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Parminder Jeet Singh*
Other News has decided that it is vital to support this crucial campaign. We ask our readers if they agree, sign the appeal before the 16th of May. My warmest regards, Roberto Savio.
A draft statement by civil society organizations for the UN CSTD meeting on 'Enhanced Cooperation on Public Policy Issues Pertaining to the Internet' to take place in Geneva on May 18th, 2012 (**)
The Internet is a major force today, restructuring our economic, social, political and cultural systems. Most people implicitly assume that it is basically a beneficent force, needing, if at all, some caution only at the user-end. This may have been true in the early stages when the Internet was created and initially sustained by benevolent actors, including academics, technologists, and start-up enterprises that challenged big businesses. However, we are past that stage now. What was a public network of millions of digital spaces, is now largely a conglomeration of a few proprietary spaces. (A few websites like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon together make much of what is considered the Internet by most people today.) We are also moving away from a browser-centric architecture of the 'open' Internet to an applications-driven mobile Internet, which is even more closed and ruled by proprietary spaces (like App Store and Android Market). In fact, some Internet plans for mobiles come with only a few big websites and applications and not the full 'public' Internet, which is an ominous pointer to the possible future of the Internet. With its muchtouted egalitarian potential being left far behind, the Internet, which started off as a global public resource, is well on its way to becoming a set of private enclosures, and a means for entrenching dominant power.
Who governs the Internet
It is not a coincidence nor a natural order of things that the Internet, and through it, our future societies, are headed in the way of unprecedented private gate-keeping and rentier-ing. The architecture of the Internet is being actively shaped today by the most powerful forces, both economic and political. A few US based companies increasingly have monopoly control over most of the Internet. The US government itself controls some of the most crucial nodes of the global digital network. Together, these two forces, in increasing conjunction, are determining the techo-social structure of a new unipolar world. It is important for progressive actors to urgently address this situation, through seeking globally democratic forms of governance of the Internet.
While the US government and US based monopoly Internet companies already have a close working relationship to support and further each other's power, this relationship is now being formalised through new power compacts; whether in the area of extra-territorial IP enforcement (read, global economic extraction) through legislations like SOPA , or in the area of security (read, global extension of coercive power) through cyber-security legislations like CIPSA.
The US government has stubbornly refused to democratise the oversight of the Internet's root server and domain name system, which it controls. While the US pooh-poohs the security concerns expressed by other countries vis-a-vis such unacceptable unilateralism, it rather hypocritical seeks to contractually obligate the non-profit managing these key infrastructures to appoint its security officials only on US government's advice. (The chief security officer of this non-profit body is, in fact, already a sworn member of the 'Homeland Security Advisory Council' of the US!)
Apart from the direct application of US law and whims (think Wikileaks) over the global Internet, and Internet-based social activity (increasingly a large part of our social existence), default global law is also being written by the clubs of powerful countries that routinely draft Internet policies and policy frameworks today. The OECD and Council of Europe are two active sites of such policy making, covering areas like cyber-security, Internet intermediary liability, search engines, social networking sites etc. Last year, OECD came out with its 'Principles for Internet Policy-Making'. These Principles, heavy on IP enforcement and private policing through large North-based Internet companies, are to guide Internet policies in all OECD countries. Recently, OECD decided to 'invite' other, non-OECD, countries to accede to these Principles.
This is the new paradigm of global governance, where the powerful countries make the laws and the rest of the world must accept and implement them.
Who is not allowed at the governance table, and should be there While Northern countries are very active at Internet related policy- and law-making, which have extraterritorial ambition and reach, they strongly resist any UN based initiative for development of global Internet principles and policies. This is in keeping with the increasingly common Northern efforts at undermining UN/ multi-lateral frameworks in other global governance arenas like trade, IP etc. For instance; trying to keep global financial systems out of UNCTAD's purview at the recent Doha UNCTAD meeting, and bringing in Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as a new instrument of extraterritorial IP enforcement by the OECD, bypassing WIPO.
The mandate of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) for building a globally democratic space for developing Internet related global policies is quite clear. The WSIS outcome document states that, ?the process towards enhanced cooperation (on Internet-related international public policies), (is) to be started by the UN Secretary-General … by the end of the first quarter of 2006?. However, six years down the line, developed countries do not seem to be willing to even formally discuss how to operationalize this very important WSIS mandate of 'enhanced cooperation', much less do something concrete about it. We, the undersigned civil society organizations, affirm that the Internet must be governed democratically, with the equal involvement of all people, groups and countries. Its governance systems must be open, transparent and inclusive, with civil society given adequate avenues of meaningful substantive participation. While we denounce statist control over the Internet sought by many governments at national levels, we believe that the struggle at the global level also has significant dynamics of a different kind. Our demands with respect to 'global' Internet Governance espouse a simple and obvious democratic logic. On the technical governance side, the oversight of Internet's critical technical and logical infrastructure, at present with the US government, should be transferred to an appropriate, democratic and participative, multi-lateral body, without disturbing the existing distributed architecture of technical governance of the Internet in any significant way. (However, improvements in the technical governance systems are certainly needed.) On the side of larger Internet related public policy making, on global social, economic, cultural and political issues, the OECD-based model of global policy making, as well as the default application of US laws, should be replaced by a new UN-based democratic mechanism. Any such new arrangement should be based on the principle of subsidiarity, and be innovative in terms of its mandate, structure, and functions, to be adequate to the unique requirements of global Internet governance. It must be fully participative, promoting, and not stifling, the innovative and democratic potential of the Internet.
The Internet should be governed on the principles of human liberty, equality and fraternity. It should be based on the accepted principle of the indivisibility of human rights; espousing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and also people's collective right to development. A rights-based agenda should be developed as an alternative to the current neo-liberal model driving the development of the Internet, and consequently the evolution of an information society. The UN is the appropriate place for developing and implementing such an alternative agenda. Expedient labelling by the most powerful forces in the Internet arena, of the UN, and of developing countries, as being interested only in 'controlling the Internet', and under this cover, continually shaping the architecture of the Internet and its social paradigm to further their narrow interests, is a bluff that must be called.
We demand that a Working Group of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) be instituted to explore possible ways of implementing 'enhanced cooperation' for global Internet-related policies. (Such a CSTD Working Group is also being sought by some developing countries.) 'Enhanced cooperation' must be implemented through innovative multi-lateral mechanisms, that are participatory. Global Internet policy-making cannot be allowed to remain the preserve of one country or clubs of rich countries. If the Internet is to promote democracy in the world, which incidentally is the much touted agenda of the US and other Northern countries, the Internet itself has, first, to be governed democratically.
*Executive Director, IT for Change, In Special Consultative Status with the United Nations ECOSOC
**If you would like to support this statement, kindly send your endorsement ? organisational or personal? to firstname.lastname@example.com, before 16th May.


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The IRS scored a major success in its war against Son of BOSS-type tax shelters in Jade Trading LLC . The Court of Federal Claims used the application of the economic substance doctrine in Coltec Industries to disallow losses involving partnerships and euro call options.
In 1999, after clearing approximately $40 million on the sale of their cable businesses in Kentucky, three brothers, Gary, Robert and Tim Ervin, each formed a limited liability corporation. The LLCs each purchased euro options from insurer and financial services company American International Group (AIG) for a premium of $15,000,020. At the same time, each LLC sold a euro option to AIG for $14,850,018 and paid AIG the difference, $150,002. Each LLC then contributed its option spread to Jade Trading LLC, an investment vehicle, and treated its basis as equal to the premium for the purchased call option. In so doing, the brothers' LLCs ignored the premium for the sold call option by claiming that the call options assumed by Jade were contingent obligations. Shortly thereafter, each LLC redeemed its partnership interest at its fair market value—a relatively small amount equal to the difference in the options. In each case, a loss was claimed for the difference between the fair market value of the partnership interest and the claimed basis of almost $15 million. On their 1999 returns, each Ervin brother claimed close to $15 million in losses and expenses from the execution of the spread transaction and involvement in Jade. The IRS audited the returns and disallowed these losses. The Ervins appealed to the Court of Federal Claims.
The court held that the Jade transactions failed the economic substance doctrine as clarified in the Coltec decision (98 AFTR2d 2006-5249; see also "Tax Matters: Denial of Contingent Liability Loss Deduction," JofA , Jan. 07, page 67). In Coltec, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (overturning the Court of Federal Claims) determined that the legitimacy of a transaction for tax purposes is not guaranteed merely because a technical interpretation of the Code would support the tax treatment. In Jade Trading, the Court of Federal Claims required additional scrutiny of the bona fides of the transaction, requiring that the transaction pass muster under the objective economic substance test. The court said the taxpayer has the burden of proving that the transaction giving rise to the tax benefit objectively had economic substance—as opposed to a transaction created for tax avoidance purposes.
The court said that the transaction resulted in a fictional loss, had no ability to realize a profit and resulted in a disproportionate tax advantage as compared with the amount invested and potential return. In addition, there was no nontax reason for conducting the original transactions in partnerships. The court upheld the government's $14.7 million reduction of each partnership's basis, plus a 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty. Because the court considered only partnership items, it lacked jurisdiction to consider the individual partners' defenses to the penalties; these defenses could be taken up subsequently in individual partner-level proceedings.
In Notice 2000-44, 2000-36 IRB 255, the IRS warned that purported losses in arrangements similar to that of Jade are subject to challenge on a variety of grounds and that a variety of penalties may be imposed on participants, promoters, and reporters of these listed transactions. Tax shelters have become less attractive due to the IRS's aggressive pursuit of transactions that appear to lack economic substance. Tax advantages gained are less likely to withstand IRS and judicial scrutiny.
Jade Trading LLC v. U.S. , 100 AFTR2d 2007-5591
Prepared by Alice A. Upshaw, CPA, MPA, instructor of accounting, and Darlene Pulliam, both of the College of Business, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas.

subset: commoncrawl


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|April 23rd, 2019
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Bremen ,Germany
Posts: 2,395
A personal debate I'd like to have with Ray Allan
you're one of my closest associates here ( you sometimes seem to have an 'abonnement' on my threads ) . .
I notice you are very critical of American society and seem to oppose the state ( your threads about the miltary ( or 'the green niggers' as you call them , heehee . To say nothing about 'the blue niggers' , lol ! ) ) . .
It is a cliche that so-called 'right-wingers' are not as critical of the state as so-called 'left-wingers' (who are nwo-puppets anyway in the way that the NWO even until today is still hoping for their 'world revolution' . .)
But I think you can also be a 'right-winger' and oppose the state . .
. . be against the system as such . .
What would your ideal look like . .?
Arguments against our military can be for example found in the fact that they are more or less mercenaries for Wall Street instead of serving us . .
I have to say that also their behaviour sucks from time to time ( raiding nations for the nwo , raping , war crimes , all in the name of the almighty dollar . . . )
You know , there was a time when wars were , believe it or not ,still more or less fought among those who instigated it truly ( for a long time it was the task of European nobility to fight wars ; later they became decadent ( with the help of the NWO and their inflitration . . .) )
The fact that people fought for money already came with the Thirty Years' War times when mercenaries replaced the old ways . .
It went over Napoleon who let ordinary people fight . .
The NWO had a hand in Napoleon ...
Thus far concerning military. .
You already voiced your opinion about the po-lice in other threads. .
The way to an "ideal society" may be tough
But from what I know from your posts you are very critical . .
- - -
I also happen to know that you live in Nevada. .
lol . . hypothetical :
If the rumours about 'Area 51' are true and 'they' are already amongst us . .
. . would you be opposed to them taking you 'somewhere else' . .?
Maybe a planet with 'a better social system' . .?
lol . . please do not take that question too serious though.
So . . in the end . .
- since you happen to be a Caucasian-American , how do you view American society as such . .?
What's your opinion on 'blind patriotism' as it's called , conservatism and such . .?
Lot of stuff , I admit . .
And then I always thought it was the Rays who had the 'big words' . . .
. . Just kiddin' pal . .
- - -
Last edited by ColdFire; April 24th, 2019 at 04:35 AM.
|April 24th, 2019
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 9,986
Let me ask you a question, ColdFire--how do you feel about u.s troops still occupying your country nearly 75 years after the Second World War ended? And that the 'Bundesrepublik Deutschland' is a creation of the Allied occupation government? No treaty of peace was ever signed between the American and German governments after the war either, only the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht to the Allied armies in 1945. Technically, the Deutsches Reich is the still the legitimate government, even though it isn't functioning right now.
I think it's pretty self-explanatory why I am critical of KWA society and its armed enforcement organs, i.e. police and military. You have read my critical and mocking posts about the so-called green niggers and what they do around the world, right? I detest what they have become and what they are doing in mine and every other Americans' name, operating as enforcers, mercenaries and collection agents for international jewry; the same tribe of hook-nosed parasites that has hijacked the government of my country, its economic system, media and nearly every other aspect of society. I detest that I am forced to support via extortion (taxes) their murderous and wasteful wars and other disgusting, destructive activities all over the planet. If you haven't read it already, take a look at War Is A Racket, by Gen. Smedley Butler, written in the 1930s. And they disposed of him pretty quickly after that.
I realize the U.S. Constitution is a quant, meaningless scrap of paper to the NWO scum, but this country wasn't even meant to have a standing army in peacetime (Article I, Section 8), only a militia. Since there has only been about 16 years of actual peace in this country's 243-year history, I guess that's their excuse. In my opinion, the last legitimate war the u.s. fought was the War of 1812 to repel a British invasion of the country.
So "blind patriotism" is another name for what we call patriotardism here on VNNF. "My cuntry, right or wrong." True patriotism is calling out the bastards in government when they are fucking up or fucking with us. Conservatism is a cowardly, raceless and worthless ideology--conservatives have conserved nothing. We just keep losing. Were George Washington and Adolf Hitler conservatives? No, they were revolutionaries.
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy."
--Henry A. Kissinger, jewish politician and advisor
|April 24th, 2019
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Bremen ,Germany
Posts: 2,395
how I view the U.S. . .
It is a Caucasian country first and foremost . .Part of my race . .
Concerning the US's policies . . What is true is that the US or rather , its government , is busy fighting wars for the NWO . .
That just proves the stronghold the NWO has over it.
Even if you feel no sympathy for people of other races , the sheer amount of European-American "soldiers" who are fueled for these wars . .
I think the last wars which benefitted the American people were the wars against Mexico . .
Yes , as "long back" as that. .
These wars were fought for race (Mexico is a neighbouring country to the U.S. comprised of another race ( in the case of Mexico mostly Mestizo) ) . .
Since WW1 ( into which the U.S. was tricked ) ONLY "world police"-wars . ..
|April 24th, 2019
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 9,072
|August 24th, 2019
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 9,986
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy."
--Henry A. Kissinger, jewish politician and advisor
|August 24th, 2019
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Bremen ,Germany
Posts: 2,395
It ain't no big secret that from a certain time of 'hijacking' on most American presidents had to have good relations with (((a certain tribe))) . .
Some of the positive things Trump has done though . .
He cleansed the land from the socialist tendencies Obama had during his term , he didn't want Muslims to come to America , he built the wall concerning Mexico . .
I admit he is not 'one of the people' but hey , it could have come worse . .
|August 26th, 2019
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: planet filled with brainwashed fools
Posts: 542
I understand the Pleiadians have a nice planet and they are attractive-looking people. That's one of their spaceships in the photo you posted... let's ask Billy Meier. [/QUOTE]
Michael Horn to Present NASA Discoveries Confirming Billy Meier UFO Case Is Real
Billy Meier's UFO photos also deemed authentic by Joe Tysk, former top investigator/supervisor for USAF Office of Special Investigations (OSI) .
For more information contact:
Michael Horn
[email protected]
Contact in the Desert
If you people think UFO's and Aliens are a joke, you are in for a very shocking surprise.
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Multiple colors for you
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The hit show You has been officially confirmed for a third season. The Netflix show, that was originally on Lifetime, announced the news with a Tweet saying "See you soon, neighbor. YOU S3 is coming." The tweet seems to be a reference to the ending of season two (no spoilers!)
Series stars Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti, who plays Love Quinn, are returning. Just like the first two seasons, the third is expected to have plenty of surprises and more cliffhangers. A character introduced in season two, Ellie, (played by Jenna Ortega) will also be back.
The current season of You is available to stream on Netflix now. Season 3 of You will be available in 2021.
Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com


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FROGS News
Many thanks for your support this year.
Our Summer Fair in June raised £1500. Our other successful events this year have also raised significant amounts of money. The two Bags to School collections raised £500, the Echo Cash for School £500 and the three school discos a total of £300.


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Over the past several weeks I have been putting in long days at the office, going in on weekends, and bringing home work in an effort to meet a permit submission deadline for a large adaptive reuse project. As the deadline approached, my stress increased. I dreaded last-minute changes by the architect. Small mistakes by my overworked team felt like insurmountable obstacles. When the submission date came, we pulled together and submitted the best product we could, knowing that there would be many more stress-inducing deadlines before construction actually started.
I took the next day off – a beautiful Tuesday. It was the best stay-cation I've had in a long time.
I slept in until 8:00 but awoke with more energy than on most work days. First, I helped get my daughter ready for daycare and walked the dog. After a relaxed breakfast, I took my car in for an oil change. On the way, I stopped at the Verizon store to inquire about new wireless options and swung by my storage unit to retrieve my mountain bike. Before noon, I had traversed town and accomplished several errands, and I relished the opportunity to take care of my needs – instead of some client's.
My sister happened to be in town, so we planned an afternoon adventure together. After some quick bike maintenance, we would ride down the lakeshore path to Chinatown for a refreshing bubble tea. It was the perfect day for a ride: 75-degrees in mid-March is unheard of for Chicago! The bike ride was the perfect antidote to a month of work-induced stress.
At the end of the day, I reflected on my relaxing but productive day. The day seemed longer than most. It was almost strange to mark the passing of time by feeling the sun move across the sky. Most days at work, I'm so swamped that I sit down at my desk 8:00, stare into the computer screen, and then… Shoot! How can it be 5:00 already? Where do the days go?
I reassure my wife that I'm better than most engineers about getting home at reasonable hours. At least, that's what I tell myself. I don't have a company issued Blackberry, and I do not check company email from home unless I'm "working from home." Even so, the gravitational pull of the office is strong. Getting up to leave at the end of the day is often physically difficult, like removing Golem's precious ring. Let's hope the consequence of failure isn't so ugly.
Perhaps feeling some of the same pressures to stay late and remain connected to work at all times, a colleague recently sent me a link to an article in the New York Times titled The Joy of Quiet. The author describes his own efforts to stay disconnected in order to be more present. One of the more interesting notions is that guests to some of the most exclusive luxury vacations actually pay a premium to escape TV and Internet access. "The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot each us how to make the best use of them."
I returned to work on Wednesday. I'd like to say that I solved many problems with the enlightenment that a day of rest can bring. Actually, I spent almost the entire day responding to emails; my sent count at the end of the day was over 50. At least at lunch, I had the wherewithal to skip the lunch-n-learn in the conference room and take in some more sun on the plaza.
What would you do with one day off? Do you ever shut out your work life entirely? How do you manage stressful projects? Would you pay extra for the privilege not to receive an Internet signal? Please leave your comments below.Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.


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WATCH: Shania Twain Performs 'Soldier' on 'Dancing With The Stars'
October 24, 2017
Shania Twain joined the panel of judges in the ballroom for Monday night's episode of Dancing With The Stars. In honor of the show's movie night theme, the country icon performed her latest track, "Soldier."
Coming from Twain's newly released fifth studio album, Now, "Soldier" will be featured in the forthcoming film, Thank You For Your Service. The movie tells the emotional story of those soldiers who made it back home from Iraq.
Watch Shania Twain's performance of "Soldier," below.


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+ Follow gold Tag
By Ligaya Rabago-Visaya | December 12, 2019 - 12:00am
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VAPA Dean's Dish – 7th Blog Edition
VAPA enters a busy weekend…and a flurry of great performances and exhibitions!
David Fleming & Diane R. Ritch Award Exhibition opens TONIGHT at the Cabrillo Gallery!
November 8 – December 13, 2013
RECEPTION: Thursday, November 7, 5:30-7:00
ARTIST TALK: Following the reception at 7:00pm (in the gallery)
David Fleming & Diane R. Ritch: Award Exhibition presents the work of two award-winning artists selected from the juried exhibition, Tasty: Artists Playing With Food, by Gayle and Joe Ortiz of Gayle's Bakery. Both Fleming and Ritch are long-time residents of Santa Cruz County and have equally contributed to the depth of the arts community found here. Each artist will be exhibiting a collection of recent work. David Fleming is a prolific painter working with the human form in context to its environment. His oils on canvas are often accomplished in a fast and expressive approach and not necessarily stylistically similar. "Unlike many other artists, I paint in a lot of different styles and I like to work fast," says Fleming, "I need to experiment around rather than labor over one style for too long or else I get bored. A lot of times, I don't have anything in mind and the painting just takes on a life of its own." In contrast to Fleming's work Diane R. Ritch uses found objects creating two and three-dimensional pieces. Each piece creates a narrative to a certain time and place and perhaps an emotional response to that place. Ritch combines old and discarded elements, rusted or patinaed with age, to illustrate her stories. "My work moves through my life's journey, reflects my values and grows from my passion for detail."
Location: Cabrillo Gallery
Cabrillo College 6500 Soquel Drive, Library – Room 1002 Aptos, CA 95003
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00-4:00, Mon/Tue, 7:00-9:00 pm, Closed Weekends
Contact: Tobin Keller or Rose Sellery, 831-479-6308 / email: gallery
Cabrillo Gallery
Campus map
More upcoming events, including the The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (The Musical) which opens THIS SATURDAY!
Cabrillo College Seahawk Metal Arts Club and Inter Club Council presents
Theatre Arts Department presents
Cabrillo Chorale presents
Cabrillo Youth Chorus
Sunday, November 10
Cabrillo Music Department presents
Ray Brown's Great Big Band
Monday, November 25


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Multiple Teams · Raffle Winners
(May 28th update) Congratulations to final 4 $200 continuous raffle winners! : Nagy, L. Abate, D. Brady, and D. Patel. All checks that were not hand delivered have been mailed to the address shown on the tickets. Thanks for your support of the Salem Rocks Baseball Program. (May 20th update) Congratulations to our next 2 $200


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Price: £9.99
Out Of The Comfort Zone
George Verwer doesn't pull any punches in his heart's cry for a 'grace-awakened' approach to mission. Cutting through superficial spirituality, he has managed to write a remarkable book that is both humble and hard-hitting. OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE should only be read by those who are willing to accept God's grace, catch His vision and respond with action in the world of mission.
- Publisher.
Out Of The Comfort Zone
This book is a study of discernment in the life and thought of the fourth and fifthcentury Egyptian desert fathers. Rich argues that for them discernment was a critical faculty and charism central to the spiritual and practical life of these early monks and nuns in their mystical search for God for purity of life and knowledge of him.[Publisher]
He is the author of The Revolutionof Love; No Turning Back;Hunger for Reality; Out of the Comfort Zone and Drops from a Leaking Tap
Usually ships within: 1 to 2 weeks.
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Note: some parts of your order may be shipped from separate stores.
These figures accurately represent our warehouse quantities. However, it may be worth contacting us if the quantity on hand is below 10.


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I want to make sure that all charges related to a Windows instance are covered under the AWS Free Tier. How do I do that?
750 cumulative hours of usage and 30 GB-months of storage per month are covered under the AWS Free Tier. To launch a Windows EC2 instance that is covered by the AWS Free Tier, follow these steps:
- Sign in to the Amazon EC2 console. Then, choose Launch Instance.
- Limit the AMIs in the list by selecting the Free Tier only box. Then, next to an eligible AMI, choose Select.
- Select an instance size that is labeled "Free Tier eligible." Then, choose Next: Configure Instance Details.
- On the Configure Instance Details page, be sure that Instance Tenancy is set to Shared, and that Request Spot instances is not selected. All other settings do not affect whether the instance's usage is covered by the AWS Free Tier, and you can configure them as you like. When you're ready to continue, choose Next: Add Storage.
- Choose up to 30 GB of storage. Under Storage Type, choose either General Purpose SSD (GP2) or Magnetic. Then, choose Next: Tag Instance.
Note: Currently, only 30 GB of Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) storage per account is covered under the Free Tier. Consider any storage you allocate to other instances on your account when adding storage to your instance.
- Optionally, add a tag to your instance. Then, choose Next: Configure Security Group.
- Configure a security group that allows only trusted traffic in and out. For more information about configuring security groups, see Amazon EC2 Security Groups for Windows Instances. Choose Review and Launch.
- Review your configuration. If it matches your specifications, choose Launch.
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Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2018-03-14


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Sunday Services:
• 9:30am Service of the Word at St. Martin's.
Communion Services
• Holy Communion is held on the first Sunday of every month. Children are welcome to receive Communion.
Christmas Services:
• A Christmas Choral Service is generally held on the 2nd Sunday of December.
• Christmas Day Service is at 9:30am.
Pastoral Services
• Marriage and Funeral Services are by arrangement. Contact the Secretary.
• Baptisms are conducted as part of the Sunday service by arrangement. Contact the Secretary.
Families and children are most welcome at St Martin's. A "children's time" is included in each Worship Service.
Bible readings.
• St Martin's follows the Revised Common Lectionary, a list of bible passages for each week shared by all the mainline churches around the world.
• To view the readings for each week visit http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/


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Living with a roommate certainly has its advantages. If you get bored from time to time, now you have someone else to speak with or even hang out around your neighborhood or city. But what about the utility bills. If you live with 2 or 3 roommates those costs will be considerably less for each of you. But sometimes we have roommates who leave their lights in the rooms on all day long, turn the a/c units down considerably, or leave their electronics products plugged in for the duration of the day. Although it would be nice to receive itemized bills, its just not going to happen.
So if you feel that one roommate should pay more than you or the others, we have listed some tips regarding sharing, splitting, and paying your bills.
Pay Those Bills On Time
Make sure you get your bills on time. If your late, fees can be assessed and sometimes service will be completely disconnected. Many renters simply designate one individual who will be responsible for paying all of the bills on time. In this case you might just allow this person to take care of all the bills including phone, electricity, and Internet. Other people will vary who pays the bills from one month to the next. But make sure everyone knows. Lay out a calendar in the kitchen or other common areas that all of the roommates can check to see who is paying bills that month.
How To Split The Bills
Since you cannot itemize an electricity bill, you will have to find a way to divide it another way. Sit down with your roommate before hand and come to an agreement. Maybe you can divide it up by percentages. Or maybe you can just split it evenly if the costs are not too high.
But before you set up any utilities, there should be someone whose name it is under. It might also be a good idea to allow that person to add and change services based upon pricing.


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Happy December 1st
Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's the last month of the year. 2017 went by in a blink. I have all the emotions this time of year because I'm excited for the holidays, lights, decorations, gift giving, holiday parties, holiday looks (like the Parker ophelia one-shoulder blouse) and all the great traditions this time of year. I'm also sad because time seems to go by too fast and my kids are getting so big (2.5 & 4.5). However, that's a blessing that I get to see them grow bigger every day so it's a mixed roller coaster of emotions.
I'm Back to Blogging
It's been a few weeks since I've done a blog post because I went through some technical difficulty from switching from wordpress.com to wordpress.org and self hosting. I heard from so many bloggers that it was better to switch sooner than later because it can be such a headache down the road. So, I made the move but had some issues transferring my site so it's held me back from posting. But, I found a great host and worked through all the kinks and ready to get back to weekly posting. So, on to the topic at hand… my ruffled one-shoulder blouse look!
One-of-a-Kind Holiday Top
'Tis the season to dress up and celebrate. The Parker ophelia one-shoulder blouse is such a fun and unique top, especially for the upcoming holidays. I love that it's sleeveless on one side and long sleeve on the other. Also the ruffle detail on the long sleeve is so beautiful in person. The Parker design team knows that the modern woman loves sophistication and sexy in the same look. Parker's collection of tops feature flirty details and girly prints perfect for day or night, work or play.
One-Shoulder Blouse Style Tips
This one-shoulder blouse is also the perfect length to wear various ways. I have a more casual holiday look with jeans and booties pictured but I think this top would look amazing tucked into a skirt with over the knee boots or untucked over faux leather leggings and black booties. So many ways to style this gorgeous Parker one-shoulder top. There are other color options if the blue doesn't suit your taste.
See below to shop the post. Happy Friday my friends. Thanks for "shopping by!"
Photography by Annie Lee Photo


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From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
International leaders of the union representing thousands of county government workers have arrived in San Diego to help sort out a dispute over management of the local group.
Andrew Stern, the international president of Service Employees International Union, appointed two personal representatives to investigate whether the local chapter wrongly paid former president Sharon-Frances Moore a six-figure severance and hired her as a consultant.
Local union officials said they welcome the investigation and help finding a new president. Moore cited personal reasons in resigning this month as president of SEIU Local 221.
Last week, the local's executive board named three members to manage the union on a day-to-day basis until a successor can be named, but some union members complained that the action violated the organization's rules.
In a Jan. 22 letter to local union officials from his Washington, D.C., headquarters, Stern said he was looking into the complaints and advised them to withhold any payments to Moore.
"I have directed my representatives to report to me within 30 days on the situation in Local 221," he wrote. "In the meantime, I counsel the Local 221 officers and executive board not to execute or implement the challenged payments or contract at this time."
Local 221 spokeswoman Melinda Battenberg said decisions regarding the severance and consulting agreement are internal union business that she cannot discuss publicly.
Specifically, rank-and-file members complained about a $107,000 severance package awarded to Moore and objected that she will keep working for the union as a consultant. Several people wrote to Stern to demand an investigation.
Read the rest here:
For more on the SEIU, go here, here, here and here.
We're pre-emptively tagging this for the Union Corruption Corner (just in case).


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In this episode of the Motivation Plus Marketing podcast, John Di Lemme shares about the Billionaires spotted at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches today PLUS why Macy's is DONE! If you want to be a Billionaire, then you can't do what Macy's did or you will fail.
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Separation of the Enantiomers of Lactide, Lactic Acid Dimer, for a Sustainable Bioplastic Management
Nathalie Berezina1,, Nicolas Landercy1, Pierre-Antoine Mariage2, 3, Benoit Morea2
1Green Chemistry Department, Materia Nova R&D Center, Ghislenghien, Belgium
2R&D Department, Galactic SA, Escanaffles, Belgium
3R&D Department, Green2Chem, Leuze, Belgium
Despite the small difference in the steric hindrance of the substitutes of the asymmetric carbon of the lactic acid, a way for the desymmetrization of the racemic mixture was discovered. Two possibilities have arisen: the synthesis and further separation of diastereoisomers with the (S)-2-methyl-1-butanol as chiral auxiliary and the kinetic discrimination during the esterification with the (R)-(-)-Myrtenol.
At a glance: Figures
Keywords: lactide, enantiomeric separation, diastereoisomers, PLA, bioplastics
World Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2013 1 (2),
pp 20-23.
DOI: 10.12691/wjoc-1-2-3
Received January 07, 2013; Revised April 11, 2013; Accepted April 23, 2013Copyright © 2013 Science and Education Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
Cite this article:
- Berezina, Nathalie, et al. "Separation of the Enantiomers of Lactide, Lactic Acid Dimer, for a Sustainable Bioplastic Management." World Journal of Organic Chemistry 1.2 (2013): 20-23.
- Berezina, N. , Landercy, N. , Mariage, P. , & Morea, B. (2013). Separation of the Enantiomers of Lactide, Lactic Acid Dimer, for a Sustainable Bioplastic Management. World Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1(2), 20-23.
- Berezina, Nathalie, Nicolas Landercy, Pierre-Antoine Mariage, and Benoit Morea. "Separation of the Enantiomers of Lactide, Lactic Acid Dimer, for a Sustainable Bioplastic Management." World Journal of Organic Chemistry 1, no. 2 (2013): 20-23.
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1. Introduction
Lactic acid is an important molecule for chemical and food industries. Traditionally its main application is in food industry, where it plays the role of a natural acidifying agent [1, 2]. However, recently another application of the lactic acid has emerged: synthesis of bioplastics [3]. Polylactic acid (PLA), bioplastic based on the lactic acid monomer and synthesized through the lactide lactic acid dimer, is foreseen to be one of the most promising substitutes of the common petrol based polymers [4, 5, 6] The sustainable management of the PLA includes its recovery, de- and then re-polymerization of the lactide [7]. The major drawback of this system is the racemization occurring during the process [8, 9].
Indeed, for the production of PLA, a near enantiopure biotechnologically produced (S)-lactic acid is used. During the polymerization process some racemization may occur, moreover for strengthening the heat resistance of the PLA stereocomplexes should be made [10]. These stereocomplexes are mixtures of nearly enantiopure P(L)LA and P(D)LA. Thus during the depolymerization process the (R)- and (S)-lactic acid units are recovered together, forming a racemic mixture unusable for the direct re-polymerization, racemic PLA bearing very poor mechanical properties.
The separation of the enantiomers of the lactic acid, or of its dimer, becomes then an important industrial and sustainability issue. Several attempts were made for performing this separation. Unfortunately these attempts either drove to the recovery of only 50 % of desired product, the rest being oxidized to pyruvic acid [11, 12] or re-reduced to the same enantiomer of the lactic acid [13]; either were found to be unsuccessful, even using an enzyme, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB), for the discrimination between the two enantiomers [14].
The synthesis and further separation of diastereoisomers is an important method for the desymmetrization of racemic mixtures. It is widely used in industry due to its ease and low cost of implementation. However, its main drawback consists on the loose of 50% of the product. In the case of the lactic acid recovery, this drawback does no longer exist, as both (S)-,(R)-lactic acid monomers are useful for the separate polymerization reactions.
Comparing to the existing synthesis of diastereoisomers, the main difficulty in the case of the lactic acid relies on that it is a bi-functional molecule, therefore standard chiral auxiliaries such as tartaric and malic acids are not good candidates for this separation. The selection of the suitable chiral auxiliary has to be based on several criteria: availability and price acceptable for industrial applications, but also chemical function compliance, that is only one function should be available at the auxiliary.
A primary screening of available chiral acids and alcohols resulted in 12 acids and 16 alcohols. The majority of them were natural products, steroids, protected amino acids and sugars etc. The most promising were found to be (S)-(-)-2-methyl-1-butanol, (R)-(-)-myrtenol and (1R,2S, 5R)-(-)-menthol (Scheme 1).
2. Results and Discussion
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The lactide, in two enantiomeric forms (S, S) and (R,R), was used in this study as a test substrate. The main results of these experiments are summarized Table 1. An important conversion (77-78%) of both enantiomers in only 3 hours of refluxed reaction was observed with the (S)-2-methyl-1-butanol whereas in these conditions the (R)-myrtenol was destroyed. And the (-)-menthol have afforded only 56.4% of yield in desired substrate and presented at least 2 by-products (most probably corresponding to the esters of lactoyl lactates following GC-MS analyses).
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Therefore, the reaction was also performed at lower temperature, 80°C, with myrtenol and menthol. Menthol did not show any improvement under these conditions, the synthesis was only slowed (only 9-14% of conversion after 7 hours), but the by-products remained. Different attempts of varying the proportion of the auxiliary versus the substrate etc. were also tempted, unfortunately the by-products problem persisted. Thus, menthol definitely is not a suitable chiral auxiliary for the separation of the lactic acid' senantiomers.
On the contrary, myrtenol has shown an outstanding discrimination of the kinetics of the reaction at 80°C. The S enantiomer was transformed much faster, at least 35.3% of the diastereoisomer was formed after 5 hours, whereas the R one was transformed much slower, only 5.3% of the diastereoisomer was recovered after 7 hours of reaction time (Figure 1). Thus, this chiral auxiliary shows a very interesting property, most likely due to its own steric hindrance. The important difference of the chemical structure of the residual (R,R)-lactide and the obtained (R,S)-myrtenyl lactate induces significant gap between boiling points, 142°C at 10.4mbar and 185°C at 12mbar, respectively. Thus an easy separation of these products by distillation becomes possible.
Concerning the (S)-2-methyl butanol, the situation is more classical. The diastereoisomers are synthesized with similar kinetics. The (S)-2-methyl butanol is, as lactic acid, a rather small molecule, thus differences of the physical properties of the two diastereoisomers are modest (Table 2). The attempts of separation of diastereoisomeric mixtures of 2-methyl butyl lactates have, however, induced diastereoisomeric enrichment: 80.9% by crystallization and 65.2% by distillation. The crystallization appears thus to be a more efficient technique than the distillation even if the melting points of the two diastereoisomers were found to be closer than their boiling points. Thus, the efficacy of the crystallization is mostly due to the difference in the kinetics of the crystallization process among the 2 diastereoisomers. Indeed, the crystallization of the (S,R)-2-methyl butyl lactate occurred within 3 days at – 40°C and within 4 days at -28°C (Figure 2), whereas the (S,S)-2-methyl butyl lactate remained liquid at these temperatures for several weeks.
3. Materials and Methods3.1. General
The (S,S)- and (R,R)-lactides were from Galactic SA (Escanaffles, Belgium), all other chemicals were from Sigma-Aldrich (Belgium). The NMR analyses were performed in CDCl3 on a Bruker 500MHz instrument. Melting and crystallization temperatures were measured with the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) Q1000 TA instrument. The specific rotation angles were measured with the Propol Anton Paar instrument. Kinetic monitoring of the reaction was performed with the QP 2010 GC-MS Shimadzu instrument.3.2. Synthesis of Diastereoisomers
A round-bottom double-necked flask equipped with a reflux condenser was filled with the (S,S)- or (R,R)-lactide, the chiral auxiliary (3equivalents as standard procedure, 1 to 3 equivalents were tested for the menthol) and the tin octanoate (0.001equivalent) as the transesterification agent. The reaction mixture was heated at reflux (or 80°C, cf. Table 1) under magnetic stirring. The samples were regularly taken for the kinetic monitoring of the reaction.
After the reaction completion, the mixture was rinsed with saturated Na2CO3 solution and distilled under reduced pressure using Hempel distillation system filled with the Raschig's stainless steel rings.
4. Conclusion
Two different ways for the desymmetrization of the enantiomers of the lactic acid dimer, lactide, were found. The first route is based on a synthesis of the diastereoisomers with the (S)-2-methyl-1-butanol and further separation by either distillation or crystallization (more efficient for these substrates). The second route is based on the kinetic discrimination between the enantiomers of the lactide towards the transesterification with the (R)-myrtenol. In this case the separation is even easier, as the residual (R,R)-lactide has to be separated from the diastereoisomeric (R,S)-myrtenyl lactate. The separation of the racemic mixture of lactides described here allows recovery of monomers and thus improves the efficiency of the repetitive chemical recycling of PLA, hence reducing its production costs and promoting the widespread usage of this bioplastic.
We gratefully acknowledge the Walloon Region and FEDER structural funds for the financial support.
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Quinn wins backing from teachers whose pensions he cut
Months after Gov. Pat Quinn signed a controversial plan to cut its members' retirement benefits, the state's largest teachers union is backing him for re-election.
The Illinois Education Association today announced their pick over Republican Bruce Rauner, a Winnetka businessman.
The union's President Cinda Klickna said the endorsement means Quinn can receive campaign cash but pointed to its thousands of members as the backing's true value.
"We all know Gov. Quinn will be greatly outspent in this campaign," she said in a statement.
Rauner in his primary campaign often criticized "government union bosses" as part of the state's massive budget problem.
That helped lead the IEA and other unions to help Republican Kirk Dillard against Rauner, but Rauner was able to overcome the late-campaign barrage in March. Still, the support likely helped pull Dillard within a few points of Rauner.
Quinn has faced harsh criticism from public employee unions in the past few years because of his drive to cut their pension benefits. They sued over the new pensions law, and it's now up for review in the courts and won't be decided until long after the November election.
Quinn also supports an extension of the 2011 income tax hike past Jan. 1, a move union leaders support because of the possible cuts to schools if the state loses billions of dollars in revenue.
Rauner has staunchly opposed the extension.
"Bruce is committed to working with and for the teachers, parents and children who want better schools and a brighter future for Illinois," spokesman Mike Schrimpf said in a statement. "While Pat Quinn has decimated education funding, Bruce will make improving education a top priority."


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Ever wondered why this Manchester City team is so good? Ever asked yourself what it would be like to train under the expert eye of Pep Guardiola?
Well, Kitchener FC -- a pub team based in Ipswich, England -- was given that opportunity, the chance to experience the coaching of a footballing visionary.
Guardiola watched their matches and his coaching staff analyzed the way the team played and then the serial title-winner oversaw a practice match between the Earl Kitchener Tavern's footballers.
And in doing so, Guardiola offered up some of the secrets that have made Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the reigning Premier League champions such a mixture of ruthless efficiency, unrivaled elegance and unwavering precision.
The importance of the goalkeeper position and the way the defense provides the foundation for any attacking move has become Guardiola's trademark over the years.
When the 48-year-old Catalan signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona to replace Joe Hart as his goalkeeper at City almost immediately after joining the club, it was an early signal of his intentions in England.
Bravo has since been replaced by Ederson, the Brazilian goalkeeper, whose ability on the ball as well as handling skills has added an additional threat to City's already burgeoning armory.
"Playing out from the back is a lot about routine because the spaces are always there," Guardiola told COPA90 presenter Michael Timbs. "The most important thing that we try to tell them is [to] believe it.
"Because you are going to make mistakes in the beginning. It is easier to [play] the long ball and go to the second balls."
READ: 'I didn't mean to be a leader:' How Raheem Sterling took on racists
READ: Tottenham opens $1.3 billion stadium in London with victory
However, for Guardiola, it all comes down to a simple equation. "When the ball is in the air, it is half and half," he says. "When the ball is at your feet, the ball is yours."
It is a justifiable logic that sits at the center of all that a Guardiola team seeks to achieve. On Wednesday, a City side missing both David and Bernardo Silva, as well as Raheem Sterling, strolled to victory against Cardiff with 79% possession in the process.
Guardiola explains his philosophy further, focusing on the advantage of playing out from the goalkeeper's feet. When the central defenders are comfortable in possession of the ball and they are facing only one forward, "you should own the pitch," he says.
Visit CNN.com/sport for more news, features and videos
When his side doesn't have the ball, the only option is to get it back. If Guardiola was not necessarily the first man to dominate English football with a stylish possession-based system, his focus on winning back possession is, perhaps, an even more important part of the Spaniard's game.
"Football players like to play with the ball," he states. "They don't play football just for running or to go to the gym.
"The main principle of that is that I'm going to pick you up and regain the ball because I want to play with the ball.
"You have to commit everybody to be aggressive if you want to regain the ball."
WATCH: COPA90: Real Madrid's Isco shows us his skills
It is a doctrine that has resulted in the domination of European football for a decade. His Barcelona is, in some minds, the greatest club team of them all.


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Your search for 'dc_creator:( "Wassilowsky, Günther" ) OR dc_contributor:( "Wassilowsky, Günther" )' returned 6 results. Modify searchDid you mean: dc_creator:( "wassilowsky, gunther" ) OR dc_contributor:( "wassilowsky, gunther" )
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1. Definition Modern scholars use the term Catholicism as a collective term for all the sociocultural manifestations of the Roman Catholic Church, from the forms of its institutional constitution through individual and collective manifestations of religiosity to ideal-typical ethicopolitical attitudes, patterns of economic behavior, artistic styles, interpretive mental models, and theological meanings. The first and most fundamental feature of Catholicism is probably its claim – unlike the "heretical …
Date: 2019-10-14
(818 words)
Little study has been devoted to the history of the term and the phenomenon. Early occurrences of the term appeared in Victorian England, where Protestant anti-Catholicism was organized in numerous societies during the first half of the 19th century (British Reformation Society, 1827; Protestant Association, 1835/1836; National Club, 1845 [7]; [6]). Although central themes of its later manifestations were anticipated in the anticlericalism, antipopery, and the anti-Roman tenor of some late medieval reform movements (including the Reformation)…
Date: 2019-10-14
(1,854 words)
1. Catholic1.1. DistinctionsIn contrast to Protestantism, in early modern Catholicism the medieval feudal notion of the religious elite as a separate social estate lived on (Estates, society of) [3]. The clerical class, as distinct from the laity, comprised those who – on the basis of a sacramental understanding of ministerial office – exercised authority (Latin potestas) in the church (Office). The outward distinction of the clerical estate was marked by the claim of exclusive privileges (e.g. immunity in tax matters and criminal cases, separ…
Date: 2019-10-14
(729 words)
1. Definition The term Gallicanism (from Middle Latin gallicanus, hence French gallicanisme) was coined by 19th-century Ultramontanism. It encapsulates a variety of theories and practices intended to justify and realize the freedom and independence of the French church vis-à-vis the papacy's claim of universal jurisdiction. There were two basic types of Gallicanism: a more theologically based "episcopal Gallicanism" (Episcopalianism), which derived the independence of the territorial church from the dignity of the episcopate, an…
Date: 2019-10-14
(787 words)
1. Concept A diocese (from the Greek dioíkesis, Latin dioecesis, "administration," "administrative district") is an ecclesiastical territory within which a Catholic bishop executes his office (Episcopate). The equivalent in the German-speaking Protestant world is the institution of the Landeskirche. The term "diocese" (French diocèse; Spanish diócesis; Italian diocesi; German Diözese) dates back to Late Antiquity. The term "bishopric" and cognates (French évêché; Spanish obispado; German Bistum, from MHG bischoftuom, "that pertaining to the bishop") h…
Date: 2019-10-14
(823 words)
1. DefinitionA broad concept of episcopalism embraces all models of church polity and ecclesiological theories (theories of the church) in which the episcopate is understood as the fundamental principle of church polity. In contrast to Protestantism, theoretical episcopalism in the medieval and Roman Catholic Church does not include constitutional legitimation of church governance by the secular sovereign (cf. Episcopal system) but rather theological and canonistic arguments justifying the episcopal structure of the church.The broad spectrum of practical fo…
Date: 2019-10-14


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What was considered a looming trade war a few weeks ago is now for real, as trade disputes are rapidly escalating.
On June 15, President Donald Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, including agricultural and industrial machinery, to begin July 6. China responded by accusing the US of blackmail and in a tit-for-tat it introduced "the same scale and equal taxation measures" on US goods, such as agricultural products, aerospace parts, communication technology, cars, and seafood.
Then, on Monday, Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to identify $200 billion for additional tariffs to go into effect "if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced." Trump further said that if China increases its tariffs again, the U.S. will pursue "additional tariffs on another $200 billion of goods." The administration is also expected to restrict China's investment in U.S. technology.
The administration justifies its trade measures against China because of China's unfair trade practices and its theft of American intellectual property. They could also be a response to Beijing's ambitious industrial policy called "Made in China 2025," which commits Beijing to spending billions of dollars on subsidies to ensure that Chinese companies dominate the home market. This policy aims at making China into the global leader in high technology industries and keeping foreign business groups out of these economic fields.
As China imports merely $130 billion annually of U.S. goods, it cannot match the U.S. action. Hence, it has decided "to fight back firmly" by taking both quantitative and qualitative measures. It could, for example, increase safety inspections and delays at customs, or even boycott American goods. American companies which have huge investments amounting to more than $200 billion in China's fast-growing market, will obviously be hurt.
Will the American action lead to China blinking and negotiating a settlement? This is a huge gamble, for, if it doesn't, the escalating trade disputes will adversely impact already straining markets and global growth. According to Trump, "Trade wars are good, and easy to win." But if history is a guide, tariffs hurt consumers, who are burdened with higher costs. Economists all over are critical of such measures.
Earlier, in March, the U.S. had imposed a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, justifying it on the grounds of national security. The European Union, Canada, Mexico, and India are outraged and have retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods. India is raising tariffs on imports of 30 American goods by up to 50 percent. The trade fight with Canada is hurting builders with 20 percent lumber tariffs and steel prices have rapidly risen. Mexico has placed tariffs on imports from the U.S. of pork, cheese, Bourbon, whiskey, and steel. The European Union is targeting Levi's jeans, Kentucky Bourbon and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, thereby aiming to hurt constituents of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Colorado's agricultural producers, especially those in corn and wheat, will also be hurt.
As Trump has threatened to pull out of NAFTA, Jim Polsfut, a local leader with longstanding business ties in Mexico, told me that changing the terms of trade must not be done by taking unilateral action as it will likely destabilize the present delicate balance of U.S.-Mexico relations.
Is it logical to practice such even-handed alienation against both allies and adversaries? Instead of unilateral tariffs and going it alone, the U.S. should be working with, rather than against, its allies. Also, multilateral trade rules under the multilateral system serve the U.S. better than bilateral transaction arrangements.
Ved Nanda is distinguished university professor and director of the Ved Nanda Center for International Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. His column appears the last Sunday of each month and he welcomes comments at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Volunteers to monitor air pollution affecting children's health get cash incentive by Tower Hamlets Council
PUBLISHED: 07:00 25 May 2018 | UPDATED: 08:13 25 May 2018
Reclaiming Streets
Projects tackling air pollution are being offered cash by Tower Hamlets Council after a study has shown lung function of children aged eight and nine has been reduced by up to 10 per cent.
A £200,000 fund has been opened by the mayor for community groups running programmes to monitor pollution around schools or installing charging points for electric vehicles.
A two-week project using diffusion tubes to test the air has already been taking readings along St Paul's Way, between Burdett Road and Bromley-by-Bow, installed by the Reclaiming Streets environment group ready for lab-testing. It has been carried out ahead of the St Paul's Way street festival on June 23 with a road closure for the first time
Pollution in the East End has reduced the lung function of children which has giving them up to 10 per cent less lung capacity than the national average which they may never get back, according to researchers from Kings College University.
"I want people to think about projects that could benefit their neighbourhoods from this funding," Mayor John Biggs said. "Families in poorer boroughs are twice as likely to die from lung cancer and other lung diseases compared to well-off areas."
Safe legal limits are said to be exceeded at 62 per cent of pollution monitoring sites in the East End, with six out of 20 Tower Hamlets schools exposed to high levels of nitrogen dioxide. Four out of 10 youngsters could be living in neighbourhoods with pollution exceeding EU guidelines.
Education programmes are running in schools about air pollution including a campaign to stop parents running their engines when stopping at schools to pick up their children. Idling engines can create twice the pollution as moving cars, the council points out.
Volunteers have been trained to monitor the air in their neighbourhoods using 90 diffusion vials and three monitoring stations maintained by the authority. Plans are also being drawn up to install more electric car charging points by 2025, with every household being within 500 yards of one.
Tower Hamlets is said to be the fifth-worst London borough for air pollution.
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East London Advertiser. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


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The man whose last controversial movie was "Bully" certainly knows how to behave like one. Just ask New York Post film critic Kyle Smith, who dared to give a thumbs down to Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein's latest anti-Catholic attack film, "Philomena," carefully timed for release during the Christmas season.
Weinstein took out a full-page color attack ad in The New York Times singling out Smith for abuse. It got his attention. "I've never been flogged in the public square, but now I have a rough idea what it's like," Smith responded.
In all capital letters, the ad proclaimed "The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and USA Today all praise 'Philomena' with a 92 percent certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes (the film review website). But the New York Post's Kyle Smith has a different opinion. 'Another hateful attack on Catholics.'"
Underneath that was part of a letter from the film's subject, Philomena Lee, who insisted the film "is meant to be a testament to good things and not an attack." She said to Smith: "I forgive you for not taking the time to understand my story."
Dissent is not welcome.
"Philomena" is yet another movie made by Weinstein's company trashing the Catholic Church, which in this case, attacks "evil nuns" in one of those stories it claims in the opening credits is "based on true events." Which part of this film is based on fact and which part on fiction? Hollywood doesn't dare make the distinctions.
Lee was one of the unwed teenage mothers in Ireland who was taken into the "Magdalene laundries," homes for unwed mothers and pregnant girls operated by nuns. To support these homes, the young women did laundry and other domestic work. Lee gave birth to a son at an abbey in 1952. He was taken away from her at age 3 and adopted by an American couple. Out of shame, she kept this secret from her other two children for 50 years, until she broke her silence in 2004.
This is when the movie's plot kicks in. Lee's daughter recruited the help of a leftist journalist named Martin Sixsmith to help find out what happened to Lee's lost son in America. After some research, it is discovered that he became a closeted gay Republican lawyer to Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush.
Now you can see why Weinstein would salivate over this film "based on true events." Bashing the Catholic Church and the "homophobic" Republicans? It's a Hollywood dream scenario. This takes us back to the attack on Smith, who called out this anti-Catholic, anticonservative crusade for what it was.
"I could see no reason for the movie's existence other than to soar overhead in the guise of the sweet bird of comedy, then drop a surprise load of guano on Catholic institutions (and, in the second half, the U.S. Republican Party)," he wrote. At one point in the film, it's "explained" that Reagan cut funding for AIDS research, which is utter claptrap.
Smith knows he's the outlier among movie critics. "Film critics tend to give a free pass to obvious, trite, heavy-handed movies that light up the correct political-pleasure circuits in their brains. I'm used to disagreeing with them. That is because I am, as far as I know, the only conservative film critic in the entire United States who writes regularly for a general-interest newspaper or magazine. I see things all the others miss."
It's not at all hard to see the vicious stereotyping of "evil" nuns in this movie. "The movie makes this particular Irish-Catholic institution look about as pleasant as Abu Ghraib," Smith wrote. Even the seemingly kind nuns in the present day are dreadful liars hiding a secret — Lee's son died of AIDS in 1995 and is buried at the abbey in Ireland.
At the film's climax, when Lee and Sixsmith confront sour-faced old Sister Hildegard, who knew Lee as a pregnant girl, the old nun scowled and spat out that the girls were all so sinful they deserved every punishment.
The entire church punishes people who like sex, according to this cartoonish movie. When the actress playing Lee proclaims the illicit sex that got her pregnant was so wonderful she thought it must be sinful, her leftist journalist ally responds, "F***ing Catholics!"
That pretty much sums up Weinstein's attitude. He's a proven bigot, from the comedy flick "Dogma" to "The Magdalene Sisters," to this rotten apple. In 1995, Weinstein aimed to get "Priest" — a story of two sexually active priests, one gay, one straight — released on Good Friday. Only nervous theater owners caused a delay.
When Weinstein pushes out a movie in which a character yells "F***ing Muslims," that's timed for release during Ramadan, we'll know hell has frozen over.
The man whose last controversial movie was "Bully" certainly knows how to behave like one. Just ask New York Post film critic Kyle Smith, who dared to give a thumbs down to Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein's latest anti-Catholic attack film, "Philomena," carefully timed for release during the Christmas season.


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The property is located on the eastern fringe of Northampton town centre, just off Upper Thrift Street which is accessed from the Billing Road, one of the main arterial routes into Northampton. The property is positioned close to St Andrews Hospital and within walking distance from the Town Centre.
The premises comprise of a workshop/industrial building with office space located on the first floor. The property is of brick construction with a roller shutter door providing access to the workshop area from a secure gated yard. Adjoining the workshop/office is a double height industrial area with large wooden double doors providing vehicle access into the unit. The property also benefits from access to a double garage positioned within the yard.
Externally the property is located within a self contained site with parking and vehicular access on to Billing Road.
|2,460 Sq Ft
|228.53 Sq M
The premises are available on a leasehold basis.
Each party is to be responsible for their own legal costs.
It should be noted that all figures quoted either verbally or in writing are exclusive of VAT unless specifically stated.
We understand that mains services including water, drainage and electricity are connected to the property. It should be noted that none of the services have been tested and it is up to prospective occupiers to ensure that the facilities are installed and working to their own satisfaction.
All lettings are subject to a performance/rental deposit being lodged with the landlord equivalent to a minimum of one quarter's rent. The ingoing tenant will also be responsible for reimbursing the landlord for the annual building insurance premium.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, please be aware that any prospective purchaser will be asked to produce I.D. documentation when a sale is agreed and we ask for your cooperation in order to not delay matters.
To view and for further details please contact:
Joss Burrows
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Telephone: 01604 404060
Direct Dial: 01604 774144


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17. Valley Drive Neanderthal Findspot
There are 18 points of interest which link the landscape and wildlife of the heath today with its deep geological history.
- File type: PDF
- Size: 180.56 KB
The government confirmed on 12 October 2020 that Norwich is in Tier 1 (medium) of the new 3-tier system. Let's all pull together to help prevent the spread of the virus and avoid further restrictions.Read more


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All You Require to Know About Erotic Massage and Its Positive aspects to the Physique
Although we speak about erotic massage therapies, quite a few people today believe it to immoral and there is a hush-hush circumstance all about exactly where people today like to speak about it behind closed doors. Individuals are prepared to speak about other types of massage exactly where the genital regions are covered, and the rest of the physique is focussed on.
What is erotic massage?
What people today fail to recognize is that our genital regions are 1 of the most sensitive components of the physique. There are quite a few nerve endings present there are for that reason when touched, there is an arousal of the physique. The genitals are no doubt the tools for sex but the methods utilised for erotic massages never constantly have to finish in a satisfying sexual encounter. Erotic massage also recognized as Tantric massage involves each the receiver and the masseur rubbing their bodies against each and every other in a soft and sensual manner. Apart from that, there is the use of helpful lubricating oils that are rubbed sensually onto the physique to create a sense of sexual arousal in the physique. The sexual arousal involves the will need to touch and really feel the other physique onto theirs and accordingly rejuvenate the senses.
Wellness advantages of erotic massage
Apart from arousing the bodies sexually, tantric massage is recognized to have quite a few wellness advantages that not numerous conscious of. It makes it possible for people today to have a greater and enhanced wellness right after each and every session of a massage. A couple of of the advantages are –
• It is recognized to regulate the blood flow to the physique as friction with any other physique is recognized to rejuvenate the cells and as a result stimulating the blood vessels.
• For these who endure from premature ejaculation or take time to ejaculate, these massages are recognized to heal their troubles naturally. The heated sexual arousal that is regularly aided with the enticing encounters can enable them to have frequent orgasms and as a result treating their wellness troubles with each and every session they attend.
• Such massages are recognized to bring about self-assurance in a particular person to face their companion in bed. They are recognized to have enthusiastic sex regularly and as a result assisting their bodies to remain match.
• An erotic massage is recognized to strengthen the muscle tissues as sexual encounters, and orgasms are recognized to transfer a particular person into a daze exactly where they are recognized to apply a lot of force to the muscle tissues of the genital region. This tends to make it robust and as a result enabling them to have longer sex with out possessing to take rest in particular through climax moments.


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We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, BetterEspressoMachinesReviews.com may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items are in stock as of the time of publication.
Get in the swing of things during your mornings with Breville the Oracle!
If it is genuine coffee shop quality espresso that you are wanting, while at the same time having it in the comfort of your own home, this machine is most definitely a wonderful consideration to add to your list of top home espresso machines available in today's market.
Product Description
If you have always wanted a manual or semi-automatic espresso machine, due to the quality of the espresso produced by these machines (by someone who was knowledgeable in making them) but were scared off by all of the knowledge you felt you had to acquire prior to being able to decently use it, here is your chance to get quality espresso that tastes and presents like that made with a manual or semi-automatic machine, while at the same time being made by a machine that does it all for you.
Includes completely programmable features; built-in grinding, dosing, and tamping ability; programmable milk frothing capability; and more.
Top Features Include:
- Tons of programmable features.
- Great LCD front panel display.
- Stainless-steel dual boilers and dual Italian pumps.
- Very large water reservoir at 84 ounces.
Product Details
Is this machine in the Super-Automatic, Automatic, or Semi-Automatic class?
Although this machine has been placed into the semi-automatic class of home espresso machines according to its specifications, it truly much more closely resembles a super-automatic espresso maker due to all of the programmable options and auto features available with it.
Is this machine programmable?
Yes, this machine has tons of programmable options, to include milk-texturing (frothing), shot temperature programming ranging from 190 to 205 degrees, completely customizable settings for beverage preference (i.e., Americano, etc.), automatic on and shut-off features, and much more.
Is this machine easy to use?
This machine is, per customer report, with all of the available programmable options, very easy to use.
What types of beverages does this machine make?
This machine makes any kind of espresso beverage you would find at your local Starbucks or other coffee house.
What is the cup height allowance of this machine?
This espresso maker allows for using a cup up to 4 inches tall. If you prefer a machine that has a taller cup clearance space than this one, consider the DeLonghi Magnifica, which offers up to 6 or 7 inches of cup height clearance, almost an unheard of amount with this type of appliance!
Does this machine use pods/capsules or ground coffee?
This machine does not use pods or capsules. It instead uses only coffee beans, which are placed into a hopper that is built in to the machine and fed into the grinder when a cup of espresso is brewed. This guarantees the most fresh espresso, much more so than when using pods or capsules.
Does this machine have a built-in coffee bean grinder?
Yes, this machine does have a built-in coffee grinder.
View additional information at Amazon!
What is the bean hopper size in this machine?
The bean hopper that is built-in to this machine holds approximately 1/2 pound of your favorite coffee beans.
Does this particular machine have an LCD display?
Yes, this machine has a wonderful LCD display, as well as numerous buttons for different programmable settings.
What is the frothing capability of this machine?
This machine has a fantastic frothing ability that is made so much easier than it is with most other machines. Frothing with the Oracle is actually an automated process from which excellent milk froth can be obtained without a lot of practice and wasted milk.
What is the brew time length of this machine?
Very short brewing time – this machine provides the user with the capability of having two completely finished cappuccinos or other beverage in 90 seconds.
How many cups at a time can be made with this machine?
There are two spouts that dispense espresso on this machine, thus allowing for either one or two beverages at a time.
Does it have a cup warmer?
Yes, this machine does have a cup warmer. In addition, the cup warmer on this machine heats cups with the use of a heating element, as opposed to most machines in this price range, which normally heat cups with heat generated by the interior heating system.
View additional information at Amazon!
What colors is this machine available in?
What type of housing (outside casing) does this machine have?
This machine's casing is brushed stainless steel.
What type of water heating system does this machine have?
This home espresso maker has stainless-steel dual boilers that heat the water for brewing espresso while at the same time heating/steaming milk.
Does this machine have dual boilers?
Yes, this machine has dual stainless-steel boilers.
Is this machine noisy?
It was unable to be determined whether this home espresso machine is noisy or not. You should assume that some noise will be generated when the built-in grinder is grinding the coffee beans; however, it is unclear whether noise is generated during brew time.
What is the bar pump pressure information regarding this machine?
This machine has dual Italian pumps for super high pump pressure.
What is the water tank size on this machine?
This machine boasts a huge water reservoir that holds approximately 84 ounces — the largest seen thus far among the reviews at this site.
Is the water tank easy to access?
This machine has one of the most easy-to-access water reservoirs available with today's home espresso makers, enabling the home barista to add water from the top-front of the machine.
Is clean-up easy for this machine?
This machine is incredibly easy to clean, as the machine itself does the work. Features include auto-purge of the steam wand after brewing,
What is the weight of this machine?
This machine weighs approximately 34-35 pounds. Not one of the lighter machines, but definitely one of the more sturdy ones.
What are the dimensions (measurements) of this machine?
This home espresso machine measures 16-1/4 inches wide x 15 inches deep x approximately 18 inches in height.
The bean hopper that sets atop the machine is what makes it 18 inches tall. When the bean hopper is removed, the machine stands approximately 15-1/2 inches tall.
Shipping and Warranty Info.
This machine has a 2-year warranty.
What is the wattage of this machine?
This wattage of this machine is 1,800 watts.
Customer Reviews – Pros & Cons – Breville The Oracle Espresso Machine BES980XL Review
Here are some of the pros and cons that are actual reports from customers who have purchased and used this espresso machine.
- Great automated features – one customer reported that this machine has "superb automation."
- Quality of construction – this machine is felt to be constructed very durably and made to last for a number of years.
- Ease of use – per customer report, this machine is incredibly easy to use.
- Hot water outlet that is dedicated to dispensing only hot water, for those hot chocolate or tea lovers!
- Cost – This definitely is not one of the cheaper home espresso machines.
- At 34-35 pounds, this machine most definitely is not one of the more lightweight machines available.


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2 years post relaxer part II: Relaxed vs Natural(Part 1 of this post is here)
NITC 10 was when I knew I had to do this post, but it wasn't time yet as I was still transitioning. I gave a talk, and during the Q&A session a lady asked a question "I'm considering texlaxing my hair, do you think that would make my hair more manageable?"
Up until then I had been answering questions very honestly, being helpful by sharing my experience. Until that question. I gave her some answer based on stuff I'd heard a lot in the natural community. I said, "well, you know a lot of naturals do not consider natural hair difficult to manage. I think it depends on what you're trying to make the hair do..."
And many naturals present concurred "yeahhhh".
I wasn't completely honest. I was giving the "correct" answer, not saying my truth. My short answer would have been "Yes. You'll probably find texlaxed hair easier to manage." Notice I said short answer.
The long answer?
Let's start from the Relaxed vs Natural debate. It splits the hair community into two major camps: 1]. Live and let live or as I like to say, Kink and let perm (it took a while to come up with this okay?)
2]. The "If you're not natural you are wrong" camp. They have been dubbed "Natural Nazis".
I'm in the first camp. For me, it's just hair and you can do whatever you like with your own hair. Nevertheless, I understand where those in the second camp are coming from. If you hear why some people went natural and what it means to them ehn. Deep.
For a lot of women it's much more than just hair; it's a journey of self discovery. They've come from feeling less attractive or unworthy because they held themselves to prevalent standards of beauty that makes no room for kinky hair; to self acceptance, self love, confidence and awareness of the great beauty they possess.
It's meant so much to them that they want to preach it to everyone; and relaxed hair looks like self hate to them.
That's their reality. It's beautiful and I respect it but it's not mine.
It never went deeper than just hair for me. I grew up having my mum adore my thick, dark kinky hair. I was brought up in Kano around beautiful Northern girls with all lengths and textures of natural hair: short to very long, 3a to 4c. Natural hair was the norm, there were relaxed girls too, just fewer. Why I relaxed in the first place is included in part I of this post.
I don't feel any different as a person compared to when my hair was relaxed. Hair just doesn't run that deep for me. I like hair. I like long hair even more.
So! My comparison of natural and relaxed hair is based solely on my experiences with both. Finish.
Back to the question about manageability. I found my freshly relaxed hair most manageable. Hair that straight just doesn't need detangling.
I could create a parting and run my whole hand from root clear to tip in one swift motion with no catch, no break. Try it with my kinky hair- something will break: my hair or your hand.
I could sleep with my hair loose (under a satin scarf, let's not get crazy now) and after the aforementioned quick motion, be out the door: no real bed head. My kinky hair will be flat and scrunched up where I lay, poofy where I didn't. Gotta twist before bed.
I could curl my relaxed hair with just two french braids for a braidout, but I need to make smaller sections for my kinky hair if I want curls.
I could curl my freshly relaxed hair and then decide to run my hands through carelessly, to loosen up the curls. Do it with my kinky hair and you will wonder who whisked my curls into cotton candy.
Plain water sealed with drops of oil was enough to keep my freshly relaxed hair moisturised. My kinky hair drinks water, something creamy, butter/oil. Aaand repeat.
How about when hair is dry but I still don't moisturise it because I'm wearing it stretched and I'm not ready for it to shrink!
All said. Will I go back to relaxers? Neverrrr. It's all about what you weigh as more important.
The above pluses last for all of three weeks, and then the new growth comes in.
Are those few weeks worth months of the two-texture craziness of a relaxer stretch? Not for me.
Are chemical burns a suitable price to pay for getting rid of shrinkage? NO. Especially when for a lot of styles I can use shrinkage to my advantage. Plus, I love the peace of being free of potentially harmful chemicals.
Will I trade a big, bold, eye-catching, interesting afro for straight, universally acceptable hair? No more.
I'll take that extra time to moisturise my hair, to twist at night before bed, to thread when I want to see some length. And if I really want very defined curls, I'll take that time to make those sections and lovingly curl that hair because my natural hair is worth that little bit o' extra ko ba haka ba?
For me it's a choice between three weeks of more manageable hair while treating chemical burns, out of six months of battling two textures, only to repeat the cycle... and a lifetime of hair that takes a bit of extra time and effort, but the rewards are a happy scalp and big kinky look-at-me hair that even gets easier and easier to manage as you go along and keep learning. For me it's a no-brainer. For me. That's my own experience.
What I'm saying is Do You. No one wears your hair but you, so no one has the right to judge you for how you've chosen to wear your hair. This applies even in the natural community. Some people still try to tell you how to be natural- if you colour, add extensions, wear a weave etc you're not natural enough. If you do a braidout, twistout, rod set- you're trying to change your natural texture to what it's not. If you use a ruler/tape to check your length, you're doing the most.
Gerrarahia with those rules.
I won't ever let what's "correct" stop me from giving anyone my honest opinion again. I pledge to say my truth and nothing but.
See you in the comments.
All my love,
P.s NITC 13 IS TOMORROW. See the poster below for details.