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Firefox 21 and 22 freezes computer
Comment from a forum moderator
This thread at
present one time had over 200 metoo votes and nearly 7.5k 24k views. So no one is saying there is not a real problem needing addressing.
Some of you may be interested in my (very long explanation) post lower down in this thread link or the short but sharp LINK ~J99
2nd edits updated figures and links ~J99
I have the problem that lately Firefox keeps freezing/hanging my computer, making it totally unresponsive, the only fix is a hard reboot. The freeze often occurs just moments after I start the browser and go to a website, which site I visit does not seem to matter. Sometimes it has seemed about to freeze, lagging the cursor, but then catching up and making it.
I've just tried using IE instead, and I have no freezes. But I would very much like to fix this problem and get back to using Firefox.
I updated Firefox from version 21 to the most current 22, no difference. I've also tried updating Flash Player and when that did nothing I disabled all plugins, nothing as well. I've run a full anti-virus scan, so it's likely not a virus. I've also tried reinstalling my Graphic Card drivers, with no result.
The computer is my HTPC and is thusly connected to a 46" TV. I run with 150% DPI scaling in Windows 7 to be able to see text better. Since it's my HTPC I don't use the computer every day, so the most recent driver change I've done was updating my Graphic Card drivers, but if it's connect I can't say since reinstalling the driver again did nothing.
Specs: OS: Windows 7 64-bit Barebone: Shuttle FZ68 CPU: Intel i3 2100 3.10 GHz RAM: 8GB DDR3 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB
Modified by John99
All Replies (20)
Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.
(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)
- You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.
Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.
To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.
Thank you.
Hello, FYI
I try to start firefox (22) in safe mode and the freezing problem is still here. The browser freeze when after call to multipart/data form. It seems to be released after a timeout (aprox 30s -1 min).
With aurora 21.0.a2 the problem does not occur, as for other browsers.
Modified by +glop
Seems like this bug
(still unsolved): https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=859038
If you have the same problem, consider voting up that bug.
Comment by a forum moderator. I have put a line through some of the above. That bug and some related bugs are resolved i.e.the known issues seem to have been fixed. There is now no point in voting in those bugs. ~J99
Modified by John99
Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches.
You might need to restart Firefox in order for this to take effect, so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).
Then perform these steps:
- Click the orange Firefox button at the top left, then select the "Options" button, or, if there is no Firefox button at the top, go to Tools > Options.
- In the Firefox options window click the Advanced tab, then select "General".
- In the settings list, you should find the Use hardware acceleration when available checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
- Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.
Additionally, please check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in the following Knowledge base articles:
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!
Thank you.
Ok, I followed your instructions and it made no difference. Thank you for the suggestion. Judging from the comments on the Bugzilla board, this is a very specific bug that is reproducible by many users. It may require a code change and update rather than fiddling on the users' end. Or perhaps there is a bug in the most recent Java version? Firefox runs on Java, yes?
Hi NerdyTechie, I think there might be two different problems being discussed in this thread:
(1) Original issue that Firefox freezes Windows after starting the browser;
(2) Second issue that when you resume Windows from "sleep", that Firefox 21 is unresponsive for a long period of time (but other applications are not affected).
Which problem do you have?
For what it's worth, Firefox does not run on Java and you do not need the Java plugin for most sites.
Modified by jscher2000
Hi Aethyr, could you also undertake these prophylactic steps that address the most common issues with the Flash player plugin. I'm sure you've seen some of it before, but just in case:
(1) Make sure all recorders/downloaders that interact with Flash media are as up-to-date as possible, or disable them.
(2) Disable hardware graphics acceleration in Firefox and in Flash
(A) In Firefox, [as noted in a previous post] un-check the box here and restart:
orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > General > "Use hardware acceleration when available"
(B) In Flash, see this support article from Adobe: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/video-playback-issues.html#main_Solve_video_playback_issues
(3) Disable protected mode (Windows Vista/7/8)
See this support article from Adobe under the heading "Last Resort": Adobe Forums: How do I troubleshoot Flash Player's protected mode for Firefox?
Thanks for the prompt reply. I should have included the bug report I was talking about. It's this one: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=859038 If the computer falls asleep with Firefox open, then upon awakening, has a problem refreshing the UI. Clicking the systray a couple of times forces a single refresh but the problem continues. I can quit Firefox normally, choose close all tabs, and when I reopen Firefox I can choose to restore the prior session and everything works fine. This is definitely related to something that is happening when the computer either falls asleep or wakes from sleep.
Your problem is off topic for this thread. Please start a new thread or join a discussion about Firefox being unresponsive after resuming from "sleep".
Disabling graphics hardware acceleration; Seems to be the solution to my problem, Thanks.
Modified by +glop
OOps - my bad. I read so many threads that I thought this was another one of them. I'll stick to bugzilla thread then. Thanks for the heads-up.
To the original poster with the problem, i had the same issue just tonight 7/9 and fixed it.
The problem was my computer asked me to update my Adobe Flash Player. I did so but it didn't install saying 'action list not found'. I am on Windows 7 btw. Then when I tried to run FF 22, it would just hang and I would need to kill my computer and turn it back on. I tried my other browsers such as Chrome and IE and same thing, when it tried to load a page, whole computer froze and i had to turn off turn on the computer to get it back up.
I uninstalled FF and then used IE to download Flash Player. I got the same error with the 'action list not found' but directed me to a troubleshooting page. I did a search on 'actionlist not found' error, and it had a direct download link to flash thru IE. I did that, installed the newest version of Flash and it didnt give me the actionlist error.
Then I used Chrome, opened the browser, went to a page, then it froze on me again, but this time I let it run, and some window popped up for split second so I didnt know what it said, but then the webpage unfroze and everything was back to normal. I then redownloaded FF and it has been working without the freezing problem ever since.
I hope this helps.
Not too sure your solution is likely to work for everyone.
It may be noted that FlashPlayer is separate on Firefox IE & Chrome. It is totally different software on IE Firefox & Chrome. I am not sure however if some of the installers may be able to update Firefox & IE at the same time. The Flash Player for Chrome is integrated with Chrome and will update separately.
(As an aside IIRC it may actually be possible to run the Chrome plugin in Firefox under linux, but it that is obviously not supported and is not something I have ever tried)
I've had this problem too, have been keeping flash and flash player up to date. I've disabled the 'use hardware acceleration where possible' option and will notify if this seems to fix the problem. Using Firefox 22.0 Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
Modified by Tikaro
Recently I had been having this problem also. I tried disabling all add-ons and still I had this issue. Finally I disabled the "Java Deployment Toolkit" plugin and that appears to have solved my problem. Previously I wasn't able to go 20 minutes before a lockup and now I haven't had one in several hours.
As an added bonus that plugin is no to be vulnerable so I also increased the security of my system!
I am running Windows 7 and have experienced Firefox 22 hanging after wakeup as well. I found that if I click a tab on the hung page I get no response other than the titlebar changes to the title of the page associated with that tab. But if I click a menu item like TOOLS after I click the tab the page refreshes with the page of the last tab I clicked. None of the links work on the page. The menu items drop down, the submenus are active but clicking on one does nothing
Hi page1, the problem of Firefox taking an excessively long time to wake up from sleep should be fixed in Firefox 23 (coming August 6th). If you want to try Firefox 23 now, you can install it from the beta page here:
Before doing that, you might want to make a backup of your personal settings folder (AKA your Firefox profile folder) just in case something goes wrong. This article has some tips on that: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
Recent Firefox freeze my computer's manage (windows explorer) frequently. When it happens, the taskbar locked with busy cursor, you can not access it anymore, start button, running tasks etc all locked. I can bring up the task process explorer (a better version of task manager) by press CTRL+ALT+DEL and can kill all the live processes except firefox. When it locked the windows Explorer, FireFox can not be killed. I even can not kill the Explorer.
Some time the explorer is not frozen, but the problem came from logout, whenever I try to shutdown the machine, it hangs on there forever, and again it is firefox locked on background and obviously windows can not shut it down.
The aggressive updates/upgradings of FF are not good. It simple broken what was working and introduced more problems. I do not think aggressive upgrading will bring more users, actually it is killing Firefox cause upgrading causes more problems than the features added in.
FF has plenty of features already, and most of user even do not uses half of them. So why FF is trying to add more features by broken it? Stability is much more important.
Hi wgm192, does this problem occur when you interact with Windows to upload, save, or download files? I don't want to torment you with having to restart over and over, but if you can find a pattern to what Firefox is doing when it locks up, that would be helpful in tracking down the cause of it.
Meanwhile, it might be helpful to run Firefox in its Safe Mode. The disadvantage is that your extensions are disabled. More info: Troubleshoot Firefox issues using Safe Mode.
You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using
Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
In the dialog, click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset)
Or, if Firefox not running, hold down the Shift key when starting it to call up the Safe Mode dialog.
Hi jscher2000,
Recently, I did download and upload files quite often.
But I noticed the previous version had problem of hang up on FlashPlayer, it looks different from current case, it locked up whole screen with CPU usage running high for about 5 seconds (or longer), then pop up a prompt windows saying that the flashplayer plug-in crashed. When that happened, Windows also could not be log off and be shutdown, and the FireFox process also could not be killed even windows comes back to 'alive' .
After upgraded to latest version, it doesn't lock whole screen anymore , nor will it show the flashplayer crashing window. When Firefox had problem and stuck in background running, I even do not notice that, because all running program still running well except the explorer task bar area, When I move mouse to task-bar and see the busy running cursor , then I know something happened..
If I noticed something new, I'll send it to you.
OS : Vista FF version: 23.0.1 CPU : core 2 duo. ..


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Resources for Addressing Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Your Classroom
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text:
(The Root) —
"I'm a well-known writer of women's fiction. I want to incorporate black characters into my books. How does a white woman write black women correctly? For example, is it disrespectful to have a black woman have a bit of a thing for white men? What's the best way to introduce a black female character in a book? Do I write something like, 'Despite being African American, Carissa found blond men attractive'? Or something like, 'Right or wrong, Carissa loved white boys and had picked one out to take home with her'?
"There's a sad dearth of people of color in romantic fiction. I doubt it's racism. I think it's mainly because so many white writers, like me, simply don't know how to get it right, so we stay in our comfort zone. Any advice?" —Too White to Write?
If, by saying you want to write black women "correctly," you mean "in a way that's guaranteed not to inspire any complaints, constructive critiques or outright criticism," you should probably just stick to your genre's safely monochromatic cast of characters.
After all, views on depictions of black women in media are as diverse as their audiences. We aren't all alike, and our assessments of whether your book should be awarded a Nobel Prize or used for kindling won't be, either.
Of course, you're right to anticipate heightened sensitivity surrounding the characters you're contemplating, and that's with good reason. Quick background reading assignment: Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman. In it, author Lakesia Johnson chronicles how figures from Sojourner Truth to Gabby Douglas have had to counteract media-fueled negative stereotypes thrust upon them (angry, emasculating, Mammy and sex object, to name a few).
You're probably familiar with those tropes, and with reactions to works like Kathryn Stockett's The Help, the novel-turned-blockbuster film about African-American maids working in Mississippi in the 1960s.
"Despite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers," the Association of Black Women Historians said in a scathing statement in response to the film, adding that it "makes light of black women's fears and vulnerabilities turning them into moments of comic relief."
To be fair, black writers don't get a pass here, either. The ABC series Scandal, brought to us by Shonda Rhimes (and currently causing between-seasons withdrawal symptoms among plenty of African-American viewers), has been accused of "send[ing] the message through its high-powered protagonist that black women don't deserve loving and healthy relationships," and "continuing perpetuation of the stereotype of a black woman whose libido and sexual urges are so pronounced that even with an education and a great job, and all these other things, she can't control herself."
And there's not even room to get into all the ubiquitous teardowns of the work of Tyler Perry. As the Washington Post's Vanessa Williams put it very diplomatically, his "films are often criticized for their cartoonish depiction of African-American life and, especially, his depiction of black women as either abused, struggling beings who are rescued by good men or ambitious shrews who are brought low by bad men." Plenty of others take it a step further and call his portrayals flat-out "dangerous."
Clearly, there's no box to check and no source of permission that will guarantee your work doesn't offend a single reader. But does that mean you should abandon your interest in making black women your protagonists and even — gasp — protagonists who are attracted to white men? (I can assure you, that's probably not as controversial as you think it is, Scandal being one example.)
No way, says Marita Golden, author of a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction, including Skin Deep: Black Women and White Women Write About Race. "White people, because of the emotional legacy as well as the historical and political legacy of racism, often feel that they do not have access to the black soul and the black spirit," she told me, "but I think writers have the right to write about anything." In fact, she said, "I really feel that white people should write about black characters."
But the key is that "comfort zone" you mention. You have to get there well before you put pen to paper.
The best way for you to do that, said Golden, is to "stop saying to yourself, 'I'm writing about a black woman.' Just write about a woman."
Easier said than done, surely. That's the reason "write what you know" is a literary cliché. And also the reason that Girls creator Lena Dunham decided to skip including women of color in her show altogether (she stopped short of renaming the show White Girls as some have recommended), telling NPR in 2012 that "there has to be specificity to that experience [that] I wasn't able to speak to."
So here's a start. Develop relationships that will allow you to become confident that can begin to speak to that experience, because you know African-American women as individuals. "Usually, white people who write meaningful books with black characters, they do have black people in their lives who they know deeply and respect," said Golden. To be clear, that's "as friends, not as research. Serious, meaningful, complete friendships with black people."
This is your first step toward allowing your new characters to emerge more naturally. Not as science projects, in which you're cautiously throwing in different ingredients and trying to predict the public reaction. And not through some sort of literary quota system. But by keeping their individual dilemmas, not demographics, in the front of your mind as their stories evolve. By seeing them as humans as complex as your real-life friends.
"Once you're ready to write a story that doesn't start with labels and stereotypes," Golden said, "don't worry about race, and don't worry about the reception of readers. Just write."
The Root's staff writer, Jenée Desmond-Harris, covers the intersection of race with news, politics and culture. She wants to talk about the complicated ways in which ethnicity, color and identity arise in your personal life — and provide perspective on the ethics and etiquette surrounding race in a changing America. Follow her on Twitter.
Need race-related advice? Send your questions to email@example.com.
Previously in Race Manners: "Doggie Racism Is Real! Here's How to Deal"
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.


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Speaker: The Fabians: There is an alternative
75 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 Newer→ Last
Start ...
Email Web
I applaud this initiative, for glaringly obvious reasons... but is it me or the title implies that there is an alternative to Fabianism?
Gio, yes, it is a very ambiguous title.
Sticking to the topic, as it were, it's about bloody time. So much of the "debate" (for want of a better word, though it's pretty misleading) is, as Mike says, framed entirely in terms of "more of the same". Clearly "the same" isn't working, by any reasonable measure. The wage gap with Australia is increasing, to pick one easily-understood metric. Similarly we've seen universities introduce selective-entrance for all courses, even traditionally open ones such as BA, because funding to tertiary education is being slashed - to pay for tax cuts - despite all the rhetoric about needing a better-educated population.
Gio, yes, it is a very ambiguous title.
Well it's too late to change it.
Email Web
Apologies for the simplification and the outsider's perspective, but it strikes me that the social democratic principles espoused by Fabians actually reflect the broad ideological bent of New Zealanders far more accurately than the recipe that the country has been sold by both major parties since Lange. Would anybody agree with that?
I note that the Fabians have a long and distinguished history, having read Shelia Rowbottom's fine biography of Edward Carpenter, and following that Geoffrey Ashe's fantastic history "The Offbeat Radicals: The British Tradition of Alternative Dissent", both of which outlines the rollicking situations surrounding the birth of Fabianism.
Would anybody agree with that?
Yes, with the caveat that people now expect all the nice social democratic safety net and public service without the corresponding levels of taxation. That particular discussion needs to be had ahead of pretty much anything else, IMO. Until we've decided which of the two trade-offs we wish to pursue, anything change is pointless.
Email Web
I note that the Fabians have a long and distinguished history
Of all intellectual, they also claim one of the longer-lasting.
Email Web
is it me or the title implies that there is an alternative to Fabianism?
There certainly is! A revolutionary vanguard that smashes the state and imposes a dictatorship of the proletariat! Who's with me comrades?
The theme of the first seminar series will be around the theme of building a resilient economy – fit for 21st century scenarios, resistant to shocks, ecologically adaptable and responsive.
Stop making sense!
We need to be borrowing that $250 million a week (or whatever) to stay playing dice at the big table...
Email Twitter
There certainly is! A revolutionary vanguard that smashes the state and imposes a dictatorship of the proletariat! Who's with me comrades?
Stalinism: Success The Only Option...
Don Brash described himself as being motivated by Fabian ideals in one of his Rotary speeches.
Email Web
Don Brash was probably referring to these Fabian ideals, as expressed by Shaw (and quoted on his wikipedia page):
"You must all know half a dozen people at least who are no use in this world, who are more trouble than they are worth. Just put them there and say Sir, or Madam, now will you be kind enough to justify your existence? If you can't justify your existence, if you're not pulling your weight in the social boat, if you're not producing as much as you consume or perhaps a little more, then, clearly, we cannot use the organizations of our society for the purpose of keeping you alive, because your life does not benefit us and it can't be of very much use to yourself."
Email Twitter
Fabians were first active in New Zealand over 100 years ago and many of the founders of the Labour Party were sympathisers. 1890s Liberal MP William Pember Reeves was keen and named his son Fabian (not the entertainer). Fabian Society founders, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, visited NZ in the 1890s. Janet Fraser, wife of Peter, was described admiringly by one of her socialist friends: 'she had a Beatrice Webb mind'.
Don Brash described himself as being motivated by Fabian ideals in one of his Rotary speeches.
Must've been this one - Tax all of me?
There certainly is! A revolutionary vanguard that smashes the state and imposes a dictatorship of the proletariat! Who's with me comrades?
Alternatively, we could run society through a "federated, decentralized system of free associations, incorporating economic as well as other social institutions"
Unfortunatly the link for the NZ Fabian Society doesn't work for me
How about Mike Smith giving us an outline of exactly what they stand for before we start discussing the subject
A google search threw up some strange results
I am heartened to hear about this.
Here's some advice for the Society: remember that Family First and the Sensible Sentencing Trust are in the news all the time because:
- they have just one well-branded self-promoting spokesperson
- that person is always available for comment
- judging by Scoop, they average at least one quotable press release a week, sometimes more.
Don't be backward in coming forward.
On a frivolous note, be prepared for people who think it's all about Fabio.
Email Web
On a frivolous note, be prepared for people who think it's all about Fabio.
What, is not?
it's all about Fabio
Email Twitter
A progressive think tank? It's almost a triple oxymoron, considering what tanks typically do, blindly rushing in, dealing out moderate slaughter, and keeping everyone off the real damage dealers and the supply lines.
But it is curiously perhaps the purpose of the right wing ones, so I agree, such a role is needed if you want to oppose them head on. Many a battle is turned by the durability of a tank, and their curious power of drawing the attention of damage dealers away from where they would usually best be used, disrupting supply lines, destroying reinforcement capacity. They can hold positions against huge odds. In numbers, they can steamroll over heavily defended but immobile targets.
The neoliberal right has the aspect of a tank, for sure. They suffer very little damage themselves because their core is well armored against damaging disproof. They draw aggro like nothing else, because they freely target every squishy they can see, and uncoordinated squishies tend to think that collectively they should be able to bring a tank down. In doing so, they miss the longer game, that the tank was simply drawing fire deliberately, and their own squishies are wreaking untold damage on whatever soft targets they and the tank had really picked.
As a strategy it is extremely successful, and the right have ganked the left at will for a long time, despite numerical disadvantage.
To deal with tanks there are several options.
The first is obviously to have tanks of your own, who take them head on, drawing them into protracted battles, with squishies behind them, pouring in support and laying down damage on the opposing tank. The aim is to destroy the tank, after which the enemy is bust wide open, the fleeing squishies picked off easily, and the field is ours. Of course the response from the enemy is very likely to do the same, desperately keeping their tank alive while whittling away at your own. This leads to a war of attrition, but the end comes swiftly when it comes, if it comes. The best tank wins, usually. You could call this zerg vs zerg.
The second is to avoid the tank, saving it for last. Strike deep into the squishy base, cutting off supply to the tank. It is difficult to maintain one's own supply lines this way, so it's best done in self supporting units, possibly with minitanks, fighting mini battles everywhere. Stealth is a great asset in this strategy. It is also a war of attrition, and even more than the head-on approach, a game of force-back. It requires even more coordination to work, and can easily take huge losses, when a small team meets a large one, the results are predictable - 100% casualties. Sometimes, if zerging seems not to be working against this, the enemy will learn and adopt the same strategy. Then you have all-out war, everywhere, of the most damaging kind. Eventually, after enough losses on both sides, one side will gain some sort of superiority, and mount a full scale sweep-zerg, and win whatever is left.
Does a war of ideas follow these patterns? It's hard to say. Certainly a hard core of ideas can form a very well armored position. This position may not appeal widely, it may not attract much support, it may not be able to launch particularly damaging attacks on anything. But because it is well defended, it can continue attacking, and attacking, and those idea that are attacked can very easily be drawn into trying to make a pitched battle out of it. This is unlikely to work, because the armored position is already whittled down to its hard core of supporters, who are usually well acquainted with every response, every aspect of the dogma they stand for, and just won't go down. If they look even close to being damaged, it doesn't take much for their allies to chuck a little support, and bang, they're up to full strength again. The energy is wasted, basically.
Unless you have a really good tank of your own. A counter idea, with a largish well trained base, and some support from the centre, just enough to keep it alive and firing. If this tank, I guess preferably one with a fairly strongly opposed position to the neoliberal one, targets the neoliberal, it's possible it could be completely neutralized, locked in a permanent Zax-like struggle, not one step to the left or right, and the moderate center battle could change in aspect completely, become much more dynamic. The left could leverage its superior numbers once more.
Then again, such a tank could be far better engaged doing exactly what the neoliberal one does, constantly attacking the squisher targets in the center. I personally think a lot more damage could be wreaked on the Right this way. The obvious target is deep probing into centrist incompetence and corruption. Turn the battle away from the boring "Free market vs Communism", which would seem to be mostly lost anyway (false dichotomies can go either way), into one that is more about Justice and Rights and the preservation of numerous minor institutions that give genuine goods, and the abolition of whatever minor institutions that are genuinely harmful.
This might smack of fighting dirty, playing the man and not the ball. But I don't think so. It's more in the nature of a full-court press, where you don't let anyone on the opposing team go unmarked, and preferably double-marked. It works admirably against the All Blacks time and time again, and I think it's curiously symptomatic of our national character that we can't seem to ever just play the same game right back in their faces. It's like we're determined to make the entire thing always about the very rightness of the core of our rugby, rather than being about simply fielding a fantastic and flexible team that can switch strategies depending on the strategy of the opposition, and the interpretation of the referee, on the day. Similarly, politics is about who wins, too, much more than it is about who is right at the core. This is, I think, a broad failing of the left, that they simply let the likes of ACT dominate discourse, because they think the simple correctness of their views will be enough.
Enough sweeping generalizations and false analogies and mixed metaphors for one day. In short, I think a counter tank is a spiffing idea, and perhaps the strategy it chooses will dictate the very nature of the ideas that forms its core. If it's smart, if it thinks, and isn't just a tank.
A progressive think tank? It's almost a triple oxymoron, considering what tanks typically do, blindly rushing in, dealing out moderate slaughter, and keeping everyone off the real damage dealers and the supply lines.
I think that 'think tank' relates more to a container, not an armoured vehicle.
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Heh. Somewhere to keep your thinks?
It's English, making sense is optional ;)
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...and resistance is futile. The tank language, in both senses.
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PBS aired an interview with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad Monday, which gave late-night hosts an opportunity to joke about the interview. The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took umbrage at Assad citing a lack of popular American support for intervention into Syria, calling Assad "Mr. Gallup," while Late Night's Jimmy Fallon cited the famed PBS tote bags as Assad's reason for choosing the network for his appearance. The Tonight Show's Jay Leno joked about the State Department's travel warning, saying it won't apply to cruise missiles.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman's friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rekindled itself recently. Rodman returned from the hermit kingdom with news that he will help train the North Koreans for Olympic qualifying. Jimmy Kimmel joked about the possibility that Kim just thinks Rodman is really Barack Obama, while Conan O'Brien joked about the Rodman not knowing the difference between Kim and a baby.
Fast forward to 3:25 to see another unconventional athlete-dictator friendship from the past.
Read more from Government Executive.
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Anna Nicole Smith Died from Accidental Overdose
There was "no other criminal element present," said Police Chief Charlie Tiger
Anna Nicole Smith died of "an accidental overdose with no other criminal element present," Seminole Police Department Chief Charlie Tiger announced at a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Monday.
He said the police conducted a thorough investigation, which included reviewing hundreds of hours of videotapes captured by the hotel security cameras and analyzing the contents of the laptop computer belonging to Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, and "we found nothing to indicate any foul play."
Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper, who earlier had declined to make the autopsy results public until he reviewed the evidence, said that Smith's system contained methadone, anti-anxiety and weight-reducing drugs and, possibly, vitamins, among other substances.
According to the medical examiner's findings, Smith had ingested several medications, including methadone for pain and Valium, but those drugs were at therapeutic levels, said Perper. A bacterial infection from injecting medication in her buttocks and the flu also contributed to her death, said his report.
Also contributing to her death was the sleeping medication chloral hydrate, a sedative used to treat insomnia and alcohol withdrawal, relieve anxiety and ease post-surgery pain, the AP reports.
Rarely prescribed, the drug is known to be fatal if combined with certain other drugs – including the sedative Lorazepam, which the autopsy showed she was taking, said Dr. Chip Walls, a forensic toxicologist for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.
"It's very toxic if you mix it with any other central nervous system depressant drugs," Walls said. "You could get profound sedation leading up to coma and respiratory arrest."
Smith, a former Playboy Playmate died six weeks ago, on Feb. 8, in Hollywood, Fla. According to the Associated Press, additional evidence from the Seminole Police Department, which is investigating Smith's death, delayed the autopsy's release.
Tiger said Monday that his department found "no evidence of illegal drugs" at the death scene and had reviewed "hundreds of hours of tapes [and] found nothing unusual."
The day after Smith's death, police said they had found no evidence that a crime had been committed, and Perper said he'd found no serious injuries in his initial examination.
Perper said at a Feb. 9 press conference that Smith's death could have been due "solely to natural causes … some medical and chemicals … or a combination of natural causes and medication."
The much-anticipated disclosure of exactly how the 39-year-old Smith died comes more than three weeks after she was finally buried in the Bahamas.
Meanwhile, an inquest into the death of her son, Daniel, in September at age 20 is due to begin Monday in the Bahamas.


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ROCKFORD - With the new year, thousands of Rockford residents will vow to lose weight and get in shape.
But many will fail because they forget a vital ingredient, says Brent Potter, regional fitness director at Anytime Fitness. "When someone decides their New Year's resolution, the first thing they select is exercise, but 70 percent of your results come through nutrition," Potter said. "Most people forget about the nutrition part."
To address his clients' needs for better nutrition to meet their fitness goals, Potter created a partnership with Food 4 Fuel, a Rockford-based company that offers healthy and convenient pre-packaged meals.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees are available. Most individual meals cost $6 to $8, depending on the portion size. Family sized meals for $25 that feed two adults and two children also are available.
"When we ask people to name their biggest obstacle to getting healthier, most say nutrition," said Potter. "When we asked them why, they tell us they work 13 hours a day and don't have time to cook. Or they can't cook one meal for themselves and a separate meal for their spouse and something totally different for their kids. Food 4 Fuel gives them the option to be able to cook a meal for the family and still have theirs prepared and ready to go."
Jim McIlroy, owner of Food 4 Fuel, said while many people with good intentions are able to make time for exercise, they often find themselves eating less than nutritious items out of convenience - such as grabbing fast food from a drive-through - because of busy schedules.
"But people aren't going to see good results when they're eating exactly the same as they've done before," McIlroy said.
Food 4 Fuel is working with gym owners including Potter to help offer healthy food to their clients who are already asking for help to get in shape.
"Now gyms and trainers will be able to say they've partnered up with a company that can really help you with your meals because what you eat really matters," said McIlroy.
He started Food 4 Fuel with the goal of increasing accessibility to healthy food in the Rockford area. He, along with business partner and chef Bruce Liou, believe they have the recipe for success.
"Food 4 Fuel is real food, real fresh, real fast," McIlroy said. "It's a healthy, affordable, accessible meal that you can get that's lean, mean and clean and you can heat it and eat it."
Liou said their company addresses a real need in the Rockford area.
"A lot of people have no access to healthy food so they put stuff that's not good for them into their bodies," said Liou who has owned Singapore Grill, 6390 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park, for 16 years.
The meals are made and packaged there, and those who buy the meals pick them up at Singapore Grill. Other pickup sites will be announced in the future.
"They can take our meals to work with them or take them home and put them in the fridge and have them for dinner," Liou said.
The healthy pre-packaged meals, are designed with active people in mind. Customers can order five, 10 or 20 meals at a time choosing from fish, chicken or beef entrees and a combination of side dishes like brown rice, broccoli and sweet potatoes. McIlroy said Food 4 Fuel meals are properly portioned and order sizes are determined by the amount of calories each customer wants.
Being local is a plus Liou said because they do not need the preservatives other out-of-town, pre-packaged meal providers require.
"We cook our meals to a healthy standard, minimizing oils and keeping the ingredients natural, but we still make it tasty and good to eat," Liou said.
McIlroy believes that if healthy food was as convenient and affordable as fast food, people would choose the better alternative.
"Our goal is to increase the opportunity for people to make different and better decisions in their fast-paced, hectic days and get away from their 'I don't have enough time,' drive-through mentality," he said. "We want to deliver something that can meet them where they're at but replace some good things with some bad things. Then hopefully they'll get start shifting their habits and thinking a little differently."
For Potter, Food 4 Fuel is a natural fit to help people stick to their resolutions and gain better habits.
"You meet your fitness goals by eating healthy and training properly," he said. "Everyone wins. You see results, you tell everyone that Anytime Fitness and Food 4 Fuel helped you, and Rockford is getting healthier."


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KFC Faces Criticism in China
China's state television broadcaster criticized Yum Brand's KFC chain, alleging improper use of antibiotics in chickens supplied by Chinese companies. The WSJ's Carlos Tejada tells us more about the allegations.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the the ... the SEC's ... squeezes amounted to KFC ... this is Asia's today mine GE and joined by Anas that cost Honda from Beijing ... Collison been falling the story in a deal that would fall for the safety scandal in China and now we go KFC were from the text ... I will take it so you know the bad publicity stunt for company anytime in this case the KFC in a spirit Yum Brands are facing a ... criticism from China Central television CCTV of the big ... state backed national broadcaster in yesterday in its new broadcasted ... explicitly criticized ... KFC saying that that the of the company has not been forthcoming ... about the chickens then it got for me of all local supplier and um oh what it knew about the level of antibiotics are being given to the chickens ... the CCTV has said that of these levels are on ... in violation of Chinese regulations at KFC ... they said they're working with the regulators are trying to figure out what's going on and on the city would not be a safer product that they ... they they would ... fall short of regulations ... in a nation that TV Ripoll eyes on this planet these consenting pricing for quite awhile it's been a saint AMC's online is that rhymes ... well that's right um there's a decent been floating around and in some of old local media for several weeks now aam ... but you know when it goes on CCTV it becomes that of the recent central part of the national conscience of ... the watch nationwide and with the implicit backing of the government ... and also plays into widespread concerns about broader food safety issues alter the country everything from ... milk to ... gelatin tablets to meet quality you name it ... so what is the list tennis about the gentle ... men by men to safety in China ... I mean it ... is cutting love for things getting better because they are the exclusive insurance was to take a moment ... well I think the polls have shown or or we know what polling there is done in China ... shows that people are increasingly worried about its rising in consciousness um ... in the public consciousness at least on it something you can see on social media here every single day ... um so I think the governments of both international and local level feels a lot of pressure to show that they're doing something about the problem ... me KFC is an easy target in some ways for wind it's a foreign brands um and so there aren't any local constituencies to know I ... aam but for another it's also ubiquitous you know aam hair walking around Beijing I don't feel I can never really hundred four hundred meters away from one of its ... newly won the most popular restaurant ... chains in China and it is ... one of the largest if not the largest chicken consumer ... it's a zero cost I think he symmetry joining ... that's Asia


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The Plots Hatched By The Alliance Of The Evil Are Doomed To Fail
All through the book we have discussed that the evil has been in an all-out effort to form an alliance against the good. In another section of this book, we stated that the good should act in unity against the ones devising wicked plots. It was further stated that the strength resulting from the unity of the good will ultimately remove all wickedness on earth.
This is what God has promised in the Qur'an. God gives the glad tidings of another fact: the plots and evil plans of the wicked are born to fail no matter how powerful and threatening they might seem. Even within the moment they think they are causing the most distress to believers, they fail to realize that, in the end, it is they themselves will be the ones who will suffer, and receive the greatest harm from their very own plans. However, being unaware of the ultimate end of their plans, they see themselves as victorious. God, who knows the end of all plots even before they were planned, informs us that their plots are doomed to fail:
They concocted their plots, but their plots were with God, even if they were such as to make the mountains vanish. Do not imagine that God will break His promise to His Messengers. God is Almighty, Exactor of Revenge. (Surah Ibrahim: 46-47)
Shown by their arrogance in the land and evil plotting. But evil plotting envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern of previous peoples? You will not find any changing in the pattern of God. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of God. (Surah Fatir: 43)
In another verse, God gives the examples of people from the past and stresses that the evil-doers among them are a defeated group. Just as how the alliance of the evil has always been defeated throughout history, so will the ones living today meet the same end. As a matter of fact, they are defeated from the start:
A defeated host are all the factions that are there! Before them the people of Noah denied the truth, as did 'Ad and Pharaoh of the Stakes, and Thamud and the people of Lut and the Companions of the Thicket. These were the factions. (Surah Sad: 11-13)
God informs us that there is a never-ending and eternal affliction for those who strive for evil in the world, who lead people astray from His path, and who teach them perversity and shamelessness. Before the torment of the hereafter, they will encounter severe affliction also in this world:
Then the final fate of those who did evil will be the worst because they denied God's Signs and mocked at them. (Surat ar-Rum: 10)
Do those who plot evil actions feel secure that God will not cause the earth to swallow them up or that a punishment will not come upon them from where they least expect? (Surat an-Nahl: 45)
Those who associate with the evil alliance, and who value being with the evil for the sake of worldly interests, will regret their choice in the hereafter. They will plead God to severely punish these people they much revered and strictly followed in the world. However their remorse will be futile:
This! A crowd hurtling in with you. There is no welcome for them. They will certainly roast in the Fire. They (who had been seduced)will say, 'No, it is you who have no welcome. It is you who brought it upon us. What an evil place to settle!' They will say, 'Our Lord, give him who brought this on us double the punishment in the Fire!' (Surah Sad: 59-61)
These cruel people, who present themselves as good and the good as evil ones, will look forward to seeing the good in hell, but to no avail. That is because the good have already taken their places in paradise, the abode of great bliss where they will reside for all eternity as a favour from God.
They will say, 'How is it that we do not see some men whom we used to count among the worst of people? Did we turn them into figures of fun? Did our eyes disdain to look at them?' All this is certainly true - the bickering of the people of the Fire. (Surah Sad: 62-64)


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*I received a product sample to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.
Teeth Fairies is a new, interactive book and doll set celebrating a child's tooth loss process. From the age of about 5 to 12, the average child loses twenty baby teeth. That's a lot of visits from the Tooth Fairy! This process is an exciting and sometimes stressful time for both children and parents.
The new book and doll set, TEETH FAIRIES: A BABY TEETH TRADITION (February 20, 2015), by Ingrid Bencosme, celebrates this tooth loss process and helps kids and parents alike.


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Rosalie Gown
The Rosalie Gown in Meadow Pink. The graphic engineered artwork draws inspiration from vintage floral, lace tablecloths, for a romantic look. Adorned with sequins in subtle pastel tones and sunset highlights create an intricate, ornate design. The seasons signature voluminous sleeve, cut on a circle allow for a dramatic, yet flattering silhouette. Make an entrance in the Rosalie.
- Tulle decorated with multi-coloured sequins
- Bodice partially lined. Skirt fully lined. Sleeves un-lined
- 100% Polyester
- Elasticated cuffs with tulle frill detail
- Multi-layered tulle skirt
- Concealed zip at centre back
- Made in India
- Delicate dry clean only
- Do not wash
- Do not bleach
- Do not tumble dry
- Cool iron on reverse
- Due to the delicate nature of the embellishment on this garment please handle with care
- Form fitted bodice with a relaxed sleeve and a multi-layered full skirt
- Floor length (UK size 10 - 154cm / 59 inches side neck to hem) * Length varies 1cm between sizes
- Model is 175cm / 5ft 9in and is a UK size 8
If you need assistance with this product, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com .
or call us 0207 043 2363. Our Customer Care team operate between 8.30 and 5.30 in the UK.


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Information about Helsinki
Helsinki travel guide
Užitočné informácie o destinácii HelsinkiHlavné témy a zábavné príbehy
Helsinki Travel Kit
Our Helsinki Travel Kit lays out the essential information you need to help planning your trip to one of the most popular destinations in Finland. No matter how frequently you travel, some questions will always need answers: What's the weather like? How can I get from the airport to my hotel? What currency and type of plug do I need? We have all these answers plus other basic info about the best time to go, getting there, getting around, and a few useful travel tips.
It's all compiled in this Helsinki Travel Kit. After reading this short and easy-to-read guide, you will be a little more prepared to start your trip in Helsinki.Ďalšie informácie
Začnite plánovať svoju cestu
Objavujte ďalej
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
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- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
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- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- Wales


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This was published 7 years ago
Why relaxing is the hardest job of all
Most people are overcommitted, even on holidays, writes Stephanie Gardiner.
'I just want to sleep and exercise and travel for fun.'' Those are the simple things Hillary Clinton wants when she steps down as the US Secretary of State, a role she estimates has taken her across 1.5 million kilometres to 112 countries.
But, in her final weeks of duties, she's not winding down, even as work takes its toll.
Mrs Clinton, 65, looked pale and tired as she walked from a New York hospital on Thursday after treatment for a blood clot she is thought to have developed after collapsing from dehydration, caused by a bug she contracted on a trip to Europe.
Mrs Clinton, who was ordered to rest, had spoken to Qatar's foreign minister to discuss Syria and Afghanistan from her sick bed, and had been in regular contact with colleagues.
It was in stark contrast to Mrs Clinton's television appearance last month, when she sat in front of twinkling Christmas trees, her hair smoothly coiffed, and laughed as she admitted to the journalist Barbara Walters that she was absolutely exhausted.
Among the many things Mrs Clinton speaks passionately about, The New York Times reported her intense focus had recently turned to her deep longing to relax.
''It sounds so ordinary, but I haven't done it for 20 years. I would like to see whether I can get untired,'' she told the newspaper.
Mrs Clinton, who plans to return to work next week, is one of many famous political workaholics.
In his early days as prime minister, Kevin Rudd showed off his extreme work ethic by flying around the world in 17 days before hosting a community cabinet meeting in Penrith, fresh-faced and enthusiastic. There were other infamous tales of Mr Rudd sleeping only three hours most nights and having marathon work sessions through the night with staff.
Dr Kristine Dery, from the University of Sydney business school, said Australians did not necessarily expect leaders to burn the midnight oil. ''When you see non-sustainable work patterns, which is clearly the way in which Kevin Rudd had worked, people burn out around them, and they burn out.
''What you see with those people is they are using old work paradigms and just working harder and faster.''
Professor Ian McAllister, from the school of politics and international relations at the Australian National University, has been surveying Australian MPs since 1987 and found their working hours were rising.
MPs said they spent 54 hours a month dealing with constituents' problems in 2010, compared to 48 hours in 1996.
Travel time spiked at 21 hours an month in 2010, compared to 16 hours in 2007 and 18 or 19 hours in previous years.
''The expansion of government has created great pressures on elected representatives,'' Professor McAllister said.
''Maybe 20 or 30 years ago people could take holidays in a fairly leisurely way. These days, they basically can't. Part of it is the legislative burden, part of it is the 24-hour media cycle.''
It is greater accountability, says Dr Juliet Pietsch, also from ANU, driving the hard work ethic.
''We're definitely having a feeling that we can have much more of a say about the personal qualities of leaders,'' Dr Pietsch said.
''What Australians appear to value is strong leadership and hard work comes with that, that sense of always being in control and watching over things.''
It isn't just our political leaders who have been working over the holidays, but professionals in law, finance and IT.
Peter Hardy has taken work calls near the peak of a mountain in Thailand, spent a two-day family holiday doing nothing but work, and waited months to find out what happened in the last 20 minutes of The Avengers.
Mr Hardy, a computer system infrastructure manager, often works long hours and into the weekends because his company provides 24/7 support to its clients.
''I've restarted services from intercity trains, from the back of the mosh pit, and in the toilet while on dates,'' he said.
Mr Hardy spent about two days working during his fortnight of Christmas leave, but managed to do some of it while sitting at his local pub or visiting friends. He said his company had a good policy of time in lieu for weekend work, and he was learning to successfully juggle his work and personal lives.
''All I can really do is resolve to be a little bit better at managing expectations this year, and try to remove some of the issues that lead to having to work extra hours in the first place.''
Dr Dery said there was always an expectation that professionals worked hard, but now they had the tools to do it in a relaxed setting.
''What has happened in the past is they've had to spend more time in the office or where they are connected. Now they've got the opportunity to be more flexible and remain connected.
''What you hear from a lot of people in these industries is 'actually a lot of stress has come out of it because I can go home at night and I'm still able to look at email and I'm still able to be connected.' ''
Kate Eastman, SC, a barrister in human rights and employment law, took pleasure in a trip to the movies with her daughter during the Christmas holidays.
''Just to be able to do things that I don't have time to do during the year. I know that sounds odd, that you don't have time to go to the cinema, but I usually work at least half a day each weekend.
''I love that flexibility of this time of the year, that you can take up the opportunities as they arise, rather than have to pre-plan everything and put everybody into a schedule.''
But, Ms Eastman said, it was important to manage people's expectations of your availability.
''It's not uncommon for people to expect that you'll be able to respond to an email or return a phone call almost instantly.
''It can be oppressive at times when you've got other commitments and you just can't be 24/7 for people.
''How Hillary Clinton does her job, I don't know.''
Flexibility: camping but connected
ON A Christmas holiday camping trip, Cassandra Kelly woke up, unzipped her tent, boiled the billy and, while surrounded by nature, turned on her BlackBerry to check work emails.
But far from being a drag, Ms Kelly, joint chief executive at corporate advisory firm Pottinger, says working remotely during the holidays gives her more freedom, flexibility and time with her children.
''It means that I can take slightly longer leave, not worrying that something will happen and I won't be able to respond, because I have my technology. For me, it really isn't hardship. I love my job.''
While Monday is the first day back at the office for many Australians, for some like Ms Kelly, it won't be the first day of work.
A Nielsen survey of more than 8000 people, commissioned by Fairfax-owned holiday accommodation website Stayz and released in December, found 51 per cent checked their work emails every day while on leave.
However, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed working hours were not getting dramatically longer; full-time workers did 40 hours a week in the past decade, compared with 39 hours in the 1980s.
Dr Kristine Dery, from the University of Sydney business school, said that was because people were taking work home and bringing home to work.
''We're all playing with this to see where it takes us. But I think it's taking us to new paradigms for work, a new understanding of how work fits into our lives.''
But being ''always on'' was not necessarily beneficial if employers tried to integrate new ways of working with old workplace ideals, she said. ''That's problematic. You cannot take the old way of working and just say 'I'm going to do more of it over longer periods of time'.''
Research showed that people who worked outside office hours were more likely to be passionate about their jobs.
''There's not an obvious distinction between work and home life because the profession itself is a kind of calling,'' said Dr Melissa Gregg, a senior lecturer in gender and cultural studies at the University of Sydney.
Dr Gregg said it was unlikely professionals would ever go back to the days of nine-to-five. ''I think the genie is out of the bottle there.''
Stephanie Gardiner is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. Email or tweet her with your news tips.


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Solano feeling fine after being plunked in head
MIAMI -- It appears Donovan Solano has avoided a serious head injury.
Solano was plunked in the helmet by a pitch in the 10th inning of Miami's 2-1 comeback win over the Tigers on Saturday night at Marlins Park.
With a runner on second, Evan Reed's full-count, 95-mph fastball plunked Solano on the helmet behind his left ear. He was treated by team trainer Sean Cunningham.
After being uneasy for a few minutes, he was replaced by pinch-runner Placido Polanco.
Indications now are Solano has avoided a concussion, but he will be further evaluated on Sunday morning before Miami wraps up its season against the Tigers.
"I feel normal. I don't feel [dizzy]," Solano said. "I feel it a bit, but it's not too scary. I feel good. I know I was hit on the head, but I feel OK."
Solano added he wasn't experiencing a headache.
"The doctor said, just in case overnight it feels worse, tell me," Solano said.
If the Marlins opt to give Solano Sunday off, Ed Lucas is a likely choice to play second.
"As of right now, he's fine," manager Mike Redmond said. "Those things, we'll wait and see tomorrow, after he comes in. We will see how he feels. It looked like he's as good as you could be after being hit in the head with a fastball."


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Hi all,
First of all thanks a lot for these articles! It's very interesting!
Well about :first-child and :last-child
I used to use them with tables, like you
did. And for IE and others
I suggest using classes named
.firstchild and lastchild which will be
styled like the elements with the selectors :first-child and :last-child
and of course aply to the first TR (or TD) the class .firstchild and to the last ones .lastchild.
Well, I hope you enjoy my modest idea,
I'm personally using it :)
Thanks again


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The business directory of Ukraine in English
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text:
Access Crucial Data for Your Research
Subscribe to Gallup Analytics for decades of proprietary data.
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|Statement by Ambassador Wang Min, Deputy Permanent Representative of China at the 2013 UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities
Mr. President,
Adequate, stable and predictable level of resources and a rational resource structure are the prerequisite for the improvement of the resource situation of the UN development system as well as the core concern of the developing countries. Parties concerned in development assistance should take effective measures to improve financing for development by both increasing the quantity of core resources and improving the quality of non-core resources.
As a responsible developing country, China has actively supported the UN in playing a bigger role in international affairs. We have always attached importance to cooperation with the UN development system. To the best of our capacity, we have kept increasing donations to the core resources of relevant funds, programs and agencies of the UN and tried to ensure their early allocation.
In 2014, the Chinese government will maintain its support for the work of the UN development system and institutions. Once my government's donation to relevant funds, programs and agencies of the UN is approved by our National People's Congress, it will be fulfilled as soon as possible.
Thank you, Mr. President.


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Audio History
It's easy to think of sound recordings in the present tense. Thanks to modern marketing, we're fixated on this week's downloads, who's doing well on America's Got Talent, and what Lady Gaga is wearing. (Whatever happened to that meat dress, anyway?) But a very cool thing happens once something is recorded. It stops time, and that sound event goes into a time capsule that can be used to relive the event far into the future. Let us consider these three old recordings that have recently returned to life.
- In 1963, as Air Force One carried John F. Kennedy's body from Dallas to Washington, D.C., a tape recorder on the flight deck captured radio communications of those onboard. Recently, 42 minutes of the recording that weren't in government archives were made available. The tone is somber, and the voices convey a sense of disbelief. Some conversations are practical; others are sympathetic. Lyndon Johnson consoles Rose Kennedy, JFK's mother, saying, "I wish to God there was something I could do." She responds, "Thank you very much. I know you loved Jack. And he loved you." The tapes help us recapture, and understand, those terrible events. The recording can be heard at the Government Printing Office and via Wikimedia Commons — but note that nearly 2 hours of the original tape are still missing.
- The FBI kept an 800-page file on Alan Lomax. It stated, "Neighborhood investigation shows him to be a very peculiar individual in that he is only interested in folk lore music, being very temperamental and ornery." What the Bureau didn't recognize was that Alan Lomax was the premier folklorist and ethnomusicologist of the 20th century. He traveled America and the world, recording thousands of songs and interviews. These legendary field recordings helped document the work of artists such as Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, and Woody Guthrie. He preserved cultural history that probably otherwise would have been lost. Lomax (1915–2002) was the first to envision a global jukebox, and now his life's work is being made available for free online streaming. The Association for Cultural Equity's ACE archive offers nearly 17,000 streaming recordings as well as photographs and other materials. For example, check out the prison work songs that Lomax recorded at the Parchman Penitentiary in 1947–48, cue up "Prettiest Train," and try to imagine the daily lives of these prisoners working on the chain gang.
- Also listen to Bruce Springsteen's new album, Wrecking Ball; two of its songs — "Death to My Hometown" and "Rocky Ground" — contain samples from the Lomax archive. To learn more, check out the article Lomax wrote for the May 1960 issue of S+V's early predecessor, HiFi/Stereo Review, pictured above and available for perusal at culturalequity.org.
- If we dive even deeper into history, some wax cylinders were found in Thomas Edison's lab in a wooden box behind a cot where Edison napped. (I'm not kidding.) The newly retrieved sounds from these recordings from 1889 and 1890 give us the voices of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and his military strategist, Helmuth von Moltke. Imagine this: With the latter, we can listen to the voice of someone born in 1800 — a mere 24 years after our Declaration of Independence was signed. You can hear the recordings at the Edison National Historical Park Web site, nps.gov/edis.
After all of that, my question, then, is this: Do you have an attic, a basement, or a barn? Maybe a wooden box tucked away somewhere with a cylinder, disc, or tape inside? It might be a timeless piece of history waiting to speak to you — and us. Go ahead, see what you can find.


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Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (1) (remove)
- Open Science (1)
- Virtual Research Environment (1)
- automation (1)
- collaboratories (1)
- workflow platform (1)
Despite the internet's dynamic and collaborative nature, scientists continue to produce grant proposals, lab notebooks, data files, conclusions etc. that stay in static formats or are not published online and therefore not always easily accessible to the interested public. Because of limited adoption of tools that seamlessly integrate all aspects of a research project (conception, data generation, data evaluation, peerreviewing and publishing of conclusions), much effort is later spent on reproducing or reformatting individual entities before they can be repurposed independently or as parts of articles. We propose that workflows - performed both individually and collaboratively - could potentially become more efficient if all steps of the research cycle were coherently represented online and the underlying data were formatted, annotated and licensed for reuse. Such a system would accelerate the process of taking projects from conception to publication stages and allow for continuous updating of the data sets and their interpretation as well as their integration into other independent projects. A major advantage of such work ows is the increased transparency, both with respect to the scientific process as to the contribution of each participant. The latter point is important from a perspective of motivation, as it enables the allocation of reputation, which creates incentives for scientists to contribute to projects. Such work ow platforms offering possibilities to fine-tune the accessibility of their content could gradually pave the path from the current static mode of research presentation into a more coherent practice of open science.


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The HLC approved Ball State's reaccreditation for a 10-year period, during which the university will not undergo any type of interim review or monitoring. The reaccreditation came as a result of the university's engagement in a two-year process in which it completed a comprehensive self-study, solicited community input and underwent a site visit by a team of consultant evaluators drawn from higher education.
"The accreditation site team's report to the Higher Learning Commission is overwhelmingly positive and a clear validation of the hard work in which so many Ball State people are engaged," said Acting President Beverley J. Pitts. "The review shows Ball State serves its students well and provides a positive atmosphere for faculty and staff. Further, it confirms our conviction that Ball State is extraordinarily well-positioned to achieve even greater success."
The site team reviewed Ball State's self-study and comments on the study before making a visit to the university in February. During the visit, the team analyzed whether the university is meeting 24 basic general institutional requirements and evaluated the institution's performance in fulfilling five key criteria.
In addition to affirming that the university continues to meet the general institutional requirements, the team concluded the five key criteria were satisfied because Ball State:
"The fact that the team recognized that Ball State is excelling in accomplishing its educational mission is particularly pleasing since this represents the absolute core of a university's reason for being," Pitts said. "The site team confirmed our belief that the university offers an outstanding and broad-based educational experience."
The report also acknowledged that the university has taken significant action to address concerns raised in the 1993 accreditation report and that the university recognizes the need for continual vigilance in each of these areas.
"The progress made in the last decade, however, clearly demonstrates the institution's capacity to address identified challenges," the report says.
The site team praised the university's current self-study, saying it was "accurate and demonstrated high integrity." Pitts says the self-study is one of the primary benefits of the accreditation process.
"The exercise of conducting a detailed self-examination is truly one of the most important aspects of the accreditation process, and it is extremely gratifying that the team's findings reflect the tremendous integrity of that process," Pitts said. "Every individual who devoted time and energy to the self-study—and there were hundreds—was part of making this reaccreditation visit a success."
In addition to the main body of the final report, called the "assurance section," the review team produced an "advancement section," which recognizes significant accomplishments, significant progress, and exemplary and innovative practices as well as offers suggestions for possible improvement.
The advancement section praised the divisions of University Advancement and Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, as well as the Teaching and Learning Advancement office for exhibiting characteristics that should serve as models for other institutions. The section also mentions the entrepreneurship program, the College of Architecture and Planning, the physical facilities and the assessment activities of Ball State as exemplary.
The team used the advancement section to provide consultation in the areas of assessment, governance and distance education. Noting the excellence of university leadership in the areas of distance education and assessment, as well as the attention being given to strengthening the roles various constituencies have in governance, the team concluded that "Ball State can and is expected to" meet the challenge of positive progress in these areas "in the same positive manner they have addressed challenges in the past."
The university is not obligated to respond to the advancement section, which is new since Ball State's last reaccreditation visit. However, it is a valuable addition to the process, Pitts said.
"The Higher Learning Commission's reaccreditation team comprises members with a great depth of experience and expertise in higher education," Pitts said. "We're very pleased with their recognition of some of our great strengths and appreciative of the advice they have offered. The university will carefully consider any suggestions that may help us achieve our vision of becoming a national model in higher education."


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Emmanuel College
Chris Flanagan '10, a South Shore, Mass. native has spent the past two years working in the Washington, D.C., office of former senator and recently appointed Secretary of State John Kerry. Flanagan most recently served as Kerry's office manager prior to the senator's new role, and has now taken a position within the U.S. State Department.
Though initially pursuing an interest in psychology, Chris maintained a passion for politics and social justice, quickly won over by Emmanuel's political science program and all that it had to offer. Internships with different governmental agencies and student government involvement contributed to Flanagan's decision to pursue a career in public service, though social justice and the betterment of others had always been in his heart.
"It started for me at a young age; after all I had been through," said Flanagan, whose mother passed away when he was 13 years old. "I can empathize with people. I wanted to be there in public service with the understanding of falling on hard times so that I could help others more effectively in similar situations. It matters to people to know they aren't alone, that you can relate to them, that you know where they are coming from, to maybe be able to offer options they would have never thought of based on your own experiences."
Flanagan kept a watchful eye on the horizon from the moment he first set foot on the grounds of Emmanuel College. He worked extensively for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's campaign and the Democratic National Convention, seeking an opportunity to emerge in the political forum. A number of professors and family friends directed him toward internship opportunities within state offices. He eventually earned the break he was looking for—an internship in the late Senator Edward Kennedy's office.
Flanagan interned in Kennedy's Boston office for two years, went on to intern at the D.C. office in the summer of 2008, and then returned to Boston where he worked until the senator passed away, staying on for the transition until the election of Senator Scott Brown.
Ever in motion, Flanagan had his next goal in sight, to relocate to D.C.—and he found a way to do it. Taking a job with a democratic political consulting firm as an account associate, he was able to afford the move. Shortly after his relocation, the firm folded and Flanagan was laid off. He looked at this as an entrance rather than an exit and took the initiative to introduce himself to Senator Kerry's office. He started as an intern a few months later while waiting tables.
As Kerry's office manager, Flanagan managed the budget, personnel and legal aspects of the office while pursuing a master's degree in national security through night classes at the Naval War College.
"I make sure everything we do is ethical and legal and I'm pursuing advanced degrees so that I can continue to better myself and to become more active in the legislative realm," he said. "I've always been interested in defense issues. My father served in the military and I almost enlisted a few times. I really believe in service. I really admire and respect people willing to serve their country."
Aiming to acquire his master's degree within the next three years, Flanagan hopes to enroll in law school in the D.C. area while staying involved in public service.
With such a wide arsenal of experience, he seeks to assist Emmanuel College students and give back to his alma mater by working with Emmanuel's Career Center and the D.C. Metro Area Regional Alumni Club to establish a fund for students interning in the area.
Along with Lizzie Donovan '09, Flanagan will take on responsibilities within the alumni club, including fundraising endeavors and hosting events. He is thrilled to have the chance to be able to give back to the College, making it a priority whenever possible.
"I feel like Emmanuel has given so much to me," he said. "Honestly, I would not be here today without my experience at Emmanuel College."


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Year Zero
From nine inch nails wiki
Year Zero (also known as Halo 24 or Year Zero: Zero-Gen-Ten in Japan) is the sixth studio album by Nine Inch Nails, released on April 13, 2007 in the UK and Europe, and April 17, 2007 worldwide, by Interscope Records. It was produced by Trent Reznor in collaboration with Alan Moulder and engineer Atticus Ross, both of whom worked in a similar capacity on Nine Inch Nails' previous major studio release, With Teeth.
A subsection of nin.com, yearzero.nin.com, was created and contains various things Year Zero-related. A companion piece to the album with remixes of nearly every track was released as Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D on November 20, 2007.
Track List
12" Vinyl
B1 "Capital G" - 3:50
C1 "The Greater Good" - 5:03
The instrumental versions of all the songs on Year Zero were made available on remix.nin.com for streaming and free download. The site was eventually taken down and they can now be found on archive.org.[1]
In a 2005 interview with Kerrang!, Reznor expressed his intentions to write material for a new release during the With Teeth tour, and it was confirmed that he was working on it by September 2006. Year Zero began its mixing stage in January of 2007, and Reznor stated on his blog on The Spiral that the album was finished as of February 5, 2007. The album marks a new style of lyric writing for Reznor:
"...for the first time in my life, I wanted to break away from the idea of opening up my journal and transferring that into song lyrics. And I really thought about what was at the forefront of my concern, and, at the state I'm at right now, at the age I'm at, just the state of being an American citizen, a lot of concern I have about the direction the country's headed in, and uh, kind of the erosion of freedoms that seems like we're experiencing, and the way we treat the world and our own citizens felt like something I needed to comment on." [2]
Alternate Reality Game
An alternate reality game was constructed by Trent Reznor and Rob Sheridan, then run in partnership with and developed by 42 Entertainment to provide listeners with a greater understanding of the album's concept. Reznor paid for the ARG himself, trying to keep it a secret from his record company as much as possible[3], stating: "What you are now starting to experience IS 'year zero'. It's not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a record - it IS the art form... and we're just getting started. Hope you enjoy the ride." The game ran from roughly February 12, 2007 to May 2007, beginning when a string of mysterious websites was discovered around the internet related to the album; the game has since been nominated for two Webby Awards[4]. Learn more at the Year Zero Research page and view the timeline of discovery for an explanation of how things unfolded, also, 42 Entertainment has a complete overview of the project here. A glossary of terms related to the world of Year Zero can be found here.
Year Zero Hints
For full details on all hints found through the retail release of the CD see this ETS thread.
The Booklet
The CD
The Case
Trent Reznor on Year Zero
"This record began as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more. I believe sometimes you have a choice in what inspiration you choose to follow and other times you really don't. This record is the latter. Once I tuned into it, everything fell into place... as if it were meant to be. With a framework established, the songs were very easy to write. Things started happening in my "real" life that blurred the lines of what was fiction and what wasn't. The record turned out to be more than a just a record in scale, as you will see over time.
Album Credits
The man holding the bible and the gun on the two interior panels is the prop man who provided the guns for the "Survivalism" video. The video shoot and the photos were done on the same day.[6]
For more information, see Performance 2007
The album was supported by a tour that visited Europe, Asia and Australia, with an emphasis on locations never or seldom played by NIN. The production for this tour was scaled back and setlists became very fluid as a result. More of the NIN catalog was able to be covered on this tour, as several songs were played live for the first time and several songs were brought back to the setlists after a long absence. As the tour progressed, more Year Zero songs were added to the setlists.
All songs from Year Zero have been played live except "My Violent Heart" and "Zero-Sum".
Regarding The Leak
On April 1, 2007, a bootleg recording of the Chicago, Illinois listening party of March 18, 2007 surfaced on several peer-to-peer networks. The quality of the recording is very low and it is apparent that whoever made the recording did not have very good sound capturing equipment, presumably a cellphone.
On April 4, 2007, a high-quality leak of the promotional disc supplied to listening parties was also leaked onto peer-to-peer networks. Perhaps to counteract and discourage any piracy of the leak, the entire album was made available for free streaming on the album's official website later that afternoon. Shortly after the stream was made available, high-quality leaks found their way to various sites and P2P networks.
Perhaps in another response to the leak, Reznor commissioned Q101 in Chicago to play the entire album on their radio station.
It is widely rumored, however, that Reznor himself was responsible for leaking the album as a result of his unappreciation for RIAA's Cease & Desist warrants issued to various websites that hosted free downloads of the 4 USB "leaks". Reznor's own involvement with the leak, however, will always be speculation at best due to his own legal liability.
Multitrack Files
In March 2007, the multitrack audio files of the first single, "Survivalism," were released in Garageband format on the official Year Zero website for fan remixing. The multitrack files for "Capital G," "My Violent Heart" and "Me, I'm Not" were then released on April 26; those for "The Beginning of the End," "Vessel" and "God Given" were released on June 12. The formats were for Garageband and Logic Pro, and there were also WAV files for other applications, with the latter distributed through BitTorrent. These files were also available in all three formats on remix.nin.com. The entire album was released in multitrack form as part of the Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D package.
Film/Television Project
Reznor has stated that Year Zero is "part of a bigger picture of a number of things I'm working on. Essentially, I wrote the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist."
In March of 2007, Kerrang! Radio reported that "Reznor admitted he's already in talks about a movie version of his upcoming album, a concept piece, with part two scheduled next year." Reznor said that he was more interested in a television project rather than a film and that he had a producer and had met with writers.
On August 14, 2007, Reznor announced that he and his creative team would soon be taking the concept to television networks to try and make some sort of deal: "We're about to pitch it to the network, so we're a couple of weeks away from meeting all of the main people, and we'll see what happens." [7]
On June 8, 2008, The New York Times reported that "Mr. Reznor has been working with Lawrence Bender, Quentin Tarantino's longtime producing partner, to create a cable TV series to tell the entire story." [8]
On April 2, 2009, Reznor announced via a short Twitter post that "YZ is alive".
On September 28, 2010, The LA Times reported that the Year Zero television series detailed in the above NY Times article was going into pre-production, with Daniel Knauf as a writer and Lawrence Bender's team as staff, and that the miniseries would be handled by BBC America and broadcast on HBO. [9]
On March 10, 2011, Trent confirmed on the nin.com board that work on the TV series was still in progress. [10]
On June 24, 2011, Pitchfork Magazine had a section of news stating that Jim Uhls, the man who had written the screenplay for Fight Club and the screenplay for the 2008 film Jumper, was chosen to write the script for the series.
On December 23, 2011 in an interview by The Guardian Trent is quoted as follows about the 10-part HBO mini-series, which is based on Year Zero: "I chose not to write it myself because I don't know how to do that. But now I'm thinking I should have. Somebody's got to do it, right? How hard can it be?" [11]
On January 11, 2012 a user on Echoingthesound said that Jim Uhls confirmed him via Facebook that he was working on the Year Zero TV series ("I've been away from FB for awhile. Now that I see it, I can answer. I am currently working on Year Zero. [...]" [12])
On November 13, 2012, Reznor stated during an "ask me anything" session with Reddit that: "This is currently in a holding state. We didn't find the right match with a writer, and really have been avoiding doing what we should have done from the beginning: write it ourselves. We = Rob and myself. This project means a lot to me and will see the light of day in one form or another."
In August of 2013, it was stated in an article by the NME that HBO had rejected the series.
It was revealed by Rob Sheridan in a 2019 episode of the Pod Like A Hole NIN podcast that he and Reznor had at one point considered making a comic book based on Year Zero.
External Links


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Baldwins acquires Berkeley Hamilton
Baldwins Holdings Ltd – on behalf of the Baldwins Accountants group – has acquired Berkeley Hamilton LLP (and its subsidiary PayeStaff Ltd). The Berkeley Hamilton partnership was advised by leading M&A specialist BCMS. The value of the deal is undisclosed.
Established in 1982, Berkeley Hamilton offers a range of tax, strategic planning and business solutions to small and medium businesses across the UK and abroad. Its successful subsidiary company PayeStaff Ltd, provides professional, accurate and responsive outsourced payroll support to over 400 clients.
Headquartered in Walsall, West Midlands, Baldwins is the Midlands' largest, independent family-owned accountancy firm, with approximately 300 employees in 15 offices across the region. A dynamic, growing company, Baldwins was named as one the 'Top 1000 Companies To Inspire Britain' by the London Stock Exchange Group for 2015.
Perspectives on the deal
David Baldwin, a partner at Baldwins Accountants, said this was an exciting move for the firm: "Berkeley Hamilton is a well-established, large accountancy and business advice practice in Gloucester and we want to build on its experience, reputation and the excellent service it already provides to its clients," he said.
"We will bring our significant expertise to complement the existing services offered to clients. Our aim is to enhance Berkeley Hamilton's existing high quality accounts and tax team and bring added value banking and corporate finance services to the team which will prove beneficial to their clients whether they are a sole trader or a blue-chip business."
James Pugh of BCMS, who led the transaction, notes: "As a specialist business with a committed, loyal client base in sectors including motorsport, manufacturing and energy, Berkeley Hamilton was always a likely acquisition target. Financial services as a sector is currently experiencing strong Merger & Acquisitions activity, and BCMS secured widespread interest from the UK and overseas, ultimately negotiating with nine separate parties, including firms in France and Germany.
As a successful, highly professional family business, Baldwins is the perfect acquirer for Berkeley Hamilton. Baldwins has strong regional presence, track record of growth, and inclusive, dynamic approach. As a company, they have been a pleasure to negotiate with on behalf of our clients, who are rightly delighted with this mutually successful outcome."
Robert Lewis of Berkeley Hamilton added: "I found that BCMS were extremely professional during the whole process of sale right through from fact finding to final completion. The Information Memorandum they produced and database of prospects used was key in generating a significant interest from not only the UK but across Europe and even down to South Africa. Our key contacts were Margot and James, who both provided an excellent service in their respective tasks. If you are thinking of selling your business I would thoroughly recommend using BCMS's services."
Criterion Adjusters sold to Charles Taylor Adjusting PLC
Complaints handling specialist sold to outsourcing group
Global insurance management acquired by AXA