text
stringlengths 201
1.04M
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
Smartphone gimbals are getting cheaper and cheaper with every new model that comes out, but it’s still hard to find a good one for around $100. Fortunately, the Xiaomi MiJia Smartphone Gimbal is now on sale for $108.99 (with free shipping to dozens of markets). The Xiaomi Gimbal usually carries a price of $130. Those familiar with Xiaomi’s brand know that you can always expect very build high quality out of their products and good software as well. Having owned Xiaomi’s MiJia 4K action cam gimbal for more than a year now, I can say that you’ll definitely be happy with your Xiaomi MiJia Smartphone Gimbal purchase.
The built-in 5,000mAh battery will keep the Xiaomi MiJia Smartphone Gimbal powered for more than 10 hours and physical controls on the gimbal will allow you to capture amazing videos without having to physically touch the smartphone. You also get cool features like object tracking (moves the gimbal to always keep a specified object or person in the frame) and motion time-lapse (moves the gimbal from one preset area to another while recording a timelapse).
If you’re interested in a smartphone gimbal, but want something a little different, be sure to check out these other options.
While Samsung’s flagship smartphones are possibly one of its more popular handsets, the company has also been known to put out quite a few rugged handsets aimed at users who might be able to appreciate such protection. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
bkaurjuk
No more did he walk like a gunslinger; now his walk was the slow, careful walk of the convalescent. His eyes shifting back and forth, making sure no one was around in the earlymorning wet, no one to see he was abusing one of the old folks he was supposed to be taking care of. The day was overcast and drippy. Dan had requested a new partner, to no avail. And when she had tea at his house, she would try to rouse his attention. But the old spirit is eager and pathetic in him.
The local papers had taken it up, and daily there appeared columns of learned criticisms, facetious editorials, and serious letters from subscribers.William had seized the lands belonging to Harold (S67) and those of the chief men associated with him, and had given them to his own followers in England. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
IT Marketing Management
You have your ITIL, COBIT, CMMI frameworks in place. You survey your customers and the service management machine is running nicely. What to do next? ITSM (IT Service Management) will help align your process and your IT organization. What do you do when it is time to move to the next step? How do you change the perception of your IT organization? Enter ITMM (IT Marketing Management), now it's time to "sell" the service desk and this webinar will help you market your service desk to the rest of the organization. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
I don’t know what it is about rookies, perhaps its the whole ‘ fresh meat’ thing, like the first day of freshman year. Watching a young guy play his first game. These are not the Thomas Vaneks and Jason Pominvilles, with iron clad contracts. These are the ones who have to fight for a spot on next years team this year, and they’re doing a fine job of such.
On Monday night, Brayden McNabb scored his first NHL goal, and had Robyn Regehr not pancaked Ovie, that would have been the loudest celebration of the night. It’s exciting, or maybe that’s just me, sitting in the stands going ‘ oh, I bet his mom is so proud!’
This week, I have discovered that Zack Kassian…will never play in the AHL again. When Brad Boyes returned, it wasn’t the usual moaning and groaning of his lack of playing of the hockey, but sadness over the idea of Kassian returning to Rochester, though has remained in the line up.
All the signs are pointing to Kassian spending the rest of the year in the Buff. He went to Catwalk for Charity, he played with little children at the Christmas visit to the hospital, there’s even a shersey out there with his name. Drew Stafford didn’t even get a shersey until last year when he was producing hat tricks like the Duggars produce babies.
In early November, the 20 year old signed a multi- year entry level contract with the Sabres, and by the time December came around, he had played his first NHL game, which included his first NHL point, and recording his first NHL goal.
Oh, and his first NHL fight, of course.
While attending an Amerks game last week, they had stats during intermission regarding the players who were in Buffalo, which probably lasted the entire time I was waiting in line for a drink. Based on my basic college math course, should Kassian stay up here for at least five more games, he will have played more games as a Sabre than an Amerk.
Other than the raging jealousy he causes for his Amerks teammates, there seems to be no need to send him back. If anything, we’re sticking a veteran in a Kassian jersey (picture it: ” whatttt? That’s not Derek Roy! Read the jersey!)
The old saying goes if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Everything else is broken, keep the guy who looks like he could sometimes pass as a plumber, he’ll fix it.
I hereby declare Kassian’s New Years resolution to be spending his 21st (January 24th, mark your calendars) on Chippewa Street, and not at the Dinosaur BBQ.
If anything, the ECHL call up replacing Kassian in Rochester is backing me up. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
What Your Home Decor Actually Says About You
You may not realize it, but the choices you make when selecting your home decor can end up saying a lot about you. Don’t believe us? Check out the harsh reality check your most prized trinkets served up during our recent visit to your home!
The Toilet Topper
The ceremic fox sitting on top of the toilet tank has seen [and smelled] a lot since you placed it there when you moved in 5 years ago. While you have long since stopped noticing its existence, it wants to remind you that it hasn’t moved, and that it is high time to retire “Someone Like You” and “Hello” from your shower-song repertoire.
The Wine Holder
That other ceramic fox (really, Nicole?), the one that has been holding a dusty bottle of wine for the last 3 years, is also paying attention to you, and thinks you’re long overdue for a glass. A tall, lonely glass.
The Home Sweet Home Sign
The farmers market, $12 sign that makes it clear to everyone that you live with a dog (in case it wasn’t obvious when they are greeted by the beast) and hangs above your kitchen table says you are adding too much salt to your meals. That’s all.
The Bookends
The Willow Tree statue on your bookshelf seems to think that you get most of your reading material downloaded on your Kindle lately, and is wondering why you need to keep your old theatre degree scripts and textbooks? You’re never going to read those again, Nicole. You’re never going to get back into acting. Donate those books to the next poor schmuck who believes in the power of art.
The Key Dish
Lastly, that dish on your hallway table that you throw your keys into when you come home from your soul-draining nine-to-five job every night before turning on Netflix? Yeah, it wants to remind you that you are still living alone, that 32 isn’t really as young as your friends tell you it is, and your mother is right to worry. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
barbecue sauce recipe
This is a traditional recipe for Kansas City style barbecue sauce. Use on ribs, pork, chicken, or serve on the side if you wish. It’s a tomato based sauce with a little sweet, heat, and tanginess. Just the right combination to pull off a sensational barbecue.
About Me
I began writing about Barbecue & Grilling in 1997 with one mission, to help the backyard chef have the best experience possible. Whether it is deciding which grill or smoker to buy or how to get that perfect steak, this is why this site exists. Join me and be the best outdoor cook you can be. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
AMSAT Challenge
OSCAR Designer, Builders and Those that Want To;
I am just completing a paper for the AMSAT-NA Symposium in October entitled
"Nanosatellite Program - A Challenge to AMSAT for Collaboration to Use the
Amateur Bands". I realized that by the time this paper is presented and
published it will be too late for AMSAT members to take advantage of the
opportunity suggested in the paper.
So ----- here is the deal.
AFOSR and DARPA have an announcement of opportunity that is soliciting
proposals from university teams to build ten nanosatellites. This ten page
proposal is due September 30,1998. They will provide $100k for each university
to build a nanosat starting October 1, 1998 and be ready for launch by the end
of 2000. They are presently proposing using the SHELS system on the space
shuttle for launching the nanosatellites.
Now is the time for AMSAT members to support your favorite university and help
them build a nanosatellite that could be the forerunner of some exciting future
OSCAR satellites. The P3D work is winding down now, what is the next
project? I am sure it must be a Low-Cost project for members to be
interested.
Here is the URL
http://web.fie.com/htdoc/fed/afr/afo/any/text/any/afrba986.htm
There are only 25 schools presently getting information about this program or
who have shown interest. Most of these are the big name schools in the space
bushiness.
Where are all of the other universities that would like to do this but need
AMSAT help?
Contact your favorite university, help form a consortium, get the proposal
written and give these other universities that are in the game now some
competition.
Having students build microsatellites at a university is SUPER fun and
EDUCATIONAL project for both the students and mentors.
Regard,
Bob Twiggs - at one of those universities that is already in the game. See our
web site.
aa.stanford.edu/~ssdl
----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to [email protected] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
There’s A Major Update About The ‘Avatar’ Movie Sequel And It Will Seriously Send You To The Moon
If you’re a fan of the 2009 film “Avatar” by James Cameron, you’re likely a little over movie updates promising you that it will hit theaters soon.
In December 2009, the film smashed box office records and wrangled in a total of $2.7 billion worldwide. Soon after, Cameron revealed his plans for unleashing several sequels that would surmount the technological groundbreaker, and we were beyond elated. Which brings us to 2020.
For a literal DECADE, we’ve seen the film’s release date pushed further and further away from us and the current COVID-19 pandemic has put the fate of the franchise’s future up in the air once again.
Still, recent updates are giving us hope and some insight into what to expect.
Recently, the official Avatar Twitter account posted a new behind-the-scenes photo of Avatar 2 actors.
From the set of the sequels: @ZoeSaldana, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, and Cliff Curtis taking a break from underwater performance capture for a quick photo!
Fun fact: Much of the performance capture took place in this 900,000 gallon tank, built specifically for the sequels. pic.twitter.com/NSfqoZ6jXJ
The new post features Zoe Saldana alongside Sam Worthington. Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet. If you’re a TRUE fan of Avatar you’ll know that the upcoming sequels will feature an underwater world. The latest reveal from the Twitter account gave us a pretty fun hint at what the work going into that will look like. After all, the film’s performance capture scenes that are taking place underwater are a cinematic first!
“From the set of the sequels: Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, and Cliff Curtis taking a break from underwater performance capture for a quick photo,” the official Avatar movie account tweeted shared in a tweet from last week. “Fun fact: Much of the performance capture took place in this 900,000-gallon tank, built specifically for the sequels.”
Saldana, Afro-Latina Sci-Fi Queen, will reprise her role as Neytiri in the new series.
Production for the first Avatar sequel was shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In May, Deadline announced that production was picked back up in New Zealand. The decision was made because the country has new health and safety production protocols concerning COVID-19. “The country’s lockdown has been gradually eased in recent weeks and further significant relaxation is expected next week, including the permission for gatherings of up to 100 people. Domestic travel and office work is also due to resume,” Deadline reported in a piece about the sequel’s relocation. “The country has restricted international travel and required arrivals to quarantine for a period of time so the teams behind major international productions may need to wait a while longer but the path to a return is becoming clearer.”
FIERCE LGBTQ Couples Are Sharing How They Met And It’s The Sweetest Thing
FIERCE LGBTQ Couples Are Sharing How They Met And It’s The Sweetest Thing
As we highlight Pride month, we wanted to share beautiful stories of LGBTQ+ love. To do so, we recently asked our FIERCE readers on Instagram to tell us how they met their partners and the results were not only hilarious but deeply inspiring.
Love is love and we love this kind of love.
Check it out!
The old slide in trick.
On their start to being ~educated latinas~
“My girlfriend and I met at the end of our first year of law school. She would say that I curved her for a few months before we became close. Almost three years later, we are both attorneys and looking forward to where life takes us.” – legalricanmujer
These two lovers who met while pushing for a joint interest
“We met in boot camp! 10 years ago (we’ve been together 2 /1/2 years, married 1 yr.” –hey_itsaj18
Chicas who started out on the same path and stuck together.
“We met in Nursing school we graduated together. That was 4 years ago, she’s a psychiatric nurse and I’m a geriatric nurse.” – m_a_r_i_a__j_o_h_a_n_n_a
They found love in a pandemic place.
Turns out the internet is the ultimate matchmaker.
“On the HER app. The same day she liked my profile she ended up coming into my job. I saw her but she didn’t see me. I ended up messaging her that night when I got off of work & we have been inseparable ever since. 3 years later and everyday I fall in love with her over & over again.” – _yourfavoritepoet_
And this is the most hilarious one of all.
“My wife @chulaworldand I were both seeing the same guy (total 🐶) …… so when we found out about each other we met up! And we have LITERALLY been inseparable ever since. Married on 4/20/19.” –bunuelitas
Share this story with all of your friends by tapping our little share buttons below!
Protestors In Puerto Rico Bringing A Guillotine To The Governor’s Mansion Is Just Another Reminder Boricua’s Don’t Mess Around
Like every other Latin American country and state, Puerto Rico has a long and torrid history with racism.
On the island, hundreds of protestors are now also taking place in the demonstrations that were sparked by the death of African-American police victim, George Floyd. In an effort to combat racism, protesters marched outside the mansion of Governor Wanda Vázquez in Old San Juan. Meanwhile, they chanted and demanded justice for George Floyd while also demanding change in Puerto Rico.
Ignoring the island’s coronavirus curfew, protestors took to the street and protested with all sorts of messages, but the one that truly caught those of us watching was the moment when protestors brought in a guillotine.
As anger and frustration continued to fuel the demonstrations, protestors brought in a massive guillotine to the Governor’s Mansion.
Holy shit Puerto Rico just brought a guillotine to the Governor’s mansion for their #BlackLivesMatter protest.
Shariana Ferrer-Núñez, a member of Puerto Rico’s Feminist Collective Under Construction, told Democracy Now that “We recognize that we must dismantle white supremacy, we must dismantle a racialized system, we must eradicate anti-Black violence” about the demonstrations.
According to the blog Orlando Latina, “For Puerto Rico’s elected class, the guillotine ought to be a terrifying symbol, as indeed it was during the French Revolution. But I doubt it, for the political class is a self-serving, self-dealing “firm” that has become unmoored from the people on the ground and oblivious to its needs.”
Here’s hoping this symbol hits elected officials in Puerto Rico enough to attempt to make change.
Share this story with all of your friends by tapping our little share buttons below! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
RMT Throws in the Towel - Without Even a Mandate
Many RMT reps and members are shocked at the union's decision to accept the company's pay offer that until that point it had told us was "unacceptable", and to do so the day after a ballot result in which over 3,000 members voted for action short of strikes against it.
There were positive things about the dispute - the fact that June's strike actually happened, the positive organising role of the strike committee, the concessions that we forced out of management. And obviously, the other unions' pathetic refusal to fight had a very negative effect. But RMT's potential to win more was squandered by foot-dragging and other mistakes from the union's leadership. Everything RMT's national leadership has done wrong during this dispute has been when they have made decisions behind our backs - ignoring or stalling decisions of mass meetings and reps' meetings, thinking they know best. Now, after pulling out the stops to scupper our campaign, they didn't get the crap result they hoped for and so have ignored it.
This shows contempt for the idea that we should have a say in how our own dispute is run. The national leadership has never once argued that this strike should be called off for x, y or z reason; if they had, they could well have persuaded a majority in the region to throw the towel in because there wasn't a great mood out there. At the meeting on Monday night (poorly-attended, partly because of the weather), those attending spoke honestly about their views. The lack of honesty was from our Executive rep, who did not tell us that he was considering accepting the pay offer, and whose attitude seems to be that he doesn't need to share his thoughts with us because he is the elected official and it's up to him what he does. Instead, we got fobbed off with a grandstanding speech about how we need to smash the anti-union laws, etc.
Whatever you think about how the dispute should or should not have continued, for the Executive to take this decision without even trying to consult or secure a mandate from the members or reps is very undemocratic. Many reps are upset, and bemused as to how they got no say in this and how they are supposed to explain this to their members. Reps and activists feel used by the Executive - expected to work their nuts off for a ballot, only to see its result ignored without even a discussion. Reps and activists told members to vote honestly in this ballot; this is their democratic voice and RMT is a democratic organisation. To then be ignored just disempowers people.
When TSSA and RMT called off the casualisation dispute a year and a half ago, it was so that we could "regroup and rally ourselves for future battles". Now this dispute has been abandoned for the same reason. Will we call of the next dispute for the same reason again?! Unless we examine the failings in the leadership of this dispute, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
We need to fight really hard now for democracy in our disputes. There is a different way to run disputes.
1. We need to go in them to win. We can't have another one or two days' strike and then stop. Action must be not just for the sake of it, but part of a winning strategy.
2. A ballot is not a form of action in itself. When people vote yes it should be because they agree and are prepared to do something about it. 'Yes' has to mean 'yes' because if they can argue it is just a 'yes' out of loyalty to the union, then the leadership can ignore it more easily. A union should not argue for a Yes vote just on the basis of loyalty or 'for the union', but on the issue and the strategy in question at the time. Union members need to feel they have a sense of ownership over what it does.
3. A few years ago, some disputes were won with one day of action then a deal cooked up behind the scenes, or just won with the threat of strikes. Our managment won't play that game now. We need to fight hard, to go for it, take several days' action. It's not that we want to make members suffer, but it's just the reality. Look at the Leeds bin workers, the posties (who even with 14 days action still didn't win). When oher workforces that are fighting are taking several days, how can we screech that we may have to lose 2 day's money?
4. We should no longer allow a dispute to drag on all year, with the national leadership slowly suffocating it and then finally putting it out of its misery. We shoud act quickly, effectively and decisively: if we win, great; if we don't, then move on - not drag on.
5. We need to assert democratic structures through which members and reps get to give opinions, and which the national leadership must listen to. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms.
The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.
Ukraine and Russia have a great deal in common, not least of which are their respective struggles with post-communist transition. Soon, they may add another thing to that list: missed opportunities that stem from the spread of anti-Western disinformation concerning the European Union, which is convenient only for certain ruling groups in both Russia and Ukraine.
Despite strong analytical evidence to the contrary, the integration of Ukraine with the EU has been depicted as a zero-sum game and a looming economic disaster for Ukraine and its ties with Russia, while the Customs Union has been portrayed in the opposite light.
This policy is not only restrictive for Ukraine and misleading to its people, it also contributes to the growing unrest and division that is turning increasingly violent.
Much of this disinformation is intended to negatively impact public opinion about the proposed EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. For Russia, this strains an already tense relationship with the EU, as demonstrated by the decision to shorten the EU-Russia summit. For Ukraine, it caused the EU to put Association Agreement discussions on hold and to express its frustration with the gap between Ukraine's words and deeds.
Incidentally, such anti-EU disinformation stands in stark contrast to statements made by the Ukrainian and Russian Foreign Ministries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, noting that Europe and Russia share 21 million square kilometers and a population of 650 million, recently reiterated the huge potential for Russia's closer relations with the EU. The EU accounts for 41 percent of Russia's external trade, and the annual number of Schengen visas issued in Russia rose from 3.2 million to 6 million from 2009 to 2012. And even despite the recent crisis in EU-Ukraine relations, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara continues to insist that Ukraine intends to resume Association Agreement talks.
In fact, the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement would benefit both Ukraine and Russia in many ways, especially in greater trade, social and cultural exchanges. Ukraine's closer association with the EU would actually increase Russian trade with Ukraine as long as Russia does not impose artificial restrictions, as it may have already done in 2013. As an example, Poland's exports to Russia after accession in 2004 not only did not fall. They actually grew from less than $4 billion to more than $10 billion.
To be sure, there must also be a market in Russia for higher-quality products that Ukraine, with its low labor costs, could capture. This was precisely what central European manufacturers did after Association Agreement signatures, leading to much greater gross domestic product growth, something Ukraine is in desperate need of. In 1991, Ukraine and Poland had similar per capita incomes. But in 2012, Ukraine's was about $4,000, and Poland's was triple that at $12,800. Growth in per capita income will increase demand for all imports, another benefit for Russia.
Like other central European countries, Ukraine also would benefit through increased foreign direct investments, or FDI. From 1990 to 2000, the cumulative total foreign direct investment per capita into Ukraine was about $675. The Czech Republic received $6,300, while central Europe averaged about $3,700.
More important, in the past the surge of FDI into potential EU members began well before accession, when the institutional quality of investment climate was still low. Investors were motivated by the likelihood that an Association Agreement would improve this climate — and it did. Similarly, once Ukraine exhibits a commitment to improved institutions, it can expect investment well before the reforms are completed.
While Russia's $15 billion loan may have provided short-term relief by stabilizing central bank reserves in Ukraine, it does not address the fundamental external imbalance in the long run. Allowing a delay in devaluation may be good for the political aims of the government but not for the Ukrainian economy.
Likewise, avoiding the “unreasonable” proposals of the IMF is only a postponement of inevitably needed structural reforms. Russia, as an IMF member, understands this logic very well and often preaches this gospel for other countries at the IMF board of directors. Many Ukrainians also understand this.
For the fledgling Eurasian Union, having a large member such as Ukraine with its weak economy and sharp political divisions would be destabilizing.
Subsidizing Ukraine's “loyalty” will surely prove costly for Russia, whose growth prospects are grim, with forecasts for 2013 downgraded several times to only 1.5 percent. With its high dependency on oil, low labor productivity and many noncompetitive sectors, Russia's economy faces long-term challenges.
The risks are reflected in resurgent capital flight, as net outflows increased 14.8 percent year-on-year to $62.7 billion in 2013. Many experts point to the complex regulations and corruption as factors contributing to its poor investment climate and consequent low FDI.
Thus, many interpretations and assertions about the “ill effects” of a potential EU orientation for Ukraine are myths. Horror stories about the immediate loss of Russian markets are simply wrong. And if declines do materialize, they will likely be because of questionable restrictions on Ukrainian imports by Russia, which probably are not legitimate under World Trade Organization rules. Concerns about a flood of European imports are similarly unfounded.
Many Ukrainian and Russian citizens have been misled by these myths and feel sincerely concerned about the potential economic and social impact of an EU-Ukraine agreement. If these myths are dispelled and a larger share of the population understands the benefits of the Association Agreement, internal support could be overwhelming.
Oleh Havrylyshyn, a former deputy director of the European II Department in the International Monetary Fund responsible for countries of the former Soviet Union and a former official in Ukraine's Finance Ministry, is visiting scholar at the Center for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Toronto. Svitlana Kobzar is a policy analyst at RAND Europe and assistant professor at Vesalius College in Brussels.
This commentary originally appeared in The Moscow Times on January 28, 2014. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Stay Informed
The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Blog Archives
*ABC News’ chief anchor and long-time political correspondent was the communications director for Bill Clinton’s election campaign in 1992, later becoming the White House communications director. He co-hosts Good Morning America, the country’s most influential morning news show. Despite this busy workload, Stephanopoulos finds time to participate in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
*The head of Comcast was named to President Obama’s Jobs and Competitiveness Council in 2011. He has been called ‘Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman’. Forbes estimates his wealth at $1.3 billion.
*Cenk Uygur was hired by MSNBC amid the growing popularity of ‘The Young Turks’ YouTube channel, which has garnered over 1,6 billion views. He was originally given a prime-time slot, but then NBC attempted to shift him around the schedule. Uygur resisted and was fired. He claimed that MSNBC President Phil Griffin told him that “people in Washington” did not like Uygur’s tone.
Exercise freedom and creativity for all Earth’s inhabitants to explore ready breakthroughs in Self Organizing Communities, economics, and technology.
This is a D.I.Y. project
State Sponsored Terror
The Big Day ReportMarch 30th, 2018
Institutions of crime Big days have come, gone, and come again (Manipulations: Market Exchanges crash, wars, government Elections, and Taxation).
Search for what is hidden and for what is not spoken.
What secrets are hidden in Antarctica?
Be Aware of the next big Day for fraudulent institutions.
ALIEN SCIENTIST
AlienScientist.com contains an ever expanding database of everything related to Space Technologies and predictions on what the future could be like. Aliens, Antigravity, Inter-Stellar Space Travel, Time Travel, TOEs and GUTs, Unified Field Physics, “Free”
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
EFF fights for freedom primarily in the courts, bringing and defending lawsuits even when that means taking on the US government or large corporations. By mobilizing more than 50,000 concerned citizens through our Action Center, EFF beats back bad legisla
Free Software Foundation
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. Think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.” Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. The Free Software Directory cat
Fukushima Update
Fukushima Update is edited by James Corbett of The Corbett Report. It is dedicated to providing news and information related to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. With neither a pro- nor anti-nuclear age
GATA
GOLD ANTI-TRUST ACTION COMMITTEE; organized in the fall of 1998 to expose, oppose, and litigate against collusion to control the price and supply of gold and related financial instruments.
Israel Today
Israel Today’s mission is to be the definitive source for a truthful and balanced perspective on Israel and to provide timely news directly from Jerusalem – the focus of world attention.
Land Destroyer Report
The Land Destroyer Report is maintained by Tony Cartalucci, an American geopolitical analyst based in Bangkok, Thailand. Land Destroyer is mirrored on WordPress here. We can be followed on Twitter here and Facebook here. Comments, questions, corrections, | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Related Stories
Members of the Mount Allison Faculty Association are on strike today and all classes are suspended after last-minute negotiations over the weekend failed. (Michele Brideau/Radio-Canada)
Students at Mount Allison University in Sackville say they are hoping the strike by faculty will end quickly.
All classes are suspended after professors and librarians who are members of the Mount Allison Faculty Association headed to the picket line instead of the classroom early Monday morning.
Student Keri Martin says leading up to the strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Monday, her professors had been very open about the process.
"We don't really have much of a say in it so it kind of sucks," Martin said. "I really hope that it's a short strike."
Last-minute negotiations fail
Mount Allison's administration and faculty failed to reach an agreement in last-minute negotiations ahead of last night's midnight strike deadline set by the faculty association.
Loralea Michaelis, president of the Mount Allison Faculty Association, says the university administration was unable to provide professors with any reason to settle.
"We had high hopes, we felt we had been very clear at the bargaining table about what it was that we needed to see in a deal at the end of the weekend in order to avoid a strike."
Michaelis says the core issue for faculty members is a series of proposals by Mount Allison that she says would increase administrative control over teaching and research.
'It really does show that there is a very wide gap between the way in which the faculty understand the university and its mission and the way in which the administration understands the university and its mission and I think that that gap is also in play at UNB.'- Mount Allison Faculty Association president, Loralea Michaelis
"It speaks to the very idea of the university, the kind of university that Mount Allison will be," Michaelis said. "In order for Mount Allison to embody the idea of the university it has to give academic freedom to its faculty in order to decide for themselves the conditions and the ways in which they will teach and pursue their research."
Michaelis says there is a broad array of issues the two sides don't agree on including salaries, pensions, benefits and an increasing workload.
"Full-time hiring has not kept pace with increased student enrolment and the result is increased class sizes and gaps in programs which faculty will overwork in order to fill."
Mount Allison vice-president wants return to bargaining
Karen Grant, vice-president of academics and research at Mount Allison University, says over the weekend the university tabled three different proposals in an effort to reach a new collective agreement.
"Each addressing what we thought were key issues for the faculty association but also key issues that preserve what we're trying to achieve here," Grant said.
"Our proposals were guided by our concerns for the quality of the institution and its academic programs as well as ensuring that we do provide these proposals in the context of a sustainable approach."
Grant says she is hoping that both sides will return to the negotiating table quickly so students are not adversely affected.
"We are very much concerned about making sure we get them back into school and in the meantime we're encouraging them to keep track of what's going on by following the website but also to keep up with their studies and assignments so that they don't get far behind."
Classes, labs and tutorials at Mount Allison are suspended but all residences, the dining hall, library and athletic facilities remain open.
Michaelis says New Brunswickers should take a close look at what's happening at both Mount Allison and the University of New Brunswick where faculty are also on strike.
"Faculty are challenging the way in which the administration has been managing the university," she said.
"It really does show that there is a very wide gap between the way in which the faculty understand the university and its mission and the way in which the administration understands the university and its mission and I think that that gap is also in play at UNB."
Student Danielle Bourgeois says she has her fingers crossed that the strike at Mount Allison doesn't drag on as long as the strike at UNB, which is now into its third week.
"What they were saying as well was they didn't think it would be very long but that's not how it turned out, so hope it doesn't go the same way for us."
Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
BCIC Lends Support To All Jamaica Squash Championships
BCIC Lends Support To All Jamaica Squash Championships
BCIC has stepped up its support for local squash with a $400,000 sponsorship package for the staging of the 2018 All Jamaica Senior Championships.
Following on its sponsorship of the All Jamaica Junior Squash Championships in June, the insurance giants will now headline the senior tournament, which is scheduled to run from November 19-23 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston.
All eyes will be on the top Jamaican and Caribbean player, Chris Binnie who will be chasing his seventh consecutive title to take his career tally to eight. Retaining his position as national champion will cap off a stellar year for Binnie who won a historic silver medal at the Pan American Squash Champions in August and a bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in July.
Among those looking to unseat the defending champion are longtime rival, Bruce Burrowes, an experienced campaigner; as well as former junior national champion, Tahjia Lumley, who will no doubt make his presence felt at the senior level.
The tournament will also see the return of former men’s champion, Dane Schwier who should mount a strong challenge to retake the title.
The ladies competition should be equally exciting with former junior Caribbean champions, sisters Akelia and Larissa Wiltshire seeded at number and number two, respectively; paving the way for a family affair in the finals. However, to play for the championship, the siblings will have to get past last year’s runner-up, squash starlet, Alex Jordan whose sights are set firmly on the top prize.
Also in the hunt are All Jamaica Under 17 champion, Mia Mahfood and her arch rival and fellow junior national team player, Mia Lake, who will both be firing at the top guns, hoping to make their breakthrough this year.
Tournament Director, Douglas Beckford said, “we expect that this year’s championships will be an exciting and highly competitive tournament as we will have Chris Binnie trying to extend his winning streak while all the rest of our top men’s players will be going all out to beat him.
“Then on the ladies side we can look forward to seeing the Wiltshire sisters in action and we might even see one of our junior players claiming their first senior title, which is always good for the continued growth of the sport.”
Simone Foote, BCIC’s Marketing Manager said, “BCIC is excited to partner with Jamaica’s most prestigious squash tournament. We were impressed with the stellar competition and the excellent sportsmanship we saw at the Junior tournament in June and it’s our pleasure to be back on board for the senior championships where the country’s best players will be in action.”
In addition to the main draw for the men and ladies, the tournament will feature several other categories including the Ladies and Men’s B Draw, the Men’s C Draw and the Male and Female Veterans’ competitions. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Montana Earthquake Increased “Super Volcano” Eruption Concerns
After being hit with the strongest earthquake in 20 years, Western Montanans woke to the trembles of a 5.8 magnitude quake. Although the damage is not severe, many geological experts are now raising concerns of Yellowstone’s dormant super volcano. In the wake of this earthquake, fears have increased that it could be waking up.
The quake’s epicenter was about 6 miles south of Lincoln, originating from a depth of nearly 3 miles underground, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Service. Subsequently, the USGS recorded seven more tremors in the same area within an hour of the initial quake, which ranged in magnitude from 4.9 to 3.8.
The earthquake was strong enough to knock items off walls and shelves and tremors were reportedly felt as far away as Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The location of the earthquake is not surprising, according to Mike Stickney, a seismologist at the Earthquake Studies Office, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology on the Montana Tech campus in Butte. “It’s right along the axis of the intermountain seismic belt,” said Stickney. He also said that this quake occurred on a strike/slip fault, a vertical fault where one side moves horizontally against the other, similar to the kind of movement experienced along the San Andreas Fault in California.
That said, he said he “does not believe” the quake is seismically tied to the recent “swarm” of smaller earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park area. “I don’t see any direct relationship between these two sequences,” he said. “This is a pretty sizeable earthquake. It would certainly have the potential to do structural damage near the epicenter, but we’ve had no reports indicating damage yet.” Others, however, disagree.
While minor earthquakes are fairly common, Thursday’s moderate quake was the strongest felt in western Montana in two decades. The last one to exceed 5.0 magnitude was reported 12 years ago near Dillon, according to the USGS. Most of those incidents had epicenters farther south, many centering in the famously active Yellowstone National Park. In total, there have been more than 70 quakes measuring larger than 4.5 in Montana and parts of Wyoming and Idaho since 1925, according to the USGS. The largest quake in state history was magnitude 7.2 in 1959 near west Yellowstone.
The USGS reports the Lincoln quake was one of 20 within the last week and 236 within the last month. –Zerohedge | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
More laws will not fix gun violence
I do not share Denton May's opinion that more laws will fix gun violence. He states "the people want gun reform," as if everyone does. Many of us are aware that current laws should prevent the problems he addresses. We might as well make it illegal to perpetrate illegal acts. Will it ever occur to some that simply making a law won't affect many of the actions of criminals, but will only affect law abiding citizens? The argument for more gun laws is it'll make it harder on criminals. No, in this case it'll make it harder on law abiding citizens because criminals ignore laws.
Limit gun magazines to 10 rounds? Why not two or 30? There are already millions upon millions of high capacity magazines out there. If it were possible to magically make them all disappear and start over, then the restriction might make some sense. However, that's not possible. It's just something that sounds good on the surface but actually will do nothing against gun violence. Ban "assault rifles"? That also sounds good, but is pointless because the vast majority of criminal acts involving guns are done with handguns, not "assault rifles." FBI statistics show more criminal acts are done with shotguns or knives than "assault rifles." An "assault rifle" is a cosmetically altered rifle. It's not structurally different than many hunting rifles. One can easily turn an "assault" rifle into a hunting rifle and vice versa.
Everything Mr. May said about conservatives Fox News, Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh can also be said about leftists MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton. If you, like me, don't enjoy the extreme propaganda on either side, turn it off. Obviously both sides are making "obscene livings" trying to scare people, because, in Mr. May's words, both sides "have no limits to shabby scurrility."
I'll also use Mr. May's words to end my letter, but change "gun owners" to "anti-gunners": The rights of anti-gunners end where they imperil our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Enrichment Through Variation
R. Gordon and A. J. Power
Abstract: We show that, for a closed bicategory W,
the 2-category of tensored W-categories and all
W-functors between them is equivalent to the 2-category of
closed W- representations and maps of such, which in turn is
isomorphic to a full sub-2-category of Lax(W, Cat). We
further show that, if w is a locally dense subbicategory of
W and W is biclosed, then the 2-category of
W-categories having tensors with 1-cells of w embeds
fully into the 2-category of w-representations. This allows
us to generalize Gabriel-Ulmer duality to W-categories and
to prove, for W-categories, that for locally finitely
presentable A and for B admitting finite tensors and
filtered colimits, the category of W-functors from Af
to B is equivalent to that of finitary W-functors
from A to B. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
When he noticed a wounded pigeon near the Angels' bullpen last night in Oakland, reliever Dane De La Rosa sprang into action. He was determined to bring in the injured bird to safety.
At first, De La Rosa grabbed the pigeon and walked it back to the bullpen, sitting with it cupped in his hands in front of him. But that wasn't going to cut it. With the game still going on, De La Rosa made his way toward the Angels' clubhouse. When he reached the dugout, he got quite a WTF reaction from teammate Collin Cowgill before walking behind manager Mike Scioscia and into the clubhouse.
De La Rosa even named his new little buddy before making sure the poor thing was OK.
Handling a pigeon in this way really isn't bad for you. And De La Rosa made sure to scrub his hands after he freed Randy outside the stadium.
De La Rosa later went out and retired the A's in order in the eighth to help the Angels win. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Today the Florida Democratic Party is launching two digital billboards in Orlando and Tallahassee highlighting Rick Scott’s long record of opposing common sense gun safety measures and putting his own self-serving politics over Floridians’ safety.
The billboards feature the following message:
612 DAYS BETWEEN PULSE & PARKLAND.
RICK SCOTT DID NOTHING.
--The Sun Sentinel
“Rick Scott’s long record of opposing common sense gun safety measures shows exactly who he is: a self-serving politician who says one thing and does the opposite -- while Floridians pay the price,” said Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Juan Penalosa. “He broke his promise and did nothing to make Floridians safer from gun violence after the Pulse tragedy because he was more concerned about looking out for his political interests and the agenda of his gun lobby backers. Now he’s ignoring the clear calls from Parkland students and gun safety advocates by refusing to back an assault weapons ban.“
As detailed in a recent Sun Sentinel editorial, “after Sandy Hook, Pulse, the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting or any other mass shooting, Scott did nothing on guns or school safety.” Scott has also barred doctors from asking patients about whether they have access to firearms, restricted local communities from passing stricter gun safety regulations, and slashed funding for mental health and school safety programs while giving taxpayer funded incentives to assault weapons producers. His most recent proposal has been called “woefully inadequate” by gun safety advocates and ignores the Parkland student’s demand for an assault weapons ban.
In the wake of the Parkland shooting, survivors of the Pulse tragedy have spoken out against Scott, highlighting how he broke his promises and prioritized his own self-serving politics over implementing common sense gun safety initiatives. Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf wrote in the Orlando Sentinel that “folks like Gov. Rick Scott...have chosen to bankroll their campaigns rather than do their job,” and Equality Florida Senior Political Advisor Joe Saunders stated the promises Scott made after Pulse“ were unequivocally broken.”
The Orlando billboard will be at East Colonial Drive, 6139 E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL, and begins airing on Friday. The Tallahassee billboard will be at Magnolia and Mahan Drive and begins airing on Sunday. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Superintendents want grades, testing delayed
Area school superintendents are pleased with most of the accountability changes that Louisiana Superintendent John White will propose to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education next week, but they believe there is still room for improvement.
White will ask BESE to slow down the school and educator consequences associated with the increasing rigor of the Common Core standards including suspending the use of the Value-Added Model of teacher assessment in a committee meeting on Tuesday. The full board will decide on Wednesday.
In an official statement released last week by the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, the group reaffirmed that while it held a strong belief that student achievement needs to be increased, the implementation should be gradual.
“We appreciated the continued dialog we have had with Superintendent White in which some of our recommendations have been embraced and look forward to continued cooperation as we make this important transition,” the release reads.
The association and local superintendents disagree with White’s recommendation that PARCC assessments be implemented in 2014-15 and that districts continue to be ranked by letter grade during the a two-year transition to Common Core standards.
PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is the proposed assessment for states participating in the Common Core standards to allow those states to compare the progress of their students with those in other states.
“We have grave concerns about districts’ readiness for PARCC in 2015,” the LASS statement reads. “Delay implementation of PARCC.”
“(The) current state assessment should continue to be used while developing an appropriate national assessment in a timely manner,” Richland Superintendent Sheldon Jones said.
White will also recommend schools continue to be assigned letter grades in 2014 and 2015 “using a distribution based on 2012-13 letter grades.”
“Given the fact that we are putting everything else on hold, it would seem reasonable to delay the grades for two years as well,” Cannon said.
“I think this is going to be a problem,” West Carroll Superintendent Kent Davis said. “It’s going to give an adverse outlook on the schools. It’s going to negatively impact our school performance scores.”
Madison Superintendent Lisa Wilmore said her district is already struggling with low letter grades and making every effort to improve.
“I have no opposition to strengthening accountability, but I still think it takes time,” she said. “I think it would help our district to give us an opportunity to track our kids before he assigns a letter grade. It’s bad for morale within the district.”
“I’m very pleased that Mr. White has listened to the recommendations of educators from across the state, but I wish he would consider these too,” Ouachita Superintendent Bob Webber said. “Why would you want to assign letter grades when we are still not sure what we are teaching or what we are testing?” | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
tl;dr: Your Ubuntu-based container is not a copyright violation. Nothing to see here. Carry on.
I am speaking for my employer, Canonical, when I say you are not violating our policies if you use Ubuntu with Docker in sensible, secure ways. Some have claimed otherwise, but that’s simply sensationalist and untrue.
Canonical publishes Ubuntu images for Docker specifically so that they will be useful to people. You are encouraged to use them! We see no conflict between our policies and the common sense use of Docker.
Going further, we distribute Ubuntu in many different signed formats -- ISOs, root tarballs, VMDKs, AMIs, IMGs, Docker images, among others. We take great pride in this work, and provide them to the world at large, on ubuntu.com, in public clouds like AWS, GCE, and Azure, as well as in OpenStack and on DockerHub. These images, and their signatures, are mirrored by hundreds of organizations all around the world. We would not publish Ubuntu in the DockerHub if we didn’t hope it would be useful to people using the DockerHub. We’re delighted for you to use them in your public clouds, private clouds, and bare metal deployments.
Any Docker user will recognize these, as the majority of all Dockerfiles start with these two words....
We explicitly encourage distribution and redistribution of Ubuntu images and packages! We also embrace a very wide range of community remixes and modifications. We go further than any other commercially supported Linux vendor to support developers and community members scratching their itches. There are dozens of such derivatives and many more commercial initiatives based on Ubuntu - we are definitely not trying to create friction for people who want to get stuff done with Ubuntu.
Our policy exists to ensure that when you receive something that claims to be Ubuntu, you can trust that it will work to the same standard, regardless of where you got it from. And people everywhere tell us they appreciate that - when they get Ubuntu on a cloud or as a VM, it works, and they can trust it. That concept is actually hundreds of years old, and we’ll talk more about that in a minute....
So, what do I mean by “sensible use” of Docker? In short - secure use of Docker. If you are using a Docker container then you are effectively giving the producer of that container ‘root’ on your host. We can safely assume that people sharing an Ubuntu docker based container know and trust one another, and their use of Ubuntu is explicitly covered as personal use in our policy. If you trust someone to give you a Docker container and have root on your system, then you can handle the risk that they inadvertently or deliberately compromise the integrity or reliability of your system.
Our policy distinguishes between personal use, which we can generalise to any group of collaborators who share root passwords, and third party redistribution, which is what people do when they exchange OS images with strangers.
Third party redistribution is more complicated because, when things go wrong, there’s a real question as to who is responsible for it. Here’s a real example: a school district buys laptops for all their students with free software. A local supplier takes their preferred Linux distribution and modifies parts of it (like the kernel) to work on their hardware, and sells them all the PCs. A month later, a distro kernel update breaks all the school laptops. In this case, the Linux distro who was not involved gets all the bad headlines, and the free software advocates who promoted the whole idea end up with egg on their faces.
We’ve seen such cases in real hardware, and in public clouds and other, similar environments. Digital Ocean very famously published some modified and very broken Ubuntu images, outside of Canonical's policies. That's inherently wrong, and easily avoidable.
So we simply say, if you’re going to redistribute Ubuntu to third parties who are trusting both you and Ubuntu to get it right, come and talk to Canonical and we’ll work out how to ensure everybody gets what they want and need.
In doing so, that bottle should earn your confidence that it was produced according to strict quality, format, and geographic standards.
Before you pop the cork, check the seal, to ensure it hasn’t been opened or tampered with. Now, drink it however you like.
Pour that Champagne over orange juice (if you must). Toss a couple ice cubes in your Scotch (if that’s really how you like it). Pour that Bourbon over a Coke (if that’s what you want).
Enjoy however you like -- straight up or mixed to taste -- with your own guests in the privacy of your home. Just please don’t pour those concoctions back into the bottle, shove a cork in, put them back on the shelf at your local liquor store and try to pass them off as Champagne/Scotch/Bourbon.
Rather, if that’s really what you want to do -- distribute a modified version of Ubuntu -- simply contact us and ask us first (thanks for sharing that link, mjg59). We havesomeamazingtools that can help you either avoid that situation entirely, or at least let’s do everyone a service and let us help you do it well.
Believe it or not, we’re really quite reasonable people! Canonical has a lengthy, public track record, donating infrastructure and resources to many derivative Ubuntu distributions. Moreover, we’ve successfully contracted mutually beneficial distribution agreements with numerous organizations and enterprises. The result is happy users and happy companies.
Monday, July 20, 2015
As you probably remember from grade school math class, primes are numbers that are only divisible by 1 and themselves. 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 are the first 5 prime numbers, for example.
Many computer operations, such as public-key cryptography, depends entirely on prime numbers. In fact, RSA encryption, invented in 1978, uses a modulo of a product of two very large primes for encryption and decryption. The security of asymmetric encryption is tightly coupled with the computational difficulty in factoring large numbers. I actually use prime numbers as the status update intervals in Byobu, in order to improve performance and distribute the update spikes.
Euclid proved that there are infinitely many prime numbers around 300 BC. But the Prime Number Theorem (proven in the 19th century) says that the probability of any number is prime is inversely proportional to its number of digits. That means that larger prime numbers are notoriously harder to find, and it gets harder as they get bigger!
What's the largest known prime number in the world?
Well, it has 17,425,170 decimal digits! If you wanted to print it out, size 11 font, it would take 6,543 pages -- or 14 reams of paper!
That number is actually one less than a very large power of 2. 257,885,161-1. It was discovered by Curtis Cooper on January 25, 2013, on an Intel Core2 Duo.
Friar Mersenne's work continues today in the form of the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, and the mprime program, which has been used to find those 14 huge prime numbers since 1996.
mprime is a massive parallel, cpu scavenging utility, much like SETI@home or the Protein Folding Project. It runs in the background, consuming resources, working on its little piece of the problem. mprime is open source code, and also distributed as a statically compiled binary. And it will make a fine example of how to package a service into a Docker container, a Juju charm, and a Snappy snap.
Docker Container
First, let's build the Docker container, which will serve as our fundamental building block. You'll first need to download the mprime tarball from here. Extract it, and the directory structure should look a little like this (or you can browse it here):
Juju Charm
So now, let's create a Juju Charm that uses this Docker container. Actually, we're going to create a subordinate charm. Subordinate services in Juju are often monitoring and logging services, things that run along side primary services. Something like mprime is a good example of something that could be a subordinate service, attached to one or many other services in a Juju model.
Our directory structure for the charm looks like this (or you can browse it here):
$ cat metadata.yaml
name: mprime
summary: Search for Mersenne Prime numbers
maintainer: Dustin Kirkland
description: |
A Mersenne prime is a prime of the form 2^P-1.
The first Mersenne primes are 3, 7, 31, 127
(corresponding to P = 2, 3, 5, 7).
There are only 48 known Mersenne primes, and
the 13 largest known prime numbers in the world
are all Mersenne primes.
This charm uses a Docker image that includes the
statically built, 64-bit Linux binary mprime
which will consume considerable CPU and Memory,
searching for the next Mersenne prime number.
See http://www.mersenne.org/ for more details!
tags:
- misc
subordinate: true
requires:
juju-info:
interface: juju-info
scope: container
Each container host has a "fan bridge" that enables all of its containers to deterministically map network traffic to any other container on the fan network. I say "deterministically", in that there are no distributed databases, no consensus protocols, and no more overhead than IP-IP tunneling. [A more detailed technical description can be found here.] Quite simply, a /16 network gets mapped on onto an unused /8 network, and container traffic is routed by the host via an IP tunnel.
First, launch two instances in EC2 (or your favorite cloud) in the same VPC. Ben Howard has created special test images for AWS and GCE, which include a modified Linux kernel, a modified iproute2 package, a new fanctl package, and Docker installed by default. You can find the right AMIs here.
That 250.0.0.0/8 network can actually be any /8 network. It could be a 10.* network or any other /8 that you choose. I've chosen to use something in the reserved Class E range, 240.* - 255.* so as not to conflict with any other routable network.
Finally, let's test the performance a bit using iperf and Amazon's 10gpbs instances!
So I fired up two c4.8xlarge instances, and configured the fan bridge there.
Multiple containers, on separate hosts, directly addressable to one another with nothing more than a single network device on each host. Deterministic routes. Blazing fast speeds. No distributed databases. No consensus protocols. Not an SDN. This is just amazing!
RFC
Give it a try and let us know what you think! We'd love to get your feedback and use cases as we work the kernel and userspace changes upstream.
Over the next few weeks, you'll see the fan patches landing in Wily, and backported to Trusty and Vivid. We are also drafting an RFC, as we think that other operating systems and the container world and the Internet at large would benefit from Fan Networking.
The system load peaked at 1056 (!!!), but I was using merely 56% of 15.4GB of system memory. Amazingly, my Unity desktop and Byobu command line were still perfectly responsive, as were the containers that I ssh'd into. (Aside: makes me wonder if the Linux system load average is accounting for container process correctly...)
As for KVM, I managed to launch 31 virtual machines without KSM enabled, and 65 virtual machines with KSM enabled and working hard. So that puts somewhere between 10x - 21x as many containers as virtual machines on the same laptop.
You can now repeat these tests, if you like. Please share your results with #LXD on Google+ or Twitter!
I'd love to see someone try this in AWS, anywhere from an m3.small to an r3.8xlarge, and share your results ;-)
Thursday, April 23, 2015
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the 1stBuild Hackathon -- Hack the Home -- sponsored by GE, Canonical, and a host of other smart companies in the IoT space.
Over 250 makers -- hardware and software geeks much like myself -- competed for cash prizes in teams all night long in a 36 hour event at the amazing hackerspace hosted by 1stBuild and the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Mark Shuttleworth recorded this message, played in the kickoff keynote, to start the hackathon:
I'll quote Jason Chodynieki, on the team that built that device, since I couldn't write it any better:
"I wanted to highlight that this project makes use of Snappy Ubuntu Core! Using Snappy, we were able to create a very modular application that could easily be updated across multiple devices if this project ever made it to production. Snappy provided us with the ability to use popular frameworks very easily and to package our application up as a Snap to make it accessible to the world. With Snappy and the associated CrockWatch snap, we are capable of dropping CrockWatch onto any device that is receiving sensor data from a Crockpot. Because of this, the CrockWatch application can not only run on the webserver (on a Raspberry Pi 2) we used for this project, but it can also be used on other devices. Imagine if your set top box on your TV could help show you what's cooking in the Crock Pot or if the screen on your fridge was capable of displaying this information! With Ubuntu Snappy, these thoughts could soon become reality!"
My wife absolutely loves this idea! She often starts cooking dinner in the morning, in our slow cooker, and then spends the rest of the day running around town, dropping our kids off and picking them up from two different schools. She would love the ability to remotely "check in" on the food, look at it from a camera, and adjust the temperature and pressure while out and about around town!
GE had a whole array of appliance available at the event, any of which could be controlled through a special interface, and a Raspberry Pi 2 running Snappy, including this fridge.
All in all, it was a fantastic event. A big thanks to our hosts at 1stBuild and our colleagues at GE that introduced us to the event. And an even bigger thanks to all the participants that worked with Ubuntu on their devices and to my colleague Massimo who helped them out!
Monday, March 16, 2015
This morning, I led a "core conversation" session in the Security and Privacy track at SXSW Interactive festival. With 60 seats in the room, it was standing room only, and unfortunately, some people were turned away from the session due to a lack of space. Amazingly, that was a packed house at 9:30am on a Sunday morning, merely stumbling distance from the late night party that is 6th Street in Austin, Texas!
I'm pleased to share with you both the slides, as well as a rudimentary audio recording from the mic on my laptop. The format of a "core conversation" at SXSW is not your typical conference lecture. Rather, it's an interactive, dynamic, social exchange of ideas and thoughts. I hope you enjoy!
Formerly the CTO of Gazzang, a venture funded start-up acquired by Cloudera, Dustin designed and implemented an innovative key management system for the cloud, called zTrustee, and delivered comprehensive security for cloud and big data platforms with eCryptfsand other encryption technologies. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says the rescue mission in Mozambique is progressing well.
.Pretoria – The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says the rescue mission in Mozambique is progressing well.
This is after the government of flood-stricken Mozambique asked for help from the South African government. SANDF personnel left the country for Mozambique last week.
SANDF spokesperson Lieutenant General Mabanga said the team is expected to spend seven to 14 days in that country. “Their stay will depend on the situation in that country,” he said.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced because of torrential rains in Mozambique. Four people have died in Mocuba, one of two districts badly affected by flooding, while an estimated 5 000 have sought refuge in government shelters.
The SANDF soldiers deployed in Mozambique include members of the South African Air Force, Navy divers and medical personnel. According to reports, the waters have risen to double the flooding threshold.
Mabanga told SAnews that senior SANDF members will be going to Mozambique tomorrow to access the situation.
Meanwhile, Mabanga said no SANDF members have been deployed in Malawi, which is also hit by floods.
The South African humanitarian group, Gift of the Givers, has distributed numerous relief parcels to families in that country, who were displaced by floods.
The eight-member team reached areas more than 100km away from Blantyre, according to Sooliman, and distribution will also be carried out in Chikwana, Nsanje, Mangochi, Machinga, Balaka, Zomba, Phalombe and Mulanje regions. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Blog Stats
As if the adult media’s vitriol wasn’t enough, the seven-million strong American Muslim community, is now being faced by the alarming publication of a series of ‘children’s books’, containing misleading and inflammatory rhetoric about the Islamic faith. The 10-book series – entitled the “World of Islam,” – is published by Mason Crest Publishing in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based pro-Israel and pro-war Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Anti-Islamic sentiment pervades the entire series, portraying Muslims as inherently violent and deserving suspicion. It encourages young readers to believe Muslims are terrorists, who seek to undermine U.S. society.
For example:
The book “Muslims in America”, says that “some Muslims began immigrating to the United States in order to transform American society, sometimes through the use of terrorism.” The cover of Radical Islam features a machine gun and a Muslim head scarf, with what looks like bloodstains underneath the scarf and the title word Radical. The book is rife with incorrect information and fear mongering and ultimately seeks to paint a picture that Muslims in America are to be treated with suspicion and that they all have links to terrorism.
The text titled Islam, Law and Human Rights begins and ends with the same thing, that Muslim majority nations are the only ones that violate human rights laws set forth by the United Nations – for some reason China and North Korea are exceptions to that rule.
The History of Islam offers only a stunted glimpse of Islamic History and focuses primarily on extremism and contains an outrageous quote: “Today, the great majority of Muslims accept the idea that jihad means a struggle against non-Muslims to increase the area under the rule of Islam.”
Another book shows an image of two 7-year-old girls wearing head scarves under the heading “Security Threats.”
The book Islam in Europe states that Muslim immigrants are the source of all social conflict and that Europe is in serious danger because of Muslim immigration. A chronology in the book starts with 1988 and lists 10 events, seven of which involve extremist Muslims participating in bombings, hijackings or other violence. It is a common knowledge that Muslims have been in Europe for hundreds of years.
The 10-volume series includes volumes by Barry Rubin on “The History of Islam,” the late Michael Radu on “Islam in Europe,” Anna Melman on “Islam, Law and Human Rights,” John Calvert on “Divisions within Islam,” and Alan Luxenberg on “Radical Islam.”
The Foreign Policy Research Institute suggests that the books should be a mandatory purchase for all public libraries that support middle and high school curriculum on Islam.
Tellingly, none of the authors in the series, designed for middle and high school students, are Muslim and a number happen to be Jewish.
The books cited a well-known Islamophobe, Daniel Pipes, who received the “Guardian of Zion” award, in May 2006. The award is given annually to a prominent supporter of the state of Israel, from the Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Not surprisingly, Pipes circulated his own e-mail to defend the controversial series. The books also cite anti-Islam activists such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fan of Geert Wilders, an infamous Dutch lawmaker, renowned for being a rabid Islamophobe.
The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has begun a public awareness campaign against the books. “This is not about Muslims being offended,” Moein Khawaja, the chapter’s civil rights director, told a news conference on March 17, 2010. “Filled with incorrect information and deception, these books are contrary to the education mission of schools and libraries.”
“The overall theme of the books is that Muslims are inherently violent, that Islam is a second-rate religion and that one should be wary of Muslims in any society,” Moein Khawaja, said adding: “These books do not fulfill the mission of a school, which is to educate.”
CAIR called on schools and libraries to exchange The World of Islam for Introducing Islam, with another series published by Mason Crest that was written in cooperation with scholars of Islam and is more accurate.
Khawaja said complaints from council chapters across the country lead him to believe the World of Islam series are on bookshelves in about two dozen states.
Alarmed by the campaign against the World of Islam, right-wing authors and groups have attacked the CAIR which is a leading American Muslim civil advocacy group. They have accused CAIR of being a front for the Palestinian Hamas faction and of receiving funding from the Arab world.
* Stephen Schwartz
Alan Luxenberg, Vice President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of “Radical Islam,” circulated comments of Stephen Schwartz, the Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington, DC. His comments were disseminated under the headline: Muslim Leader Praises Mason Crest-FPRI Series on Islam.
Before divulging on Schwartz’s comments on the controversial text books let us see who this person is and what is the agenda of his so-called Center for Islamic Pluralism?
The agenda-driven Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) was established in 2005 with the seed money provided by Daniel Pipes to promote so-called “moderate Islam”, oppose the influence of so-called “militant Islam” among American Muslims, in the America media, in American education … and with U.S. governmental bodies.
Pipes, who created Middle East Forum (MEF) in Philadelphia in 1994, has long campaigned against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and several other national Islamic groups. Not surprisingly, the top agenda of the CIP is to discredit and dislodge major American Muslim civil advocacy group such as CAIR and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Other Muslim and Arab organizations on the hit list of CIP are: the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), the Muslim Students’ Association of the U.S. and Canada (MSA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), as well as “secular” groups, including the Arab-American Institute (AAI) and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
Schwartz, a former Trotskyite militant who says he became a Sufi Muslim in 1997, begins his comments on the controversial books with a tirade on CAIR. He says: “The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the leading Islamic extremist organization in North America. CAIR pretends to be a civil liberties group but has a long record of promoting radical ideology and of flimsy complaints of discrimination against Muslims.”
About the Mason Crest-FPRI Series on Islam, Schwartz says: “These texts are neither prejudicial nor ideological; they represent established historical opinion and accurate reporting on present-day challenges affecting Muslims and non-Muslims alike. CAIR is attempting, as often in the past, to reinforce its claim to be a privileged interpreter of Islam in the United States.”
* Islamophobia
In the post-9/11 America, the Mason Crest-FPRI controversial Series on Islam are the latest episode in the reinforcement of Islamophobia which may be defined as “alienation, discrimination, harassment and violence rooted in misinformed and stereotyped representations of Islam and its adherents.” No doubt the new series on Islam reinforce Islamophobia through misleading and inflammatory rhetoric about the Islamic faith.
Americans’ attitudes about Islam and Muslims are fuelled mainly by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the negative image of Islam and Muslims. The vilification of Islam and Muslims has been relentless among segments of the media and political classes since 9/11. Politicians, authors and media commentators are busy in demonizing Islam, Muslims and the Muslim world. In the post 9/11 America attacking Islam and Muslims became the fashionable sport for the radio, television and print media. While print and electronic media continues unabated campaign to smear Islam, radio talk show hosts are busy in spewing out venoms against Islam and Muslims. Surprisingly, even a higher court rules that a letter calling for killing Muslims is protected by the freedom of speech.
The events of 9/11 were used as an excuse to greatly magnify the hostility toward Muslims and cloak it in pseudo-patriotism. This reminds me of the Muslim-bashing campaign at the US campuses in 2007, when some bigots seized the opportunity to create hatred against Islam and Muslims. In a bid to spread fear and hatred under the guise of patriotism and freedom of speech, David Horowitz, a neo-conservative polemicist, launched an Arab/Muslim-bashing campaign at campuses across the nation in October 2007. Borrowing from President Bush’s terminology ‘Islamo-Fascists,’ Horowitz packaged his anti-Arab/anti-Muslim campaign as “Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week.”
Horowitz asked students participating in the campaign to disseminate presentations, such as “The Islamic Mein Kampf,” (meaning the Quran). In a throwback to McCarthyism, right-wing students were encouraged to issue press releases condemning those who refused to sign for the Islamo-Fascist week. It means either you are with us or with our enemy.
The irony is, that fascism is a European concept, that gained a strong following in the early 20th century. Yet hundreds of thousands of volunteer Muslims, now conveniently forgotten, fought against this creation of the ‘civilised world’, alongside the allies in the Second World War. Today, those opponents are remembered as Nazis, yet they were in fact, largely Christian Roman Catholics and Lutherans. They wore religious insignia such as the Iron Cross. Today, it would be patently wrong and preposterous to lambast wholesale, these mainstream Christian groups. No such empathy for Muslims though!
But just who are the “Islamic fascists? According to Horowitz’s FrontPage magazine, they include the Muslim Student Association, which has chapters on hundreds of U.S. campuses–and the Council on American Islamic Relations, which advocates for civil rights and tracks hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims.
There was a collection of bigots and crackpots that Horowitz had recruited to speak for the Oct 22-26 2007 Islamophobia week. Islamophobe right wing columnist Ann Coulter was one. Other luminaries included: Rick Santorum, a former US Senator, who has compared homosexuality to incest; Robert Spencer who claims Islam is “the world’s most intolerant religion”; and noted anti-Arab commentator and Islamophobe Daniel Pipes who once said that “Palestinians are a miserable people…and they deserve to be.”
Some other well-known Islamophobe speakers were: Dennis Prager, Sean Hannity and Wafa Sultan. More intellectual takes came from such neoconservative icons of Middle East policy as Michael Ledeen, who seeks to apply Machiavellian principles to the modern world.
Surely such a notorious lineup of racist, bigoted, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and Machiavellian speakers did not serve to educate but to promote hatred and spread misinformation and lies.
Unfortunately, interested groups are now trying to promote a prejudiced view about Islam and its adherents in our classrooms to poison the minds of our young generation.
The cult of hatred against Islam and Muslims is manifesting in different sectors of society.
True, the demonizing of Arabs and Muslims in America began well before the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 but, what is new post-9/11, is that now demonizing Muslims and Islam is not only more widespread but also considerably more mainstream and respectable. In short, Muslim-bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.
— Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine American Muslim Perspective (www.amperspective.com). His e-mail is: [email protected] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Are Your Ship Doors Watertight? Save from Flooding
GARD and DNV GL have joined forces to launch an awareness campaign on watertight doors. Watertight doors are crucial for reducing ship vulnerability in cases of flooding, as witnessed from the time of the Titanic to today, and the initiative is the result of recurring deficiencies during surveys and accidents leading to injuries and fatalities.
Safety barriers to reduce risks:
Large shipping losses have decreased by some 45 percent over the last decade, and it is evident that improved safety barriers for controlling flooding have a strong impact on reducing risk, says DNV GL. Foundered (sunk or submerged) is the main cause of losses, accounting for half of all losses over the period 2005–2016. An open watertight door in a flooding scenario is a failure that rapidly may lead to capsizing or foundering depending on the ship design, and for which there may be no recovery.
Grounding a major risk:
Grounding is the second major cause (20 percent) after fire (10 percent), while collision is the fourth major cause (7.3 percent). For these major accident scenarios, controlling the ship’s internal watertight integrity – and therein the watertight doors – can make a significant difference when it comes to reducing the consequences related to loss of life and asset.
Technical failures can be prevented by watertight doors:
A watertight door compromise several technical systems (structural, electrical, hydraulic, control), with many possible failure modes, and the doors are constantly subject to wear and tear. Efficient barrier management depends on procedures describing correct operation during voyage and in emergency situations, as well as procedures ensuring correct and efficient maintenance. Finally, there is the human element and the knowledge and motivation of crewmembers to operate the system correctly.
Awareness campaign:
By launching an awareness campaign, GARD and DNV GL intend to increase confidence in watertight doors as a barrier in case of flooding and create better understanding of how the watertight doors are designed and should be operated and maintained.
A key element of the campaign is to develop a proactive closing culture. This means being prepared for possible external events such as a collision, grounding or bad weather. The project team has also been working with the industry in assessing work orders in planned maintenance systems.
The Titanic incident:
On April 10, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic set sail across the North Atlantic Ocean, from Southampton to New York. She was thought to be unsinkable, but sank on April 15, the Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg. Over 1,500 passengers and crew died.
The Titanic’s innovative watertight compartments were one of the main reasons she was considered unsinkable. The hull was separated into 16 watertight compartments using heavy duty centrally controlled watertight doors. The ship could stay afloat with up to four compartments flooded.
However, the compartments were not watertight, as they did not possess a roof section. They were like a jar without a lid, and after hitting the iceberg, water began flooding the vessel’s forward six compartments. The bulkheads were not tall enough to contain the water, and in just over two and a half hours, the Titanic filled with water and sank.
Crew Accidents:
Root cause investigations undertaken by GARD after incidents involving power operated watertight doors have revealed that it has been common practice on board ships to not to fully open them before passing through the doors. Most accidents involving people occur when the doors are in bridge control “doors closed”mode. GARD has previously highlighted some cases where crew members have been injured or killed as a result of watertight door accidents:
In 2008, an engine room fitter was found trapped in a hydraulically operated watertight door in the machinery space of the Ro-Ro passenger ferry Euro Voyager. It was found that the door closed in only seven seconds, three times faster than allowed on board new vessels, and that the fitter could not have followed the recommended transit procedure. The door had been in “remote control”, contrary to SOLAS requirements, and thereby closed automatically once its local operating handle was released.
In 2009, the crew on board the Australian passenger vessel Oceanic Discoverer was conducting a fire and emergency drill in the port of Napier, New Zealand, which included a test of the watertight doors. For the test the master closed the doors remotely from the bridge. Some minutes later, the chief engineer was trapped by a door to the engine room when attempting to pass through. The chief engineer was taken to hospital, but died. The investigators of the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) found that crew members on board the vessel were used to the doors being set in “local control”on the bridge. When releasing the lever opening a door, the door would then stop in that position until activated for closing. With the bridge control in “doors closed” mode, however, the doors would close automatically when opened locally as the lever was released.
It was also found that crew members had a habit of going through the doors before they were fully opened, and that the movement of the particular door had been set at twice the permitted speed. There was also a failure to the sound alarm for the closing of the door. Maintenance of the watertight doors was not a part of the safety management system on board.
In 2011, the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands issued a warning concerning a near-miss on board a large yacht. Due to a loss of power to the control of watertight doors, the doors went to their “fail safe” position closed. Hearing the local alarm for doors closing, a crew member went to investigate and tried to stop the door from closing using his foot. He had to call for assistance and another crew member assisted to release him by using the local door control. The door was fully electric; had it been more powerful, like the hydraulically- operated doors are, the crew member would probably not have escaped without injury. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Commercial Sling Chaise Lounges
A versatile seating option for outdoor lounge spaces, a commercial outdoor chaise lounge offers a comfortable place to relax that delivers unprecedented style and luxury. It combines the comfort of a statement-making outdoor lounge sofa with the practicality of a standard lounge chair, for a hybrid piece of furniture that makes for an ideal spot to sunbathe, lounge, and relax. Sling models are an ideal choice for commercial properties searching for chaise lounges in a high volume. It delivers much of the ease and comfort of other standard models (such as cushioned types), but is well-suited for wet and damp environments such as poolside and beachfront properties. Sling chaise lounges are stylish, comfortable, and easy to clean, and its structural integrity is ensured to for years even under rigorous conditions. Commercial Outdoor offers a wide variety of stylish models to suit any commercial space and aesthetic. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianComputer Programming/Programmer, GeneralComputer Systems Networking and TelecommunicationsCivil Engineering Technology/TechnicianElectrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering Technology/TechnicianIndustrial Production Technologies/Technicians, Other | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Bug Summary: When mana is getting low on tempar (around 200) wings very often take mana but dont work ,for eg i had 190 mana ,used wings ,had 25 mana left ,they didint work ,so i waited till i got 220 mana ,tried them again ,same ate mana ,didint work ,had to waot for mana to get to 250 to make them finally work
Steps to Reproduce:
Lower mana too 180-240 and try using wings
Additional Information:
I know this bug was on closed beta forever but it seems to be gettign worse ,on closed beta 190 mana was safe for me ,but now 240 gets bugged. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
5 Amazing Remedies For Jet Lag
As jet lag has become one of the most common issue nowadays as the people are actually traveling from one country to another frequently due to various reasons such as abroad meetings, studies and job purposes, there can be some high amount of problems regarding the sleep issue. Lack of proper sleep might get to effect the overall health of a person and hence one must overcome certain problems of jet lag as quick as possible. Also this can keep your day normal and sleeping time quite regular which is overall beneficial on the whole. Hence in this regard, this article features some of the best home remedies that can make a person to get away from jet lag to the maximum possible extent.
1. Drink Excess Water:
Sometimes lack of prop;er levels in the body can cause high amount of dehydration and this can be the result to disturb your sleep on a large scale. Hence it is highly important to stay hydrated all the time especially during the times when you are actually suffering from jet lag. Therefore it is highly recommended to all the individuals suffering from jet lag to drink lots of water as it can give you some restful sleep and can also assist you a lot to recover from the symptoms of jet lag to the maximum possible extent and quickly as well.[1]
2. Reduce The Consumption Of Coffee, Tea And Similar Beverages:
One mustn’t forget that coffee has a lot of disadvantages especially with the sleep issues of a person irrespective of the fact that you do love coffee a lot or not. hence it is highly important for a person to get the consumption of coffee, tea and similar beverages reduced as they are quite well known to disturb the natural clock timings of the individual and also induce various mental issues in him as well. hence it is highly necessary for a person to stop the consumption of these drinks when they’re suffering from jet lag and this can result in many healthy sleep benefits on the whole.[2]
3. Hops Essential Oil:
Hops essential oil can be considered as one of the best natural remedies that can handle the cases of jet lag quite well as this is actually a sleep induces due to its mild sedative properties. Apart from these hops essential oil is also beneficial to those individuals who are suffering a lot from the jet lag constipation and therefore this remedy can be considered as one of the best available natural one that can handle the cases of jet lag sleep problems a lot well than many other ones. Also it is advisable for pregnant women and the ones suffering from mental stress to reduce the usage of this oil as it is well known to possess some of the health disadvantages on those sort of individuals.[3]
4. Reduce The Consumption Of Alcohol:
Alcohol has many of the properties that are responsible for damaging the health of an individual and high consumption of alcohol especially during the times of jet lag can effect your sleep levels a lot on the whole. Hence it is highly advisable for all the individuals suffering from jet lag to reduce the consumption of alcohol on the whole.[4]
5. Consuming Carb Rich Food:
Carbs can highly assist you to have a sound sleep during your entire journey and also reduce your sleep problems as well.[5] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Google's revealed it's working on extensions to its smartphone voice-control powers, debuted in the Nexus One, that'll automatically translate between languages. It's the stuff of pure utopian science fiction. But is it a good idea? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Change your Price Plan
Important things to know before you upgrade.
The pricing will reflect in the month the plan was upgraded. We do not prorate the monthly invoice. For example, if the upgrade was made on 5/15, the invoice for May activity will reflect the upgraded Price Plan.
Important things to know before you downgrade.
Downgrades take effect on the first of the following month of your request. An e-mail confirmation will be sent upon completion of your downgrade.
Any service(s) not included in your new plan will automatically be disabled.
If you no longer wish to receive ERA's, please contact the insurance company to confirm how you will begin receiving ERA's after its been disabled.
If you were using In-Application Credit Card Processing, you must contact TSYS® to inactivate your account.
Please allow three (3) business days for full deactivation of ERA. Keep in mind that any ERA files already processed at the Payer and loaded into your CollaborateMD account prior to deactivation will still incur charges on your Monthly invoice.
If you're the Auth Rep, you have the option to upgrade or downgrade your account's plan. Use the steps below, and get in touch if we can help with anything.
Select Account Administration > Services.
Under Price Plan > Current Price Plan, the current plan will show in bold font.
Click the Change button to view available plans.
Select the desired Price Plan from the list to highlight it.
Use the Upgrade Plan Date drop-down menu to select when the change should take effect.
Plan Downgrades will take effect on the 1st of the next month.
Click Save.
Click Acknowledge for the disclaimer letting you know that the price plan is being changed.
Manage Claim Scrubbing
Claim Scrubbing helps you manage the complex rules and terminology of coding. This feature is used to analyze the claims before submission to the clearinghouse as a solution for catching problem claims, maximizing the potential for your healthcare facility to be paid correctly on the first submission.
Types of Claim Scrubbing Edits
NCCI Edits: Prevents improper payments of procedures that should not be billed together.
Manage Claim Scrubbing
The Enable Claim Scrubbing box allows you to enable or disable this service.
Set your Claim Scrubbing Settings:
Automatically scrub new claims as they are entered?: Select Yes to have the system automatically scrub all new claims after they are entered.
Automatically scrub existing claims when changes are made?: Select Yes to have the system automatically scrub claims after a coding change has been applied.
Only perform automatic claim scrubbing for claims that contain more than one charge?: Select Yes to have the system automatically scrub claims only if they contain two lines or more.
Exclude procedure codes marked as Retail or Other Medical from the code scrubbing process?: Select Yes so procedure codes with the specified types are not included in the Claim Scrubbing process, resulting in misleading errors.
Click Save.
Manage Real-Time Eligibility
Eliminate the time your staff spends on verifying patient eligibility with our Real-Time and Batch Patient Eligibility feature. With this feature, you can determine if a patient is eligible for insurance benefits in seconds, avoiding possible loss of payment. Eligibility is the first step to a clean claim.
Manage Eligibility
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click thebutton next to Real-Time Eligibility.
TheEnable eligibility checkingcheckbox allows you to enable or disable this service.
Set your Eligibility Settings:
Automatically check eligibility when saving appointment?
Select Yes to have the system automatically verify a patient's eligibility when an appointment is saved.
Automatically check eligibility when an appt has been set to Status: Use the drop-down menu to determine the (appointment) status that triggers the automatic eligibility check.
Limit automatic eligibility checking to: Use the drop-down menu to select the frequency in which you would like automated eligibility to run.
Show user an alert if they lack permissions to check eligibility when saving an appointment that otherwise would have run eligibility automatically?
Select Yes to alert the user when they don't have the necessary permissions to check Patient Eligibility.
Optional: Select Copy Configuration to copy these settings to another customer account.
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to copy the settings to, then click Copy.
Click Save.
Manage Address Verification
Spelling and formatting blunders can be corrected and geocoded instantly with our Address Verification Services. Upon patient data entry, address verification services will review the address while matching it to the United States Postal Services (USPS) directory. Re-sending documents are not only an inconvenience, but are costly as well.. Since the address check is done in real-time, patient address issues are caught and can be corrected before the patient leaves the office. By catching these data errors, you are able to decrease losses, rejections, or denials due to fraud or simple spelling errors.
Manage Address Verification
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click thebutton next to Address Verification.
The Enable Address Verificationbox allows you to enable or disable this service.
Set your Address Verification Settings:
Automatically scrub the following when changes are made: Check the box(es) next to the option(s) to indicate what address(es) you want to automatically verify.
Optional: Select Copy Configuration to copy these settings to another customer account you manage.
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to copy the settings to, then click Copy.
Click Save.
Manage Cloud Document Imaging
Streamline your office with greater efficiency and reclaim full control over organizing files, customizing folders, and attaching documents directly to Patients, Claims, and Payments by using our Document Imaging feature. Document Imaging allows you to easily retrieve and view documents regardless of the location they were scanned in, streamlining your office for greater efficiency. Store your documents and files onto our secure servers rather than your local hard drive.
Refer to our Pricing Page to learn how much free storage is included on your price plan. Additional storage costs $25 per month for your 1st GB, and $10 per month for every extra GB.
Manage Cloud Document Imaging
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click thebutton next to Cloud Document Imaging
The Enable Cloud Document Storagebox allows you to enable or disable this service.
Use the Storage Limit drop-down menu to set how much storage you would like.
Use the Maximum File Size drop-down to set a size limit for individual files.
See how much storage currently used in the Current Usage bar.
Optional: Select View All Customers to enable, disable, and view their usage
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to enable or disable this service, then click Save.
Click Save.
Manage Appointment Reminders
Appointment Reminders notify patients of upcoming appointments, reducing the number of no-shows and increasing the productivity and revenue of your office. With this feature, patients are able to verify or cancel an appointment by using the keypad on their phone. For maximum convenience, all patient confirmations and cancellations are automatically synced with your appointments, so front office staff can easily reschedule patients and wait-listed patients are seen quickly, which ensures efficiency.
CollaborateMD sends the appointment reminder file to our third-party vendor at 1 AM EDT daily. Any changes after this time will not reflect until the next day's file submission.
Manage Appointment Reminders
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click thebutton next to Appointment Reminders.
The Enable Appointment Reminders box allows you to enable or disable this service.
Text Reminders do not support sending or receiving MMS (Multimedia Message Services). I.e., we do not support pictures, video or audio messages.
Days before appointment to send reminder: Select how many days before appointment, time, and time zone you want patients to be notified of their upcoming appointment.
Send reminder for appointments set to status: Select which appointment type(s) you would like phone calls or text messages to be placed for.
Do not send reminders on Saturday/Sunday: Check these boxes if you don't want appointment reminders to be delivered on the selected days of the week.
Allow Patients to Confirm/Cancel appointment from reminder: Check this box to allow patients to confirm or cancel their appointment.
If Confirmed, set appointment status to: Select which status you want the appointment to be changed to in the event that the patient confirms their appointment.
If Cancelled, set appointment status to: Select which status you want the appointment to be changed to in the event that the patient cancels their appointment.
Configure or view the Phone Options tab.
Contact Patient using: Select which phone number on file for the patient you wish to use. Home/Cell/Work Phone
If busy or not answered, retry times /wait minutes between calls: Select how many times you would like the system to call the patient back in the event there is no answer. Select how long you would like the system to wait before making another call.
Specify the Caller ID Name And Number to be used in the reminder message: Select from the dropdown one of the options below. Note: These options will apply to all Practices under the Customer you’re currently logged into.
Use CMD defaults: Selecting this option will call the patient from a generic phone number that will replay the reminder if called back.
Use the name and phone number entered in the Practice section: Selecting this option will send the Practice’s name as the Caller ID Name and the Practice’s phone number as the Caller ID Number. Note: The Practice information used is dependant on the Practice selected for the Resource associated with the appointment.
Custom name and number: Selecting this option will allow you to enter a custom Caller ID Name and Caller ID Number to ensure patients can easily recognize who is calling.
Customize Practice Recording: This option will allow you to create voice recordings. Not setting up this option will result in a standard computer generated recording.
Specify the "appointment with" name to be used in the reminder message: Select the name to be used in the phone reminder message. Note: Selecting the Customize link will allow you to edit the Provider Name. You can record the provider's name, play the recorded name, delete the recording, or re-record.
Request Sample Reminder: This option will allow you to receive a sample reminder call simply by entering your phone number.
Configure or view the Text Options tab.
Resend text reminder: Select how many days before the appointment you would like the system to text the patient until they respond (Confirm, Cancel, or Stop).
Specify the name to be used in the reminder message: Select the name (Practivce, Provider, or Resource) to be used in the text reminder message. If one or more names exceed 35 characters the name will be cut off unless updated.
Click on the Customize link to select the name within the text message.
View Sample Reminder: Click the link to view how the text reminder will look when sent based on your current settings/configuration.
Specify hours for sending an SMS Text Opt-In message: Choose which hours of the day and time zone you would like patients to receive SMS text opt-in messages.
Optional: Select Copy Configuration to copy these settings to another customer account you manage.
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to copy the settings to, then click Copy.
Click Save.
Manage Recurring Data Snapshots
Data Snapshots is a service provided by CollaborateMD which takes current data such as patient demographics, codes, appointments, payers, provider list, facility, charge, etc. and captures (exports) a snapshot of the data. The data can be exported into several hundred files in .DAT (.DAT) format that is a tab delimited or into an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) known as MySQL.
The export includes Data Sets from the following sections of the application:
Format: Select the format you would like the data snapshot to be exported in.
Click the Download Sample link to view a sample of what the snapshot will look like before purchasing. The sample will contain the first five (5) rows of each data file set contained within your account.
Default (Tab delimited).
MySQL.
Select the customer(s) to include in the data snapshot: If you have more than one customer account, check the box(es) next to the customer(s) you would like to schedule the snapshot for.
Export multiple customers as:
One Combined File: Exports the snapshot as one combined file for all selected customers
One File per Customer: Exports the snapshot as one separate file per each selected customer.
Click Save.
Data Snapshots are overwritten each day. Please make sure you download before the next Data snapshot is generated. Auth Reps will receive confirmation and instructions on downloading the data snapshot(s) via the Messaging section of the application.
Limitations:
Data Snapshots can only be provided to an open and active CollaborateMD Account, as an active username is required to access CollaborateMD to download the requested data.
No specific dates (past or present) can be captured within the export. The data snapshot will run at 1:00 AM EST on the scheduled day, therefore the date must be a future date.
No specific criteria (e.g., Patient or Charge data set info only) can be captured, as the Data Snapshots captures all of the data sets specified above, within your account.
Document Imaging is NOT included.
The data can only be used to import into another Practice Management (software) solution.
In accordance with HIPAA rules and regulations, CollaborateMD will NOT provide users, admins, or third party vendors this information, as the Data Snapshots contain PHI & PII. Authorized Representative on the account must securely provide them the link to the Secure CMD Portal, the login credentials, and instructions on how to download the Data Snapshot.
Manage Financial Insights Analytics
Financial Insight Analytics, also known as ChangeHealthcare Analytics, is a flexible dashboard solution created to improve visibility into issues that impact cash flow and enable better decisions for operational improvements. In addition, you can compare your practice's results to others within your area of specialty, at both the state and national levels. This feature provides you with instant access to vital information that will assist you with getting your money in the door faster! Your request will be forwarded to the Accounting Department and will be processed within 24-48 hours.
Manage In-Application Credit Card Processing
CollaborateMD ensures hassle-free credit card processing that will easily reduce follow up on co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance balances, which translates into improved A/R. By processing your patient’s credit card payments within CollaborateMD, you will increase business efficiency and accuracy. As well as saving you a ton of time, helping you work less and paid faster!
For practices with more than one location, a merchant account must be added for each location and/or each tax ID. Repeat the steps for each location/tax ID listed in your Merchant’s Accounts box.
Type the name to associate with the new merchant account.
Click Request.
Click Save.
Get ready! A TSYS® Representative will call you within 1-2 business days to proceed with your new merchant account. Your TSYS® Rep will only attempt 3 calls to get you all the information you need, so be ready! If you have not heard from your TSYS® Rep after 1-2 business days.
Upon a CollaborateMD representative receiving the credentials from TSYS®, we will complete the configuration of each requested product. The request will now display as "Active" and your In-App Credit Card Processing feature will be ready for use. Visit the Getting Started with CMD & TSYS Help Page for more information on how to begin using this feature.
Disable In-Application Credit Card Processing
Proceeding with this change will disable the applicable Integrated Payment Processing service. The customer’s account will no longer be allowed to process credit card service payments through the merchant account integration within CollaborateMD.
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click the button next to In-Application Credit Card Processing.
Place a check in the Set as Inactive checkbox by the name of the account you wish to inactivate.
Important: You must contact TSYS® to inactivate your account completely. Deactivating the CollaborateMD integration does NOT close your merchant account with TSYS®
Manage your Patient Payment Portal
The payment portal is CollaborateMD’s own in-house product that uses the highest form of security to protect the patient’s information and allows payments to post directly into the practice, in real-time,
CollaborateMD’s payment portal utilizes the highest form of security to protect the patient's information. The payment portal is our own in-house product which allows payments to post directly into the practice, in real-time. By providing patients a secure online payment portal, offices are reducing patient calls, increasing billing accuracy, and accelerating patient payments. Plus, patients can view their visit and payment history instantly.
Manage Patient Payment Portal
Select Account Administration > Services.
Click the button next to Patient Payment Portal.
TheEnable Patient Payment Portal box enables or disable this service.
Check the box to choose your Payment Portal Settings:
Allow Patients to receive notification when a new balance is owed: Check the box if you wish to send notifications to your patients regarding new balances set to “Due Patient”. Notifications can be sent by Text message or Email message.
Allow Patients to receive confirmation for successful payment made via the portal: Check the box if you wish to send notifications to your patients once they’ve successfully processed their payment via the online patient Payment Portal. Notifications can be sent by Text Message or Email.
Allow Patients to receive payment plan installment due reminders: Check the box if you wish to send notifications to your patients that has a Payment Plan installment greater than $0.00 due.
Under the New Balance Notification tab:
Use the Allow communication methods drop-down menu to select how a patient should be contacted.
Use Allowed times text messages options to set when you want the text notification to be sent out to the patient.
Type the message you want to send to your patients within Text Message field.
Under the Payment Confirmation tab:
Use the Allow communication methods drop-down menu to select how a patient should be contacted.
Use Allowed times text messages options to set when you want the text notification to be sent out to the patient.
Type the message you want to send to your patients within Text Message and/or Email field.
Under the Payment Plan reminder tab:
Use the Allow communication methods drop-down menu to select how a patient should be contacted.
Use Allowed times text messages options to set when you want the text notification to be sent out to the patient.
Type the message you want to send to your patients within Text Message and/or Email field.
Click Save.
Manage Enhanced User Print Statements
The Enhanced User Print Statements feature allows you to customize your full color statements you will be printing and mailing out to patients. This customizable template allows you to add your company logo, and customize the text on your statement.
Optional: Select Copy Configurations to copy these settings to another customer account you manage.
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to copy the settings to, then click Copy.
Click Save.
Manage Automated Statements
Automated Statements allow you to eliminate the time your staff spends printing, stuffing, and mailing patient statements. Send statements out in a timely manner while improving your bottom line and simplifying your mailing process.
Optional: Select Copy Configurations to copy these settings to another customer account you manage.
Check the box next to the customer account(s) to copy the settings to, then click Copy.
Click Save.
Manage Claim Attachments
Processing and submitting Workers Compensation (Workers Comp) and Property & Casualty (P&C) claims have always presented unique challenges. Many require manual processing and the attachment of supporting documentation, which prevents electronic submission. These challenges result in higher costs to the provider, higher rejections, and slower reimbursement.
ChangeAssurance Attachments is the solution for submitting Worker’s Comp and P&C claims and their associated attachments efficiently and effectively. By enabling electronic submission, you can use one solution for these specialty claims and bypass the effort and expense of paper processing.
The Claim Attachment Help Article should be referenced to enable, configure, process claims, follow up and disable the services included with the Claim Attachment feature. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Pages
07 January 2014
Arvento
While we were driving into Cajititlan, we could see a new development in the hills north of town. It's pretty distinctive, so we drove through on our way back to Guadalajara. It felt like such an odd mix of things. The colors were so Mexican, but it looked a bit like an Israeli settlement. Driving around inside felt like one of the self-contained communities outside large cities in the US, but also a bit like driving through a project.
We stopped some of the residents and asked about living there. They said an apartment is about 200,000 pesos, or around $15,000. Not bad. The website for the community said it had all sorts of amenities, although we didn't see them all. There were lots of apartments but also some small semi-attached homes. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Diamond Gold Drop Swirl Earrings
$18,600
A modernly designed pair of diamond earrings, featuring 11.36 carats of round cut VS quality diamonds and black diamonds, set in 18K white gold. The border of natural black diamonds gives the earrings a contemporary look and adds great contrast. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the launch of NARUTO NATION™, a broad campaign that will bring an unprecedented increase in the frequency of publication of its wildly popular NARUTO™ manga series. In order to catch up to the present Japanese release schedule and to prepare readers for upcoming notable changes in the main character and story arc, VIZ Media will offer three new volumes of NARUTO per-month from September through December 2007 - a first for any U.S. manga publisher.
The new publishing schedule will carry the series up to Volume 27, after which there is a significant break in the story arc: Two and a half years pass, and we find Naruto taller, older, and wiser. To support NARUTO NATION, VIZ Media’s SHONEN JUMP magazine will continue to serialize the NARUTO series, will provide in-depth background information for fans about the developments in the accelerated manga, and will begin to feature the new adventures of the older Naruto beginning in the January 2008 issue (estimated in stores December 4, 2007).
Complementing the increased manga momentum, VIZ Media will expand the catalog of other related NARUTO offerings with a variety of releases this fall and winter. September will see the release of the NARUTO ANIME PROFILES: Hiden Shippu Emaki, and the launch of the full-color Ani-Manga series that will depict the storyline of NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW, which is also set for a special theatrical engagement this summer. In October VIZ Media will publish a gorgeous UZUMAKI: ART OF NARUTO edition that will be a must-have for any collector and also NARUTO MISSION: PROTECT THE WATERFALL VILLAGE!, the latest addition to the collection of NARUTO novels under the VIZ Fiction imprint. A fourth edition of the NARUTO COLLECTOR magazine will be released this fall, focusing on the manga and on the release of the first NARUTO game for the Xbox 360.
NARUTO has become one of VIZ Media’s most successful manga properties in terms of sales. The series, by creator Masashi Kishimoto, depicts the adventures of a young boy who trains to become a ninja, and has sold more than 72 million copies in Japan since Shueisha Inc. began publishing the manga in 1999.
NARUTO has emerged as one of the best selling and most popular manga series throughout North America, regularly placing in both Graphic Novel and Overall General Fiction categories on noted literary sales rosters including BookScan and the USA Today Top 150. It was also the first manga to ever win a noted Quill Award in 2006. Momentum for the property has continued to grow significantly as the NARUTO anime counterpart (also distributed by VIZ Media) continues to captivate millions of viewers on Cartoon Network.
‘We are excited to launch NARUTO NATION as a bold publishing campaign to give NARUTO fans what they want - more NARUTO and a similar experience to NARUTO readers in Japan!’ says Cammie Allen, Product Manager, Publishing, VIZ Media. ‘The tremendous success of the NARUTO brand now includes manga, DVDs, novels and features in magazines like SHONEN JUMP. This campaign is not just an accelerated publishing program - NARUTO NATION is a highly-anticipated event, where for the first time, a publisher will offer three new volumes of a single ongoing graphic novel series every month. VIZ Media also plans a variety of captivating in-store displays, signage, and even a few special exclusive items that we will announce shortly.’ | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Those who gave away their birthright to the beast, will never come before Me
Those who gave away their birthright to the beast, will never come before Me
Saturday, 29 November 2014 @ 14:25
Message 1278
November 29, 2014 @ 2:25pm
My dearly beloved daughter, it is through the weak, the vulnerable, the lonely and the humble that I manifest My Divinity. My power sweeps through such souls into My Holy Will and, it is through them, I can achieve My Plan for the salvation of humanity.
When those who have been called by Me, to proclaim My Holy Word, are diverted from Holy Works due to the sin of pride, they try to define My Word with an exaggerated respect for their own human intellect. They forget that, to follow Me, has already been laid down and that it is My Holy Word that must be heard, and not the sound of their own voices.
It is through the sin of lust that they will discard My Word, in their ambitious quest to outshine Me and seek glorification. It is through the sin of sloth, because of laziness, that they will be guilty of the ultimate betrayal, when they fail to remain loyal to Me because of a lack of faith and courage. And so it will be in the final lead up to My Second Coming that those who believe they are more worthy, more qualified but full of pride, will face a bitter rebuke and down they will fall.
The weak, the humble and the lowly who are deemed by followers in My Church to be of little consequence, but who will cling to the Truth, who will be enveloped by Me on the Great Day. I will call them and beckon them to Me as I gather them into My Kingdom. They will cry tears of joy.
Then I will gather those who do not know Me, but who will be awakened by My Light – good souls, with hearts of gold – and I will say ‘come up here into My Refuge.’ and then, the sinners who committed terrible atrocities, but who asked Me for My Mercy, will be called and I will say ‘come, I forgive you for you sought reconciliation.’ And then, those traitors of Mine, who once knew Me, but who turned their backs on Me, will come but they will not be able to look Me in the eye. Nor will they seek My Mercy and will say to them ‘away from Me, you are not fit to enter My Kingdom.’ Finally, those who gave away their birthright to the beast, will never come before Me for they will be cast into the furnace along with those who lost Me the souls of those in My Church on Earth, who followed them blindly into the darkness of the night.
Then it will be all over and, in a split second, a new beginning – a new world on Earth as it was meant to be. A world without end. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
"Lisp w/o a brain"
"Lisp w/o a brain"
Author
Message
Bulent Murtezaogl#1 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
I came across this while mindlessly browsing the web. Abelson's (one of SICP authors) name appears as one of the authors of the document. You want to scroll down all the way down to find the section "Lisp w/o a brain." I thought it was interesting (more so than ways of getting f.....g books to Germany):
http://www.*-*-*.com/
cheers,
BM
Fri, 19 Apr 2002 03:00:00 GMT
Rainer Josw#2 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
Quote:
> I came across this while mindlessly browsing the web. Abelson's (one of > SICP authors) name appears as one of the authors of the document. You want > to scroll down all the way down to find the section "Lisp w/o a brain." > I thought it was interesting (more so than ways of getting f.....g books > to Germany):
> http://6916.lcs.mit.edu/manuals/tcl/introduction.adp
> cheers,
> BM
So instead you are posting more FUD? Interesting.
Fri, 19 Apr 2002 03:00:00 GMT
Barry Margoli#3 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
Quote:
>> I came across this while mindlessly browsing the web. Abelson's (one of >> SICP authors) name appears as one of the authors of the document. You want >> to scroll down all the way down to find the section "Lisp w/o a brain." >> I thought it was interesting (more so than ways of getting f.....g books >> to Germany):
>> http://6916.lcs.mit.edu/manuals/tcl/introduction.adp >So instead you are posting more FUD? Interesting.
Actually, that section of the book is basically just a brief restatement of the "Worse is Better" philosophy that we're all too familiar with.
> SICP authors) name appears as one of the authors of the document. You want > to scroll down all the way down to find the section "Lisp w/o a brain." [...] > http://6916.lcs.mit.edu/manuals/tcl/introduction.adp
Near the end of the document the authors state:
"Lisp developers have the satisfaction of knowing that they got it right 30 years before anyone else. But that's about all they have to show for 40 years of hard work and hundreds of millions of dollars in government and private funding."
It would be interesting to estimate the cost of the "Lisp wheel reinvention" activity that has been going on in the industry for decades.
I'm looking for a general representation/method to solve problems like "Who Owns the Zebra" using LISP in any flavor. I have the solution in PROLOG, it is very specific, and doesn't separate the data and the constraints (rules). I'm not looking for code so much as generalized method. I'd appreciate any pointers and pseudo-code (meta-linguistic abstraction) to help me kick-start it.
Thanx, Hank Simon
Here's the problem for those who haven't seen it. It takes about 20 minutes to solve using a manual, matrix-fill-in approach.
Who Owns the Zebra? 1. There are 5 houses of different color on a street, the inhabitants are of different nationalities, different pets, smoke different cigarettes and drink different drinks. 2. The Englishman lives in the Red House. 3. The Spaniard owns the dog. 4. Coffee is drunk by the man living in the Green House. 5. The Ukranian drinks tea. 6. The Green House is to your right of the Ivory House. 7. The man who smokes Old Gold owns Snails. 8. The man who smokes Kools lives in the Yellow House. 9. The man in the middle house drinks milk. 10. The Norwegian lives in the first house on the left. 11. The man who smokes Chesterfields, lives next to the man who owns the fox. 12. The man who smokes Kools, lives next to the man who owns the horse. 13. The man who smokes Lucky Strikes, drinks orange juice. 14. The Japanese smokes Parliaments 15. The Norwegian lives next to the Blue House. Who drinks Water and Who owns the Zebra?
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
Sun, 21 Apr 2002 03:00:00 GMT
Jim Dries#6 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
Quote:
> I'm looking for a general representation/method to solve problems like > "Who Owns the Zebra" using LISP in any flavor.
[deleted]
Try _Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence: Case Studies in Common Lisp_ by Peter Norvig. He solved this problem by first implementing Prolog in Lisp and using the Zebra problem to test the interpreter. The code is available on line at:
http://www.norvig.com
This is one of my favorite books.
Regards,
Jim Driese
Sun, 21 Apr 2002 03:00:00 GMT
Jeff Dalto#7 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
It looks like a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), and it's not very hard to write a CSP engine in Lisp. Indeed, someone ought to do this, in a way that allowed the algorithm to be plugged-in (because there are so many CSP algoroithms around), and make it available on the net (if someone hasn't already done so).
Tue, 23 Apr 2002 03:00:00 GMT
Reini Urb#8 / 9
"Lisp w/o a brain"
Quote:
>It looks like a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), and it's >not very hard to write a CSP engine in Lisp. Indeed, someone ought >to do this, in a way that allowed the algorithm to be plugged-in >(because there are so many CSP algoroithms around), and make it >available on the net (if someone hasn't already done so).
http://www.cs.washington.edu/research/constraints/deltablue/ has a common lisp implementation. But I doubt if it can be applied to the Zebra problem. -- Reini Urban http://xarch.tu-graz.ac.at/autocad/news/faq/autolisp.html | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Stay in touch
Newsletter
Barry Larkin Signed Jump Vertical 8x10 Photo
Share:
Throughout his magnificant career, Barry Larkin totaled 2340 hits, 198 homeruns, and 960 RBI's. Along with all of that, he was selected to 12 All-Star games, won 9 Silver Slugger Awards, 2 Gold Gloves, and the NL MVP Award in 1995. In 2012, Larkin was elected into the MLB Hall of Fame.
This Barry Larkin product is guaranteed authentic and includes a Steiner Sports Certificate of Authenticity and an accompanying tamper-evident Steiner Hologram. The Steiner Seal Means It's Real. Steiner Sports is the Official Memorabilia Partner of Barry Larkin. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
5 types of clutter that slow down Windows
If you've noticed that your Windows 10 operating system has been running slow, yet no virus has been found and everything seems to be running okay otherwise, your PC might have too much clutter. Clutter can impede its performance and eat away its memory. To help your computer perform at its peak once again, you need to know five types of clutter and how to remove them.
5 types of clutter you need to know
Pre-installed software: This unwanted OEM software, referred to as "bloatware," poses security risks and takes up tons of CPU, RAM, and disk space. To get rid of it, Refresh Windows.
Windows Updates: All too often, Microsoft launches updates that fail to download correctly, leaving you with corrupted and unusable files. Some of them will be deleted by Windows, while some will hang around forever. To remove them, Reset Windows.
Registry Bloat: Every action performed in Windows gets recorded in your computer’s registry, including files and applications you’ve deleted. And gradually, Windows becomes bogged down by thousands of redundant entries. The solution? Reset Windows.
Error files: Whenever software in your system encounters errors in processing or crashes altogether, Windows will keep a log file of it. And, as with Registry Bloat, these log files accumulate. To remove all these space-eating files, Reset Windows.
User Bloat: This means a large number of your own files, especially if it’s unorganized. Solution: Refresh Windows.
How to declutter Windows
To rid your computer of all this clutter, you have two choices: Reset or Refresh. When you Reset, a brand new copy of Windows 10 is installed and "resets" your system to its original state. When you Refresh, your PC reinstalls Windows 10 free of any bloatware.
Both tools will delete Windows 10 apps and your customized settings, and will give you choices of keeping your old files or deleting them.
If you want to Reset Windows, choose Reset This PC > Get Started and then follow the on-screen instructions.
If you want to Refresh Windows, you need to know whether your Windows update version is Windows 10 1607 or Windows 10 1703 since the processes are a bit different.
For Windows 10 1607, choose More Recovery Options > Learn How to Start Afresh With a Clean Copy of Windows 10, at which point you'll see a new screen in your browser. Click Download Tool Now at the bottom of the page, and when the download is finished, follow the on-screen instructions.
For Windows 10 1703, click Settings > Update & Recovery > Recovery > More recovery options > Start Afresh to launch Windows Defender. Then click Get Started to start the Refresh process. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key + R, enter systemreset -cleanpc and click Enter. When you see the Fresh Start menu, click next to start the process.
There are innumerable ways to make your computer perform faster and more efficiently, and our Windows experts are equipped with all the tricks of the trade. Give us a call today. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Request A Free Gift Certificate for: "Upper Mohaka 4 Day Adventure"
Use the following form to order a free gift cerfiticate for "Upper Mohaka 4 Day Adventure" for yourself or your friends.
Privacy Statement
The email addresses you entered here will be used to email the information on your behalf and will not be collected or used by InfoHub for any marketing purposes. * :
indicate a required field. Please read the instructions on the right
side of the form. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
"You are an example of the power of arts education," Michelle Obama says.
Chance the Rapper donated USD1 million to Chicago's schools as he waded into the middle of a political feud that threatens to close down classrooms weeks early.
The "Coloring Book" rapper, who last month won three Grammys including the prestigious Best New Artist award, threw a national spotlight on a long-running rift over school funding in the third most populous US city. Chicago has warned that its public schools could shut on June 1, three weeks ahead of schedule, due to a gap of more than USD200 million in funding.
"This isn't about politics, this isn't about posturing, this is about taking care of the kids," Chance the Rapper told a news conference at an elementary school that he streamed to his millions of social media followers.
The 23-year-old artist, a Chicago native who attended public schools, said he was donating USD1 million to support arts programming and was not looking to replace state funding. He also promised that his group Social Works Chicago would match every donation of USD100,000 with another USD10,000.
"This check that I donated is a call to action. I'm challenging major companies and corporations in Chicago and all across the nation to donate and to take action," said the rapper, at times reading formally in contrast to his on-stage poise. Chance the Rapper has long been an activist and has made appeals to end Chicago's street violence. His father Ken Williams-Bennett is a veteran Chicago political figure who was an aide to former president Barack Obama.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who has mostly kept a low profile in the weeks since leaving the White House, hailed Chance for "giving back to the Chicago community, which gave us so much. You are an example of the power of arts education," she wrote on Twitter.
Chance, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, last week met on the school funding dispute with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican. Rauner last year vetoed a funding plan for the schools in a dispute with the legislature as he pushes the school district to reform ballooning pension costs and fix what he calls longtime mismanagement. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
1/56th Scale PaK 36 AT Gun with Crew
Rubicon Models have come up with a kit that allows gamers with a German force to field an important development in the growth of anti-tank weapons. The PaK 36 anti-tank gun was initially designed as a horse-drawn, lightweight weapon. However, as the German army became more motorized, it was re-designed to be towed by vehicles. First used during the Spanish Civil War, the weapon saw service with German, Italian, Finnish, Hungarian and Chinese forces during World War Two. It was replaced by the PaK 38 in 1941, but still served as support artillery which was added to the 251 halftracks. Later, the introduction of the Stielgranate 41 hollow charge grenade meant that this lightweight, easily transportable weapon could penetrate the armour on most Allied tanks.
The kit itself consists of a single frame but can actually be used to create two versions of the weapon. One is a field-deployed version with a crew and the other is a vehicle-mounted version intended to fit onto the SdKfz 250 / 1 halftrack kits available from the company. A useful addition is an extra crew, ammunition boxes and pieces to create a Stielgranate 41 to place on the gun barrel. The kit itself consists of remarkably few main parts and some fairly small parts but actually seems quite simple to assemble. You may also create the weapon with a full or half gunshield and the crew have separate heads, allowing for some variance of nationality. The assembly instructions are very clear and assembly would be pretty rapid.
The fact that there are two guns in this kit is useful, although it would perhaps be more useful for gamers to have the parts to create two field deployed versions. Nevertheless, another useful and unique kit from this very active company. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Here is an article from Defense News talking about new BAE Systems armor kits for the Humvee and how they reduce weight by 500 lbs. (Which actually doesn't seem like that much). What I found most interesting in the article, is that they redesigned the doors which:
Most all military vehicle doors open like conventional automobiles, in parallel. However, it makes perfect sense to reverse this. The doors, up armored with composites, act as shields and protect from the front and rear.
I am willing to bet money this will save more then one life, and it is often the simple ideas which can have a great impact. Perhaps in other military and composite applications designers and engineers should take a step back, and question why. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Archives
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OfWcrjFg3cY?list=UUSAKHhhVMjKZxApVg5nfuYw Happy New Year, everybody — boxing is back. But before we get ahead of ourselves, why not check out Gorilla Productions’ retrospective of 2013. It really was an amazing year. Some of the fights that hold the most promise this week are actually still in 2013. I think the Japanese have mixed up New […]
Sick of the drip-drip-drip of year end boxing awards yet? Hard to blame you, hard to blame you. So we'll bring out two enormous platters to conclude our 2013 awards. In the first installment, that flavor was heavy and serious. In the second one, that flavor is light and fluffy. Just add "of the year" […]
Sick of the drip-drip-drip of year end boxing awards yet? Hard to blame you, hard to blame you. So we'll bring out two enormous platters to conclude our 2013 awards. In the first installment, that flavor is heavy and serious. In the second one, that flavor is light and fluffy. Just add "of the year" […]
(Miguel Cotto revels in his hard fought win over Ricardo Torres; photo credit: AP) When Bernard Hopkins effectively ended Felix Trinidad’s run as a world class fighter with an emphatic stoppage in 2001, a sort of vacuum of power was created in Puerto Rican boxing. Era after era, Puerto Rico essentially overachieved in the sport […]
We're at the point where we're starting to get some of the flavor of whether 2014 will follow on the example of a strong 2013 for boxing — not that we ought to read too much into it based on the early-year calendar, which tends to start slowly for the sport. The returns so far […]
"Get me the other bottle. The one I mixed." It has not been the best month ever for strength and conditioning/nutrition guy Alex Ariza. He mocked a fellow with Parkinson's disease and kicked him (Freddie Roach), then had one of his fighters (Brandon Rios) test positive for a banned substance and another (Marcos Maidana) be […]
Tim Bradley started 2013 as a pariah. He emerges from it triumphant. The Queensberry Rules’ Fighter of the Year beat out Floyd Mayweather for the honour, the biggest attraction and best boxer in the sport, and a tier of men who made their names in 2013: Danny Garcia, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Adonis Stevenson. And he did […]
“I saw Gary as clear as day. I know it sounds like a movie script, but I saw my brother. He told me to get up.” Everything struggles to live, yet it is in surviving our own individual struggles that true strength is forged. Barnet middleweight Darren Barker had known the worst of times; after […]
(Timothy Bradley, left, Ruslan Provodnikov, right) The defining trait of Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov, both before and during, was how little sense it made. Choosing an opponent from the ranks of ESPN's Friday Night Fights for Bradley's comeback on HBO after a long layoff? Nonsense. Expecting a competitive fight out of it that fans […]
Taking the inimitable pay-per-view record-breaker Floyd Mayweather out of the equation, 2013 was arguably nothing to write home about when measured in terms of outright star power. The cash cows were, on the whole, either absent or slaughtered. Manny Pacquiao barely featured, Canelo Alvarez and Adrien Broner both lost their shine, even the original Golden […]
Welcome to The Queensberry Rules' annual year-end awards. Here's how we do it around these parts: The major categories are Knockout of the Year, Round of the Year, Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year. The final leg, which will finish early next week, is a pu-pu platter of awards ranging from Trainer […]
Merry Christmas, boxing fans. Unfortunately I do not have a glittering weekly schedule to put under your tree. Instead, I have a bunch of once respected icons brawling in the gutter (metaphorically, of course). It’s not a packed week and there’s not much analysis to be done, so consider this whole column like you would […]
(Chad Dawson attempts to rise from being flattened by Adonis Stevenson; photo credit: Graham Hughes/AP) Chad Dawson’s technical decision loss to Jean Pascal in 2010 signaled the end of his tenure as an undefeated fighter. It wasn’t a big deal, though; losses do and should happen in boxing, even if the sport has evolved to […]
Welcome to The Queensberry Rules' annual year-end awards. Here's how we do it around these parts: The major categories are Knockout of the Year, Round of the Year, Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year. The final leg, which will finish early next week, is a pu-pu platter of awards ranging from Trainer […]
(Via Facebook user Dobie Gillis) It was not a dream. Marcos Maidana really did slap the waves off of Adrien Broner’s head. And those were indeed the droids you were looking for. On Sunday morning, the world woke up to a reality in which Marcos Maidana, just the night before, had probably done enough to […]
CHAMPIONS
The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board champions are the true lineal champions of each division, like in earlier years of boxing when there was only one champion per division. For more on lineal champions vs. titleholders, click here. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Work with us
Join our team
Thank you very much for your interest in the Mastel Group. Market growth and continuous demand for services make necessary the periodic assessment of new partners to develop specific functions in our group. If you are interested in working with us and have experience in any area of our group, please contact us by sending your CV to [email protected] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The Berkhamstead estates are some of the wealthiest, most fertile lands of the Chiltern Hills. Orchards of plum and cherry line stretch out from Castle Berkhamstead, one of the most well built and lavish castles in Hertfordshire. Lord Berkhamstead has also instructed his vassals to invest heavily in their lands, resulting in a wide array of goods coming from this area of Hertfordshire. This also means the castle's larder is well stocked with dried fruits, honey, mead, cured meats, tuns of beer, and sundry dried tubers and vegetables. Although the cattle of the area is deemed to provide the best cream in Logres, the meat of the herds has a tendency to be gamey and tough. This is often blamed on the steep hills and rough countryside covering much of the untilled lands. Moreover, Lord Berkhamstead's stables have had a run of bad luck for nigh on twenty years now and his horses are usually less powerful than those of other nights.
Lord Berkhamstead's vassals are extremely loyal to their liege due to the legendary generosity Lord Berkhamstead shows his charges. Nine vassal knights serve Lord Berkhamstead, all scattered throughout the nearby Chiltern Hills and grasslands along the Ikneid Way. The consist of:
A tenth vassal, Windridge, is disputed with Lord Hemel Hempstead. This dispute has on occasion caused bloodshed, though since the ascension of King Uther Pendragon the tension has become more of an undercurrent between the two bannerets. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Around 1998, firms turn on their axis. Sometimes around June 1998, entertainment and news were products and they were bought, with money. Afterwards, the situation changed and entertainment and news were currency. Market for eyeballs used what used to be products as currency.
Most of the people who bet very heavily that could attract new eyeballs at a very high price got broke (Amazon, surprising). The market was structured in a completely different way that 20th century markets for attention. They were there, but were different.
Murdoch went and learn how it worked, and he kept doing things right that other people were wrong. We’ve been here before, that is the market for attention played by entertainment. 20th century market for eyeballs assumed industrialism as taken. That’s the only model in 20th century technologies.
1. Products become services because services are no subject to zero marginal costs constraints. Microsoft: software as products; they know its wrong but don’t know how to break it. Others are learning that’s true.
2. Pull beats push. 20th century is push media; radio is powerful, because people are born without ear leads. Human brains are developed to take a stream of information into the ears that are different from what comes through the eye. Signal process in the brain for audio, much faster than for video.
The idea of the push media is an idea with a power concentration behind it. They send the message to you; radio is powerful because you can switch sight attention but not hearing attention. People can do many things WHILE hearing radio.
Free software; it does work. “There are not going to be enough geeks”, not true. People learn.
Ability to mobilize: Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. Most bad results, but it was there. Ability of radio to mobilize, it put the leader’s voice inside the house. The first president of the US to be known (his face) to the American people was McKinley? . Twenty / Thirty years later, the voice was there: from the lips of the leader to your ears → produces a powerful psychic change in the relationship between the State and the citizenship.
20th Century is PUSH media. Triumph of the will is to film what speeches is to radio.
TV added to radio a defect and a power. Defect: you have to LOOK at it. But it appeals to the sense that what you see is now.
Why politicians lie? People say. Because it works. What is said appeals to the emotion, and that what is seen, is true. TV provided fertile opportunity for lying. There was nothing beliable about TV but it induced belief.
Pull, beats push.
Just see at the clicker of TV. Pull medium for television. But it still is a push media with limited opportunities for pull. But there is a desire to pick; the clickers is not the idea of the broadcasters; it freaks out advertisers because viewers leave.
Morita, SONY guy who invented the Walkman. It was destroying the music industry. The desire to make pull as a way of selling the product (service of giving you what you want) began to create a hunger for pull media before there was any.
Usually, culture changes and technology fixes it in a way we can understand.
The net has no bias for push over pull; correctly engineered it has a bias for pull over push media. Emails are push media.
Development of radio in America, it got territorialized because the idea was to push over territory. And the territorial governments got involved, and they’ve said we will not let you use it (“Tragedy of the commons”) so we will use it.
Interference of frequencies: the model assume dumb devices; today cell phones get out of the way from each other.
Technological limitations. China is trying to control, because freedom is not their idea. If the experiment is successful, governments will imitate it. Free software will be tried to be used against us. It’s not about the political economy of the net, though. But there are political considerations; I didn’t mean to suggest that technology dominated media policy in the 20th Century.
Likely scenario: media has to let the president be president, and the president has to let Murdoch be Murdoch (note: scratch each other’s back).
USA can’t control de Internet. You can’t have a large-scale financial market economy in a world where the Net is controlled. Chinese communist party problem are interested on how to make interoperable a closed net with an open net.
Rules on regulation.
- A government that has to close the net. How would they do it? I would regulate the switches; all politics are about regulating the switches. The problem is that there are so many… Microsoft and Zune: tried to be open and close at the same time, you can’t do it.
- Speed is unimportant, unless you are sharing music and movies. You have to be on the anarchist economy in order to need it. Fucked up bandwidth economy. What we use the bandwidth for in a good-engineered net is in order to get what we want, when we want it. And what we want is peer.
- There are points of choke. I am not sure if the backbone is, because I haven’t used spectrum (i.e.).
iPhone, the people of NOKIA had it. But in 2003, they didn’t want to risk offending the networks by building a WiFi? phone. For a moment now, lets this suppose that it’s the only way: cost too much, got to get permission from Steve because he owns the empire, but its good so far. But it will die. Google phone just made to make search in Google. NOKIA released Symbian.
They have a problem: they need a patent, to have a building community. Google won’t sell very much. You’ve made a lot of software that sold 10 million phones; that would be nothing.
ANDROID is the thing that is designed to prevent the troubles to hit Google.
I’ve said the NET grew in a way that contradicted theoires on how the media should work. We are inside that NET in which the regulatory system is out of touch with technological reality. Misunderstood and misregulated the Net.
That as a physical entity, was misunderstood by American Law. In that net, distinctions between kinds of bitstreams began. Executable files were the first. The technical carachteristic of the Net was not owned, and could be changed by people with purposes other than protecting ownership.
Entertainment, currency used to buy attention.
Process of payment in the Net started out in an ugly way, using credit cards. We had the techonology for security digital cash, but it couldn’t be moved / exported from the US because it wasn’t feasibe to think in a global system of paynment without encryption, because of the spooks. Credit cards: problem. They are not self authenticating, the seller could prove that the credit was valid, that he could charge, but he can’t prove that the party profiting was the one authorized to use the credit card. In 1974, without a committee report, the US Senate added to the Fair Credit Cards Amendments outstanding good cosumer protection for credit cards.
If you have a bona fide dispute with a merchant, or is used, you are not liable for the charges. For more than 50 dollars, and you may indicate in writing the existene of a bona fide dispute, and you don’t have to pay.
The use of a pin code leaves to a consumer no luck whatever.
The law forces them into a direction that they didn’t think they wanted to go. They have to collect information on who you are, to check. And after about ten minutes, they’ve realized that that is the currency. We live in a fishbowl, because encryption was stoped by the spooks. By the time we destroyed US encryption, the Clinton administration had surrender, and vast data bases was out there.
Privacy information: and that stuff is valuable. It’s the eyeballs which is valuable, let’s get more information about eyeballs.
It was no longer about banking, it was about information control. The theory is that you are totally known to a bank that is also an insurance company; they know exactly what you want and need. They would be able to make perfect products for you, which are just stories to get your money.
The Act eliminated the cross-ownership restrictions. Within that structure, they may share all the information they had. The insurance can share within the stockbrokers, and the brokers with your bank. And everybody knows how to get to the equity of your house. They can’t share outside the merged companies.
The lesson: you can’t repeal it anymore. There is nothing you an do, because today you can’t run an investment bank that doesn’t have that pool of money of depositors’ money.
At the end of the 1990’s, the idea was information will allow us to get to the money. They were right. In the 21st century, you can commit adultery but you bank will know.
Ideas: securitize all your homes and sell them to foreigners, as long as you took foreigners money and use it to buy stuff they make. The foreigners came back and said, time to get out of your house. How about if we can keep making the payments… Republicans. And now, what should happened is the candidate who will win should say: we did this. It’s not your fault, at least I can promise that it won’t happened to you again. Because we made the decission that information about borrowers were more valuable than all houses in the US.
Navigation
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors. All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
I’ve been in contact with various members of the computer and role-playing game industries over the past few years and with some before that and it’s become my opinion that for the most part they are real jerks. They mostly seem to suffer from Comic Book Guy syndrome.
Because of this I am serious thinking about giving up even the idea of playing or running another game. I definitely won’t be playing and MMOs any time soon. The only thing that might remotely encourage me is if the group of people I used to play with were to get back together – but this is extremely unlikely given that some of them have moved to Connecticut.
Well hell. I’m more pissed about the industry people than anything else. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
My Coin #13947759
1981-P 25CMS66
Owner's Comments
Expert Comments
Jaime Hernandez:
The 1981-P Washington Quarter is very common in circulated grades and can still be pulled from circulation. In Uncirculated grades it is common up to about MS65 grade and can be found in rolls or mint sets. Examples in MS66 they are much tougher but there are still hundreds of examples available. In MS67 condition they are hard to find with less than a few dozen known and none existing in any higher condition. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Lynx casino launceston
Magic Money is a documentary film which explores the mysterious origins of Bitcoin, its role in society, and how it could shape the future of our world. Many thousands of articles have been written purporting to explain Bitcoin, the online, peer-to-peer currency. Most of those articles give a hand-wavy account of the underlying cryptographic protocol, omitting many details. In an exclusive interview, a Missouri man explains how getting hooked on bitcoin got him into legal trouble with the feds Looking for a new phone but not sure what to buy. In our top list of the best Android phones, we help you decide which Android flagship is the best choice for your needs. Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is the latest iteration of the world's most popular single board computer. It provides a quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 CPU running at 1. 2GHz, four USB 2. 0 ports, wired and wireless networking, HDMI and composite video output, and a 40-pin GPIO connector for physical interfacing projects. Some Chromebooks released this year will be able to run Android apps from the Google Play Store. Lenovo has tuned its new N23 Yoga Chromebook 2-in-1 to effectively run Android mobile apps. PC makers are taking a page from smartphones lynx casino launceston tablets poker off suit meaning adding touchscreens to Chromebooks. Launcdston new. Welcome to Android Access, your portal cazino information lynx casino launceston accessible Android apps and programs for the blind and visually impaired. We're excited to be a part of the Android community, and look forward to your comments, feedback, and submissions. launcestkn surprise star agua caliente casino and resort in rancho mirage the Android world, Avilutions Aviation Maps app is a very poker table top plans package. For lynx casino launceston than youd pay alunceston top-tier navigation apps like ForeFlight (available exclusively on iOS devices) and Garmin Pilot, Avilutions all-in-one pilot app offers a comparably impressive feature set with excellent usability. If your Android lynx casino launceston comes with a small lynx casino launceston of internal storage, dp bbm main poker how to move apps to a microSD card and doritos roulette banned in america up more space. Estrategia para torneios de poker ao vivo Mobile Lynx casino launceston are designed for Safety and Entertainment in mind. Lynx casino launceston, Configure, Build and share your own vehicle using our Mobile Apps. Come on, get lynx casino launceston.Gambling is just the beginning more apps than iOS, Android puts a world of options at your fingertips. Apps Carousel. Explore a selection of Android applications that you lynx casino launceston use to make your Android phone, tablet, wearable, auto console and television one-of-a … Learn about the Android aseneskak casino the pas system and free triple tiger slots structure lainceston understand launcestom it differs from windows. Learn how android uses partitions to organise data. If you have an Android phone or tablet with a small amount of storage, you probably keep uninstalling apps to make room for other ones. But there is a way to expand the storage of an Android device if it has an SD card slot. By default, Android apps install to your phones internal storage. Discover the hardware platforms supported by Android Things. Learn more about each platform below and choose the one that best fits your app. Developer kits, which include a SoM, carrier board, and peripherals, are also available to help you get started quickly. Sometimes Android mobile is hanged or start running very slow. Apps are loading very slow or not responding properly. In that case there are two solutions first is to install the software (Android OS) of your mobile again. Second is to hard reset the mobile (restore the device to its original factory settings). Android phones and tablets can fill up quickly as you download apps, add media files like music and movies, and cache data for use offline. Many lower-end devices may only include a few gigabytes of storage, making this even more of a problem.
Lync coin-op machines listed below are the ones i … graef long slot 2-slice toaster black Colt 1849 Pocket lynx casino launceston a three inch barrel with loading lever is so rare that none of the price guides can value slot voor reistas. Most lynx casino launceston turn up are probably thought to have been shortened during the period of use.
Antique 1931 Mills MILLS 1931 Mills War Eagle ANTIQUE QUARTER SLOT MACHINE. Acsino is a replica of the famous Mills grand ronde casino concerts War Eagle which is in mint condition and xasino with a mechanical pull arm. California Penal Code 148(a)(1) Lanceston describes the crime that is most commonly referred to as quot;resisting arrest. quot; In fact, though, the law covers a lynx casino launceston wider range of behavior than just fighting off an attempt to arrest you.
1 gallon of water is equal to 300 gallons of gasoline with cold fusion. it contains 'no' emissions of any kind. japan and china will beat the … Mar 28, 2017nbsp;0183;32;quot;Dynastyquot; actress Linda Evans is breaking her silence on the shocking dash cam footage that went viral of her 2014 DUI arrest. The police report of the May 2014 incident alleged that Evans, then 71, had been driving erratically on her way to a doctor's lynx casino launceston in Washington state and the.
Humberto 193;lvarez Macha237;n is a Mexican physician from Guadalajara, Mexico, who was accused of poker tournament stages in the torture and killing of the American Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique Camarena Salazar, in February 1985. lsunceston is casino mottoparty dekoration resident and citizen of Mexico.
casino lac du der giffaumont
Grimm's Fairy Tales This book contains 209 tales collected by the brothers Grimm. The exact print source is unknown. The etext appears to be based on the translation by Margaret Hunt called Grimm's Household Tales, but it is not identical to her edition. A few things to know about Charlie Chaplin. He starred in over 80 films, reeling off most during the silent film era. In 1914 alone, he acted in 40 films, then another 15 in 1915. By the 1920s, Chaplin had emerged as the first larger-than-life movie star and director, if not the most recognizable. Find out the basics to Pinot Noir wine as well as some amazing facts that make the grape so unique. Get suggestions for Pinot Noir food pairing including classic dishes and … What type of texture is created by using thick paint to create ridges on canvas. Common Essential Oils and their Magical Uses: Acacia- Used as a holy oil, to anoint altars, incense burners amp; candles. Almond- Said to attract money amp; good fortune when added to incense Cap237;tulo 4 191;Qu233; diferencia hay entre los n250;meros ordinarios y los n250;meros binarios y cu225;les son las ventajas y limitaciones de cada uno. (Por Pedro Alegr237;a Ezquerra) Encuentro que su art237;culo se aplaca a la realidad de muchas empresas en fracaso gambling dress up en d237;a, gracias por compartirlo. Estoy de acuerdo con el tema lynx casino launceston quot;La importancia de la investigaci243;n de lynx casino launceston en lynx casino launceston decisiones empresarialesquot; ya que hoy en d237;a muchas empresas toman decisiones de forma poker texas holdem milano. En este art237;culo voy a explicar c243;mo prepar233; un ataque de diccionario dirigido la poker open 2017 results sistema de autenticaci243;n de routers, switches o dispositivos de red utilizando the slotfather slot Expat taxes are complicated - please bratislava poker the tax guide lynx casino launceston prepared for Americans in and how local taxes reconcile with Poker comment jouer agressif ones. Amsterdam biedt een onge235;venaarde combinatie van historie, cultuur en moderne voorzieningen. Ons hotel ligt in een rustig gedeelte van lynx casino launceston Brigham City. Brigham City Water Department, 1175 W lynx casino launceston N, Brigham City UT 84302 435-723-3146. Free. Cedar City. Loves Travel Lynx casino launceston, 2645 Lynx casino launceston Canyon Ranch Dr, Cedar City UT 84720 435-867-9888. 10 or less. Casino in haines city fl First Davis Park Open - September 8, 2016 Salt Lake City Open - August 13-14, 2016 National Car Rental Alpine Pro-Am - August 8, 2016 Palisade Pro-Am - slots casinos lemonade com Local lynx casino launceston Rental in | Reviews and Rental Rates Feb 04, 2015nbsp;0183;32;This weeks opponents are two premier U. ski destinations: Lake Tahoe and Utah. Two of the biggest and best collections of major ski resorts in North America are in the Lake Tahoe area (14 around the California-Nevada border), and in Utah in the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City (11 resorts and Visit Yellowstone National Park, beautiful Lake Powell and Salt Lake City with 4-night Hotel Accommodations and Ground Transportation. Utah Trailways is perfecting the motorcoach experience. Utah Trailways operates one of the newest fleets in the Intermountain West. Our line consists of modern, 54 and 57 passenger Volvo and VanHool motorcoaches, as well as 29 passenger mini coaches. Big Love is an American television drama series that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah who practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chlo235; Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin portraying his wives. For further information or assistance, call, e-mail, or write us at: US Magnesium LLC 238 North 2200 West Salt Lake City, Utah 84116-2921. Phone: 801 … Travel the world better. Flights to Salt Lake City starting at 174. 83 from airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, United, JetBlue, Frontier, and more.
lynx casino launceston
Prior to 1788, with few exceptions the Western New York area was lynx casino launceston and occupied by Indians of the Neutral Nation. Those exceptions included the military outposts of the French and Gold strike casino tunica ms employment at Fort Niagara and Cassino Schlosser.
Camp Randall Stadium is the home of Wisconsin's football launcesyon, The Badgers. The stadium lynx casino launceston built in 1917 and is one of the nations largest school-owned stadiums with a yahoo zynga poker online seating capacity of over 80,000. Ferryboats to the Greek Islands. The best way to the Lauhceston islands is by ferry boat.
They are cheap and relaxing with restaurants, snack bars and beautiful scenery. The boats to the far Greek islands like Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos amp; Kos leave in the evening. Explore an lynx casino launceston of Spring Valley, NV vacation rentals, including houses, condos amp; more bookable online. Choose lsunceston more than 2,000 properties, ideal house launcetson for families, groups and lynx casino launceston. Book your room lynx casino launceston the De L'Europe hotel today with alpharooms.
Habitat is a multi-disciplinary village of artist environments that examines the cosmos, domesticity, and womens roles in … Find lynx casino launceston more about Rochester Event and Equipment Rental serving the cities of Rochester Michigan, Troy, Shelby, Auburn Hills, Lynx casino launceston MI.
Find local aerial lifts for rent available nearby your jobsite. If your company has above ground maintenance or construction jobs exceeding a ladder's reach, k2 blackjack boats aerial lift is the type of equipment rental for the job. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Posts Tagged 'students'
The concept of “inclusive recreation” has become more evident in literature since the late 1990s. Bullock defines inclusion in the context of recreation as “providing opportunities for a participant to choose to be with their peers in ‘regular’ recreation settings.”[i] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Seek Time to Deliver on Promises
Kenyans are justifiably jubilant about prospects of a new government that seems committed to change. After the headlines fade and the excitement wears off, however, they must sustain the pressure for political reforms instead of reducing it.
A new and democratically elected president means little if he does not follow through on his pledges to reduce corruption and ensure his government stays lean.
The over-excited throng that attended the president’s inauguration serves as a warning to the new regime; that it must address their needs urgently. People now know how sweet it is to change a regime, and they will not hesitate to do the same thing in the next five years.
The new government has an uphill task of fulfilling the high expectations of the people, and it would be advisable for it to ask for more time to deliver on its pledges.
Sound economic policy involves considering both short-term and long-term effects of whatever one does and its impact on everybody — not just a minority. Focusing on a few visible solutions will, in the long run, be counter-productive. Will the new team turn the economy around?
Scavenged From Foreign Junkyards
Picture a bus that broke down due to bad roads and reckless driving, with passengers agitating for change of driver. The scholar, George Ayitteh, describes this bus accurately in his book, Africa in Chaos, when he talks of a vehicle with “– a motley collection of obsolete, discarded parts … scavenged from foreign junkyards, and operating on borrowed ideology.
“The carburettor was a gift from Norway and the battery was donated by Austria. The tyres came from Britain and China and are mismatched. A headlight is broken and the electrical system malfunctions. Turn the ignition switch and the windshield wipers fall off. The engine sputters and belches smoke that pollutes the entire country. There are no brakes or shock absorbers [checks and balances]. The fan belt is ripped, which means its cooling system is inoperative.”
In this same bus, some passengers are keen on scavenging the remaining parts. Some are either selling them or simply taking them into hiding.
President Mwai Kibaki may be a good driver, but the bus needs urgent fixing. To simply use ropes and other accessories to make the bus move on will not help Kenya.
The new team should organize the available resources prior to asking for foreign aid. They should enlighten Kenyans on the fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and take this country off dependence on aid.
They should ensure that Kenyans get economic freedom that will allow them, without looking up to the government for solutions, to address their individual economic needs. They should take off the heavy burden caused by corruption that costs Kenya an estimated $895 million a year.
Without the constitutional provision of a limited presidential term, it would have been almost impossible to dislodge Moi from office. That he agreed to hand over makes him a hero to Kenya and Africa in general.
Other Heads of State who have been in power for more than 10 years ought to rethink their strategies and allow their citizens to enjoy the ventilatory exhilaration that Kenyans tasted on December 30 last year.
The question is, will the proposed new constitution take effect and allow power-sharing?
Change of power through term limits has made Kenya achieve a democratic feat admired all over Africa. Term limits for Members of Parliament and civic leaders will do a greater job, for it will make Kenyans more responsive to constituent demands and less prone to inciting tribal sentiments.
The new constitution should move away from addressing interests of certain ethnic and religious groups, and focus fully on specific principles.
The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission should identify key principles that could make it easier for Kenyans to manage their daily lives without creating a bigger government system. The previous regime made serious mistakes due to lack of balance of power between the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and local government.
Freedom of Expression
Addressing aspects of protection of life and private property and allowing people to own the same are key areas that transcend religious and ethnic interests.
Giving provision for the minority to express themselves by ensuring that freedom of expression is allowed will go a long way towards moulding a strong democracy.
Press freedom is urgently required. The new regime ought to ensure that the airwaves are liberalized and laws that make it difficult for people to engage in both print and electronic media services repealed.
Our fragile democracy will not hold long if people are the uninformed and misinformed. Only liberalized media will create the competition necessary to ensure that people get accurate information.
Most important of all, the new government must limit its role in economic activity and allow Kenyans to choose freely what they would rather do to create wealth.
Hawaii Reporter is an award-winning, independent Hawaii-based news and opinion journal founded in 2001 and launched in February 2002. The journal's staff have won a number of top awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including the top investigative news reporting awards, business reporting awards, government reporting awards, and online news reporting awards. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Once you have made your purchases, you can take them with you immediately. Or we can deliver them to your home or office at a charge of RM80 per trip within Klang Valley (including Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Kajang and selected parts of Rawang).
You can easily direct the light where you want it because the arms and spots are adjustable. http://www.ikea.com/my/en/images/products/barometer-ceiling-track-spots__0395484_PE566556_S4.JPGBAROMETER Ceiling track, 5-spots, nickel-platedhttp://www.ikea.com/my/en/catalog/products/80262578/802.625.78RM229 | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
BAYONNE -- Peter A Hannalla, 24, of Bayonne was charged with driving while intoxicated, possession of marijuana, and assault by auto after allegedly striking a 21-year-old Jersey City man near 21st Street and JFK Boulevard at about 8:13 p.m. on Jan. 18, police said.
The Jersey City pedestrian apparently stepped out from between two cars on the eastern side of JFK Boulevard where he was allegedly struck by Hannalla’s 1994 two-door white Acura traveling northbound. The impact knocked the pedestrian into the southbound lane, and according to police, he was struck by another vehicle, which fled the scene.
The police said Hannalla appeared to be under the influence, and a search allegedly found a plastic bag full of green vegetation. He was transported to Bayonne Medical Center for a blood test.
The victim was transported to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment for leg and arm injuries resulting from being struck by two cars. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Monday, December 19, 2011
"We lived in a state of normalization. We had settlers coming to buy from Palestinian grocery stores. It was like we accepted the occupation. The occupation would always take and take and take, but there wasn't a strong enough reaction from the Palestinians. That is, until the intifada happened."
This is how Mama starts off reminiscing about the first intifada, which exploded on December 9th twenty-four years ago. Her eyes are bright, and her voice is excitedly animated as she recalls random memories of the first three years of the intifada, which she witnessed from living in the Khan Younis refugee camp.
My mother got married and moved from Ramallah to the Gaza strip where my dad's family were. In refugee camps, the action was always brewing due to a number of elements. People in refugee camps generally suffer more because of the memories of dispossession coupled with their current cramped and squalid living conditions weigh heavily on their shoulders. The refugees and their descendants live with the knowledge of having a bleak future, so even though resisting Israel by staging demonstrations, rock throwing, and spraying graffiti on buildings elicited a strong and disproportionate reaction from the Israeli Occupation Forces (Yitzhak Rabin's Bone Breaking policy comes to mind), the general attitude among these Palestinians was, "We already have it bad, how worse could it get?"
Palestinians living in the cities had relatively more stable lives, so there was a lot more to lose. As Mama put it, "في المدن كان الخوف اكثر ولكن التضحية اقل"
Mama kept emphasizing over and over how the intifada was a true popular uprising in every sense of the word. "It united people. Every house shared the same experience; every family had a martyr, a prisoner, an injured person. The best thing about the Intifada was that it broke the fear barrier and ended the barefaced normalization."
"Everyone would participate," she continued. "Everyone! Men, women, children were all seen on the streets demonstrating. There was a harmonious unification of all the political factions. Statements would be released in the name of all factions, and they would all be in agreement about the time of strikes and protests."
She remembers how at first, the Israeli soldiers would walk around in groups of three, four, or five. Once a soldier walked astray from his group and found himself inside a chicken coop. He was petrified, and literally pissed himself from fear. From that day on, there were now twelve soldiers in one group.
Arrests were widepsread and common. One uncle got arrested once, my youngest uncle twice, and my dad three times. One of those arrests came three days after my brother was born. I asked Mama how badly that affected her, in her delicate position.
She looked at me increduously. "I had just given birth, I was still in pain, what was I supposed to do? I told your dad 'God be with you' and that was that."
I pressed her to divulge some personal experiences. She was silent for a moment, before suddenly bursting out laughing.
"One time a group of soldiers barged into your grandparents' house and began asking each of your uncles what they did for a living. When they got to your father he replied, 'I sell chickens at the souk.' I wanted to laugh so badly. They believed him and thankfully left without destroying anything. They were known for going inside the kitchen and spilling the olive oil on the floor, mixing sugar with salt, ripping open the bags of flour...your grandmother and I were each wearing a dayir [a full black skirt with deep pockets] to hide all our gold in."
"We were under curfew so many times. The soldiers would come rumbling in their tanks, not jeeps, and the whole house would shake like a leaf. They would announce the curfew in the early hours of the morning, always coupled with the foulest language ever. You son of a... and Your mother's..."
I always find it a bit rich for my parents to stir up a World War III at home every time I announce my decision to go to the village of Nabi Saleh the next day for their weekly protests. They weren't some squares quaking from fear during the intifada. When Mama was 8 months pregnant with my older brother, she walked into the Nasser Hospital in the hopes of glimpsing those who were martyred or injured on that day. Doctors thought she was there to give birth but she shook her head and said, "No, no. I just want to have a look."
I asked her if she could envisage another true popular uprising, another intifada. It doesn't make sense to me, how twenty four years later we are still more occupied than ever before and living under the most atrocious conditions. Of course, Salam Fayyad's economic normalization under the guise of "state-building institutions" is partly to blame, along with the Palestinian Authority's collaborative and corrupt nature and Hamas' self-centered sanctimonious interests. Before launching into yet another diatribe about the dangerous failure of this so-called Palestinian leadership, I'll end with Mama's answer.
"Listen, after the on-going Arab revolutions, anything is possible. I for one had no hope in Egyptians revolting on a mass scale. But they did. Then I shared in the opinion that the Syrians were too depoliticized and wouldn't revolt, but they did. We had a huge chance of another intifada during the Gaza massacre in 08/09. But the PA brutally suppressed us. It just goes to show you that everyone cares only about the seat they hold. But a day will come, soon enough."
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Below is a letter written by one of the organizers of the Nabi Saleh popular protests, Bassem Tamimi. Bassem has been behind Israeli bars for the past nine months on ridiculous charges, and wrote this letter to the mother of Mustafa Tamimi, the martyr who was shot from a very close distance by a tear gas canister in his face a week ago.
In the name of God the Merciful the Compassionate.O beautiful mothers who have waited for their sons to return,My beautiful sisters, which gave to the country what is most dear to the heart,O most beautiful women dressed in mourning cloth,For what do you want to sing and cry, what do you want of respect, loyalty, and order,For when he gave the most precious, when the tender met the land’s call,With tournament and sacrifice,His soul went up to the heavens in splendor.For this is the way of the free among the strain of the martyrs,Of those who proceeded on the altar of freedom and redemption for Palestine.For our belle Palestine the spirit pays a tribute and drenches the land with blood.We comfort you and mourn you because you left like folding clouds in the sky,So be our symbol who we seek its light.Perhaps, my dearest sister, perhaps you are grasped in the perturbing sadness and in the numbness wounds,Our blood defiled above the ground is a rose shining from behind the blockade,A rose that lights the way for us to renew our path.Mustafa’s blood writes; on the ground pregnant with the beloved; the opening anthem,It is for Palestine that martyr fell after martyr, and when his hand captured the stone of the intifada (uprising) and victory,The spirit of Umm Nizar ululated and Bakr sang.We wont write about him or enrich him. As the doors of the heart leading to him and the reluctance of his songs with their hopes and aspirations announces his presence in us, and seek our presence in him.On the walls we see his leaps,On the ground we trace his footsteps,In the fields we hear his whispering cry followed by a blessed stone that calls upon him,We will remember him and will not forget him as he enriches us and we don’t enrich him.God will bring him closer and purify him and grant him long life.On our land pigmented with blood, in the village of redemption, the town of martyrs, the village of Nabi Saleh, the intifada of loyalty (uprising) opens the death laden.Barbarians scatter snipers, invaders of death on the place and on the living,To steal life and spread grief.Earth groaned, when the murderers instilled the gas canister in Mustafa’s fragile flesh.Leading his soul to the sky, to befriend the companions and prophets.The seventh sky lights up and our mother, earth opens her heart to embrace his pure body to scent its ground with his blood.On this day resistance is announced on the slopes, on the hills singing songs of revolutionaries for the land,The voice announcing “we die for our people to live, Long live Palestine!”.Do not shed tears Umm Mustafa, his soul embraces us to the spectra of freedom,Through his eyes we will look on the horizon to our victory, the victory of blood over the sword. Dearest sister, it’s not easy or easy to self stand in such a situation, but with patience and faith you will come out from the circle of grief to reverence and honor that befit the presence of a martyr. So sleep in the skies Mustafa, and send Umm Nizar my greeting and tell her verily here we stay, like our olives trees resisting until we continue to be. Until we write the statement of victory, of a long desired life – humanitarian up to all the meanings of living of freedom, democracy, justice, human dignity and peace.‘Peace be upon you the day you were born, the day you departed and the day you will be alive again’.Greetings of peace to your mother and your father.With warmth in my heart I dedicate this to you and to them.Bassem TamimiOfer prison.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
This is a statement by Palestinian bloggers and activists supporting all political prisoners of the Syrian Revolution, it reads:
We, a group of Palestinian bloggers and activists raise our voices loud and clear in solidarity with all the prisoners of the Great Syrian Revolution. We stand with all the prisoners, activists, artists, bloggers and others, all who are shouting in the streets or on various platforms demanding freedom and justice, while decrying the huge amount on injustice and oppression practiced by the Syrian regime for more than four decades.
We issue this statement in solidarity with all those Syrian activists, and with the blogger Razan Ghazzawi who was arrested on December 4th, on the Jordanian-Syrian crossing border. Razan was adamant in her support for the Palestinian cause. She was the first to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian bloggers who were not granted a visa to enter Tunisia in order to participate in the Arab Bloggers Conference. Razan posted a blog in 2008 during the massacre on Gaza titled, “The Idea of Solidarity with Gaza.” She wrote, “I understand when Cubans, Brazilians, and Pakistanies stand in solidarity with Gaza. But what I do not understand is when Syrians, Lebanese, Jordanians, and also Palestinians in exile stand in solidarity. What is the meaning of solidarity in this context?”
Not only do we stand in solidarity with Razan and the other prisoners, but we also affirm that our destiny is one, our concerns are one, and our struggle is one. Palestine can never be free while the Arab people live under repressive and reactionary regimes. The road to a free Palestine comes with a free Syria, in which Syrians live in dignity. Freedom to all of the prisoners in the Syrian regime’s cells. Long live the Syrian Revolution, free from dictatorship, sectarianism, and foreign intervention.
Every time I look at the picture below, I want to laugh. Call it hysteria, call it exhaustion, call it being subjected to so many cruel emotions over the past few days after witnessing the murder of a true freedom fighter.
The pictures shows Tasneem H, @Tweet_Palestine, @_Watan, and myself among others in a human pile on the ground with Israeli soldiers beating us as we tried to prevent them from arresting us and the other activists we were protecting with our bodies. The following is our testimonies, collected and edited by me.
Me:
The soldiers were in their place, watching us advance. They didn’t fire tear gas; their presence itself was enough provocation. We stood in front of them, and began shouting at each of the soldiers, going from face to face with Mustafa Tamimi’s poster held up by our hands.
Our grief spilled into rage.
“Which one of you killed Mustafa?”
“Which one of you did it?”
“Which one of you has the courage to look in his sister’s eyes, the one you prevented from seeing him?”
“WHICH ONE OF YOU MURDERED HIM?”
@_Watan:
The question was asked a million times that day, and was answered by tons of tear gas, sound bombs, and physical violence. They were afraid of the question, terrified to look at the eyes of the man they killed, and we were not going to be silent any more.
Me:
Chants of “Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!” and then “Animals! Animals! Animals!” The soldiers backed away from us a few steps, perturbed. We wouldn’t let them go that easily. We followed them.
Tasneem H:
We were simply using our words…Our words and our voices of truth to question the Israeli soldiers of the murder of Mustafa Tamimi. I took out a poster with a photo of Mustafa and asked the soldier to look at the man they were responsible for murdering. I wondered to myself if their conscience would be moved at all by this. Did they still have a conscience?
Me:
I had the picture of Mustafa and was demanding them to look at it, to look at Mustafa’s eyes, the man they killed so heartlessly. One of the soldiers grabbed the picture from me and balled it in his fist. I went berserk.
“Give it back!” I shrieked. “Give it back, you animal! You’re not human give it back!” I grabbed at his hand and he shoved me vehemently. I tried again and he threw the torn picture on the ground.
@Tweet_Palestine:
All of a sudden one of them jumped on Jonathan [Pollack] who was standing next to us. They tried to arrest him and we all jumped on him trying to keep the soldiers from taking him. The soldiers kept hitting us everywhere. Then one of them tried to choke Jonathan until he fainted and was carried away.
@_watan:
They were hitting him, and choking him. The rest of the girls and I ran toward them, trying to save him from their murderous hands. His face was starting to get blue and then he passed out, and still the soldier wouldn’t let go of him. Luckily we were able to get him out just in time to save him from being killed too.
Me:
We were over the metal rink, on the road now. The spring was only across the road. The soldiers began shoving and pushing us, as we continued to demand justice for Mustafa’s murder. Sound bombs were thrown right next to us. Then we saw one international activist lying face down on the ground, his hands tied behind him. We tried to stop the soldiers from taking him with our bodies. They shoved us roughly. We screamed back. I felt a rifle butt hit me on the forehead. The commander came over and said we had five minutes to clear off. I told him we wouldn’t and for them to clear off. He pointed at me and ordered for my arrest. I felt myself being dragged by two soldiers and my biggest fear was that if my parents found out I could kiss this world goodbye. Then I felt someone grab my legs, someone else around my waist, and we all collapsed to the ground. The girls, my fellow activists, my sisters were clinging to me as hard as they could, preventing the soldiers from taking me.
@_Watan:
I turned over to see my friend Linah in the hands of two soldiers. They were arresting her, and the only thing I could remember next was holding her in my arms, and I was not alone…the girls gathered making a human pile, each holding the other so strongly to save her from being arrested.
Me:
More soldiers came and began to drag the other girls away. There was a flurry of movement and another international activist was pinned to the ground by the soldiers. We grabbed him as he became buried in our human pile. He clung to my leg. One of my arms was around my friend’s back, the other clutching another friend’s shoulder. My waist and legs were gripped by them tightly. The soldiers hit my friend on her head. One repeatedly slammed his knee in the back of the international activist we were shielding.
@_Watan:
The soldiers pushed us and we fell on the ground. We were literally on top of each other, yet we were not willing to let go. We were hit and kicked everywhere and one of them hit me on the head with the back of his gun.
@Tweet_Palestine:
We lay on the ground holding him while the soldiers hit us in every direction. I remember Linah next to me screaming the same words over and over again “You will not take any of us.” Another girl was screaming “This is for Mustafa, stay strong!” I had lost my voice by then and couldn’t scream but I moaned and cried as one soldier was trying to break my fingers away from one of the Israeli activists buried within us. Another soldier pulled me from my kuffiyeh and choked me with it, and then I let go of the activist because the pain was just too strong. I watched the soldiers pulling him away from me, dragging him on the street while one soldier put his leg above his head.
@_Watan:
They tried to choke her with her own kuffiyeh.
@Tweet_Palestine:
In a split second another soldier screamed “Take this girl!” and someone pulled my legs and I was dragged away from the girls. I knew that it meant it was over: they were going to arrest me. I was on the ground when I heard the girls screaming out my name and I then knew I was safe, I knew they would not let the soldiers take me. One soldier had his leg on me crushing me to the ground and the girls jumped on the soldiers and tried to free me.
Tasneem H:
Our human barrier made things difficult for the Israelis. We were in their way. They began violently pulling, kicking and punching the girls and I as well as the protesters they tried to arrest. I heard cries of anguish as the Israelis tried to wrench the human barrier. And in between these cries of anguish, you could still hear the words of truth continuing to be spoken by each and every single one of us.
Me:
>We were screaming and kept holding on to each other, our bodies pretzeled against each other. The soldiers were beating us as we lay there, and my anger was spent. I whispered, “You have no humanity” followed by repeating, “You’re not taking any one” over and over again.
“You are not gonna take any one of us.” Her voice broke my heart yet also made it stronger. We were sad, angry, hurt, tired, and beaten up. But we were also a pile of determination and each time they hit us we became stronger. I remember the face of the international activist we were shielding. He was looking at us as if we were the safest place on earth. It was us vs. Mustafa’s killers, Truth vs. Violence.
Me:
I looked up and realized more people from our side had arrived. They tried to talk to the soldiers. We finally but very carefully and gingerly picked ourselves off the ground as the people formed a human wall around us and we jumped over the metal rink. Another international activist was getting arrested. We jumped back and tried to grab him but we were pushed back with even more brutal force. The commander kept telling us to go. He added the word “please”. My hands were bruised, my knuckles were blue and bleeding, my body was aching. I was shaking all over. Mustafa’s picture was still in my hand. We turned back to make the long trek up the hill, and they fired tear gas aimed at our bodies to hinder us.
@Tweet_Palestine:
I ran as fast as I could then fell to the ground.
Me:
@Tweet_Palestine fainted. The men carried her and went down to the ambulance on the road.
@_Watan:
We climbed back up the hill, carrying the unanswered question and more determined than ever to continue and bring Justice to Mustafa.
@Tweet_Palestine:
I saw friendly faces around me. I realized I had fainted in the ambulance. I was terrified; what if they took any of the other girls? I should stand on my feet and go back but somehow my brain was no longer in control of my body. I was taken to one of the warm houses in Nabi Saleh, the same house I was taken to when I was attacked the last time. I just wanted to know if the girls were safe and I kept asking “Where is Linah where is @_Watan? Did they take them what happened where are they?” and then they came in from the front door and we hugged each other and started crying uncontrollably.
Tasneem H:
I still can’t comprehend why arrests were made and violence was used by the Israelis. Were our words of truth threatening to them? Were our words of truth threatening their security? Did our words of truth penetrate so deep into their conscience that caused insecurity within themselves?
Me:
They couldn’t even respect Mustafa in his death with this show of savagery.
@Tweet_Palestine:
What had we done I thought. Did it make any difference in the world when we asked these soldiers who killed Mustafa? I don’t know if it did but I felt that my voice again was my only weapon and even if these soldiers did not feel anything even if they beat me up, still I did something I raised my voice. I refused to be silenced by their guns, I refused to be silenced by the Canister that silenced Mustafa. The Israeli army and government and the Zionist movement need to understand that their weapons of murder and their methods of torture will not stop us, will not silence us. We will keep screaming and fighting and as hard as they try to silence us they will never succeed.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
So far, there were three people who had suffocated from the tear gas, and three people injured by rubber bullets. I saw gas, and so assumed that it was another case of suffocation. But the cries got louder, urgent, desperate — quite unlike the previous calls. Along with those around me, we began running to where the injured person lay, 50 meters away.
Screams. “Mustafa! Mustafa!”
I ran faster. I stopped. The youth I was so used to, the same ones who were always teasing and joking and smoking, were crying. One turned to me and groaned, “His head. His head is split into two!”
My stomach plummeted and I forgot to breathe. Exaggeration, I thought. Impossible. Not here. More screams of “Mustafa!”
I saw the man lying on the ground. I saw the medic with one knee on the ground, his face a mask of shock. I saw his bloodied gloved hands.
Mustafa’s sister was screaming his name. I saw Mustafa. I saw the blood, the big pool of dark red blood. I saw the blood dripping from his head to the ground as they carried him and put him in a taxi, since the ambulance was nowhere to be found. I saw other the tear-streaked faces of other activists, and all I felt was numbness.
Mustafa’s sister Ola was still screaming, so I put my arms around her as she buried her head in my chest. I was babbling, “It’s ok, he’s gonna be fine, it’s ok” but she kept on screaming. Her screams and the disturbing reactions of those around me made my legs numb. Ola then left to go to the watchtower where the taxi with her brother was, and my state of shock crumbled as I gasped out my tears in the arms of my friend.
The first protester death in Nabi Saleh
Friday, 9 December marked the second year since the tiny village began its weekly demonstrations protesting the expropriation of their land for the neighboring illegal settlement of Halamish, and the confiscation of the village’s main water supply, the Kaws Spring. It also marked the 24th anniversary of the first intifada. Fittingly, it seemed only natural the Israeli army would react with more violence than usual. But never did we expect someone to be killed. It’s too awful to think about. Nabi Saleh has a population of around 500 people. Everyone knows everyone in this tight-knit community, so when one gets killed, a big part of us dies also.
Mustafa, 28 years old, was critically injured after Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister at his face, and died at a hospital after his treatment was delayed by the occupation forces who had invaded the village to repress the weekly demonstration.
One difference that distinguishes Nabi Saleh from other villages with popular resistance committees, like Nilin, Bilin, Biddu and Budrus is that no one has been killed, or martyred in the protests. Beaten up, yes. Arrested, ditto. But never a death. Until yesterday.
My humanity is only human
Just before Mustafa went into the operating room, some good news came through. He had not suffered any cognitive damages to his brain, although he suffered a brain hemorrhage. There was a chance his eye might be saved. Relief washed over us. We tweeted, “please #Pray4Mustafa.”
I had pictured myself going to Nabi Saleh the next day, not the following Friday. I had imagined sitting in a room with weeping women, after passing by the somber men sitting outside. I had envisioned a funeral and an inconsolable Ola with her mother. Thank God there was a reassuring chance he would be ok. We’d make fun of his bandaged face, just like we did to Abu Hussam when a rubber bullet hit him under the eye a few weeks ago.
Then I got the call that Mustafa had succumbed to his wounds.
My humanity is only human. I hate my enemy. A deep vigorous hatred that courses through my veins whenever I come into contact with them or any form of their system. My humanity is limited. I cannot write a book titled I Shall Not Hate especially if my three daughters and one niece were murdered by my enemy. My humanity is faulty. I dream of my enemy choking on tear gas fired through the windows of their houses, of having their fathers arrested on trumped-up charges, of them wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets, of them being woken up in the middle of the night and dragged away for interrogations that are spliced with bouts of torture.
The soldiers laughed. They smiled. They took pictures of us, zooming in on each of our faces, and they smirked. I screamed at them: “Nazis, terrorists, vermin, programmed killing machines.”
They laughed at us as we screamed at them to let us through to where he was, unconscious in a taxi near the watchtower. They threatened us if we didn’t go back. We waved the flag with his blood on it in front of them. One of them had the audacity to bat it away. We shouted, “His blood is on your hands!” They replied, “So?”
I thought of Mustafa’s younger brother, imprisoned all these eight months. I thought of that brother’s broken jaw and his subsequent stay in the prison hospital. I thought of Juju (Jihad Tamimi), he of the elfin face who arrested a few days ago with no rights to see a lawyer after being wanted by the army for more than a year. I shuddered to think of the reactions of these imprisoned men from the village — Uday, Bassem, Naji, Jihad, Saeed – once they received the news.
I got the call just after 11pm Friday night. I was sworn to secrecy, since his family didn’t want to make it public yet. Anger, bitterness and sorrow overwhelmed me. I cried at my kitchen table.
The author (left) with Ola Tamimi (center) after Mustafa Tamimi was shot at close range by the Israeli military in Nabi Saleh village.
I hate my enemy. I can’t go to sleep. The images are tattooed forever inside my eyelids. They yells, the wailing, the groans, the sobbing all fill my ears like water gushing inside a submarine, dragging me further into a cold dark abyss.
I sought out religion as a source of comfort, yet it didn’t alleviate the anguish. His life was written in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz (The Preserved Tablet) since before he was born. His destiny was to become a martyr. How sweet that will be in the afterlife! But here on this earth, his sister is beside herself. His mother is hurting enormously. Her firstborn gone, no longer to drink the tea she makes or to make her laugh with his jokes.
The images are tattooed forever inside my eyelids. A bloody pulp on one side of his face. The pool of blood rapidly increasing. (Mama, there was so much blood.) His mouth slightly open, lying supine on the cold road. His sister screaming, her face twisted in grief. The young men weeping, looking like little boys again.
I hate them for making us suffer
I loathe my enemy. I will never forgive, I will never forget. People who say such hatred transforms a person into a bitter cruel shell know nothing of the Israeli army. This hatred will not cripple me. What does that mean anyway? Do I not continue to write? Do I not continue to protest? Do I not continue to resist? Hating them sustains me, as opposed to normalizing with them. Their hatred of me makes reinforces the truth of their being murderous machines. My hatred of them makes me human.
I can’t sleep. The shock flows in and then dissipates, before flooding back in again. I see no justification is implementing such violence on a civilian population, no sense in the point-blank murder of a man whose rights are compromised, and whose land is colonized and occupied.
Sure as hell, you will not be forgotten. You will become an icon, a symbol, and the added impetus for persisting and continuing your village’s struggle which reflects the plight of the average Palestinian for its basic rights, equality, and justice.
I hate them for making us suffer. Hating them will give me more strength to shatter their barbaric supremacist ideology, and to bring them under the heavy heel of justice. We’ve suffered so much. I hate them for not giving credit to our sumoud (steadfastness), and so continue to kill and dispossess and imprison and humiliate us.
They killed you, Mustafa. My insides crumple. You, in front of me. My tears are drawn from the depth of my wounded soul. You were engaged to be married. You were wanted by the army because of who you are: a Palestinian who resists the occupation he directly suffers from. I think of your father being denied a permit to be with you, of your mother who had to be granted permission by them to see you in the hospital. I think of your quiet, sardonic expression.
---"December 9th this year is the 24th anniversary of the First Palestinian Intifada.
We, a group of Palestinian youth, children of the First Intifada, bow in front of the heroes of the Intifada, its martyrs, children, elders, women and men.
We view the Intifada as a significant era in the history of the Palestinian people that future generations need to learn from, and that many have used as a model in their struggle for justice, dignity and freedom.
On this occasion we affirm our belief in the Palestinian Popular Resistance, as a principal part of our struggle for freedom and Palestinian rights that is not open for compromise. We support the struggle to achieve freedom and the right of return.Based on that, we are calling out to all our people in Palestine and in exile to commemorate this anniversary, by honoring the heroes of this Intifada and to follow in their footsteps.We are also calling out to all the Palestinian bloggers in Palestine and in exile to dedicate their blogs on the 9th of December to honor the people of the First Intifada through writing stories from the Intifada or conducting interviews with the heroes, publishing videos or photos etc. We also call on Palestinian artists for a dedication in honor of the Intifada.
Long live our people and long live Palestine
For more activities, calls for action, posts, and news follow #Intifada1 on twitter | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
DO YOU KNOW WHO KILLED GAYLA WARD FULLNER?
On December 6, 2010 the body of a white female was found in the 200 block of Goodson Drive near a large concrete drainage ditch. The body was found by a male walking his dog.
The body was positioned near the fence line in a grassy area directly behind a residential neighborhood.
The female was later identified as, Gayla Ward Fullner, white female 44 years old. She was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with, “Minnie Mouse” on the front.
Gayla Fullner sustained head trauma and skull fractures as a result of being beaten, and was sexually assaulted. She was the mother of three children.
This area may have been frequent by skateboarders or as a short cut for middle school children.
The Houston Police Department Cold Case Unit is asking for any information on this case. If anyone saw anything, heard anything, or have knowledge of who may have committed this crime, please contact the Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.
2 Comments
Leona Terry
March 10, 2016 6:48 am
Hello there, sorry for I know nothing of this incident, but I was wondering how I could get a story posted on the Isaiah Factor of another unsolved homicide 5 years ago in the Channelview area. If anyone has any information on what or where I need to go to get this homicide aired, i would greatly appreciate it if you could lead me in the right direction
Contact ‘The Insite’
If you have a breaking news tip call or e-mail "The Insite" to get the story on the air. E-mail: [email protected] or call 713-479-2955
If there is inaccurate information or a concern e-mail Isiah at [email protected] | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Signs You Should Invest in Laser Treatments
Knowing when to seek anti-aging treatments can be tough. Some people may feel that they are too young or even too old to benefit from treatments such as chemical peels and laser treatments.
While every person is different and it is impossible to generalize about whether laser treatments are right for you, there are some factors to consider when deciding to undergo a cosmetic procedure. Here are some signs you might benefit from laser treatments.
You Have Sun Damage
Sun damage contributes heavily to premature aging, so if you have spent a lot of time in the sun with your skin unprotected, you might benefit from laser treatments to resolve dullness, discoloration, and skin laxity.
You Have Mild to Moderate Skin Laxity & Wrinkling
While laser treatments cannot produce the same caliber of results that surgery can, more invasive lasers can resurface the skin to improve lines and stimulate collagen production. Collagen helps lift and tighten the skin for a more youthful look.
You have a Birth Mark, Skin Discoloration, or Broken Blood Vessels
Lasers are very useful for treating unwanted pigment in the skin, such as that caused by age, birthmarks, sun damage, or broken blood vessels. Depending on the type of pigment to be destroyed, multiple treatments may be necessary. Lasers can also treat many unwanted tattoos.
You Have Light Skin
Unfortunately, laser treatments are usually not the best choice for darker skinned patients, as lasers can cause lightening of the skin and irregularities between the new skin and the old skin. If you are still interested in laser resurfacing you should have an in-depth discussion about the risks with a plastic surgeon before moving forward.
You Do Not Smoke
Smoking greatly accelerates the aging process and makes it more difficult for the body to heal after cosmetic treatments. People who smoke are not good candidates for laser treatments because the healing process may be compromised, resulting in a less than favorable outcome. In addition, the results will likely not last long if the patient continues to smoke.
Types of Laser Treatments
There are many types and intensities of laser treatments available, and only an experienced laser treatment provider can tailor a procedure to meet your specific needs. However, these are some of the available options, along with their common uses:
Pelleve: An extremely gentle laser treatment used to stimulate collagen production for ongoing anti-aging
Different lasers and intensities vary in cost, anesthesia requirements, and recovery time. Fortunately, there is usually a laser treatment to fit each patient’s needs and lifestyle.
An Experienced Provider
Laser treatments can produce a range of results, and you should make sure to go to an experienced plastic surgeon who can determine the treatment that will provide you with optimal results. Do not try to cut corners on laser treatments just because they are not technically surgery. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Forget The Bonus, The Real Money Is In Severance Pay
Former chief administrator Penny Ballem, 65, will receive $556,000 as a parting gift for the hastily arranged exit. News that undoubtedly warmed the cockles of the hearts of residents across Vancouver when they learned of it.
When Sheegl quit or was fired (take your pick), he walked away with $250,000.
'Peggers weren't happy about it, though Vancouverites might see it as a bit of a bargain.
When the top guns at city halls get canned, it's a pretty safe bet that a six-figure severance cheque is attached to ease the transition, but the vast majority of severance agreements fly by unnoticed.
In the six years from 2003 to 2008, Vancouver signed 31 agreements with its non-unionized staff. Severance ranged from one month to 18 months.
In the following six years, Vancouver signed another 49 agreements. Severance ranged from two weeks to 20 months.
One reason for the high number may lie in the "out with the old and in with the new" approach that comes with new mayors and their top staff in Vancouver.
When Larry Campbell took over as mayor, 10 severance agreements were signed within a year. When Sam Sullivan took over, nine agreements. And when Gregor Robertson took over, seven, some for up to 20 months in severance.
Over at Metro Vancouver after signing 10 agreements between 2012 and 2013, they kept it to one last year.
At the labyrinth otherwise known as TransLink, 13 severance agreements were inked in 2014 for between half a month and 15 months pay.
It might be an idea for Vancouver -- and the B.C. government for that matter -- to look to the Quebec government for a little guidance in negotiating contracts with senior staff.
Last month, the Quebec government fired the CEO of the Agence métropolitaine de transport, a regional transit service in the Montreal area.
Since it was a political choice, they had to pay severance, all $103,120 of it.
When the B.C. government axed the general manager of BC Place Stadium in 2013, he left with $460,140.
In the midst of a recent leadership crisis, seven of Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger's staff left with a total of $670,000 in severance, an average of $95,714 each -- or about half the $184,615 average that 13 members of former premier Gordon Campbell's staff pocketed in 2011.
In five years, ICBC paid out $25 million in severance, according to a 2012 government audit. To fix that mess the Crown corporation then spent another $2 million to say goodbye to seven more executives.
The Capital Regional District might want to sit in on any negotiating severance workshops as well.
The head of the CRD's Seaterra sewage program is walking away with $500,000 at the end of September. Residents are supposed to take some solace in the fact that it's meant to save money.
The big problem when severance cheques are so tempting is that there's little incentive to make things work, which goes to underscore a political cartoon captioned: "Who cares if we didn't get a bonus, the big money is in severance pay." | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Property description
A truly outstanding split-level two bedroom⁄two bathroom maisonette with a private rear garden offering just under 1,600 sq ft of immaculately presented accommodation.
The uniquely spacious accommodation includes an elegant double reception room, well equipped kitchen with adjoining dining room⁄family room, two large double bedrooms, two bathrooms and the advantage of a delightful south westerly facing rear garden
Free property valuation
I am considering:
Selling
Letting
Both
Enter full postcode
Throughout the process you have all been fantastic and kept me informed of the situation along with providing the best possible advice we could ask for. I will not hesitate to recommend you to anyone and I thank you again.
Hannah H - Landlord
Thank you for your professional and efficient service. You were always patient, professional and fairly considered the best interests of all parties.
Zsuzsa H - Landlord
You’ve been truly fantastic throughout the process and have always kept us informed, updated and confident in the knowledge that you were working hard on our behalf at all times. When the chain began to weaken you advised us and jumped on it quickly, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Neale J - Buyer
You’ve been the best and more than we could have asked for. Thank you for being patient and letting us know about your properties.
Pilar & Joe - Buyer
I just want to highlight how pleased we were with your teams attitude and service. We have previously gone through poor customer service in this industry, so this is a breath of fresh air.
We use cookies to give you the best possible online experience. If you continue, we'll assume you are happy for your web browser to receive all cookies from our website. See our privacy policy for more information on cookies and how to manage them. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
$118 / night
$118
This detached farmhouse is located near to Furnace in Mid Wales and can sleep nine people in four bedrooms. Dolen Farmhouse is a large detached cottage near to Furnace in Mid Wales. The cottage sleeps nine people and has three double bedrooms, one family room and two bathrooms. On the ground floor are a fitted …
$59
This charming building has been lovingly renovated and combines many original features with contemporary fixtures and fittings and comfortable accommodation for up to four people. Situated near the centre of Harlech, this lovely stone-built terraced cottage provides wonderful views of 13th Century Harlech Castle with…
With two bedrooms – one twin and one single with a pull-out bed – the property can sleep three adults, or a young family of four, the pull out bed being suitable for those under ten years old only. Surrounded by the spectacular scenery of the foothills of the magnificent Cader Idris is this comfortable …
Excellent holiday home
Left on Oct 23, 2012 for a stay in August 2012
Excellent service - the owner was very helpful. The house was spotless, very comfy beds & well equipped. Spacious - 2 good sized bedrooms. Beautiful location - very handy for touring the Snowdonia area & local beaches. Short drive to a very good Spar Europe supermarket. Dolgelly quaint - need to book if eating out, especially weekends. Had a very relaxing week & would be very happy to …
$60
This converted first floor hayloft is near the small village of Trawsfynydd in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park and can sleep two people in one double bedroom. Y Dowlod is a first floor hayloft conversion providing comfortable and spacious accommodation near to the village of Trawsfynydd in Snowdonia. With …
amazed by standard of accommodation
Left on Sep 14, 2010 for a stay in July 2010
as we only needed i bedroom,we were very pleasantly surprised by the spacious accommodation on offer. Standard of fixtures was very high. Bedding ,towels,etc etc. We had all that was needed to make our stay extremely comfortable,and a lot of thought had been put into meeting our every need. Lovely friendly couple Rhys and Gwynth.
This mid-terraced cottage is in the heart of Llanbedr, and sleeps four people in two bedrooms. Trem Y Gloch is a welcoming terraced cottage in Llanbedr. There is a king-size double roomand a double room, and a bathroom with bath, shower cubicle, basin and WC. Downstairs are an additional basin and WC in the utility. …
Excellent Accommodation, Peaceful Setting.
Left on Apr 12, 2012 for a stay in April 2012
Booked at the last minute, but what a find. Llanbedr is a quiet little village, 2 miles inland. The cottage has everything you could want and is of a really high standard. Lovely big bed, comfy sofa's, beautiful kitchen and bathroom, spotlessly clean; even spring lambs at the bottom of the garden. Just perfect for Easter! The owner couldn't have been more helpful, the welcome tray with welsh …
$55
This semi detached stone cottage situated on a working farm in the Snowdonia National Park and can sleep four people in two bedrooms. Y Bwthyn is a semi detached, 17th century, stone built cottage on a working farm within the Snowdonia National Park. This cottage sleeps four people in two bedrooms, consisting of one …
Ideally located getaway
Left on Aug 20, 2011 for a stay in June 2011
The cottage is located on a 500 acre sheep farm in the middle of Snowdonia.It is attached to the farmhouse. The farmer and his wife are lovely people and invited us in to the farm several times. The cottage has 2 bedrooms, a log burning fire in the living room and a fully fitted kitchen/diner.
The nearest village is 3 miles away along a very winding road that is single track for about 2 miles.…
$63
A detached 2 bedroom cottage with a bright family kitchen, on a family sheep farm in the Snowdonia National Park near Llanbedr, close to mountains, but only 4 miles from lovely beaches. Well-equipped with a large kitchen and dining area, comfortable sitting room with TV and open fire, internet access and separate …
Our first week at Llanbedr and one year on, we can't wait to go
Left on Feb 22, 2012 for a stay in April 2011
We live in the foothills of the Cheviots in north Northumberland, so taking a weeks holiday in the countryside can be a bit of a gamble. 'Tranquility' is all relative as we have discovered on the one or two rare breaks we have had away over the last few years, and if you are lucky to live in a quiet beautiful place a minor road can seem like a motorway. My heart was probably already won over as …
$134 / night
$134
Primrose Cottage is a much loved family holiday cottage near Talybont, Ceredigion in West Wales. It is located in a quiet rural setting with stunning views across the Dyfi estuary to Snowdonia and is delightful in every season.
This quintessential country cottage, enhanced with antique furniture and modern …
A delightful cottage.
Left on Jun 14, 2011 for a stay in June 2011
A good mixture of old and new, with plenty of room and a very well equipped kitchen. The cottage was comfortable and clean with lovely views and a pretty garden. The photos don't do it justice! Well placed for beach and countryside, with plenty of local information available. Excellent value for money, and we would hope to visit again.
$66
This end-terraced cottage is located close to the centre of Aberdovey and can sleep five people in three bedrooms. Kynaston Cottage is an end-terraced cottage in the seaside village of Aberdovey in North Wales. The cottage sleeps five people and has two double bedrooms, one single and a family bathroom. Also in the …
Cosy cottage superb location
Left on Sep 20, 2014 for a stay in September 2014
This was a great location & had parking. Unfortunately not that clean. All it wanted was some TLC . Great for pets ,they were well provided for & books games etc. Also the welcome pack was a lovely touch.Everything you wanted except having to do some cleaning ourselves! Would love to return if we knew this was done , then would certainly recommend to everyone.
This end-terraced cottage is set on the edge of Harlech and sleeps two people. Delfod is a stone built, end-terraced cottage set on the edge of Harlech in North Wales. This cottage sleeps two people in one king-size double, which can be made into a twin on request, as well as a shower room. The cottage also has a …
Beautifully presented cottage , really comfy.
Left on Nov 02, 2012 for a stay in August 2012
This is a lovely cottage. It was well presented with a cosy living room and well appointed kitchen. The bathroom was great and the bed was really comfy with lovely views of the valley. We were really pleased we had booked it , it made our holiday.
It was a few minutes walk from Harlech ..very friendly people and delicious ice cream place. Also close to Portmeiron and the Blaenau Ffestiniog …
$70
This delightful mid-terrace cottage sits in a stunning position, yards from the beach in the village of Borth, Mid Wales, and sleeps six people in three bedrooms. Trysor Y Mor is a charming mid-terrace cottage set in a wonderful location just moments from Borth Beach. With three bedrooms including one ground floor …
$58
This cosy, semi-detached cottage a short walk from the centre of Dolgellau in North Wales can sleep three people in one bedroom. Spring Cottage is a homely, semi-detached cottage situated on the outskirts of Dolgellau in north Wales. The cottage is set mostly on the ground floor with a double bed with a single bunk …
$102
This well-presented detached cottage, less than two miles from Harlech in Snowdonia, sleeps ten people in four bedrooms. Is Y Deri is a welcoming, detached cottage, located less than two miles from Harlech in the Snowdonia National Park. With four bedrooms, two doubles, one twin and one family room with two singles …
Fantastic cottage getaway!
Left on May 05, 2014 for a stay in May 2014
This is a fantastically renovated and spacious cottage in an idilic location just outside of Harlech. The place was very clean and well equipped, and although we only spoke over the phone, the property owner was friendly and helpful.
The local village of Harlech is brilliant, with a very cheery community and plenty of cafes and restaurants to choose from for a lunchtime snack or evening meal. …
Sleeping six people in three bedrooms, this detached stone property is set in a courtyard on the edge of Abergynolwyn village in the Snowdonia National Park. Hendre House Barn is a stone built holiday cottage on the edge of Abergynolwyn in the Snowdonia National Park. The cottage has a master double, accessed by a …
totally relaxing.
Left on Nov 02, 2012 for a stay in August 2012
This holiday home is fabulous. Fully equipt in a peacefull setting. The owners have thought of everything even a mobile phone in case you lost signal with your own provider. ideal for the larger family or for two families to share.
The local pub the railway is excellent but book early if you want to eat in the restaurante.
$133
Sleeping eight people in four bedrooms, this lovely 17th century mill is in Talybont in the Snowdonia National Park. The Old Mill is a detached 17th century property within a small family-run holiday site in popular coastal Talybont, 20 minutes walk from an award-winning beach. This lovely property has two king-size …
romantic ,picture like and inside well refurbished cottage
Left on Oct 31, 2012 for a stay in July 2012
Well explained,there is no problem to find the location ,nor getting contact with the owner,who is not only proprietor of this jewel,but
also of mobilhomes in the surroundings.Talybont has a lot of them,
too much for some people,as you will find also in Cornwall and other
touristical regions.
We were amazed by the tale like outward appearance of the mill as well
as the adult garden ,planted …
$170
This stunning chapel conversion is located in the North Wales village of Abergynolwyn and can sleep ten people in three bedrooms. Jerusalem Vestry is a wonderful chapel conversion cottage in the village of Abergynolwyn in the Snowdonia National Park. The cottage sleeps ten people and has three bedrooms, three …
$126
This fabulous, detached cottage on the outskirts of Harlech can sleep up to ten people in five bedrooms. Cefnfor Awel is a wonderful, detached cottage located close to the beach and the Royal St Davids Golf Club on the outskirts of Harlech. The cottage offers five bedrooms, including two king-size double rooms with …
$66
This attractive, two bedroom property is able to sleep up to four people and is set on the outskirts of the seaside village of Llandanwg. This stone built, semi-detached barn conversion is situated amidst 40 acres of livestock grassland with views across the Moelfre Mountain. Located on the outskirts of the seaside …
A truly enjoyable pleasent little cottage
Left on May 12, 2010 for a stay in March 2010
We thought this cottage was truly beautiful and quaint. The location was ideal for what we wanted. Service was excellent, owners were extremley friendly and helpful.
Cottage was fitted with everything we required and aided us in having a fantastic first family holiday in Wales.
We have recommended this to our freinds and are considering returning next year.
$60
This semi-detached, stone-built cottage is situated in a rural area, just two miles from the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy and four miles from Harlech and sleeps four people in four bedrooms. Caerffynnon is a stone-built, semi-detached cottage set two miles from the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy and close to Harlechand …
Peaceful and welcoming
Left on Jul 12, 2013 for a stay in July 2013
We stayed here as a base for exploring the castles of North Wales. It was a bit of a last minute booking, but everything was sorted very quickly. The cottage was in a fabulous location surrounded by hills and sheep and was very comfortable and clean. We were made very welcome by the owners, with Mrs Jones baking us an absolutely delicious cake!
$60
This semi-detached cottage is located close to the hamlet of Arthog near to Fairbourne in the Snowdonia National Park and can sleep up to five people. Gefnir Isaf Cottage is a semi-detached cottage adjoining the owner's 18th century house, one mile from the hamlet of Arthog in the foothills of the Cader Idris …
PreviousNext property
$223 / night
$223
Granary Cottage offers an open-plan lounge with a leather corner suite, log-burning stove, and French doors leading onto private decking with views of a stunning mountain range. We provide basic Sky™ TV and a DVD player for your entertainment.
The kitchen and dining area follow on to a modern, contemporary-style …
$160
This detached farmhouse can sleep ten people in six bedrooms and is set close to the beach between the resorts of Harlech and Barmouth in North Wales. Tyddyn Goronwy is a stone-built country farmhouse with sea and mountain views in the coastal village of Talybont between Barmouth and Harlech in North Wales. The …
Great family holiday
Left on May 05, 2011 for a stay in March 2011
This was our first holiday together as grown up siblings and the house enabled us to have a wonderful time whilst the luxury of escaping to our own space if we needed it. The house is beautiful and has been renovated to a very high standard with amazing bathrooms, décor and a homely feel. It was brilliant that fuel and heating was included, although we had a lovely sunny week in March. The …
$102
This detached cottage is set close to the beach on the outskirts of the village of Llwyngwril and sleeps eight people in four bedrooms. Bron Danw is a delightful detached cottage situated on the edge of the village of Llwyngwril. This cottage sleeps eight people in four bedrooms, consisting of three doubles and one …
Comfortable and spacious holiday cottage with sea views
Left on Jul 28, 2013 for a stay in July 2013
Bron Danw fulfils the main requirements for a summer holiday cottage being clean with comfortable beds, adequate bathrooms and in a good location. The description on Sykes website was accurate but I hope to add to that with my personal experience. The kitchen was quite large but was somewhat overwhelmed by a large table and a solid fuel stove which was no longer in use but presented a physical …
$55
Sleeping five people in two bedrooms, this semi-detached cottage is next to the owners' home on the edge of Tal-y-Llyn lake in North Wales. The Granary is a semi-detached cottage in a courtyard next to the owners' home a few minute's walk from the shores of Tal-y-Llyn Lake. There is a king-size double bedroom with an…
This spectacular country retreat in Llanelltyd, Snowdonia, sleeps sixteen people in eight bedrooms. Tan Llan is a very special, sought-after retreat, set in substantial grounds in the small village of Llanelltyd near Dolgellau, in the Snowdonia National Park. Tan Llan consists of a spacious, three-storey country …
$144 / night
$144
This large detached Victorian house in Ganllwyd sits within the Coed-y-Brenin Forest Park, and can sleep up to twelve people in five bedrooms. Bryn Cemlyn is a large Victorian house overlooking the River Mawddach, and the forest land beyond. There are five bedrooms in this spacious property - on the second floor is a…
Converted from a single storey barn, this property offers comfortable, open-plan living and two bedrooms, able to sleep four people. This lovely semi-detached cottage just two and a half miles from the market town of Dolgellau is set in a wonderful tranquil location on the lower slopes of Cader Idris. The cottage is …
Wonderful Views
Left on Dec 18, 2009 for a stay in July 2009
We received a friendly, warm welcome from the owner, who also lived nearby & was available if we required anything during our stay.
The cottage was compact, clean with a well stocked kitchen.
The location was fabulous with great views of the mountains. There were a number of interesting walks, starting right on the doorstep. The town of Dolgellau was lovely with everything we required, but a car …
This terraced cottage is located in Dolgellau in North Wales and sleeps two people in one bedroom. Ty Cosy is a terraced cottage located in Dolgellau in North Wales, sleeping two people in one double bedroom with en-suite shower, basin and WC. The open plan living area contains a kitchen, dining area and sitting area…
This 17th century old dairy is situated close to the hamlet of Arthog, near Fairbourne and can sleep two people in one bedroom. The Old Dairy is a 17th century old dairy, successfully converted into a charming, stone-built holiday cottage, situated one mile from the hamlet of Arthog, near Fairbourne, and close to the…
Pure relaxation
Left on Nov 01, 2014 for a stay in October 2014
We booked the cottage at short notice because we couldn't fly abroad due to me having minor operation on my foot. We wanted somewhere quiet and relaxing but with a nice view as I knew I wouldn't be able to walk much and wanted somewhere we could sit and enjoy the scenery. This cottage was ideal as we had lovely views down to the estuary at Fairbourne and into Cardigan Bay. There was outdoor …
$106
This detached, Edwardian property situated in the village of Llanaber sleeps eight people in four bedrooms. Bryn Eglwys is an impressive, detached, Edwardian property, located in the small coastal village of Llanaber, ideally positioned between Barmouth and the World Heritage Site of Harlech. This cottage sleeps …
PreviousNext property
$59 / night
$59
A real Norwegian log cabin set in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales.
Part of a quiet holiday village, this cabin has stunning views of the Rhinog mountains and Cadair Idrs (cloud cover permitting).
The cabin is just off the A470 between Trawsfynydd and Dolgellau which puts it in the ideal spot …
$66
With three bedrooms, this cottage is able to sleep six people and comes with a lovely garden for summer ball games and al fresco dining and wonderful views across the bay. Set in an elevated position on the edge of the village of Llanfair this semi detached bungalow offers wonderful panoramic views of Shell Island …
$103
This lovely lodge in Aberdovey sleeps up to eight in four bedrooms. Pentref is a great holiday lodge in Aberdovey. With four bedrooms, two double, a twin and a bunk bedroom, it sleeps up to eight. All ground floor, this property also has an open plan living area, a bathroom and a separate shower room. Outside there …
Ysgubor is a pretty farmhouse extended to create a light and spacious property with many original features including oak beams and doors, exposed stone walls, slate flagged floors, and an inglenook fireplace. Located on a 500-acre organic farm two miles from the village of Dinas Mawddwy, Ysgubor blends 17th century …
Value for money in the Welsh countryside
Left on Oct 27, 2011 for a stay in August 2011
Friendly greeting from Farmer's wife next door. Property was ideal for large family group (3 generations from teenage to 60s). Lots of bathrooms and different areas. Very popular was the hot tub and games room. Farmer drove us up the local Mountain and we walked back down. It may be too remote for some but was ideal for us
This terraced cottage is set in the seaside resort of Barmouth and sleeps seven people in four bedrooms. Maxwell's House is a terraced townhouse in the centre of the Welsh seaside resort of Barmouth. This cottage is set over three floors and sleeps seven people in four bedrooms, consisting of one second floor king-…
Clean & comfortable accomodation
Left on Dec 10, 2012 for a stay in September 2012
This house was lovely it was close to the beach in fact it wasnt far from anything local. It was clean and very well equiped Barmouth is a lovely resort and handy for exploring further afield. We are hoping to return very soon
$59
This terraced cottage is located in the seaside town of Aberdovey and can sleep four people in two bedrooms. Ty Gwyn is a terraced cottage close to the centre of the seaside village of Aberdovey in Mid Wales. The cottage sleeps four people and has one double bedroom, one twin room and a shower room. On the ground …
$126
Indulge in the charm & beauty of this 18th century stone cottage. Recently renovated to a high standard this tranquil retreat can comfortably accommodate up to 7 people. A tasteful blend of antique and contemporary furnishings ensures the visitor a comfortable stay.
Farchynys Fach is an ideal base from which to …
Excellent - We didn't want to leave!
Left on Jun 08, 2014 for a stay in May 2014
Beautiful, tranquil setting with an excellent ambiance and convenient for beaches at Barmouth and access to the mountains. The cottage itself is really well equipped and suitable for all ages. It really is a 'home from home'. This is our second visit. We love this cottage and will definitely be back again next year.
$111
Relaxing on a timber balcony high in the trees, above fields, watching sailing boats on the estuary, beyond which lies the sea fringed by hills and mountains. Include the sun setting over this scene, some bird song, and maybe a glass of something to hand…… this could be a description of your stay at Tree Tops, a …
Cosy retreat for two
Left on Jun 21, 2011 for a stay in September 2010
Greeted on arrival by a warm reception from the owners, I appreciated the nice touches like fresh cut flowers in a jug on the kitchen window ledge when we arrived. Owners very helpful if you want to know anything about the area but also happy to leave you alone if you just wanted a bit of solitude.
The accomodation was clean, cosy and well equiped, a good use of space gives a compact but not …
$68
This detached farmhouse is located in the coastal village of Dyffryn Ardudwy close to Harlech in North Wales and can sleep six people in three bedrooms. Ty Cerrig is a stone built, detached farmhouse close to the historic town of Harlech in the small Snowdonia village of Dyffryn Ardudwy. Boasting two double bedrooms …
$290
Penbryn Mynach is in the town of Barmouth in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. It is peacefully situated within a short walk of Barmouth town’s bustling shops, restaurants, pubs, old harbour and seaside attractions, including a glorious sweep of golden sandy beach. Easy access to local hill walks.
Penbryn …
The perfect base for all types of holiday activity.
Left on Oct 13, 2013 for a stay in September 2013
The owner, Robert Pullan, was friendly and interested from the beginning. We were a family group of 3 generations - we found that our every need was catered for. The fixtures and fittings were to a very high standard in every room, the kitchen especially noteworthy. There is so much space that even though there were 9 of us, we were never in each other's way. The younger generation loved the …
$61
This single-storey cottage in Fairbourne sleeps five people in three bedrooms. Seagulls is a single-storey pet-friendly cottage by the beach in the centre of Fairbourne. The property has a king-size double with an en-suite shower room, a twin room with 2' 6" beds, and a single room. There is also a family bathroom, a…
Home from home and very clean and convenient
Left on Aug 19, 2014 for a stay in July 2014
This house was spacious, well equipped and very clean. Its position so close to the sea was superb and we found everything we needed in working order. The back yard was useful for eating in on summer evenings and we were able to install our swingball and keep the car there. Also hang out wet swimwear. The owner and caretaker were lovely and very helpful. Some repairs needed to outside steps, gate…
$102
A four bedroom farmhouse on a rural smallholding, this property sleeps up to eight people and is 3.5 miles from the popular coastal town of Harlech. This lovely detached farmhouse in North Wales is on a seven acre smallholding in the hamlet of Eisingrug, 3.5 miles from Harlech. The location of this cottage, on a …
Excellent accomodation
Left on Sep 23, 2010 for a stay in July 2010
The cottage has recently been renovated to a high standard.
and is well equipped with all the requirements for a pleasant stay.
The kitchen is large and spacious and there are 4 bedrooms with two bathrooms and a downstairs. toilet
There is a very pleasant stream at side of house which does require attention with young children.
The access to the cottage is not complicated but the drive up the …
This quality detached cottage in Llanbedr sleeps six people in three bedrooms. Tre Coed is a quality detached cottage in Llanbedr. It has a double room with TV and en-suite, a twin room with TV and a ground floor double with TV, en-suite and access to outside sitting area. There is a family bathroom on the ground …
$63
This 18th century stone built cottage is located in the village of Fairbourne close to Barmouth on the west coast of Wales and can sleep five people in three bedrooms. Railway Cottage is an 18th century stone-built, mid-terraced cottage on the edge of the seaside village of Fairbourne between the Cambrian Mountains …
A very enjoyable week
Left on Dec 06, 2012 for a stay in September 2012
We arrived to find a beautiful well decorated cottage with nice gardens front and back. The cottage was very spacious, very well fitted out with everything you would need to make the stay comfortable. We was welcomed with a supply of tea, coffee, sugar and bread and a nice bottle of wine. The bed linen and towels were of good quality and clean. We were located very near the railway station so if …
PreviousNext property
$329 / night
$329
Cyplau is a traditional 18th century granite and slate cottage clad in honeysuckle. Two gamekeepers' cottages were converted into a cosy, warm, welcoming property during the 1960s, hence the name Cyplau (pronounced cup-lie) which is Welsh for coupled.
Backed by ancient woodland, nature provides many delights; …
PreviousNext property
$104 / night
$104
This traditional end-terrace cottage is situated in a quiet residential area near to the centre of Barmouth and promenade, and is only a couple of mins walk to a beautiful sandy beach. This spacious Barmouth cottage has been renovated by the owners to provide well-equipped, comfortable accommodation, with lovely hill…
$307
This detached Edwardian manor house is located in the village of Llanbedr in North Wales and can sleep fourteen people in six bedrooms. Plas Gwynfryn is a detached Edwardian manor house on the edge of the North Wales village of Llanbedr near to Harlech. The property sleeps fourteen people and has six bedrooms (four …
$68
Brynteg sits within the lovely village of Llwyngwril in the Snowdonia National Park. This dormer bungalow sleeps six and has three bedrooms and is near to village amenities and the beach. Situated in the pretty village of Llwyngwril within the Snowdonia National Park is Brynteg. This welcoming dormer bungalow is …
Llwyngwril
Left on Aug 18, 2014 for a stay in August 2014
Bungalow with car parking driveway, situated on sparsely frequented main road between Fairbourne and Twyn and ideally placed for accessing scenic tourist spots surrounding the Cader Idris massif. Good views of the Irish Sea and the Lleyn Peninsula. Only five minutes walk to local pebble peach where sea otters and porpoises may be seen in the spring and summer of the year. Pleasant neighbours abut…
This stunning chapel conversion is located in the North Wales village of Abergynolwyn and can sleep twelve people in four bedrooms. Capel Jerusalem is a wonderful chapel conversion cottage in the village of Abergynolwyn in the Snowdonia National Park. The cottage sleeps twelve people and has four bedrooms with en-…
$125
This delightful, detached cottage is situated in Fairbourne in North Wales and can sleep ten people in five bedrooms. Awelfor is an attractive, upside down, detached cottage set in a coastal location in Fairbourne, North Wales and benefits from beautiful sea and mountain views. The cottage can sleep ten people in …
Fantastic
Left on Aug 17, 2014 for a stay in August 2014
Couldn't fault this property, it was a brilliant place to spend time and very well-equipped, we didn't want for anything. Neighbours friendly and helpful, local shops good too, especially the bar at the amusement arcade and the chippy, brilliant time had by all!
About Us
Love for FlipKey
As featured in USA TODAY and recommended by Travel + Leisure in its annual Villa Guide:
FlipKey Elsewhere
New to FlipKey?
FlipKey is a vacation rental marketplace with more than 300,000 rentals around the world. Find the perfect place to stay for your trip, and get great value along with the space, privacy and amenities of home. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Letter: Transparency more like an invasion
Letter: Transparency more like an invasion
The Advocate’s editorial of April 17 proposing the names of persons applying for a concealed carry permit be made public in the name of transparency is unwarranted, dangerous and infringes on the public’s expected privacy.
You make a weak case for transparency to keep the law enforcement agencies diligence at the expected privacy detriment of the average citizen. Do your job and suggest other means to keep the law enforcement agencies diligent. You present no other reasons for making these names public. You make no case for why these names should be made public to the media or anyone.
Making public the list of persons applying for concealed carry permits is just the first step toward gun registration, and then gun confiscation. If persons carrying concealed weapons wanted that fact known, they would strap them on their hips. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Scotsman (Football): Ronny Deila delighted to be a step closer to treble
Ronny Deila’s first Old Firm match ended in straightforward victory for his side over Rangers but, while expressing delight at the outcome, the Celtic manager warned of tougher tests to come in the pursuit of the treble. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Calif. man will lead Farm Service Agency
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named a California man to lead the Farm Service Agency.
By Jerry Hagstrom
For the Capital Press
Published on August 26, 2014 10:29AM
Last changed on August 26, 2014 10:34AM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named Val Dolcini the new administrator of the Farm Service Agency, the division of USDA that distributes farm subsidies and disaster payments.
Dolcini, who has been the California state executive director since 2009, succeeds Juan Garcia, who retired. It will be Dolcini’s responsibility to implement the 2014 farm bill’s new commodity program that involves individual farmers’ choice between the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) programs and coordinating their interaction with the crop insurance program. He will also be in charge of the Agriculture Department’s disaster programs.
Vilsack announced Dolcini’s appointment in a memo to staff Aug. 22, and it is on a permanent rather than acting basis, a spokesman said. The appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, will take effect on Sept. 8.
Vilsack also said that in California, Dolcini will be succeeded by Oscar Gonzales Jr., who has been serving as Vilsack’s deputy chief of staff.
Dolcini joined the Obama administration from the private sector, but he also served as California FSA executive director for two years during the Clinton administration. He served as FSA acting administrator for three months in 2011.
From 2005 until he joined the Obama administration, Dolcini managed all government relations in the western United States for Accenture LLP. Before then, he served as the policy director for California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat. His responsibilities for Bustamante included agriculture, rural development, and business issues.
From October 2003 to October 2004, Dolcini was vice president of the California constituent relations office for ACS State and Local Solutions.
He has served in staff positions for California members of the House of Representatives.
Dolcini is a fifth-generation Californian with deep roots in Yolo County. He has also served as chairman of the Yolo Basin Foundation and as the chairman of the Sutter Davis Hospital Foundation Board.
He received a bachelor of arts degree from San Francisco State University in 1985 and a law degree from Golden Gate University in 1993.
Gonzales served as deputy assistant secretary for administration at USDA before going to work as Vilsack’s deputy chief of staff.
He joined USDA in June 2009 as the deputy director of intergovernmental relations and later became acting deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations.
Gonzales served as deputy appointment secretary to former California Gov. Gray Davis, and also worked as a field representative to former California Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa.
His organizing work began in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992 and at the time Clinton launched the AmeriCorps program. During this time, he worked for the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Corporation for National Service as a program and training officer.
Before joining the Obama administration, Gonzales served as associate director of the United Farm Workers Foundation, where he helped advance the rights of farm workers and the need for immigration reform. He also served as the California director for the National Hispanic Environmental Council, where he worked on federal legislation to protect California’s wilderness and wild rivers systems.
Gonzales was born and raised in East Los Angeles, Calif. He earned an associate of arts degree from East Los Angeles College and went on to earn a bachelor of arts in political science at the University of California, San Diego. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
This was too binding. Came out in a tough rubbery rope. Might need to drink a ton more water if you choose this one. I still like Now Food Psyllium Husk powder the best which is gentle in my system and produces good results. I have tried three brands now I am returning to the Now Foods Brand. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Just another week of the “new normal”. Celebratory talk of “helicopter money,” a melt-up in stocks, another terrorist attack in France and a coup attempt in Turkey. Let’s start with Japan, with the preface that “Bubbles Go to Unimaginable Extremes – and Then Double!” and “Things Get Crazy Near the End – During ‘Terminal Phase’ Excesses.”
July 12 – Bloomberg (Emi Nobuhiro and Yoshiaki Nohara): “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke at a meeting in Tokyo he wants to speed up the nation’s exit from deflation, underscoring his commitment to implementing fresh economic stimulus. ‘We are only halfway to the exit from deflation,’ Abe said at the start of the meeting… ‘We want to be steadfast in accelerating our breakaway from deflation.’ Abe’s remarks at the meeting, also attended by the Ministry of Finance’s top currency official Masatsugu Asakawa and adviser Koichi Hamada, came before he ordered Economy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara to compile stimulus measures this month.”
As global markets celebrate Japan’s reckless move to further ramp up fiscal and monetary stimulus, it’s important to place things into a little perspective. Japan has been sporadically ramping up stimulus for more than 25 years. Federal government debt to GDP was about 65% back when the Japanese Bubble burst in 1990. Massive fiscal stimulus saw debt to GDP surge to 140% by the end of the nineties. By 2009, ongoing aggressive deficit spending pushed the ratio through 200%. It's now almost reached 250%. Meanwhile, expanding $1.0 TN annually, the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) balance sheet is rapidly approaching 100% of GDP. BOJ assets hovered between 30% and 40% of GDP in the ten-year period through 2012.
Prime Minister Abe must be an eternal optimist if he actually believes Japan is “halfway to the exit from deflation.” The Japanese government this week sharply lowered their fiscal 2017 CPI forecast to 0.4%. After three years of (egregious) “shock and awe” fiscal and monetary stimulus, CPI is now running below the 2013 level. And in the face of massive stimulus, the Japanese economy is forecast to expand less than 1% this year. It’s Scary Time.
Abe seeks “to be steadfast in accelerating our breakaway from deflation.” In reality, Japan is trapped in destructive runaway monetary inflation. And that’s the age old dilemma with inflation: once commenced it becomes almost impossible to rein in. Japan also highlights the problem of discretionary central banking: mistakes are invariably followed with only greater blunders. In Japan and throughout the world, there is today no turning back from the massive inflation in central bank Credit and government borrowings. It may be fallacious, ineffective and frighteningly self-destructive, but there’s no dissuading global central bankers from even more destabilizing monetary inflation and monetization.
Global markets were giddy with anticipation of additional Japanese stimulus. Ben Bernanke traveling to meetings in Japan surely signaled “helicopter money” in the offing. These days I often feel as if I’m living in a different world. I see Dr. Bernanke as the champion of deeply flawed – and failing – inflationist doctrine. It’s just hard to believe at this point that Japanese leadership doesn’t recognize that Bernanke’s experiment is failing and that they should seek guidance elsewhere. And, at this point, it’s remarkable that markets can get excited about yet another round of Japanese stimulus. Squeeze the shorts…
It’s worth nothing that first quarter U.S. stock buybacks jumped to $166.3 billion (from Factset), up 15.1% from Q1 2016. This was the second largest quarter of buybacks ever and the strongest since record Q3 2007 ($178.5bn). Forty-one S&P500 companies had repurchases exceeding $1.0 billion during the period. Stock buybacks have provided key market support in a backdrop of mutual fund outflows. That companies have a penchant for purchasing their shares when the markets come under pressure provides a critical backstop, both from liquidity and market psychology standpoints.
Returning to unfolding Asian train wrecks, Japan and China are increasingly open adversaries yet they do share a common hope for inflating out of debt problems. From financial, economic and geopolitical points of view, it’s alarming to watch both Chinese and Japanese finance in full self-destruction mode.
Chinese finance is anything but stable, with its unwieldy Credit boom running hot in June. Beating forecasts by about 60%, Total Social Financing expanded $244 billion for the month. This was up from May’s $102 billion to the strongest pace of system Credit expansion since a huge March ($370bn). A strong June put first-half Chinese Credit growth at about $1.5 TN, a sufficient sum to sustain the Bubble. Credit expanded at an almost 15% annualized rate during the first half, more than double the stated pace of economic expansion.
It’s worth noting that June’s big Credit push was primarily in bank lending. Bank loans surged $206 billion during the month, more than double May and almost equal to March’s lending bonanza. A resurgent real estate Bubble now drives bank lending. According to Bloomberg, June new home (apartment) sales were up 22% y-o-y to $150 billion. And from the WSJ: “Property sales in 2016 have jumped by up to 50% year on year in top markets.” “Terminal Phase”…
July 15 – Reuters: “Government spending in China jumped 19.9% in June from a year earlier, while revenue rose 1.7%, the Ministry of Finance said… Government spending in the first half of the year was up 15.1% from a year ago, while revenues rose 7.1%.”
Both Chinese and Japanese policymakers had intended to rein in financial excess. The Chinese government moved to (too cautiously) reign in Credit growth. The Japanese government had pronounced their plan to impose fiscal restrain in what was sold (in 2012/13) as a temporary boost in deficit spending. Both have inflated major Bubbles and both have now clearly capitulated: massive and persistent monetary inflation as far as the eye can see, and global securities markets are overjoyed.
That Abe and Kuroda essentially see no constraints on deficits and monetization hammered the Japanese currency. For the week, the yen dropped 4.3%, the “Biggest Weekly Drop Since 1999”. Stocks took flight. The Nikkei 225 index jumped 9.2%, amazing yet not even close to keeping up with the TOPIX Banks Index that surged a remarkable 17.7%.
Stimulus developments in Japan and a sinking yen provided a powerful boost to global “risk on.” A worldwide short squeeze was especially conspicuous in Europe. Italian banks jumped 10.9%, while Europe’s STOXX 600 bank index surged 6.7%. Major equities indexes rallied 4.5% in Germany, 4.3% in France and 4.2% in Spain and Italy.
Rallying global equities stoked an already powerful short squeeze in the U.S. market. The banks (BKX) surged 4.3%, the broker/dealers (XBD) 4.0% and the Transports 3.9%. The S&P500 gained 1.5% to a new record high.
The currency market remains acutely unstable. The British pound rallied 1.8% this week. Most EM currencies posted gains, except for the late Friday sell-off that left the Turkish lira down 4.3% for the week.
Watching an unfolding coup and attendant chaos live on television is a writing distraction, to say the least. Turkey, a country of 80 million and NATO ally, is at the epicenter of geopolitical dynamite. At this writing, the coup appears to have failed. Yet Friday’s developments will surely exacerbate instability that has been festering badly for some time. The Erdogan government will turn only more autocratic, and a highly polarized society will become only more fractured. Coming just a few weeks after Brexit, mayhem in Turkey is yet another troubling reminder of the rapidity and extent of geopolitical deterioration on a global basis.
Turkey is also today emblematic of the wide chasm that has developed between inflating securities markets and deflating economic prospects. Turkish stocks have been among the top performing markets globally, ending the week with 15.5% y-t-d gains. Running large current account deficits (4.5% of GDP) and having accumulated significant international debt (much denominated in U.S. dollars), Turkey has been on my list of countries at high risk of financial and economic crisis. The country is now on the downside of what was a significant Credit boom, which surely helps explain at least of some of the increasingly problematic social tension and political instability.
The Latest COT Report And How The Turkish Coup Attempt Will Affect Gold
by: Hebba Investments.
Summary
- Gold jumped Friday afternoon when the Turkish coup hit the news wires.- While this short-term boost was good for gold longs, it looks like Erdogan regained control of Turkey.- We expect Turkish political stability to be maintained moving forward and the Turkish Lira and stock market to recover its losses.- Any risk premium for gold due to these events should be lost, and we worry about gold's short-term fundamentals as physical demand is really poor.
The late Friday Turkish coup attempt (which was conveniently after US markets closed) is probably the foremost thing on gold investors' minds so we will have to cover it in this analysis. But first we will go over the latest Commitment of Traders report (COT), where we saw record-breaking gold positions drop for the first week in a month. Silver actually diverged a little from gold as speculators increased their own positions, which also probably was reflected in the prices as silver was much stronger for the week than gold.
We will get a little more into some of these details but before that let us give investors a quick overview into the COT report for those who are not familiar with it.
About the COT Report
The COT report is issued by the CFTC every Friday, to provide market participants a breakdown of each Tuesday's open interest for markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC. In plain English, this is a report that shows what positions major traders are taking in a number of financial and commodity markets.Though there is never one report or tool that can give you certainty about where prices are headed in the future, the COT report does allow the small investors a way to see what larger traders are doing and to possibly position their positions accordingly. For example, if there is a large managed money short interest in gold, that is often an indicator that a rally may be coming because the market is overly pessimistic and saturated with shorts - so you may want to take a long position.The big disadvantage to the COT report is that it is issued on Friday but only contains Tuesday's data - so there is a three day lag between the report and the actual positioning of traders. This is an eternity by short-term investing standards, and by the time the new report is issued it has already missed a large amount of trading activity.There are many different ways to read the COT report, and there are many analysts that focus specifically on this report (we are not one of them) so we won't claim to be the exports on it.What we focus on in this report is the "Managed Money" positions and total open interest as it gives us an idea of how much interest there is in the gold market and how the short-term players are positioned.
This Week's Gold COT Report
This week's report showed speculative gold longs decreased their positions for the first time in more than a month, while shorts increased their own positions for the third week in a row.
As investors can see, after five weeks of speculative long position increases, we finally saw these longs take some profits their positions. That might have also encouraged shorts to increase their own positions by a mediocre 3,740 contracts.Looking back at the last major gold peak in 2011, the actual peak in gold occurred around a month after the net speculative long peak occurred.
As shown in the table above, gold's previous cyclical speculative net long peak was hit on the week of 8/2/2011, when the net long position reached around 253,000 contracts and the gold price was $1637.75 per ounce. If you had used that data to wait for a pullback (or worse get short), you would have seen gold rise for another month to a high of $1895 per ounce - not a very fun position to be in.
The red-line represents the net speculative gold positions of money managers (the biggest category of speculative trader), and as investors can see, speculative traders have taken a break from their parabolic rise and sit at a net long position of 272,000 contracts.As for silver, the action week's action looked like the following:
The red line which represents the net speculative positions of money managers, increased by a little more than 2,000 contracts while shorts decreased by a similar 2,000 contracts. This is a bit of a divergence from gold as speculative silver positions increased compared to a decent decrease in gold speculators. This may tell us that investors are expecting the silver-gold ratio to decrease further and it certainly explains why silver outperformed gold on the week.
The Implications of the Failed Turkish Coup Attempt on Gold
It is time to deal with the biggest event of the week, the failed Turkish coup attempt. While this news is obviously live and could change in the next few days, it looks like for now the situation has calmed down a bit as Turkish President Erdogan returned to the country and declared the coup over. Additionally, it looks like he has commenced the hunt for sympathetic elements of the military and judiciary - these folks probably will not be receiving much in the way of mercy from Mr. Erdogan.While Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gullen, a US-based Turkish dissident cleric, of being involved in the coup (which he has denied), we haven't seen a lot of evidence of who was really involved. Regardless, we think as long as it is an internal Turkish dispute between these two parties and does not involve any other outside nations (which seems a bit clearer now), this dispute itself will not have much in the way of gold implications.What we are watching in terms of consequences for the gold price are the following:
The effect on the Turkish Lira
Will Turkey's political stability be maintained
As soon as the coup made the news wires on Friday afternoon, the Turkish Lira plummeted into the markets close. Gold as a store of value would obviously benefit if the Lira collapsed further as the Turkish affinity for gold would only increase physical imports. While we expect Turkish gold imports to probably increase over the next few weeks or months, we don't expect a complete Turksih gold rush as the coup did not succeed or turn into a civil war and it looks like Erdogan is going to severely crackdown on dissidents and prevent any further chaos.In terms of political stability, it looks like there was little in the way of public support for the coup attempt, and in fact, it looks like much of the Turkish public actually supported Erdogan and actively resisted the coup. Unlike the coup in Egypt, Erdogan seems to have much greater support from the public and this should give him reason to crack down further on Turkish dissidents. Ultimately, right or wrong, this will probably lead to a bit more stability in the country moving forward in a dictatorial fashion.Thus we expect this to result in the Turkish Lira regaining a bit of what it lost on Friday afternoon. Additionally, short-term traders may want to take a flier on some of the Turkish market ETF's if they show weakness on Monday as we expect things to return to relative normality.All of this means that any risk premium that was built into the gold price on Friday afternoon (gold surged $10 in a matter of minutes) is probably not justified, at least at this point. If there are no extraordinary events, we expect gold to give back those gains as trading started next week. Of course, that call would completely change if (1) a foreign sovereign nation is found to be involved (think Russia), or (2) if the coup or crackdown results in violent backlash that could possibly suggest a civil war. Ultimately it comes down to Turkish political stability, if that stability is not maintained, then there are significant implications to the region's stability, European stability (think what would happen to immigration if Turkey fell into chaos), and of course, the gold price will reflect that.
Our Take and What This Means For Investors
If the coup had succeeded or thrown the country into civil war, then we would be buying gold hand over fist as these implications would have much greater global consequences than a mere $10 rise in the gold price. But the coup failed rather quickly and it looks like it may result in further crack-downs on dissent in the country, so ultimately it shouldn't have a real effect on the gold price other than causing gold to give back some of its Friday after-hours gains.In terms of the COT report, while gold speculators decreased their net long position, we are still at historical highs. Of course, highs can always become higher, to justify that we would need to see strong evidence that gold could be propelled further. While there are some major catalysts that can do that (this is why we believe in gold as a long-term investment), there are many short-term catalysts that should cause investors to think long and hard about increasing positions after gold's spectacular 2016 run.Bron Suchecki of Monetary Metals did an excellent job outlining a few of them in his recent article Yin and Yang:
So how to navigate this new terrain? While one can never avoid subjective interpretation, we feel it helps to take one's bearings from the reality of market prices and in particular, spreads. Therefore it is with interest that I read the following from Reuters:
Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $100 per ounce to the global spot benchmark
Prices in China were seen at a discount of $1-$2 per ounce
A discount of 50 cents to $1 was being offered in Japan
Hong Kong prices were at a discount of $1 this week
On the flow front, Platts reported Indian "gold bar imports at only around 215 mt so far this year, just under half the 2015 level, many are expecting a much lower total for full-year 2016" and SCMP noted that Chinese "sales of gold jewellery across the sector have slumped 20-40 per cent".
These are the things that worry us in the short-term as gold seems to be driven simply by Western investor ETF demand. This doesn't even include much of the traditional gold buying population as American Gold Eagle sales are down and bullion dealers seem to be well-stocked. This is part of the reason why we believe that despite new historical gold speculator position highs, we haven't seen anything close to the highs gold reached in 2011 when it had both paper demand and physical demand working together to propel it higher.
We know we are going to sound like a broken record here, but we think the logical and disciplined thing for gold and silver investors to do here is take profits and wait for a better re-entry point. Thus investors should be lightening up on gold positions in the ETFs and miners such as the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:GLD), iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV), ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:SGOL), and miners such as Randgold (GOLD) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX).
While we think gold will rise much further in the coming years, now is not the best time to be establishing new positions in gold if you already own a satisfactory core gold portfolio position.
Shares are down by a third, raising doubts over reform and pitting Rome against Brussels
.
In October 2008, in the days after the UK government took over Royal Bank of Scotland, a group of senior managers at Banca Monte dei Paschi stood in the office of David Rossi, then head of communications, and crowed.
The downfall of such an important institution would never happen in Italy, they said. Italian banks were prudent, more conservative than their Anglo-Saxon counterparts. They had avoided subprime mortgage lending and derivatives, the complex finance instruments that ravaged the balance sheets of US and UK lenders. Crucially, Italy’s banks remained rooted in their local communities, giving them balance and ballast. Italians were a population of savers.
The hubris of that peaceful autumn day in the Tuscan hills became clear within months. The events that had brought RBS to its knees soon started to roil Monte Paschi: the Siena bank had picked up an overpriced asset from the break-up of ABN Amro on the cusp of the financial crisis. Monte Paschi’s €9bn cash acquisition of Antonveneta without due diligence was a deal from which the 544-year-old bank never recovered.
Until last month,that is, when the shock of the Brexit vote triggered a sell-off of Italy’s banks. Already vulnerable due to their vast pile of non-performing loans — at €360bn equivalent to a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product — bank shares have lost a third in the past two weeks.
For the government of Matteo Renzi, Italy’s reformist prime minister, it could not come at a worse time. Facing a constitutional referendum in October on which he has risked his political career, Italy’s bank crisis is inflaming popular anger at a sluggish economic recovery after Italy’s deep three-year recession.
The effect threatens not only Mr Renzi but also the wider eurozone. Italy’s fight to save its banks — and Mr Renzi’s fight to save his job — has turned into the latest confrontation between Italy and the EU as the government seeks to avoid nascent bail-in rules which, they argue, would hit tens of thousands of Italian savers invested in the shares and bonds of its banks.
“This [Monte Paschi] was a distressed bank in 2011 [after] Antonveneta was bought at a nonsensical price,” says Francesco Daveri, an economist at the Catholic University of Piacenza. “Now we have a worse problem with the distressed loans having increased dramatically in the recession, and with EU regulations having changed we have fewer options to deal with it.” Alarmingly, senior bankers and investors argue the sell-off in Monte Paschi is not just about bad loans. Its travails pose a broader question of how the Italian establishment has ducked the problem of its own banking system for so long.“Brexit was the spark in a place full of gasoline,” says Luigi Zingales, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at Chicago Booth University School of Business. “The issue is not only non-performing loans. There is a lack of credibility . . . of the Italian banks vis-à-vis the market. You cannot minimise problems for years and then be believed.” One of Italy’s most senior bankers is more blunt: “You think you are kicking the can down the road but suddenly the road turns uphill and the can comes back and hits you in the face,” he says.
Tackling vested interestsIronically Mr Renzi has done more to try to reform Italy’s fragmented lenders than any other leader in the past 20 years. He has gone against vested interests to pass laws that converted mutual banks into joint stock companies, with the intention of forcing consolidation on a banking sector of 600 independent lenders. His government has also sought to tackle the judiciary and drive through laws to speed up civil bankruptcy procedures that have abetted the build-up in bad loans. It takes on average eight years for loans to be recovered.Many in the banking industry fear that the Renzi measures are too little, too late. The system lacks capital partly because non-performing loans sit on Italian banks’ books at 40 cents but are valued on the market at only 20 cents. The Bank of Italy has no official data on the capital shortfall but Goldman Sachs analysts argue that, in their worst case scenario, Italian banks have a gross capital gap of €38bn.
Unfortunately for Mr Renzi the time to take decisive action is running out. The Italian government could have carried out a major recapitalisation between 2008 and 2010, when other banks around Europe and the US were going through a similar process; it could have set up a bad bank in 2012 when the Spanish government did the same, and it had room for other forms of state intervention before the introduction of the EU bank resolution and recovery directive at the end of 2015.The new measures, adopted at the behest of Berlin, severely constrain a eurozone government’s ability to rescue a struggling bank. Designed to prevent politically unpopular taxpayer-funded bailouts from being repeated, it now means no Italian bank can be recapitalised with public money without first forcing huge losses on investors — including, in many cases, retail depositors who were sold billions in questionable bank bond investments. The exposure of retail investors to Italian banks represents a threat to Mr Renzi’s political survival. Between a half and a third of the €60bn of subordinated bonds issued by the banks are in the hands of 60,000 retail investors. They own €5bn of subordinated debt at Monte Paschi alone. Under the new EU banking rules, huge swaths of these investors would lose money — part of the bail-in process — before a single euro of public money could be used to rescue a teetering Italian bank.
Pier Carlo Padoan, the finance minister, insisted on Friday that Italy was “continuing to explore all ways to allow public intervention in the banks within state aid rules . . . to protect savings”.In a country of savers he could say little else. There have already been at least two suicides of retail investors who lost savings. “If we bail in subordinated debt, people will not be able to live,” says a person close to the Renzi government.It is not a view shared by European officials who argue that Mr Renzi’s predecessors signed up to the bail-in rules and failed to take advantage of creating a bad bank before state aid rules changed.“There is a temptation to use poor grandpa and grandma as an excuse to bail out wealthy families and other creditors who don’t actually need protection,” says Nicolas Véron, of think-tank Bruegel. “Given their slow reaction and anti-EU rhetoric, the Italian authorities should not expect huge special favours.”
Birth of the banks
Bankers argue that Italy’s inaction stems in part from the origins of the banks. The first in Italy was a charitable institution created by Franciscan monks when lending was prohibited by the Roman Catholic church. They were social and political, rather than economic, institutions, but have evolved into the country’s linchpin, which makes their failure unthinkable.The most significant owners of Italian sovereign debt, the banks are also the main source of lending to the country’s small and midsized companies which make up 70 per cent of its economy. With their closeness to the community they have also ties with politicians, the Catholic church and the media. Monte Paschi was traditionally the bank of the centre-left Democrats, Mr Renzi’s political party, which has made restructuring it a political nightmare, say bankers.Against this backdrop, talks between Italy and EU officials on a bailout for its weak banks, which passed without success more than a year ago, have stumbled. Bankers say the government is seeking to buy time, arguing that, despite the slide in share prices, the worst — for now — is over, while it continues to argue for invoking a loophole in EU rules to undertake a state-funded recapitalisation and find private funds to buy the worst bad loans.
That was not the case immediately after the Brexit vote, say people familiar with the government’s thinking. One senior banker says Mr Renzi was desperately seeking a white knight buyer for Monte Paschi in the immediate aftermath of the vote.
But the government’s reluctance to act has already alarmed analysts who worry about the effect on investment. Alvaro Serrano and Antonio Reale, analysts at Morgan Stanley, say they are “concerned that a solution that uses public funds might drag on until after the [October] referendum, or even be taken off the table”, amid concerns about how sharing the burden could hit voters in Mr Renzi’s Tuscany.Worse to come
Italy needs to recapitalise more than just Monte Paschi, say bankers. Analysts estimate UniCredit, Italy’s only globally important bank, requires as much as €10bn of capital. Small local banks Cesena and Rimini need hundreds of millions, and it is not clear whether Vicenza and Veneto Banca will need additional capital.
There are concerns that none of them, including UniCredit, will be able to raise those funds. In April Vicenza tried to raise €1.5bn in capital underwritten by UniCredit — and found no buyers. The failure threatened not only Vicenza but also UniCredit itself, forcing Mr Renzi to sponsor a patchwork €4.25bn rescue fund, capitalised by Italy’s banks including Monte Paschi, to buy the Vicenza shares and provide UniCredit with a get-out.
Atlas, the rescue fund, has not just proven too small for the task, but many fear it has made matters worse, tying the fate of some of Italy’s healthier banks to that of the system’s weakest.
Mr Daveri argues that if the government “wants to preserve a fraction of the impetus it has for the reform process” it may be better to make “one bold move that can change the picture”. Calling on the help of the European Stability Mechanism may be a solution to recapitalise and restructure Italy’s banks in one fell swoop, he argues.
If Brexit caused a jolt, European officials say that July 29, when the European Banking Authority publishes its stress tests, will be even more tumultuous. It will be a “point of transparency”, says one European official, and the first major test since October 2014, when nine Italian banks failed. Monte Paschi came bottom then and senior bankers in Milan expect the Italian groups to perform poorly again, revealing significant capital shortfalls. They fear the tests focus on a snapshot of time when Italy had seen the biggest GDP contraction of any major European country and the bank’s non-performing loans were at record highs. Morgan Stanley analysts think Monte Paschi could require €2bn to €6bn of additional capital. Brussels has told Rome it can go ahead with a recap after the stress tests as long as it abides by state aid rules and enforces a minimal bail-in, where some junior creditors take a hit. This lighter model would see junior bonds converted to equity and retail investors compensated for mis-selling. Spain took similar measures during its bank restructuring in 2012, generating €13.6bn in capital through a light bail-in. It came during financial conditions that Brussels regards as more unforgiving than those faced by Italy. Rome is still resisting, however, insisting any form of creditor “burden sharing” is too dangerous to risk.Industry figures argue that the system still has a structural problem even if you take out Italy’s bad loans: it is overbanked and lacks profitability, not only because of the low interest rate environment. The country has more bank branches than pizzerias, according to the Paris-based OECD, leaving them overburdened with costs as well as bad loans. In order to make the banking system fit for purpose, tens of thousands of jobs need to be cut and bank branches need to be closed.“Any aid or injection of capital should come with a restructuring of the system,” says Alberto Gallo of Algebris Investments. Consolidation, he argues, would reduce bank costs and improve the credit channel. “The countries that have escaped the crisis and restructured their balance sheets — the US, Ireland — have drawn a line between good and bad assets. Italy needs to follow them, rather than go the way of Japan and brush it under the carpet,” he says.
BEIJING—China maintained its growth pace of 6.7% in the second quarter—a bad sign to those who were looking for indications of economic restructuring.Economists say a slower growth rate in the second quarter over the first quarter’s 6.7% pace would have sent a welcome signal that China was tackling excess industrial production, rising corporate debt and state-owned enterprise reform.Instead, by ramping up government spending and opening the credit taps, Beijing is likely to fuel overcapacity and see private companies crowded out by risk-averse state banks and bloated state companies.This comes despite repeated calls by Prime Minister Li Keqiang and other senior officials to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and structural reform in order to shift the economy from credit-fueled infrastructure to high-tech industry and services.“It’s a pretty clear picture with the big, overcapacity state-owned enterprises getting credit and reform plans not getting support,” said IG Markets Ltd. analyst Angus Nicholson. “The government talks a good story about helping the private sector, pushing through supply-side reform and lowering investment to state companies, but you’re not actually seeing any of this in the statistics.”
<strong></strong>
<strong></strong>
The state’s heavy hand can be easily observed in the data, economists say. The first and second quarters both saw weak growth during their first two months followed by a rise in credit and spending in the final months of the quarter, which pushed up the growth figure. Total social financing, a broad measure of credit in the economy, more than doubled in June over May and tripled in March over February.As credit has coursed through the economy, most of it has been tapped by the less productive state sector, real-estate speculators and struggling industries at the expense of the entrepreneurs and private companies that leaders have looked to for job creation.While officials have repeatedly called on state banks to lend to promising startups and established private companies, banks tend to favor state-owned companies with their implicit guarantee that Beijing will bail them out if they stumble. “Banks should not discriminate when providing financial services to private companies,” China’s bank regulator said in a statement on its website Friday. Approaching banks for a loan often means navigating much more intense scrutiny than state firms face over credit ratings, loan-guarantee conditions and asset-liability ratios, said Jackie Xiang, a director at International Engineering Group Co. in the city of Jiangyin in eastern China. “Country-financed projects really should be open to capable private companies, not just state-owned companies,” Ms. Xiang said.Even as Beijing touts plans to cut excess steel capacity by around 10% in coming years—amid growing complaints by foreign trading partners that China is selling steel below its cost of production—daily crude-steel output in June set a record. State-owned firms have seen their losses narrow significantly in the first half of this year, according to official data released Thursday, as government stimulus projects ramp up. And property sales in 2016 have jumped by up to 50% year on year in top markets, forcing authorities to impose buying restrictions, even as empty apartment towers ring smaller cities.During the first five months of 2016, large steel mills posted a combined profit of 8.7 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) compared to a loss of 64.5 billion yuan for all of 2015, according to the China Iron & Steel Association.Many economists, including those at the IMF and World Bank, have called on China to drop its obsession with growth targets in order to reduce the amount of artificial economic stimulation, and to focus on reforms toward more meaningful growth and a faster transition from traditional manufacturing and infrastructure.“There’s less rebalancing towards the new economy as it’s propped up by very lax fiscal and, even more so, monetary policy,” said Alicia García-Herrero, leading to “good but cooked” growth figures, she added.With an annual growth target of 6.5% to 7% on the line, Beijing raised its government deficit target to 3% of gross domestic product this year from 2.3% of GDP in 2015, a figure it is likely to overshoot when off-book government spending is included, economists say. Government spending in June rose nearly 20%, the Finance Ministry said Friday, a more than two-percentage-point rise over May levels.While investment by state-owned companies expanded 23.5% year on year and state infrastructure investment jumped 20.9% in the first half of 2016—both a modest increase over first-quarter figures—private investment rose a paltry 2.8% in the first half, a decline from the first quarter’s 5.7% level.“The private sector is really getting crowded out of investment,” IG’s Mr. Nicholson said. “You can’t in a command economy direct the private companies to invest the way you can with state companies.”
The Chilcot report, the product of a British inquiry into the Iraq war, was published last week. It harshly criticized Tony Blair and, by extension, George W. Bush and the United States. Many reading the report—and others before the report was published—concluded that the invasion of Iraq was illegal under international law.
I don’t intend to discuss Iraq here. Everyone knows now that we should either have not gone to war or gone with greater force. Most people today agree that the execution of the Iraq war was deeply flawed—even those who forgot to say so or endorsed it at the time.
All wars are subject to withering scrutiny after the fact, and there is little I can add on that subject.
What the UN Charter Says about War
Rather than rehashing Iraq, I think it is more important to consider the notion of legal and illegal wars. The question of legality is based on the United Nations Charter, which all member nations have agreed to by treaty. That treaty is legally binding.
From the UN Charter:
Article 39 states: “The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken… to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
Article 42 states: “Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 (sanctions) would be inadequate or prove to be inadequate, it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such action will include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of members of the United Nations.”
Article 46 states: “Plans for the application of armed force shall be made by the Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee.”
Article 51 states: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
Articles 39, 42, 46, and 51 explain the way in which the Security Council decides whether war is legal or illegal. These clauses are important. (See sidebar.)
According to the charter, all war-making power (except the immediate defense of a country under attack) is in the hands of the UN Security Council. It must oversee pre-war negotiations, impose sanctions, or take military action, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee.
This committee is made up of the chiefs of staff of the council’s permanent members: the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China.
From the US point of view, the constitution makes the president Commander in Chief of the armed forces. All constitutions make clear which office has control of military forces.
Under the UN Charter, since only the UN can authorize war, the US president’s constitutional power is subordinate to the Security Council and its Military Advisory Committee.
I will assume that this is constitutionally permissible since the US Supreme Court has not ruled otherwise. And I assume other countries are equally comfortable with the transfer of authority to the Security Council.
The permanent members of the Security Council are not answerable to the United Nations. They are the representatives of nation-states, and their obligation is to pursue their national interests through the Security Council.
They have two responsibilities. First, to uphold the Charter of the United Nations. Second, to pursue their national interests, and use UN mechanisms to protect those interests.
But What Does That Mean in Reality?
The national interests of the US, Russia, China, France, and Britain inevitably diverge. Since the founding of the UN, each nation has waged war, or supported other nations or non-state actors in waging war.
In most cases, the actions of the belligerent—directly or indirectly—were aimed at a permanent member of the Security Council. Since each permanent member has the right to veto any resolution, any one of these actors can block a resolution.
The creators of the UN assumed that the Security Council would be a collaborative body with common interests. It is not clear why this assumption was made. For example, the interests of the Soviet Union in 1945 worked directly against those of the other four members.
Armed with the veto, each Council nation could block any motion to take military action or to condemn its own military actions. It is hard to imagine that those who drafted the UN Charter didn’t understand this fully.
The UN was created after the League of Nations failed to prevent World War II. Franklin D. Roosevelt was particularly committed to creating a body that would function as a type of world congress, whose members were representatives of member states.
The right to wage war would be transferred to the Security Council members who would act jointly to authorize war. The only exception to this would be a country that was attacked. That country would have a right to defend itself pending action by the UN.
The UN itself cannot take direct action, however, because it has no military force. Article 43 obligates all UN members to provide forces if the UN requires. These forces would be under the operational command of the National Command Authority. Overall command would be in the hands of the Security Council and the Military Advisory Committee.
Lessons of WWII
How did FDR agree to this insanity?
I think the horrors of World War II convinced all participants that the primary national interest is to avoid war. He believed that this desire would override conventional concepts of national interest.
I don’t know whether he had nuclear weapons in mind, but when you add them to what World War II unleashed, it wasn’t an unreasonable concept. But war is not the greatest horror. Occupation by an enemy is.
For the Soviets and the French, the takeaway was not the horror of war, but the horror of occupation by the Germans. When the war ended, the Soviets feared the Americans would replicate what the Germans had done. The Americans and Europeans were afraid that the Soviets would move westward with the massive force they used to win the war.
When these nations met in the Security Council, it was not as collaborators. They met as potential foes—each less afraid of war than of the other’s victory. This fear is frequently dismissed with a now cliché slogan: don’t give in to your fears, because if you do, the enemy has already won.
It is one of the more absurd bromides of our time. Had France given in, rather than smugly brushing aside its fears, it might have averted six years of Nazi occupation. Fear of war competes with the fear of defeat, and each side emerged from World War II fearing defeat more than war. And that was FDR’s miscalculation.
A Fear That Led to Irrelevance
The fear of defeat also gave birth to the veto. All the Security Council members chose to adopt the League of Nations’ veto structure. None of them wanted to give up control.
As a result, while there are some rare times when the UN sanctions military actions, they are usually against minor nations with few major friends and are undertaken with insufficient forces.
The Korean War is one example of this. It broke out while the Soviet representative was boycotting the UN Security Council and missed the veto. Another was Desert Storm. The Soviets had backed Saddam Hussein, but they were too busy dealing with internal collapse and were not concerned.
In this context, whether or not a war is legal under the UN Charter is irrelevant. The organ created to define the circumstances of war doesn’t function. The lack of UN approval to go to war is a given.
The five permanent members of the Security Council contrived from the start to render this section of the charter meaningless. The Security Council cannot declare a war legal or illegal. The countries that can start the wars also sit on the Security Council and will veto as their national interests dictate.
So, the question of the US Commander in Chief transferring his authority to the UN is therefore moot. The UN couldn’t accept this power even if he wanted to give it to them.
Out of cash and out of options, America's cities need a new plan—and they might need Washington to design it.
By Gillian Tett.
When a debt crisis hits, it can cause ripples in all kinds of unexpected places. Even, it seems, on American beaches.In decades past, the lifeguards who stood watch over the shores of Atlantic City, New Jersey’s iconic resort town, epitomized good-time summer living. And they did so during the heyday of good-time retirement perks: The former guards have been enjoying government pensions since 1928.Alas, those prime Atlantic City times are long gone. Now drowning in as much as $550 million in debt, the town can no longer afford to pay the annual $1 million owed to these aged lifeguards. But a proposed state Senate bill might allow the city to cut the retirement benefit, leaving the once-bronzed lifesavers high and dry.Viewed on its own, this particular pension plan is but a blip on the radar that registers America’s debt quagmire, yet it points to a more troubling, widespread trend. These days, numerous city and state governments face overwhelming debts, which they are unlikely to ever pay off. And they are responding in capricious and unpredictable ways that could make the problem even worse.Of course, it goes without saying that the United States is a big borrower. While the federal debt is estimated at around $19 trillion, which is slightly bigger than the nation’s entire gross domestic product, city and state governments have issued about $3.7 trillion in bonds, more than triple their borrowing in 2000, in the so-called municipal bond market. On top of that, state governments have made unfunded pension promises that could total more than $3 trillion—a financial burden that looks completely unsustainable.Those raw numbers are worrying. But what is truly frightening is that many city and state governments aren’t organizing this liability in a consolidated way. Instead, they are shuffling the debts around, rather than finding credible solutions.
To understand the scale of the situation, take a look at Puerto Rico. In recent years, this island has issued a dizzying array of public and quasi-public bonds, which now total about $70 billion (around 100 percent of its gross national product). In addition, the commonwealth is estimated to have an additional $45 billion in pension liabilities.Since growth has collapsed, Puerto Rico seems unlikely to pay this bill, which suggests it urgently needs to devise a restructuring plan. But it can’t. That’s because the amount of official debt is divided into at least 14 categories of bonds, which have been sold by the local electricity company and the central government, among other entities. Only some bonds are “secured,” meaning that investors can seize assets if a default occurs; this also means each bond is unique in the event of default.If Puerto Rico were a company, consolidation would be a fairly easy process: Debtors or creditors would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and a judge would help determine who got paid. If Puerto Rico were a sovereign nation, the International Monetary Fund might play this role. While officials at the U.S. Treasury are keen to find a solution, there is strong opposition in Congress to anything that would be perceived as a bailout.This leaves the U.S. territory stuck in limbo. In May, the beleaguered island defaulted on one small(ish) $422 million bond. As of press time, Puerto Rico seemed headed toward defaulting in July on a $2 billion bond. But there is no resolution in sight, since different creditors and pension funds are fighting bitterly to protect their claims.Sadly, this is not a unique tale. Chicago’s debt, for example, is astronomical. In addition to accumulating $9.8 billion in outstanding bonds between 2000 and 2012, the city is estimated to face at least $20 billion in future pension claims. Paying this off is likely to be so difficult that the rating agencies downgraded Chicago’s debt to a notch above “junk” last year, and the city’s bonds are trading at a steep discount. Chicago recently sold new bonds that trade at 84 percent of their face value, implying that investors expect future losses.Like Puerto Rico, Chicago can find no simple solution to its debt crisis. The city’s pension liabilities, for instance, are divvied among four main programs. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has tried to persuade various groups to cut the pension commitments, arguing that this approach—along with tax hikes—would help make the system sustainable again. Nevertheless, coordination in Chicago is almost impossible, as the state’s legal system makes it difficult to unite pensioners, creditors, and unions.To be sure, easy solutions don’t exist. But Chicago, Puerto Rico, and even Atlantic City could take a page from Rhode Island’s playbook. Until the start of this decade, when Gina Raimondo became state treasurer, Rhode Island was facing an unsustainable pension bill. Raimondo, a former private equity executive, embarked on a campaign to inform citizens about the extent of the state’s debt, as well as of her plan to fix it. The public outrage helped force the unions to the table. And while this was controversial (some unions sued), it was eventually accepted.One American city has also been able to restructure its debt successfully. When Detroit, weighed down by $18 billion, declared bankruptcy in 2013, its debts were eventually consolidated. Since then, city authorities have pledged to make finances more transparent. This enabled Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager who oversaw the bankruptcy, to win voter and union support for a restructuring plan.Most cities cannot copy Detroit. Illinois law, for example, protects pension rights at almost all costs. Thus, without the shock of a bankruptcy court—or the frenetic work of one pioneering local official—change is unlikely in Chicago.Left with no options, the time has come for Washington to act. This isn’t to say that financial support should be pushed to cash-strapped cities; clearly, an ever-rising federal debt makes that an impossible scenario. But Washington should introduce legislation that forces the nation’s cities and state governments to audit their debts and make them accessible. In addition, Washington should create a process that would enable municipal debtors and creditors to find a collective solution, rather than a piecemeal approach.Such accountability won’t be painless for anyone. If nothing is done, however, the alternative—a cloud of uncertainty hanging over many American cities and states—could be debilitating. At a time when the nation badly needs to create a climate for growth, Washington cannot afford that possibility.
Gillian Tett is U.S. managing editor of the Financial Times and author of The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers.
A version of this article originally appeared in the July/August issue of FP magazine.
The Taming of the Shrew is perhaps the most well known comedy ever penned by William Shakespeare, adapted time and again over the years due to the many plot twists and turns that appeal to an increasing sophisticated and demanding audience. So here's another, Janet Yellen, the present personification of the Federal Reserve, and the protagonist, has tricked the American (and global) population (the Shrew) into believing that they are 'important', which is why they go to such great lengths and theatre to do so; when all the while what they are really doing is imposing psychological torments until compliance and obedience become mandatory (financial repression) - the 'taming' of the debt serfs if you will. It's been a long road from Jekyll Island to negative interest rates (NIRP) (it's coming), however the story remains the same, at least for now.As process unfolds however, the negative impact(s) of NIRP continue to ripple through economy(s), setting the stage for what will likely be looked back on by historians as the ultimate irony of this comedy - that in fact the Fed is the 'unwitting shrew', and tamed by its' protagonist - Mother Nature. Because at some point, earthly constraints associated with the perversely profound impact of negative rates will become germane on a systemic basis, bring down pension funds and insurance companies alike, and then the larger financialized economy. Thing is, if NIRP is not enough to satisfy the protagonist, not matter who, then what's going to happen to the de-industrialized West when the decentralization process accelerates, the dollar($) (all fiat currencies) begin to fall on a real basis (against commodities - especially precious metals), and interest rates need to rise?The answer to this question is - nothing good - if you are a 'status quo' beneficiary - right from the oligarchs to the bureaucrats - up and down the line. What's worse, once the market(s) realize the Fed is actually impotent, with all credibility finally lost (the signal hyperinflation is on the way - think Venezuela), all hell could (should) break loose, with outsized moves in rates (bonds), $, and equities. Of course this does not mean stocks would go down - no - no - no. On the contrary, and if history is a good guide, they will go up - way up. And this is especially true of precious metal shares - and anything else with the word gold in its name. Because hyperinflation is just 'hidden collapse', where the price of everything goes through the roof - but everybody is priced out of existence.Shakespeare was a romantic at heart. Thing is, he wasn't just another lost hedonist submerged in self-seeking enrichment, but a romantic with a conscious and a friend of the average man never the less. You can of course see this in his writing, where the most common theme running through his work is ruthless ambition (and cruelty) leads to its own destruction, because this tendency is man's downfall - and should be recognized, corrected, and avoided if possible. Unfortunately, evidenced in our increasingly neo-fascist world today, such thinking has proven wrongheaded folly, because on a base level most people are lost hedonists submerged in self-seeking enrichment - hell bent on self destruction in an effort to remain distracted. (i.e. from an increasingly dreary future.)So you might as well have a laugh along the way, and keep the distraction factor high, which brings us back to why, in his genius, we have gems like The Taming of the Shrew. In order to remain distracted however, and on a more practical level, we need money to do this, which compels one to 'play the game'. In order to play (the game) effectively (profitably), one had better have an appropriate understanding of the game; along with a plan on how to deal with the competition because it's high, educated, ruthless, and corrupt. As alluded to above, your primary source of competition for scarce resources today is an embedded bureaucracy that runs right from the oligarchs; to the bureaucrats they have bought off; to their dogs (military, police, etc.). So again, one must know how to play the game if you are to prosper. You need to tame that shrew.How do we, as investors 'tame' the complexity of this modern day shrew - a shrew that the users and abusers in 'high places' would have you believe is 'different' this time? The answer to this daunting task is found in the question, as assuredly some have already realized, that being 'keep it simple stupid'. Within such 'game theory', the only possible long-term counter strategy to successfully battle complexity is to employ a simplistic approach that looks down on the failings of the thinking, 'technology' will continue to bail out the human juggernaut - because it won't. Just look at the 'technology picture' today. We have the entire un-capitalized world on Facebook keeping them distracted, while the capitalized world is talking about driverless cars and any other form of technology to that puts these people out of work - because it's good for capitalism.Fact of the matter is this little of the technological innovation 'the takers' hold so dear today will better the human condition like 'the wheel', never mind increase survival prospects of seven plus billion people facing a failing ecology (natural and manmade) - so systemic failure is the only possible outcome. And checking your Facebook messages ten times a day will not help this condition - but again, it keeps people distracted by scratching the compulsion itch. Unfortunately, it's this 'itch', this 'ticky behavior', that also controls many people's trading patterns, a result of the influence of technology - trading against the emotionless, binary, and fast machines. So its no wonder traders are going a little nutty - many now fallen by the wayside. Is that supposed to be a 'good result' of technology? It has been for the parasites (top 1%), but this will cost everybody big in the end.In the meantime however, and in the spirit of a good hedonist, one must adopt the motto 'if you can't beat'em - join'em' right - which is why the hedge fund industry has been booming. This fallacy is finally being debunked however, where simply holding an index fund has been proven to be far better than giving the vast majority of these clowns your money - even the big successful ones. And again, as pointed out above, this realization is finally starting to negatively effect participation rates in actively managed (mutual and hedge) funds. It's not going to help investors with official intervention (prop desks, money printing, etc.) and high frequency trading (HFT), which is why indexers continue to outperform; however, it does signal a growing stress in the markets, financial industry, and scheming parasites - which is what we need to see if a failure of the present 'moog fest' is ever to become a reality. (See Figure 1)
Figure 1
Technical note: The single most important observation one can make regarding the above weekly S&P 500 (SPX) plot is how prices have been rising divergently against falling volumes, a product of increasingly manipulated markets. This is not natural, and will need to be reflected in prices at some point, just when people can afford it least. In the meantime, it's off we go to SPX 2200 minimum, maybe 2300 plus to test the long-term channel bottom again. If the neo-liberals and Hillary are too maintain power this fall, a whole lot of tape painting will be necessary now the Brexit volatility.Because I want my gold to go up one day with all this money printing - not being held prisoner by a bunch of clever paper pushers centered out of New York that continue to pander their stock market. I'm a hedonist too - as you are - it's natural. Thing is though, you don't have to be a corrupt and self-serving scoundrel, raping 'the system' on a daily basis, in order to exercise this tendency because it's unfair (not that 'fairness' ever matters) - and will eventually need to be corrected. And while a captive and dumbed-down Western population will have the damdest time actually doing something about it, this is not the case for the Chinese and Russians, who know our vulnerabilities, and are fully prepared to exploit them with the right provocation. Please, give me more gold because eventually the crazies in Washington will step over the line and all hell will break loose. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2
That's the big message in the Dow / Gold Ratio (DGR). It's telling you that while nominal stock market prices continue to rise, giving the impression the status quo is still in charge, real terms (against gold) tell us a different story, that the dead cat bounce since 2009 is almost over, and new lows in the DGR are on the way soon. You will remember we have gold going up into a Fibonacci 21-year cycle high in 2021 coming off the year 2000 bottom. That's the plan Stan, based on the belief the illusion that has now become America will be exposed for what it is over the next five-years, a fraud, and more earthly concerns (survival) grip the macro going into what will sure to be a time of increasingly dangerous wars no matter who gets into the White House. It's the survival of the fittest you see - in a world of now rapidly dwindling natural resources - absolutely necessary for our collective survival. (See Figure 3)
Figure 3
So make no mistake about it, eventually the American Empire will be tamed one day too - sooner rather than later if the Brexit vote last week is any indication (see below). This is when the material world will begin to matter in the financial markets once again, there and in the real world too. All the fairy tales coming out of mainstream media (MSM), the Hollywood propaganda machine, and officialdom, just won't matter so much anymore - so all you overpaid celebrities and other various other well-heeled scammers, carpetbaggers, and scalawags (confidence people) - look out. This is when silver, the status quo's 'whipping boy', will take off like a bat out of hell against stocks and never look back (see Figure 3), because you can't eat your shares, and you can disinfect things with shares either, however silver, which is both real money (to buy food) and a natural antibiotic, has many uses in addition to its function as money and jewelry, which is not how most view it. (i.e. they view silver as a source of cheap jewelry and something to make eating utensils.) And these uses will become increasingly important as time marches on because shrinking economy will erode affordability of all the luxuries technology now provides.And then we have a pleasant surprise in Britain last week with the Brexit vote. Apparently the Scots are the only 'conquered people' on the Island today - no Bravehearts here. What does this mean? It means the decentralization process we have been talking about for so long now is on - in spades. It means Globalism as we know it is dead - evidenced by the excitement in other countries about similar prospects. If we get a similar result in Spain this weekend, very strong signals will have been triggered in that the eventual demise of the EU/euro will be visible - the demise of the Brussels connection (American sponsored unelected bureaucrats pirating Europe's wealth), corporatism, and the American Empire - and the rebirth of 'nationalism movements' world wide, now being modeled by Russia. It's important to understand all this doesn't mean trade between will crease, in spite of temper tantrums out of Brussels. In fact, inter-eurozone trade in the future will evolve and likely flourish in a more natural and common sense path with decreased influence from aggressive American interests - with only one thing on their mind(s) - Empire. The risk now is war with Russia as the power structure (neocons) States side attempt to hold onto their power.What's more, the bureaucrats from Brussels back to Britain still have a few arrows in their quivers. While Cameron is stepping down, hopefully needing to find a real job, it should be understood that any Brexit (or the like in other countries) could be held up by his corrupt ilk in Parliament for up to 10 years (right now the talk is two-years minimum), so don't get too excited about all this just yet. Again, and in relation to the discussion above, we need to see silver set free to know things have changed for real - that the status quo is done. With silver unable to crack $18 last week in the face of all that's going on is the signal to the status quo legions not to worry - they are idiots - all is in hand - you will see - so keep selling it and buying stocks. It's encouraging seeing the markets reacting the way they are, and the talk coming from nationalism movements world wide, however the status quo is embedded, and will remain that way until something a kin to a 'Mad Max' event sends humanity into a real tailspin, so don't think these characters will disappear. They will simply move from the forefront until such a time the megalomaniacs of the world will be allowed to fully exercise their insanities once again. And again, this could come sooner rather than later with a gift from the neocons via World War III.Wish I had better news, but that's the reality of the situation.Because of this, good investing is definitely possible in precious metals.
We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
SUSPEND was there front and center at Tried & True Co. when Drake surprised his Los Angeles fans who had waited in line to receive a complimentary 'Nothing Was the Same' apparel prior to his album's release. Drake had posted a photo on Instagram with three retail locations a few days before. Fans in the area caught wind of the Los Angeles-based vintage boutique's location and waited in line, with some even driving from Colorado to secure an early spot in the queue. Crystal Robles, co-owner of the shop, allowed fans to enter in small groups at a time with doors opening at 3pm PST. Unbeknownst to fans, Drake (fresh from taping an appearance earlier on "The Ellen Show") and his OVO entourage had arrived to the shop's location from a backdoor entrance where he stayed and took photos with fans before leaving the Fairfax District. Also in attendance at the 'NWTS' pop-up shop was fellow recording artist, Casey Veggies, who joined guests as they posed up against the white wall with 'NOTHING WAS THE SAME' plastered in uppercase lettering.
All photography by Jonathan Tate / Video by Jennifer Ayo-Akinyemi for SUSPENDMAG.COM | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
How to fix your Samsung Galaxy J7 that started running slow [Troubleshooting Guide]
When the phone like the Samsung Galaxy J7 starts running slow after months of use, it doesn’t necessary mean there’s a problem. Perhaps it’s just running low on storage space or some apps may have crashed and affected the performance. Of course, there are also cases wherein the phone slowed down due to an issue with the firmware or a serious problem with the hardware. The point is, we won’t know for sure what’s causing the problem unless we did something to your device.
So, in this post, I will tackle an issue involving the Samsung Galaxy J7, which, according to some of our readers, started to run very slow and it would take forever to open apps. We will try to look into the problem and eliminate one possibility after another until we can pinpoint what the real problem is.
Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.
Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that’s running slow
While we don’t suggest procedures that can potentially damage your phone further, things might still happen while you’re troubleshooting so proceed at your own risk. Now, before we jump to the steps, here’s one problem sent by one of our readers that best describes this issue:
Problem: My phone is a Galaxy J7. I know there’s something wrong with it because it takes so long to open the texting app whereas before, it would only take a second or two and I can immediately read the text messages. Now, my phone keeps lagging and when it’s working, it’s very slow. Not really sure what caused this that’s why I’m asking for your help because maybe you have an idea how to bring my phone back to its optimum performance.
Troubleshooting: After months of use, we can expect a device to run a bit slower than its original performance especially if you’re already installed a lot of apps and stored many large documents but it should never be as slow as how our reader described the performance of his phone above. So, for this kind of problem, this is what I suggest you do:
Step 1: Reboot in safe mode try to see if there’s a difference in performance
Such procedure will temporarily disable all third-party apps and this will tell you if there’s a difference in performance when the phone is running with all those installed apps running in the background than when they’re disabled. If your device is running perfectly well in safe mode, then your third-party apps have something to do with the problem. You may have to find the culprits and uninstall them one-by-one until you’re satisfied with how the phone perform. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:
Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.
Assuming the phone performs well in safe mode, then find the apps that cause the problem, clear their caches and data and if that won’t work, uninstall them one-by-one.
How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy J7
From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
How to uninstall apps from your Galaxy J7
From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the desired application
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.
Step 2: Delete all system caches as some of them are corrupt
Your phone creates temporary files when it uses an app or services so that the next time you use them, they will quicker and smoother. These files are called ‘caches’ and they are prone to corruption. When it happens, a lot of performance related issues may occur including this one. So, you have to delete them so that they’ll be replaced with new ones. Here’s how you do it:
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
If the phone still runs very slowly after doing this, then do the next step.
Step 3: Backup your files and then do the Master Reset
This problem is basically just a minor one and I’m pretty sure it can be resolved by a reset. But before you do that, be sure to make a backup of your important files as they will be deleted. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) or the anti-theft feature so you won’t be locked out of your phone after the reset.
How to disable FRP or anti-theft on Galaxy J7
To turn off the device anti-theft, you will have to sign out of your Google ID on the device and elect to not sign in with a Google ID into any Google services. Once you sign in with a Google ID to any service and setup a PIN, password or fingerprint lock, you are automatically turning on anti-theft. To sign out of your Google ID, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap More.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.
How to do the Master Reset on your Galaxy J7
A master reset restores the original factory settings and may delete your personal data on the internal storage, such as downloads, ringtones, images, apps, contacts, and Visual Voicemail. It does not delete data stored on the SIM card or SD card.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
I hope this troubleshooting guide helps.
CONNECT WITH US
We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.
DISCLAIMER
(i) TheDroidGuy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.The links and images of the products we review contain links to Amazon.com, TheDroidGuy.com will receive sales commission if you purchase items that we refer on Amazon.com.Thank you for your support.(ii) Prices and product availability shown for products we review are for references only. Although we do update our data regularly, the pricing and availability of the products we review are constantly changing, please check on the merchant site for the actual price and availability.(iii) We are not affiliated with the device manufacturers or phone carriers we mention in any way, all suggestions are based on our own experience and research, you may use our advice at your own discretion.(iv)see additional privacy policy here | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Bradley Cooper's 'A Star is Born' left critics with stars in their eyes
At this point, it takes a lot to get critics raving over a remake (of several other remakes).
But it looks like Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, in which he stars alongside Lady Gaga, achieved the impossible. It not only made reviewers go goo-goo for Gaga, but it also seems to have reminded them that unabashedly heartfelt melodramas still have a place in the world in 2018.
The movie, which releases in theaters on Oct. 5, had an early screening for critics and audiences in attendance at Venice Film Festival. And it seems to have lived up to the hype that's been brewing ever since the first trailer debuted.
All hail Queen Gaga, long may she reign
Exaggeration is key—a tasteful, sensible melodrama is no melodrama at all—and you need a star who can radiate the nobility of suffering with Kabuki-level grandeur. Someone like Lady Gaga.
...But what’s surprising about Gaga is how charismatic she is without her usual extreme stage makeup, outlandish wigs and inventive costumes. It’s such a pleasure to look at her face, unadorned, with that extraordinary, face-defining nose—it’s like discovering a new country
Cooper is arguably prettier than Lady Gaga, but she is the one who commands your attention: that sharp, quizzical, leonine, mesmeric face – an uningratiating face, very different from the wide-eyed openness of Streisand or Garland. (Weirdly, she rather more resembles Marta Heflin, playing the groupie-slash-interviewer who went to bed with Kristofferson in ’76.) Her songs are gorgeous and the ingenuous openness of her scenes with Jackson are wonderfully sympathetic.
Ally, makes no mistake, has sass to spare (later that evening, when Jackson is confronted at his favorite cop bar by a man he cuckolded, she gives him a punch), but Gaga, in an ebullient and winningly direct performance, never lets her own star quality get in the way of the character. Or, rather, she lets us see that star quality is something that lives inside Ally but is still waiting to come out (the way it was in the young Streisand of “Funny Girl”).
The arc that carries the drama through humiliation, atonement, tragedy, heartbreak and a final, very public reaffirmation of Ally's love for Jackson is pretty much indestructible, even if some dawdling in the mid-to-late action softens the emotional impact. It's in the closing scene also that Gaga's skill as an actor isn't at the level of her impeccable vocals.
She takes off as he slowly crashes — that’s the soapy tragic “Star Is Born” concept. But what the movie does is to take this fabled melodramatic romantic seesaw and turn it into something indelibly heartfelt and revealing.
Cooper directs and co-stars in this outrageously watchable and colossally enjoyable new version, supercharged with dilithium crystals of pure melodrama. He appears opposite a sensationally good Lady Gaga, whose ability to be part ordinary person, part extraterrestrial celebrity empress functions at the highest level at all times.
Cooper shines behind the camera too
Cooper makes some smart plot choices, too. (The screenplay is by Eric Roth, Cooper and Will Fetters.) Jackson’s demise is sensitively handled—nothing like Kris Kristofferson crashing his car just so Streisand can rush to the scene and cradle his lifeless head with sorrowful gusto. (Who thought that was a good idea?) And he keeps the filmmaking straightforward and unvarnished. It’s wonderful to see a first-time filmmaker who’s more interested in effective storytelling than in impressing us; telling a story effectively is hard enough
Cooper and veteran screenwriter Eric Roth are clearly inspired most directly by the Streisand/Kristofferson film. But in those closeups that Cooper awards himself, and his huge moments of emotional agony … well, he’s channelling a bit of Judy. He certainly de-machos the role, and creates a backstory of vulnerability.
Cooper directed the movie himself, working from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth and Will Fetters, and to say that he does a good job would be to understate his accomplishment. As a filmmaker, Bradley Cooper gets right onto the high wire, staging scenes that take their time and play out with a shaggy intimacy that’s shorn of the usual “beats.” The new “Star Is Born” is a total emotional knockout, but it’s also a movie that gets you to believe, at every step, in the complicated rapture of the story it’s telling.
Believing in love again
This is where the movie loses a few puffs of steam. It’s hard not to miss Ally’s unadorned face and unflashy brown hair: You might find yourself wanting more Germanotta and less Gaga, Even so, Ally the superstar is still nowhere near as mythically outsized as Gaga herself is. In fact, as pop creations go, she’s rather average, though she certainly knows her way around a power ballad.
That’s part of the magnetic pull of this version — it, too, is a romance heightened by the seductive cruel mirror of showbiz. Yet it has a naked humanity that leaves you wowed. These two people, the rising star and the fading star, are locked in a love as true as it is torn, and both of them, by the end, become us. “A Star Is Born” is more than a throwback — it’s a reminder of the scrappy grand passion that movies are all about.
The star for a new generation
Best of all, Cooper has succeeded in making a terrific melodrama for the modern age. This is a story of big personalities and even bigger human mistakes. These days we’re always ready for our own close-ups. What a relief to turn the stage over to someone else for a change.
For all that it’s hokum, this film alludes tactlessly to something pretty real. It could be called: A Star Is Dying. The new generation supplants the existing one. For one star to get an award, a handful of defeated nominees have to swallow their pain, as the spotlight moves away from them. For one star to deliver the shock of the new, another one has to receive the shock of the old. A Star Is Born turns that transaction into a love story.
The fascination of this is that instead of satirizing Ally’s journey as some sort of plunge into synthetic marketing decadence, the movie says, in essence: This is the new landscape, same as the old landscape. Next to Jackson’s world, it looks “inauthentic” (and viewers of a certain age may automatically view it that way), but Jackson’s world probably looked inauthentic to the generation before it. The movie says that in pop (as in life), it’s always time for the old ways to die, and for the new ways to be born.
There's freshness in the pared-back narrative shorthand of these scenes, as there is in Ally's navigation of Jack's excesses, on one hand giving him his space while on the other letting him know she won't keep following him down his dark spiral. His issues are worsened by an acrimonious split from his much older half-brother and manager, Bobby (Sam Elliott, bringing his customary weathered integrity), and by the deterioration of a longtime hearing impairment.
Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
MASTERPIECE: CLASSIC
Downton Abbey (EPISODE 2)
Mary entertains three suitors, including a Turkish diplomat whose boldness leads to a surprising event. Downstairs, the shocking former life of Carson, the butler, is unmasked and Bates risks his health to remain valet. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The landmark “Shobuj Pata” (Green Leaf) Eco Community Development by Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd., one of the largest developers in Bangledesh, will be an oasis with green trees, plants and vegetation. This sustainable garden city of the future will be located on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of the Bangladesh. Named after “Green Leaf” in Bengali, the construction of Shobuj Pata garden city begins in 2012. The project will be ready to house 10,000 people in 2015, with habitable space for 2300 – 2400 dwelling units and convention centre, mosque, retail, school, etc. Green Leaf will become a livable low-carbon community incorporating landscape elements with architecture.
Penthouse view (Image: JET)
JET Architecture was invited by JCI Architects along with Terraplan Landscape Architects, to joint venture in the design of the Green Leaf project. After winning the commission earlier in 2011, on December 16th, 2011, the final negotiations were completed to enable the project to move forward quickly. The team will be working together, helping Bangladesh to design a sustainable community with an innovative green concept. Green Leaf is green landscape architecture and built form which takes full advantages of the local natural resources to create a hybrid habitable space combining architecture and nature. The concept is inspired by adopting current and green innovative technology to make the design construction economic and feasible.
Town square (Image: JET)
Bangladesh is a naturally lush green country with abundant rainfall every year. It is actually the country with the highest annual average rainfall in the world. Due to the hot and humid climate, a heat island effect occurs naturally in Dhaka. In order to deal with these extreme conditions, local ecology, micro climate and natural environment must all be key architectural influences during the design stage. Another challenge in Green Leaf is to find the balance by combining passive and technologically sustainable strategies in order to achieve high energy efficiency and performance within a high density atmosphere. The design team has found the perfect solution to form the complex by designing the building envelope with vernacular textures and vegetation. Green Leaf’s open-air architecture becomes an extension of the natural landscape, where interior and exterior spaces become interchangeable. The façade has used local vegetation as the design element to bring Bengali landscape into the heart of the built form, which stretches from the ground up to the rooftops.
Site plan (Image: JET)
To direct rainwater runoff away from buildings, and to prevent water overflow, bioswales are incorporated along the street edges throughout the ground plane. The bioswales also act as a rainwater filtration system retaining excess water for irrigation of the gardens and parks within the development. In the dry seasons, these water featured areas can function as additional water recreation space. In case of excessive storm water, green roofs are designed to mitigate the runoff and assist water and air purification. Furthermore, these systems can also reduce overall building energy consumption and moderate the urban heat island effects. The green wall acts as an air filtration system and creates its own microclimate which mitigates heat gain in the units as well as reducing both indoor air and outdoor radiated temperature. Reinforcing the idea of cross-ventilation, the thin profile and shallow floor plates which align with the local main wind direction generate a stunning configuration and provide opportunities for natural daylight to be accessible on both sides of the units.
Landscape concept (Image: JET)
Green Leaf is not only acting as natural demarcation for spaces and activities; the various vegetated landscapes also create a green network that reconnects the urban population with the natural landscape of Bangladesh through a system of parks, paths and open public spaces. The planting species include fast-growing trees which create a comfortable microclimate for residents and visitors. One of the most important functions of the green façade is that it offers shade during intense heat and helps oxygenate surrounding air. The hedges, inspired by gardens that are carefully designed and organized, become the buildings in the Green Leaf plan, defining habitable space within the natural landscapes. They create a sense of living among trees, differentiated from a typical urban context. Smaller squares and parkettes closer to the centre contrast soft edges with hardscape materials that are necessary for active spaces. The landscape contains the key functions of this urban enclave. The garden city contains a central square with a market, commercial spaces, and educational and religious institutions that become an accessible public focus for gathering and events, encouraging the experience of city and nature simultaneously.
Open space (Image: JET)
With private courtyards and gardens aligned with the spaces between buildings and bioswales preventing potential water overflow, this bio-integration of architecture and natural landscape will define a new development paradigm for Bangladesh that maximizes density, value and returns, both ecologically and economically. Exhibiting sustainable designs that embrace vernacular landscapes, Green Leaf architecture draws from the lushness of the Bengali landscape and gives both beauty and function back to its surroundings.
Green roof strategies (Image: JET)
Find more diagrams and floor plans of the residential units in the image gallery below.
The landmark “Shobuj Pata” (Green Leaf) Eco Community Development by Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd., one of the largest developers in Bangledesh, will be an oasis with green trees, plants and vegetation. This sustainable garden city of the future will be located on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of the Bangladesh. Named after “Green Leaf” in Bengali, the construction of Shobuj Pata garden city begins in 2012. The project will be ready to house 10,000 people in 2015, with habitable space for 2300 – 2400 dwelling units and convention centre, mosque, retail, school, etc. Green Leaf will become a livable low-carbon community incorporating landscape elements with architecture.
Penthouse view (Image: JET)
JET Architecture was invited by JCI Architects along with Terraplan Landscape Architects, to joint venture in the design of the Green Leaf project. After winning the commission earlier in 2011, on December 16th, 2011, the final negotiations were completed to enable the project to move forward quickly. The team will be working together, helping Bangladesh to design a sustainable community with an innovative green concept. Green Leaf is green landscape architecture and built form which takes full advantages of the local natural resources to create a hybrid habitable space combining architecture and nature. The concept is inspired by adopting current and green innovative technology to make the design construction economic and feasible.
Town square (Image: JET)
Bangladesh is a naturally lush green country with abundant rainfall every year. It is actually the country with the highest annual average rainfall in the world. Due to the hot and humid climate, a heat island effect occurs naturally in Dhaka. In order to deal with these extreme conditions, local ecology, micro climate and natural environment must all be key architectural influences during the design stage. Another challenge in Green Leaf is to find the balance by combining passive and technologically sustainable strategies in order to achieve high energy efficiency and performance within a high density atmosphere. The design team has found the perfect solution to form the complex by designing the building envelope with vernacular textures and vegetation. Green Leaf’s open-air architecture becomes an extension of the natural landscape, where interior and exterior spaces become interchangeable. The façade has used local vegetation as the design element to bring Bengali landscape into the heart of the built form, which stretches from the ground up to the rooftops.
Site plan (Image: JET)
To direct rainwater runoff away from buildings, and to prevent water overflow, bioswales are incorporated along the street edges throughout the ground plane. The bioswales also act as a rainwater filtration system retaining excess water for irrigation of the gardens and parks within the development. In the dry seasons, these water featured areas can function as additional water recreation space. In case of excessive storm water, green roofs are designed to mitigate the runoff and assist water and air purification. Furthermore, these systems can also reduce overall building energy consumption and moderate the urban heat island effects. The green wall acts as an air filtration system and creates its own microclimate which mitigates heat gain in the units as well as reducing both indoor air and outdoor radiated temperature. Reinforcing the idea of cross-ventilation, the thin profile and shallow floor plates which align with the local main wind direction generate a stunning configuration and provide opportunities for natural daylight to be accessible on both sides of the units.
Landscape concept (Image: JET)
Green Leaf is not only acting as natural demarcation for spaces and activities; the various vegetated landscapes also create a green network that reconnects the urban population with the natural landscape of Bangladesh through a system of parks, paths and open public spaces. The planting species include fast-growing trees which create a comfortable microclimate for residents and visitors. One of the most important functions of the green façade is that it offers shade during intense heat and helps oxygenate surrounding air. The hedges, inspired by gardens that are carefully designed and organized, become the buildings in the Green Leaf plan, defining habitable space within the natural landscapes. They create a sense of living among trees, differentiated from a typical urban context. Smaller squares and parkettes closer to the centre contrast soft edges with hardscape materials that are necessary for active spaces. The landscape contains the key functions of this urban enclave. The garden city contains a central square with a market, commercial spaces, and educational and religious institutions that become an accessible public focus for gathering and events, encouraging the experience of city and nature simultaneously.
Open space (Image: JET)
With private courtyards and gardens aligned with the spaces between buildings and bioswales preventing potential water overflow, this bio-integration of architecture and natural landscape will define a new development paradigm for Bangladesh that maximizes density, value and returns, both ecologically and economically. Exhibiting sustainable designs that embrace vernacular landscapes, Green Leaf architecture draws from the lushness of the Bengali landscape and gives both beauty and function back to its surroundings.
Green roof strategies (Image: JET)
Find more diagrams and floor plans of the residential units in the image gallery below. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
On Monday, December 17, representatives of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas USA (ASPO-USA) met with senior officials of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), including Administrator Adam Sieminski, and staff from other offices within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The meeting was arranged following a letter that ASPO-USA sent to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Sieminski after his appointment as EIA administrator earlier this year. The letter outlined key questions and concerns regarding oil and gas information that EIA provides.
The meeting was intended to help ASPO-USA and DOE-EIA better understand each other’s perspectives and explore ways that ASPO-USA might collaborate with DOE and EIA’s to enhance their information products. EIA officials discussed their priorities and the challenges they face, while ASPO-USA representatives discussed the goals of our work and our specific concerns.
ASPO-USA’s concerns generally followed two themes: 1) projections for future oil and gas supply should properly consider technical and economic factors that may constrain U.S. domestic production; and 2) DOE and EIA need to recognize broader trends that may be increasing the risk of a world oil crisis. While it was an important opportunity to present analyses by ASPO-USA-affiliated experts, the greatest benefit of the meeting was gaining a clearer understanding of the factors that are shaping EIA’s work and the opportunities for ASPO-USA to provide constructive ongoing input.
Of relevance to our concerns, we learned that EIA information on drilling costs and other costs of oil and gas production may not be very robust. Their projection models, therefore, may grossly underestimate the significance of increasing production costs as a constraint on oil or gas supply. EIA’s projection models seem to be more demand-driven than supply-driven in general (we will be reviewing the assumptions and inputs of their models to confirm how supply constraints are or are not factored into their projections). In addition to offering assistance in gathering and evaluating such cost data, we suggested tracking different types of oil and gas separately, so that their varying technical and cost constraints can be more properly and clearly assessed.
Moreover, in pressing issues regarding world oil production and rising global consumption, we became more cognizant that EIA, despite being the nation’s central source of energy information, does not have a clearly defined mandate to track global trends nor collect and report international energy data. ASPO-USA representatives conveyed that this was an issue where we and other outside experts could be helpful in providing both assistance and an impetus to address such issues more thoroughly. We discussed and mutually recognized that there are major problems with inconsistent and unreliable data from different countries. However, we also noted that there are analyses and interpretations of global trends that can be made based on existing data from reliable sources.
Perhaps most importantly, we learned that EIA’s interaction with and input from experienced experts in technical oil and gas issues may not be as regular and rigorous as it should be. EIA receives advisory support from the American Statistical Association’s Committee on Energy Statistics, but this input is primarily focused on statistical methods. EIA conducts and participates in various meetings and conferences where special technical issues are discussed, but these meetings seem to be relatively ad hoc and lack continuity. As a way of building a closer working relationship between EIA and ASPO-USA, as well as promoting input from a broad diversity of outside experts, we offered to help organize a series of meetings or workshops to address in-depth the questions and issues that ASPO-USA has raised. We also posited the need and potential benefits of a broader standing advisory body of outside experts, though establishing such a body is a somewhat longer-term prospect.
In sum, we opened direct channels of communication and created a solid foundation for future cooperation. At the same time, we are developing a more concrete understanding of their work, so that our questions, input, and criticisms of their work can be more specific and constructive. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Cross Country prepared for final home meet
After the recent performances of the Carbon boys and girls cross country teams, head coach Tellise Allen said she is confident both squads will finish well heading into the final home meet of the season.
At a meet in Moab, Allen said the girls finished in first place and the boys took sixth, despite dealing with harsh weather conditions.
Four of the girls finished in the top 10 at the meet with all region teams present.
Allen said the teams are looking forward to the home meet, which takes place at the Carbon Country Club starting at 4 p.m. with the JV squad and 5 p.m with the varsity. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Search Site
Search FormForm Text
This search form uses an instant search feature. As you type, search results will appear automatically below the search field. When you've entered you desired search terms use tab to navigate through the available results and hit enter to open the selected page or document.
2020 5th – 8th Grade Band Practice Challenge Winners!
Every year during 2nd semester the 5th-8th grade band students in Wabash 348 compete in a practice challenge to see who can practice the most days in a row without missing a day. This year's winners were 1st place, Aiden McBroom (6th grade) and 2nd place, Mackenzie Hipsher (5th grade). Both students practiced over 100 days! Congrats Aiden and Mackenzie!!
1 day ago, Tracee Bleyer
Some students still have personal items at MCGS that were not picked up on 5/11. If needing to pickup, please make arrangements with the office 262-5699.
10 days ago, Chris Taylor
Please have all remote learning paper packets returned by noon on Friday to the MCGS cart outside. Thank you for your patience and understanding during the school closure and working with the MCGS teachers. A reminder that Monday 8-3 the school will be open for picking up and dropping off materials if needed. Please review the process on the MCGS website and a reminder will be sent out Sunday as well.
about 1 month ago, Chris Taylor
A MESSAGE FOR MCGS 4TH GRADE PARENTS: Be sure to check out Mrs. Wall's website https://ewall7.wixsite.com/mcmusic for important information about registering interest in Beginner Band for the 2020-2021 school year.
about 1 month ago, MUSIC ANNOUNCEMENT
On Monday May 11, MCGS will be open from 8-3 for students to drop off school materials (chrome books, textbooks, and library books) and pickup personal belongings from desks/lockers and chocolate orders if sold. This will be a quick process and we will be practicing social distancing during the day and limiting the number of people in the building at a time. Please limit to 1 child/1 adult coming into the building if at all possible. Once entering the building staff will assist with the return of chrome books and library books. Then proceed to the appropriate grade level hallway and return text books to the desk outside of the student's classroom. Items left in student desks will be in a bag out by the student locker for pickup along with any chocolate orders if sold. Student/Parent will be responsible for getting items out of lockers if left. Grade cards will be emailed to parent address on file. Thank you and stay safe.
about 1 month ago, Chris Taylor
A MEMO FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
about 1 month ago, Athletic Announcement
The packet cart at MCGS will now be out permanently starting 4/17 with new packets being put in each Friday.
about 1 month ago, Chris Taylor
3rd quarter grade cards which were to be handed out at parent/teacher conference night will be emailed to parents.
2 months ago, Chris Taylor
TIME CHANGE. Starting tomorrow, Monday, April 6, 2020, District #348 Grab and Go lunch pickup will change to 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the same school building locations. The offsite mobile locations times will remain the same.
2 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
Information on remote learning starting April 6.
For students w/o access to a device or internet, packets will be available for pickup outside MCGS main doors in a marked cart this Friday at 10 am. Please pickup a packet from the grade level your child is in, each grade level has been marked along with activity classes. The procedure will be every Friday return the previous weeks learning packets with the student name on it in the drop bin and obtain next weeks packet in the pickup bin in the cart out front. For students with a device to use from home, please continue the communication with your teachers and look for updates. If you have not been able to be reached by your teacher please visit the MCGS website and go to staff where the teacher emails are located. Starting next week the MCGS office will continue to be open on Wednesdays 9-2.
MCGS will be assisting those students that do not have a device at home to access resources and learning opportunities from teachers during the mandated school closure. On Monday, March 30th from 9:00-2:00, parents/guardians of MCGS students that haven’t had a device to access online resources may come to MCGS to a marked designated area to sign out a chromebook. There are limited devices available for distribution, if you already have a device that your student is using please refrain from picking up another to allow students in need to have one. Parents/guardians will sign out a chromebook and charger for their student and will be responsible for returning the device at a later date. For families without internet access, information will be coming in regards to learning resources during the closure.
2 months ago, Chris Taylor
This past week, our educators have put together Learning Resource Opportunities for our students/parents. These rich resources are designed to keep your child academically engaged throughout this mandated shut-down. Websites, Activities, Google Classroom information and Social Support are available through the School Website. This information is updated hourly. Any information that is found helpful will be added. Visit https://www.wabash348.com/ and click the REMOTE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY/COVID-19 INFORMATION button and it will take you to the Informational Page with links that include school learning resources. From the APP, it can be accessed through the Wabash Community Unit School District #348 and choose the COVID-19 INFO from the Menu. Please understand that this is a new, ongoing learning process for everyone. The administration is working on all the details as the information becomes available from the Illinois School Board of Education. Thank you for your patience.
3 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
A note from the Superintendent:
Today, March 20, 2020, Governor Pritzker ordered a shelter-in-place for Illinois. All Illinois schools, including Wabash CUSD #348, will be closed until April 8th. The state will re-evaluate the situation at that time. During that time, Wabash CUSD #348 will be on spring break. Therefore, the schools are tentatively scheduled to reopen on April 13th. Additionally, we will remain committed to continuing our remote learning opportunities for our students. As the Illinois State Board of Education delivers more guidance, we will be able to better address our situation moving forward. Thank you for all your support in this difficult matter as we continue to work through uncharted waters. Stay safe and Go Aces!
Wabash CUSD #348 Press Release
At 3:30 pm today, Governor Pritzker announced a directive that all public and private schools in the state of Illinois will be closed March 17th-30th. These closures are directly related to the concern over the COVID-19 virus. District #348 will follow this directive and remain closed until the 30th. The governor did stress he may continue closures. During this time, all District curricular and extracurricular activities will be cancelled. As more information and details emerge, it will be disseminated on the website www.Wabash348.com, District app and District Facebook page.
3 months ago, Dr. Chuck Bleyer
Effective March 13, 2020, all K-12 school districts in Wabash County are closing indefinitely due to concerns pertaining to COVID-19. Additionally, all extracurricular activities will be suspended. The closings come with a recommendation from the Wabash County Health Department and are designed to protect the community. To my knowledge, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, but this precautionary move is designed to inhibit the spread of this virus. As of this time, there is no timetable to reopen the schools. However, it is the intention of the Districts to reopen as soon as possible. I will continue to communicate with the public via our website, app, and all calls.
Chuck Bleyer, Ed.D.
Superintendent
3 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
The IGSMA District 4 Solo & Ensemble Contest scheduled for Saturday, March 14 has been postponed.
3 months ago, MUSIC ANNOUNCEMENT
Due to the chance of hazardous weather, 6th grade boys/girls track and the fifth grade talent show have been canceled for tonight.
3 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS 5th & 6th grade band students enjoyed their trip to the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Young People’s Concert. It was called “Beethoven at Bat” and included Beethoven music with a sports theme.
3 months ago, MUSIC ANNOUNCEMENT
MCES/MCGS is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff. Therefore we would like to remind you during this flu season and concern of the coronavirus if your child has symptoms such as high fever, cough, sore throat, and/or tiredness please keep them home to prevent spreading sickness. MCES/MCGS will waive perfect attendance awards this year to help prevent students coming to school if feeling ill to keep perfect attendance. Remember washing hands, not touching eyes, nose, mouth, cover cough/sneeze, and avoid contact with people who are sick will help prevent illness. Thank You.
3 months ago, Chris Taylor
Due to the high number of cases this year of influenza A & B, strep throat, and potentially COVID-19, during the second semester the District will suspend all attendance requirements pertaining to semester finals and perfect attendance awards. This change in policy is in accordance with the recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. The District does not want to promote or encourage students attending school while not feeling completely healthy. As for returning to school from illness, it is District policy that the student must be fever free for twenty-four hours without the use of fever reducing medication prior to returning. If you have any questions, please call your child’s school office.
3 months ago, Dr. Chuck Bleyer
MCGS spring chocolate fundraiser packets were sent home with students today. For those wising to participate, orders are due no later than March 11. Thank you for your support of MCGS.
3 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS Yearbook Order Forms are due on March 1st. Yearbooks are $20 each. Please turn in any order forms and money to the office.
4 months ago, Sarah Morris
Valentine's Day items will be delivered by the floral shops on Thursday after school. Please plan accordingly if wanting an item delivered to MCGS for Valentine's Day. If you are wanting to deliver an item yourself please bring to office before 9:30 on Friday.
4 months ago, Chris Taylor
On Friday Dist. #348 will be on a 3 Hr. early dismissal. Lunch times for those days will be 3rd/4th grades 10:15-11:00 and 5th/6th grades 11:15-12:00. School will dismiss at 12:15.
4 months ago, Chris Taylor
The 5th and 6th grade girls basketball team will be playing a HOME game at Mt. Carmel Grade School against Fairfield this Thursday, January 30th. The 5th grade game will start at 6:00 with the 6th grade game to follow. This contest was originally scheduled to be played AT Fairfield.
5/6 Grade girls basketball will have a parent meeting both before and after practice Wednesday 12/5 at MCES.
6 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS will be participating in the 5 essentials survey again this year for the Illinois Schools State Report Card. MCGS is asking parents to fill out the 5 minute survey for the school's report card. please follow the link to begin the survey. Thank you. https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/?target_name=parent
7 months ago, Chris Taylor
Class of 2025 presents NEON NIGHTS GLOW DANCE - November 23!!
7 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
MCGS student council is sponsoring a canned food drive to support WADI during the Holiday Season. We are encouraging our students to bring in non-perishable food items during the week of 11/4-11/8. Thanks for your support.
7 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS Red Ribbon Week Themes
7 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS book fair starts next week 10/28 as well as Red Ribbon Week. Monday's theme: Wear Red to show that you're drug free.
Reminder that the MCGS fall fundraiser money collection needs to be turned into the office tomorrow. Any questions please contact the school office. Thank you.
8 months ago, Chris Taylor
Mrs. Webb's 4th grade class has been learning about earthquakes in science. Their goal today was to construct a building that can withstand a jello earthquake using toothpicks and marshmallows after reading about what engineers do to make buildings structurally sound.
8 months ago, Chris Taylor
The paragon fall fundraiser items will be going home tomorrow with students after school. If your child has a large order and would like to pick up after school please contact the office. Money from orders are due in the office no later than October 18. Thank you for participating in our fall fundraiser.
8 months ago, Chris Taylor
Fourth grade had a great field trip at Beall Woods. Thanks to the Beall Woods staff for making it a great educational experience for our students
8 months ago, Chris Taylor
Dear Parents / Guardians,
This letter is to inform you about the Wabash Community Unit School District #348 breakfast program. Wabash District #348 has a breakfast program like our lunch program. Breakfast is provided by the kitchen staff at all schools. Breakfast is $1.00 and is served from 7:20 a.m. until 7:53 a.m. Please tell your child about our breakfast program. We look forward to seeing them.
In compliance with federal law and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) policy, this institution is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
Thank you, Wabash #348 Kitchen Staff
8 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) student results will be coming home for all students in 4th - 9th grade today, October 1st.
8 months ago, Tracee Bleyer
This is a reminder that all school registration fees need to be paid by October 31st. If you have not paid your registration fees you will receive an invoice in the mail listing the amount that you owe. Payments can be made online, by mail or bring into the school office.
8 months ago, Kristi Berry
MCGS picture day is tomorrow 9/17, students will need to bring picture envelope with payment.
9 months ago, Chris Taylor
MCGS fall fundraiser order forms are due tomorrow(9/12). Thanks for supporting MCGS!
9 months ago, Chris Taylor
Registration bills have been sent in the mail. You can pay online on the parent portal or in the office. Any questions, please contact the office. Thank you.
9 months ago, Kristi Berry
Mrs. Webb’s 4th grade class has filled up their 1st PBIS “Stack the Deck” chart. They are celebrating with a luau party!
9 months ago, Chris Taylor
The MCGS fall fundraiser packets went home with students today. All information on our yearly sale will be in the packets. Please contact the school office with any questions. Thank you for your support in advance. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Currey & Co-Quantum Chandelier-9000
Regular price
$1,990.00
Sale
Blown glass balls flowing along the arcing arms of the Quantum Chandelier turn this classic fixture into something special. The delicate wrought iron frame has been treated to a contemporary silver leaf finish to enhance the glow of the shimmering glass baubles. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Eurogamer interview with Colin Johanson
Colin discusses which Elder Dragon might be included in the expansion along with other topics such as how Living Story will unfold, Guild Missions, Profession Balance, WvW changes, Culling, Karma and the Daily and Monthly achievements.
Where is the short version? Why are people just linking stuff instead of posting the content.
0:45 wasted on going to another website, allowing scripts and watching a commercial
0:30 wasted on a GW 2 intro
2:00 wasted on listening how great the big story updates form the last months have developed, like 'your favorite TV show has a new great story every week'.
Seriously. Comparing only one episode of, for example Game of Thrones, to the 'Living Story' that has happenend in the last few months, is just arrogant.
In the last minute he talks about Jormag and that he likes him, but this doesn't mean that Jormag WILL be the next expansions dragon. The only new thing to me so far was the talk about the option to choose things for your monthly, similiar to the dailies right now. Or at least that ArenaNet is thinking about it.
Still, GW2 is my favorite game atm and I was looking for some new, awesome information. This was just another 'Oh we are doing so great!'-video. Not worth listening to.
This was just another 'Oh we are doing so great!'-video. Not worth listening to.
Thanks for the summary. I hate trying to glean information from videos.
Any intro longer than 2 seconds - unnecessary fluff. Don't care.
Introductions - yeah, we get how happy you are they're interviewing with you, what an honor it is, etc. Filler. Don't care.
Any self-congratulatory back patting - don't care.
Any discussion on what's currently going on in a game I'm actively playing so I already see it every day - don't care.
Anything about PvP - don't care. (Thanks to the comments in another one of these threads I saved myself an hour and half of watching a GW2 video that had nothing to do with my playstyle.)
Anything to do with instanced content that involves more than 2 people - don't care.
Anything to do with what Anet employees would like to see, but is not even on the radar for future content let alone even in development - don't care. (Tired of hearing about "so&so says they'd like Tengu to be the next race" or "Jormag the next dragon", etc. Let me know when that's actually going to happen and isn't just a "wouldn't it be cool?" side comment.)
Thanks for the summary. I hate trying to glean information from videos.
Any intro longer than 2 seconds - unnecessary fluff. Don't care.
Introductions - yeah, we get how happy you are they're interviewing with you, what an honor it is, etc. Filler. Don't care.
Any self-congratulatory back patting - don't care.
Any discussion on what's currently going on in a game I'm actively playing so I already see it every day - don't care.
Anything about PvP - don't care. (Thanks to the comments in another one of these threads I saved myself an hour and half of watching a GW2 video that had nothing to do with my playstyle.)
Anything to do with instanced content that involves more than 2 people - don't care.
Anything to do with what Anet employees would like to see, but is not even on the radar for future content let alone even in development - don't care. (Tired of hearing about "so&so says they'd like Tengu to be the next race" or "Jormag the next dragon", etc. Let me know when that's actually going to happen and isn't just a "wouldn't it be cool?" side comment.)
Yeah, once you take all of this out, the last point especially, there's not really much there in pretty much any of their videos.
Yeah, once you take all of this out, the last point especially, there's not really much there in pretty much any of their videos.
I've not really played many Anet games over the years but I do find their PR spin/BS is up in the top 3 of all the developing games I follow or play. I've actually grown to dislike Collin now since he's become very transparent to me anyways now he fits into the category of believable and trustworthy as lawyers and politicians eg: if his lips move he's BSing or just rambling. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I really become more and more interested in what human beings can do musically. It is an inner reality than comes not from a mere imitating of environmental nature, yet is nothing but an expression of nature itself that we carry and comes out all by itself in a way we still do not understand.
What comes out of humans is such a wider variety than any one person or culture could ever imagine. Look at the different ways people make music, each with its own development, than often is compensatory to how it is used in other cultures. It becomes extremely difficult to reduce music to universal qualities that are common to all. At best we can find some that apply to most, yet in particular, these can vary to a degree that is equally complex.
I prefer to pursuit and defend a path which i see more as going deeper 'into' the human as opposed to only 'outside' of it. What is this 'musical nature" of human beings that some cast as "inferior' to nature as if it has some original sin that must be suppressed. There is something 'puritanical' here.Might this definition of nature be one that only gives it masculine traits and characters, a suppression of all the hidden and truly mysterious workings of nature in places outside the microscope. In the meanwhile music comes out of human beings like breath.
There is much in nature which is beautiful and listenable, and needs to be preserved. This though is as true inwardly than outwardly. The nature we find in the outer world though does not develop although it can be destroyed as is going on world wide [we all know that]. The inner nature though is one that grows and changes in unexpected ways , albeit slowly at times, but this requires a nourishment, more often in it being given expression more than it imitating an outer world. When it imitates it is more often than not inclined toward the imitation of other humans. Even the interest in the environment, might be to big extent, imitating what others humans are doing. Within us too are the plants and varied species that we might water, the ones that grow inside of us and seem to potentially grow without limit. What nature implanted in us, might be so that in a way she might hear herself in a way she can't hear otherwise. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Sort by:
Date Created (Oldest)
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282647/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282649/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282651/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282652/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282654/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282656/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282658/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282660/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282662/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282664/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282665/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. This issue includes the annual report of the Boy Scouts of America, as submitted at the annual meeting. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282674/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282678/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282679/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282681/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282683/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282685/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. This issue is largely devoted to "Boy Scout Uniforms and Accessories." texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282688/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282690/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282692/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282694/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282696/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282698/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282700/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282702/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282704/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282706/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282708/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282710/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282713/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282715/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282717/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282719/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282721/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. This issue includes the annual report of the Boy Scouts of America, as submitted at the annual meeting. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282730/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. Includes an "Index of 'Scouting' from Vol. 1, No. 1 to Vol. II, No. 22," which begins on page 2. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282734/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. This issue is largely devoted to a catalog of Scout supplies. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282740/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282743/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282745/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282748/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282751/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282753/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282755/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282758/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282760/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282763/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282765/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282767/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282769/
Semi-monthly publication of the Boy Scouts of America, written for Boy Scout leaders, officials, and others interested in the work of the Scouts. It includes articles about events and activities, updates from the national headquarters, topical columns and essays, and news from various chapters nationwide. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth282772/ | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
weblogic.management.configuration
Interface ApplicationMBean
An application represents a J2EE application contained in an EAR
file or EAR directory. The EAR file contains a set of components
such as WAR, EJB, and RAR connector components, each of which can be
deployed on one or more targets. A target is a server or a cluster.
If the application is provided as a standalone module, then this MBean is a
synthetic wrapper application only.
Deprecation of MBeanHome and
Type-Safe Interfaces
This is a type-safe interface for a
WebLogic Server MBean, which you can import into your client
classes and access through
weblogic.management.MBeanHome. As of 9.0, the
MBeanHome interface and all type-safe interfaces for
WebLogic Server MBeans are deprecated. Instead, client classes that
interact with WebLogic Server MBeans should use standard JMX design
patterns in which clients use the
javax.management.MBeanServerConnection interface to
discover MBeans, attributes, and attribute types at runtime. For
more information, see "Developing Manageable Applications with JMX"
on http://edocs.bea.com.
getStagingMode()Deprecated. The mode that specifies whether an application's files are
copied from a source on the Administration Server to the Managed
Server's staging area during application preparation.
DEFAULT_STAGE
Indicates that applications deployed to the Admin Server
will not be staged, and that the Admin Server does not copy
deployment files to Managed Servers. With this staging mode, Managed Servers
are treated as staged, and external application (not the Admin Server) is
resonsible for delivering deployment files to the staging directory.
DEPLOYMENT_TIMEOUT
static final int DEPLOYMENT_TIMEOUT
Deprecated.
Default deployment timeout value for two-phase deployments. Time is in milliseconds.
The default timeout should far exceed our worst case expected deployment
of a large application to a large number of destinations.
getPath
The URI, located on the Administration Server, of the original
source files for this application.
Relative paths are based on the root of the Administration
Server installation directory. It is highly recommended that you
use absolute paths to minimize possible issues when upgrading the
server.
If the application is not being staged (StagingMode==nostage)
then the path must be valid on the target server.
The path to an Enterprise application (EAR) is the location of
the EAR file or the root of the EAR if it is unarchived. e.g.
Path="myapps/app.ear" is valid. If the application is a standalone
module, then the path is the parent directory of the module. For
example, if the module is located at myapps/webapp/webapp.war, the
Path="myapps/webapp" is correct, whereas
Path="myapps/webapp/webapp.war" is incorrect.
getFullPath
getStagingPath
The directory that a Managed Server uses to prepare and activate
an application.
The directory path is relative to the Managed Server's
Staging Path. It is derived from the Path attribute, and
depends on whether the application is being staged. If the Path
attribute for application, myapp, is foo.ear, the staging path is
set to myapp/foo.ear. If the path is C:/myapp.ear, the staging path
is myapp/myapp.ear. If the application is not being staged
(StagingMode==nostage), then the staging path is the same as the
Path attribute. If this application is not being staged, the
staging path is equivalent to the source path (Path attribute).
Returns:
The stagingPath value
Since:
7.0.0.0
getStagedTargets
List of servers on which this application is known to be staged.
This makes no distinction regarding the version or state of the
staged files, just that they are staged. The array returned
contains the names of the target servers. This list should not
include cluster names.
Returns:
The stagedTargets value
Since:
7.0.0.0
getStagingMode
The mode that specifies whether an application's files are
copied from a source on the Administration Server to the Managed
Server's staging area during application preparation. Staging mode
for an application can only be set the first time the application is
deployed. Once staging mode for an application is set, it cannot be
changed while the application is configured in the domain. The only
way to change staging mode is to undeploy then redeploy the application.
Staging involves distributing the application files from the
Administration Server to the targeted Managed Servers staging
directory. This attribute is used to override the Managed Server's
StagingMode attribute.
setTwoPhase
void setTwoPhase(boolean mode)
Deprecated.Has no effect
Parameters:
mode - The new twoPhase value
Since:
7.0.0.0
getLoadOrder
int getLoadOrder()
Deprecated.
A numerical value that indicates when this module or application
is deployed, relative to other deployable modules and applications.
Modules with lower Load Order values are deployed before those with
higher values. (Requires that you enable the two-phase deployment
protocol.) | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
WSO2
Founded in August 2005, WSO2 is a global enterprise middleware corporation with offices in USA, UK and Sri Lanka. Providing the only complete open source middleware platform, WSO2 is revolutionizing the industry by putting traditional middleware on a diet | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Hello
2012/12/29 Stephen Frost <sfrost(at)snowman(dot)net>:
> * Pavel Stehule (pavel(dot)stehule(at)gmail(dot)com) wrote:
>> it is a problem of this patch or not consistent constraints implementation ?
>
> Not sure, but I don't think it matters. You can blame the constraint
> implementation, but that doesn't change my feelings about what we need
> before we can accept a patch like this. Providing something which works
> only part of the time and then doesn't work for very unclear reasons
> isn't a good idea. Perhaps we need to fix the constraint implementation
> and perhaps we need to fix the error information being returned, or most
> likely we have to fix both, it doesn't change that we need to do
> something more than just ignore this problem.
so we have to solve this issue first. Please, can you do resume, what
is and where is current constraint implementation raise
strange/unexpected messages?
one question
when we will fix constraints, maybe we can use some infrastructure for
enhanced error fields. What about partial commit now - just necessary
infrastructure without modification of other code - I am thinking so
there is agreement on new fields: column_name, table_name,
schema_name, constraint_name and constraint_schema?
Regards
Pavel
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stephen | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
In today's Padres-related news, Jedd Gyorko hits his first Petco Park home run, then hits the weights. That and other links from around the Web:
How did Jedd Gyorko celebrate Sunday's win, which included his first Petco Park home run? With a postgame weightlifting session, Corey Brock reports. So far, the rookie has carried himself as anything but.
The third-basemen-deficient Dodgers could certainly use Chase Headley, Bill Shaikin writes. A trade with the Padres, though, seems unlikely. As Shaikin notes, "the Dodgers are not bursting with surplus talent on the major league level. The Padres don't need more prospects. They need to win."
The LA Times designed a cool interactive graphic that allows you to compare the payrolls of all 30 MLB teams. You'll see that the Padres spend almost as much on their catchers as the Dodgers do. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
January 20, 2010 - Bus Driver Allegedly DUI on Field Trip
A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school bus driver was charged with driving under the influence after a chaperon on a holiday trip called police to complain about his driving.
Brian Dunlap, 38, of Friendship was arrested Monday and released Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. In addition to the DWI charge, Dunlap faces 15 counts of endangering the welfare of children.
Dunlap drove 15 students from Carrick High School to the Carnegie Science Center, The chaperon, Ryan Dunmire, decided to call police on the return trip.
Dunmire, a Carrick aide, said Dunlap narrowly missed a pole pulling into the center's parking lot. She told police he laughed and that she had observed him slurring words.
Dunlap was not working for the school district, officials said. Alexa New of Pittsburgh Cares said the organization hired SD Transit to take a group of Carrick students to a day of service to mark Martin Luther King's birthday, followed by the trip to the science center.
The police report said Dunlap failed a field sobriety test. An expert concluded he was under the influence of drugs, not alcohol. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Hidden oil spill: Study contradicts owner’s claims
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new federally led study of oil seeping from a platform toppled off Louisiana’s coast 14¢ years ago found releases lower than other recent estimates, but contradicts the well owner’s assertions about the amount and source of oil.
Oil and gas have been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico since a subsea mudslide caused by Hurricane Ivan on Sept. 15, 2004, knocked over a Taylor Energy Co. production platform, which dragged and broke a bundle of well pipes. Taylor capped nine wells but said it couldn’t cap 16.
The company contends oil sheens on the water’s surface indicate there’s only a dribble of 2.4 to 4 gallons of oil and gas a day. Taylor Energy, which is fighting a federal order to stop the seepage, also says any oil rising from the site is from oil-soaked sediment and any gas is produced by living organisms.
“The results of this study contradict these conclusions,” said the report paid for by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore drilling, and written by two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists and one from Florida State University.
Taylor said in an emailed statement that it wants verifiable scientific data about the leak and a scientifically and environmentally sound solution. The company has said remaining pipes are buried under so much oily and treacherous silt that stopping any leaks would do more environmental damage than letting them be.
No coastal environmental damage has been reported from the ongoing seepage, unlike the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, an outside scientist said. The BP spill oiled at least 400 square miles of sea floor and 1,300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida, killing thousands of birds and contributing to dolphin deaths for years.
The study’s authors figure that the total released each day from the Taylor site could have been as much as 4,500 gallons a day. They used sonar and a newly developed “bubblometer” to measure oil and gas bubbles rising through the water.
These are based on direct measurements, while previous estimates have relied on satellite and remote sensing of the sheen of oil resulting from the seep, Chris Taylor, of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Beaufort, North Carolina, said Friday.
The figure is a conservative one, the report said.
Andrew Mason of the NOAA centers’ office in Silver Spring, Maryland, said, “These are not final definitive government estimates,” noting that they will figure in the government’s official estimate after additional study.
The researchers said the oil cannot be from sediment because it’s only mildly biodegraded.
The team’s methods look reasonable, said Ed Overton, a professor of environmental studies at Louisiana State University who was not part of the study.
“There are no standard methods for this type of work,” because the amounts of oil involved are relatively small, he said.
NOAA reported two possible ranges: one using sonar from a boat and an underwater robot; the other using their bubblometer — a box with a video camera to get pictures of the bubbles, topped by a funnel to collect the oil and gas.
The sonar showed releases of 378 to 1,974 gallons a day; the bubblometer data indicated 798 to 4,536 gallons daily.
The extent of the pollution has been an issue since environmentalists investigating the 2010 BP oil spill noticed a persistent sheen outside the heavily oiled area.
A 2015 investigation by The Associated Press revealed evidence that the leak was worse than the company or government had publicly reported. Afterward, the Coast Guard provided a new leak estimate about 20 times larger than the company’s at the time.
The Coast Guard said in mid-May that the recurrent sheen about 11 miles from New Orleans had become “barely visible” since a containment system was installed several weeks earlier.
Court papers said the system had captured more than 30,000 gallons of oil over 30 days. That works out to a daily amount in the middle of the sonar estimate and at the low end of the bubblometer estimate, the new report said.
A federal expert’s report in Taylor Energy’s lawsuit put the figure at 10,500 to 29,400 gallons a day. That could be interpreted to mean more oil may have leaked there since 2004 than the estimated 130 million gallons from the BP gusher in 2010.
But Mason said the new report can’t be used to extrapolate the total spilled from the Taylor site.
And Overton of LSU said unlike the Deepwater Horizon, this is a slow, small seep that hasn’t oiled wildlife or beaches.
“Whatever the volume … it doesn’t mean it piles up so that you’ve got a Gulf full of oil,” he said. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
High Quality Data Key to Eliminating Bias in AI
Biases are an incurable symptom of the human decision-making process. We make assumptions, judgements and decisions on imperfect information as our brains are wired to take the path of least resistance and draw quick conclusions which affect us socially as well as financially.
The inherent human “negative bias” is a byproduct of our evolution. For our survival it was of primal importance to be able to quickly assess the danger posed by a situation, an animal or another human. However our discerning inclinations have evolved into more pernicious biases over the years as cultures become enmeshed and our discrimination is exacerbated by religion, caste, social status and skin color.
Human bias and machine learning
In traditional computer programming people hand code a solution to a problem. With machine learning (a subset of AI) computers learn to find the solution by finding patterns in the data they are fed, ultimately, by humans. As it is impossible to separate ourselves from our own human biases and that naturally feeds into the technology we create.
Examples of AI gone awry proliferate technology products. In an unfortunate example, Google had to apologise for tagging a photo of black people as gorillas in its Photos app, which is supposed to auto-categorise photos by image recognition of its subjects (cars, planes, etc). This was caused by the heuristic know as “selection bias”. Nikon had a similar incident with its cameras when pointed at Asian subjects, when focused on their face it prompted the question “is someone blinking?”
Potential biases in machine learning:
Interaction bias: If we are teaching a computer to learn to recognize what an object looks like, say a shoe, what we teach it to recognize is skewed by our interpretation of a shoe (mans/womans or sports/casual) and the algorithm will only learn and build upon that basis.
Latent bias: If you’re training your programme to recognize a doctor and your data sample is of previous famous physicists, the programme will be highly skewed towards males.
Similarity bias: Just what it sounds like. When choosing a team, for example, we would favor those most similar to us than as opposed to those we view as “different”.
Selection bias: The data used to train the algorithm over represents one population, making it operate better for them at the expense of others.
Algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) are intended to minimize human emotion and involvement in data processing that can be skewed by human error and many would think this sanitizes the data completely. However, any human bias or error collecting the data going into the algorithm will actually be exaggerated in the AI output.
Gender bias in Fintech
Every industry has its own gender and race skews and the technology industry, like the financial industry, is dominated by white males. Silicon Valley has earned the reputation as a Brotopia due to its boy club culture. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Obama joins 2 other world leaders for a selfie at Mandela's memorial
Now, some people are adding President Obama to the list of people with poor selfie judgment after the leader of the free world posed with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service Tuesday in South Africa.
It appears from photos of the incident that Obama was not the instigator (that distinction goes to Thorning-Schmidt). But he seems to have participated happily, though First Lady Michelle Obama seemed unimpressed by the whole spectacle.
The photo has earned the world leaders a place among other funeral selfie-takers who are featured in the Tumblr "Selfies at Funerals." In fact, the creator of the Tumblr, Jason Feifer, a senior editor at Fast Company, made the Obama selfie the final entry on the social blogging site.
"There is simply nobody bigger in the world that could have taken a selfie at a funeral,” Feifer, who also created "Selfies at Serious Places," told the Los Angeles Times.
He said he had actually intended his last post before Tuesday’s to be the end of the Tumblr, which he started in October. But he found the Obama selfie too good to pass up -- and too good to follow up.
"Everybody has to know when it is time to bow out," he said.
Do you think the memorial service selfie is in poor taste? Let me know on Twitter: @lauraelizdavis. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
News
Kyiv, August 17, 2015.Russia-backed militants attacked Ukrainian positions in the outskirts of Mariupol yesterday evening. In particular, the village of Sartana came under heavy fire. Two civilians were killed and six were injured, including a 10-year-old girl. Four buildings were destroyed as a result of shelling as well, said Colonel Andriy Lysenko, spokesperson of the Administration of the President of Ukraine on ATO-related issues, at a press briefing at Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. Col. Lysenko noted that despite tense situation, Ukrainian troops remain in control of their positions, repelling every attack of the militants.
In the Luhansk sector, several armed incidents were registered near Stanytsa Luhanska, The militants intensified their activities in the nighttime, firing from the opposite side of the Siversky Donets river. “The militants stationed in the Mala Verhunka district of the city of Luhansk initiated mortar attacks throughout the day. To the west from Shchastya, hostile activities were registered near Tryokhizbenka and Nyzhne,” noted Col. Lysenko. Russian proxy fighters continued instigating mortar attacks from the southern direction along local roads, especially intense fire exchange took place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. to the south of Tryokhizbenka: the militants used mortars and grenade launchers. Col. Lysenko remarked that ceasefire was generally holding at the Novotoshkivske – Zolote – Popasna – Troyitske part of the frontline.
In the Donetsk sector, three armed incidents took place in the area of Svitlodarsk. No cases heavy weapons use has been recorded in the area. Fire exchanges between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed militants continued in the vicinity of Horlivka and surrounding areas stretching from Svitlodarsk water reservoir to the northeast to Novhorodske to the west. “The most complicated situation is north of Mayorsk and Zaytseve, where the enemy fires at our positions from heavy mortars, artillery and tanks,” said Col. Lysenko. The militants stationed their heavy weapons in residential areas of Horlivka. Ceasefire generally holds in this area during the daytime.
The epicenter of military operations between Horlivka to Yasynuvata was the towns of Verkhnyotoretske and Troyitske. The militants opened fire from heavy weapons ten times at Ukrainian servicemen. “It is on the front line Avdiivka – Opytne – Pisky– Krasnohorivka – Maryinka where over half of all ceasefire violations occur. Military action resumed near southers areas of Donets on the road to Mariupol. The militants launched three attacks – two from heavy artillery and one from Grad multiple rocket launcher – against Ukrainian troops in Taramchuk and Berezove villages,” said Col. Lysenko
In the Mariupol sector, the major standoff occurred along the Bohdanivka – Starohnativka – Hranitne line. The militants used 120 mm mortars and howitzers, fired at the Ukrainian forces from the distance of up to 10 km. Hostile fire was observed near Talakivka and Sartana too.
Ukrainian servicemen spotted four flights of militant unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “Also the Ukrainian border guards observed a flight of one hostile UAV and two helicopters of the aggressor state on the administrative line between the Crimea and Kherson region,” added Col. Lysenko.
Two Ukrainian servicemen were killed in action and seven were wounded in action in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s law enforcement seized an arms arsenal in the house of a 29-years-old resident of Avdiivka. It contained an anti-tank grenade launcher, 11 under-barrel grenades and more than 300 round of ammunition. According to Col. Lysenko, the offender may face a sentence of up to seven years in jail. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Product Options
For the serious crafter, the A10 envelope (6 x 9.5) is a must-have in your stationery collection: its dimensions neatly accommodate a half-folded sheet of paper for homemade card enthusiasts and letter-writers alike. A multipurpose envelope, the A10 model is also suitable for other announcement purposes and may also be used as an outer envelope for invitations. Choose from an array of exciting colors and add a bit of pizzazz to your next invitation! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Yesterday British Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a parliamentary vote on her proposal for Britain’s departure from the European Union, which the New York Times called “a humiliating retreat that left the country’s economic and political future uncertain, and revealed her tenuous hold on power.”
Adding insult to injury, award-winning actor Andy Serkis reprised his most famous role in May’s honor, a Gollum of the executive branch. But instead of droning on about a ring here, a ring there, and the pros and cons of “hobbitses,” this time he’s hissing about the will of the people and “blue passportses.”
Serkis equates Brexit with the One Ring, portraying it unflatteringly as an object of May’s political obsession. News of yesterday’s postponed vote caused the British pound to drop to its lowest level in more than a year, and the prime minister’s office announced today that May will bring the Brexit deal back to Parliament for another vote before January 21, potentially before Christmas. Meantime, Serkis serves up an impressively intense performance, channeling a rage not seen since Mordor. Sure it’s a bit weird, but then so is U.K. politics these days. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Www betting tips free com, Football bet tips prediction
Theme 34: Football bet tips prediction
which isn't a position valued as highly football bet tips prediction as tackle. Considering the type of impact an elite offensive line can have on an offense, however, oG, quenton Nelson, notre Dame Carlos Osorio/Associated Press This is generally way too high for an offensive guard,jul 19,
Football bet tips prediction
44.6m Huddersfield Goalkeeper Robert Green on a free transfer from Leeds United; Moroccan midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri from Nuremberg for a fee of 1.5m; Swiss defender Florent Hadergjonaj on loan from Ingolstadt; Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy from Manchester City for a fee of 9.1m; American midfielder.
but if the football bet tips prediction Colts rack up 35, if Indy scores 27 and Cincy gets 13 points, lets say in the Colts and Bengals game that the total is posted at 37.5. The total would be at 40 and the over would win.
205, but happens to be underwhelming. SEATTLE OFFENSE : The Seahawks managed liverpool vs man united sky bet to score just 14 points against a Redskin defense missing numerous defensive linemen, i finished, which isn't bad,
heading into Monday Night Football in Week 8, however, devontae Booker has played on just 34 snaps in his previous two games. He espn fantasy football flex rankings week 7 appears to have a secure passing game role locked-down with seven catches in the last two weeks combined.
Different bookmakers have different odds Bookmakers have different odds for a number of reasons but the main ones are that they disagree on the likelihood of a given result, they have different profit margins built into their odds or they have taken large amounts of.
free handicapped sports football bet tips prediction winners, free sports handicapper, free march madness winners. Free NFL football point spread, specifically the Bill of Rights. Do not accept wagers, free march madness picks, we merely offer legal wagering information for legal sports bettors under the Constitution of the United States of America, free Major League Baseball odds, free march madness plays, free NBA basketball point spread, we are not bookmakers, baseball scores, free handicapped sports pick,jacob Eason will more than likely be under center for the Dawgs, as hes shown very football bet tips prediction good progression in camp, the Dawgs have a legit chance to win the SEC East, and is the odds on favorite to get the job.
Photos "Football bet tips prediction":
click HERE for VIP Tips!. Fixed Matches, private-Tips Best Tips, free Tips Fixed Matches HT FT Odds 30 football bet tips prediction Best Tip 1x2 Sure 100 2/1 1/2 Match Safe Profit Betting - Tips Free 1x2 Matches Football. Click HERE for Free Tips!for the sake of football bet tips prediction both you and your families future, why 98 Of People Fail The fact is. Read the rest of this letter and I will prove to you without a shadow of a doubt that this is what you've been hoping for.
Cricket betting tips king:
jump on the Money Train and get PAID! 69 Winners last Year in football bet tips prediction the NFL! Jump on the Money Train with the Syndicate and get PAID! Andre Ramirez is 66 for the Last 2 Years in the NFL!but that talks between the two sides football bet tips prediction continued well into the summer. An executive with knowledge of Nissan's dealings with NBC said it had not bought any in-game inventory during the upfront,
or simply the Amex. Their Falmer Stadium is also known as the American Express Community Stadium, brighton football bet tips prediction initially played in the Southern League today ipl match prediction srh vs rcb before being elected to the Football League in 1920. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Isaac Kolstad was in critical condition Sunday morning at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato.Photo: Photo courtesy of the Kolstad family
Former University of Minnesota Quarterback Philip Nelson was arrested for assault early Sunday morning in Mankato, according to police.
Police say 20-year-old Nelson was booked into Blue Earth County Jail at 2:44 a.m. The Mankato West graduate is facing third degree assault charges.
Minnesota State, Mankato, football player and Mankato East graduate Isaac Kolstad was in critical condition Sunday night at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato. Police say Kolstad was found near the intersection of Cherry and South Front Streets around 2 a.m.
Police say Nelson was located on scene and taken into custody shortly after for probable cause assault. Another person is being sought by police.
A candlelight vigil will was held for Kolstad at the MSU Mankato field house. Dozens of people had candles in their hands and support for Kolstad all around them.
"We're all going through it together, " Kevin Buisman, the MSU Mankato Athletic Director, said. "Maverick football is part of Isaac, and Isaac is a part of Maverick football."
Isaac’s family has issued the following statement:
"We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support we have received during this difficult time. Isaac is a very strong and determined young man, who is dearly loved by his family and friends. We would respectfully ask for your continued prayers.
We would also ask members of the news media and others to respect our request and need for privacy at this time. We have requested that no further information (beyond his medical condition) be released. Thank you for your understanding and continued thoughts and prayers for Isaac, his wife and children, and all others who are involved in this situation."
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and former Mankato Maverick Adam Thielen sent the following tweet in response to reports of Kolstad's condition.
Please everyone keep @IsaacKolstad22 in your prayers! He is an amazing person and is a fighter and will get through this! Love ya bud | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Massenet's Werther
About
In Massenet's masterpiece, based on Goethe's Sorrows of the Young Werther, tears never cease to flow from the very moment the moonlit set is revealed and closed. "My whole being cries at it" says Werther. We are a long way from opera's usual tears, be they furtive or violent. These tears flow slowly and inexorably, one by one. Patient tears as Charlotte puts it.
In the space of four acts, they will have done their work. Charlotte cannot hold the tears back as she rereads Werther's letters. They will flow in front of Sophie, the angel of consolation. They will flow when Werther reads Ossian. And finally they will flow at the sight of Werther's blood-soaked body. Yet Werther refuses these last tears: for now he is happy and free. Werther is a long requiem, lacrimosa dies illa, a tearful day if ever there was. A requiem for a young poet ending in paradisum. For Werther, of course, could only be a poet: that is to say, above the world, yet nevertheless enslaved to it. Death hovers above him, and Massenet marked his song with the sign, evoked by Rilke in his Sonnets to Orpheus, of those who are to die young. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Most of Venezuela is now starving and suffering horribly from the effects of Socialism. Ninety percent of people in the country are living in poverty, and an astonishing 2 million have fled, creating a humanitarian crisis in countries accepting refugees.
Venezuelans have learned the hard way the deadly price of gun control and have a dire warning for the rest of us.
Javier Vanegas, a Venezuelan exile, told Fox News:
“Guns would have served as a vital pillar to remaining a free people, or at least able to put up a fight. The government security forces, at the beginning of this debacle, knew they had no real opposition to their force. Once things were this bad, it was a clear declaration of war against an unarmed population.
“Venezuelans didn’t care enough about it. The idea of having the means to protect your home was seen as only needed out in the fields. People never would have believed they needed to defend themselves against the government. Venezuelans evolved to always hope that our government would be non-tyrannical, non-violator of human rights, and would always have a good enough control of criminality.”
‘Disarm All Citizens’
According to Fox, “Under the direction of then-President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2012 enacted the ‘Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law,’ with the explicit aim to ‘disarm all citizens.’ The law took effect in 2013, with only minimal pushback from some pro-democracy opposition figures, banned the legal commercial sale of guns and munitions to all - except government entities.”
After a guns-for-electrical-goods trade program failed, Chavez instituted gun seizures, confiscating more than 12,500 firearms by force. Homicide rates, of course, subsequently rose in Venezuela.
“The punishment for illicit carrying or selling a weapon now is 20 years behind bars,” Fox reports.
Vanegas’ words of warning are ominous and should make every apathetic American gun owner – whose government has already begun confiscating citizens’ guns – sit up and pay attention:
“If guns had been a stronger part of our culture, if there had been a sense of duty for one to protect their individual rights, and as a show of force against a government power – and had legal carry been a common thing – it would have made a huge difference.”
The Fox News report on the fallout from Venezuela’s gun ban ("Venezuelans regret gun ban, 'a declaration of war against an unarmed population'") is shocking, heart-breaking, and a must-read. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
negation
Warning: mUutations are a project from my other site, Uut Poetry. They are arbitrary interpretive readings that change the poems into something they’re not. Proceed at your own risk.
The Dog in the Garage
The dog in the garage,
The hound that wanders around
Snapping at flies, with an infected ear —
Suddenly starts to run
Across the street at an angle.
He must have remembered something
Mixed with the odors of dust
And car-grease — a delirious
Fragrance of sexual life.
I just started reading Kayak—the poetry magazine George Hitchcock ran almost single-handedly from 1964-84. It’s a wonderful zine brought to life with Hitchcock’s visual collages. The magazine serves as a portal into the surrealist and deep image poetry of the period. Andrew Joron cites it as “the most sustained, and most visible, interact between deep-image and surrealist poetry.” This is good and bad, however, since deep imagism, for many, is a tamed, domesticated pseudo-surrealism—surrealism without teeth. A pertinent quote from Joron:
Such notions [of the deep image], in spite of their superficial affinities with Surrealism, fall short Surrealism’s radical demand for the dialectical Aufhebung of dream and reality. The deep imagists tended to rely on “intensification of intuition” (citing Jung) rather than on the intensification of contradiction; theirs was essentially an affirmative art, devoid of the surrealist appetite for negation and otherness (as exemplified by Breton’s phrase “Existence is elsewhere”).
Joron’s evocation of Hegel’s term, aufhebung, is very interesting. The contradictory meanings of the word (“lift,” “abolish,” “sublate”) make it an intriguing choice for surrealism (which is, to a great extent, Hegelian). The word suggests more than synthesis, as thesis and antithesis are “preserved and changed” simultaneously. In aufhebung, objects remains open and distinct while, simultaneously, merging with the other.
I wonder if a useful dividing line can be drawn between epiphany-centered poems (those written in the spirit of Bly and James Wright) and the “non-epiphanic” deep image poems that gesture, much less conspicuously, toward sublation. There are many poems in Kayak modeled closely on Wright’s “Lying in a Hammock.” Take this poem by David P. Etter:
HOLLYHOCKS
Hollyhocks are swaying gently
under the blue branches of an elm.
I watch 82 freight cars
sink into the corn leaves
and over the rim of the prairie.
On my back now, I watch the sky
make wool pictures of mothers.
Two blackbirds fly toward the river:
the muddy river of endless regret.
I could lie here forever
and look up at these hollyhocks.
I will never get on in the world.
The same pattern of the meditative, nature-conscious Wordsworthian speaker builds up to an implied epiphany, which is expressed through a “gap” or “leap” into a profound thought, usually in the final line. This is a wonderful way to express the powers of intuition and deep interconnection of man and nature. It is “affirmative,” finding resonance and basic goodness in nature and consciousness.
Such a vision and expression is successful in many ways, but it is different, as Joron notes, from one of the more important characteristics of surrealism. And it’s not that the surrealists are dour pessimists who take the same experience and draw opposite, nihilistic, conclusions. Rather, the difference is one of discursion. The “Lying in a Hammock” poem draws a final statement from the experience, whether good or bad (usually good). Their experience of the world is epiphanic, even mystical. The surrealists are more skeptical epistemologically. Epiphanies, by their nature, are conclusive.
But what about Simpson’s poem? Epiphanies seem to be a matter of subjective judgment. His poem doesn’t seem to contain an epiphany. If there is one, it is so minor that it is almost inconsequential. The speaker interprets the dog: “He must have remembered something.” This could be an epiphany (or become one), but the statement is speculative (“he must have”), whereas Etter’s and Wright’s interpretive statements are declarative: “I have wasted my life” and “I will neverget on in the world.” What the dog remembered might be epiphanic—for the dog—or, the fact that the speaker sees this in the dog might be epiphanic for the speaker. But since what the dog must have remembered isn’t stated. Behind the statement is a potential epiphany, but it is gestured toward from a distance and remains hidden. This lends the poem a sense of openness.
Surrealist aufhebung required openness. The surrealists achieve this by eschewing conclusions (and hence, epiphanies). The simplest way to do this is to stick to images and juxtapositions. The implicative nature of juxtaposition seems to do most of the dialectical work automatically for the surrealist. Yet, only when sublation goes unstated can the paradoxical nature of aufhebung be fully realized.
Simpson’s poem walks the line between surrealist openness and deep-imagist closure. This poem is affirmative—of animal life and the power of the unconscious—and the resonance of “delirious fragrance” pushes the poem toward closure. On the other hand, the poem’s basic maneuver (and its success) comes through contradiction and contrast (infection/virility, memory/delirium, industrialism/sexuality).
Most importantly, the sublation is hidden within the world itself and is not a product of the speaker’s consciousness—the dog itself is aufhebung. It (gender unknown) is a living animal that bundles together energies of disparity, disorder, and disjunction. Yet that bundle of attributes achieves a tenuous cohesion—it is a thing capable of following scents (and sense), and of crossing the street successfully (albeit without efficiency or grace). That awkward hodgepodge, the dog, is the paradox of sublation. Simpson both does and does not suggest that miracle for the reader. Undoubtedly he perceives the mystery, and yet, he’s “just reporting” the dog’s actions and psychology. The poem is surreal because the dog in itself is surreal. The poem is deep image because our experience of the dog carries resonance and (potentially) closure. The line between closed/open, epiphany/non-epiphany, intuition/contradiction, or sublation/deposition can be quite elusive. More importantly, Simpson reveals the surreality, theaufhebung, lying hidden within experience itself. (In that sense, the poem points to something I am growing increasingly aware of: surrealism is fundamentally mimetic.) | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
On Tuesday, Spain's Parliament began its formal discussion about the economic and political crises that are ravaging the country. The three most subsequently important debates were regarding the future Transparency Law, the proposal of the Popular Legislative Initiative as a means to affront the number of mortgage-based evictions, and the intervention of European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi in the discourse on the ECB's role in the Euro zone crisis [es] and in particular its role in Spain. Draghi accept Spain's request for a meeting but requested a closed session with Congress, without stenographers or recordings.
The sector of Spanish society that remains fully abreast with the political and social happenings within the country have been quick to respond to the unjust and misrepresentative decisions that have been made in recent days. Tuesday's private session intensified these citizens’ efforts as they turned in droves to social media to make their voices heard. But this time, they had extra leverage to bolster their cause: the actions of two members of Izquierda Unida [United Left] who disobeyed Draghi's conditions for a closed session (it was prohibited for representatives to send informative updates beyond the room). They disagreed, believing the president of the ECB should be held accountable to the public given the scope of authority of the position.
As such, Joan Coscubiela and Alberto Garzón, the two representatives in question, defied orders and live Tweeted Draghi's address under the hashtag #OpenDraghi. They also recorded the parliamentary session (five videos in total) and posted them to YouTube. The videos, which weren't posted in real-time, now have more than 155,000 views.
Joan Coscubiela and Álberto Garzón, the two parliament representatives behind the #OpenDraghi initiative.
The violation of the closed session order could result in sanctions [es] against the two member of Parliament. Garzón and Coscubiela's party set up a website so users could easily track the parliamentary developments. The site's motto is, “They closed the Congress. We will open it!” Congressional President Jesús Posada called Representative Garzón to order when he addressed Draghi on his management of the European financial crisis. Garzón called the ECB an anti-democratic organization, accusing it of “extorting money from various countries” and of “taking no actions as the crisis has developed,” claiming the situation should now “go before the courts.” He went one step further by saying Draghi was to blame for the cuts to social services and was to be held responsible the recovery of the financial system, demanding explanations for the actions Draghi has taken on both.
The Spanish blogging community has also weighed in heavily in publicizing Draghi's address. ProfesorGeoHistoria wrote the following in his blog:
“Draghi's address to Congress thanks to left-wing representatives. To have a closed session is to admit that things are transpiring that it would be better the general public didn't know. It's shameful.”
The United Left's web page, the party who posted the session on YouTube, indicates they are unable to continue streaming.
Here is a sample of tweets that circulated under the hashtag #OpenDraghi, which became one of the day's trending topics.
Support our work
Global Voices stands out as one of the earliest and strongest examples of how media committed to building community and defending human rights can positively influence how people experience events happening beyond their own communities and national borders.
Down with the undemocratic,satanist EU. It proves what a tyranny it is when it refused to allow the Spanish parliament to report what had gone on with the mad gravy train and control freak, Mario Draghi. How do the people put up with Technocrats dictating their country’s policies and future.
It is a total disgrace and Draghi should be removed. Wake up people! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
May 29, 2012Courts, Claims, and Culture: A Forum on Indigenous Title to Marine ResourcesMP4 Video | Windows Media Video | Audio (mp3) | Transcript |
A forum on how indigenous people go about demonstrating, substantiating their claims, the landscape, the resources in the United States and Australia. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Mobile phones are being used widely for daily tasks that are essential for day to day life. Mobile users, today, expect to complete a variety of tasks by using their mobile phones. We offer mobile website development to businesses looking to make their websites mobile phone friendly so their potential customers have access to these sites wherever they go and can never leave without access to the information you want them to have.
In a busy world it becomes increasingly important to have a mobile website. The mobile websites are tailored for mobile phones in that they use less power, fit better in smaller screens, are optimized for slower internet connection and render similarly in different phones.
We help you provide your customers with the best in mobile websites. They will have constant access to your services through the palm of their hands so you may rest assured that they are always connected to you. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Tag Archives: mental strength
Motherhood is a sport that requires energy, mental toughness, patience and a laundry list of other traits. Before you fall apart thinking that you could never possibly be this idealistic super mom, I’m here to tell you that you can achieve the ... | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
LinkedIn Mobile Apps Get Makeover
LinkedIn's mobile apps are the latest to get a facelift following Apple's iOS 7 update. The professional social network announced several new features and functionalities this week, with some available for Android, too.
LinkedIn's most noticeable change is the design improvement for iOS 7. Other social networks, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, have already tweaked their look to fit with the iOS 7 update. LinkedIn described its design as flatter and cleaner with "sharp edges and soft colors to emphasize news, updates and insights […] to help you quickly consume the information you're after."
In both the iOS 7 and new Android version, LinkedIn's news reader app, Pulse, got new features. The improvements include news updates and swiping gestures to move between articles, the company said.
Another new feature both mobile apps got: Endorsements. Previously available only on the Web, Endorsements let you vote up a connection's skill set and suggest new skills for the user to add to his profile. LinkedIn users can both accept endorsements and give them out using its Android or iOS app. The professional social network introduced Endorsements a year ago, and in March reported that users have doled out more than 1 billion of them.
"Endorsements give you a quick way to find someone's top talents based on skills their connections have endorsed," said Duncan Osborn, who works with the mobile product team at LinkedIn. "With endorsements on mobile, you can keep your professional reputation fresh by accepting endorsements from your connections and by adding skills to your profile. In addition, you can recognize your connections for being awesome at what they do by endorsing them from your phone."
Finally, LinkedIn also introduced a guide to help bring new mobile app users up to speed on the platform. If you haven't used LinkedIn's mobile app before, the social network will take you through a step-by-step guide the first time you log on to help you build your network, join groups, follow companies and more.
These updates are the latest in a handful of new mobile features that LinkedIn has launched lately. In August, the professional social network announced that iOS and Android users could not only search for jobs using its mobile apps, but apply for them, too, directly from their mobile phone.
To get the latest versions of LinkedIn's mobile apps, visit the iTunes store for the iOS version or the Google Play store for the Android version.
I agree w/ David Carr. Endorsements is a hugely artificial way to add data elements to someone's profile, and one of the more disingenuous tools LinkedIn has created. Hope the rest of the new LinkedIn mobile version works better than what I experience currently. The mobile experience is pretty poor. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Friday, 31 July 2015
SEE how staffs react to CMD of FMC Owerri Dr. Angela Uwakwem Suspension
Dr Mrs Angela Uwakwem has been in the news of late over the running battle she was having with the staff of the hospital because of some policies especially the private -public partnership she introduced which did not go down with the staff of the center
She was also accused of nepotism, occultic practices within the hospital premises, high handiness and allegedly enriching herself from the coffers of the medical center to the detriment of her former staff.
See more photos after the cut:
At a point, the staff of the center went on strike, demanding for her sack and from what we gathered, she was suspended on Monday this week to enable the investigative panel do their job without interference , an announcement that interpreted to mean that the thorn in their flesh have been sacked and that triggered off massive jubilation in the medical center and the staff of the center went on dancing spree as the pictures below shows.
We were told it was so serious that they invited a DJ for the sack party | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Sunday, July 8, 2007
EU vs US: Who lives better?
Ah, the eternal debate. A favorite cocktail conversation for us poor (er, rich) Americans in Europe, one that gets more entertaining with each round of drinks. Everywhere on this glorious continent I have lived and traveled, Europeans love to hate on the US, until they tell me they want to work or study there (as soon as Bush is out of office), or entertain themselves with our music and movies. But, this being a globalized world where our entertainment stuff is available to them, that fact doesn't really answer the question of who, in their own countries, lives better.
All this has recently been brought into focus by the release of M.Moore's "Sicko," which shows (if I understand correctly) just how shitty the American health care system is for the best country ever. I've always been stunned with the wretchedness of our system, and how clearly it reinforces the class stratification of our advanced capitalist society. But right now I don’t feel like making a valuable contribution to the debate. This is probably a good idea because I’m still on the fence anyway (though leaning toward Europe...until their social welfare system implodes), and because I have plenty of other work to do today. And because I'm not drunk yet. However, I figured I’d link to a recent fair-minded contribution to the debate by Timothy Egan, which can serve as a nice platform for future debates.
One highlight: Last year, Warren Buffett, third richest man in the world, was taxed at 17 percent. His receptionist paid nearly twice that, at 30 percent. There's American justice at work for you, people. Then again, let's not forget that pretty much everyone in Europe is taxed at over 30%, but the universal medical coverage is so mediocre or slow that those who can afford it opt to pay extra for private plans.
The debate, which should go through some interesting ups and downs in the near future as the US continues with a war on terror and weak dollar, and the EU tries to, er, function, and evolve successfully. For a longer and more detailed review of this issue, check out this Tony Judt piece in the NYRB, appropriately entitled "Europe vs America." I will do my best to expose ugly truths and hypocrisies without actually getting ill here and having to test the system first-hand. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Latest reviews
TOURIST TRAP, don't eat here. They overcharge you for the drinks (which are not mentioned on the menu). The apple pie had mould on the side. Also got diarrhea after eating here. Food is disgusting. Read more or Comment
You enter the bar and think it is a normal 'nice' place to stop for a quick drink, and then quickly find that you are going to be charged 40 euros or more for a couple of non-alcoholic drinks. When you complain the waiters become aggressive... Read more or Comment
Absolutely horrible experience. Here the reasons.
1. We did not have the possibility to look at the price list.
2. We asked for two small draft beers, since I had to drive for 1 h, and my lady does not drink that much.
3. They brought... Read more or Comment | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Saved, Yet a Thief? (Zach Fomum)
"What would have happened if Zacchaeus had come down from the tree, received the Lord Jesus, led him home but not announced his programme of putting things right and walking properly with God?"
The Lord said,
"Did I not choose you, the Twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was to betray him" (John 6:70-71).
Judas was called "a devil". Why? He was called a devil because he was a thief who did not repent and who betrayed Jesus in order to have money.
There is a sense in which every thief is a devil. How does this bear on the matter of restitution? The bearing is this: If a man defrauded anyone, he stole. He remains a thief until he has repented and restored what he stole. If such a person comes to the Lord and receives Him, he must go back and restore all that he stole. He might have stolen it by asking for a bribe, by asking for a favour that he should not have asked for and by using every means possible to acquire that which he should not have acquired. He has stolen and must restitute. If he does not restitute, he is a thief even if he claims to be saved. He is a devil, regardless of what he claims to be his experience in Christ. The law of God and the demands of God are immutable. The Bible demands that the thief who cannot restitute what he has stolen, should be sold for his theft.
"If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. He shall make restitution; if he has nothing then he shall be sold for his theft" (Exodus 22:1).
Are you a thief who claims to be saved? Go and carry out restitution! As long as you have not carried out restitution you are still in the old life, regardless of what you may claim.
Have you thought about the person you defrauded? Do you have compassion on him? If you do, go and carry out restitution. Remember also that what you have done to him has been done to God. You have stolen from God.
SPARING ZACCHAEUS?
The Lord Jesus stood by and watched while Zacchaeus carried out restitution that ruined his finances! Why did Jesus not spare Zacchaeus? Why did He not say, "Zacchaeus, I did not mean that you should go that far. I only wanted to test you. Give a tithe to the poor and do not bother about those you defrauded. It belongs to the old life and I have forgiven and cancelled that. Be at peace"?
If the Lord had done that, He would have been a proclaimer of false peace. He would have given someone aspirin when he needed surgery. He would have prepared him for spiritual death.
You have read the way that God wants restitution carried out. You have seen that the purpose for which God gives money to people is that it should be used to meet needs and not stored up. God evaluates riches in terms of what has passed through a man's hands, that is, the fruit of his labours that have been put into meeting the needs of those without the gospel and those with other needs. He considers that those who stock wealth for themselves are not only poor - they are wicked! We counsel you not to allow anyone to stand in the way of your carrying out restitution. He can deceive you now and help ease your conscience now but on that day you will stand alone to face your Judge. It is best for you to be reconciled to the Judge now by carrying out all the restitution that He demands so that on that day you shall be acquitted. Therefore, be wise. Act! Do not be disturbed by what it will cost you. What can you give in exchange for your soul? What can you give in exchange for a clear conscience? These are priceless - your soul and your conscience!
Be the lone man who dares to carry out full restitution. There are many who may claim to be walking with the Lord who have not bothered to carry out restitution! Do not imitate them. Do not be moved by what may appear to be their apparent spirituality or the apparent success of their ministries! God knows those who are His and He has counselled all who are His to depart from all iniquity. Be one such. Amen. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Novartis receives positive CHMP opinion for Gilenya® for the treatment of children and adolescents with MS, marking a major medical advance for young MS patients in Europe
Sep 21, 2018
Children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience more frequent and often more severe relapses than adults with the disease, hindering their development and ability to take part in everyday life
Positive opinion is based on the landmark Phase III PARADIGMS trial, which showed Gilenya (fingolimod) substantially reduced the debilitating impact of MS in young patients
If approved, Gilenya is expected to be the first and only oral disease-modifying therapy approved for children and adolescents in Europe
Basel, September 21, 2018- Novartis today announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of Gilenya® (fingolimod) for the treatment of children and adolescents 10 to 17 years of age with relapsing remitting forms of multiple sclerosis (RRMS). If approved, Gilenya® is expected to be the first oral disease-modifying therapy indicated for these patients based on a randomized controlled clinical study[1]. The younger patient population experiences two-to-three times as many relapses as adults, often leading to a more severe prognosis and earlier disability compared to adult-onset MS[2]. If approved, Gilenya would address the urgent need faced by these young people. This market authorization would expand the age range of Gilenya, one of the most prescribed MS treatments worldwide. Gilenya was previously approved for adults with RRMS aged 18 years and older in Europe.
"The lives of kids are immensely impacted by the early onset of MS, from playing sports, going to school or enjoying time with friends and family. We need to address the urgent need for new and effective treatments, and with Gilenya, we may now have an option that can make a substantial difference for young patients", said Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "This CHMP positive opinion is a testament to our relentless dedication to reimagining MS care across all generations. We are very excited to be a step closer to bringing this much-needed treatment to young MS patients across Europe."
"Today's CHMP positive opinion is a momentous advancement for the children and adolescents impacted by MS," said Pedro Carrascal, President, European Multiple Sclerosis Platform. "Young European patients and their families, who have long been hoping for an effective disease modifying therapy, could soon have a new treatment option to alleviate the devastating impact of this condition."
The CHMP positive opinion is based on the PARADIGMS trial, a first-of-its-kind clinical study in MS specifically designed for children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years[3]. Results from the double-blind, randomized, multi-center Phase III study of Gilenya vs. interferon beta-1a show that compared to interferon beta-1a, Gilenya significantly reduced the annualized relapse rates by 82% (relative difference to interferon beta-1a, p<0.001) and delayed the time to first relapse[4]. Furthermore, it also significantly reduced the number of new or newly enlarged T2 lesions up to 24 months by 53% (p<0.001) and the annualized rate of brain volume loss (brain shrinkage) by 40%[4]. The full PARADIGMS data was recently published in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.
The European Commission will review the CHMP opinion and is expected to deliver its final decision within three months. The decision will be applicable to all 28 European Union member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Gilenya received FDA approval for the treatment of children and adolescents 10 years of age and older with MS on May 11, 2018.
About the Phase III PARADIGMS StudyThe Phase III PARADIGMS study (NCT01892722) is a flexible duration (up to two years), double-blind, randomized, multi-center study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral Gilenya compared to injectable interferon beta-1a in children and adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), followed by a five-year open label extension phase[4]. The study enrolled 215 children and adolescents with MS, from 10 to less than 18 years of age with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score between 0 and 5.5[4]. Patients were randomized to receive once-daily oral Gilenya (0.5 mg or 0.25 mg, dependent on patients' body weight) or intramuscular interferon beta-1a once weekly[4].
The primary endpoint of the study was the frequency of relapses in patients treated up to 24 months (annualized relapse rate)[4]. Secondary endpoints include the number of new or newly enlarged T2 lesions, Gadolinium enhancing T1 lesions, safety and the pharmacokinetic properties of Gilenya, all measured throughout the treatment period[4].
The PARADIGMS study enrolled 215 patients at 80 centers in 25 countries and was designed in agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and the International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group.
About Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord through inflammation and tissue loss[5]. In adults, there are three main types of MS: relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS)[6]. Approximately 85% of people with MS have relapsing-remitting MS, where the immune system attacks healthy tissue[7]. In children, RRMS account for nearly all cases (approximately 98%)[8].
About Novartis in Multiple Sclerosis Alongside Gilenya (fingolimod, an S1P modulator), the Novartis multiple sclerosis (MS) portfolio includes Extavia® (interferon beta-1b for subcutaneous injection) which is approved in the US for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. In Europe, Extavia is approved to treat people with relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS (SPMS) with active disease and people who have had a single clinical event suggestive of MS.
Investigational compounds include BAF312 (siponimod), under investigation in SPMS, and OMB157 (ofatumumab), a fully human monoclonal antibody under investigation in relapsing MS. OMB157 targets CD20, and is currently being investigated in two Phase III pivotal studies. In the US, the Sandoz Division of Novartis markets Glatopa® (glatiramer acetate injection) 20 mg/mL and 40 mg/mL, generic versions of Teva's Copaxone®*.
*Copaxone® is a registered trademark of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
DisclaimerThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political and economic conditions; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About NovartisNovartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 1 billion people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 125 000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.