed consent document.
This document provides an overview of the study procedures, a study schedule, and answers to common questions about clinical trials.
Currently Enrolling Studies
A Phase II, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Assess the Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of MEDI3506 in Participants with Moderate to Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Bronchitis (FRONTIER 4)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04631016
This is a research study to determine the efficacy and safety of investigational drug MEDI3506 for the treatment of adult subjects with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Bonchitis.
Study details
Human Clinical Trail
PROTOCOL NO.: Ajinomoto AminoIndex™ 2015-01
TITLE: A Case-Control Study to Verify Diagnostic Performance of AminoIndex™ Technology
This is a prospective, multi-center study to evaluate the diagnostic performance characteristics of the AminoIndex™ technology among patients at high risk of developing lung cancer as compared with standard lung cancer screening and diagnostic procedures including low-dose CT, high-dose CT, biopsy, and histopathology.
A Multi-Centre, Single Arm, Open-Label Extension Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety of GSK3511294 in Participants with Severe Asthma with an Eosinophilic Phenotype
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04718103
This study will assess the efficacy and safety of GSK3511294 as an adjunctive therapy in participants with severe uncontrolled asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype despite standard of care (SoC) treatment with medium to high dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus at least one additional controller.
A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Assess the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Brensocatib Administered Once Daily for 52 Weeks in Subjects with Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis – The ASPEN Study
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04594369
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of brensocatib at 10 mg and 25 mg compared with placebo on the rate of pulmonary exacerbations (PEs) over the 52-week treatment period.
A Phase III Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Prm-151 in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04552899
This phase III study will evaluate the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of recombinant human pentraxin-2 (rhPTX-2; PRM-151) compared with placebo in participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
ARISE – A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Active Comparator, Multicenter Study to Validate Patient-Reported Outcome Instruments in Adult Subjects with Newly Diagnosed Nontuberculous Mycobacterial (NTM) Lung Infection Caused by Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04677543
The primary objective of this study is to generate evidence demonstrating the domain specification via modern psychometric methods, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of Quality of Life – Bronchiectasis (QoL-B) and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System – Fatigue-Short Form (PROMIS F-SF 7a) in participants with newly diagnosed nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung infection caused by Myobaxterium avium Complex (MAC).
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Active Comparator, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of an Amikacin Liposome Inhalation Suspension (ALIS)-Based Regimen in Adult Subjects with Newly Diagnosed Nontuberculous Mycobacterial (NTM) Lung Infection Caused by Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04677569
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ALIS (amikacin liposome inhalation suspension) + Azithromycin + Ethambutol compared to the ELC (empty liposome control) + Azithromycin + Ethambutol on participant reported respiratory symptoms at Month 13.
SEER-Lung: A Prospective Blood Sample Collection Study to Develop and Validate a Panel of Protein-based Biomarkers in Patients with Pulmonary Nodules
The objective of this study is to develop a panel of blood-based protein biomarkers for the characterization of lung nodules in patients with intermediate risk lung nodules considered for biopsy. This is a prospective, multicenter minimal-risk sample collection study that will develop and validate the accuracy of a blood-based panel of protein biomarkers for use in patients with lung nodules who are considered for biopsy.
Future Enrolling Studies
Clinical research is the process of determining whether a medication, device, therapy or treatment is safe and effective for human use. These studies can be used to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Lung cancer
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Atrial fibrillation
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Hyperlipidemia
- Heart failure


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Killgore v. SpecPro Prof'l Servs., LLC, 51 F.4th 973 (9th Cir. 2022)
While consulting for an environmental project for the United States Army Reserve Command, Aaron Killgore believed he was being required to prepare an environmental assessment in a manner that violated federal law. Killgore was fired shortly after he reported the suspected illegality to his supervisor and the Army Reserve's project leader Chief Laura Caballero, who Killgore alleged gave the unlawful directives. The district court granted SpecPro's partial motion for summary judgment, but the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Killgore's disclosure to his supervisor was actionable even though the supervisor to whom Killgore made the disclosure did not have "authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation" within the meaning of Cal. Lab. Code § 1102.5(b). The Court also held that Killgore's disclosure to Caballero was an actionable disclosure to a "government agency" within the meaning of the statute even though the disclosure was part of Killgore's normal duties and Caballero may have been a "wrongdoer" who was the subject of the disclosure. However, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Killgore's retaliation claim, finding that Killgore failed to present evidence that he refused to participate in illegal activity within the meaning of Section 1102.5(c).


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If you want to play Togel online, you should first find a trustworthy bookie or affiliated website. Then, you can choose which game to play. Different games offer different win conditions. In addition, you can find the game rules and bonus offers. In this article, we will explore the game rules, deposit options, and bonus offers. We hope this article will help you find the best Togel online betting site to play. Here is a short guide to getting started.
Pasaran togel online
If you have an interest in playing togel, then you have probably come across the term pasaran togel online. This term refers to the game of tossing a ball containing several numbers. To play the game of tossing a ball, players must have a certain amount of knowledge on the game. There are a number of different ways you can learn how to play tossing a ball.
Rules of the game
Togel is a game of strategy. Players must choose a set of numbers and place bets on them. The more digits in a set, the better the odds are of winning the jackpot. The rules of the game involve betting small amounts to increase your odds of winning big. In addition, the more digits you have in your set, the higher the prize you can win. To learn more about togel, read on.
Bonuses available
The online gambling world is full of bonus offers. However, not all of them are created equal. Some are generous, while others are not. While you should look for a variety of bonuses, you should know which ones are right for your style of play and your budget. Bonus offers are often available at multiple sites, so it is best to compare the various options before deciding to join a particular site. To find out which bonuses are the best, you can scan through many sites and choose the one that matches your needs the most.
Deposit options
If you are planning to play togel online, you can consider a number of deposit options. The most popular deposit option is Dana togel. This option is easy to use, allowing you to deposit and withdraw funds anytime. All you need is a valid credit card. You can use the money you deposit to fund your winnings. Usually, depositing with your bank account will require you to have a bank account number.
Cashback offers
Various online gambling websites offer Togel Cashback offers to their customers. You cannot avail these offers at offline lottery outlets. These deals are only available with reputed online gambling websites, and are worth taking advantage of if you are a regular player. Depending on your experience level, you may be able to earn a good amount of cash from the various Togel Cashback offers. Here are some of the top online gambling sites offering cashback to Togel players:


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Spring clean your mind
Detoxing your mind is just as important as detoxing your physical body and spring cleaning your house and workspace. Mental and emotional toxins consist of bad attitudes, memories, judgements, grudges, resentments, frustrations, traumas, bad habits, feeling trapped and victimised to name a few. These emotions usually result in behaviours and ways of thinking that don't serve you well. Your time and energy is wasted on these restrictive emotions which can make you feel tired, drained, depressed and demotivated. They can also affect you physically with headaches, digestive issues, joint and muscular pain for example.
Ways to spring clean your mind
Power up
What's draining and powering you? Make a list of things that are draining and powering you. This includes interactions with people, habits and routines. Try to work out how you can eliminate or reduce the drains and increase the powers.
Write it out to clear it out
Journaling can clear mental clutter. Write out your thoughts on a piece of paper then rip it up and recycle it or type and then delete for good.
Write Morning Pages. This practice was created by Julia Cameron and involves doing three pages of longhand writing on whatever pops into your head, first thing in the morning on a daily basis. These pages clarify, prioritise, incite and synchronize the day ahead.
Still the mind
There are numerous studies proving the benefits of regular meditation and mindfulness practices. Both reduce stress, fatigue and other negative emotions. They help boost happiness, self-awareness and mental clarity.
Meditation. Researchers at UCLA found that long term meditators have larger amounts of gyrification ("folding" of the cortex which may allow the brain to process information faster and improve decision making) than non meditators. Some of my favourite meditations are from the Chopra Centre Meditation. I also recommended the apps Headspace and Calm.
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing your attention on the present moment. See some mindfulness exercises here.
React differently
Negative emotions can be useful as they indicate that something is not quite right and needs your attention. Make a list of your current negative emotions. For each emotion, try to determine what might be causing this emotion and what you could do to change it. This will help you understand how you react to certain people and situations and how you might now choose to react differently or not at all! A good in depth article on dealing with negative emotions can be found here.
Useful therapies
Flower essences work on vibrational energy and stimulate the body's natural ability to bring itself back to homeostasis or balance. Find out more information through my practicing clinic's sister site Yorkshire Flower Essences.
Homeopathy considers the way in which your physical, mental and emotional symptoms relate to each other and provides remedies to help heal. Contact my colleagues for more information.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and NLP is based on the latest brain and neuroscience findings. It is a gentle therapy for the mind which can help you manage negative emotions. Contact my colleague for more information on how it could help you.
Please seek professional advice if you are in a current mental or emotional crisis. Call your doctor to direct you to the best source of help and support.
Always seek qualified practitioners and always check with your doctor before undertaking new therapies.


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Former AG Bill Barr spread Trump's voter-fraud conspiracy theories before the election. Media outlets can't erase those lies now.
Barr had spent months spreading false claims to undermine the counting of mail-in votes, and mocked concerns that Trump would refuse to leave office. Now he wants an image makeover.
Written by Eric Kleefeld
ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl has made waves with his recent piece in The Atlantic, titled "Inside William Barr's Breakup With Trump," about the former U.S. attorney general's story of a nasty falling-out with former President Donald Trump in the wake of Barr's public admission in early December that there was no evidence of voter fraud that Trump was alleging had stolen the election from him.
USA Today also gave a deferential treatment to Barr's current telling of the story, with a write-up of Karl's piece entitled "It's just a joke': Former AG William Barr derided Trump's false election claims."
However, none of this fawning coverage did anything to provide accountability for Barr's own prominent role in helping Trump build up a false public narrative of massive fraud in the months before the election.
Indeed, right before the 2020 election, ABC News had tracked some of Barr's "unfounded argument" seeking to sow distrust in the expanded use of mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, Karl had also reported on a Department of Homeland Security bulletin on Russian disinformation against mail-in voting, which sought to further spread Trump's own false claims. USA Today had also published a guest column in July by cybersecurity experts, debunking many of Barr's claims.
But now, Barr's actual record in this matter is left on the cutting-room floor.
Barr pushed false claims of voter fraud and mocked concerns that Trump would refuse to leave office
Karl wrote about Barr's informal review of various claims of voter fraud in the weeks following Election Day because he "knew that at some point, Trump was going to confront him about the allegations." As Barr told Karl, "If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullshit."
However, Trump would have had every reasonable expectation that Barr would help him out — because throughout 2020, Barr mounted his own propaganda operation against the security of the upcoming election. Far from treating it like "bullshit," at this stage, the attorney general pushed multiple false claims that the Trump campaign would use to try and overturn the election from Election Day through January 6 — and which are even still in circulation today.
In the spring of 2020, Barr floated a conspiracy theory in an interview with The New York Times that "there are a number of foreign countries that could easily make counterfeit ballots, put names on them, send them in." He then dug in on this idea again in September, telling CNN that he was "basing it on logic."
Election experts would explain all the ways such fraud was impossible, because real mail-in ballots have individual identifiers such as barcodes and signatures for tracking and processing, and they must be correctly printed on the right kind of paper to be scanned by each local ballot machine. However, Barr's claim still lives on today, with the QAnon-linked ballot "audit" in Arizona looking for such things as rumored bamboo fibers as evidence of fake ballots being flown in or secret watermarks that were placed as part of an elaborate sting operation for false ballots.
In September, Barr also asserted that mail-in voting would destroy the protections of the secret ballot: "There's no more secret vote. … Your name is associated with a particular ballot. The government and the people involved can find out and know how you voted. And it opens up the door to coercion." (This, too, was false, as there are safeguards in place to prevent a specific person's vote from being identified at the counting stage.)
Notably, in one interview with Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, Barr also sought to discredit the counting of mail-in votes as he painted a picture of the exact scenario that Trump and his allies would later seek to take advantage of — a "red mirage" followed by a "blue shift," in which Trump would appear to be ahead on Election night before the counting of mail-in votes that were disproportionately cast by Democrats. "Someone will say the president just won Nevada," Barr offered hypothetically. "'Oh, wait a minute! We just discovered 100,000 ballots! Every vote will be counted!' Yeah, but we don't know where these freaking votes came from."
In the same interview, Barr also dismissed the idea that Trump would attempt to subvert the election result. "You know liberals project," Barr said. "All this bulls--- about how the president is going to stay in office and seize power? I've never heard of any of that crap. I mean, I'm the attorney general. I would think I would have heard about it." (Later, in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, Barr said in a statement that Trump's conduct that day was a "betrayal of his office and supporters.")
Nowhere in his Atlantic piece did Karl grapple with any of these statements. Instead, he simply left the reader with the impression that Barr knew after the election that claims of widespread voter fraud were "all bullshit."
Karl omitted Barr's statement in December that false claims of voter fraud would "continue to be pursued"
At the end of his Atlantic piece, Karl gave a sympathetic slant to Barr's resignation as attorney general in late December, when Barr seemingly tried to leave on positive terms while separating himself from the disastrous efforts of Trump's inner circle to reverse the election result.
Barr almost immediately began to regret his decision to stay. His statement on election fraud did nothing to deter Trump, who was now listening, almost exclusively, to Giuliani and others outside his administration. They were telling him that he was still going to win the election.
Two weeks later, Barr went down to the White House to tell the president that he planned to resign before the end of the year. It was their first meeting since their confrontation. To defuse the tension, Barr had written an effusive resignation letter, which he handed to the president when he got to the Oval Office. The letter praised Trump's record and played directly into his complaints about how he had been treated by Democrats, saying his efforts "had been met by a partisan onslaught against you in which no tactic, no matter how abusive and deceitful, was out of bounds."
To be exact, those quotes came from the second paragraph of Barr's published resignation letter. However, Karl omitted the very first paragraph of the full letter, in which Barr continued to publicly dignify Trump's efforts to sow mistrust in the election:
I appreciate the opportunity to update you this afternoon on the Department's review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations will continue to be pursued. At a time when the country is so deeply divided, it is incumbent on all levels of government, and all agencies acting within their purview, to do all we can to assure the integrity of elections and promote public confidence in their outcome.
Nowhere in that paragraph did Barr acknowledge that these allegations of fraud were all "bullshit," as he now puts it, but instead stated they would "continue to be pursued" as a valid concern for the American public.
Karl could have held Barr accountable for that opening paragraph. Instead, his piece said nothing about it.
Instead, while guest anchoring on Sunday's edition of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Karl touted his own "amazing interview" in which Barr "talked about what he really thought of Donald Trump's claims of election fraud." (Notably, Karl also did not correct former Trump administration official Sarah Isgur's false claim during the subsequent panel discussion that the Mueller Report "for the most part" had exonerated the Trump campaign of collusion with Russia in 2016.)


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People work hard for their money every day, and many of these people do not have the privilege of having extra money to their names to do what they want. Being smart about your finances can open the door to extra money.
Naturally, being smart about your finances is no easy task, and most people do not bother because they never feel that it is worth it. However, being smart about your finances can open the door to extra money when people do this.
Behind every successful person is someone who budgets or helps them budget their money. Extra money is not a pipe dream. Budgeting is part of being smart about your finances. You never know inner peace until you have extra money leftover from bills.
Some people tend to undercut the concept of budgeting money, but it is budgeting that makes and break having extra money. Being smart about your finances can put you on the path to extra money. The extra spending money can be all a person needs to feel liberated.
Make sacrifices
One of the hardest things that people will ever do to have extra money is to make sacrifices, but that is what makes them smart about their finances. Let that $50 game or $100 sporting event ticket wait another two weeks.
Making sacrifices not only implies that one is smart about their finances, but the extra money will practically double. I cannot count on one hand how much extra money I have had because of the early month sacrifices that I have made.
Save money
Being smart about your finances is possible and saving money can make that goal even more reachable, it is always a good idea to save money because there are finances that might come up. You soon realize that the extra money that you have can save you.
I pride myself on being smart about my finances because I always seem to have extra money to do things such as buying myself a cheap video game or treating myself to lunch at Little Caesar's – there is no greater pleasure than that.
Cut down
Many people do not want to consider cutting down on certain things, but knowing when to cut down can make a considerable difference. If there is a cheaper package plan for something that you use then go with it. There is nothing wrong with paying less for anything.
Downgrading can be a little disheartening, but it was something that I did not mind doing when I was looking at almost a $100 grocery bill. Extra snack food had to be cut out, and it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Sometimes, it is necessary to cut down if it can get you extra money.
Saving money for something extra should be the goal of everyone who works, but it is not though. Some people never see extra money unless they are working a second job, the concept of extra money is not a non-existent one. People can have it as long as they are smart about their finances.
Article sources


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The Nobel committee has once again sparked controversy by choosing Austrian author Peter Handke, who has been accused of being an apologist for Slobodan Milosevic, for the 2019 literature prize.
Born to a German-Slovenian family near Austria's then-border with Yugoslavia, Mr Handke has argued that anyone in Milosevic's position "would have acted the same way" to protect his country's territory and people. He has reportedly disputed the massacres of Muslims by Serbian forces.
The Serbian president was indicted in 1999 for war crimes during the Kosovo war, including the deportation and genocide of thousands of ethnic Albanians, but died before a ruling was reached. "I don't know the truth. But I look. I listen. I feel. I remember. This is why I am here today, close to Yugoslavia, close to Serbia, close to Slobodan Milosevic," Mr Handke told a crowd of Serbian nationalists at Milosevic's funeral in 2006.
Kosovo's ambassador to the United States called Mr Handke's Nobel prize a "preposterous and shameful decision".
Several authors have criticised the selection, while Serbian media and Austria's president lauded it.
"This is Sweden today. An apologist of war crimes gets a Nobel prize while the country fully participated in the character assassination of the true hero of our times, Julian Assange," said left-wing Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
The Nobel committee said in its announcement that Mr Handke has "at times caused controversy" but was not politically outspoken in his writing, which "with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience".
It is the second year of scandal for the committee, which delayed the 2018 literature prize amid a controversy over its handling of rape allegations against the French husband of a Swedish academy member. It has also been accused of focusing on European and male writers.
Olga Tokarczuk, who has been targeted by Polish nationalists over her support for migration, was awarded the 2018 prize on Thursday.
Mr Handke, who once turned down a German literary award under pressure, has previously said he would never be given the Nobel prize due to his defence of Milosevic and even called for it to be abolished.


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Starting off on any RV adventure can be somewhat daunting, especially if it's your first time. There are a lot of ins and outs to be aware of, but once you get your first trip out of the way, you'll be RVing like a pro in no time!
We put together this resource guide to get you rolling right with things like RVing basics, campground reservations, and more.
RVing Basics
We have this whole section of our blog devoted to articles that feature tips and tricks for first-time RVers. Give that a gander to get you started.
From there, let's unpack the top five questions to ask yourself before launching an RV adventure:
- What type of RV do you want? Whether you want a campervan, Airstream, small motorhome, large motorhome, travel trailer, fifth-wheel, or something in between, we've got it for rent at Outdoorsy.
We also put together this guide that breaks down all the different RV types. - What type of RV is best for your trip and your experience level? While you might want to roll in a large motorhome, do you feel comfortable driving one?
Are you planning to camp at an RV park with hookups or do you need an RV that's ready to boondock (i.e. camping without water, electric, and sewer hookups)?
Would you rather tow a small camper with a vehicle you already have? Here's our list of micro campers that could do the job.
By doing advance planning regarding the type of outdoorsy adventure you want to have, your towing comfort level, and the RV that best fits that, you'll set yourself up for a fun and safe adventure. - Where do you plan to camp? RV parks feature amenities like hookups, dump stations, and clubhouses that can help ease you into RVing.
Public lands like national forests and national parks are epic but often don't feature developed sites, hookups, or dump stations. Check out our national and state park guides for more info.
Think over where you want to camp ahead of your trip for smooth sailing. - Who is coming with you? Couples RV travel is different from family RV travel both in terms of the type of RV you might take and the stuff you pack.
If you're renting an RV, be sure to check that it has ample space for everyone to hang out and sleep. Ensure the RV also includes any amenities you don't plan to pack (e.g. kitchen supplies). - How far do you plan to travel? Cross-country RV trips are a blast, but they can feel rushed if you don't have ample time to enjoy them.
If you only have a week, there's nothing wrong with an RVing staycation or nearcation to help you spend less time traveling and more time adventuring.
Campground reservations
RV Park Reviews – Before booking any campsite, always check RV Park Reviews to see what others had to say about their experience staying at the park you're interested in. Their best feature is the ability to see all the parks in a region in a very convenient map. That way you can pick your ideal location and start looking at parks nearby. Be advised that people have differing opinions about what constitutes a "good" or "bad" experience. Someone might rate a campground lower just because of a rude person at the front desk, instead of the actual campground. People also want different things when it comes to a park, like lots of amenities or complete solitude. Do a little research and don't be afraid to give the parks with lower ratings a shot. They might just be exactly what you're looking for.
Campendium – One of our favorite features about this site is the additional information about the level of cell service for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. It's one of the first things we look for before booking a campground, since we cannot camp without cell service. Also, if you join their mailing list, every week they send a newsletter with 5 star reviews from the past week and many of the locations that are featured look like the most amazing campsites you could ever find, so get ready to start adding to your "must-visit" list!
AllStays — As the name implies, this app lets you interact with every sort of camping stay imaginable. The AllStays app has scads of filters so you can pick the exact type of RV stay you want — be it a private park, state campground, public lands, and much much more.
As a bonus, AllStays also maps out dump stations, RV-friendly fuel stops, and low clearance areas.
Reserve America — Reserve America was one of the first places out there to offer travelers the option to book RV spots online. They've kept on growing over the years and can help you reserve campgrounds in advance wherever you roll.
Campspot — This new kid on the block has grown fast and now features a large catalog of RV parks, cabins, and more that can be booked right online.
Freecampsites.net – Displays BLM (Bureau of Land Management), Forest Service lands, WMA's (Wildlife Management Areas), and more. These are public lands that YOU, as a citizen, own. Take advantage of them by spending a week in the many gorgeous landscapes. Boondocking means you must be self-contained, so don't expect to find any hookups out there.
Harvest Hosts – Who wouldn't want to camp overnight in a vineyard, brewery, pristine golf course, or at a local farm? For a small annual fee, you can spend the night for free in an amazing location that you would never expect to camp in. Mostly, that's because the "sites" don't have any hookups and you can only stay for one night. Make sure to stop in to buy a bottle of wine or something from the shop at the farm. Doing so helps support the host for letting you stay the night.
Harvest Hosts also recently purchased Boondockers Welcome which has expanded their network to thousands more camp sites around the country.
These are the sorts of places you can park your RV with Harvest Hosts
All Stays – We mentioned this app above, but it bears repeating here. Picture this: you have a long drive in between destinations and you simply cannot drive any further. You're driving a large motorhome, so you can't just pull over anywhere. The All Stays app is the best resource to help you find a place to pull over for the night, whether it's in a Walmart parking lot, rest area, Cabela's parking lot, etc. The best part about the app is that people add their reviews and let you know if you can or cannot stay, where the best place to park is, etc. Even though the app says you can stay there, make sure you call ahead and get permission from the manager on duty. Even though the app says it's OK, sometimes there are signs that state no overnight parking. Some places, like casinos, ask you to come in and register with security and get a parking pass.
Dump stations
One of the most basic questions that comes from boondocking is "where do I dump my tanks?" The websites Sanidumps and RV dumps will give you a list of all the nearby dump stations and what kind of fee (if any) you'll find at each.
RVing with pets
Bring Fido – This will help you find all the local dog-friendly locations like dog parks and beaches. You can also find out which restaurants are pet friendly and if there are any events in the nearby area.
If you're RVing with your pets, make sure to check out our guide to camping with pets to get tips about how to keep your pets happy while on the road.
GasBuddy – This app will show you the least expensive gas along your route in both Canada and the USA, which will help you to save money while on the road. It will also locate diesel fuel and propane. It's a great resource to see where the upcoming gas stations are and also how much they are charging.
For a small monthly fee, you can even get a gas buddy debit card that'll pay for itself many times over via the additional savings you'll get.
Gas Station apps — Apps like the Flying J/Pilot app will give you fuel rewards for a specific network of filling stations. Many chains such as 7/11, Caseys, and grocery store gas stations also offer similar apps.
GasBuddy is generally our preferred choice because it features discounts at many different stations in one app.
Technomadia – Their website is a treasure trove of information about all your RV tech needs, especially the highly coveted unlimited internet connection. Their best resources are behind a member's only gateway, but even their free information is absolutely a must-read.
Mobile Internet Resource Center — The cats have been around for a long time and have the internet's most exhaustive hub for connection-hungry RVers. They'll help you figure out how to stay connected no matter where you find yourself.
Starlink for RVs — Starlink is SpaceX's answer to the internet. Musk and crew have been rapidly growing this network of low-flying internet satellites for the past few years and it has paid off handsomely for RVing folk.
While it doesn't yet cover everywhere, Starlink gets you a much better chance of coverage than cellular internet in many remote areas of the country and it's growing fast.
Roadside Attractions
Roadtrippers App — Billing themselves as the #1 road trip app, this tool will allow you to interactively plan a road trip with all the fun stops in between. Roadtrippers pride themselves on finding off-the-beaten path locations and feature fun-to-read guides about each destination.
Roadside America – This app will show you weird and fun attractions along your route. You might not know that you're driving right by the largest ball of yarn in the country! Having these random stops helps to break up the monotony of driving long distances. It also adds some unique destinations and memories to your trip.
Know before you go
If you're brand new to RVing, we highly recommend Alyssa Padgett's book – A Beginner's Guide to Living in an RV: Everything I Wish I Knew Before Full-Time RVing Across America. It is geared more towards the full-time RVer, but there are invaluable tips in there for everyone.
Now that you're ready to RV like a pro, go find your dream RV today!


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Summertime temperatures are very high and your air-conditioner is turned to maximum. Then, by looking at the new gallery "Jade In The Shade" 72 pictures of heavy natural breasted 38DDD Janet Jade, where she's wearing a very sexy light blue swimsuit and her chocolate body with killing natural shapes is covered with tiny droplets of water from the pool, you'll become even more hot and stuffy, no matter the air-conditioner shows 60 F. 😉
If you want to become even more warm and you're looking for even more hot photos, wait until July 31st – on the site of Scoreland will be the new summer outdoor gallery "No Bikini Top Can Support Them" (the title is very promising) of awesomely endowed big boobie girl Miosotis Claribel. With those images we guarantee a heatstroke! 😉
Download a zip file» of the entire photo set @ Scoreland!
pictures from: scoreland.com


text: Marches in the Quezon City district of Manila took place earlier today, whilst an online event ran simultaneously, both under the banner of #KliMalaya. This hashtag, along with #GlobalClimateMarch, were trending 5th and 7th respectively in the Philippines on Twitter by the end of the event. The protesters' core message was clear: "The ongoing climate negotiations in Glasgow are dangerously following previous patterns where the pledges were big but actions were lacking. Global leaders, particularly those from developed nations, should take action and deliver on their commitments and promises to address the growing climate crisis in the world."


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Shop Our Entire Collection of Graphic Print Leggings
Model is wearing a MEDIUM. Measurements are 32B x 24 x 35 and height is 5' 8" (172.7 cm)
We call this yummy style our Macaroon Leggings. Decorated with print of a colorful array of macaroon cookies, this leg fashion piece is sure to showcase your sweet side and bring fun colorful fashion into your life. You will love the soft polyester fabric blend that gives you all day comfort and has just the right amount of stretch to provide the most flattering fit.
- Imported
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- Ideal for Those with a Major Sweet Tooth
- Fun and Colorful Design
- Ultra Soft and Comfy Fabric
- Elastic Waistband
- 88% Polyester 12% Spandex
- Hand Wash or Professional Wash


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The ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Awards Competition Recognizes Engineering Achievements that Demonstrate the Highest Degree of Merit and Ingenuity
ZOOM Informational Session on Submitting for EEA: |
September 22, 2020, 10 AM Recording of this session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55lHW1Vbjzw&feature=youtu.be |
Entry Forms Due: | October 5, 2020, 5:30 PM |
Submissions Assistance Day where you can learn more about the Electronic Project Submission requirements: |
October 8, 2020, 9 AM - 10 AM
Project Submissions due on online portal: | October 28, 2020, 5:30 PM |
Presentation to judges (Finalists only): |
December 10, 2020
Finalists will be assigned a time for their presentation to the judges on Zoom
Eligible Entries due to ACEC National (Finalists plus Silver award winners are eligible): |
January 8, 2021 National Entry for reference only: https://docs.acec.org/pub/FA6D151F-EBA3-2D37-6587-BAD781A86D0A |
ACEC/MA 2020 and 2021 Engineering Excellence & Awards Gala: | June 30, 2021, Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel - we hope |
ACEC National 2021 Engineering Excellence Awards | April 27, 2021, Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, DC |
Questions? Contact Meghan Jones or Elizabeth Tyminski or call 617-227-5551
ACEC/MA members only pay the ACEC/MA member rate for registration. Check the ACEC/MA Member Directory to see if your firm is an ACEC/MA member. If your firm is an ACEC/MA member, you are a member.
Important: You must use the account, including the username and password, of the individual you wish to register.
Forgot your password? | Need an account?
IMPORTANT: Altering your name or contact information during registration will overwrite your record in our membership database. Please do not share your login information with anyone else.
If you have additional questions regarding registration, contact us at 617/227-5551 or email@example.com.
Registration is processed through the ACEC/MA associated website, www.engineers.org. ACEC/MA is supported by the staff of The Engineering Center Education Trust.


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How is your week going?
This is how mine went…
Yep, that's right… I let my daughter cut my hair. It was a fun time for us both. I posted the picture on my personal Facebook page (just for friends and family) and I got this comment on it:
"You didn't get any cool lightning bolts on the sides? How can we 10x our views when we don't 10x our hair, Tim? 😂"
It made me laugh that my friends and family know what I do and talk about all the time so well.
Even though I didn't 10x my hair… I do work with creators and brands every day to help them 10x their channel's results.
I've noticed 5 strategies across-the-board (regardless of niche) that every channel can implement to position themselves for massive growth.
Here are those strategies.
Create your "home base". If you're tired of hearing me talk about target audience and value proposition, there's a good chance this isn't strong enough in your business or channel. Who is the person who will binge your content? Who will be your raving fan? Who will your videos resonate the most with? Who is this person? Go to unsplash.com, find a stock photo of this person, name them, spend hours writing down who they are, what they love, what they hate, what they want, why they can't have what they want, and what would happen if they could get what they want. Only you can do this work. This will help you create videos that your viewer will feel like is hand-made for them.
Design your channel. It is such a great feeling when one of your videos takes off and performs better than you thought it would. When this happens, a new viewer may watch your video and be curious about you. They'll click on your channel page to see what other videos you have and what you're all about. You'll get 1-5 seconds for your viewer to "get" what you're about based off of the channel art, icon, channel trainer, about page, and the way your videos or playlists are structured. You want to make sure this is designed in a way that makes your viewer feel like your channel is for them.
Craft your videos to deliver value to your target audience. The viewing journey starts from the title and journal and goes to the end of the video and how well your viewer feels like you delivered the value you promised to based on your title and thumbnail. D'Laina, one of our strategists, talks more about how to craft videos for massive growth above.
Think about your community development strategy. In other words, how do you get someone to care about your videos? When building up your channel, it's important to get viewers to know, like, and trust you. There are tons of ways you can do this, but most importantly, make sure there's a human element to your videos and you're show-casing your personality in your videos.
Figure out your discovery strategy. What are some ways you can get new people to your content? Can you collaborate with other creators? What kind of trends can you take advantage of? Where are there areas or spaces you can enter with your videos?If you aren't sure how to implement or create these strategies, don't worry. That's why my team and I created the 30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel course.
In this course, we hold your hand and teach you step-by-step how to create value, design your channel, craft your videos, develop your community, and create a discovery strategy so you get massive growth on your videos!
Want to check the course out?
Go here.
Thanks for reading! I hope I see you in 30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel. If not, I just hope I see you soon.
Keep changing lives,


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China enters new stage in COVID-19 response
BEIJING, Dec. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's COVID-19 response:
Changes are taking place to China's COVID-19 response.
Now, efforts are being accelerated across the country to fully reopen the economy, and people are generally no longer required to present their nucleic acid test results when entering workplaces and public spaces or travelling to other regions. Meanwhile, many local governments have arranged charter planes to send business delegations overseas in pursuit of export orders, attracting widespread attention at home and abroad.
Since the beginning of this year, China has optimized its COVID-19 response several times, including shortening quarantine periods, canceling the "circuit breaker" mechanism for inbound flights, ending mass lockdowns and testing, and allowing home quarantine for those infected. With these steps, China has put more emphasis on protecting vulnerable groups such as the elderly and preventing serious cases and deaths. These moves indicate that the country has entered a new stage of coordinating socioeconomic development and epidemic control.
In this regard, some people comment that many countries had long relaxed their COVID-19 restrictions, and China, after three years of battling, finally had to abandon its stringent anti-virus controls in the face of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
It's important to mention that China's medical resources remain insufficient for its 1.4 billion population.
At the beginning of 2020, China went all out to contain the spread of the coronavirus through large-scale quarantine measures. In 2021, the country emphasized contact tracing and fought the delta variant by rapidly identifying those infected and figuring out the transmission chain, among other steps. And now in 2022 it is actively optimizing its response to match the features of the omicron variant. Over the past three years, the CPC and the Chinese government have been combating the virus while conducting research, and China's COVID-19 response has been enhanced.
We can also see that over the past three years, Chinese scientists have been working tirelessly, and developed a variety of vaccines. Now, over 90% of China is fully vaccinated and progress has also been made in the research and production of traditional Chinese medicines and other drugs to battle the disease.
What's more, over the past three years, whenever a major outbreak occurred, people from all walks of life, including community workers, delivery drivers and sanitation workers, stood by their posts, united and devoted. Millions of ordinary people have cooperated with the country's epidemic policies, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and getting more exercise. The public's knowledge of the virus and ability to cope with it have both improved.
Therefore, as the pathogenicity of the omicron variant weakens, China is optimizing its COVID-19 response. These adjustments are based entirely on the success of the prevention and control policies over the past three years. These refinements also reflect the will of the vast majority of the Chinese people.
Over the past three years, China's response to COVID-19 has protected people's lives to the greatest extent. We shouldn't deny our previous efforts just because of the current policy shift, just as we wouldn't say that the first four buns were unnecessary because we were full after eating the fifth one. We also have every reason to believe that the resilient Chinese people and China's complete industrial chain will be a strong guarantee for the country to better balance economic development and epidemic control and emerge from COVID-19 as soon as possible.
China Mosaic
China enters new stage in COVID-19 response
View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-enters-new-stage-in-covid-19-response-301710966.html
SOURCE China.org.cn


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The life of a sealed bearing is largely determined by its sealing performance. The commonly used bearing seal ring is a flanged frame, which is usually press-fitted by hand.
The main disadvantages are:
1. Poor elastic strength
2. Assembly performance is not good
3. Poor sealing performance.
The bearing dust-proof sealing ring adopts a hook-shaped curling structure, which has the following advantages compared with the prior art:
1. Good sealing performance and high sealing strength, because the hook-shaped crimping structure of the skeleton effectively increases the elasticity of the seal ring, and maximizes the compensation for the effect of the size difference of the tooth mouth. It not only depends on the elasticity of the sealing elastomer, but also the crimping The elasticity and strength effect of the structure improve the qualification rate of the cap, and can be mechanically pressed to effectively compact.
2. In order to reduce the wear of bearing parts, maintain the accuracy and stability of bearings, and extend the service life, bearing steel should have good wear resistance.
3. Bearings with sealing rings can prevent the invasion of dirt tightly. The appropriate amount of lubricant has been filled at the factory. No cleaning is required before installation and no additional lubricant is required.
4. When the jack screw on the protruding end of the bearing inner ring is tightened on the shaft. The allowable axial load must not exceed 20% of the rated dynamic load.


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Federation quickstart
Part 3 - Working with subgraphs
A service that you want to act as a subgraph can use any GraphQL server that supports Apollo Federation. This includes Apollo Server, along with the servers listed in
1. Configure Apollo Server
If you're using a GraphQL server besides Apollo Server, consult its documentation to learn how to configure it for use as a federated service.
If you have an existing GraphQL API that uses Apollo Server, you can use that server as a subgraph with the @apollo/subgraph
library. You can get started with
First, install the @apollo/subgraph
library in your project:
npm install @apollo/subgraph
Next, import the buildSubgraphSchema
function in the file where you initialize ApolloServer
const { buildSubgraphSchema } = require('@apollo/subgraph');
Finally, modify your ApolloServer
constructor by passing it a schema
option instead of typeDefs
and resolvers
, like so:
const server = new ApolloServer({schema: buildSubgraphSchema({ typeDefs, resolvers })});
(As shown, you now pass your typeDefs
and resolvers
to buildSubgraphSchema
And that's it! You can now perform all of the same subgraph setup on your own service (introspection, schema registration, etc.) that you did with the Apollo-hosted services we used in the first two parts. Refer to those parts for guidance.
2. Learn about federated entities
In a federated graph, each subgraph's schema can refer to types and fields in another subgraph's schema.
Consider the Product
type in our composed supergraph schema from
type Product {id: ID! @join__field(graph: PRODUCTS)title: String @join__field(graph: PRODUCTS)# ...more fields...reviews: [Review] @join__field(graph: REVIEWS)}
As the federation-specific @join__field
directive suggests, these three fields of the same type are defined across two different subgraphs!
This is possible because our products
subgraph schema defines the Product
object type as an entity. Entities are objects that other subgraphs can extend with additional fields.
It makes logical sense that the reviews
field of a Product
should be resolved by the reviews
subgraph instead of the products
subgraph. This reflects the design principle of
3. Try out schema checks
After you've registered your first subgraph schema, you can try out one of Apollo Studio's most powerful features: schema checks.
Schema checks are a paid feature of Apollo Studio. You can try them out with a free trial of a Team plan.
With schema checks, you can check whether some changes you want to make to your schema will affect any of the clients that use your graph. This feature is at its most powerful in your CI/CD environment, where you can automatically detect breaking schema changes before they're deployed to production.
- Learn about the basics of schema checks
- Learn about using schema checks with Apollo Federation
- Learn how to use Rover in a CI/CD environment
Congratulations, you've completed the federation quickstart! If you have any feedback or suggestions for this tutorial, please click Rate article on the right.


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Join Frank Everett at Home as he surveys highlights from Sotheby's Fine Jewels sale. This online auction includes a stunning selection of signed pieces – including dramatic statement necklaces by Bulgari a gorgeous pair of Graff chandelier earrings and a delightful pair of leaf motif earrings by Verdura. To bid now in Fine Jewels Online, which is open until 29 April 2020, click here.
Frank's Files: Working from Home - Collection Essentials in London Fine Jewels
Online |


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You are cordially invited to participate in the 2022 Nordic Ergonomics and Human Factors Society (NES) Annual Conference in Uppsala, Sweden, 23-25 October 2022!
We invite abstracts for oral presentations and proposals for special sessions and workshops. Submission and review of papers for NES 2022 will be managed through the EasyChair conference system. We have now extended the deadline for abstract submission to 14 March.
Sign up for a mailing list to receive news and updates about the conference and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Kind regards,
NES Organising Committee
Warm welcome to participate in the 51st NES Conference, 23-25 October 2022 in Uppsala, Sweden!
The NES 2022 Conference invites you to explore and discuss the role of ergonomics and HF/E professionals in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world.
Contributions are accepted from researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. We expect a wide participation from all over the world. Welcome to join the discussions and knowledge sharing.
The NES 2022 Conference is arranged by the Swedish Ergonomics and Human factors Society (EHSS), together with Uppsala University.
EHSS is a federated member of The Nordic Ergonomics and Human Factors Society (NES) that was founded in 1969 and represents the professional interest of about 1400 members from the five Nordic countries. NES is a member of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).
We welcome submissions of scientific posters and papers, practitioners reports as well proposals for special sessions and workshops. For further details, see our call for papers, where you will also find a link to submit your work. If you don't have an EasyChair account yet, you will be prompted to create one.
Important dates and deadlines
14 March 2022: NEW EXTENDED Deadline for abstract submission for posters and papers as well as practitioners reports
14 March 2022: NEW EXTENDED Deadline for submission of proposals for special sessions and workshops.
29 April 2022: Notification of review outcome
29 May 2022: Deadline for full papers, revised abstracts and practitioners reports
29 June 2022: Notification of review outcome
29 July 2022: Deadline for final paper
NES 2022 will take place at Norrlands Nation Fest & Konferens. Do not hesitate to take a virtual tour through this beautiful venue from 1889 located in the heart of the city of Uppsala.
More information will come soon.
Destination Uppsala
Visit Sweden
Uppsala Cathedral is Scandinavia's largest and tallest church
Take a stroll in a park in the city or visit the Botanical Garden


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The feigned outrage in Berlin — but mostly in Paris — at the US's proxy use of Denmark's intelligence services to intercept submarine cable traffic to spy on European leaders raises more than a wry smile. Allies have always spied on allies for legitimate reasons. Few have done so, and continue to do so, as much as the French.
As president of France and commander-in-chief of the French armed forces, Emmanuel Macron will be perfectly aware of this. The French foreign intelligence service, DGSE, runs an interception program on submarine cables that listens in to potential enemies and friends in similar fashion to the National Security Agency or Britain's GCHQ.
The French army's Emeraude program intercepts and deciphers rivals and friends' encrypted international diplomatic and industrial communications from its listening posts around the world on remnants of the French empire. Indeed France is a member of the second most important western signals intelligence network known as 'Nine Eyes'. Its partners, other than the Famous Five, are the Netherlands, Norway and…Denmark.
For someone with such an acute sense of history, Macron knows that France has a long history of intercepting and decoding friends and allies' diplomatic traffic, or 'safecracking' their embassies. And the French have been excellent at it, partly as a result of their high-grade mathematicians able to crack sophisticated diplomatic codes.
Before World War One, the French were reading the diplomatic traffic of most of the European powers. In the 1920s, the French and British regularly intercepted and deciphered each other's diplomatic correspondence.
In the late 1930s, with the prospect of war, the French (and British) wished to know whether they could enlist the US as an ally in an eventual war against Germany. It motivated them to bug and 'safe-crack' American embassies in Paris, London and elsewhere. From 1937, French intelligence services spied on France's quasi-ally Belgium to discover how her recent declaration of neutrality might impact France in the event of war. These examples hint at why states spy on their friends and allies.
In the same way that nature abhors a vacuum, states abhor surprise. They seek to guard against a surprise move from their potential enemies, but also their allies, through intelligence gathering.
Lord Palmerston's words of realpolitik hint at the problem:
'We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and these interests it is our duty to follow.'
Wars are usually fought as coalitions; they are inter-allied. In peacetime, you build alliances for the eventuality of war. But is it not legitimate for a state to wish to know whether your ally, or potential ally, is dependable and loyal? Should they not seek to know whether their political commitment to take up arms is credible, whether their armed forces and economy are up to the job?
In short, is it not fair game to wish to know the strengths and weaknesses of your ally before it is too late? The great fifth century BC strategist Sun Tzu taught us in his Art of War to know oneself before you know your enemy. Are allies not an extension of ourselves?
Of course, embassies, defense attachés and liaison officers exist to communicate with one's allies and uncover their true nature. But such honorable emissaries cannot always divine the true weaknesses of an ally or know the extent to which the information they share is objective. In 1939, Churchill reckoned France had the greatest army in Europe and France signed a pact with London not to make a separate peace…
In alliances, whatever the common aim, individual states still have different interests, different timescales for achieving them and different breakpoints.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Dutch intelligence services were more preoccupied with spying on Nato members than Warsaw Pact states precisely to gauge their reliability. The German foreign intelligence service, the BND, also spied on US politicians under Obama, apparently preoccupied with Washington's commitment to Nato. Today, how should the US feel about German politicians continued support for Nord Stream 2? This is where spying on friends and allies finds its justification.
Then there is the question of uncovering espionage within an alliance. The Cambridge Five spy ring did enormous damage not just to the UK, but to US and Nato interests. Should allies be allowed to monitor their partners in order to seek out potential foreign spies and test their systems? This would seem to be fair game among Five Eyes partners. Better to have the Americans spying on you than the Russians or Chinese.
Spying among friends and allies is commonplace. The moral shock from European political leaders is confected and hypocritical — and particularly so from one of the world's foremost intelligence powers with a long history of spying on friends, France.
This article was originally published on The Spectator's UK website.


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Lessons of Life
Learned an important lesson yesterday, after a movie evening with friends:
You can't strut, if you need to really, really, really pee.
I think the correct order of words would be, really really really need to pee..I'm a hairsplitter I know :)--Dicell, 13-Apr-2005
Of course, I was very, very, very drunk.
--JanneJalkanen, 13-Apr-2005
At least you have that as your defence ;)
--Dicell, 13-Apr-2005
More info...
Back to weblog
"Main_blogentry_100405_1" last changed on 10-Apr-2005 23:04:16 EEST by JanneJalkanen. |


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With each year comes legislative changes that could affect your payroll. To ensure your payroll is accurate and that you remain compliant, it's important to keep up with the latest federal, state and local requirements. In case you missed them, here's a roundup of the major changes impacting the payroll world in 2021.
1. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans
As you may have heard, Congress approved a $900 billion COVID relief package, which includes $284.45 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP loans are forgiven if funds are used for eligible expenses, including payroll, rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and personal protection equipment and supplies. To learn more about eligibility details and to apply through our partners at Adesso capital, visit their PPP overview page.
2. Minimum wage rates
Federal minimum wage will stay at $7.25 in 2021. However, many states have increased their rates to a level that's higher than the federal minimum wage rate (here's where each state stands). Employers must comply with the highest applicable minimum wage — whether that's the federal, state, county or city level — so be sure you're aware of the laws that apply to you.
3. Labor law posters
The Department of Labor (DOL) requires employers with at least one employee to display federal and state labor law posters in plain view for employees. Ensuring you update your posters annually is step one. But, with more employees working remotely these days, it's also a good idea to distribute postings via alternative methods like an employee portal or email.
To help you stay on top of your poster requirements, we recommend leveraging a service that (at a minimum) provides you with updated labor law posters. There are also subscription-based services, such as the E-Update Service we offer our clients, which includes:
- Annual delivery of state and federal labor law posters
- Updated postings sent via email for easy printing and distribution (includes every mandatory or recommended federal, state, city and county compliance change)
- Protection in the event of a government fine or penalty (up to $25,000)
4. Social Security wage base
The Social Security wage base increased from $137,700 in 2020 to $142,800 in 2021. For annual salaries up to $142,800, both the employer and employee must pay a 6.2% Social Security tax, which is flat with 2020. Social Security tax rates are automatically updated in our Payroll system to ensure that the correct calculations and withholdings occur.
5. Workers' compensation premiums
Every state has their own laws around workers' compensation. Your premium rate may increase, decrease, or stay the same depending on your state, business classification code and industry group. Check at the state level to confirm your 2021 premium rate. Note, many states have tools that allow you to search for your rate based on your classification code. Here's an example of a search tool available via the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB).
6. Retirement contribution limits
Each year, the Treasury Department adjusts annual retirement contribution limits based on inflation. In 2021, employees can contribute the same amount as 2020 ($19,500) to their 401(k). However, the total 401(k) limit, which includes employee elective deferrals and employer contributions, has increased from $57,000 to $58,000. The limit for IRA contributions remains unchanged at $6,000. Here's a summary, including annual compensation limits:
7. Health savings account limits (HSA)
If you offer employees a high deductible healthcare plan (HDHP) with an HSA option, you should note that contribution limits have increased 1.41% for individual and family plans. Below is additional information regarding HSA year-over-year changes:
8. State unemployment tax rate
Unlike some taxes, state unemployment taxes do not have a standard rate. Each state sets a different range, but your state (or states) will inform you of your tax rate and any rate updates that occur. You will likely need to communicate changes and confirm rates with your payroll provider, so you can ensure proper employer contributions are made.
Note: If you work with B2E Solutions and have employees working in Wisconsin, we obtain annual rates from the state on your behalf. If you pay unemployment outside of Wisconsin, you'll want to confirm the state rate and send it to your client service representative (CSR) or email it to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Stay informed about future payroll changes
In addition to the changes discussed above, there may be additional legislative updates announced later this year. To ensure you stay up to date on the latest and greatest, we recommend checking out, subscribing, following, and bookmarking payroll sites and organizations that routinely share payroll-related news. Just remember to always consult a legal professional if you have any questions on new laws that may impact your business.
To get you started and help you stay in the know, we've compiled a list of our top 11 go-to payroll resources. Click here to check them out.
Note: This article was originally published in 2019 and was updated in 2020 and again in 2021 to reflect the most up to date information.


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1K20 revenue topped expectations. MTS 1Q20 IFRS revenue was above consensus. Revenue was 120 bln roubles. (+8.9% y-o-y; -5.9% q-o-q), OIBDA - 51.5 (+1.6% y-o-y; -0.2% q-o-q), net profit - 17.7 bln roubles. (+0.6% y-o-y vs. 5.5 bln roubles in 4Q19).
Top management comments suggest the stock may be seen as a defensive asset, which is one of the most important points made during the results webcast
Amid volatility and low oil prices, it is still reasonable to opt for defensive stocks.
We believe the forecast looks positive, underscoring the sector's stability amid crisis. Telecom services and access to content are the last things consumers may drop. The company has also sold its assets in Ukraine in 4Q19, countering these risks.
It should be reminded that MTS' net debt is under control and amounted to 284 bln roubles in 1Q20, up from 280.5 bln roubles in 4Q19. Almost the entire debt (98%) is denominated in roubles. Net debt/LTM OIBDA was 1.6x in 1Q20, up from 1.5x in 4Q19.
MTS said it has no plans to revise its dividends due to coronavirus.
The MTS Board of Directors approved the dividends policy for 2019-2021 that sets the payouts at 28 roubles per common share (56 roubles per ADR) annually at least.
A) We would like to remind that the board recommended that the AGM approve dividends of 20.57 roubles per ordinary MTS share (6.1% dividend yield). The record date for shareholders and ADR-holders entitled to receive dividends for the 2019 fiscal year is set for July 9, 2020.
B) It is likely that the level of dividends may decline, but it will remain decent in 2020, at around 8% (traditionally, a lower dividend may come in the first half of the year and a higher one in the second half).
In 2019, MTS paid 29.3 roubles per share (8.6% dividend yield), a total of 58 bln roubles (excluding special dividends), half of which were paid to Sistema. Dividends for 1H20 may be announced in August, the end of 2Q20.
We would like to remind that the controlling shareholder - Sistema - needs MTS dividends: (1) 23 bln roubles and 10 bln roubles of debt needs to be paid in 2020 and 2021 respectively; (2) Commercial and management costs in 2019 amounted to about 13 bln roubles.
In the current crisis, investors opt for high dividend stocks. After cut-offs for 2019, dividends may remain on investors' radars in 2020 too. However, new sectors may take over leadership in terms of attractive dividend yields, as most cyclical industries may suffer during the crisis. MTS is one of those stocks that will provide an attractive dividend yield in 2020 as well.
Source: The Moscow Exchange
The company repurchased 0.08% of its shares in 2Q20 (as of May 22) at an average price of 308.5 roubles per share (current price 336 roubles), having spent 480 mln roubles. On March 31, the company launched a buyback programme worth 15 bln roubles. The buyback provides for the purchase of shares from Sistema Finance (a parent company) as well.
Several telecom operators, including Rostelecom, Veon and MTS, said in the recent weeks market players have been acting reasonably during the crisis. The companies have made a bet on efficiency and business profitability instead of subscriber base ramp-up. The market will benefit if companies continue to act in a unified manner.
The operators may opt for a moderate increase in telecom services tariffs.
After completion of the merger with Rostelecom, Tele2, which has traditionally pursued an aggressive subscriber base growth policy, plans to gradually move away from the discounter model.
All these measures will help to offset the negative trends of the crisis: migration from mobile Internet to fixed-line telephony, outflow of people from cities into the regions with a lower 4G availability, a decrease in high-yield roaming.
MTS is planning to close some 400 retail outlets in 2020 to optimize its business. In 1Q20 the company wound down 170 stores. The company closed more retail outlets than originally planned due to the pandemic.
The operational reduction of the retail chain is a positive development in terms of profitability management. An alternative would be to support a loss-making retail chain during the crisis.
By the mid-May SIM-cards sales dropped 20% against March, smartphones sales tumbled 25%. In April, the sales were down 35% and 40% respectively. In April, 55% of MTS shops were closed, by the mid-May 75% of MTS retail outlets were opened. The current retail environment will slow down subscribers growth and will have a negative impact on revenue, which was probably reflected in the company's lower forecast. Nevertheless, this is a common trend for the entire market.
Earlier media reported that Veon may drop retail business in Russia and transfer it to franchise partners. The trend to reduce participation in the retail business began in 2019: MTS and Megafon have also announced closures of several hundreds of shops.
Attractiveness of retail business will only decrease following rouble depreciation in 1Q20. Online sales of smartphones is also in line with the current retail trends, which came to the fore amid total quarantine.
MTS develops various businesses - from fintech to online retail and online TV. Business diversification will provide further support to the operator's growth in the future, after the crisis is over, when defensive qualities of the sector will no longer be an advantage, and the issue of moderate growth rates will arise.
However, it should be noted that due to the increased reserves in MTS bank OIBDA and net profit in 2Q20 will come under some pressure. In our opinion, the management's lower OIBDA forecast already reflects this moderate negative trend.
At the meeting of the Board of Directors held on May 21, 2020 the following candidates from different prospective new business areas were nominated for election to the Board at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders scheduled for June 24, 2020:


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Business Manager Tony Sapienza
Changes in Union Leadership
Tony Sapienza took over as the Business Manager/Financial Secretary with the retirement of Dick Rogers, effective October 1,
2020. He was unopposed in the Union election held this summer. Brother Sapienza had served as Assistant Business Manager for New
Hampshire the previous two years. He realizes that taking over from Dick Rogers will be a tough act to follow.
"Dick left some big shoes to fill and I'm glad that he has offered to continue to work with us and provide advice when we need it," Sapienza said. "I'm grateful for the mentoring and confidence he has provided me.
Tony is on a leave of absence from Eversource NH, where he began work as a System Electrician for Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) nearly 35 years ago.
Brother Sapienza has also served his union as an E-Board member, a Chief Steward and as Unit 2 (Manchester) Recording Secretary for over 20 years. He has also served as an Alderman for the City of Manchester since 2015.
"I've always been grateful to my union for the wages that allowed me to raise four kids," Tony said. "The union paycheck made a big difference to my family."
When he's not working for our members, Tony and his wife Shirley enjoy Maine beaches, good food, family and friends.
Renee Gilman has beeen appointed as the new Assistant Business Manager for IBEW Local #1837 by Business Manager Tony Sapienza after serving for five years as a Business Representative for the Union under Dick Rogers.
Before taking a position on the Union's staff, Sister Gilman worked for 20 years in Customer Service at Bangor Hydro and Emera Maine, which is now Versant. She helped negotiate contracts under three IBEW Business Managers while there and served as a Steward and Recording Secretary for Unit 10. Renee grew up in a Union family and says being Union is a core value for her, and it's how she's raised her kids.
"My husband Aaron is a Lead Working Mechanic at Versant, and he's been a Steward for years," Renee said. "I think it's crucial for all of us to make sure our families and our young people, understand the importance of Unions, especially in the midst of this pandemic. If there's any doubt, just look at who became "essential employees" when everything else shut down."
When not working, Renee and her husband Aaron (seen here) enjoy fishing, snowsledding, and being in the woods