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BERLIN (AP) — Five female musicians accuse organizers of an Austrian classical music festival of not acting on sexual abuse complaints they made for years against its artistic director, according to an open letter published Wednesday.
The artists alleged that Austrian conductor Gustav Kuhn subjected them to unwanted kisses, groping, bullying and public humiliation during their time at the Tyrolean Festival Erl between 1998 and 2017.
"Repeatedly the borders of personal dignity and respect were ignored and exceeded," the five musicians said.
"We are outraged that despite the well-known facts necessary consequences have not been drawn so far," they said.
In a statement, a lawyer for the festival, Michael Krueger, called the open letter "simply irresponsible." He said Kuhn would defend himself legally against the allegations.
The five musicians — Belarusian violinist Aliona Dargel, German soprano Bettine Kampp, Albanian violinist Ninela Lamaj, German mezzo-soprano Julia Oesch and Swiss soprano Mona Somm — also criticized authorities for failing to act on complaints.
The Austria Press Agency quoted a spokesman for Innsbruck prosecutors, Florian Oberhofer, saying the allegations are being investigated.
At the start of this year's festival, its president Hans Peter Haselsteiner had criticized a local blogger for publishing allegations about Kuhn, saying the conductor "still doesn't hide what he likes. And wine, women and song are things we can all understand."


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Attention Xanadu Refugees!
ShadowRonin posted a topic in Recruitment (Del)Just thought I'd repost this for the weary masses that are tired of having to deal with the balancing issues of Xanadu. Return to your home servers, there's no need reason to tolerate all of this with a released game you pay a premium for. Sold your deed on your home server and don't want to shell out more cash? Read the original post below. ------------------- I'm looking to recruit a player, or possibly multiple players for a large deed (55 x 77), located on the Deli steppe 36x 40y. My preference would be a returning player essentially wanting free land, and any contribution to upkeep would be appreciated. It's a secondary deed for me at the moment, so I won't be too picky about what you'd like to do with it. There's currently over 800 tiles of flat land that could be used for farming, tons of trees, as well as plenty of space for animals. Good hunting nearby, as it's on the steppe, marble, zinc, copper, iron in the mine. The deed's apart of a small alliance, and some help can be provided, but I'm not looking for anyone I'd have to walk through the fundamentals of the game with. Farmers, or someone who can use the land to help pay the upkeep are a bonus. Upkeep is 8.5s a month, but has a trader to help out, so contributions would be minimal. Please post here or send me a PM if interested.

subset: commoncrawl


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A French man has become the first person in the world to undergo two full face transplants.
Jerome Hamon, 43, left hospital last week after undergoing groundbreaking surgery to put another transplant on his face after his body started rejecting his first face.
Mr. Hamon, who has been dubbed 'the man with three faces', suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic disorder that caused disfiguring tumors on his face.
In 2010, he underwent the world's first full facial graft which included tear ducts and eyelids.
Yet five years later, after he was given antibiotics for a common cold, which were incompatible with the immunosuppressant drugs he was taking, his body started rejecting his new face.
In November last year, complications mean surgeons had to remove the transplanted face, which left Mr. Hamon without a face.
For two months, the 43-year-old stayed at Georges-Pompidou hospital in Paris waiting for a new donor, until the face of a 22-year-old who recently died was found.
Mr. Hamon underwent the surgery on 15 and 16 January this year.
The operation was carried out by Dr. Laurent Lantieri, who carried out Mr. Hamon's initial surgery eight years earlier.
Mr. Lantieri told Le Parisien: 'Today, we know that a double transplant is feasible, it's no longer in the field of research.'
Mr. Hamon is still unable to control his features but is happy that he has now left the hospital.
He said: 'If I hadn't accepted this new face it would have been terrible. It's a question of identity… But here we are, it's good, it's me.


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NEW YORK: Governor Jerry Brown Jr. has issued an executive order for California to establish North America's most ambitious climate targets. Under the new order, the state must reduce its greenhouse gases by 40% - below 1990 levels - by 2030.
The new target aligns the west coast state with those of the world's leading governments, even matching the bold Intended Nationally Determined Contribution recently submitted by the European Union ahead of the important COP21 in Paris.
"While many nations consider what their response to climate change will be, leading states and regions are moving forward, setting ambitious goals and backing them up with practical action," says Evan Juska, Head of US Policy, The Climate Group.
"As one of the largest economies in the world, California's contribution is important in it's own right, but it also sets an example for other sub-national governments and nations that strong climate action is possible and advantageous."
The target "is necessary to guide regulatory policy and investments in California in the midterm, and put California on the most cost-effective path for long term emission reductions," states the order. Governor Brown commented: "With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it's one that must be reached - for this generation and generations to come."
California, a member of The Climate Group States & Regions Alliance, is already on track to likely surpass its current goal to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, having long been a climate leader.
In 2006, the state famously established the first major government legislation to cut carbon emissions in the US, its Assembly Bill 32 law that initially set the above goals, which The Climate Group mobilized world leaders in support of.
The new target is particularly important because it sets a clear milestone for California to reach its ultimate goal of cutting emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. In fact, according to recent studies, industrialized economies must pursue this target to help keep global temperature rise below 2 Celsius degrees below pre-industrial levels, the threshold to prevent dangerous interference with the climate system.
Including California, to date nine members of The Climate Group States & Regions Alliance have committed to reducing their emissions by 80% below 1990 levels or more by 2050: Wallonia, Ontario, North Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Scotland, Wales, Connecticut and New York State.
Re-elected for his fourth mandate late last year, Governor Brown pledged a range of bold climate actions during his inaugural speech including increasing the electricity California gets from renewable sources from 33% to 50% by 2030.
Brown also announced California's plans to cut petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50% and double the efficiency of the US state's buildings.
Last year, California joined the Canadian province of Québec – another valuable member of The Climate Group States & Regions – to link their cap-and-trade markets, creating the first cross border market in North America.
The two regions are also holding a joint greenhouse gases emission allowances auction as part of the Western Climate Initiative's regional carbon market, which is now the largest of its kind in North America
"Today, California and Governor Brown have clearly understood, internalized and articulated the science of climate change," commented Christiana Figueres, UNFCC Executive Secretary, "and today have aligned the state to the growing global understanding of the step changes and strategies needed over the coming years and decades.
"Resolving climate change requires a swift peaking of emissions and a deep decarbonization of the global economy by the second half of the century. California's announcement is a realization and a determination that will gladly resonate with other inspiring actions within the United States and around the globe. It is yet another reason for optimism in advance of the UN climate conference in Paris in December."


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Social media for Lawyers
It's hard to overemphasise the importance of social media for any legal professional.
In the past, lawyers, barristers or solicitors were able to rely on word-of-mouth recommendations from existing clients or other professional referral sources, rendering any additional form of marketing unnecessary.
Things have certainly changed.
Today, potential clients who have been recommended to use your services will still probably do their own online research before deciding whether to contact you, be that searching for your website, viewing your LinkedIn profile, looking at your Legal Practice's Facebook page and/or following your Law Firm on Twitter.
Did you know?
- Facebook is the 3rd most visited website in the world, with over 1 billion daily active users
- 50% of LinkedIn's 590 million members say they are more likely to buy from a business they have engaged with on LinkedIn
- 93% of people who follow small and medium-sized businesses on Twitter plan to purchase something from them in the near future
Our social media services for lawyers
We specialise in Social Media Account Management for the Legal profession. With our combined 100 years' in-house legal and business development experience, we understand the unique relationship that exists between lawyers and their clients and the challenges involved in marketing legal services to an online audience.
We offer a bespoke service that is tailored around you, your budget, your objectives and your current marketing activities. We use the power of social media to strengthen your brand, build your audience and attract new clients.
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter Content Management for Law Firms
Promoting a clear, focused and easily identifiable brand on social media requires daily management. Whilst you focus on fee-earning, our social media experts can focus on creating and posting both pre-agreed and reactive content. We will engage with your followers and connections, monitor the success of each post and suggest areas for improvement.
Justine Soper, Sole Principal, JLS Solicitors
Facebook Advertising for Lawyers
We've achieved some fantastic results for our legal clients over the past year, utilising Facebook Advertising as part of a wider lead generation strategy. For a manageable monthly fee, we have the ability to reach a large number of your local potential clients; with precise targeting available based on age, gender, lifestyle and location.
Susi Gillespie, Partner at Thomas Mansfield
LinkedIn Training for Lawyers
Tailored specifically to the legal sector, our training courses will give you the knowledge, confidence and skill-set you need to succeed when it comes to LinkedIn. We can deliver training on a one-to-one or group basis covering the art of Social Selling, the perfect LinkedIn Profile, the networking potential of Groups, the value of Company Pages and so much more.
Kirsty Swan, Employment Law Solicitor, Swan Craig Solicitors
Given the incredible opportunities that are available, it's more important than ever that your Firm or Chambers has an effective, competitive, results-orientated social media strategy in place.
Contact us by either completing the form below or call us on 0118 380 5980 for your free consultation.


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- Event Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - Thursday, September 3, 2015
ELRIG Drug Discovery 2015 (Telford, UK)
ELRIG Drug Discovery is the leading drug discovery event in the UK to discuss state-of-the-art technologies & the latest advances in drug discovery. #ELRIGDD15 will be held in Telford on Wednesday 2 - Thursday 3 September. Drug Discovery 2015 will bring together more than 50 world-class speakers from academia and industry who will discuss recent advances in basic and translational aspects of drug discovery. This conference will highlight the latest scientific breakthroughs, explore innovative technologies and approaches that can be used to overcome drug development challenges, and bring together industry leaders who will discuss future opportunities for novel therapeutic discovery.
The topics of Drug Discovery 2015 are:
- Identification and Validation
- Innovation in Assay Development and Screening
- Oncology Drug Targets
- Cell and Gene Therapy
- New Biologic Drugs and Technologies
- Phenotypic Discovery and Cell Imaging
CRT Speakers
Dr Christian Dillon, Senior Group Leader at CRT Discovery Laboratories will be speaking on 'Building On an Atypical (PKC) Relationship – Innovative Drug Discovery Alliances in Oncology' at this conference
Dr Hamish Ryder, Director of Drug Discovery at the CRT Discovery Laboratories will be chairing Session 6 - Oncology Drug Targets. View the full agenda here
Delegate registration is free, and can be done on the ELRIG Drug Discovery website.


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Kasabian - Club Foot
Kasabian - Club Foot
"One...take control of me / You're messing with the enemy..."
Although written a long time before it was a hit, when Club Foot finally landed it was bigger than anything Kasabian could have imagined.
The guitar riff is relentless and Tom Meighan's vocal performance flawless.
As the noughties indie scene swelled around them Kasabian proved that there was still a market for gun-slinging guitar music.


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Explore America's Campgrounds
Fogging a boat engine is a part of the complete winterization project. Putting in the effort at the end of the boating season will be well worth it the following year. In colder climates winter's plummeting temperatures will easily freeze any remaining fuel residing in the engine. This could crack the part and result in an expensive overhaul. Outboard motors have easier access and tilted out of the water when not being used. This makes them more popular for recreational boats. This article will cover fogging an outboard engine. Before beginning read the owner's manual for particular engine fogging advice.
Items you will need
Fogging oil (sold as CRC Marine Engine Stor Fog Fluid)
Fuel stabilizer for gasoline engines such as STA-BIL or Fuel Guard
Fuel biocide for diesel engines such as Bio Keen
Outboard flushing attachment kit (fits most engines)
Oil or lubricant as noted in individual owner's manual
Marine fuel
Pull the boat out of the water and bring the engine to a vertical position for no less than 10 minutes. This will allow water to escape from the block and passages.
Remove the plug from the engine that keeps the water out. Attach the flushing attachment, as indicated in owner's manual, to the engine and flush out any remaining water. Hand crank the engine several times to make sure all water is gone.
Fill the engine with a combination of marine fuel and fuel stabilizer or biocide (depending on engine type). It need only be enough to run through the fuel lines and the engine, although some people like to run the engine for 15 minutes or so.
Pull the fuel line from the engine while it is still running. This will allow the engine to run itself empty. Just before that happens the engine will run rough by making loud sounds. At that time spray the engine thoroughly with fogging spray. Be aware the engine will smoke during this process and might attempt to stall. Should this occur, apply extra power on the throttle. Make sure the engine turns off a few minutes after spraying or the fogging oil will wear off the freshly sprayed parts.
Locate the spark plugs and remove. Spray the fogging spray into the spark plug canisters. Complete coverage requires turning the flywheel several times. Inspect the sparkplugs for wear before reinstalling and replace if necessary.
- To guarantee all the internal parts and air intakes of the carburetor are well lubricated spray the fogging oil especially heavily. Some opt to do this by spraying multiple cans of fogging oil at a time.
- An individual owner's manual will advise if removing the air boxes (near carburator) or fogging ports to gain better access is necessary.
Photo Credits
- Boat at Frozen Lake image by TekinT from Fotolia.com


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Our Wallpapering Instructions
You'll find all the tricks of the trade in our Wallpapering Instructions.
Item number: 106182106182
Delivery times refer to selected country Deutschland.Change country
Shipping costs:
Standard shipping: £11.09
Express shipping: from £46.26
You can print out the sample to get a better idea of the wallpaper pattern.
Print out a sample of the wallpaper (with a scale of 1:1) in order to get a better idea of the dimensions of the individual design elements.Print a sample now
Order a sample of this wallpaper to get an exact idea of the material, the structure and the colour.
The striking graphical patterns of Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen have never been more in demand. They come in a plethora of of colour variants, like this one in white and a minty grey. Due to the modern non-woven material, it's extremely simple to put up.


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|The Simpsons Archive
|General information on The Simpsons
|Real Website?
The Simpsons Archive, better known as snpp.com or simply SNPP (named for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant), was a Simpsons fan site that had been online since 1994. Maintained by many volunteers (approaching 60 at one time) from, amongst other places, the newsgroup alt.tv.simpsons and Simpsons-related forums, the site featured information on every aspect of the show, from detailed guides to upcoming episodes and merchandise, to the episode capsules (text files documenting freeze frame jokes, quotes, scene summaries, reviews and the like), for which the site was well-known. In a bid to steer clear of Fox's legal department after a conflict in 1996, the site contains no multimedia or interactive features, preferring to focus on documenting the show through textual material. As of October, 2005, the site received roughly 1.2 million hits per month.
The Archive began in 1994, the brainchild of Gary Goldberg, with extensive help from the members of alt.tv.simpsons at the time, including Raymond Chen, the first to compile the episode capsules, and Dave Hall, one of the first online Simpsons fans to champion list-compiling. The site, originally based on the Widener archive set up by Brendan Kehoe in 1989, featured a bright yellow and black design until 1998, when it was revamped to the more subdued style to which it remained until it closed on approximately February 2, 2015.
Site contents
- FAQs, Guides and Lists
- FAQs, character files, merchandise information, broadcast history and, as the name would suggest, various lists (such as the cast list, couch gags, blackboard gags, song lyrics etc.)
- Upcoming Episodes
- Guides to upcoming national schedules in the countries of (including, but not limited to) USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, as well as details on episodes in production.
- Episode Guide
- Brief episode synopses for each episode, including guest stars and first character appearances.
- Episode Capsules
- Probably the site's most well-known feature: comprehensive text files documenting quotes and scene summaries, freeze-frame jokes, reviews, animation errors and any other insight necessary. The capsules are mostly compiled from documentation posted to alt.tv.simpsons. The episode capsule is a convention that has since crossed over to many other TV show fansites and newsgroups, including co-Matt Groening animation Futurama.
- Miscellaneous
- A collection of both internal and external copies of academic papers, articles, interviews and the like relating to the show, dating back as far as 1987.
- Simpsons-L
- The site's own e-mail-based discussion group, with over 1000 members. This list is moderated to prevent spam.
- Web links
- A comprehensive list of links to hundreds of other related sites, from fansites and character sites to the homepages of the cast and official sites. In September - November 2008, this wikia was featured fansite.
- The Springfield Times
- A news page, home to articles on new Simpsons-related information, events and products, as well as to the two sub-sections of DVD News and Movie News.
In addition to this, the site offered a search facility and an About the Archive page which allowed you to contact any of the various maintainers and check which new pages and episode capsules had been added since your last visit.
The site was featured in many publications, including the UK magazine WebUser, in which the site ranked #3 in their list of the "Top 100 TV Websites" back in 2002, and several unofficial Simpsons books including the analytical Planet Simpson by Chris Turner and the UK-issued episode guides Pocket Essentials: The Simpsons by Peter Mann and I Can't Believe It's A Bigger, Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide by Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood. In Planet Simpson, Turner thanks the Simpsons Archive, saying that the book would have been impossible without it.
Matt Groening, creator of the show, was once quoted in the Argentinian newspaper La Nación as saying: "Sometimes we have to look at fan sites to remember [what we have done before]: one of the best is www.snpp.com. I have no idea what those initials mean, but it has a lot of stuff. Though for them, every episode is the worst ever." Reviews from the site's episode capsules have also been mentioned in the DVD commentaries by various members of the show's staff.
External links
www.snpp.com (offline since February 2, 2015; accessible through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.)


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Haven't heard about the Space Poop Challenge, yet? Let's bring you up to speed.
Back in November of 2016, a humble little NASA crowdsourcing project about equipping spacesuits with better built-in bathroom technology went viral. The media pickups began rolling in, thousands of people started sharing posts about it on social media, and eventually, Trevor Noah at the Daily Show gang got ahold of it and made a very lengthy skit parodying the contest. And no, we did not use any judges from either Project Runway or Shark Tank, for the record.
Perhaps the most flattering result of Space Poop's virality, however, was learning that a professor at the University of Colorado Denver was re-creating the Space Poop Challenge as part of her curriculum.
Addressing Innovation in the Classroom
The course is Engineering General Chemistry, and it's professor Chelsea M. Magin, PhD's very first time teaching. When not teaching, Professor Magin also works at a local medical device startup, which might shed some light on her proclivity for innovative, real-world classroom exercises. In fact, the company's first product is actually a urinary catheter, so the concept of space waste wasn't too far off from Magin's experience.
"Most of the engineering majors at the University of Colorado, Denver ― mechanical, electrical, civil, etc. ― take my class as an introduction to chemistry concepts that will be important for their work later." she told us. The choice to use an open innovation competition as a classroom example of this magnitude will expose many a budding engineer to the importance of creativity and independent projects.
Digging In
70 students were randomly assigned to teams at the beginning of the semester. These teams were designed to mimic the experience of being hired on at a new job and be placed on an interdisciplinary team right off the bat, which is a common experience for engineers in the private sector. Their first assignment as newly formed teams? To solve the Space Poop Challenge in the same format as it was presented on HeroX.com, including all guidelines provided by NASA. There is one additional requirement to this project, however: the students must use at least three chemistry concepts and one engineering principle in their solution. Sorry students, no getting by with an MS Paint drawing and a partially filled out entry form (ahem, looking at some of you, Space Poop competitors...)
Acing the Space Case
All 13 teams have been working through the sections of a final report provided in the Space Poop guidelines, which includes a background, innovation, and approach section, among others. They'll also be using weighted design matrices to compare their individual ideas and select for the best ones to develop. Finally, at the end of the semester, each team will present their ideas to the class. These presentations will be taking place the first week of May, so the class has just a month left to get their Space Poop designs in order. In keeping with the spirit of a true open innovation competition, there will even be a panel of judges involved in selecting the winner. The panel boasts expertise that rivals that of a real HeroX judging panel, and includes local chemistry professors, a chemist/engineer from the EPA, an engineer from Lockheed Martin, and the University librarian who taught the class how to critically evaluate, select and cite our references for the project.
Webinar VIP Status
After hearing about the UC Denver mock Space Poop Challenge, we were instantly flattered and more than thrilled to invite the class to join in our Heroes of HeroX: Let's Talk About Poop Webinar, where the class dialed in alongside the actual winners from the real Space Poop Challenge. During the webinar, they were able to ask questions of the winners directly. The students got all the gory details of working on design teams, as well a first-person perspective on designing something from scratch that ultimately ends up in the NASA arsenal.
Curious what the winners had to say? Here's the full recording of the webinar: Heroes of HeroX: Let's Talk About Poop from HeroX on Vimeo.
How to vote
Register by: Varies by state
Your vote is your voice! It is your right and your responsibility. For your voice to be heard, in most states you must register before you can vote. Visit the state elections siteRegister to Vote
Vote-by-mail ballot request deadline: Varies by state
For the Nov 3 election: States are making it easier for citizens to vote absentee by mail this year due to the coronavirus. Each state has its own rules for mail-in absentee voting. Visit your state election office website to find out if you can vote by mail.Get more information
In-person early voting dates: Varies by state
Sometimes circumstances make it hard or impossible for you to vote on Election Day. But your state may let you vote during a designated early voting period. You don't need an excuse to vote early. Visit your state election office website to find out whether they offer early voting.My Election Office
General Election: Nov 3, 2020
Polling hours on Election Day: Varies by state/localityMy Polling Place


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Product Description
Surface Mount
Revolutionary gypsum surface mount lighting fixture. The fixtures are paintable using standard paints and paint colors.
Fixtures are solid and handcrafted, made out of environmentally friendly green materials.
Fixtures are compatible with standard and/or LED Lamps.
Product Features
- Made out of Environmentally Friendly Gypsum materials.
- Our gypsum fixtures can be painted fast and easy by simply using your standard paint colors.
- Energy efficient LED light compatible.
- Dimmable with a variety of commonly used drivers.
- Fixtures can be used with all Smart House Systems such as Lutron, Vantage, Control4, Crestron and others.
- Easy installation for new construction and remodel applications.
- Class 1 solution.
- Damp location Rated.
- E27 Base
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Category: Surface Mount Ceiling


text: Mercedes Schneider, Louisiana teacher and Ph.D. In statistics, is writing a series of posts about the National Council on Teacher Quality. NCTQ rates education programs and presents itself as a neutral, nonpartisan judge of teacher quality. Here Schneider begins an analysis of the members of the NCTQ board. Schneider finds that it is committed to the tenets of corporate reform, that it has a specific point of view about the issues it reviews.


text:
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The weather couldn't have been any better as hundreds of junior and senior high cross country runners poured into Heber Springs for the Josh Park Invitational XC Run on Tuesday, September 11. West Side, led by the incredible Gentry sister-brother duo of Haley and Travis, made its presence known.
In the 3,200 meter race, the West Side junior boys team earned a first place plaque in the 1A-4A school division. Travis Gentry, with a time of 12:27.73, led the team with a 4th place finish in the 1A-4A division of 161 competitors, and also maintained that position in the overall runners of 269 that included 5A and 6A schools. Also placing in the top 20 finishers of schools in 1A-4A were Preston Story (16) and Asa Carr (18).
In the 5k senior girls division, Haley Gentry continued to be a dominating force, finishing 4th in the 1A-4A division comprised of 130 runners and was also 4th place out of the 204 total runners in the senior girls category. Gentry finished the race with a time of 21:06.67. Also earning a medal for the Lady Eagles was Alex Southerland, who placed 14th in the 1A-4A division, crossing the finish line with a time of 23:29.56. The team finished in 9th place of its division.
Cross Country is a hard, rugged sport that requires stamina and perseverance. West Side is very proud of its athletes for their effort and determination, which are reaping results in faster running times and improved physical strength, which will be beneficial to them in other sports.


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Montana's Kids Fishing Day a Success
OutdoorHub 06.12.12
North central Montana's annual kid's fishing day in Great Falls was again a success, with about 1,750 people attending the three-hour event.
The final head count was approximately 950 youngsters and 800 adults at the 19th annual aquatic education event at Wadsworth Lake on the west side of Great Falls.
Despite high water and windy conditions a few fish were caught during the event, including a 26-inch, 8.3-pound walleye hooked by Sandra Larson of Fort Benton.
The event was made possible by volunteers from Walleyes Unlimited, Missouri River Flyfishers, Malmstrom Air Force Base, U.S. Forest Service and Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Children who attended received either a free rod and reel combo or tackle box after visiting four education stations: fly tying, fish identification, knot tying and casting.


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Álvaro Miranda
Latinoamerican Poetry Magazine
84-85. July 2008.
Álvaro Miranda
Here it is told how a storm reproduces the days
of violence, those that strikes with terror
the humanity of women
A storm
wets the goatee beard of a god.
A storm
in the depths of the sea and of night
becomes blue as a hen's leg.
Under this storm life can be shipwrecked,
the invisible nothingness that knocks
its void against all.
I have seen a storm grow in my country,
the black mane of lightning
falling on the dead women.
Translated by Nicolás Suescún


text:
Mar 2, 2017
This episode we look back on our favorite console launch memories
and those of the audience.
Every episode we look back on our memories of the video games we played growing up. We discuss a brief history of the game, the memories that impacted our lives, and the experience of going back to the games in the present day.
Having trouble logging in?


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Vera Wang Look Parfum Elixir
January 3, 2009 | 1 Comment
Designed by Monahan & Rhee | Country: United States | Font used: Bodoni
"For Vera Wang's newest fragrance, Monahan & Rhee designed a secondary packaging program unique to the precious Parfum Elixir.
The two-box system for Look Parfum Elixir employs the watercolor paper of the product line, as well as its signature cool grey and bright orange color palette.
The bottle is nestled in a two-piece sliding tray carton that leverages the bold colors to present the bottle. The outer box utilizes the ribbon handle technique created by Monahan & Rhee for Vera Wang's Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear Jewelry line. The product logo on the outer box is abstracted as a blind embossing, wrapping the entire exterior to present different cropped views."
Jonathan Patterson Leave Behind
January 2, 2009 | 6 Comments
Designed by Jonathan Patterson | Country: United States
"The package is a piece that I send to potential employers that showcases my design work. I produced about 20 pieces that I either send as a precursor to attempting to obtain an interview or as a leave-behind after an interview. In either event, it is designed to help me stand out from everyone else, which it has done very well.
There are about 12 samples of work inside the canister. Each sample gives a brief description of what the project entailed and my role in it. Each work sample also directs the viewer to my website where they can see that particular piece of work in its entirety."
Speedo Fast-Skin
January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment
Designed by Checkland Kindleysides | Country: United Kingdom
"The skin of the shark was the inspiration for the fabric of the Speedo Fast-Skin suit; the shark's egg formed the inspiration of our packaging design. A net pouch was created into which the suit can be compressed into the smallest form. A tactile, semi-translucent pouch contains the 'net' and printed/embossed graphics subtly brand the packaging.
Bespoke merchandising unitary was created by CK to display the Fast-Skin suit – either packaged or dressed on a mannequin. Both the packaging and merchandising unitary have been implemented worldwide."
Daniele de Winter
January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment
Designed by gerry2 | Country: Germany
"The brand Daniele de Winter implies scientific research, natural ingredients and a high society luxury brand. We tried to keep the packaging of the cosmetics very clean and reduced. This should underline the exclusive character of the brand.
A simple cylinder with one degree of bevel. This makes the product special without obvious 'styling'. The bottom part of the product is made of glass. This shows the background of the scientific research and stands for honesty and highest quality of the ingredients. It's a matter of cause or self evident that this product is 100% natural and the best for your body."
Incanto Wine
January 1, 2009 | No Comments
Designed by Bruketa&ZinicOM | Country: Croatia
"What are fruit wines? Many people don't know so for Incanto we decided to put labels with typographic illustrations on the front of the bottle, containing a text that tells you all about fruit wines, how they are drank and served. Incanto wines come in three different flavors, apple, blackberry and sour cherry so there are three different labels."
Arla Milk Bottle
January 1, 2009 | No Comments
Designed by Neumeister | Country: Sweden
"Input: Arla Foods, the leading dairy company in Scandinavia, wanted to reverse the trend of dropping milk consumption in Sweden.
"Output: A portable milk bottle that fitted the lifestyle of younger people on the go. (In collaboration with PriPac Design & Communication.)
"Outcome: Enabled Arla to compete with traditional lunch beverages, reach new target audiences, and generate plenty of publicity."


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About our founder – Shrabanti
Shrabanti has Masters Degree in Pure Mathematics (rank holder) from University of Calcutta, India, degree in Education (B.Ed) and diploma in Systems Analysis from National University of Singapore (NUS). She taught Mathematics in schools – secondary and junior college levels before joining the corporate world in Singapore. However, deep inside she always wanted to be a teacher. A mother of two kids – studying at a reputed international school, Shrabanti got very involved tutoring her kids and their friends during her free time. Her passion for Mathematics seeped into these kids and they started loving the subject; much to the satisfaction of their parents. That is when the idea of Eduinfinite was born.
Shrabanti focuses on the basics and application of the concepts in daily life to make students understand any topic. Her teaching methods have been very effective and she encourages students to think out-of-the box to solve any problem.
As a mathematics tutor, not only does Shrabanti motivate her students to get good grades but more importantly, inspire them to discover the amazing world of Mathematics. Take a leap of faith and join her. It can change your kid's life!


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Published online: January 18, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2018.011
Need for gender sensitive health system responses to violence against women and children
Five years since Nirbhaya, and nearly as long since the Justice Verma Committee Report, amendments to the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013, and the National guidelines and protocols on medico-legal care for survivors of sexual violence by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) 2014, we, concerned individuals, women's groups, health organisations, ethicists, and academicians, urgently demand the attention of the central and state governments – to the continuing injustice, violations and discrimination against survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
While the above progressive legal amendments and protocols mandate a comprehensive understanding and an urgent response to gender-based violence, and seek to enable survivors to access healthcare, critical support services and legal justice, the current evidence indicates otherwise.
Currently, only about seven states in the country (Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh) have issued orders for the implementation of the MoHFW protocols released in 2014. This continued inaction by the governments (central as well as state), and even subversion of these mandates exemplified by the recent Kerala Medico-legal Protocol for Examination of Survivor of Sexual Offences (1), is appalling and extremely disturbing.
The willful ignoring of the MoHFW protocol by the Kerala government is unfathomable, paving the way for a version that is in outright violation of the legal and health rights of the survivors. The MoHFW protocol is consistent with the legal amendments on sexual assault/rape; with a comprehensive healthcare response to survivors; excludes gendered biases; and attempts to promote ethical practices. It reaffirms the healthcare system's preparedness for attending to the survivors, ensuring dignity, privacy and informed consent of the survivor, while dispelling the existing gender-biased practices such as conducting the "two finger test" or commenting on the past sexual history of the survivor. In complete contradiction to this, the Kerala version is in clear contravention of the MoHFW guidelines meant to safeguard the health and legal rights of survivors, and disproportionately emphasises the forensic role of the healthcare system. For example, it focuses excessively on recording genital injuries and describing the hymen (which is unnecessary), and sidelines the therapeutic role of doctors, including psycho-social care and support. It also seeks other irrelevant details like "history of psychiatric illness or any such mental disability in the past". Psycho-social support or referrals, and other critical guidelines for care of vulnerable groups that find space in the MoHFW protocol are conspicuous by their absence, indicating a very limited and biased protocol. While efforts by the states to comprehensively address GBV and respond to survivors is appreciable, any compromise in the standards set by the MoHFW protocol is completely unacceptable.
However, mere orders for implementation of the protocol in the absence of systematic efforts to equip the healthcare system with quality infrastructure and human resources to implement them in amanner beneficial to affected individuals, is grossly insufficient. For example, even some states which have adopted the MoHFW protocols have not even made printed copies available for use in health facilities. The implementation is mostly confined to a few urban tertiary level facilities. The focus has disproportionately been on forensics – on examination and evidence collection. Access to services for other health needs – both physical and psychological — continue to be inadequate or completely absent. Despite the MoHFW protocol, the healthcare system routinely undermines the narrative of the women survivors, is preoccupied with genital injuries, and the absence of injuries is frequently equated with the absence of assault and denies their rights and autonomy. The implementation of the MoHFW protocol true to its letter and spirit thus necessitates an empathetic, efficient and accountable healthcare system to prevent survivors being denied healthcare and justice.
Moreover, alongside a comprehensive response to sexual violence, there is an urgent need for the health system to respond to domestic violence. The MoHFW should urgently initiate development of a protocol for a health system response to domestic violence and ensure its implementation. Several examples of public hospital-based crisis intervention centres as well as models of capacity building and engagement with the health sector already exist in various states. Lessons learned from these existing initiatives and models responding to sexual and domestic violence in the health sector can substantially inform the protocol.
The implementation of protocols must be supported by training of all healthcare providers to recognise the impact of gendered violence on health and provide the necessary care, support and referrals to other requisite services.
Other efforts have been initiated, like the setting up of one-stop centres (OSC) by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) in the premises of public hospitals. Where OSCs have been set up, they need to be integrated with the functioning of the hospital. It is important that the public health system proactively builds these linkages and the MOHFW provides a directive for this to the hospitals. Moreover, such services need to be available and functional in every district of every state in order to be effective.
Finally, we reiterate our demand that the Kerala protocol be immediately revoked, and that the MoHFW protocol be implemented by all States without further delay. Information about the protocol must be disseminated widely and publicly towards accountability and ethical implementation. Delays in the implementation of the protocol and in enabling health systems imply gross violation of the human rights of survivors, denial of healthcare and justice; such delays must be urgently addressed.
Adsa Fatima ([email protected]), Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, New Delhi; Aarthi Chandrasekhar ([email protected]), CEHAT, Mumbai; Amita Pitre ([email protected]), Research Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Note: This statement has been endorsed by 78 individuals and groups from all over India.
- Kerala Medico-legal Protocol for Examination of Survivor of Sexual Offences. Government of Kerala.2015 May. Available from: http://kgmoa.org/downloads/orders/medico-legal/47-kerala-medico-legal-protocol-for-examination-of-survivor-of-sexual-offences


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"You're terrible.Terrible."
Returning to my seat Jessica tottered behind, with her mouth in a deep-set frown.
As always, she wore her yellow coat and showy sword at her hip, but looking closely, they were even dirtier than when I last saw her.
Her pale legs had become swollen and red here and there, her coat had something like dirt stuck onto it. While its yellow was still yellow, it had gained a sort of antique gold look to it.
She was doing something like a homeless person, so I hadn't noticed, but fatigue had built up on her face. Because of that, her previous luminescence had faded, leaving her face dull.
… She's aged some.
Seeing her lightly take her seat, I did feel sorry for her.
"W-well, you did a good job this time around. Right, I bought cake. Have as much as you want!"
I handed her the box of cake I'd bought before I arrived. For a moment, I saw the master's offended expression, but I purposely ignored it.
"Uwah, thank you! I really, really wanted one of these!"
"I see, I see, that's good!"
As she opened the box, her teary face lit up, and she directly used her hands to grab the cream-loaded shortcake.
"Haha, slow down. Use a fork."
"Ehehehe, it would be dangerous if I used a fork."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
"Well you see, this is what I mean!"
Splat. Jessica tossed the cake at my face with all her might. With it being so sudden, I failed to dodge, and the cake stuck fast.
"Hah, hah, hah, that was refreshing!"
Jessica gave an especially gentle voice. I'm sure a full smile was spreading across her face. Of course, right now, my vision was blocked by white cream, so I couldn't see her smile.
Eventually, the cake lost to the force of gravity, falling onto the table with a splat. But it seems the cream was to remain on my face, and seeing that, Jessica gave a grin.
"Oy, oy," I took the cream sticking to my nose with a finger, and licked it. "It's really sweet. You shouldn't waste food."
"Shut it. I was just about to waste my life!"
"No, it's true I'm at fault for not properly telling you. But in the first place, you're a mercenary, right? Mercenaries and dangerous jobs go hand in hand."
I used a napkin to wipe the cream off of my face. "If you value your life so much, go get insurance."
"I did. The moment I got back to this country! I bought the most expensive one they had, what are you going to do about this!?"
"I'm telling you I don't know. That was a result brought about by your rash actions. And isn't it fine? The next time you face something life-threatening, you'll get a payout from the insurance company."
I felt there was still some cream on my face, but there was no point paying any further mind to it, so I gave up. I retrieved the cake that had flopped onto the table, and returned it to its box.
"On to business…"
"There's still some on you," said Jessica, as she leaned across the table, and touched her index finger to my face. White cream stuck to her small finger.
Ager putting it in her mouth, "It's sweet! Seconds please!" she declared.
"There's none left."
"Eeh? Why!?"
"Isn't that your fault?"
Jessica gave a depressed look alongside a, "Awww," so I reluctantly, truly reluctantly placed in an order for a short cake.
With brisk movements, the master brought out a short cake from behind the counter. Somehow, it looked tastier than the cake that had just collided with me.
"Wow, thank you! Ah, but since you're so stingy Mr. Daniel, you plan to split the cost, don't you!"
… Oh shut it.
"It's my treat, I'll pay. You did your best."
"Ehehehe, I sure did."
Seeing her munch down the short cake, I ordered a coffee and took a sip.
"So," I judged the time when she was in good enough humor, and cut to the main topic.
"Could you show me the pictures you took in the Dark Forest?"


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Domestic Violence Prevention & Intervention
Programs that offer classes or groups, sponsor victim panels or provide other interventions which help domestic violence offenders understand and take responsibility for their acts of violence and abuse; and make a decision to stop their abuse. (AIRS FN-1500.9100-180)
If you know of a Service that should be listed but isn't, please Suggest a New Provider. If you find errors in a listing, please let us know by using the "Suggest an Edit" form on the provider's detail page.


text: Since 1987, (ETSCO) has proudly serviced, repaired, & custom built control systems & replacement components for several industries. Electronic Technical Services Corporation undertakes on a diverse range of projects & contracts throughout the USA & Internationally. Our products have been used all over the world, including offshore-onshore drilling rigs, pipelines, petrochemical plants, refineries, marine vessels, dredges, among many other production operators. We currently have systems & equipment operating in Africa, Egypt, South America, Singapore, India, Europe, Canada, Mexico, & the United States. It is through our past experiences & present situations that we are able to look towards the future with high expectations, venturing into other business fields. Working across many different sectors, (ETSCO) has gained an enviable reputation as an electrical contractor who is respected by both our clients & industry experts alike.


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150 years after the Morant Bay Rebellion ... St Thomas begs for development
Legend has it that after the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865, Queen Victoria, in anger, broke her pen and uttered the words "those rebels, let them suffer".
Now, 150 years on, as the nation reflects on that pivotal point that changed the course of history, some parishioners hold the view that the gem in the east is still reeling from the effects of the rebellion.
"The colour of the faces has changed, so we now have black people in charge, but it is the same policy that is being carried on," said Dorrett Abrahams, secretary of the St Thomas Parish Development Committee.
Abrahams, who was a guest at a Gleaner Editors' Forum held yesterday at the newspaper's North Street offices in Kingston, said the parish has suffered from poor infrastructure such as bad roads and intermittent or no water supply.
This, she said, is despite the fact that the parish supplies aggregate to much of the country and provides water, via the Yallahs Pipeline, to the Corporate Area.
"St Thomas is the only parish that is not connected to the highway network. If you leave us off that grid, how are we to develop because every developer will say St Thomas is not ready," Abrahams said.
related to history
The Reverend Norva Rodney, who was born and raised in St Thomas, said the stage at which the parish finds itself is directly related to its history.
"Walter Rodney spoke of how Europe underdeveloped Africa, we know what happened with Haiti, relative to the colonial powers, and I believe St Thomas, to some extent, is along a similar line," Rodney said.
Faced with its problem of underdevelopment in the parish, Alston Stewart, who too was born and raised in the parish but emigrated to the Corporate Area, said a concerted effort is now needed to transform the parish into being the place of first choice for doing business and raising families.
"We are very rich in natural resources, whether it be the water, the aggregate or other things that are constantly taken out of St Thomas to build the rest of Jamaica. St Thomas itself has been left behind," Stewart said.
He said the time has come to mobilise all of St Thomas' resources to get a development plan.
"Nobody is going to assist you because you asked for a road to fix. Why do your want the road to fix, for comfortableness? No! Because it will open up A,B,C,D. This is the impact it will have on GDP (gross domestic product); this is the impact it will have on health services ... . We have to tell our story, we have to do the numbers," Stewart said.
The businessman, who hails from Wilmington, said St Thomas has great tourism potential, arguing that if the road network is improved, it will make travel from the Norman Manley International Airport into it shorter than the journey from the Sangster International Airport to places in Westmoreland such as Whitehouse.
"The beauty is there as well as the history," he added.
Unemployment, poverty high
As if its infrastructural problems were not enough, St Thomas, according to Lorian Peart-Roberts, the head of the Social Development Commission in the parish, has a high unemployment rate and a high level of poverty.
She said a series of consultation is taking place with major stakeholders out of which a development order would evolve.
"St Thomas has never had one," Peart-Roberts said, while adding that it will define "where and how development takes place in the parish".
Meanwhile, Stewart said it is not enough for persons to blame government for the state of the parish. He said many of the persons who can influence the development of the area have only maintained token connection with the parish.
"I would like for us, people from St Thomas, to take responsibility for not having lobbied hard enough and not having proposed significant development programmes. Not enough effort has been made. Nobody gives anybody anything out of gratis; you have to work hard for it," Stewart said.
He added: "There are limited resources, (and) there is even limited attention span. Unless those of us who have an interest fight for it, it is not going to come. There is great potential and we ought to do something about it."
Said Stewart: "Paul Bogle was prepared to walk from Stony Gut to make his case; we need some additional Paul Bogles to take a plan to the Government and say, 'here are the facts, here is the development plan, here are the resources, here is what we bring to the table and we require you to step up'."


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The Gleeful Card CrackheadYou absolutely live for sending and receiving mail. The Christmas season puts you over the edge of happiness and you quite literally soar to the mailbox each day. The cards you receive are hung delicately in a primary location in your home and then once Christmas is over, you press each card lovingly into a scrapbook. You mail approximately 150-300 handcrafted cards each holiday season to share the joy.
The Update ManiacYou view Christmastime as a chance to catch up, share the year's events with friends and family, and proudly display the growth of your kids/pets/acreage. Your cards are typically full of beautiful, flowing text, factoids about your job, and recent vacation pictures. Any cards you receive are quickly scanned for updates, then filed away in a pastel-colored accordion folder in your new home office.
The Standard SantaYou like Christmas. You order cards during online sales and pick a design that allows between 2-4 pictures of your family, preferably with everyone in sweaters. You try to get your cards mailed in time to not be rude. The cards you receive are placed on the counter with every intention of getting taped to the fridge, but 99% of the time end up in the recycling bin sometime around January 19th.
The Vintage PostmanYou don't fall for the online gimmicks and marketing techniques of these new-fangled online "photo" card stores. You prefer to head to your local mom-and-pop shop, carefully select a set of pretty, unique Christmas cards, and hand-write a Christmas message to each of your card recipients. You are intentional with your stamp selection. You appreciate receiving cards but sometimes wish the cards were a little more personal and detailed.
The ScroogeYou can't stand Christmas cards. You think they are a complete waste of money and resources and you wish people would stop sending them. Any cards you receive are displayed for an obligatory amount of time and then disposed of, preferably in the recycling so yet another landfill doesn't become filled with our irresponsible holiday behavior.
Now for the most part, those categories are satire. They are not intended to cause guilt or pigeonhole anyone, although I'm sure some of us can relate and match specific faces to each personality. I actually know a Scrooge, and she is a fantastic person who just really doesn't like Christmas cards. All in good fun.
I am a Standard Santa. Christmas cards are more of an obligation than a true joy to me. I do not pen nice notes to my friends and family. I forget about cards until the last minute and, because I also forget to budget for them, end up getting whatever is on sale with whatever pictures I can take myself. I sit back and pray the pictures do the talking...."Look! My kids are alive, look at them being alive and smiling!"
I wish I were more like the gleeful card crackhead. I have visions...beautiful, gorgeous visions of handmade cards, created from scraps and repurposed garbage, created by my own two hands and lovingly delivered in-person to all of my loved ones.
I also really, really want a rainbow unicorn to pull me around in a sled made entirely of caramel butter pecan toffee.
Handmade cards won't happen. I can pretend they will. I can even say they will. But I know me. And they won't.
So that leaves me wondering, as Christmas draws near, why do we send Christmas cards? Do we do it out of obligation? Do we do it because it's the polite thing to do? Is it truly another wasteful tradition stemming from Shutterfly-manufactured demand? Or do we love it? What is the point of mailing a Christmas card?
To answer my question, I first turned to history. I'd read a kids book about a chick named Sarah over the weekend - she apparently saved Thanksgiving. I thought if I dug into the history of Christmas cards, maybe I'd find another cool story about determination and love and the meaning behind Christmas cards.
Instead, I found out the very first American Christmas cards showed up in the late 1840's and were actually too expensive for most people to buy. It wasn't until some dude named Louis Prang came over and started mass-producing cards in 1875 that most Americans were able to buy cards. He was eventually run outta business...although the same cannot be said of John Hall and his two brothers. They started Hallmark cards in 1915 and well, we all know where that went.
So history isn't lending much help in the way of supporting the feel-good tradition of sending Christmas cards. If anything, history speaks to Christmas card commerce....the very thing I don't want to fall victim to. Money is the opposite of Christmas joy, to me.
Well how about an informative infographic? Infographics always help, right?
Hmm. Seven years ago the average American family spent about $32 on Christmas cards. I can tell you that is not my life....I paid $35 for the cards and at $0.49 a pop, my postage will cost an additional $25. So for me, sending my measly 50 cards will cost $60 this year. Just for Christmas cards. Purchased half off. Without the gold foil trim. Or printed return address.
But wait! What's that blurp about donations to charity? Oh. That's the UK. Dang. Good, but still dang. Also apparently only women really buy Christmas cards. My inner feminist is screaming.
So no help from history, no help from infographics...what's a blogger to do?
That's where you come in, dear readers. Tell me, oh tell me, what are your thoughts on Christmas cards? Are they another ploy designed to suck the money from our pockets, or do they add real value to our lives each year?
I think if I were really honest with myself, I would acknowledge that most communication, updating, photo sharing, and happy greetings can be delivered via text, Facebook, or *gasp* in person these days. The lost art of letter writing makes my soul cry but yet I do nothing to bring my pen to the page, to reach out via snail mail to family living far, far away. Instead I do what I can to mitigate the guilt from not spending as much time communicating with family and friends as I should and I buy a photo card and send it in the mail once a year. I should probably stop spending unnecessary money on cards and instead work to send personalized letters or greetings to those I love when I think of them, year-round, instead of just at Christmas. Whew. Good thing I'm not being honest with myself.
So let's hear it, lovelies. Can you relate to any of the personalities I described above? Where do you see yourself? And what is your honest take on Christmas cards...are they wonderful or wasteful? I'd love to hear about it in the comments down below and as always, thank you so, so much for reading!


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"Make My Day" RNC 2012: Mr. Romney Accepts the Royal Nom
by Jude Cowell
Even if no celebrity speaker such as actor/director Clint Eastwood lauds Mitt Romney onstage tonight at RNC 2012 in Tampa, Florida we may expect the GOP candidate to perform his best Ronald Reagan impression in an attempt to woo voters his way so that in case Big Money and Bigger Lies won't do the trick unlocking the White House backdoor (the one Bush and Cheney slinked in by in Dec 2000-Jan 2001), former Gov. Romney may indeed find the Oval Office his new CEO lair from which to direct the continuing heist of America's treasure and resources (8.30.12 Sun, the leader, conjoins Fixed Star Thuban: 'to protect or make a treasure' which relates to Midas-type hoarding behavior when negatively expressed.)
Whether you find Mitt to be a King Midas fellow or HORUS come back to rule, it will be curious to see which impressive archetype President Obama portrays next week at DNC 2012 for in 2008, BHO played the role of Apollo, the young (-ish) hero, a sun god. Of course, HORUS is a sun god, too, and son of goddess Isis (so revered in Washington DC Masonic circles as from our nation's earliest Venus-worshipping days, and of Osiris, a shadow of the Christ-Savior figure. Romney As Savior of America, of our economy, and--get this!--of Medicare is laughable but that's the product they have to sell us this evening. This is made more imperative by how low on the scale of popularity Mr. Romney ranks and by how low the falsehoods this week's Republican speakers had to stoop to in order to rev up the audience in the stadium to make a nice show, they hoped, for the cameras and for propaganda's sake.
I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide how well each speaker performed for performed they did...though Mitt's name hardly was uttered by some. Wish I had a dollar for each time I've heard in the last 10 years how 'even his own party doesn't like him'---and that, I assume, comes from a knowing place by people who've had to actually deal with the cold fish (Sun, Mercury, and Mars in Pisces, sign of the Two Fishes; I won't say more now since tonight's program has begun--it's now after 8:00 pm edt--and there are many astro-portents I could type if only there were time.
Suffice it to say that Mr. Eastwood's natal horoscope bi-wheeled with the chart for 10:00 pm edt tonight in Tampa, Florida shows the professional thespian's natal Mars strong in its own sign of Aries (28:27 in his natal 6th house of Military-Police-Work-Service) rising with n North Node (NN = contact with the public) following @2Tau12 Rx, also in n 6th H. Eastwood's reticence to speak when not following a written script is shown in part by natal Mercury 23Tau49 being Rx and in stubborn Taurus, sign of money-lovers, intolerance, and greed for gold (also, preserver and appreciator of values.) Naturally, Mr. Romney shares Eastwood's golden interests since Mitt's natal Jupiter falls in the money sign of Corporatism, Big Business, and Occult Mysticism, Scorpio. Below, you'll see that Clint took the stage at 10:02 pm!
Mitt's Jupiter in Scorpio is shared with Ronald Reagan and in fact, both Ronald Reagan and Mitt Romney are born Moon-Jupiter types: Reagan's Moon conjoins his NN (popularity--if Mitt had this exciting double-Luna link with the public, he might've won the presidency before now!); Reagan's n Jupiter conjoins his n SN of the Moon, aka, the tail of the dragon which--swipe!--has a separative Saturnian tone. This connection with SN also relates to neurotic behavior but there's no time now to address it or the implications of its trouble in foreign lands (Iran-Contra, etc) and conflicts of interests by being out of step with societal norms as shown by Reagan's ethical and social clashes (manipulating the 'Evengelical Right' for political gain--religious leaders got burned by The Gipper but they're back and riding' high in the saddle with jockey Romney!)
Yes, Moon-Jupiter interests and talents were 'on Reagan's life path' and his destiny (Nodal axis), so to speak, and I'm convinced that the several astrologers the Reagans used through the years must have divulged this interesting piece of information to them back in their California days...as if they both hadn't guessed.
Whoah, Pardner! Even now I type too long of past presidents and venerable movie celebrities but what about Mittens For President? Yet we must note that at 10:00 pm edt tonight, it will be Clint Eastwood's natal Midheaven (world stage) conjoined by transiting, orating Mercury in showy, shiny Leo in Tampa, Florida.
Two interesting transits to Mr. Eastwood's natal planets are now in force and are worth mentioning:1. tr Jupiter to n Sun 9Gem50 (conjunct Royal Star Aldebaran), a time when endeavors begun 12 years ago (2000) will either move forward to a higher level of growth and development, or they will end very soon.
2. tr Pluto to n Saturn Rx, strong @10Cap38: the past becomes part of the present (his Carmel, CA mayorship years ago? he could have moved up in Politics then but chose not to); plus, the traditions and structures upon which life and work are based may be totally transformed by present circumstances (pos or neg); issues of the day include abuse of power, misdirected authority, ambition, and patience. (Julia Lupton Skalka, The Instant Horoscope Predictor.
Well, back to Mittens' natal horoscope which contains a Moon-Jupiter conjunction in late Scorpio, an indicator as previously mentioned that Mother may have set little Mitt's dream upon the path of Presidential Hopeful from an early day for after all, George W. Bush's pretty-minded Mother did and he was born with a Moon-Jupiter conjunction, too, though in Venus-ruled Libra, another money link through Venus' evaluating, valuable talents.
Wish today's schedule had allowed me to begin posting earlier but it did not so I'll type what I can, such as an interpretation of the Moon-Jupiter combination of energies (Reagan-Romney) as given by the excellent Michael Munkasey in his Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets, a very useful book in Political Astrology work for it includes Hegelian Dialect details on planetary pairs from which many modern chaos-creating politicians take their cues as they continue their longterm attempt to make government into the Bad Guy (Reagan: "...government IS the problem")--No, dishonest government and civil officials intent on ruining the American peoples' lives as they rob them of more of their rights, property, and air to breath, then try to rule the entire world--THAT is the problem. Quit It.
Well, tonight the Moon shows Piscean deception and spiritualism as they invoke Good Fortune for Mitt and for America reflected toward the public with the Moon @1Pis56 conjoined with fraudulent though often inspired Neptune 1:34 Rx; at 10:00 pm edt in Tampa, there's a midpoint rising of grand-schemes proportions, and symbol of speculators, wastrels, and spendthrifts the world over (including the natal chart of the NYSE) though we must note a deep potential for compassion within the Jupiter-Neptune-ruled sign of Pisces as well:
Jupiter-Neptune = ASC: situations or people with explanations for life which go beyond physical reality (MM)...into the spun political 'reality' of Washington politicians?--jc; and, appearing to live in a world lighted by an emotionally rationalized agenda and personal imagination (Tyl.) Yes, the Mormons are speaking about Romney and faith tonight! With dire results of an austere political platform emotionally rationalized, of course, with a Rand-esque 'survival of the fittest' frigidity. "Brother's keeper"? Bosh!, say the GOP.
Now here are details on the political-dreamer/reward combo, Moon-Jupiter with my italics and/or bold added:
Thesis: women who make important contributions to legal or religious practices; legal situations concerning farm or land policies; increased agricultural production.
Antithesis: floods (as in New Orleans--again); a large number of natural disasters (as predicted by mundane astrologers such as Theodore White at Global Astrology); the opinions of women are taken beyond their actual significance (or pretending to?); the legal system acts as a barrier to commercial or agricultural production; ineffective clerics or lawyers (to despair we the people into joining the radical extremists and anarchists--now repped by Uranus in Aries--in demonizing civilized government!)
An astro-note on the Sabian Symbol for tomorrow night's Full Moon degree which colors tonight's culmination of RNC 2012 and is an apt Sabian Symbol for the GOP candidate (and his wife): Full Moon @'9Pis' = "The Race Begins: A Jockey Spurs His Horse", in case we are saddled with yet another Republican presidency and/or a routing of Capitol Hill by Republican Utopian enlightened radicals as in 1994. This is quite a horse race, yes? And Sun @'9Virgo', the Point of Illumination opposite? "A Man Making a Futurist Drawing" but with few details sketched in until after January 2013.
So remember the shared Romney-Reagan tone we may be hearing--and feeling--if a Romney adminstration occurs for it may eerily remind many Americans of the downside of a Reagan-style presidency which could have been handled more forthrightly and less greedily than it was during Ronnie's Decade of Greed, the 1980s: the emotionally entitled Moon-Jupiter duo.
And the dreamy public relations combo of Moon-Neptune now constellating this very evening (Moon = the publicity; Neptune = media and the masses)? Why, of course! Masonic-Rosicrucian-Illuminatist astrologers have always set much store by an occulting Moon especially for events you wish the masses to revere without being overly aware of what they're actually honoring and supporting...
Moon-Neptune = a leadership which heeds the opinions and emotional climate of its constituents vs delusion about the popular support for current policies (MM.)
So our query may now be: which political party is which?
10:02 pm edt: Clint Eastwood takes the stage to excited applause of the crowd and he opens with, "Save a little for Mitt"...he pretends another character is 'acting as' President Obama...political stagecraft! But I'm certain the former mayor's speech will be nothing if not entertaining. Big applause for: "Politicians are employees of ours"--how true! And this would include Mitt Romney.


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March 4, 2009
Antioch New England Makes Front Page News!
The following story ran on the front page of the Keene Sentinel on March 2.
Antioch University New England's influence is hard to miss in the Monadnock Region
By Anika Clark, Sentinel Staff
Reprinted with permission from the Keene Sentinel, Keene, NH
The famed pop-culture game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is founded on the premise that the lanky "Footloose" stepper has so saturated the film industry that his screen appearances can be connected with any other actor's within six steps.
In the Monadnock Region, the same might be said about Antioch graduates because of one simple reality:


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VOORHEES, N.J. — New Jersey American Water typically spends about $150 million every year on capital projects. Approximately $40 million of that is spent updating the pipes, pumps and valves that make up its nearly 9,000 miles of underground infrastructure. However, as part of a new distribution system improvement program created recently by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, New Jersey American Water has submitted a foundational filing that, if approved, will result in more than 400 infrastructure projects across the state, representing an investment of more than $140 million and more than 900 construction jobs over the next 24 months.
The company's foundational filing includes an engineering evaluation of the distribution system that discusses the need for accelerating the work, identifies issues the company faces in its distribution system, and actions being taken to extend the life of assets. The hundreds of proposed projects in New Jersey American Water's filing range from a $5 million replacement of 1900s-era cast iron mains in Linden to a $13,000 replacement of a 2-inch diameter pipe section in Cherry Hill.
"This accelerated effort, which will be reviewed by BPU staff and the Division of Rate Counsel, will help address the EPA's concern related to aging infrastructure and future compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act," said Suzanne Chiavari, vice president of Engineering at New Jersey American Water. "It will also allow us to work on necessary infrastructure upgrades and replacements at reasonable costs based on a replacement plan that bids the work, allowing the contractor more flexibility as to timing, which significantly lowers the cost, as compared to emergency replacements which are very expensive and disruptive to the communities we serve."
The new program to accelerate renewal of the state's aging water infrastructure was developed by the BPU following a lengthy public stakeholder process that lasted almost two years. The program's infrastructure projects are funded through a Distribution System Improvement Charge that will appear as a separate item on customers' bills. As filed, the initial DSIC for the BPU approved projects in New Jersey American Water's foundational filing would go into effect before the summer of 2013.


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Type: Rules
Sources: Jeff Patton (Agile Development Outside-In), some minor adjustments from my point of view. Thanks to Scott Selhorst for bringing this stuff to me.
Explain how to strip down (thin) user stories in order to have more, smaller user stories instead of few, large ones. This is a way to simplify planning releases, as core features can be added to the product earlier than the nice-to-have features. However, keep in mind that product users might like the product for its nice-to-have features.
- Note: I find this kind of technique very valuable when being pressed to release. It is relatively easy to apply AND easy to argue about: "with this little time left, we can only provide the really necessary things." My managers liked the idea of getting the basic stuff, but being sure that they will get it far better that the usual "we will do it" and "oh, we couldn't do it" afterwards.
- Note: Have you noticed how frequently used yet odd the term "really necessary" is?
Rules and Notes
R1 Necessity
Find the basic characteristics (course of event) of the user story that is absolutely necessary for the user. It may not be very comfortable, safe, flexible. Make it an own user story. You might want to mark it "Necessities".
R2 Flexibility
Find all options in the original user story that might make the feature more applicable in different situations. Make a user story each. You might want to mark it "Useful options".
Note: There really is no point in combining independent options into one story just because you don't want to have "so many stories".
R3 Safety
Find all the little features that add to increased data quality, prevent inappropriate actions, prevent trouble downstream from the spot. Make an user story each. Sometimes it is easy to combine these kind of topics into one user story with one common business value, like "ensure data quality". This business value can also serve as a name tag.
R4 Comfort, Performance
Find things that make it easier for the user to use the product. Also consider the next occurrance of the user story in the user's life (like if I can save these settings now, I can use them again later). This is where Kano's exciters come in. Products win usability awards here. Add a user story each. You might want to mark it "Added Comfort" or "Improved Performance".
Costs, Savings
<What does it take to implement those rules? What does it give?>
Side effects
<Is there anything that happend or will happen as one implements the rules? This relates to both wanted and unwanted effects ('unwanted' does not imply 'negative').>
Related Pages
- the 2 fundamental rules in leadership
- 7 useful viewpoints for task planning oriented towards quick results
- communicating plans in agile development
If you want to know more about a topic, simply tag the article with a 'morePlease' or 'examplesPlease' tag!


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Your home for volleyball in Houston and the Gulf Coast Area!
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Went down for open gym tonight. The bet is up, but no one plays. Anyone interested? Tuesday and Thursday night's
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I cant seem to find any resources at all for playing indoor volleyball in the houston area.Is it dead?Continue
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Where are some places to play indoor? Besides Spike.....Continue
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Hey there! I am looking for a league or just a place to show up and play a game or three. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm in the Clear Lake/League City area. Thanks so much in advance!Continue
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Adding a magnificent sweep of color is always welcome in anyones yard, and in Arizona landscaping you can count on the Zephtranthes to burst into bloom September-October. Also known as the Rain Lily, this tough perennial is a native of the plains in South America and Mexico. As it's hardiness zones are 7-10, adding this lovely late season bloomer to your landscaping in Cave Creek or Glendale, Arizona is best done where it will have part shade.
You can choose from a selection of colors when adding the Rain Lily to your xeriscaping design – white, pale yellow and this vibrant pink. While the most common name for this easy to grow perennial flower refers to it as a lily, it is actually a member of the Amarylis family named after the west wind. Beneath a wide spreading tree is the perfect spot to add these plants to your outdoor living rooms or for curb appeal.
They do tolerate arid soil quite well, but if you are going to have that glorious sweep of blooms, you'll want the plants to spread into a well filled clump or ground cover. In your Arizona landscaping, when the long dry periods of summer arrive, it is best to give the Rain Lily some water once or twice a week. They do thrive in the wild over summer dryness, but there is a huge difference between wild flowers on the plains and your manicured landscape design in Cave Creek or Phoenix.
Aptly named for their habit of bursting into bloom after an early fall rain, the Rain Lily performs with show stopping flair with the periods of drying out and watering we practice in our Arizona landscaping. Be sure to pick a spot where the soil drains well or amend your clay soil thoroughly when planting this great perennial in your xeriscaping. Not taking care on giving them the right soil conditions will mean you won't be enjoying the beauty of bloom. Your newly installed plants will be small, give them some time as the flower show is well worth your patience.


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Lugarde also has a wide range of log cabins with a thickness of 44m and 68 mm. As Lugarde takes charge of all aspects of production, the dimensions we offer are very flexible and we take personal requirements into account. We have plenty of scope for "playing" with the various design aspects, such as the dimensions, type of window or door, floor insulation, different levels, terraces, blinds, "porches" or possible connections to other log cabins or to a house in the Prima series. All these options will help you to integrate your house into the surroundings, always respecting the Environment.
You can show us your requirements by means of a sketch and we will prepare a non-binding offer. Once you are satisfied with the design and price, we will produce a more detailed drawing for you
All the versions are delivered with glass, foundation beams and chrome metalwork. The wooden floor is optional. For the roof decoration there are 5 different colours of tegula tile: green, red, black, brown, blue. All the Log Cabins are delivered ready to assemble. The simple doors are always left-hand ones, but if you wish them to have a different type of opening, just indicate this in your order (no extra charge). For the double doors, the right-hand one is the entrance door.


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The Count of Barcelona's position as effective ruler over the Catalan counties was based on agreement with the other nobles. The different realms of the Crown of Aragon retained their own laws and were united as a confederation. Barcelona's role as a seaport led to the development of an urban merchant class that rivalled the power of the nobility. All these factors led to a political philosophy known as pactism and some of Europe's earliest democratic documents and institutions can be traced back to medieval Catalonia.
Catalonia's position as a terra de pas or passageway between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe has definitely marked its history as has its location on the Mediterranean. A natural meeting point for different cultures, the territories that Catalonia came to occupy were also of strategic importance to invaders, who came from both north and south and also from the sea.
As the land is poor in natural resources, such as precious metals or wheat, the inhabitants had no choice but to go abroad and trade in order to survive. Due to Catalonia's reliance on foreign trade, a merchant class developed very early on to rival the oligarchy of the nobles.
Early trade guilds were established to regulate local commerce and administer taxes. Consequently, a prosperous and powerful middle class grew up and towns tended to be governed by committees including representatives of the nobility, the church and the merchants and guilds.
The Catalan counties remained vassals of the Franks for longer than other territories in the north of the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona gradually grew to dominate the Marca Hispanica until the title of Count of Barcelona became hereditary under Guifré el Pilós in 897 and declared independence from the Franks under Borrell II in 987. However, the Count of Barcelona was still primus inter pares, first amongst equals, and could only maintain ascendancy over the other counts by consensus.
This contrasts sharply with the political development of landlocked Castile, which was centred on military conquest from and defence against the Moors for more than 250 years longer than the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon. Jaume I conquered Valencia in 1238 whilst the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Kings wasn't completed until 1492.
A military society would develop along different lines to a society based on trade and commerce. The nobility were military commanders normally subject to direct orders from the king. The control of newly conquered territories was ceded to the noble who conquered them. The land-owning nobles owed allegiance to the king and this relationship favoured absolute monarchy.
As territory was acquired quickly by military means, it was allotted as rewards to nobility, mercenaries and military to exploit in large estates known as latifundia. These gifts finished the traditional small private ownership of land, eliminating a social class that had also been typical of Al-Andalus under the Moors. This didn't happen in Catalonia where peasants were smallholders jealous of their land rights and strongly motivated to get the best out of their plot.
The nobles of Southern Castile and Andalusia were often absentee landowners, who were more interested in the life and intrigues of the royal court than making their large estates more efficient. The population in Southern Spain were not smallholders but an underclass of jornaleros, landless peasants, who were hired by the latifundists as day workers for specific seasonal campaigns. The Castilian peasant class lived for the most part in abject poverty and the absence of a dominant class of merchants and tradesmen meant that early democratic structures did not develop in the same way as they did in Catalonia.
As J.H. Elliot points out in Imperial Spain, a corollary of this was that the Castilian nobility tended to have a distaste for work and commerce considering it below them. A Castilian noble became wealthy as a result of land acquisition not work. The long-term effect of this was a mistrust of Jews, who were expelled from Spain in 1492, and the consequent economic and financial problems of the 16th century. A modern symptom is the belief that Catalans are mean and avaricious because the region remains the industrial and commercial powerhouse of Spain.
Cultural, economic and territorial differences between Castile and a Crown of Aragon, with Catalonia at the forefront, have led to different political visions for Spain. Unfortunately, a centralised government ruled by an absolute monarch or for large periods of the 20th century, a dictator, with heavy influence of both the military and the church has generally held sway.
Catalans are very proud of their democratic traditions and their defence has been a major motivation throughout their history. La Diada, the Catalan National Day celebrated every year on September 11th commemorates the abolition of the Catalan political institutions and charters in 1714 and serves as a reminder that Catalonia wants its traditional democratic rights returned.
Peace and Truce
Just like other embryonic countries in Western Europe, the confederation of counties that would become Catalonia began joining together at the same time as the development of feudalism. The first rudimentary agreements of what is known as pactism by Catalan historians were formulated in the 11th century during the reign of Ramon Berenguer I.
Being Count of Barcelona gave few guarantees in terms of territorial control. Barcelona had the Saracen threat immediately to the south. Political instability led to infighting between nobles in the territories of the north. These were violent times. Not only counts and viscounts of rival dominions but anyone with a castle, a horse or even a big sword was apt to cause trouble.
The level of violence was such that the Bishop of Vic and counsellor to Counts of Barcelona, Abbot Oliba called Assemblees de Pau i Treva or Assemblies of Peace and Truce for the first time in 1027. This was the first attempt to define a set of norms for the feudal power struggles and a relationship of mutual allegiance between the barons and their ruler. Safe zones known as sagreras were established around churches and the nobles promised not to fight battles between Thursday and Sunday.
A Catalan Magna Carta
The Pau i Treva agreements may appear trivial but peace is a prerequisite for political stability. They created conditions that paved the way for later pactism and more formal systems of government. Large sections of Pau i Treva were included in the proto-democratic documents compiled a century later when the Counts of Barcelona had also become Kings of Aragon.
The Usatici Barchinonae, El Liber feudorum maior and Les Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium were all compiled between 1170 and 1195. The best known document is the first of these, the Usatges de Barcelona, although there is a great of overlap between the three.
The Usatges de Barcelona was a proto-democratic document that revised and extended the relationship between the monarch and his land-owning or clerical subjects. They were compiled in 1173, forty years before the roughly equivalent Magna Carta was drawn up in England in 1215.
We must not confuse the Usatges de Barcelona with democracy but they certainly laid the base for a pacted relationship between those vying for power in the embryonic country.
Their spirit is summed up by the famous contract between Jaume I and his nobles. "We, who are as good as you, swear to you, who are no better than us, to accept you as our king and sovereign lord, provided you observe all our liberties and laws - but if not, not."
Democratic Institutions
By the reign of Alfons the Chaste, the Principality of Catalonia was united by the same language and a set of Visigoth laws, which had been updated for a feudal society. Very slowly a precocious parliamentary system began developing as a limitation of royal power.
The 11th century Cort Comtal was an early manifestation but it wasn't until the establishment of the Corts Catalanes by Pere the Great in 1283 that Catalonia had its first legislative body. Representatives from the nobility, the clergy and the urban merchants met to take legal and administrative decisions and Catalonia had its first governmental institution. England was to develop similar systems a few decades later so the Corts Catalanes are often considered the earliest rudimentary parliament in Europe.
Jaume I was not just a warrior king but also a political reformer. Realising the powerful merchant city of Barcelona required a special kind of government, in 1265 he had established a city council of three members elected by a hundred prohoms or important men. This institution was to grow into the celebrated Consell de Cent or Council of One Hundred, which was to govern Barcelona for the coming centuries.
Less than a century later, in 1359, the permanent commission of the Corts Catalanes developed into a permanent institution, the Diputació del General, known as the Generalitat from the 16th century onwards, and the Principality of Catalonia now had its own government. This was consolidated in the 15th century and remained in place until its abolition by Felipe V in 1714.
The two institutions of Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat still face each other across Plaça de Sant Jaume in Barcelona to this day. It is humbling to think that the origins of the present Catalan government date back to the medieval period. In fact, the Palau de la Generalitat stands on the site of the Roman Forum so political decisions have been taken in the same location for more than 2,000 years.
International Maritime Law
Another major Catalan contribution to early European law was the Llibre del Consolat de Mar or the Book of the Consulate of the Sea. This was a compilation of mercantile and maritime law, which was adopted as common law of Mediterranean trade standards and still forms the basis of much maritime mercantile law.
The importance of the Port of Barcelona and the growth of the Catalan trade meant that Catalonia established consuls in all the important ports of the Mediterranean. Wherever Catalans traded, they expected the same conditions to apply.
The Consolat de Mar was first compiled by Pere the Great between 1320 and 1330 in Valencia. It was the king's way of ordering the southern port city to comply to the norms and customs of the Port of Barcelona. By the 15th century, the book had been translated into Italian, French and Castilian.
The Consolat de Mar served as the basis for loading and unloading practices and customs duties not only in the Mediterranean but also across the Atlantic and in the rest of Europe as Castilian influence spread under the Habsburgs. It was the basis for maritime law in most European countries until the end of the 18th century and remained Spanish law until 1829. It was translated into English in 1874 and was even used as the basis of a US court ruling in the early 20th century.
Catalonia was able to make a major contribution to early European law not only because it was the dominant state of a medieval Mediterranean empire but also because its merchants left their influence even further afield. Pactism was the core of the Crown of Aragon and allowed the component states of the Catalano-Aragonese Confederation to retain their own legal and political systems.
Some have attempted to trace a continuum between the political structure of the medieval Crown of Aragon and republican federalism, which along with the political Catalanism of the end of the 19th century, impregnates 20th century Catalan nationalism. This is arguable but, as a historical precedent, the old Crown of Aragon still symbolises an alternative Catalan model for redesigning the Spanish state. A system recognising the rights and differences of Spain's different nationalities would have provoked fewer tensions than the autocratic centralism that was imposed by Castile.
Pactism, the medieval equivalent of modern constitutionalism, marked the difference between the people of Catalonia and its ruling dynasty, between the subjects of the realm and their king. However, this could not yet be described as democracy. The concept of citizen does not substitute that of vassal and nor was there an equality of rights. The Corts were not elected by universal suffrage and nor were they in any other European country either. Similarly, the Diputació del General or Generalitat was oligarchic in nature.
Antagonistic Political Models
The political make up of the Catalano-Aragonese Confederation contrasted sharply with the system of government in rival Castile, which was autocratic and centralised. This was fine whilst the two territories remained separate but problems began as Castilian influence on the Crown of Aragon increased.
Following the death of Marti the Humane, the last in line of the Catalan House of Barcelona, Fernando I of the Castilian Trastámara dynasty came to the throne. This signified a change in political culture and the first clashes between Catalan pactism and Castilian absolutism.
The situation worsened with the marriage of the Catholic Kings, Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon, and went further downhill under the Habsburgs. When Felipe II made Madrid capital of the Spanish Empire in 1561 resentment of a centralised Castilian government grew.
The first Catalan rebellion came in 1640 with the War of the Reapers and, following the War of Spanish Succession in 1714, all Catalan political rights and institutions were abolished by the absolutist Borbón King Felipe V.
The history of Catalonia since 1714 has involved repeated attempts to recover the democratic institutions lost under Felipe V. In the last 300 years, Catalans from all shades of the political spectrum have lobbied for greater autonomy and more recognition of Catalan cultural and linguistic differences.
The current calls for independence from Spain are a reflection that most Catalans don't feel represented by the centralist political model. If the truth be known, they haven't done for centuries. The recovery of the traditional charters and institutions has always been central to the Catalanist argument.
Now Read Chapter Six of Catalonia Is Not Spain - Barcelona - Capital of an Empire
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Clear Channel Holding Settlement Talks
Shares of
Clear Channel Communications
(CCU) - Get Report
rose 9.5% Monday after the company said it's holding settlement talks with a group of banks that had balked at funding its acquisition by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital.
The private-equity firms had filed a lawsuit against the banks earlier this year, and a court proceeding pending in Texas that was scheduled to get underway Monday was postponed until Tuesday.
"No settlement has been reached by the parties and there can be no assurance that any settlement will be reached," Clear Channel said in a brief statement. The company said it wouldn't comment on potential settlement terms or the likelihood that a deal will be reached.
Shares of Clear Channel were recently up $2.85 at $32.85.
(C) - Get Report
Morgan Stanley
(MS) - Get Report
(WB) - Get Report
Credit Suisse
(CS) - Get Report
Deutsche Bank
(DB) - Get Report
, and the
Royal Bank of Scotland
(RBS) - Get Report
are in the group.
The Wall Street Journal
, citing people who had knowledge of the situation, reported that the banks would agree to fund the takeover at $36 a share, down from the earlier price of $39.20, making the purchase worth about $18 billion.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.