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If you planned to go to the beach this summer, you gonna need this bag! You always bring a few things to spend time on the beach: towel, book, sunglasses and sunscreen at least. And if you have kids, the thing get out of control: toys, water wings, clothes, snacks, drinks, more towels…..So here is the solution: The big beach bag. I made this useful bag for Seam and Scissors, you will find the detail tutorial over there!
Thank you Shabana for modeling with your fashion flip flops! | {
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SISILA GINI GANI FULL MOVIE
August 5, 2019 Short
Selvi is a beautiful but quiet Tamil refugee powerfully played by Anjali Patil who catches the eye of a middle-aged Buddhist pawnbroker when she comes to cash in her last jewellery. Fire on Ice is a Sri Lankan, Sinhala language film. And, like many of the heroines in classical bourgeois literature, her rebellion ends in disaster and disillusionment. Dedunu-Kelum love story in miniscreen. One is its probe into masculinity and the second is questioning how consumerist values deprive people of human connection. One day he meets a beautiful girl, Annette at a party. She sees him heading for the abyss but as hard as she tries, she is unable to stop him.
Retrieved 4 February Ser Silveria online film. Meanwhile, Harris is contesting the municipal elections, at the urging of his wife and in-laws. She is of Sri Lankan Burgher ethnicity; her family background and experiences with married men convince her to shun marriage, which she sees as imprisonment. He tells her she can change her clothes in one of his bungalows on the way and this leads to a sexual encounter between them. Annette has sex with Harris telling him that she does not believe in marriage, mainly because of her experiences with other married men. In this battle, the capitalist class secured support from other oppressed layers by promising them freedom, equality and fraternity. Ser Ratatouille Film Online Gratis.
Design by Mighty Gorgon.
It was the first film directed by Prasanna Vithanage. Tightly scripted, with a wonderfully nuanced plot and haunting cinematography, this is Sri Lankan independent cinema at its best. Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page. Harris tells Annette that his marriage is one of convenience, which yani cannot dissolve it because of their mentally retarded young son.
SAAS BINA SASURA 28TH MAY 2012 FULL EPISODE
Fulo, Harris stands for municipal elections.
LANKALIBRARY FORUM • View topic – Sisila Gini Gani (Ice on Fire)
The book also includes reviews written by leading filmmakers, Dr. However, the only obstacle in Annette's path in possessing Harris, completely and permanently, is Harris's little boy. Annette has siisila with Harris telling him that she does not believe in marriage, mainly because of her experiences with other married men. Meanwhile, Harris is contesting the municipal elections, at the urging of his wife and in-laws. In the rush the mentally retarded little boy is forgotten. In its preface Sanath describes how he got the story which was a murder that took place in Sri Lanka.
Vithanage, who adheres to the best traditions of social realist cinema, began his career in theatre. He meets her again when she hitches a ride with him during a heavy rain storm, which leads to a sexual encounter between them.
Articles needing additional references from November All articles needing additional references. Annette in order to win Harris' heart gets close to his son and one day she meets with a tragedy.
We live in a society which still has unhealed wounds from a war that lasted over 30 years, killing over tens of thousands of people. His schedule leaves him no time for Annette but she continues to relish his company. The roots of this tradition lay in the struggle of the emerging bourgeoisie against the feudal aristocracy and other repressive institutions and social values that maintained the status quo. The Best of British at the Echelon Pub.
Sisila GiniGani
Opdage tusindvis af film, at se dine yndlingsfilm online her Browse all Festival news and highlights. Precise in content and compact in structure Sisila Gini Gani is a surprisingly mature work for a first time director. His creative hallmark is a simple narrative style, borne out of a deep social sensitivity, and skilful mastery of cinematic craft. Harris Makalanda, a wealthy aristocrat and well-known lawyer. Silveria Download gratis.
CUENTOS DE BRUNO TRAVEN CANASTITAS EN SERIE
Set in post-civil war Sri Lanka, this film tells the tale of lovers from opposite sides who are forced to confront a terrible past. However Malani had given it up to direct 'Sasara Chethana' and Sanath who was working in Mahaweli with Prasanna Vithanage had decided to take up the project as the producer and the director. Thomian nite in aid of Bishop chapman scholarships. No registered users and 0 guests.
He tells her she can change her clothes in one of his bungalows on movoe way and this leads to a sexual encounter between them. She also begins to change her opinion about matrimony and tries to persuade Harris to divorce his wife.
Story by Sanath himself, the film introduced Ganni Vithanage to the cinema while Sabeetha Perera came out with an acclaimed performance in her role as a mistress of a politician. By which time Annette, the prime suspect, is in police custody.
Once when the child goes on a picnic with mlvie school friends, Annette separates him from the others as a sudden mist rolls in. Even if a screening is sold out, tickets are often available 30 minutes before the start of the film at the box office at each venue.
Sisila Gini Gani Ice on Fire.
MAMATHEYA MADILU KANNADA MOVIE
DRAMA KASH MAIN TERI BETI NA HOTI EPISODE 170
NAAN ADIMAI ILLAI MOVIE ONLINE
KALIKALAM MOVIE HOT
ISS PYAAR KO KYA NAAM DOON EPISODE 239 STAR PLAYER
SPIDERMAN 3 FULL MOVIE PART 14 DESITARA
CHITTOD KI RANI PADMINI CAST
MUGA MANASULU OCTOBER 30 EPISODE
SULAN KIRILLI SINHALA MOVIE
GUNUNG KESANDUNG CINTA FULL MOVIE | {
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Fox News legal analyst accuses 'shameless' Trump of unleashing 'a torrent of hatred' not seen since the 1960s /
Fox News legal analyst accuses 'shameless' Trump of unleashing 'a torrent of hatred' not seen since the 1960s
Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano this week published a scathing editorial in which he called out President Donald Trump for promoting hatred and division in the United States.
In the editorial, Napolitano recalls the divisions created by the Vietnam War, and he says that the hatred being stoked by Trump rivals the turbulent late 1960s. Napolitano argues that Trump's decision to tell four Democratic lawmakers to "go back" to their home countries despite being American citizens was a particularly divisive and racist comment.
"'Go back' is a rejection of the nation as a melting pot; a condemnation of one of America's founding values – E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one)," he writes. "It implicates a racial or nativist superiority: We were here before you; this is our land, not yours; get out. Nativist hatred is an implication of moral or even legal superiority that has no constitutional justification in American government."
Napolitano goes on to say that Trump's hate speech is protected by the Constitution — but he also fears that the president will not be constrained by traditional social mores that shame such speech.
"When the hate speech comes from a shameless president, we have a problem," he said. "The problem is that presidential hatred produces division among people and destroys peaceful dialogue. When thousands of people at a Trump rally in North Carolina recently chanted, 'Send her back' referring to a congresswoman born in Somalia — and Trump tweeted that the four congresswomen (including three born in the U.S.) should 'Go back' to where they came from — the inescapable image was of a president trying to divide rather than unite."
Read the whole editorial here.
Texas' Ken Paxton violated law and must release records related to Jan. 6 Trump rally: DA
Legal experts explain the one charge that carries legal risks in the sedition conspiracy case against the Oath Keepers
Portland PD opens investigation into training presentation that included a right-wing meme
Inside the secret 'endorsement operation' to get Trump's 'stamp of approval'
Virginia education bill mocked for erroneous 'fact' about Abraham Lincoln's slavery debates | {
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Discover new shows
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See Cipha Sounds and Rachel Feinsteinand more in an exclusive EastVille show with no drink minimum.
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About Cipha Sounds and Rachel Feinstein at EastVille
Cipha Sounds is, and has always been, more than your average DJ. Over the course of his packed career, he has been responsible for breaking artists like Rihanna and Rick Ross, has shared the stage with some of the world's biggest musicians and comedians – from Jay Z to Dave Chappelle – and has established himself as a respected figure in New York's stand-up and improv scenes.
Rachel Feinstein is a nationally touring comedian and actress who is best known for her ability to morph into various ethnicities and genders. Huffington Post called her "the only comedian we've seen who can go from embodying her grandmother in one breath and a predatory guy on the street in the next and be equally convincing at both." Feinstein's second Comedy Central special is currently airing and she's gearing up to shoot her brand new 1 hour special at the end of the year.
LINE-UPS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. If you're coming to see a specific performer; please note they might not be in the lineup. Rosters are current at time of posting, but may get switched around as comics sometimes cancel last minute. Therefore, these tickets are for a comedy show, not for any specific performer.
Arrive 30 mins before showtime as seating is on a first-come basis. Those arriving late are not guaranteed seats; as we begin seating standby customers. If reservations are missed; tickets may be used another time without penalty.
All ages welcome. Shows may contain adult content but there are no age restrictions.
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using Microsoft.OData;
using Microsoft.OData.Edm;
using System;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Linq;
namespace OdataToEntity.Db
{
public abstract class OeEntitySetAdapter
{
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public abstract void RemoveEntity(Object dataContext, ODataResourceBase entity);
public virtual void UpdateEntityAfterSave(Object dataContext, ODataResourceBase entity) { }
public abstract Type EntityType { get; }
public abstract String EntitySetName { get; }
public virtual bool IsDbQuery => false;
}
public sealed class OeEntitySetAdapterCollection : ReadOnlyCollection<OeEntitySetAdapter>
{
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{
}
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return entitySetAdapter;
throw new InvalidOperationException("EntitySet " + entitySet.Name + " not found");
}
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} |
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Top > Foreign Policy > Diplomatic Bluebook > Diplomatic Bluebook 2020 > Chapter 3 Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests > Section 3 Economic Diplomacy > 2 Rule-Making to Bolster Free and Open Global Economic Systems
Diplomatic Bluebook 2020
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Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests
2 Rule-Making to Bolster Free and Open Global Economic Systems
(1) Promotion of Economic Partnerships
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)1 and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)2 help capture the vitality of the growing markets overseas and strengthen the basis of the Japanese economy, through measures such as the reduction or elimination of tariffs on goods as well as barriers on trade in services, and through rule-making for trade and investment. To date, the Government of Japan has signed 18 EPAs and FTAs with 21 countries and regions, all of which have entered into force. The EPA/FTA ratio in Japan's trade (the ratio of trade value with countries which have FTAs already signed or entered into force with Japan, to that of total trade value) was 51.6% at the end of December 2019, which reached 86.2% when including the trade value of countries and regions with EPAs and FTAs in negotiations. Following on the enactment of TPP113 on December 30, 2018, the Japan-EU EPA entered into force on February 1, 2019. The First Protocol to Amend the Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership among Japan and Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AJCEP) was signed by Japan on February 27, the nine ASEAN nations on March 2, and Viet Nam on April 24, as a result of many years of tireless negotiations.
As a flag bearer of free trade, Japan will work toward the steady implementation and expansion of the TPP11 Agreement as well as the steady implementation of the Japan-EU EPA, while promoting global trade liberalization through negotiations of other EPAs.
1 Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are agreements that aim to create rules concerning trade liberalization, investment, the movement of people, intellectual property protection, and competition policy, and seek to strengthen wide-ranging economic relationships by providing for, among other things, factors for cooperation in various fields.
2 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are agreements that aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs on goods or trade in service barriers among specified countries or regions.
3 TPP11: Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
A TPP11 Agreement, Japan-EU EPA, RCEP, Japan-China-ROK Free Trade Agreement, and FTAAP
(A) TPP11 Agreement
The TPP11 Agreement is an effort to establish new economic integration rules for the 21st century in a wide range of areas such as tariffs, services, investments, intellectual property, and state-owned enterprises in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. It will provide Japanese companies an opportunity to be more active in markets overseas and will be a major driving force for economic growth in Japan. Furthermore, the strengthening of the interdependent relations in economic terms with countries that share fundamental values through the TPP11 Agreement has great strategic significance for the security of Japan and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, leading to peace and prosperity in the region and the world at large.
The 12 countries of Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., and Viet Nam signed the TPP12 Agreement in February 2016, but the U.S. announced its withdrawal from the TPP12 Agreement in January 2017. As such, Japan proactively led the discussions in order to bring about the early realization of the TPP as soon as possible among the 11 countries. As a result, at the TPP Ministerial Meeting held in Da Nang, Viet Nam in November 2017, the Ministers agreed to move forward with the TPP11 Agreement among 11 countries, by incorporating the articles of the original TPP12 Agreement drawn up by the 12 countries into the new TPP11 Agreement, while exceptionally suspending the application of certain articles (agreement in principle). Later, in March 2018, the TPP11 Agreement was signed in Santiago, Chile. Mexico, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia completed necessary domestic procedures and the Agreement entered into force on December 30. Viet Nam became the seventh Party to conclude the Agreement in January 2019.
TPP11 Agreement signing (March 8, 2018, Santiago, Chile; Photo: TPP Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat Office)
Amidst the spread of protectionist sentiments around the world, this sends a strong message to the world that Japan is committed to promoting free trade, and is a major step toward extending the free, fair, and modern trade of the 21st century, and investment rules in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, Japan became the TPP Chair in January and hosted the First Commission of the TPP at the ministerial-level (with Minister Motegi, then in charge of Economic Revitalization, serving as Chair). Decisions were made about four subjects at the meeting; matters concerning administration, accession process of the TPP11 Agreement, rules for resolving disputes involving Parties to TPP11, and about a code of conduct for investor-State dispute settlement. At the second meeting of the TPP Commission, held in October in Auckland (New Zealand), two decisions were made that concerned rules for TPP Commission procedures (rules of procedure concerning execution of Commission activities, including the process for conducting meetings and planning agendas) and for establishing a Roster of Panel Chairs (subcommittee) for dispute resolution. Japan will continue to take the lead on discussions toward the implementation and expansion of the TPP11 Agreement.
(B) Japan-EU EPA
The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entered into force on February 1. Along with realizing a high-level elimination or reduction of tariffs, it also serves as a model for the 21st century's modern economic order based on free and fair rules. Almost six years since negotiations for the agreement started in April 2013, a giant economic zone was created comprising 600 million people and 30% of the world's GDP.
While Japan and the EU are geographically distant from one another, they have forged collaborative relationships in numerous fields as important global partners sharing the same basic values. With the enactment of this agreement, Japan-EU relations take a new step forward, supported by a legal foundation for strengthening collaboration. It is expected that trade, investment, and people-to-people exchange between Japan and the EU will become more active than ever leading to closer relations among the citizens of Japan and the EU. One of the concreate examples is the fairs related to the Japan-EU EPA organized by numerous retailers and restaurants followed by the agreement's enactment, which has showed the real advantages of the agreement to SMEs and consumers (see the Column on page 269).
At the First Japan-EU Joint Committee meeting held in April, participants mutually confirmed the levels of agreement implementation and discussed possible further ways for Japan-EU future collaboration, expressed by the slogan "Beyond EPA, beyond trade." Japan and the EU are working to strengthen their multilayered collaboration to address various issues through 12 specialized committees and working groups as well as existing policy dialogues among authorities and public-private initiatives.
First Joint Committee of the Japan-EU EPA (April 10, Tokyo)
Suneya Masahiko
Secretary-General, Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council Secretariat
QR code integrated with the "Universal Wagyu Mark"
Under the government's target of expanding Japan's value of exports for agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products as well as food products to 1 trillion yen in 2019, the Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council Secretariat (J-LEC) is engaged in relevant activities through five export committees for beef, pork, chicken, egg, and milk and dairy products. Among these products, the target export value of 14 billion yen for milk and dairy products was achieved in 2018, and the target export value of 25 billion yen for beef was achieved in November 2019. Wagyu beef, a variety of beef that is produced in Japan, has now become synonymous with high-quality beef and has a growing reputation around the world as luxury food.
The framework that supports trust in Japanese beef comprises elements such as a pedigree registration system with a more than 100-year history for Wagyu beef, a traceability system based on the law, and a proprietary meat rating system. This framework is the decisive factor that differentiates Japanese Wagyu beef from "WAGYU" beef produced in other countries.
The J-LEC has established the "Universal Wagyu Mark" as an indication of Wagyu beef produced in Japan, and has conducted Wagyu seminars in various countries. At these seminars, crowds throng in once the sampling session begins. Cutting techniques that brings out the unique appeal of Japan-produced Wagyu beef, including the artistic beauty of its marbling and its unique fragrance and soft texture, as well as a menu that reflects the food culture of Japan, are also indispensable. The J-LEC also provides support by inviting overseas stakeholders in the industry and dispatching experts for activities such as domestic training programs in cutting techniques, on-site visits, and exchange of opinions with those involved in the industry.
The tireless business development efforts by the beef production industry in Japan as well as initiatives by the J-LEC, including the Beef Export Committee, have resulted in the steady expansion of Japanese beef exports, while the majority of exports is bound for Asia in terms of export volumes by country and region. The TPP11 Agreement, the Japan-EU EPA, and the Japan-U.S. Trade Agreement entered into force in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. The value of exports to the EU for the ten-month period after the Japan-EU EPA entered into force (February to November 2019) showed a 28% year-on-year growth. Furthermore, the value of exports to countries that joined the TPP11 Agreement after it entered into force also shows an increasing trend for each country, with the value of exports to Canada growing by 8% year-on-year for instance. The effects of the agreements, such as the immediate abolition of tariffs on beef as a result of the Japan-EU EPA and the reduction in tariffs as a result of the TPP11 Agreement and the Japan-U.S. Trade Agreement, are expected to further expand exports not only to Asia but also to Europe and the U.S.
In the Asian market, certification marks that are similar to the "Universal Wagyu Mark" have emerged on the back of the popularity of Japanese Wagyu beef. In addition, in luxury beef markets in different parts of the world such as Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East, brand awareness of Japanese Wagyu beef─which entered the market later─is still relatively lower than that of "WAGYU" beef produced overseas. Moreover, with the strong consciousness of terroir (referring to environmental factors that characterize the habitat of food production) in Europe, there are also strong calls for the provision of accurate and detailed information.
In response, the QR code that describes the individual identification numbers of cattle was integrated with the "Universal Wagyu Mark" in June 2019, and a system that provides quality information on the spot, such as individual identification, registration, and rating, as well as unique information on individual suppliers, was launched as a model project. This system is scheduled to enter full-scale operation from FY2020.
The Japan-EU EPA includes provisions on the mutual protection of a geographical indication (GI), which is a system that protects the name of specialty products unique to the respective production-area, by registering them as intellectual property. Such provisions strengthen the protection of the Japanese Wagyu beef brand in the EU, and are expected to enhance its differentiation from other products.
Moves to resume beef exports to China are currently attracting the greatest attention among various export strategies for respective countries. There are growing expectations of the market potential not only on the Japanese side, but also on the Chinese side. With the signing of the Japan-China Agreement on Cooperation in Animal Health and Quarantine in November 2018 and other developments, the acceleration of negotiations with a view to resume Japanese beef exports, including Wagyu beef, is anticipated.
In order to further protect the brand of Japanese Wagyu beef and expand its market, in addition to the initiatives that have been implemented to date, we are facing the urgent task of establishing a supply system that can meet global demand. This can be achieved by promoting compliance with Standards of Rearing Hygiene Management and HACCP* certification for farms, as well as by increasing the number of Wagyu beef cattle and expanding HACCP-compliant meat processing facilities for export. Furthermore, in order to realize stable production and export of Japanese Wagyu beef, it is also important to prevent the invasion of virulent, infectious diseases from overseas, such as foot-and-mouth disease, through a complete and secure animal quarantine system. To that end, the J-LEC will cooperate closely with the government's proactive economic diplomacy to work on each and every possible measure.
*A method for hygiene control to ensure the safety of products and management procedures that are particularly important for eliminating or mitigating hazards in all processes, from the procurement of raw materials to the shipment of products, based upon an understanding by the food (or other products) business operator of hazards such as contamination by food poisoning bacterium or foreign substances.
(C) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
The RCEP is a pillar of East Asian economic integration, aimed at realizing the establishment of an integrated economic zone that covers approximately half of the world's population, and about 30% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and total trade amount. Since the launch of negotiations in May 2013, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and their FTA partner states (six countries, namely Japan, China, the ROK, Australia, New Zealand and India) have been working together to advance negotiations toward a comprehensive and high-level agreement in areas that include trade in goods, trade in services, investment, competition, rules of origin, intellectual property, and electronic commerce, and customs procedures and trade facilitation. As of December 2019, 19 ministerial meetings and 28 rounds of have been held. At the 3rd RCEP Summit Meeting held in November in conjunction with the ASEAN-related Summit Meetings, leaders of 16 RCEP Participating Countries (RPCs) released the Joint Leaders' Statement on the RCEP. The statement noted that the 15 RPCs have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters4 and essentially all their market access issues, and tasked legal scrubbing by them to commence for signing the RCEP Agreement in 2020. RPCs also agreed to work together to resolve outstanding unresolved issues concerning India. Japan will continue to play a leading role, following the Joint Leaders' Statement.
4 1) Initial Provisions and General Definitions; 2) Trade in Goods; 3) Rules of Origin, including Annex on Product Specific Rules; 4) Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation; 5) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; 6) Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures; 7) Trade Remedies; 8) Trade in Services, including Annexes on Financial Services, Telecommunication Services, and Professional Services; 9) Movement of Natural Persons; 10) Investment; 11) Intellectual Property; 12) Electronic Commerce; 13) Competition; 14) Small and Medium Enterprises; 15) Economic and Technical Cooperation; 16) Government Procurement; 17) General Provisions and Exceptions; 18) Institutional Provisions; 19) Dispute Settlement; and 20) Final Provisions.
(D) Japan-China-ROK FTA
The Japan-China-ROK FTA is a negotiation with Japan's major trading partners: China and the ROK. The negotiations were launched in March 2013, and 16 rounds of negotiations were held by December 2019. The three countries have been engaged in discussions over a wide range of areas including trade in goods, investment, trade in services, competition, intellectual property, and electronic commerce, with the shared objective of pursuing a comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial FTA.
(E) Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) Concept
Discussions are being held at the meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on next-generation trade and investment issues to be addressed, and capacity building programs mainly for developing economies (countries and regions) are being implemented. The Lima Declaration on the FTAAP adopted at the 2016 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting confirmed mainly the following three points: (1) the FTAAP should be high quality and comprehensive, and incorporate and address next-generation trade and investment issues, and it should be built on the TPP11 Agreement, the RCEP, and other agreements as the pathway; (2) APEC would begin on implementing the work programs supporting capacity building aimed at promoting the realization of FTAAP; and (3) progress made toward realizing the FTAAP would be reported to the Leaders in 2018 and 2020.
Following workshops in 2017 and 2018, Japan held a workshop on "competition chapters" in the FTAs and EPAs in 2019, with the goal of capacity building of developing economies in APEC. Through the sharing of successful cases, particularly from the perspective of regulations, with regard to "desirable and optional elements" in competition chapters, Japan has provided capacity building support for FTAs and EPAs policy makers and negotiators.
From the viewpoint of achieving a comprehensive and high-quality FTAAP, it is significant that the TPP11 Agreement entered into force at the end of December 2018 and that negotiations are progressing toward the early signing of the RCEP Agreement.
B Bilateral and Other Agreements
(A) EPAs Currently Being Negotiated
a Turkey
As an important country that serves as a hub among Europe, the Middle East, the Central Asia and Caucasus region, and Africa, Turkey has considerable economic potential and is attracting attention as a production base for exports to surrounding regions. The country has signed FTAs with over 20 countries and regions, and the need for developing conditions of competition for Japanese companies through the conclusion of the current EPA has been recognized. Furthermore, business communities in both countries have high expectations for the early conclusion of an EPA between the two countries. The leaders of Japan and Turkey agreed to launch EPA negotiations at the summit meeting in January 2014, and 17 rounds of negotiations had been held as of the end of December, 2019.
b Colombia
In December 2012, Japan began the EPA negotiations with Colombia, a country with rich natural resources and high economic growth. Colombia has concluded FTAs with several countries (the U.S., Canada, the EU, the ROK, etc.), and there is a growing need to regulate the competitive environment for Japan as well. The strengthening of bilateral relations through the conclusion of an EPA is expected to lead to improved cooperation in the international arena and promote cooperation among Japan and the Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile). 13 rounds of negotiations have been held to date.
(B) Suspended EPA and FTA Negotiations
a ROK
Japan and the ROK are the third largest trading partners with each other. Based on the recognition that EPA negotiations with the ROK will provide both countries with a stable economic framework and bring about benefits for the future, both countries launched negotiations in 2003 but they have been suspended since 2004.
b Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
For Japan, the GCC member states (the six countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) constitute one of the most important regions as an oil and natural gas supplier and an important market for exporting infrastructure, among others. The Japan-GCC FTA negotiations were launched in 2006 to reinforce economic ties with GCC member states, but they have been suspended since 2009 on the grounds of the GCC side.
In 2012, Japan launched EPA negotiations with Canada, with which Japan shares fundamental values and has a complementary economic relationship. Seven rounds of negotiation meetings had been held by November 2014, in order to achieve an EPA that can contribute to a stable supply of energy, minerals and food to Japan. However, since the TPP11 Agreement entered into force with six countries including Japan and Canada on December 30, 2018, the EPA negotiations between the two countries have not been held.
(C) Existing EPAs
The existing EPAs contain provisions concerning the joint committee, which is a body that discusses the implementation of the agreements, and a process to review the agreements after a certain period of time since their entry into force. In addition, a variety of consultations are being held in order to smoothly implement these existing EPAs.
C Movement of Natural Persons
In accordance with the EPAs, Japan has been accepting candidates for nurses and certified care workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. In 2019, 335 Indonesians (38 nurses and 297 care workers), 330 Filipinos (42 nurses and 288 care workers), and 217 Vietnamese (41 nurses and 176 care workers) were accepted into Japan. 2018 also saw 69 nurses (15 Indonesians, 31 Filipinos, and 23 Vietnamese) and 266 care workers (78 Indonesians, 95 Filipinos, and 93 Vietnamese) pass the national examination. A total of more than 400 nurses and 950 certified care workers have passed the exam as of the end of FY2018.
D Investment Treaties, Tax Conventions and Agreements on Social Security
(A) Investment Treaties
Investment treaties constitute an important legal basis to promote investments, by stipulating the protection of investors and their investment property, enhancement of transparency in regulations, expansion of investment opportunities, procedures for investment dispute settlement, and other matters. In order to promote the improvement of the investment environment overseas and to attract foreign investment to the Japanese market, Japan has actively engaged in concluding investment treaties.
In May 2019, the Japan-Armenia Investment Treaty entered into force. As of the end of December 2019, there are currently 44 investment-related treaties that have entered into force (30 investment treaties and 14 EPAs), and five (three investment treaties and two EPAs) that have been signed but not yet entered into force, bringing the total to 49, covering 76 economies. Including investment-related treaties that are currently under negotiation, 94 economies and around 93% of Japan's direct investments overseas will be covered (as of the end of December 2019).5
5 Regional balance of Direct Investment (Assets), Ministry of Finance (All regions)
(B) Tax Conventions
Tax conventions are intended to eliminate international double taxation in cross-border economic activities (e.g. to reduce or exempt withholding taxes imposed on investment income such as dividends), or to prevent tax evasion or avoidance, and provide an important legal basis for promoting sound investment and economic exchange between the two countries. Japan is actively working in line with the Government's policy that "the Government will expand tax treaty networks, both in terms of quality and quantity, that are necessary for supporting the sound overseas business expansion of Japanese companies, through the conclusion of new treaties with countries/regions where investment relations with Japan are expected to develop, as well as amending existing treaties." ("Growth Strategy 2019" (Cabinet decision, June 21, 2019)).
Entering into force in 2019 were a new (completely revised) tax treaty with Belgium in January, a revised protocol to the tax treaty with the U.S. in August, a tax convention with Croatia in September, and a tax treaty with Ecuador in December. Additionally, the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Convention to Implement Measures to Prevent BEPS) entered into force for Japan. Meanwhile, Japan signed tax treaties with Argentina in June, Uruguay in September, Peru in November, Jamaica in December, and Uzbekistan (new, completely revised treaty) in December. Negotiations for tax treaties reached an agreement in principle with Morocco in September and Serbia in November. As of the end of 2019, Japan has signed 76 tax conventions that apply to 135 economies.
(C) Agreements on Social Security
Agreements on social security aim to resolve the issues of social security insurance premium double payment and annuity insurance non-refunds. They are expected to facilitate interpersonal exchange and strengthen further bilateral relations, including economic exchange, by reducing the burden on Japanese companies and citizens working overseas. The total number of countries that have concluded or signed such agreements with Japan now stands at 23, as of the end of 2019. In 2019, Japan signed agreements with Sweden and Finland and enacted agreements with Slovakia and China.
(2) Initiatives with International Organizations (WTO, OECD, etc.)
A World Trade Organization (WTO)
(A) Issues Confronting the WTO
The remarkable economic grow that Japan achieved with scarce natural resources after World War II is owed to the free trade system. The WTO has facilitated free trade through various efforts such as rule-making for trade liberalization, dispute settlement between WTO Members, and conducting monitoring to ensure the implementation of the WTO Agreements. But the WTO is now facing considerable challenges.
Hampered by dysfunctional rule-making mechanisms due to the stall of the Doha Round,6 the WTO has been unable to adequately address structural changes in the international economy, including the rise of emerging nations and the digitalization of the economy.
As explained below, criticism became heightened over the Appellate Body being blamed for overstepping its expected role by making overreaching judgments. In December 2019, following a disagreement among WTO Members to elect successors for outgoing members, the Appellate Body ceased to function.
Moreover, to monitor that the WTO agreements are observed, the WTO's system requires countries to notify about their trade-related measures. In reality, however, notifications concerning mainly policy to protect domestic industries, including subsidies, are often not being made, and WTO obligations are sometimes not complied with as needed.
6 "Rounds" are trade liberalization negotiations in which all WTO Members participate. There were eight rounds of negotiations held during the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) years, from the first negotiations held in Geneva in 1947 to the last round held in Uruguay in 1994, and with each round held in response to the global economic demands of the time. The Uruguay Round saw decisions made to implement rules for new fields at the time, including trade in services and intellectual property, and strengthen mechanisms that included establishing the international organization that is the WTO. Later, the Doha Round became the first round to be held under the WTO system.
(B) Increasing Momentum and the Push for WTO Reform
In light of the above-mentioned circumstances, the need for WTO reform is becoming broadly acknowledged at numerous multinational fora while momentum builds toward implementing such reform.
In particular, G20 meetings chaired by Japan have significantly pushed the discussion forward concerning WTO reform (see the Special Feature on page 280). At the G20 Ibaraki-Tsukuba Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Digital Economy in June, despite a difference of opinions among participants, a ministerial statement that encapsulated an agreement on necessary WTO reform leading to the summit was released as G20. In the same vein, the G20 Osaka Summit affirmed a commitment to the basic principles of free trade ─ free, fair, non-discriminatory, and open markets, as well as fair competition ─ even amid growing tensions over trade issues. After it agreed to promote WTO reforms, such as the development of a dispute settlement system and rule-making including on electronic commerce, the G20 Osaka Summit gave political support to WTO reform by "reaffirming our support for the necessary reform of the World Trade Organization." Furthermore, at the G7 Biarritz Summit held after the G20 Osaka Summit, leaders expressed their desire to "change the WTO." In response to this international momentum, moves for WTO reform are accelerating in the following three areas: (1) reform of the dispute settlement system, (2) rule-making appropriate for the current global economy, and (3) strengthening monitoring functions for agreement compliance.
(C) Reform of the Dispute Settlement System
In the aftermath of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, the ROK imposed a series of import restrictions on foods and other products from Japan. Despite Japan's explanation on the safety of Japanese food products based on scientific evidence, the ROK made no indication of relaxing or removing its restrictions. In response, Japan initiated the WTO dispute settlement procedures on the grounds that the said measures were trade-restrictive in violation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).
While Japan held consultations with the ROK in accordance with the procedures, no mutually agreed solution was reached. Japan then turned to a WTO panel for a first instance adjudication in September 2015. In February 2018, after considering the opinions of five experts, including the committee members of international organizations, the panel ruled that the measures by the ROK were unnecessarily restrictive, arbitrary and unjustifiably discriminatory, which constituted violations of the WTO Agreement, and published a report recommending the ROK take corrective action. Dissatisfied with the panel's ruling, the ROK appealed to the Appellate Body for a second instance adjudication in April 2018.
In April 2019, the Appellate Body reversed the panel's ruling on the grounds that the panel's legal analysis was insufficient. It then offered no ruling on the WTO-consistency or inconsistency of the ROK's restrictive measures.
The Appellate Body report was not only extremely regrettable and putting a damper on recovery efforts for disaster-stricken areas in Japan, but failed to deliver a judgement whether the ROK's disputed measures were WTO consistent or not. For its failure to fulfill its function of settling disputes, the report significantly undermined the confidence in the WTO dispute settlement system itself. With this concern in mind, Japan has been proactively participating in discussions on the dispute settlement system reform.
The panel's factual findings on this case that Cesium concentrations in Japanese food products fall below the levels that the ROK itself set in accordance with international standards have been accepted without contestation. Japan is now explaining the panel's findings to countries and regions with import restrictions still in place, while taking every opportunity to encourage the relaxation or removal of such restrictions (see the Column on page 287).
(D) Rulemaking Appropriate for the Current Global Economy
The situation above makes it clear that accommodating the digitalization of and structural changes in the international economy will require more than just the existing rules of the WTO Agreements. At the 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), in December 2017, Japan issued a joint statement concerning e-commerce with 71 WTO Members, including the U.S., the EU, and many developing country Members, and in January 2019 issued a joint statement together with WTO Members that affirmed their intention to begin negotiations.
With respect to negotiations participated in by all WTO Members, as a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress is being made with negotiations on fishery subsidy aimed at regulating subsidies that adversely impact fishing resources. Japan is also actively participating in these negotiations.
The WTO allows Members to self-declare as to whether or not they are a developing country, and even economically-advanced countries may be exempted from the WTO Agreements obligations by declaring themselves to be a "developing country" (Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT)).7 Japan and other developed countries see it as a problem that exemptions are granted to the "developing countries" that make up two thirds of the WTO's membership. The situation is gradually changing in 2019, as exemplified by the fact that Brazil, Singapore, and the ROK are renouncing the S&DT in current and future negotiations.
7 S&DT: Special and Differential Treatment
(E) Strengthening of Monitoring Functions
The WTO's system is based upon transparency and predictability with regard to Members' trade policies, and requires that Members notify their trade-related measures. In reality, however, notifications mainly concerning policy to protect domestic industries, including subsidies, are often not being made, and sometimes WTO obligations are not complied with as needed.
Japan is actively leading discussions in this regard, which includes coordinating with the U.S. and the EU, among other parties, to submit a notification reform proposal aimed at strengthening the monitoring function of the WTO Agreements. By thoroughly explaining the purport and goal of the proposal together with the U.S. and the EU, Japan aims to gather support from WTO Members and achieve reform as early as possible.
(F) International Economic Dispute Cases
The WTO dispute settlement system is for resolving disputes among WTO Members under the covered agreements according to the dispute settlement procedures. It serves as a pillar that imparts stability and predictability to the WTO system. In addition to "Korea ─ Import Bans, and Testing and Certification Requirements for Radionuclides" (DS495),8 Japan has most recently been directly involved in the following cases (as of December 2019):
-Korea – Anti-Dumping Duties on Pneumatic Valves from Japan (DS504): A panel was established in June 2016. In April 2018, the panel found the ROK's measures to be in violation of the WTO Agreements. In September 2019, the Appellate Body issued a report reaching the same conclusion, which led to the DSB recommendation vis-a-vis the ROK to take corrective action.
-India – Certain Measures on Imports of Iron and Steel Products (DS518): A panel was established in April 2017. Appellate Body procedures have been suspended due to the cessation of Appellate Body function since December 2019.
-Korea – Sunset Review of Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel Bars (DS553): A panel was established in October 2018. Panel procedures are currently ongoing.
-Korea – Measures Affecting Trade in Commercial Vessels (DS571): Japan requested bilateral consultations with the ROK in November 2018. The consultations were held in December, 2018.
-India – Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods (DS584): In May 2019, Japan requested bilateral consultations concerning whether the tariff increase measures by India for information and communications technology products were consistent with the WTO Agreements.
-Japan – Measures Related to the Exportation of Products and Technology to Korea (DS590): In July 2019, Japan announced on the application of its export control measures on three semiconductor materials (Fluorinated polyimides, Resist, and Hydrogen fluoride) to the ROK and implemented individual export licensing requirements for such materials. In September, claiming that Japan's measures violated the WTO Agreements, the ROK requested bilateral consultations and the two countries conducted two rounds of such consultations. In November, the ROK announced that it would suspend the WTO dispute settlement procedures while the Export Control Policy Dialogues were pursued on a normal course of action between the relevant authorities. In December, the Seventh Japan-Korea Export Control Policy Dialogue was held for the first time in three and a half years.
8 "DS xxx (numbers)" is the serial number since the launch of the WTO's dispute settlement system in 1995 assigned to each and every dispute at the time a request for consultations is received by the WTO Secretariat.
B Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
(A) Features
The OECD is the "world's largest think tank," covering a wide range of economic and social fields such as macro economy, trade and investment, agriculture, industry, the environment, and science and technology. It makes policy recommendations and forms international norms, including through discussions at relevant committees. Japan acceded to the OECD in 1964 as the first country to do so outside of the U.S. and Europe. Since then, Japan has been actively engaged in OECD initiatives through discussions at relevant committees as well as through contributions in terms of financial and human resources.
(B) Visit by OECD Secretary-General Gurria to Japan
During his visit to Japan in April 2019, Secretary-General Gurria held meetings with Prime Minister Abe, Foreign Minister Kono, and other high-level officials. They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and strengthening the multilateral trading system as well as the importance of establishing fair competition conditions. They also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening outreach in anticipation of Southeast Asian countries' future membership in the OECD, while affirming cooperation toward the G20 Osaka Summit, which is chaired by Japan. The talks also saw the announcement of the OECD Economic Survey of Japan, which praised Japan for its Abenomics strategy and set forth policy proposals for improving productivity, among other matters.
(C) 2019 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting
Chaired by Slovakia and co-chaired by Canada and the ROK, the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting was held in May under the theme of "harnessing digital transition for sustainable development." At the meeting, Japan expressed its views and points concerning such issues as the digital economy, including data flow; quality infrastructure investment; innovation-based efforts toward achievement of the SDGs; free and open trade; securing a level playing field; and the importance of WTO reform. It also emphasized the importance of Southeast Asian nations' future accession to the OECD. Japan's statements contributed to discussions in the OECD, many of which were incorporated into the outcome documents, and drove discussions toward the relevant G20 Ministerial Meetings and the G20 Osaka Summit that followed.
(D) Initiatives in Various Sectors
For the issue of steel excess capacity, following the G20 Hangzhou Summit, China in 2016, the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) was established with the participation of China, which accounts for approximately half of the global production volume of crude steel. As the standing G20 Presidency and the Chair of the GFSEC since December 2018, Japan has demonstrated strong leadership toward and played an active role in solving the above-mentioned problems, including at the third GFSEC ministerial meeting in Tokyo in October 2019.
Meanwhile, the OECD is strengthening its cooperation with the G20 in the areas that include reviewing international taxation principles in response to economic digitalization, as well as the formulation of principles concerning quality infrastructure investment and corporate governance.
(E) Strengthening Relations with Asia
In light of the growing importance of Southeast Asia as a center for global economic growth, the OECD places importance on strengthening relations within the region. The 2019 Forum of the Southeast Asia Regional Programme was held in Paris in March. Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamada Kenji attended and delivered a speech on such matters as Japan's ongoing commitment toward the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme, which was established under the leadership of Japan in 2014, as well as Southeast Asia's connectivity and the role of the OECD. Going forward, it is important to effectively utilize the Southeast Asia Regional Programme in order to continue to support economic integration and domestic reform in the region with a view to the future accession to the OECD by ASEAN countries.
(F) Contributions in Terms of Financial and Human Resources
Japan was the second largest financial contributor to the OECD after the U.S. in 2019, covering 9.4% of the OECD's mandatory contributions (Part I Budget). Moreover, Japanese nationals have successively served as the Deputy Secretary General (currently Deputy Secretary General Kono Masamichi), the second-highest position at the OECD Secretariat. Japan was the largest contributor to the OECD Development Centre in 2019, and a Japanese national (Ms. Ueda Naoko) serves as a Deputy Director of the Centre. Thus, Japan supports the OECD through contributions in terms of financial and human resources.
(3) Initiatives in International Meetings (G7 and G20 Summits, APEC, etc.)
A G20 and G7
Japan actively participates in G20 and G7 Summits, which are attended by the world's major nations, and makes efforts to maintain and strengthen the international order.
(A) G20 Osaka Summit
At the G20 Osaka Summit held in June, discussions were held on subjects that include the G20's efforts to promote free trade, drive global economic growth through innovation, address disparity, and contribute to solving environmental issues and other global problems. With Japan as the Presidency, Prime Minister Abe actively led discussions, issued the G20 Osaka Leaders' Declaration, which covered a wide range of initiatives, and demonstrated the G20's strong commitment to the world.
G20 Osaka Summit
(June 29, Osaka; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
(1) Leaders agreed on principles in support of the international free trade system amid global trade-related tensions, including free, fair, non-discriminatory, and open markets, as well as a level playing field. Leaders also reaffirmed their support for WTO reform, including reform of the dispute settlement system and establishing rules relevant to the times.
(2) Japan shared its Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) concept inspired by economic digitalization, and used the Summit as an opportunity to give political momentum to international rulemaking concerning digital economy particularly data flow and electronic commerce by launching the Osaka Track (see the Special Feature on page 280). Japan also formulated the G20 AI Principles based on a human-centered approach to AI. Japan also issued an individual statement about the exploitation of the Internet and social media by terrorists, and emphasized the importance of initiatives taken in cooperation with the digital industry.
(3) Leaders agreed to promote women's empowerment through women's participation in labor market, girls' and women's education and training, and improved women's access to business leaders and entrepreneurship. They also announced a policy for addressing disparities fueled by gender inequality.
(4) With an eye to achieving global inclusivity and sustainability, leaders approved the "G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment," which include elements of international standards concerning things such as openness, transparency, economic efficiency, and debt sustainability. With respect to global health, leaders focused on (1) Universal Health Coverage (UHC) achievement, (2) population aging, and (3) health emergencies. They also agreed to strengthen measures aimed at the debt issue in developing countries, disaster prevention, education, and achieving the SDGs by utilizing science, technology, and innovation (STI).
(5) Regarding urgent issues concerning the global environment, leaders agreed on the importance of achieving a "virtuous cycle of environment and growth" through innovation. Additionally, concerning the problem of marine plastic litter that grows more serious every year, Japan shared details on the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, which aims to reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050.
Prime Minister Abe speaking at the "Leaders' Special Event on Digital Economy" on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka Summit (June 28, Osaka; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
During the period of the G20 Osaka Summit, the words "Osaka Track" were featured in the headlines of many newspapers. You may recall seeing this photograph of Prime Minister Abe, U.S. President Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping sitting at a desk. This was the moment, in Osaka, when Prime Minister Abe declared the launch of the "Osaka Track," which is the road toward promoting international rule-making on the digital economy.
We face the urgent task of establishing rules for data flow and electronic commerce, which are the engines of growth for the digital era. Based on this perspective, Prime Minister Abe advocated the launch of the "Osaka Track" at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January, with the aim of advancing discussions on global data governance. Five months later, Prime Minister Abe took the opportunity of the G20 Osaka Summit in June to host the Leaders' Special Event on Digital Economy, during which he declared the launch of the "Osaka Track" as a process for promoting international rule-making on the digital economy, and in particular, data flow and electronic commerce.
The leaders of the 24 countries and regions participated in the launch of this initiative and affirmed the importance of maximizing the benefits that digitalization and emerging technologies bring, of promoting innovation and harnessing the full potential of the digital economy, and of promoting international policy discussions on the digital economy to that end.
With the boost provided by the "Osaka Track," more than 80 like-minded countries are now advancing negotiations on electronic commerce in the WTO, with a view to establishing rules on the digital economy. The WTO, established in 1995, has fulfilled a major role in the world economy as an international organization responsible for establishing and enforcing rules related to goods and services trade. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the existing rules set out in WTO agreements are inadequate for responding to the various challenges raised by Internet trading and the digital economy. Negotiations on electronic commerce in the WTO bring stability and predictability to trade in the ever-changing digital society. At the same time, it ushers in a new phase for the WTO, which has not succeeded in new rule-makings in recent years, and also represents one of the pillars of WTO reforms. Negotiations are now ongoing in Geneva, where the WTO is headquartered, with the aim of achieving substantial progress at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, and Japan is taking the lead in these negotiations as the co-convener. The progress achieved here is also expected to serve as an important guidepost along the path of the "Osaka Track."
On the other hand, the "Osaka Track" is not limited to negotiations in the WTO. Diverse stakeholders, including international organizations that possess specialized knowledge in various fields and private-sector corporations that play an active role on the frontlines of the digital economy, collaborate to advance a wide range of discussions on the digital economy. While each country has its own national strategy on the digital economy and legal systems on data flow, the "Osaka Track" has an important purpose of establishing rules that overcome such differences in the standpoints of each country in order to realize "Data Free Flow with Trust" (DFFT).
Japan will continue to exert its leadership toward the realization of a world where all people can enjoy the fruits of digitalization fairly and equally.
(B) G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting
At the G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which was held in November and closing the year of Japanese G20 Presidency, discussions were held on the themes of (1) promotion of free trade and global governance, (2) SDGs, and (3) Africa's development. Representatives from local high schools also gave a presentation themed on educational disparity.
Chaired by Foreign Minister Motegi, this meeting affirmed leaders' achievements made at the G20 Osaka Summit and TICAD7 and served as a springboard for discussing concrete measures toward future action. During the closing session, Foreign Minister Motegi handed over the presidency mallet, a symbol of the G20 Presidency, to Saudi Arabia, which will become the G20's next Presidency.
G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting
(November 23, Nagoya)
(C) G7 Biarritz Summit (France)
At the G7 Biarritz Summit held in August, G7 leaders held candid discussions on the theme of "Fight Inequalities" with regard to major topics for the G7, namely the global economy, global trade, diplomacy, and security. On the topics of Africa, the environment, and digitalization, views were exchanged from a diversity of viewpoints, with participation by invited outreach countries, international organizations, and civil society. With the goal of the G7 nations banding together on its foundation of shared values to play a leading role in the international community, Prime Minister Abe led candid discussions among G7 leaders on the back of achievements at the G20 Osaka Summit.
G7 Biarritz Summit (August 25, Biarritz, France; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
(1) With respect to discussions on diplomacy and security, Prime Minister Abe led discussions on North Korea as one of the foremost priorities for the G7. G7 leaders agreed on the importance of achieving the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of all of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges, and confirmed the international community's commitment to fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions while continuing to support the process between the U.S. and North Korea. Moreover, support was expressed to Prime Minister Abe's call for understanding and cooperation toward an immediate resolution of the abductions issue Discussions were also held on Iran, Syria, and other aspects of the Middle East situation, as well as recent conditions in China, including the situation in Hong Kong.
(2) With respect to global economy and trade, Prime Minister Abe called for leaders to instruct their ministers to provide support for rule-making at the WTO under the Osaka Track established at the G20 Osaka Summit, and to ensure that substantial progress will be made before the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference is held.
(3) Regarding Africa, leaders agreed on matters including the importance of improving transparency in public procurement with a regard for the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. They also expressed their expectations for TICAD7, which was held immediately after the Summit. On the environment, leaders welcomed the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision concerning measures to combat marine plastic litter, while also affirming the Metz Charter on Biodiversity at the summit level.
B Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
APEC is a framework of economic cooperation in which 21 economies (countries and regions)9 in the Asia-Pacific region participate. The Asia-Pacific region is the "world's growth center," accounting for about 40% of the world's population, about 50% of trade volume, and about 60% of GDP. APEC, in order to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment in the region, conducts activities such as promoting regional economic integration, and enhancing economic and technical cooperation. The Asia-Pacific region, which thrives by liberalizing trade and investment and strengthening connectivity in accordance with international rules, is the core of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" that Japan has been promoting. Japan's contributions to APEC's development are of great significance to Japan's own economic growth and development and to the overseas expansion of Japanese companies.
At APEC Chile 2019, discussions were held under the overall theme of "Connecting People, Building the Future" at various meetings throughout the year in line with four priority areas: (1) Digital Society, (2) Integration 4.0,10 (3) Women, SMEs and Inclusive Growth, and (4) Sustainable Growth. Japan, which chaired the G20 in 2019, shared in APEC the G20's outcomes related to the digital economy, marine plastic litter, and women's empowerment, and achieved synergy through cooperation with Chile, the APEC Chair. At forums such as the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting held in May, as a standard-bearer of free trade, Japan expressed its commitment to continuing efforts aimed at achieving growth and development throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which is the core of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting discussed such subjects as driving APEC support for the WTO, promoting regional economic integration, and advancing comprehensive and sustainable growth in the digital age, and gained a positive outcome, the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting Joint Statement, which was adopted for the first time in four years. The 2019 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was canceled due to domestic instability in Chile as stated in an announcement on October 30 by Chile's President Piñera. Meanwhile, despite being scheduled to be held immediately prior to the Leaders' Meeting, the Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting was held on December 7 at the APEC Secretariat in Singapore. In the meeting, three roadmaps related to women and inclusive growth, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and marine debris were endorsed as the main outcome documents. Chile also released the APEC Chile 2019 Host Economy Leader's (read: President of Chile's) Statement.
Malaysia will host APEC in 2020.
9 Countries and regions are referred to as "economies" in APEC terminology.
10 Discussions were held concerning initiatives that include using technologies arising from Industry 4.0 to promote global value chains (GVCs), with a focus on strengthening connectivity and achieving regional economic integration.
(4) Intellectual Property Protection
Strengthening intellectual property protections is extremely important to promoting technological innovation and, ultimately, economic development. Japan has actively participated in multilateral consultations such as APEC, the WTO (TRIPS),11 and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and is working to develop an environment for ensuring that Japanese intellectual property is appropriately protected and utilized overseas. During bilateral talks, as well, Japan calls on other countries to proactively strengthen intellectual property protections. With respect to China, at the first Japan-China Innovation and Cooperation Dialogue and Japan-China Economic Partnership Consultation, held in April 2019, Japan called on China to prohibit forced technology transfers, protect trade secrets, and stamp out counterfeit and pirated goods. For EPAs as well, Japan strives to establish regulations on intellectual property rights to ensure the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property. The Japan-EU EPA, which entered into force on February 1, 2019, and the TPP11, which entered into force on December 30, 2018, both incorporated contents on further promotion of the protection and use of intellectual property. Moreover, for the purpose of rapidly and efficiently providing assistance for Japanese companies that have suffered from counterfeit and pirated goods, MOFA appoints Intellectual Property Officers at almost all of Japan's diplomatic missions overseas so that they can advise Japanese companies and make inquiries with or requests to their counterpart governments. Japan is also engaged in efforts to improve the capacity of government employees in developing countries to counter the spread of counterfeit and pirated goods, and to strengthen the protection of intellectual property, such as by dispatching experts through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
11 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
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Crashing Marriage and Awful Lyrics
It's not a good sign when the marriage proposal culminates with an airplane crash and a response to the proposal given during the ambulance ride. But that's what happened.
What's the worst song lyrics you ever heard? This paper has a list of 32 bad ones, including:
"THE SONG: America, "A Horse With No Name"
THE LYRIC: "There were plants and birds and rocks and things"
THE VERDICT: What, did he get tired? Rocks and things?"
And I have to agreee with the following as well - it's my personal choice for worst in a long long time:
"THE SONG: Black Eyed Peas, "My Humps"
THE LYRIC: "My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely lady lumps."
Yeah, that's bad. Ah, for the days when cryptic lyrics prompted an FBI investigation.
And finally, the lowest-viewed week of broadcast television ever. Welcome to 2006.
Oh, and my personal fave quote from this week can be found at Atomic Tumor:
"Local racetrack is a dumb idea unless you're interested in boosting the mullet ratio in Oak Ridge."
A Musical Interlude
I'll take the cue here tonite from the pages of Newscoma, who posted this fine entry via YouTube tonite.
This is a video from a concert by Frank Zappa, a master musician and guitar god. This song is from one of my favorite albums, "One Size Fits All." The tune here is called "Florentine Pogen" and presents a perfect example of all the things about Frank I love and that I miss so much.
The music and arrangement is intricate and off the wall, like holding out for that duck call solo. The lyrics are a rock and roll example of "Jabberwocky" - tight rhymes and goofy wordplay which singer Napoleon Murphy Brock belts out as if he were telling you an incredible tale of heartbreak. And Frank simply wails on the guitar. And look at that band - George Duke on keyboards and the incredible Ruth Underwood on vibraphone and percussion (and duck call) - they are having a fantastic time.
I know only a select few of us can find the groove for Zappa. But that's ok. Try it. You may like it.
Crank it up for the next 10 minutes, wait for that guitar solo. And Chester's go-rilla (he go 'moo').
A partial examination of the lyrics can be found here, not that it really matters.
Will Ferrell Rocks Knox
Today's edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel chronicles the arrival, the performance, the crowd and the charitable fundraising efforts of comedian Will Ferrell as he promoted "Talledaga Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" to aid a children's charity group..
Some fans recalled the wild days of Frank the Tank in "Old School", and as the KNS article reports, Will gladly played along:
"After the screening we're going to run naked through Borders," he proclaimed to an enthusiastic response. "It's gonna get crazy."
Variety - The Children's Charity of Eastern Tennessee sold 1,000 tickets to the event, the fifth such benefit the group has hosted with Regal. The lure of Ferrell and "Talladega Nights" raised $260,000, besting last year's "Dukes of Hazzard" premiere with Johnny Knoxville, Jessica Simpson and Seann William Scott by about $31,000."
I admit to much hysterical laughter watching Ferrell's work on Saturday Night Live and in many movies. I'll happily stop to watch again and again as he evokes explosive good cheer in "Elf" or as the Anchorman's Anchorman as Ron Burgundy. His humor is not just infectious - it's overwhelming, like a Saint Bernard jumping on top of you and licking your face
Kudos to all who helped raised the money for the charity.
Camera Obscura - Clerks, Comics and the Comic-Con
The 2006 Comic-Con in San Diego brings out some big names in comics and in movies, and it may well be the Year of the Comic Book since the Post Office will issue a superhero stamp set on Friday. Projects of all types, from graphic novels to new movies and games much more are offered to fans this weekend in a kind of approval-hunt from the real board of directors - the fans who buy and read and often imitate the products offered.
A full list of the weekend's events are offered a IGN.com which includes a public debate/discussion between Depak Chopra and Grant Morrison on the Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes. This weird collision of corporate and private minds is seldom dull and has expanded to include just about any product imaginable. This is a bona-fide cultural stew of ideas and arguments about whether Batman could off Superman or if Halo could off them both.
The super-powered vigilante has been a constant in American culture for more than 60 years, survivng a blistering Congressional investigation in the 1950s, the campy inventions of television in the 1960s and 70s and arrives in the 21st Century with the appropriate computerized effects to tackle issues like the Patriot Act. Comics often stand today as the philosophical musings of the American mind. Often the main characters are there to save us from ourselves or face the wrath of a public who sees them as a menace.
I'd bet cash money many of those who attend will also leave the convention to take in director kevin Smith's newest movie, "Clerks 2." Smith is a major fanboy and a major player in all the creative realms visible at the convention. Smith has created his own universe of characters and events which run all through his productions (well, maybe not "Jersey Girl"). His View Askew production company has had a large presence on the Web via Movie Poop Shoot and his My Boring Ass Life blog.
A fascinating glimpse of how fanatical the fans and the corporate world following Smith's career have become were documented in "An Evening With Kevin Smith." This 224-minute documentary offers Smith in a very relaxed tour of college campuses talking about the minor details of his movies, the high-profile productions that came his way after his cult fame developed and shows his storytelling skills in a very watchable movie. Once I started watching and listening, it simply became impossible to stop. His recounting of the bland and the bizarre events fame provided is a must-see.
Pop culture myth-making is a goal for another filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan, and it's a goal he seldom reaches. One of the most overrated and undertalented writer/directors I've had the awful chore of experiencing may be getting a stiff rebuke this weekend as his movie "Lady In The Water" is released.
Honestly, one OK movie (Sixth Sense) and some truly awful ones (Unbreakable, The Village) has led Night (who names their kid Night?) to this new faux mystery film with a story about "narfs" and "scrunts" and features himself as a Great Misunderstood Writer. I'll pass.
Some years ago I reluctantly attended a screening of the movie "Road House" with Patrick Swayze as the Ultimate Bouncer. Five young women in the audience screamed like swooning banshees throughout the movie, and I admit that the movie was so awful I kinda liked it. Now thanks to the Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fame, you can watch the movie and listen to Nelson's commentary via a new web site called RiffTrax. "We don't make movies, we make fun of them" boasts the advertising. It would be great to see more unauthorized movie commentaries shredding your favorite or least favorite film.
Writer/director Danny Boyle expands his catalog into science-fiction in a movie called "Sunshine," about a last-ditch effort to repair the failing Sun, is currently in production. Boyle has been running throgh the genres of film in movies like "Trainspotting" to "A Life Less Ordinary" to "28 Days Later". A behind the scenes and making of collection of clips available here.
"Night of the Living Dead in 3-D"??? Yes, it's shambling to life.
"Adventures of Brisco County Jr" arrives on DVD as does star Bruce Campbell's other short-lived TV series, "Jack of All Trades."
Quick, Hide The Inflatable Sheep!!
Sorry to detract from your apocalyptic day-mares about the End of The World or the Start of World War 12, but let's be honest. Just what exactly do you think you can do to stop civil war in the Middle East as you peck away at a keyboard or surf across the internet tubes??
I myself am more than annoyed by the fact that certain religious/military groups constantly want to drag the 21st Century into their Thousands of Years of Warfare and Hatred. Other than new weapons technologies supplied by outside countries, (or new innocents to kill) nothing much new is here. The Lust for natural resources has most national attentions pinned like a butterfly in a glass box as refugees run hither and yon. So if you feel like justifying the actions on one group versus another group, then have at it my friend.
As for me, my attention tends to wander about like a drunken sailor on the docks, heading for the buildings where singing can be heard, or maybe for that little place where the incredible aromas of freshly-made food drifts away on invisible breezes.
And here on the internet tubes in the ever-expanding world of blogging writers and readers, the newest study says the average writer/reader is a 14 year old girl posting OMG!!! and other horrible shorthands and misspellings as they unravel the mysteries of the latest American Idol machinatons or the problematic nature of cell phones and downloading ringtones. Or maybe you're just a political hack preaching the victories of Your Candidate/Pundit and the evils of The Other Candidate/Pundit.
And then there are those bloggers whose activities defy categories.
Which brings you and me to the point of this post:
Some thieves have hauled off a 14-foot inflatable sheep and the authorities say they can't find it:
"I can't figure out what someone would do with a 14-foot sheep," Sather said. "It can't go in your basement and if it's in your back yard, your neighbor will notice. If it's target practice, it only lasts once.'
All the thief or thieves left was a handwritten note at the scene of the crime that read: "For the sheep, bring peace to the earth."
I'm done. Are you still reading? Well, stop. And leave your comments
Posted by Joe Powell at 6:45 PM 10 comments: Links to this post
A Peaceful Arrival
Today marks the 37th anniversary of humanity's first step onto another world.
"During a pause in experiments, Neil suggested we proceed with the flag. It took both of us to set it up and it was nearly a disaster. Public Relations obviously needs practice just as everything else does. A small telescoping arm was attached to the flagpole to keep the flag extended and perpendicular. As hard as we tried, the telescope wouldn't fully extend. Thus the flags which should have been flat, had its own unique permanent wave. Then to our dismay the staff of the pole wouldn't go far enough into the lunar surface to support itself in an upright position. After much struggling we finally coaxed it to remain upright, but in a most precarious position. I dreaded the possibility of the American flag collapsing into the lunar dust in front of the television camera."
Details of the event and the thoughts of those involved are all available here.
A few years later, a Mars landing occured. Video here.
And thanks to DH for the reminder.
Explain This One
Someone will have to explain this one to me.
Throwing away frozen embryos created within the process of operating a fertility clinic is Good and Moral. Using those to-be-discarded, laboratory-grown embryos for stem cell research is Murder and Immoral. So, yes, someone needs to explain that one to me. It is an argument with no basis in the real world.
As I mentioned earlier today, it is unfortunate that tax-funded research sets the marching tone for medical research in general. Given the blindingly high costs of every single level of medical care in the nation, to see that the funds available for research need taxpayer supports also perturbs me.
Hysterical claims are made by some that stem cell research is bogus, that adult cells can provide identical opportunities -- the plain unvarnished truth is the science itself is so new that no one can say with authority one way or the other. (Yes, Science is held in contempt by the current administration, and by the so-called religous political movement, as if it were the central spear on Satan's flaming trident. I suppose we should all be glad that there haven't been public burnings and drownings of scientists.)
The veto of the president today makes no logical sense, and truly appears to me to be sheer political football at everyone else's expense.
And that seems to be a behavioral trend for the Bush presidency.
"The Garden" Has Room For You
There's just too much good stuff on DVD and even television to talk about, so here we are on a Wednesday talking movies -- and yes, this is another journey into Hollywood's Dark Heart, the Horror Movie.
Apologies first for this delayed review of "The Garden," which I've had ready for a week. And much thanks to the folks at Anchor Bay and M-80 for the chance to screen this little apocalyptic gem.
I love the atmosphere and the skillful camera and editing that make "The Garden" work. The psychological background here is dense and layered, as a dream-filled childhood mind intersects with the evil machinations of .... could that be Satan? Or is it just the gravel-voiced performance of actor Lance Henriksen? The churning mind of a troubled child may threaten all the world.
The story follows an alcoholic dad and his son, who are injured in a car crash and find themselves on an eerie farm and their host is an even more eerie farmer named Ben (Henriksen). The fevered and fearful dreams of young Sam seem to be capable of manifesting in reality, which is bad enough. But what if the farm where he seeks refuge is actually The Garden of Eden? Apocalypse is approaching, or is it all just more dreaming?
The cinematography and Henriksen's abilities carry the day. While the story may seem predictable to hard-core fans, the less initiated will like this un-rated foray into dimensional shifts and Twilight Zone-ish twists.
Check out the trailer here at the official website. This DVD offers extras from behind the scenes as well as director's commentary. And as always, the excellent catalog from Anchor Bay presents this movie and a host of others to pick from. Well worth your time to explore, many excellent genre entries are here.
Back tonight for week two on TNT is Stephen King's "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" (Hey, a common theme! Deadly Dreams!!). Last week's debut of this four-week miniseries was just plain fantastic. Two more entries arrive tonight, each a one-hour adaptation of King's creepy tales, and this week again boasting some top-name talents.
First, William H. Macy stars in a dual role as writer and the writer's creation, a hard-boiled detective in an episode titled "Umney's Last Case." The writer seeks the help of his tough-as-nails fictional detective, an act that blends the real and the imagined into one. This episode is co-directed by X-Files alum Rob Bowman.
The second hour features actors Henry Thomas and Ron Livingston as they recount what may be the end of one life or perhaps the end of all life in "The End of the Whole Mess."
The official web-site, loaded with interviews and details is here. And if week two is as good as the first one was, we have a minor classic in the making.
One of the constant questions from email and comments concerns the little horror movie with the legendary status which was filmed just a few miles from where I sit here in Morristown. That movie is "The Evil Dead" and director Sam Raimi's 1980s classic and the undefeatable hero named Ash is now headed to the world of musical theatre.
Yes, I said musical.
Reports say:
"The show is to debut in New York in October, having already been worked on in Toronto and Montreal.
The men responsible for this unlikely transfer from screen to stage are George Reinblatt, Frank Cipolla and Christopher Bond. The show won't be directed by Sam Raimi, perhaps obviously; instead, Hinton Battle - known to fans of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television show as the all-singing devil Sweet - will co-direct.
The musical will follow the fortunes of a group of friends (rather than focusing on Ash only) after they unleash the You Know What in a secluded woodland cabin. The first few rows will be called the 'Splatter Zone'. I'm sure we needn't elaborate on that, at all. All performances will begin at the adults-only hour of 11pm, Friday and Saturday nights."
Singing and dancing zombies who aren't politicians. Now that's entertainment!
Fear of a Gay Planet
Twisting the state and the national constitution into a banning mechanism regarding sexual preference is deeply dangerous, for reasons obvious to most adults.
Barring further court actions, the state will present to Tennessee voters a proposal to change our constitution and ban certain consting adults from marrying. I'll vote no on that. I hope you do too. Efforts to alter the national constitution in the same way are also underway.
This is idiocy on so many levels, wasteful too. If you don't see that - nothing I say could open your sealed-shut eyes.
More on this topic via KnoxViews and Congressman Lincoln Davis' comments are here. And with all due respect to Congressman Davis - satire and lampoonery in speeches on the House floor are sometimes difficult to discern. But yeah, I get it. This is ridiculous legislation.
Mike Silence offers some more on the issue here. More comments and discussion are at NiT.
Being afraid of rights between consenting adults based on their sexual behavior says far more about you than you know.
These proposed ammendments stick the government's nose so far under the bedroom sheets we should see this as a perverted invasion of privacy.
I have just a two words to Americans who want to empower a Nanny Government to dictate every molecule of human behavior - Stop it.
UPDATE: Another viewpoint which express it better than I do here.
Medical Research Rebuke
Justifying warfare is easy for the President. Justifying research is not.
"White House press secretary Tony Snow explained yesterday, "The president believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder; he's one of them." That the embryos would be discarded anyway "is a tragedy," Mr. Snow added, "but the president is not going to get on the slippery slope of taking something that is living and making it dead for the purpose of research."
On the one hand, I am amazed to see this president actually threatening to veto something which is releated to federal spending. On the other hand, the research holds so much promise to save many lives that to block funding seems specious.
If the justification for warfare across the globe is to protect life, then stem-cell research should also be seen in the same light.
Posted by Joe Powell at 10:30 AM 1 comment: Links to this post
Shuffle Like You Mean It
Is it hotter than seven hells where you are?
Worried that we might be in World War III (or is it IV or even V or VI)?
Is your favorite political candidate chased by chickens?
Did someone leave the microphone on and everyone heard you say a baaaad word?
Can't afford gasoline?
Is your phone/internet under surveillance?
Were you not invited to Avril Lavigne's wedding?
Maybe you're mourning the death of Mickey Spillane --- so
Just soak your eyes in the following video (thanks to Squirrels on Snark for the link to the Tennessee edition of the Global Shuffle), wade out into the closest kiddie pool, or just stroll over to your favorite tourist location and dance, fool, dance!!
D Is For Donut-Hole
The Part D of Medicare has a huge coverage gap which gets this cute little nickname of "donut-hole" which maligns the goodness of donuts and implies the gap isn't that bad. It is bad for the elderly and the sickest and the poorest.
The problematic legislation, which Congress created with much help from pharmaceutical companies, prevents the government from negotiating for lower prices and requires that premiums be paid for coverage even while the individual has no coverage.
Congress needs to review this, but they won't. Elderly, disable, sick or dying Americans seldom get the chance to take a congressman or senator to dinner.
Good coverage on this problem is here, and here is an excerpt:
"This colossal gap in coverage (which, you may notice, is larger than the initial coverage itself) is popularly known as "the doughnut hole." Even worse, those who have fallen into the doughnut hole must still pay their monthly premiums, even though they are paying every last cent of their drug costs during this period out of their own pockets. Talk about adding insult to injury.
It's hard to say for sure how many people will fall out into the doughnut hole. The best guess available comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation, whose conservative estimate is that almost 7 million people will reach the gap in 2006. Out of these, many will never be able to spend the $2,850 required to get out of it. And the doughnut hole is getting bigger every year: The law is written in such a way that the actual amount of money that people will have to spend to get out of the hole is going to increase annually."
And even after Part D was crafted, big pharma still increased their prices to make sure you hit that hole quicker.
Nostalgia For The Music of the '90s
The post I am pointing you too is just too good to pass up. Fresh perspectives from L.A. on a musical reunion tour featuring En Vogue and Bobby Brown and much more, plus the humble narrator takes us through her own DJ past.
I hate to admit that I did tune in to the Bobby Brown/Whitney Houston "reality" show, which was like a slow-motion celebrity meltdown.
But Valley Grrrl's review of The Bobby is just too funny:
"At one point he had a roadie tie his shoes (he went to stage left, put his right foot up on the speaker and a roadie came out and tied it while Bobby continued to let us sing - then he strutted over to stage right and repeated the process with his left foot). He brought a LARGE sistah up on stage and dry humped her while "singing" his classic "Tenderoni" But perhaps the most disturbing moment was when he laid a crisp white towel on the stage. He knelt down in back of the towel and spread it out all neat. I thought maybe he had converted to Muslim and was about to perform his evening prayers. Instead, he proceeded to mount the towel and simulate his love for his wife right there on stage for all to see. I would like to think that the 12 year old girl sitting a few rows in front of me really believed her dad when he told her that Bobby was just doing some push ups. ICK."
Read the whole post.
Forcing A False Debate
Warmakers are having a field day with the newest battles in the Middle East and see it as an "opportunity". I went on rant yesterday in comments on Newscoma's blog (sorry about that) about the disgraced ex-House Majority leader, Newt Gingrich, who wants to push the U.S, our allies and the rest of the world into a Brand New World War, in order to generate enough fear in the U.S. that voters won't review the Republican record of failure in Congress and the Senate. His fear really isn't a world war the U.S. won't win - it's a change in the majority in Congress.
This is beyond foolish, and very nearly suicidal. Fanning the flames of war into a worldwide inferno seems to be the goal. Gingrich and others want to make this an argument about a "we must win" scenario, ignoring the number of lives such a battle would claim. and sees it as a Public Relations battle where using certain key words and phrases will induce enough Fear in the American public to embolden the U.S. into attacking more nations.
Is it a coincidence this Lust for Worldwide War arrives just as the major corporate contracts for military support in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down?
Opportunity for more contracts, for more military action to seize natural resources, for spreading political instability, which will then be used to justify more military responses in an ever increasing cycle of war.
The mistake in this logic is that it removes the focus from resolving the current warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan and undermines efforts to make resolution possible. It confuses our allies as to our goals and our committments, as they witness a lack of urgency to resolve these conflicts and a desire to spread out into a larger war. I have to wonder if this wasn't a long-developing desire.
Yes, Islamic terrorists want to fight, not talk. Yet, for us to see enemies everywhere means more soldiers are needed and more and more money. And bringing the US into a worldwide conflict is precisely the goal of those who attacked on September 11, 2001.
I'm waiting for the medical analogy to be used - sometimes you have to get sicker in order to get better.
This defeatist and self-serving line of thought will only insure spreading sickness, spreading disaster.
Sadly, the facts are so distorted and lost and the Fear is so great, I doubt the voters will respond with clarity. More and more our policies are all Reaction and not Action and any voices calling for anything else are held in contempt.
Gingrich may just get what he wants: forcing the language of war into everyone's minds.
Who benefits most from this? Perhaps the campaign to put Gingrich in the White House. | {
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Home / CE Articles / Featured / Insurance / ACA hasn't reduced health care costs
ACA hasn't reduced health care costs
By Dana Beezley-Smith, Ph.D.
November 18, 2018 - Last updated: November 17, 2018
"The only way we're going to stop our country from being a latter day Roman Empire – and falling under its own weight," MIT economist Jonathan Gruber told a 2010 audience, "is getting control of the growth rate of health care costs."
The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Gruber was integral in developing, was hoped to represent the nation's best attempt at reducing this expense. Three days before its passage, President Obama told House Democrats that "everybody who's looked at it says that every single good idea to bend the cost curve and start actually reducing health care costs are [sic] in this bill."
But in his Jan. 2012 address to the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Gruber admitted that he and the other ACA architects had no ideas for solving the nation's soaring health care expenses.
"Even if we KNEW how to control health care costs," he told attendees, "we couldn't do it politically. So what do you do?… Well, you do what I like to think of as sort of a 'spaghetti approach.' Throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks."
In 2009, when Congressional deliberations began, national health spending totaled $2.5 trillion, representing $8,086 per person and 17.6 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In 2016, U.S. health care spending reached $3.3 trillion or $10,348 per person, and consumed 17.9 percent of the GDP. Federal government and household costs accounted for the highest expenditures, at 28 percent each.
One cost-cutting tactic, promoted by three former Obama health advisors, has been widely adopted.
In a controversial op-ed published shortly after the ACA's passage, the authors advocated that providers "vertically integrate" into larger entities to improve efficiencies.
"Only hospitals or health plans can afford to make the necessary investments in information technology and management skills," they reasoned. "To realize the full benefits of the Affordable Care Act, physicians will need to embrace rather than resist change."
CBS News published its coverage on the editorial days later, proclaiming independent medical offices "doomed." The author argued that internal medicine and other specialists, "many of them in small practices," objected to the strategy because they're "raking in big bucks, and they don't want anything to change."
In 2012, 48.5 percent of physicians described themselves as "independent practice owners or partners." The Physicians Foundation's 2016 survey found that number had dropped to 33 percent.
The ACA's cost and regulatory pressures are motivating doctors to sell their practices to hospitals, writes Reason contributing editor J.D. Tuccille. "Is the independent doctor disappearing?" he asks. "The answer is yes – and to a significant extent, that's a result of deliberate policy."
According to The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), "The percentage of hospital-employed physicians increased by more than 63 percent" over the past four years. "Regions nationwide saw an increase in hospital-owned practices at every measured time period, ranging from 83 percent to 205 percent."
Moreover, the hospital systems that doctors are joining are merging at a steady pace. Leigh Page at Medscape reports that the majority of hospitals are now incorporated within ever-larger entities.
"The American Hospital Association reports that 60 percent of its member hospitals are part of a health system, with most of them in systems consisting of three to 10 hospitals."
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute projects health expenses will rise 6 percent next year, due in large part to "megamergers" among health service facilities. "In 2019, 93 percent of most metropolitan hospital markets will be considered highly concentrated."
Consolidation has long been demonstrated to increase costs without adding quality. Large systems can negotiate lucrative contracts with private insurers due to their market share and hospital-owned outpatient sites receive higher Medicare reimbursements than private practitioners. This, AJMC writes, "increases both costs to the Medicare program and financial responsibility for patients."
"I don't see a policy justification for why a physician's time is worth more as a hospital employee," Jeff Goldsmith, a Virginia health care consultant, told the Center for Public Integrity. Medicare, he maintained, is paying a subsidy that encourages hospitals "to buy up practices and dramatically increase the cost of services."
According to a 2014 study by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), hospital-acquired practices receive $453 for performing an echocardiogram while the independent doctor is paid $189.
"Medicare pays twice as much for office visits at hospital-owned clinics as compared to private physician practices," claims physician Niran Al-Agba. "Patients with private insurance are responsible for as much as a 15 percent portion of the facility fee."
In 2012, MedPAC recommended a "site-neutral" payment policy, and in 2015, both Congress and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) leveled reimbursements across settings. However, locations acquired by hospitals before Nov. 2, 2015 were exempted from the payment cuts.
CMS is proposing payment parity for all clinic visits, the most common outpatient service, reducing reimbursement in hospital-affiliated locations from $116 to $46. The policy is expected to reduce federal spending by $610 million in 2019 and coinsurance by $150 million.
"We'll have to wait and see," writes Vox policy reporter Dylan Scott. "Litigation could also follow. But the Trump administration has shown a prior willingness, in the fight over the $340 billion drug pricing program, to confront hospitals."
The administration's $1.6 billion cut to the Medicare drug discount program is expected to save seniors roughly $320 million this year. The hospital industry has filed suit to reverse these cuts.
Dana Beezley-Smith, Ph.D., is in private practice serving children, adults and families in Green, Ohio. Her email is: drdana@me.com.
Congress throws a wrench in Medicare telehealth rules
COVID-19 brings change to behavioral health for older adults
TPE audits target high volume providers
ACA survives cut in penalties but courts will have final say | {
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Report: Monta Ellis signs again with Pacers after cap snafu
By Dan FeldmanJul 20, 2015, 4:57 PM EDT
Monta Ellis agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract with the Pacers.
But they ran out of cap room for him, which wasn't necessarily as big a deal as it sounds.
Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports:
Because of the issue, Ellis had to complete the paperwork a second time, which he did Thursday evening, a source informed VigilantSports.com.
Two big questions remain:
1. What, if any, significant consequence did Indiana face with other players as a result of this mix-up?
2. Have the Pacers officially submitted Ellis' paperwork to the NBA and had it approved?
It's possible they had Ellis sign but don't yet have their financials in order to submit his contract to the league. His deal could be sitting in a drawer somewhere, signed and ready to go but not yet submitted. Even if that's the case, though, it's telling Ellis signed again rather than looking for another landing spot.
This issue might already be cleared up. If it's not, Ellis clearly believes it will be resolved – which is quite telling. He has the most to lose if this somehow this doesn't go smoothly, which is even more evidence this will be or has been completed without a hitch. | {
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Research, nature, arts & crafts, children development programs, self development, creative activities for children, many years of research studies,healing energy studies. I study the soul development and have superb techniques to help children.
Parents moved to another town.
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Being a great basketball coach means knowing exactly what defensive play is needed to keep your opponents from scoring and what motion offense play works best to keep your team dominant in the seconds that count. Keep scoring points on rival teams with the Virginia Blocker Mover Offense Playbook and the Basketball Offenses Encyclopedia. Keeping opponents off balance, reading the court, and preparing for the shot are all key elements in a basketball offense playbook.
Just as important, however, is making sure your team keeps their head in the game even when they don't have the ball. The Michigan State Defensive Playbook: The Complete Guide to a Final Four Defense is a great basketball defense playbook to maintain the lead you established early in the game. | {
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Make Friends!
by Christopher Fisher • June 18, 2017
World's Top Religious Leaders Issue Rare Joint Appeal
Writes Carol Kuruvilla for the Huffington Post,
Religion is often viewed as a force that sows divisions between people. But the world's most prominent religious leaders have come together to present a different vision of how faith can work in the world.
In a rare move, major religious leaders ― from Pope Francis to the Dalai Lama ― issued a joint appeal Wednesday asking people to follow a simple bit of advice: Make friends with people of other faiths.
"Our advice is to make friends to followers of all religions," Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani, one of the U.K.'s most senior Shia Muslim clerics, said in a video recording.
"Personal contact, personal friendship, then we can exchange a deeper level of experience," the Dalai Lama said.
Continue reading at the source. Be patient – the video begins with 15 seconds of silence. For more information on the group behind the Make Friends video, visit the Elijah Interfaith Institute. – RR
Turning Texas Blue – Could Community Organizers in the Lone Star State Show the Democrats the Way?
by Christopher Fisher • February 20, 2017
According to Texas Organizing Project cofounder Ginny Goldman, "There's this misunderstanding that people don't care, that people are apathetic," reports Andrew Cockburn in the March 2017 edition of Harper's magazine. "It's so not true. People are mad and they want to do something about it. People want fighters that will deliver real change for them.…
Activism, Community, Petaluma
Where Do We Go From Here? Aqus Community Cafe Rally hosted by founder John Crowley
Many thanks to John Crowley for his community-building efforts, including hosting this January 31 event. Thanks also to Kaye Chandler for her ongoing videographic work, keeping the residents of Petaluma informed.
Aqus Community Cafe Rally hosted by founder John Crowley from Kaye Chandler on Vimeo.
Community, Public Event, Sonoma County
Confronting Militarism & Sonoma County's Corporate Power Structure with Community Organizing | {
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Retailers are an important part of our economy, and the bedrock of main streets in our communities. Yet, they are facing challenges on many fronts and we need to understand their perspective and how best to help them survive and thrive. That is why I worked with the Senate President Stan Rosenberg to create a Senate task force on how best to strengthen local retailers.
Here is a recent editorial in support of task force. | {
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Op-7 Therapeutic Effects Of Domperidone On Abdominal Pain-Predominant Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo- Controlled Trial
Karunanayake, A.; Devanarayana, N.Manjuri.; Rajindrajith, S.; de Silva, A.
Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 61(4): 511-512
The therapeutic effect of domperidone on abdominal pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal diseases (AP-FGIDs) was assessed on children in 5-12 year age group at the Gastroenterology Research Laboratory of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Children fulfilling Rome III criteria for AP-FGIDs were recruited from the out-patient clinic of the University Paediatric Unit, North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka, after obtaining parental consent. They were randomized in to 8 weeks of placebo or Domperidone (Motillium 10 mg, 3 times per day, before meals) groups, using computer generated random numbers. Placebo was a specially prepared dummy tablet without any active ingredients, had the same colour, size, shape and taste of domperidone tablet and were packaged similarly. Primary outcomes defined were cure (abdominal pain less than 25 mm on the visual analogue scale and no impact on daily activities) and improvement (pain relief and sense of improvement recorded on global assessment scale). Secondary outcomes were significant improvement in symptoms, gastric motility, quality of life (QoL) and family impact. Both patients and investigators who assessed primary and secondary outcomes before and after intervention were blind to inventions administered. Symptom severity was recorded on a validated 100 mm visual analogue scale. Translated and validated PedQL Generic Score Scale version 4.0 and Family Impact Module were used. Gastric motility was assessed using a validated ultrasound method. One hundred children were enrolled and 89 completed the trial [Placebo 42 (22 girls), Domperidone 47(33 girls)]. While comparing primary outcomes, domperidone group had significant improvement [37 (78.7%) vs. 25 (59.5%) in placebo group, p = 0.04], while no such difference was observed in cure. When assessing secondary outcomes, domperidone group reported significant reduction in abdominal pain severity (70.84% vs. 48.18% p = 0.03) and improvement in motility index (29.3% vs. 8.6% p = 0.04) after intervention. No such difference was seen in improvement of QoL and family impact (p > 0.05). Domperidone has a favorable therapeutic effect on improvement AP-FGIDs in children aged 5-12 years. It causes significant reduction in abdominal pain and improvement in motility of the gastric antrum. However, it has no significant effect on improvement of QoL and family impact.
(PDF emailed within 0-6 h: $19.90)
DOI: 10.1097/01.mpg.0000472211.46517.33
A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of Lactobacillus GG for abdominal pain disorders in children. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 25(2): 177-184, 2007
Randomized double blind placebo-controlled trial of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856 in irritable bowel syndrome: improvement in abdominal pain and bloating in those with predominant constipation. United European Gastroenterology Journal 4(3): 353-362, 2016
A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Lactobacillus reuteri for Chronic Functional Abdominal Pain in Children. Iranian Journal of Pediatrics 25(6): E2616, 2015
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for the Management of Functional Abdominal Pain in Childhood: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of Pediatrics 174: 160-164.E1, 2017
Neurostimulation for abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders in adolescents: a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled trial. Lancet. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2(10): 727-737, 2017
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Qi-Zhi-Wei-Tong Granules on Postprandial Distress Syndrome-Predominant Functional Dyspepsia. Chinese Medical Journal 131(13): 1549-1556, 2018
Pregabalin for the treatment of abdominal adhesion pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. American Journal of Therapeutics 19(6): 419-428, 2013
A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of domperidone in lactating mothers of premature newborns. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 65(2): 176, 1999
Effectiveness of intravenous magnesium on postoperative pain after abdominal surgery versus placebo: double blind randomized controlled trial. La Tunisie Medicale 88(5): 317-323, 2010
Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of homoeopathic arnica C30 for pain and infection after total abdominal hysterectomy. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 90(2): 73-78, 1997
Double blind randomized placebo controlled trial for the evaluation of domperidone in the treatment of children with gastroesophageal reflux. Gastroenterology 98(5 Part 2): A21, 1990
Symptomatic response to Helicobacter pylori eradication in children with recurrent abdominal pain: double blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 38(8): 646-650, 2004
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the essentiality of acid inhibitors for abdominal pain after gastroscopic mucosal biopsy. Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology 24(3): 197-203, 2014
Effects of GH in women with abdominal adiposity: a 6-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. European Journal of Endocrinology 166(4): 601-611, 2012
Duloxetine versus placebo for the treatment of women with stress predominant urinary incontinence in Taiwan: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Bmc Urology 8: 2, 2008 | {
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The Coastal Carolina Curling Club proudly announces that the Spring League will be starting this Saturday. Every Saturday afternoon session will start at 5:30 pm and run until 7:15 pm. Review our Location & Schedule page for details & updates.
Alternates, or anyone paying to play on a night-by-night basis, pay $20.00 per session and may pay in person prior to the start (please arrive early to do so) or via paypal.
For your convenience, if you are paying any fee by paypal within 24 hours of a curling session, please print or retain your email receipt to assure the club treasurer can confirm payment at the rink.
The Coastal Carolina Curling Club membership year starts on April 1st. Download and complete our 2015-16 Membership Application to join today!
Do not hesitate to Contact us with any questions.
January 11, 2017 Coastal Curler Comments Off on Continental Cup starts tomorrow! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Senior Researcher, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialities, Radiological Sciences and Public Health Medicine, Section of Hygiene, University of Brescia.
Feretti D., Zerbini I., Zani C., Ceretti E., Moretti M., Monarca S.: Allium cepa chromosome aberration and micronucleus tests applied to study genotoxicity of extracts from pesticide-treated vegetables and grapes. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2007, 24: 561-572.
Feretti D., Zerbini I., Ceretti E., Villarini M., Zani C., Moretti M., Fatigoni C., Orizio G., Donato F., Monarca S.: Evaluation of chlorite and chlorate genotoxicity using plant bioassay and in vitro DNA damage tests. Water Research, 2008, 42: 4075-4082.
Ceretti E., Zani C., Zerbini I., Gazzella L., Scaglia M., Berna V., Donato F., Monarca S., Feretti D.: Comparative assessment of genotoxicity of mineral water packed in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and glass bottles. Water Research, 2010, 44: 1462-1470.
Pedrazzani R, Ceretti E., Zerbini I., Casale R., Gozio E., Bertanza G., Gelatti U., Donato F., Feretti D.: Biodegradability, toxicity and mutagenicity of detergents: integrated experimental evaluations. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2012, 84:274-281.
Bertanza G., Papa M., Pedrazzani R., Repice C., Mazzoleni G., Steimberg N., Feretti D., Ceretti E., Zerbini I.: EDCs, estrogenicity and genotoxicity reduction in a mixed (domestic + textile) secondary effluent by means of ozonation: A full-scale experience. Science of the Total Environment, 2013, 458-460: 160-168.
Born in Brescia (Italy), on 1st October 1962, she graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan and specialized in Hygiene at the Specialization School there. A Graduate Technician since 1991 and Researcher since 2004 at the Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, Hygiene section, of the University of Brescia, she has been involved in health environmental studies with emphasis on mutagenicity of environmental mixtures (urban air and indoor pollution, drinking water and wastewater, mineral water in PET bottles, pesticide contamination of food, contaminated soils, resins used in prosthodontics, monitoring of environmental and occupational exposure). These studies have been carried out by means of bacterial mutagenicity tests, such as Ames test or Kado test on Salmonella typhimurium, genotoxicity tests using plants such as Tradescantia (Tradescantia/micronuclei test) and Allium cepa (Roots Anaphase Aberration Assay and Allium Root-Micronucleus Assay) and Comet test to study primary DNA damage in human leukocytes. Moreover research activities have concerned health education and promotion, environmental studies on hospital wastewater disinfection, evaluation of different disinfectants used for wastewater and drinking water (such as chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite, ozone and peracetic acid), the study of algal blooms affecting Lombardy lakes by monitoring the presence of cyanobacterial cell density, the chlorophyll a spectrophotometric measurement and the study of toxicity using Vibrio fischeri strain, a bioluminescent bacterium. Solid phase extraction was performed for the studies on water samples.
The results of these studies have been published in several national and international scientific papers and in numerous conference proceedings.
Besides being involved in this scientific activity, she teaches environmental medicine at the University of Brescia.
Member of the Italian Society of Hygiene and Public Health, of the Italian Society of Environmental Mutagenesis and of the European Environmental Mutagen Society. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Tickets for 2022 events now on sale!
Alison Braithwaite2022-01-08T17:07:00+00:00January 8th, 2022|Art Competition, Art Workshop/Demonstration, Exhibition, Lectures, Music, Mystery Masterpiece Auction, Short Story Competition, Sponsorship, The festival|
We are pleased to announce that tickets for 2022 events are now on sale through the website! All tickets are purchased through the website. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list for an event that has sold out, please email info@broadwayartsfestival.com including your name, mobile number, event name, date and [...]
Introducing our new Artist in Residence (2021- 2023) – Nick Logan
Alison Braithwaite2021-08-13T11:51:28+01:00August 13th, 2021|Art Competition, Art Workshop/Demonstration, Exhibition, The festival|
We are delighted to annouce that our new Artist in Residence is Nick Logan. The term is for 2 years, so you will see Nick at our events between now and the next festival where he will run workshops, participate in our educational outreach programmes in schools, help to judge The Great Broadway Paint-Off and [...]
Theatrebarn in Bretforton announced as one of the new event venues for Broadway Arts Festival
Alison Braithwaite2021-01-16T14:11:02+00:00January 16th, 2021|Art Competition, Exhibition, Lectures, The festival, Theatre|
Due to the success of the festival, as we grow in size & scope, we are adding new additional venues in the north Cotswolds to provide variety, increased capacity and an opportunity to showcase other arts organisations. We are delighted to announce an exciting new venue for in 2021. Theatrebarn is a hidden [...]
Haidee-Jo Summers ROI Announced as judge for The Great Broadway Paint-Off 2021
Alison Braithwaite2021-01-05T10:48:33+00:00January 5th, 2021|Art Competition, The festival|
Haidee-Jo Summers ROI RSMA has agreed to be one of our judges for the 2021 Great Broadway Paint-Off on Sunday June 13th! Haidee-Jo will be in the village giving feedback and encouragement to our artists during the day and judging the entries at the end of the afternoon. Tickets for the Paint-Off go on sale [...]
The Great Broadway Paint-Off 2020!
Alison Braithwaite2020-10-05T07:59:30+01:00October 5th, 2020|Art Competition, Art Workshop/Demonstration, Exhibition, Sponsorship, The festival|
What a great day - despite everything the weather threw at us! We were thoroughly impressed with the 49 artists who braved the elements (storm Alex) & seemingly enjoyed the opportunity to get the heck out of the house and be creative with other like-minded (very hardy) types. We loved seeing your resulting masterpieces and [...] | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
\section{Conclusion}
We presented the \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework, a two-stage multi-task learning pipeline, where the first stage automatically selects the relevant auxiliary tasks for the given primary task and the second stage automatically learns their optimal mixing ratio. We showed that \textsc{AutoSeM}{} performs better than strong baselines on several GLUE tasks. Further, we ablated the importance of each stage of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework and also discussed the intuition of selected auxiliary tasks.
\section{Experiment Setup}
\label{sec:setup}
\noindent\textbf{Datasets}:
We evaluate our models on several datasets from the GLUE benchmark~\cite{wang2018glue}: RTE, QNLI, MRPC, SST-2, and CoLA. For all these datasets, we use the standard splits provided by~\newcite{wang2018glue}. For dataset details, we refer the reader to the GLUE paper.\footnote{We did not include the remaining tasks as primary tasks, because STS-B is a regression task; MNLI is a very large dataset and does not benefit much from MTL with other tasks in the GLUE benchmark; and QQP and WNLI have dev/test discrepancies and adversarial label issues as per the GLUE website's FAQ: \url{https://gluebenchmark.com/faq}}
\noindent\textbf{Training Details}:
We use pre-trained ELMo\footnote{\url{https://allennlp.org/elmo}} to obtain sentence representations as inputs to our model~\cite{peters2018Deep}, and the Gaussian Process implementation is based on Scikit-Optimize\footnote{\url{https://scikit-optimize.github.io}}, and we adopt most of the default configurations. We use accuracy as the validation criterion for all tasks. For all of our experiments except QNLI and SST-2, we apply early stopping on the validation performance plateau.\footnote{In our initial experiments, we found early stopping on larger datasets led to sub-optimal performance, and hence we used a pre-specified maximum number of steps instead.} The set of candidate auxiliary tasks consists of all 2-sentence classification tasks when the primary task is a classification of two sentences, whereas it consists of all two-sentence and single-sentence classification tasks when the primary task is a classification of a single sentence.\footnote{We made this design decision because there are only two single-sentence tasks in GLUE, so we mix them with 2-sentence tasks to allow more auxiliary choices.} Since the utility estimates from the multi-armed bandit controller are noisy, we choose the top two tasks based on expected task utility estimates, and include additional tasks if their utility estimate is above 0.5. All the results reported are the aggregate of the same experiment with two runs (with different random seeds) unless explicitly mentioned.\footnote{We use the average of validation results across runs as the tuning criterion, and use the ensemble of models across runs for reporting the test results.} We use a two-layer LSTM-RNN with hidden size of 1024 for RTE and 512 for the rest of the models, and use Adam Optimizer~\cite{Kingma2014AdamAM}. The prior parameters of each task in stage-1 are set to be $\alpha_0=1$, $\beta_0=1$, which are commonly used in other literature. For stage-1, the bandit controller iteratively selects batches of data from different tasks during training to learn the approximate importance of each auxiliary task~\cite{graves2017automated}. In stage-2 (Gaussian Process), we sequentially draw samples of mixing ratios and evaluate each sample after full training~\cite{snoek2012practical}. Without much tuning, we used approximately 200 rounds for the stage-1 bandit-based approach, where each round consist of approximately 10 mini-batches of optimization. For stage-2, we experimented with 15 and 20 as the number of samples to draw and found that 15 samples for MRPC and 20 samples for the rest of the tasks work well. This brings the total computational cost for our two-stage pipeline to be approximately (15+1)x and (20+1)x, where x represents the time taken to run the baseline model for the given task. This is significantly more efficient than a grid-search based manually-tuned mixing ratio setup (which would scale exponentially with the number of tasks).
\section{Introduction}
Multi-task Learning (MTL)~\cite{caruana1997multitask} is an inductive transfer mechanism which leverages information from related tasks to improve the primary model's generalization performance. It achieves this goal by training multiple tasks in parallel while sharing representations, where the training signals from the auxiliary tasks can help improve the performance of the primary task. Multi-task learning has been applied to a wide range of natural language processing problems~\cite{luong2015multi,pasunuru2017multitask,hashimoto2017ajm,ruder2017sluice,kaiser2017one,mccann2018natural}.
Despite its impressive performance, the design of a multi-task learning system is non-trivial.
In the context of improving the primary task's performance using knowledge from other auxiliary tasks~\cite{luong2015multi,pasunuru2017multitask}, two major challenges include selecting the most relevant auxiliary tasks and also learning the balanced mixing ratio for synergized training of these tasks.
One can achieve this via manual intuition or hyper-parameter tuning over all combinatorial task choices, but this introduces human inductive bias or is not scalable when the number of candidate auxiliary tasks is considerable. To this end, we present \textsc{AutoSeM}{}, a two-stage Bayesian optimization pipeline to this problem.
In our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework\footnote{We make all our code and models publicly available at: \url{https://github.com/HanGuo97/AutoSeM}}, the first stage addresses automatic task selection from a pool of auxiliary tasks. For this, we use a non-stationary multi-armed bandit controller (MAB)~\cite{bubeck2012regret,raj2017taming} that dynamically alternates among task choices within the training loop, and eventually returns estimates of the utility of each task w.r.t. the primary task. We model the utility of each task as a Beta distribution, whose expected value can be interpreted as the probability of each task making a non-negative contribution to the training performance of the primary task. Further, we model the observations as Bernoulli variables so that the posterior distribution is also Beta-distributed. We use Thompson sampling~\cite{chapelle2011empirical,russo2018tutorial} to trade off exploitation and exploration.
The second stage then takes the auxiliary tasks selected in the first stage and automatically learns the training mixing ratio of these tasks, through the framework of Bayesian optimization, by modeling the performance of each mixing ratio as a sample from a Gaussian Process (GP) to sequentially search for the optimal values~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian,snoek2012practical}.
For the covariance function in the GP, we use the Matern kernel which is parameterized by a smoothness hyperparameter so as to control the level of differentiability of the samples from GP.
Further, following~\citet{hoffman2011portfolio}, we use a portfolio of optimistic and improvement-based policies as acquisition functions~\cite{shahriari2016taking} for selecting the next sample point from the GP search space.
We conduct several experiments on the GLUE natural language understanding benchmark~\cite{wang2018glue}, where we choose each of RTE, MRPC, QNLI, CoLA, and SST-2 as the primary task, and treat the rest of the classification tasks from the GLUE benchmark as candidate auxiliary tasks. Results show that our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework can successfully find useful auxiliary tasks and automatically learn their mixing ratio, achieving significant performance boosts on top of strong baselines for several primary tasks, e.g., 5.2\% improvement on QNLI, 4.7\% improvement on RTE, and 2.8\%/0.8\% improvement on MRPC.
We also ablate the usefulness of our two stages of auxiliary task selection and automatic mixing ratio learning. The first ablation removes the task selection stage and instead directly performs the second GP mixing ratio learning stage on all auxiliary tasks. The second ablation performs the task selection stage (with multi-armed bandit) but replaces the second stage Gaussian Process with manual tuning on the selected tasks. Our 2-stage model performs better than both these ablations, showing that both of our stages are crucial. Further, we also discuss the learned auxiliary task choices in terms of their intuitive relevance w.r.t. the corresponding primary task.
\section*{Acknowledgments}
We thank the reviewers for their helpful comments. This work was supported by DARPA (YFA17-D17AP00022), ONR (N00014-18-1-2871), Google, Facebook, Baidu, Salesforce, and Nvidia.
The views contained in this article are those of the authors and not of the funding agency.
\section{Models}
We will first introduce our baseline model and its integration for multiple classification tasks in a multi-task learning (MTL) setup. Next, we will introduce our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework, an automatic way of selecting auxiliary tasks and learning their optimal training mixing ratio w.r.t. the primary task, via a Beta-Bernoulli bandit with Thompson Sampling and a Gaussian Process framework.
\subsection{Bi-Text Classification Model}
\label{subsec:baseline}
Let ${\bm{s}}_1$ and ${\bm{s}}_2$ be the input sentence pair in our classification task, where we encode these sentences via bidirectional LSTM-RNN, similar to that of~\newcite{conneau2017supervised}. Next, we do max-pooling on the output hidden states of both encoders where ${\bm{u}}$ and ${\bm{v}}$ are the outputs from the max-pooing layer for ${\bm{s}}_1$ and ${\bm{s}}_2$ respectively. Later, we map these two representations (${\bm{u}}$ and ${\bm{v}}$) into a single rich dense representation vector ${\bm{h}}$:
\begin{equation}
{\bm{h}} = [{\bm{u}} ; {\bm{v}}; {\bm{u}} \star {\bm{v}}; |{\bm{u}}-{\bm{v}}|]
\end{equation}
where $[;]$ represents the concatenation and ${\bm{u}}\star {\bm{v}}$ represents the element-wise multiplication of ${\bm{u}}$ and ${\bm{v}}$. We project this final representation ${\bm{h}}$ to label space to classify the given sentence pair (see Fig.~\ref{fig:baseline}). We also use ELMo~\cite{peters2018Deep} representations for word embeddings in our model. For this, we extract the three ELMo layer representations for each of the sentence pair and use their weighted sum as the ELMo output representation, where the weights are trainable.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{Figs/baseline.pdf}
\caption{Overview of our baseline model where we use different projection layers for each task during MTL, while sharing rest of the model parameters.
\label{fig:baseline}
\vspace{-10pt}
}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure*}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{Figs/tsgp-2.pdf}
\vspace{-5pt}
\caption{Overview of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework. \textbf{Left}: the multi-armed bandit controller used for task selection, where each arm represents a candidate auxiliary task. The agent iteratively pulls an arm, observes a reward, updates its estimates of the arm parameters, and samples the next arm. \textbf{Right}: the Gaussian Process controller used for automatic mixing ratio (MR) learning. The GP controller sequentially makes a choice of mixing ratio, observes a reward, updates its estimates, and selects the next mixing ratio to try, based on the full history of past observations.
\label{fig:mtl}
}
\vspace{-15pt}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Multi-Task Learning}
\label{subsec:mtl-intro}
In this work, we focus on improving a task (primary task) by allowing it to share parameters with related auxiliary tasks via multi-task learning (MTL). Let $\{D_1, ..., D_N\}$ be a set of $N$ tasks, where we set $D_1$ to be the primary task and the rest of them as auxiliary tasks. We can extend our single-task learning baseline (see Sec.~\ref{subsec:baseline}) into multi-task learning model by augmenting the model with $N$ projection layers while sharing the rest of the model parameters across these $N$ tasks (see Fig.~\ref{fig:baseline}). We employ MTL training of these tasks in alternate mini-batches based on a mixing ratio $\eta_1{:}\eta_2{:}..\eta_N$, similar to previous work~\cite{luong2015multi}, where we optimize $\eta_i$ mini-batches of task $i$ and go to the next task.
In MTL, choosing the appropriate auxiliary tasks and properly tuning the mixing ratio can be important for the performance of multi-task models.
The naive way of trying all combinations of task selections is hardly tractable.
To solve this issue, we propose \textsc{AutoSeM}{}, a two-stage pipeline in the next section. In the first stage, we automatically find the relevant auxiliary tasks (out of the given $N-1$ options) which improve the performance of the primary task. After finding the relevant auxiliary tasks, in the second stage, we take these selected tasks along with the primary task and automatically learn their training mixing ratio.
\subsection{Automatic Task Selection: Multi-Armed Bandit with Thompson Sampling}
\label{subsec:task-selection}
Tuning the mixing ratio for $N$ tasks in MTL becomes exponentially harder as the number of auxiliary tasks grows very large. However, in most circumstances, only a small number of these auxiliary tasks are useful for improving the primary task at hand. Manually searching for this optimal choice of relevant tasks is intractable. Hence, in this work, we present a method for automatic task selection via multi-armed bandits with Thompson Sampling (see the left side of Fig.~\ref{fig:mtl}).
Let $\{a_1,...,a_N\}$ represent the set of $N$ arms (corresponding to the set of tasks $\{D_1,..., D_N\}$) of the bandit controller in our multi-task setting, where the controller selects a sequence of actions/arms over the current training trajectory to maximize the expected future payoff. At each round $t_b$, the controller selects an arm based on the noisy value estimates and observes rewards $r_{t_b}$ for the selected arm.
Let $\theta_k \in [0, 1]$ be the utility (usefulness) of task $k$. Initially, the agent begins with an independent prior belief over $\theta_k$. We take these priors to be Beta-distributed with parameters $\alpha_k$ and $\beta_k$, and the prior probability density function of $\theta_k$ is:
\begin{equation}
p(\theta_k) = \frac{\Gamma(\alpha_k+\beta_k)}{\Gamma(\alpha_k)\Gamma(\beta_k)} \theta_k^{\alpha_k-1} (1-\theta_k)^{\beta_k-1}
\end{equation}
\label{eq:beta}
where $\Gamma$ denotes the gamma function. We formulate the reward $r_{t_b} \in \{0,1\}$ at round $t_b$ as a Bernoulli variable, where an action $k$ produces a reward of $1$ with a chance of $\theta_k$ and a reward of $0$ with a chance of $1-\theta_k$. The true utility of task $k$, i.e., $\theta_k$, is unknown, and may or may not change over time (based on stationary vs. non-stationary of task utility). We define the reward as whether sampling the task $k$ improves (or maintains) the validation metric of the primary task,
\begin{equation}
r_{t_b}=
\begin{cases}
1, & \text{if}\ R_{t_b} \geq R_{t_b - 1} \\
0, & \text{otherwise}
\end{cases}
\end{equation}
\label{eq:initial-binary-reward}
where $R_{t_b}$ represents the validation performance of the primary task at time $t_b$. With our reward setup above, the utility of each task ($\theta_k$) can be intuitively interpreted as the probability that multi-task learning with task $k$ can improve (or maintain) the performance of the primary task. The conjugacy properties of the Beta distribution assert that the posterior distribution is also Beta with parameters that can be updated using a simple Bayes rule, which is defined as follows~\cite{russo2018tutorial},
\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
p(\theta_k \lvert r)
& \propto \text{Bern}_{\theta}(r) \text{Beta}_{\alpha, \beta}(\theta_k) \\
& \propto \text{Beta}_{\alpha + r, \beta + 1 - r}(\theta_k)
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\vspace{-10pt}
\begin{equation}
(\alpha_k, \beta_k) =
\begin{cases}
(\alpha_k, \beta_k), & \hspace{-6pt} \text{if}\ x^s_{t_b} \neq k \\
(\alpha_k, \beta_k) \mbox{+} (r_{t_b}, 1 - r_{t_b}), & \hspace{-6pt} \text{if}\ x^s_{t_b} = k
\end{cases}
\end{equation}
\label{eq:stationary-posterior-update}
where $x^s_{t_b}$ is the sampled task at round $t_{b}$. Finally, at the end of the training, we calculate the expected value of each arm as follows:
\begin{equation}
\mathbb{E}_p [\theta_k] = \frac{\alpha_k}{\alpha_k + \beta_k}
\end{equation}
\label{eq:utility}
Here, the expectation measures the probability of improving (or maintaining) the primary task by sampling this task. To decide the next action to take, we apply Thompson Sampling~\citep{russo2018tutorial,chapelle2011empirical} to trade off exploitation (maximizing immediate performance) and exploration (investing to accumulate new information that might improve performance in the future). In Thompson Sampling~\cite{russo2018tutorial}, instead of taking action $k$ that maximizes the expectation (i.e., $\arg\max_k \mathbb{E}_p [\theta_k]$), we randomly sample the primary task improvement probability $\hat{\theta}_k$ from the posterior distribution $\hat{\theta}_k \sim p(\theta_k)$, and take the action $k$ that maximizes the sampled primary task improvement probability, i.e., $\arg\max_k \hat{\theta}_k$.
At the end of the training, the task selection can proceed either via a threshold on the expectation, or take the top-$K$ tasks, and run stage-2 using the selected task subset as auxiliary tasks (details in Sec.~\ref{subsec:gp}).
\paragraph{Stronger Prior for Primary Task} Note that at the beginning of training, model performance is usually guaranteed to improve from the initial random choices. This causes issues in updating arm values because less useful tasks will be given high arm values when they happen to be sampled at the beginning. To resolve this issue, we initially set a slightly stronger prior/arm-value in favor of the arm corresponding to the primary task. Intuitively, the bandit will then sample the primary model more often at the beginning, and then start exploring auxiliary tasks when the primary model's performance stabilizes (as the arm value of the primary model will start decreasing because sampling it in later rounds produces smaller additional improvements).
\paragraph{Non-Stationary Multi-Armed Bandit} Also note that the intrinsic usefulness of each task varies throughout the training (e.g., the primary task might be more important at the beginning, but not necessarily at the end), and thus the agent faces a non-stationary system. In such cases, the agent should always be encouraged to explore in order to track changes as the system drifts. One simple approach to inject non-stationarity is to discount the relevance of previous observations. Thus we introduce a tunable decay ratio $\gamma$, and modify Eq.~\ref{eq:stationary-posterior-update} as follows:
\begin{equation}
(\alpha_k, \beta_k) =
\begin{cases}
(\hat{\alpha}_k, \hat{\beta}_k), & \hspace{-6pt} \text{if}\ k \neq x^s_{t_b} \\
(\hat{\alpha}_k, \hat{\beta}_k) \mbox{+} (r_{t_b}, 1 - r_{t_b}), & \hspace{-6pt} \text{if}\ k = x^s_{t_b}
\end{cases}
\end{equation}
where $\hat{\alpha}_k = (1-\gamma) \alpha_k + \gamma \alpha_0$ and $\hat{\beta}_k = (1-\gamma) \beta_k + \gamma \beta_0$, and $\gamma$ controls how quickly uncertainty is injected into the system ($\alpha_0, \beta_0$ are parameters of the prior). Algorithm~\ref{alg:BernoulliTS} presents the Thompson Sampling algorithm with a Beta-Bernoulli MAB.
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\begin{small}
\caption{$\text{BernThompson}(N, \alpha, \beta, \gamma, \alpha_0, \beta_0)$}\label{alg:BernoulliTS}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\For{$t_b=1,2,\ldots $}
\State \# sample model:
\For{$k=1, \ldots, N$}
\State Sample $\hat{\theta}_k \sim \text{Beta}(\alpha_k, \beta_k)$
\EndFor
\State \# select and apply action:
\State $x^s_{t_b} \leftarrow \arg\max_k \hat{\theta}_k$
\State Apply $x^s_{t_b}$ and observe $r_{t_b}$
\State \# non-stationarity
\For{$k=1, \ldots, N$}
\State $\hat{\alpha}_k = (1-\gamma) \alpha_k + \gamma \alpha_0$
\State $\hat{\beta}_k = (1-\gamma) \beta_k + \gamma \beta_0$
\If {$k \neq x^s_{t_b}$}
\State $(\alpha_{k}, \beta_{k}) \leftarrow (\hat{\alpha}_k, \hat{\beta}_k)$
\Else
\State $(\alpha_{k}, \beta_{k}) \leftarrow (\hat{\alpha}_k, \hat{\beta}_k) \mbox{+} (r_{t_b}, 1-r_{t_b})$
\EndIf
\EndFor
\EndFor
\end{algorithmic}
\end{small}
\end{algorithm}
\subsection{Automatic Mixing Ratio Learning via Gaussian Process}
\label{subsec:gp}
The right side of Fig.~\ref{fig:mtl} illustrates our Gaussian Process controller for automatic learning of the MTL training mixing ratio (see definition in Sec.~\ref{subsec:mtl-intro}). Given the selected auxiliary tasks from the previous section, the next step is to find a proper mixing ratio of training these selected tasks along with the primary task.\footnote{Note that ideally Gaussian Process can also learn to set the mixing ratio of less important tasks to zero, hence allowing it to essentially also perform the task selection step. However, in practice, first applying our task selection Thompson-Sampling model (Sec.~\ref{subsec:task-selection}) allows GP to more efficiently search the mixing ratio space for the small number of filtered auxiliary tasks, as shown in results of Sec.~\ref{subsec:analysis}.}
Manual tuning of this mixing ratio via a large grid search over the hyperparameter values is very time and compute expensive (even when the number of selected auxiliary tasks is small, e.g., 2 or 3). Thus, in our second stage, we instead apply a non-parametric Bayesian approach to search for the approximately-optimal mixing ratio. In particular, we use a `Gaussian Process' to sequentially search for the mixing ratio by trading off exploitation and exploration automatically.
Next, we describe our Gaussian Process approach in detail.
A Gaussian Process~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian,snoek2012practical,shahriari2016taking}, $\text{GP}(\mu_0, k)$, is a non-parametric model that is fully characterized by a mean function $\mu_0: \mathcal{X} \mapsto \mathbb{R}$ and a positive-definite kernel or covariance function $k: \mathcal{X} \times \mathcal{X} \mapsto \mathbb{R}$. Let ${\bm{x}}_1, {\bm{x}}_2, ..., {\bm{x}}_n$ denote any finite collections of $n$ points, where each ${\bm{x}}_i$ represents a choice of the mixing ratio (i.e., the ratio $\eta_1{:}\eta_2{:}..\eta_N$ described in Sec.~\ref{subsec:mtl-intro}), and $f_i = f({\bm{x}}_i)$ is the (unknown) function values evaluated at ${\bm{x}}_i$ (true performance of the model given the selected mixing ratio). Let $y_1, y_2, ..., y_n$ be the corresponding noisy observations (the validation performance at the end of training). In the context of GP Regression (GPR), ${\bm{f}} =\{f_1, ..., f_n\}$ are assumed to be jointly Gaussian~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian}, i.e., ${\bm{f}} \lvert {\bm{X}} \sim \mathcal{N}({\bm{m}}, {\bm{K}})$, where, ${\bm{m}}_i = \mu_0({\bm{x}}_i)$ is the mean vector, and ${\bm{K}}_{i,j} = k({\bm{x}}_i, {\bm{x}}_j)$ is the covariance matrix. Then the noisy observations ${\bm{y}} = y_1, ..., y_n$ are normally distributed around ${\bm{f}}$ as follows: ${\bm{y}} \lvert {\bm{f}} \sim \mathcal{N}({\bm{f}}, \sigma^2 {\bm{I}})$.
Given $\mathcal{D}=({\bm{x}}_1, y_1), ..., ({\bm{x}}_{n_0}, y_{n_0})$, the set of random initial observations, where ${\bm{x}}_i$ represents a mixing ratio and $y_i$ represents the corresponding model's validation performance. Next, we model the GP based on these initial observations as described above. We sample a next point ${\bm{x}}_{n_0+1}$ (a mixing ratio in our case) from this GP and get its corresponding model performance $y_{n_0+1}$, and update the GP again by now considering the $n_0+1$ points~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian}. We continue this process for a fixed number of steps. Next, we will discuss how we perform the sampling (based on acquisition functions) and the kernels used for calculating the covariance.
\begin{table*}
\begin{center}
\begin{small}
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
Models & RTE & MRPC & QNLI & CoLA & SST-2 \\
\hline
BiLSTM+ELMo (Single-Task) ~\cite{wang2018glue} & 50.1 & 69.0/80.8 & 69.4 & \textbf{35.0} & 90.2 \\
BiLSTM+ELMo (Multi-Task) ~\cite{wang2018glue} & 55.7 & 76.2/83.5 & 66.7 & 27.5 & 89.6 \\
\hline
\hline
Our Baseline &
54.0 & 75.7/83.7 & 74.0 & 30.8 & 91.3 \\
Our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} &
\textbf{58.7} & \textbf{78.5/84.5} & \textbf{79.2} & 32.9 & \textbf{91.8} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{small}
\end{center}
\vspace{-10pt}
\caption{Test GLUE results of previous work, our baseline, and our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} MTL framework. We report accuracy and F1 for MRPC, Matthews correlation for CoLA, and accuracy for all others.
\label{table:test-results}
\vspace{-12pt}
}
\end{table*}
\paragraph{Acquisition Functions}
Here, we describe the acquisition functions for deciding where to sample next. While one could select the points that maximize the mean function, this does not always lead to the best outcome~\cite{hoffman2011portfolio}. Since we also have the variance of the estimates along with the mean value of each point ${\bm{x}}_i$, we can incorporate this information into the optimization.
In this work, we use the GP-Hedge approach~\cite{hoffman2011portfolio,auer1995gambling}, which probabilistically chooses one of three acquisition functions: probability of improvement, expected improvement, and upper confidence bound. Probability of improvement acquisition functions measure the probability that the sampled mixing ratio ${\bm{x}}_i$ leads to an improvement upon the best observed value so far ($\tau$), $\mathbb{P}(f({\bm{x}}_i) > \tau)$. Expected improvement additionally incorporates the amount of improvement, $\mathbb{E}[(f({\bm{x}}_i) - \tau)\mathbb{I}(f({\bm{x}}_i) > \tau)]$. The Gaussian Process upper confidence bound (GP-UCB) algorithm measures the optimistic performance upper bound of the sampled mixing ratio~\cite{srinivas2009gaussian}, $\mu_i({\bm{x}}_i) + \lambda\sigma_i({\bm{x}}_i)$, for some hyper-parameter $\lambda$.
\paragraph{Matern Kernel} The covariance function (or kernel) defines the nearness or similarity of two points in the Gaussian Process. Here, we use the automatic relevance determination (ARD) Matern kernel~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian}, which is parameterized by $\nu > 0$ that controls the level of smoothness. In particular, samples from a GP with such a kernel are differentiable $\floor{\nu - 1}$ times. When $\nu$ is half-integer (i.e. $\nu = p + 1/2$ for non-negative integer $p$), the covariance function is a product of an exponential and a polynomial of order $p$. In the context of machine learning, usual choices of $\nu$ include $3/2$ and $5/2$~\cite{shahriari2016taking}.
\section{Related Work}
\label{section:related-works}
Multi-task learning~\cite{caruana1998multitask}, known for improving the generalization performance of a task with auxiliary tasks, has successfully been applied to many domains of machine learning, including natural language processing~\cite{collobert2008unified,girshick2015fast,luong2015multi,pasunuru2017multitask,Pasunuru2017TowardsIA}, computer vision~\cite{misra2016cross,kendall2017multi,dai2016instance}, and reinforcement learning~\cite{teh2017distral,parisotto2015actor,jaderberg2016reinforcement}. Although there are many variants of multi-task learning~\cite{ruder2017sluice,hashimoto2017ajm,luong2015multi,mccann2018natural}, our goal is to improve the performance of a primary task using a set of relevant auxiliary tasks, where different tasks share some common model parameters with alternating mini-batches optimization, similar to~\citet{luong2015multi}.
To address the problem of automatic shared parameter selection,~\newcite{ruder2017learning} automatically learned the latent multi-task sharing architecture, and~\newcite{xiao2018gated} used a gate mechanism that filters the feature flows between tasks.
On the problem of identifying task relatedness,~\citet{ben2003exploiting} provided a formal framework for task relatedness and derived generalization error bounds for learning of multiple tasks.
~\citet{bingel2017identifying} explored task relatedness via exhaustively experimenting with all possible two task tuples in a non-automated multi-task setup. Other related works explored data selection, where the goal is to select or reorder the examples from one or more domains (usually in a single task) to either improve the training efficiency or enable better transfer learning. These approaches have been applied in machine translation~\cite{van2017dynamic}, language models~\cite{moore2010intelligent,duh2013adaptation}, dependency parsing~\cite{sogaard2011data}, etc. In particular,~\citet{ruder2017learning2} used Bayesian optimization to select relevant training instances for transfer learning, and~\citet{tsvetkov2016learning} applied it to learn a curriculum for training word embeddings via reordering data.~\citet{graves2017automated} used the bandit approach (Exp3.S algorithm) in the context of automated curriculum learning, but in our work, we have two stages with each stage addressing a different problem (automatic task selection and learning of the training mixing ratio). Recently,~\newcite{sharma2017online} used multi-armed bandits (MAB) to learn the choice of hard vs. easy domain data selection as input feed for the model.
\newcite{guo2018dynamic} used MAB to effectively switch across tasks in a dynamic multi-task learning setup.
In our work, we use MAB with Thompson Sampling for the novel paradigm of automatic auxiliary task selection; and next, we use a Matern-kernel Gaussian Process to automatically learn an exact (static) mixing ratio (i.e., relatedness ratio) for the small number of selected tasks.
Many control problems can be cast as a multi-armed bandits problem, where the goal of the agent is to select the arm/action from one of the $N$ choices that minimizes the regrets~\cite{bubeck2012regret}. One problem in bandits learning is the trade-off between exploration and exploitation, where the agent needs to make a decision between taking the action that yields the best payoff on current estimates or exploring new actions whose payoffs are not yet certain.
Many previous works have explored various exploration and exploitation strategies to minimize regret, including Boltzmann exploration~\cite{kaelbling1996reinforcement}, adversarial bandits~\cite{auer2002nonstochastic}, UCB~\cite{auer2002finite}, and information gain using variational approaches~\cite{houthooft2016vime}. In this work, for task selection, we use Thompson Sampling~\citep{russo2018tutorial,chapelle2011empirical}, an algorithm for sequential decision making problems, which addresses a broad range of problems in a computationally efficient manner and is therefore enjoying wide use.
Gaussian Process (GP) is a non-parametric Bayesian approach, and it can capture a wide variety of underlying functions or relations between inputs and outputs by taking advantage of the full information provided by the history of observations and is thus very data-efficient~\cite{rasmussen2004gaussian,shahriari2016taking,schulz2018tutorial}. Gaussian Processes have been widely used as a black-box optimizer and hyper-parameter optimization~\cite{snoek2012practical,brochu2010tutorial,GPflowOpt2017,cully2018limbo,swersky2013multi,golovin2017google}. In our work, we use Gaussian Process for automatic learning of the multi-task mixing ratio in our stage-2 among the selected tasks from stage-1.
\section{Results}
\subsection{Baseline Models}
Table~\ref{table:test-results} shows the results of our baseline and previous works~\cite{wang2018glue}. We can see that our single-task baseline models achieve stronger performance on almost all tasks in comparison to previous work's single-task models.\footnote{\label{note1}Note that we do not report previous works which \emph{fine-tune} large external language models for the task (e.g., OpenAI-GPT and BERT), because they are not fairly comparable w.r.t. our models. Similarly, we report the non-attention based best GLUE models (i.e., BiLSTM+ELMo) for a fair comparison to our non-attention baseline. Our approach should ideally scale to large pre-training/fine-tuning models like BERT, given appropriate compute resources.} Next, we present the performance of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework on top of these strong baselines.
\subsection{Multi-Task Models}
Table~\ref{table:test-results} also presents the performance of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework-based MTL models. As can be seen, our MTL models improve significantly (see Table~\ref{table:validation-results} for standard deviations) upon their corresponding single-task baselines for all tasks, and achieve strong improvements as compared to the fairly-comparable\textsuperscript{\ref{note1}} multi-task results of previous work~\cite{wang2018glue}.\footnote{Note that even though the performance improvement gaps of~\newcite{wang2018glue} (MTL vs. baseline) and our improvements (\textsc{AutoSeM}{} vs. our improved baseline) are similar, these are inherently two different setups. \newcite{wang2018glue} MTL is based on a `one model for all' setup~\cite{kaiser2017one,mccann2018natural}, whereas our approach interpretably chooses the 2-3 tasks that are most beneficial for the given primary task. Also see Sec.~\ref{sec:setup} for comparison of training speeds for these two setups.}
During the task selection stage of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework, we observe that MultiNLI is chosen as one of the auxiliary tasks in all of our MTL models. This is intuitive given that MultiNLI contains multiple genres covering diverse aspects of the complexity of language~\cite{conneau2017supervised}. Also, we observe that WNLI is sometimes chosen in the task selection stage; however, it is always dropped (mixing ratio of zero) by the Gaussian Process controller, showing that it is not beneficial to use WNLI as an auxiliary task (intuitive, given its small size). Next, we discuss the improvements on each of the primary tasks and the corresponding auxiliary tasks selected by \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework.
\noindent\textbf{RTE}:
Our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} approach achieves stronger results w.r.t. the baseline on RTE (58.7 vs. 54.0). During our task selection stage, we found out that QQP and MultiNLI tasks are important for RTE as auxiliary tasks. For the second stage of automatic mixing ratio learning via Gaussian Process, the model learns that a mixing ratio of 1:5:5 works best to improve the primary task (RTE) using related auxiliary tasks of QQP and MultiNLI.
\noindent\textbf{MRPC}:
\textsc{AutoSeM}{} here performs much better than the baseline on MRPC (78.5/84.5 vs. 75.7/83.7). During our task selection stage, we found out that RTE and MultiNLI tasks are important for MRPC as auxiliary tasks. In the second stage, \textsc{AutoSeM}{} learned a mixing ratio of 9:1:4 for these three tasks (MRPC:RTE:MultiNLI).
\noindent\textbf{QNLI}:
Again, we achieve substantial improvements with \textsc{AutoSeM}{} w.r.t. baseline on QNLI (79.2 vs. 74.0). Our task selection stage learned that WNLI and MultiNLI tasks are best as auxiliary tasks for QNLI.
We found that the Gaussian Process further drops WNLI by setting its mixing ratio to zero, and returns 20:0:5 as the best mixing ratio for QNLI:WNLI:MultiNLI.
\noindent\textbf{CoLA}:
We also observe a strong performance improvement on CoLA with our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} model w.r.t. our baseline (32.9 vs. 30.8). During our task selection stage, we found out that MultiNLI and WNLI tasks are important for CoLA as auxiliary tasks. In the second stage, GP learns to drop WNLI, and found the mixing ratio of 20:5:0 for CoLA:MultiNLI:WNLI.
\noindent\textbf{SST-2}:
Here also our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} approach performs better than the baseline (91.8 vs. 91.3). The task selection stage chooses MultiNLI, MRPC, and WNLI as auxiliary tasks and the stage-2 Gaussian Process model drops MRPC and WNLI by setting their mixing ratio to zero (learns ratio of 13:5:0:0 for SST-2:MultiNLI:MRPC:WNLI).
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|}
\hline
Name & Validation & Test \\
\hline
Baseline & 78.3 & 75.7/83.7 \\
w/o Stage-1 & 80.3 & 76.3/83.8 \\
w/o Stage-2 & 80.3 & 76.7/83.8 \\
Final MTL & 81.2 & 78.5/84.5 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\vspace{-7pt}
\caption{Ablation results on the two stages of our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework on MRPC.
\label{table:ablation-results}
\vspace{-9pt}}
\end{table}
\section{Analysis}
\subsection{Ablation on MTL stages}
\label{subsec:analysis}
In this section, we examine the usefulness of each stage of our two-stage MTL pipeline.\footnote{We present this ablation only on MRPC for now, because GP stage-2 takes a lot of time without the task selection stage.}
\noindent\textbf{Removing Stage-1}:
The purpose of the Beta-Bernoulli MAB in stage-1 is to find useful auxiliary tasks for the given primary task. Here, to understand its importance, we remove the task selection part, and instead directly run the Gaussian Process (GP) model on all tasks (see `w/o Stage-1' row in Table~\ref{table:ablation-results}). We can see that by removing the task selection stage, the Gaussian Process model can still outperform the baseline, indicating the usefulness of the GP, but the large mixing ratio search space causes the GP to be unable to efficiently find the best mixing ratio setting.
\noindent\textbf{Removing Stage-2}:
Given the selected tasks from stage-1, the goal of the Gaussian Process in stage-2 is to efficiently find the approximately-optimal mixing ratio. To examine its usefulness, we replace the Gaussian Process controller by manually tuning a grid of mixing ratios, where the number of tuning experiments equals to the number of steps used in the Gaussian Process model (for a fair comparison). Table~\ref{table:ablation-results} shows the results by removing stage-2. We can see that a grid search over hyper-parameters can improve upon the baseline, indicating the usefulness of stage-1 task selection, but a reasonable-sized fair-comparison grid search (i.e., not exhaustive over all ratio values) is not able to match our stage-2 GP process that leverages prior experimental results to more efficiently find the best setting.
\subsection{Stability of MTL Models}
In this section, we provide the mean and standard deviation of our baseline and multi-task models (over three runs) on the validation set. Note that the test set is hidden, so we cannot do these studies on it. As seen in Table~\ref{table:validation-results}, our multi-task models clearly surpass the performance of baseline models w.r.t. standard deviation gaps, in all tasks.
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.95\linewidth]{Figs/bandit-visualization.pdf}
\vspace{-4pt}
\caption{Visualization of task utility estimates from the multi-armed bandit controller on SST-2 (primary task). The x-axis represents the task utility, and the y-axis represents the corresponding probability density. Each curve corresponds to a task and the bar corresponds to their confidence interval.
\label{fig:visualization}
\vspace{-1pt}
}
\end{figure}
\subsection{Visualization of Task Selection}
In Fig.~\ref{fig:visualization}, we show an example of the task utility estimates from the stage-1 multi-armed bandit controller (Eq.~\ref{eq:beta}) on SST-2. The x-axis represents the task utility, and the y-axis represents the probability density over task utility. Each curve represents a task (the blue curve corresponds to the primary task, SST-2, and the rest of the curves correspond to auxiliary tasks), and the width of the bars represents the confidence interval of their estimates. We can see that the bandit controller gives the highest (and most confident) utility estimate for the primary task, which is intuitive given that the primary task should be the most useful task for learning itself. Further, it gives 2-3 tasks moderate utility estimates (the corresponding expected values are around 0.5), and relatively lower utility estimates for the remaining tasks (the corresponding expected values are lower than 0.5).
\subsection{Educated-Guess Baselines}
We additionally experimented with `educated-guess' baseline models, where MTL is performed using manual intuition mixtures that seem a priori sensible.\footnote{These educated-guess models replace our stage-1 automatic auxiliary task section with manual intuition task-mixtures; but we still use our stage-2 Gaussian Process for mixing ratio learning, for fair comparison.} For example, with MRPC as the primary task, our first educated-guess baseline is to choose other similar paraphrasing-based auxiliary tasks, i.e., QQP in case of GLUE. This MRPC+QQP model achieves 80.8, whereas our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework chose MRPC+RTE+MultiNLI and achieved 81.2. Furthermore, as our second educated-guess baseline, we added MultiNLI as an auxiliary task (in addition to QQP), since MultiNLI was helpful for all tasks in our MTL experiments. This educated-guess MRPC+QQP+MultiNLI model achieves 80.9 (vs. 81.2 for our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} model). This suggests that our \textsc{AutoSeM}{} framework (that automatically chose the seemingly less-related RTE task for MRPC) is equal or better than manual intuition based educated-guess models.
\begin{table}
\small
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
Name & RTE & MRPC & QNLI & CoLA & SST-2 \\
\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{\textsc{Baselines}} \\
\hline
Mean & 58.6 & 78.3 & 74.9 & 74.6 & 91.4 \\
Std & 0.94 & 0.31 & 0.30 & 0.44 & 0.36 \\
\hline
\multicolumn{6}{|c|}{\textsc{Multi-Task Models}} \\
\hline
Mean & 62.0 & 81.1 & 76.0 & 75.7 & 91.8 \\
Std & 0.62 & 0.20 & 0.18 & 0.18 & 0.29 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\vspace{-5pt}
\caption{Validation-set performance mean and standard deviation (based on three runs) of our baselines and Multi-task models in accuracy.
\label{table:validation-results}
\vspace{-13pt}}
\end{table}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaArXiv"
} |
##Biggest Ever Growth For Énergie Group
The Chairman and Chief Executive of the énergie Group, Jan Spaticchia, has announced that the fitness franchise company, which boasts a network turnover of circa £26m, is about to implement ambitious plans to enter its biggest growth phase since the company started in 2003.
The news comes as the UK's fastest-growing fitness franchise celebrated its 100,000 member.
Énergie finished 2014 with 90 clubs open or in presale, including new opening of Fit4less sites in Wallington, Wembley, and Wellingborough. Having opened a club a month in the last year across the network, the Group is now gearing up to accelerate its rollout.
In 2015, the Group plans to open 36 clubs between January and December, across its three core brands Fit4less, énergie Fitness for Women and énergie Fitness Clubs. The group has also confirmed it has 44 fully funded franchisees with licenses for 66 clubs and that the Group is granting an average of three new franchises every month.
In the first three months of 2015, énergie will open two clubs per month, which will increase to three per month from April and four from October. The first quarter will see openings of Fit4less in Preston, West Ealing, Epsom, Manchester, Aylesbury and Bedford.
Énergie will also extend its International portfolio in the New Year, an area Spaticchia confirms the énergie Board is keen to pursue, he said: "We have mainly been focussing on ensuring that our existing clubs are well supported introducing a new support structure and management team. Our domestic openings have also taken priority and with an average of 1,500 members presold for a Fit4less, we are outstripping targets through planning and execution that I am now confident in. Next year, we will continue to build on this but with additional personnel we will also be able to focus on growth abroad."
Énergie opened its third Fitness for Women franchise in Latvia last month and will open its first Fit4less clubs in Plavnieki, Latvia and Gadansk, Poland in the first quarter of 2015.
Having recently opened énergie Fitness Club, Naas (Dublin), which is the largest club in the énergie estate at 31,000sqft, and establishing itself as Ireland's largest fitness operator, the Group will continue to grow its three brands across in Northern and Southern Ireland.
Jan Spaticchia added: "The fitness franchise market is at a confident high as we enter 2015. The énergie Group has invested considerably in improving services, training and systems across the board, which has put us in a strong position as the market leader. 2015 is set to be a pivotal year for the Group as its looks to create a platform for unprecedented growth." | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3) is an international, woman-owned, $300+ million IT and business services corporation based in Detroit. With a composite average annual growth rate of 19%, S3 is fiscally sound and debt free. S3 has had $3.3 Billion in sales since its inception with $1.2 billion of those sales occurring in the last 5 years. It is ranked 16th among the largest staffing firms in the US by Staffing Industry Report and is one of two companies nationally certified as a Charter Partner with Staffing Industry Analysts. S3 is also ranked as the sixth largest diversity staffing firm in the US by Staffing Industry Analysts and one of the top 25 among woman-owned businesses in the nation by Women's Enterprise USA Magazine.
Green is more than our culture.
There are more shades of green than any other color in the spectrum, and it reflects our ability to be individuals and work as a dynamic group. The global mission of Strategic Staffing Solutions is to build trusting relationships and deliver solutions that positively impact our customers, our consultants, and our communities. When you are Green, you are part of the S3 Family.
At S3, giving back is core to our business. We believe in supporting the communities in which we do business through investments of our time, talents, and resources. Being strong corporate citizens is critical to us. We take pride in supporting organizations that help individuals change their station in life. We support charitable organizations that align around S3's four core pillars. They include community and economic development; animal welfare; youth and education; the arts, and public safety.
True to our word of supporting animal welfare organizations we adopted our four "paw-fice" assistants from the Michigan Humane Society. They're fully part of the S3 family and eagerly greet guests to our corporate headquarters in Detroit. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
So the questions are many as Apple prepares its address to investors tomorrow to reveal second quarter results. How successful is the iPod Shuffle? Are sales of the Shuffle canibalizing the sales of Apple's other iPod players? Has Apple's overall market share grown or shrunk under the barrage of hundreds of competing MP3 players hitting store shelves?
And what about the Mac Mini? Is it a modest sales success or has Apple finally found the product that will wean Windows users away from Redmond?
That last question is important if indeed the Mac Mini is destined to be the media box Robert X. Cringley thinks it will be.
But at this stage why speculate? At 2:00pm pacific time, 5:00pm eastern Steve Jobs will reveal all. And then it will be time for us analysts to take the numbers, strip away the Apple spin and make some conclusions if not prognostications.
A little patience is all that is needed. For those of you who want to get the news as soon as possible Apple will stream the results live. You can access the stream here. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Engineered for industrial demands. The end use application for industrial films may vary with each new project, but what never changes is a customer's demand for performance, consistency and processing reliability.
IEF carries product lines of industrial films formulated to applications-specific characteristics and features. From robust physical properties such as puncture resistance, abrasion, elongation or modulus to visual characteristics like gloss, matte finish or bright UV whites, we can meet your specific requirements. Specific CoF (coefficient of friction) levels can be created available for any application.
We'd love to talk with you about your industrial film projects.
Contact us anytime and we'll get started. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Brass Course is a brand new graded tool that can be used in group settings or as an individual practice method book for any age and level. The pre-test material can be used to place each student in the appropriate level based on his/her ability. Final evaluations tests are available use as required. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
2008 Olympic wrestling gold medalist and current flyweight champion Henry Cejudo isn't about to sacrifice his morality for the fight game.
"The Messenger" defeated T.J. Dillashaw in January to retain his flyweight strap. Since then, Dillashaw has tested positive for EPO twice, been suspended by USADA for two years, and relinquished his 135-pound title.
It's been a stunning fall from grace for Dillashaw, who was beginning to creep into the conversation for pound-for-pound best. The performance-enhancing connection is going to be hard for Dillashaw to escape moving forward.
Due to that, Cejudo recently said if and when Dillashaw does return, he wouldn't fight him again. It has nothing to do with money for "The Messenger," it's all about character.
Cejudo, like everyone else, has heard the rumors about Dillashaw and doping. However, he gave the former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) runner-up the benefit of the doubt.
Cejudo will now his attention to Marlon Moraes and the bantamweight title. The two fighters verbally got into it at the UFC's Seasonal Press Conference on Friday. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
The Network Interpretations Team (NIT) has issued a technical decision regarding Testing both thresholds for SSH rekey.
b. All hardware components that are the basis of such argument are definitively identified in the ST. For example, if specific Ethernet Controller or WiFi radio chip is the root cause of such limitation, these chips must be identified.
Additionally, there is an additional limitation on the validity of certification, where any hardware change of the components identified in the argument will invalidate certification. This limitation should be clearly identified as part of certified product listing.
For further information, please see the NIT interpretation at: https://www.niap-ccevs.org/Documents_and_Guidance/ccevs/NITDecisionRfi201717.pdf.
As stated in the 'Resolution' section above, the NIT confirms that the intention of FCS_SSHC_EXT.1.8 and FCS_SSHS_EXT.1.8 is that both thresholds are implemented and tested. But in particular case when the threshold cannot be met due to hardware limitations, it is reasonable that testing could be omitted for this threshold. It is not expected that a check is implemented for a threshold that cannot be reached by the TOE. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Az Iruka-tó Inujama városa mellett található Aicsi prefektúrában, Japánban. Ez a második legnagyobb víztározó az országban.
Adatok
mélység: 26,9 m
legmélyebb pont: 120,0 m
térfogat: 15 187 786 m³
terület: 152,1 ha
Történet
1868 – a gát heves esőzéseket követően után átszakadt az árvízben 941 ember vesztette életét.
1944 – új zsilip építésének befejezése
1977 – duzzasztógát fejlesztésének megkezdése
1979 – duzzasztógát építésének megkezdése
1991 – duzzasztógát építésének befejezése
Hivatkozások
Japán tavai
Aicsi prefektúra | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} |
Florin Medeleț (n.24 aprilie 1943 - d.8 iunie 2005) a fost un istoric, arheolog și muzeograf român. A făcut studiile universitare la Cluj. După ce a absolvit facultatea, din 1965 și până în 1991 a lucrat la Muzeul Banatului din Timișoara. Aici a fost muzeograf, muzeograf principal, șef de secție, director adjunct științific, și mai apoi director. Din 1991 a lucrat la Institutul român de tracologie. A scris peste 150 de articole și studii în arheologie în care a prezentat cercetările sale despre cetăți, necropole, așezări dacice dispuse în Banat și Transilvania.
Opera
Medeleț, Florin, Ziman, Mihai, O cronică a revoluției din Timișoara, Timișoara, Muzeul Banatului, 1990
Medeleț Florin, Buruleanu, Dan, Timișoara, Povestea orașelor sale
Timișoreni
Nașteri în 1943
Decese în 2005
Istorici români
Arheologi români
Muzeografi români | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia"
} |
Lemon Abstraction No. 3
by Esteban Schimpf
Esteban takes classical artistic subject matter—nudes, still lives, landscapes—and gives them a 21st century spin. This collage deconstructs and reconstructs a still life, as he layers fruits (a typical still life subject matter), cut paper and primary colors to create the final image.
More Art by Esteban Schimpf
Esteban Schimpf
Born: Bogotá, Colombia|Lives:
The Colombian-born, Los Angeles-based artist Esteban Schimpf uses his practice to explore the seemingly simple yet incredibly ambitious question, "What is art?" Through his multidisciplinary approach, Esteban incorporates performance art, photography, painting, and collage to answer this age-old question in a contemporary manner. For him, art is stripping his subject matter and practice down to the essentials. He ruminates on classical subjects such as the human figure, still lifes, and landscapes, and reduces his palette to the building blocks for all hues: primary colors. By manipulating each constituent element of classical painting into novel compositional forms, he is able to reconstruct the historical narrative surrounding "what is art." Esteban received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing, Photography, and Art History and Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008. He has exhibited widely across the United States in addition to Mexico and Colombia. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Q: CSRF token protection using cookie Is it a good practice to save the csrf token in a cookie or is it better to use a hidden field in a form? Also is it good to regenerate csrf token every user request like what captchas are doing?
Thanks
A: It is best to include it in the form. The idea behind a CSRF token is that it is not passed passively (e.g. if a malicious user is able to trick the browser into accessing some URL that does something nasty). Cookies are passed passively.
A: The best explaination to this question can be found on OWASP website at OWASP CSRF Prevention Cheat Sheet page.
Firstly, using cookie for a CSRF token can not help much because all cookies, even the secret ones, will be submitted with every request. All authentication tokens will be submitted regardless of whether or not the end-user was tricked into submitting the request.
Secondly, the application can include hidden input parameter in the form with a common name such as "CSRFToken". The value of this token must be randomly generated such that it cannot be guessed by an attacker.
Furthermore, Challenge-Response is another defense option for CSRF. It can be implemented in following ways:
*
*CAPTCHA
*Re-Authentication (password)
*One-time Token
A: The CSRF cookie is certainly open to attack but implementation safe as the session value will always be checked against a submitted token value either stored in the body or header of the request so I can't see a reason against. The double submit (http only cookie vs post data) or token synchronizer (session vs post data) patterns outlined on the OWASP website are good pratices and both use cookies.
Double submit as mentioned earlier moves the storage to the client so is considered stateless but either way two tokens for comparison, of which one always remains unknown to the attacker.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} |
Select ratingGive Van Loon, Elizabeth 1/5Give Van Loon, Elizabeth 2/5Give Van Loon, Elizabeth 3/5Give Van Loon, Elizabeth 4/5Give Van Loon, Elizabeth 5/5
Van Loon, Elizabeth
by Lloyd R. Bailey, Sr., 1996
5 Feb. 1843?–6 Feb. 1893?
Elizabeth Van Loon, author, apparently was born in Yancey County. That she grew up there is attested by an explicit statement in one of her works, Hampton Mead (p. 140), and from the fact that members of the Bailey family in Yancey remember that she was described by their ancestors as a relative. Whether her family name was Bailey, or Hampton, or some other, cannot be established. Of her education, nothing is known.
She wrote four novels, each published by T. B. Peterson and Brothers of Philadelphia: The Shadow of Hampton Mead (1878), A Heart Twice Won; or, Second Love (1878), Under the Willows; or, The Three Countesses (1879), and The Mystery of Allanwold (1880). The first of these is set in the mountains of North Carolina, apparently in Yancey County, whose geographic features and minor place-names are recognizable to those familiar with the county. The Shadow of Hampton Mead was also published in paperback (from the same type) by Royal Publishing Company of Philadelphia, undated, as The White Slave.
By 1870 she had married Benjamin Franklin Van Loon, and they were residents of Memphis, Tenn. By 1885 they were living in Knoxville, Tenn., where they remained until her death. Van Loon disappears from the records, but Elizabeth was buried in the Van Loon cemetery at the site of Campbellite Church on Middlebrook Pike (Ball Camp), Knoxville. The cemetery is located on land that Van Loon deeded to the church. Their only child, a daughter named Frankie, married Henry Goosie and has numerous descendants in the Knoxville area.
Knoxville city directories, 1871–74.
Tennessee census records.
Elizabeth Van Loon, The Shadow of Hampton Mead (1878).
McGrath, Eileen. "Elizabeth Van Loon. The Shadow of Hampton Mead. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson & Brothers, 1878." Read North Carolina Novels (blog). North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. December 18, 2008. http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncnovels/index.php/2008/12/18/elizabeth-van-loon-the-shadow-of-hampton-mead-philadelphia-t-b-peterson-brothers-1878/ (accessed May 20, 2013).
"Mystery of Allanwold." National Literary Monthly 1, no. 6 (August 1880). 401. http://books.google.com/books?id=uGY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA401#v=onepage&q&f=false
"We mentioned some time ago..." Daily Evening News [Jeffersonville, Indiana] 7, no. 284 (October 21, 1879). 1.
[cover]. https://archive.org/stream/shadowofhamptonm00vanl#page/n0/mode/2up (accessed May 20, 2013).
Writers, journalists, and editors
Bailey, Lloyd R., Sr.
Yancey County
1 January 1996 | Bailey, Lloyd R., Sr.
Elizabeth Van Loon is my
Permalink Submitted by Linda Goosie (not verified) on Sun, 07/01/2018 - 20:15
Elizabeth Van Loon is my husband great great great grandmother I would like to know if there is anyway to get her books we have The Shadow Of Hampton Mead and I love it&"
Permalink Submitted by harmony (not verified) on Mon, 04/23/2018 - 10:51 | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Vertical pen display tray is removable, revealing a small chamber to store refills, ink cartridges, warranties, etc.
RESTOP 1 is a small, lightweight, portable pouch.
RESTOP is spill proof and leak proof and odor free.
Approved for disposal in any trash container.
A checkerboard center band adds a touch of texture to the masculine gunmetal of this U. S. Polo Assn. watch, which features convenient analog and digital displays in addition to its sleek design.
Collapsible, resealable, leak-proof, puncture-resistant flasks are great for taking liquor, mixed drinks, water, or any beverage on a cruise, hunting, golf, ball games, camping or any place.
The Big Front Seat option on Spirit Airlines is a huge change from the very tight standard seats, and a very comfortable place to be for longer flights. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Our main activity is dispatching of goods. A client applies to ATV Transport AS with his/her intention to transport goods from point A to point B. The client has to give a description of the goods (weight, amount, material, additional information, etc.) and the arrangement of transport (when, specifying instructions, numbers of the order, etc.).
After having received an order, the dispatcher finds a carrier for the assignment and delivers the information required for the carriage. The dispatcher is an intermediating link in the process, which brings together clients and carriers, who want to transport goods.
Dispatching service involves communication with the client and the carrier, planning of the route, cost accounting and the process administration. Dispatching is an activity, which brings together the carrier and the client and provides a transport service. For the client the benefit is stated in the provision of non-core service to a service company as the result of which the enterprise can focus on its main activity.
The dispatcher is like an administrator and person responsible. A dispatching company in not involved only in the arrangement of organisation but also provides assistance with filling out documentation and offers other ancillary services. ATV Transport AS product portfolio includes besides transportation services also storage and customs services.
Ordinary cargo is usually transported by semi-trailers or mega-trailers. Their difference is in the interior height of the trailer. The measures of a tent-semi-trailer are generally 13.6 x 2.45 x 2.7m. A mega-trailer accommodates products with the height up to 3 metres.
Sometimes it is not necessary to send a full load and products have to be taken to the client somehow. That is why we also provide half-load carriage services. We use semi-trailers and rear hatch trucks.
If thermal carriage is required, we provide modern trailers equipped with Thermo King and Carrier equipment. We enable transportation of not only frozen and chilled products but also products, which have to be kept warm.
Some goods may be classified as hazardous cargo. The term ADR cargo is usually used to denote the type of carriage service. Drivers need a special licence for that and the vehicles should have additional equipment. Drivers employed by ATV Transport have passed special training and the trucks are equipped with the corresponding additional equipment.
In addition to cargo with usually measurements, we also carry oversized and heavy cargo. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Q: Managing systemd services on read-only filesystem I am looking for strategies how to manage enabling and disabling of systemd services on a read-only filesystem. It's not possible as the multi-user.target.wants directory contents get modified.
Keeping /etc/systemd/system as the default location for services, has anyone tried ways to manage the launch 'table' / multi-user.target.wants directory such that an application or script running on the target can still enable or disable a specific service (or services) even though the filesystem is RO?
I have thought to symlink the multi-user.target.wants directory to a location on a small rw "config" partition and switch between pre-set multi-user.target.wants directories on boot/reboot according to the need. Alternatively, I suppose a script or application could directly modify this symlinked location by adding or removing entries from it.
I have not tested that yet; I wanted to see if anyone has experience with this, possible strategies, or know of a more standardized approach to this? Thank you.
A: Not a full answer, but too much detail for a comment.
To make a change, you need write access to that filesystem. I'm guessing you have write-access now, but you want to lock-it-down read-only while still being able to make these changes later.
systemd will search for unit paths in several places in /run which will not be read-only. There may be an opportunity for you to load a service very early and create/edit some units in one of these load paths:
Reference: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.unit.html#Unit%20File%20Load%20Path
Path
Description
/etc/systemd/system.control
Persistent and transient configuration created using the dbus API
/run/systemd/system.control
"
/run/systemd/transient
Dynamic configuration for transient units
/run/systemd/generator.early
Generated units with high priority (see early-dir in systemd.generator(7))
/etc/systemd/system
System units created by the administrator
/run/systemd/system
Runtime units
/run/systemd/generator
Generated units with medium priority (see normal-dir in systemd.generator(7))
/usr/local/lib/systemd/system
System units installed by the administrator
/usr/lib/systemd/system
System units installed by the distribution package manager
/run/systemd/generator.late
Generated units with low priority (see late-dir in systemd.generator(7))
It may be possible for you to write an application which runs very early during boot which connects to a socket to your command-center, gets instructions for units, then uses the dbus-API to create units in /run/systemd/system.control
Another option is writing a generator. See systemd.generator(7) for details. Generators are programs that are executed by systemd early in the boot-process (before unit files are loaded). These generators are expected to generate unit files, drop-ins, or symbolic links in places like /run/systemd/generator/. That would be outside of your read-only filesystem.
An example of a generator is systemd-fstab-generator which reads /etc/fstab and generates native systemd *.mount units.
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} |
<?php
namespace Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap;
use Apikr\Api\Result;
use Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Contracts\SpatialPoint;
use Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Exception\ApiException;
use GuzzleHttp\Client;
class Api
{
/** @var \GuzzleHttp\Client */
protected $client;
/** @var \Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Configuration */
protected $config;
public function __construct(Client $client, Configuration $config)
{
$this->client = $client;
$this->config = $config;
}
/**
* @param \Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Contracts\SpatialPoint $origin
* @param \Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Contracts\SpatialPoint $dest
* @param array $options
* @return \Apikr\Api\Result
*/
public function getRoutes(SpatialPoint $origin, SpatialPoint $dest, array $options = [])
{
return $this->request('post', '/tmap/routes', $options + [
'startX' => $origin->getSpatialLng(),
'startY' => $origin->getSpatialLat(),
'endX' => $dest->getSpatialLng(),
'endY' => $dest->getSpatialLat(),
'reqCoordType' => 'WGS84GEO',
'resCoordType' => 'WGS84GEO',
'searchOption' => Configuration::OPTION_SHORTEST,
]);
}
/**
* @param string $address
* @param array $options
* @return \Apikr\Api\Result
*/
public function geocodingFullAddress($address, array $options = [])
{
return $this->request('get', '/tmap/geo/fullAddrGeo', $options + [
'coordType' => 'WGS84GEO',
'format' => 'json',
'fullAddr' => $address,
]);
}
/**
* @param \Apikr\SKPlanet\TMap\Contracts\SpatialPoint $point
* @param array $options
* @return \Apikr\Api\Result
*/
public function reverseGeocoding(SpatialPoint $point, array $options = [])
{
return $this->request('get', '/tmap/geo/reversegeocoding', $options + [
'lat' => $point->getSpatialLat(),
'lon' => $point->getSpatialLng(),
'coordType' => 'WGS84GEO',
'addressType' => 'A04',
]);
}
/**
* @param string $address
* @param string $type
* @param array $options
* @return \Apikr\Api\Result
*/
public function convertAddress($address, $type = 'OtoN', array $options = [])
{
return $this->request('get', '/tmap/geo/convertAddress', $options + [
'reqAdd' => $address,
'searchTypCd' => $type,
'reqMulti' => 'M',
'resCoordType' => 'WGS84GEO',
'addressType' => 'A04',
]);
}
/**
* @param string $method
* @param string $path
* @param array $form
* @return \Apikr\Api\Result
*/
public function request($method, $path, array $form = [])
{
if (strtolower($method) === 'get') {
$response = $this->client->request($method, $this->config->getRequestUrl($path, $form + ['version' => 1,]), [
'headers' => [
'appKey' => $this->config->getApiKey(),
],
]);
} else {
$response = $this->client->request($method, $this->config->getRequestUrl($path, ['version' => 1,]), [
'headers' => [
'appKey' => $this->config->getApiKey(),
],
'form_params' => $form,
]);
}
$body = $response->getBody()->__toString();
if (!$body) {
throw new ApiException('처리중 에러가 발생하였습니다.', ApiException::CODE_NULL_RESPONSE);
}
$result = new Result(json_decode($body, true));
if ($error = $result->search('error')) {
throw new ApiException($error['message'], $error['code'], $result);
}
return $result;
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} |
"How long can the UN endure the shame of chemical attacks on Syrian citizens?" - France in the United States / Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.
"How long can the UN endure the shame of chemical attacks on Syrian citizens?"
Joint article by Mr. Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, and Mr. Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary, published in "The Guardian."
Horror and death: this is the fate of Syria's children under Bashar al-Assad. On April 4, two aircraft took off from Shayrat, a regime-run, Russian-supported airbase. It seems highly likely that they bombed civilians in Khan Sheikhun with murderous gas. What followed is too grim to describe. Painful, indiscriminate and long-lasting agony for babies, women and the elderly. Deaths by the score. Hundreds of wounded who will bear the scars for ever. It brings shame on the Syrian regime and its supporters. It brings shame on the world. How long can we endure this?
We deeply regret that on April 12 the UN Security Council was unable to demonstrate unity. Together with the United States, we had proposed a resolution that condemned this chemical attack and reaffirmed its unbiased support to the investigation team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). It was simple and balanced. Russia vetoed it—its eighth veto on Syria since 2011. This veto was accompanied with a catalogue of false claims meant to sow doubts about the regime's responsibility.
We have been through this already—this shameless production of lies. We can't anymore. When children are gassed, we can take no more abject lies. Let us put the facts straight. British scientists have analyzed samples from the victims of the attack. These have tested positive for sarin or a sarin-like substance. Our analysis indicates that two Syrian fast jets were in the vicinity of Khan Sheikhun, and within range of likely impact sites. We believe that it is only the regime that has the capability to make such an attack. So it is highly likely that attack was carried out by the Assad regime. Russian claims that opposition stockpiles were struck do not fit the facts.
The place to start is the ceasefire. It should be strengthened, internationally monitored and enforced. This will ensure no such attacks occur again. In parallel, we need to put renewed energy into the political process, with the involvement of key stakeholders, to finally implement the transition foreseen in Resolution 2254—a transition away from murder, and toward a regional stability that is required if we want to defeat terrorism in the long run.
¹ Source of English text: "The Guardian" website. The French version of this article was published in "Le Monde" on April 15, 2017. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Much is written about the rise and rise of reputation. I took a look at Google Trends to see how popular reputation was in relation to brand. It turns out brand is much, much more searched for.
The below chart shows the findings. I set the parameters to searches in the UK focused around business and industrial issues.
This isn't an insight or a significant finding, but it is interesting and worth being aware of.
A huge thank you must go out to @JrAthletics for helping set up the plugin for the above chart. Please do follow @JrAthletics on Twitter and check out the website juniorathletics.co.uk. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Karttikeya, Commander of the Divine Army, Seated on a Peacock, Ganga Period, about 12th century
The Two Disciples at the Tomb, c. 1906
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Incense Burner in the Form of a Duck, Song dynasty (960–1279), 12th century
Hyères, France, 1932, printed 1930/39
Two Women's Torsos, 1952
Statue of the Madonna in the Mountains, 1804
The Artist's Mother, 1926 or 1936
King Vulture, 1734
Johann Joachim Kändler
The Creation of Adam, c. 1642
Bust of Paris, 1809
Antonio Canova
Head of an Apostle, About 1210
The Freedman, 1862–63
John Quincy Adams Ward
Untitled (Butterfly Habitat), c. 1940
Near the Lagoon, 2002
Silver Sun, 1929
Maharana Bhim Singh in Procession, c. 1820
Ghasi
The Bronco Buster, Modeled 1895, cast 1899
Still Life with Geranium, 1906
Mural Fragment Representing a Ritual of World Renewal, A.D. 500/600
Movements, 1913
Mrs. Daniel Hubbard (Mary Greene), c. 1764
Cauldron, Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC ), early 9th century BC
The Annunciation, c. 1583
Alessandro Vittoria
TAKEN FROM HERE TO WHERE IT CAME FROM AND TAKEN TO A PLACE AND USED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT IT CAN ONLY REMAIN AS A REPRESENTATION OF WHAT IT WAS WHERE IT CAME FROM, 1980
Ceres, 1928
John Bradley Storrs
Night Sky #2, 1991
View of Delphi with a Procession, 1673
Two Ladies at the Automat (New York City), 1966, printed 1977
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, 1979/2001
Triptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ, 1350/75
Chalk-Mirror Displacement, 1969
Monk (Mönch), 1997/99
Tanktotem I, 1952
The Young Emperor Akbar Arrests the Insolent Shah Abu'l-Maali, page from a manuscript of the Akbarnama, , c. 1590/95
Basawan
Mère Grégoire, 1855 and 1857/59
Spanish Dancer, 1920s
Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago, 1990
Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket, 1876
Eastman Johnson
Gian Lodovico Madruzzo, 1551/52
Giovanni Battista Moroni
Equestrienne, Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–907), c. 725/750
Vessel of the Dancing Lords, A.D. 750/800
Ah Maxam
The Plough and the Song, 1946–47
Spindle Cube Chair, 1902/6
Object, 1936
Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy, 1894
Skyscraper Cabinet, c. 1927
Paul Theodore Frankl | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Germany midfielder Sami Khedira says he hopes to help new club Juventus challenge for further honours, having completed his move from Real Madrid.
The 28-year-old World Cup winner had been a target for a number of clubs in both Germany and England, but opted to join Juve, who clinched a league and cup double in Italy last season, as well as reaching the Champions League final.
I'm really looking forward to the challenge of a new club, a new league and a new country.
And Khedira is relishing the new challenge on the horizon, with Juve having also recently snapped up Palermo forward Paulo Dybala to boost their squad.
He told the official Bundesliga website: "Juve is a fantastic club, a club with great tradition, a brilliant present and a bright future.
"It's no coincidence that the team has found itself at the top table of European clubs again this year.
"I'm sure that Juve will continue having a say in the fight for big titles in Europe and I want to play my part in that.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of a new club, a new league and a new country."
Juventus can be backed at 1/1 to triumph in the Champions League, with Roma available at 1/1 and Lazio priced on 1/1.
Khedira spent five seasons at the Bernabeu, having started his career with his hometown club, VfB Stuttgart, and he has won more than 50 caps for Germany to date.
However, he missed the World Cup final victory over Argentina last summer due to injury, with his replacement, Christoph Kramer, lasting around half an hour before having to be replaced by Andre Schurrle after taking a blow to the head. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Beijing 2022 National Sliding Center goes through successful pre-homologation
BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The National Sliding Center, which will host the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge competitions during Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has gone through successful pre-homologation test runs.
Subsequently, delegations from the International Skating Union, the World Curling Federation, the International Ski Federation and the International Biathlon Union also inspected eight Beijing 2022 competition venues of their respective sports.
The pre-homologation test runs at the National Sliding Center were conducted by the Chinese national bobsleigh & skeleton teams as well as international luge athletes.
Apart from watching the runs, experts from the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) performed thorough technical inspections and lauded the course facilities, ice quality, control tower, lightning, clocking system, broadcasting system, medical station, venue operation and other relating aspects. The organizers then made adjustments in accordance with advice from the panel and had the improvements acknowledged.
Being the fastest and most dangerous events at the Olympic Winter Games, the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge events must have their tracks homologated before hosting international events, as prescribed by the IBSF and FIL.
After the organizers had rounds of negotiations with local government, constructors, and respective International Federations (IFs), the expert panel, led by IBSF President Ivo Ferriani and the FIL Technical Director Christian Eigentler, visited the site from October 24 to November 1 under strict COVID-19 countermeasures.
"Not only did these measures create a safe environment for everyone involved, they also presented valuable learning opportunities," wrote the International Olympic Committee official website.
"We have seen an excellent prepared track and were impressed by the smooth and perfect organized event which were held under strict hygiene measurements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was definitely the most impressive pre-homologation we have seen," said Ferriani.
"I want to thank the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee for the outstanding work they have done so far. Additionally, a huge thank you for the National Chinese athletes and their coaches for conducting the test-runs," he added.
The tracks were the first in China, the third in Asia and the 17th in the world for the sports.
"I have been at all homologation since the 1980s but this was not just excellent but awesome. The best I have seen!" commented FIL expert Walter Plaikner.
From November 9 to 13, delegations from the International Skating Union, the World Curling Federation, the International Ski Federation and the International Biathlon Union also inspected eight Beijing 2022 competition venues.
The on-site inspection tour, which is indispensable for hosting the Games, came after continuous communication beforehand between Beijing 2022 and IFs online due to COVID-19, which was also the reason representatives of different IFs had the tour at the same time.
The delegations acknowledged Beijing 2022's efforts to make the visit possible under difficulties and confirmed that the eight venues were up to Olympic standard. They also expressed confidence that the National Speed Skating Oval, the National Alpine Ski Center and the National Ski Jumping Center will be landmarks for the cities.
Nordic Combined Race Director Lasse Ottesen gave high marks for facilities in Beijing: "It was truly impressive to see the jumping hill and cross-country stadium in their finished shape and form. We are currently having productive meetings with the local organizing committee which will benefit us greatly for the test events and Olympic Games to come." Enditem | {
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Tag Archives: The Careless Boyfriend by Erika Kelly
Blog Tour, Review & Excerpt: THE CARELESS BOYFRIEND by Erika Kelly
THE CARELESS BOYFRIEND (The Bad Boyfriend Series, Book 3) by Erika Kelly
Gray Bowie broke the bro code: he fell in love with his best friend's girlfriend.
For years, he hid his feelings…until one terrible night, it all came to a head.
Since her life blew up in high school, Knox Holliday has spent her time honing her skills as a couture wedding dress designer. But, just weeks before her debut, a freak accident wipes out her collection. The culprit: her ex's former best friend, Gray Bowie.
Gray does everything he can to get her career back on track. As they work together, they find forgiveness and start to stitch together something that looks a lot like love. But, at the very moment they realize they have a chance for something real, her ex comes back to town, bringing opportunities Gray can't provide.
This time, Gray's not going to step aside, so he can only hope Knox will hold onto his heart.
She's his dream, but will he be hers?
"So, what's up?" Knox let Gray in, and then went back into the kitchen. "What brings you by?"
"I haven't checked in for a while."
"You check in with Amelia and Zach all the time."
"I want to check in with you." He watched her carefully.
I miss you. We shouldn't let that kiss keep us from each other. She should just put it on the table, whisk away the weirdness. "It was a good kiss."
Color spilled into his cheeks, spreading like a sunburn to his earlobes.
That was really cute. It gave her the courage to go on. "It might've been the best kiss I've ever had."
He swallowed hard, making his Adam's apple jump. "But…?"
"But we can't cross that line."
"Right. Because…?"
"Because I like you. I like you better than anybody." Although Delilah had leapt to the top of her list tonight. "And we work together."
Need crackled in his eyes. He wanted her.
Would she ever get used to the idea?
His fingertips tapped on the granite. "And I'm leaving soon." The four simple words sounded like he'd pried them out of his throat with a tire iron. And, yet, he kept that nonchalant stance of his, like nothing mattered.
But she mattered to him. She knew it not just because of what he'd told her that night in the hotel room, but because for the very first time she could read the truth in his eyes and the tension in his body. And it was just so profound that she could see the world through something other than the bully lens. That she could see desire in his eyes and not aggravation or pity or whatever she might have interpreted in the past.
"Gray." She didn't even know how to deal with such a volatile cocktail of emotion. Affection for him, because it sank deep that she wasn't—had never been—a pity project. Attraction, brand new, but potent and alive, like magnetic waves of energy flowing, colliding, sparking between them.
And fear. God, it scared her death to have romantic feelings for a man like Gray.
She could fall so hard for him.
"We're on totally different paths," he said.
Love was complicated for her. Her mom hadn't been reliable. She was the type of person who checked in with her daughter—You good? Texted pictures of her adventures, woke her up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower, and routinely stood at the sink to shovel dinner into her mouth before "heading out." She sought her own pleasures in life, and while she cared about Knox, it was in a detached way.
Other than Robert—and that hadn't been healthy—Knox hadn't really loved anyone else.
What she felt for Gray was so much richer, deeper, more profound, because it involved her head and her heart, her body and her soul. It had the power to consume her.
"Right." He tapped his knuckles on the counter. "So, that's it. Glad everything's going well." He turned abruptly and headed for the door.
Panic fluttered in her chest. She set her mug down. Logically, she was making the right choice. But her heart, God, she was in a panic. She didn't want him to go, didn't want this distance between them. She'd meant to bring up the kiss to dispel the weirdness between them but managed to drive him away with a conversation about the impossibility of a relationship between them.
You're expert level at driving this man away.
Right when his hand closed around the door knob, she gave him what he'd come for. "It was awful. Tonight. Like tumbling back through time and being that girl again."
He tensed, his whole body hard and alert. He tipped his forehead to the door. "I hate that they did that to you."
"But you should've seen Delilah. She was fierce."
"Yeah?" Slowly, he turned toward her. "That's what I heard. I'm glad she was there. Otherwise I'd be in jail right now." He opened the door and strode out onto the porch.
Don't leave me. Stay, and we can lay in my bed on our backs, our feet against the wall, sharing a pint of Cookies 'N Cream ice cream.
He sailed off the steps, landed on the grass, and turned to her, walking backwards. "Can you get away tomorrow?"
Happiness danced all over her skin. "Of course. What for?"
"A little field trip. Be ready at eight."
I loved this one! Gray just became my favorite Bowie brother! THE CARELESS BOYFRIEND is the third book in Erika Kelly's Bad Boyfriend Series. Each book in the series features a Bowie brother and can be read as a stand-alone, but I recommend reading them in order to fully enjoy the series. I devoured Gray and Knox's story. It was a great second chance romance and I just completely fell head over heels for Gray. Erika Kelly always delivers a great feel-good romance that never disappoints. I highly recommend Erika Kelly's books for romance lovers looking for romances with happy ever afters that leave you smiling and wanting more.
*Review copy provided by the Inkslinger in exchange for an honest review.
✿The Bad Boyfriend Series by Erika Kelly✿
✦1. THE WORLD'S WORST BOYFRIEND ➢ Review 5 Stars | Kindle
✦2. THE HEARTLESS BOYFRIEND ➢ Review 4 Stars | Kindle
✦3. THE CARELESS BOYFRIEND ➢ Kindle
✿✿✿ ADDITIONAL SERIES ✿✿✿
✿Wild Love Series by Erika Kelly✿
✦1. Mine For Now ➢ Review 4.5 Stars | Kindle
✦2. Mine for the Week ➢ Review 4.5 Stars | Kindle
✿Rock Star Romance Series by Erika Kelly✿
✦1. You Really Got Me ➢ Review 5 Stars | Kindle
✦2. I Want You To Want Me ➢ Review 5 Stars | Kindle
✦3. Take Me Home Tonight ➢ Review 5 Stars | Kindle
✦4. More Than a Feeling ➢ Review 5 Stars | Kindle
Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads
Posted in 4.5 Stars, Author Blog Tours, Cori's Reviews, romance reviews, Teasers
Tagged Erika Kelly, The Bad Boyfriend Series by Erika Kelly, The Careless Boyfriend by Erika Kelly | {
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Tip: Click on the Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 manga image to go to the next page. You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between pages.
Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 released! You are now reading Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 online. If you are bored from Chronicles of the Grim Peddler manga, you can try surprise me link at top of page or select another manga like Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 from our huge manga list.
Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 released in manga panda fastest, recommend your friends to read Chronicles of the Grim Peddler 8 now! | {
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The VW Sharan is a seven seater multi-purpose family car or MPV, with the latest model looking more stylish than previous models and with a longer, wider and slightly lower body. It is a true testament to the manufacturer's design ethos and is available in 9 different colours to choose from. It's priced from £24,300 upwards.
The VW Sharan is an excellent family car with plenty of space and practicality.
The interior is generous with space, and a very useful feature of this size of family car is the ability to have the seats arranged in a variety of configurations which enable different seating and luggage arrangements. Each of its seats can be adjusted to create room for those behind them with the advantage of adults being able to travel comfortably in the sixth and seventh seats, as opposed to many of its counterparts in this class. The central dashboard has a high level glove compartment for additional storage.
The middle seats have fold out tables that allow passengers to occupy themselves with games or the like, and these also provide generous legroom. All the seats can easily fold flat by pulling on a loop that protrudes at the base, thus creating enough room to carry large items of luggage. The sliding doors make it easy to get in and out of, and is helpful when parked in tight car park spots. The sliding door has a manual or electric option for ease of use and it comes with a full length curtain airbag to offer protection even to those seated at the rear.
German engineering shows its best form in the driver's seat, where the position of the controls are positioned conveniently for the driver. Additional controls are placed on the steering wheel to ensure minimal distraction while driving, and give a feel of a more upmarket car. The VW Sharan also is provided with dual climate control, digital radio and easy to read instruments.
The sliding doors on the Volkswagen Sharan are a very convenient feature, as are the 'picnic' tables in the middle row of seats.
There are five different engine variants for this car, including two petrol engines and three diesels. In terms of the petrol engines, these are the Blue Motion 1.4 TSI 150PS which has a top speed of 122 miles per hour and a 0-60mph time of 10.7 seconds – pretty fast for a people carrier! Its fuel consumption is 39.2 miles per gallon, which is also fairly reasonable for a family car of this size. An automatic gearbox is an option here which has shown better performance than the manual transmission, apart from the marginal increase in fuel consumption.
The second petrol engine option has more power, this is the 2.0 TSI 200PS which accelerates the vehicle to 60 mph in an impressive 8.3 seconds, and with a top speed of 133 miles per hour. Its fuel consumption is 33.2 miles per gallon. Many buyers prefer the diesel engines of the Sharan, of which there are 3 variants that utilise the excellent Volkswagen Blue Motion technology. The 2.0 TDI 115 PS is the cheapest of the three achieving a 0-60mph time of 12.6 seconds and a top speed of 114 miles per hour.
For additional performance the 140 PS diesel offers a top speed of 121 miles per hour and clocks 0-60 in 10.9 seconds. The highest performing diesel in the range is the 2.0 TDI 170 PS engine which has a top speed of 130 miles per hour.
People carriers don't always provide the best handling, however the VW Sharan drives quite nicely and provides a predictable and responsive ride. Adaptive chassis control lets the driver choose from three modes of driving / handling, which are sports, normal and comfort mode. Additional features include stability control and tyre pressure monitoring systems which have contributed to a high Euro NCAP rating.
These include a 4 speaker CD system which can be upgraded to include touch screen satellite navigation and a full multimedia system. An automated parking system (Park Assist) which allows the car to move into the right spaces at the right angles as well as the parallel park system are incorporated. | {
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MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core processor unveiled
By Jonathan Pereira On May 13, 2015 Last updated May 13, 2015
While smartphone vendors have started adopting the octa-core processor to provide 'faster' smartphones, MediaTek has now launched the MediaTek Helio X20 SoC with 10 cores.
MediaTek has announced the launch of the MediaTek Helio X20 SoC, which is the world's first processor with 10 cores and a tri-cluster CPU design. The processor has 4 power efficient Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.4 GHz, another 4 Cortex A53 cores clocked at a higher 2.0 GHz and two Cortex A72 performance cores clocked in at 2.5 GHz.
The MediaTek Helio X20 SoC is supported by the Mali T800 series GPU with 2 x LPDDR3 Memory running at 933MHz. We can expect to see the chipset in smartphones by the end of this year. Meanwhile Qualcomm is also reported to be working on a similar processor, likely said to be the Snapdragon 818.
Intex Cloud N with quad core processor and 8 MP camera launched for Rs. 4199
Microsoft Lumia 540 launching in India on May 14 | {
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Club 18-30 clamours for abolition of ASA
By Marketing Week 17 Feb 1995 12:00 am
Club 18-30 has called for the abolition of the Advertising Standards Authority in a heated reaction to the controversy surrounding its poster campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi.
Club 18-30 managing director Jeremy Muller labels the ASA "toothless" and claims: "It has overstepped its powers by commenting prior to the official hearing."
The ASA is unperturbed. A spokesman says: "Our only comment to the media has been that we're investigating complaints that the ads are crude, promote promiscuity and are unsuitable for young children to see."
Muller criticises the slowness of the ASA process. He says: "If the ASA has not got the power to react quickly perhaps it should be abolished, and replaced with a body which can pre-approve, censor and adjudicate quickly."
However, the ASA spokesman says: "If we did act as a censor there would be an outcry. Our rulings are necessarily subjective, because what is considered acceptable varies over time."
The spokesman admits: "The system is not perfect but it is effective. We may be considered `toothless' but if we make a judgement, posters will come down and advertisers will be reminded of where the limits of decency lie."
Electrical stores run out of juice
The closure of Rumbelows' high-street shops signals an industry-wide slump. As the other retailers battle it out for the share of the decreased market, what is the outlook for electrical stores?
LAST CHANCE SALOON
The British pub trade is undergoing a revolution. With the beer market in decline, operators are being forced to look at ways to improve their proposition. Themed pubs and restaurant-style facilities could prove to be the way forward.
Roadshow of Strength
Business presentations are hitting the road. Whether an alternative to an exhibition or complement to it, roadshows offer an effective means of locating and interacting with the target audience. | {
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Saurichthys ornatus was named by Stensiö (1925). It is a compression fossil. Its type locality is 33m Above the Fish Horizon, Mt. Viking, which is in a Spathian marine siliciclastic in the Sticky Keep Formation of Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
It was recombined as Saurichthys (Lepidosaurichthys) ornatus by Tintori (2013). | {
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← Charles C. Johnson Says He's Not A Holocaust Denier
Forward: The Biggest Threat To The Jews? The Partisan Divide →
E. Michael Jones on Harvey Weinstein
Posted on February 2, 2018 by Luke Ford
Rhondda writes:
I am not a Catholic, or even a Christian, even though I was brought up in a liberal Protestant church, but sometimes I do appreciate E. Michael Jones for his insights about people. His latest discussion on YouTube about Harvey Weinstein is particularly interesting, as he declares Harvey to be the official scapegoat for Jewish Hollywood. The idea of the scapegoat is an old Jewish custom. The people would gather and place all their sins upon the goat, and then the goat would be killed or sent out into the desert to die. The people then could go about their business free of guilt.
Basically Jones is arguing that Harvey was being a good Jew. He was seducing and befouling shiksas, which is a derogatory term for non-Jewish women, and undermining the goyim's morals and way of life in his movies. This is their revenge for all the humiliations and insults they have endured forever at the hands of white people. So why is he the Hollywood scapegoat when he has been such a good Jew? Well, he was the best one at it, I suppose. It is not a sacrifice if you don't hand over the best.
The most interesting part of Jones' argument is about the white starlets whom he "victimized." Their shame is demonstrated by this display of victimization where each of them denounces him now, but not when it allegedly happened. Each one of these fame-obsessed women went on to star in a movie, and particularly by taking of her clothes, and some even got starring roles in holocaust porn. He calls out in particular Kate Winslet, who won an Oscar for her role in the holocaust movie The Reader where an older woman seduces a 15-year-old boy. Now, where is the shame?
Her meeting with Harvey.
Taking off her clothes in a movie.
Seducing a child in a movie.
Playing a "bad" white in a holocaust movie.
Getting an Oscar for submitting to Harvey and getting an Oscar for playing a pedophile in a holocaust movie.
If movies are to have effects upon the audience, what effect does it have on the actors? Oh, someone got these career-obsessed women to totally debase themselves as white women, hence their shame and guilt and the projection upon poor old Harvey who was just being a good Jew. After all, as Jones stated, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has not taken back his Humanitarian award which he won just two years ago in 2015. He is a good Jew, and an outstanding member of the tribe. However, the tribe needs a scapegoat, and so he loses all those other awards and status. I am sure a good Jewish therapist will help him cope.
This reminds me of Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," which was first published in The New Yorker in 1948. People were so outraged that they cancelled subscriptions and wrote nasty letters. It is a wonderful story and everyone should read it. It is only eight pages.
The other interesting tidbit that Jones discusses is that the relaxation of censorship laws in movies was first allowed for holocaust porn movies. From there, it is anything goes. He also talks about the book Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth, where the Jewish obsessional fantasy with sex with white women is thoroughly discussed. I have heard it called the adolescent's bible.
Jones segues into a discussion of gay pride parades by means of the allegations of males who had been abused by older men when they were young, which would be pedophilia, and actually not just homosexual pedophiles, but he does not say that. He thinks gay pride parades are also a demonstration of shame for their behavior by exaggerating it and performing in public and demanding public acceptance.
If Jones's theory is correct, we can apply it to feminists, who insist that women who have been raped and beaten by immigrants or refugees keep quiet about it and don't rock the boat of equality and multiculturalism. It seems to me that this is the height of hypocrisy, for the women's movement was supposed to be about improving the lives of women and they scream about rape culture. So what is going on? Where is the shame? If you have invested your whole life in an ideal that has been hijacked by another group and you are getting rewards and a good career, how do you declare that it has proven to be a failure and actually wrong without condemning yourself and all the time and investment you have put into it? They don't. They go along with the new game plan and find rationalizations to deceive themselves. This is the feminist double-down syndrome. However, they have effectively betrayed the actual victims of crime who were supposed to be the women whose lives they were to improve. Their hysterics about the poor refugees is how they disguise their shame and totally befuddles any thinking person. It is very hard to admit shame in a shameless society when shamelessness is rewarded by others who do not want to admit it to themselves either. The bikini or the burka becomes the amusing dichotomy for feminist as movies about sexual abuse of fifteen-year-olds are presented as attractive, and stories about women taking refugees as lovers proliferate in social media. Sexual shame exists, and denying it just makes it worse for everyone. In a moral society, discernment and discretion also exist. I believe there is a tribe who do not care or think about this and advocate transgression in every aspect of life, especially the lives of normal white people who feel confused and degraded.
According to the ADL:
E. Michael Jones is a Catholic writer who seeks to defend traditional Catholic teachings and values from
those he perceives as seeking to undermine them. At various times such diverse groups as Protestants,
urban planners, and moviemakers have been the subjects of his ire, but a longstanding obsession of Jones is
the damage that he believes Jews are inflicting on the Catholic Church and western civilization.
E. Michael Jones is an anti-Semitic Catholic writer who promotes the view that Jews are dedicated to
propagating and perpetrating attacks on the Catholic Church and moral standards, social stability, and
political order throughout the world. He portrays the Jewish religion as inherently treacherous and
belligerent towards Christianity. He describes Jews as "outlaws and subversives [who use] religion as a
cover for social revolution," and claims that Judaism possesses "a particularly malignant spirit." Jones also
imagines the contemporary world, with its social ills, as having been cast in the imprint of Judaism,
characterizing 21st-century civilization as "a Jewish world run on commercial principles." He also identifies
this "Jewish modernity" as representing "blood, the law, calculation, and hate."
In the tradition of conspiracy theorists, Jones credits Jews with orchestrating occurrences as varied and
disconnected from the Jewish experience as the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution. He also
blames Jews for Bolshevism, Freemasonry, and an alleged contemporary "Jewish takeover of American
culture." Jones reaches for tenuous connections to paint "the Jews" as inherently wicked and prone to
colluding openly or secretly to threaten other populations around them.
Jones argues that mass killings of Jews throughout history have been understandable reactions to Jewish
beliefs and behavior. He goes so far as to justify Eastern European pogroms and even the Nazi Holocaust on
these grounds. As he wrote in a 2003 Culture Wars article, "[T]he Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews was
a reaction to Jewish Messianism (in the form of Bolshevism) every bit as much as the Chmielnicki pogroms
flowed from the excesses of the Jewish tax farmers in the Ukraine."
Jones' views are not limited to religious Jews. He applies his theory of Jewish subversiveness to Jews of all
ideological and religious stripes, from traditional rabbis and political conservatives to militant atheists and
Marxists. For Jones, any Jew who does not embrace Christianity rejects God and the natural order of the
universe. Jones therefore concludes unambiguously that "every Christian, insofar as he is a Christian, must
be anti-Jewish."
Jones' anti-Semitic writings are premised on the idea that Catholic doctrine obligates the faithful to oppose
Judaism, regardless of the behavior of individual Jews. The Vatican and most Catholics have thoroughly
repudiated anti-Semitism, but Jones still declares himself to be a defender of normative Catholic teachings.
Jones' contention that his beliefs have theological foundations may give him a degree of legitimacy among
some Catholics who would otherwise be dismissive of his extremist conclusions.
Writing on the controversy surrounding Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson of the ultratraditionalist
Society of St. Pius X, Jones criticizes the Vatican's condemnation of Williamson's words: "the
Church can have unity or she can have good relations with the Jews, but she can't have both." Jones herein
expresses his ideological opposition to anything Jewish; although he does not deny the Holocaust himself,
he believes that the Church must at all times oppose Jewry and must not acknowledge Jewish grievances
even when valid.
BACKGROUND: JONES' JOURNEY TO EXTREMISM
After growing up in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa., Jones came to promote anti-Semitic
conspiracy theories following a tumultuous personal journey beginning in his early adult years. According
to autobiographical sources, Jones initially abandoned the Catholic faith of his upbringing at age 20,
embraced the counterculture of the 1960s, and spent his honeymoon stuck in traffic on the way to the
Woodstock music festival. In the 1970s, Jones spent time in a rural area of Germany teaching English. Jones
reconnected with Catholicism while living in Germany, and also became concerned with the loss of ethnic
and religious traditions in the West. Upon his return to the United States, he earned a Ph.D. in American
history and literature from Temple University and then assumed a position as assistant professor of
American Literature at St. Mary's College, a Catholic women's school in South Bend, Indiana, from which he
was quickly fired. Jones claims that he was dismissed from this job because of his outspoken opposition to
abortion.
In 1981, Jones founded Fidelity magazine as a platform for Catholics who believed that "modernity" and the
liberal Church were having a destructive impact upon popular culture and traditional religious
communities. In his early books such as The Slaughter of Cities, Jones railed against what he viewed to be
the disintegration of immigrant Catholic neighborhoods. He blamed a Protestant-WASP elite, and to a lesser
extent Jews, for seeking to dominate Catholic populations and to facilitate the decay of the spiritual and
geographic foundations of their faith. In following years, Jones increasingly focused his claims on Jews as
the main foreign population attempting to harm the wellbeing of Catholic communities. He published
numerous articles in his magazine, renamed Culture Wars in 1996, about an alleged Jewish conspiracy to
undermine not only the Catholic faith but also American society through social, political, cultural, and
economic subversion. Many of these pieces would later be republished in a recent book entitled The Jewish
Revolutionary Spirit, linked together to create the portrait of a people seeking worldwide social and
political instability in the hopes of harming society's moral core.
In addition to his published writings, Jones has also expressed intolerant views in a CD that he released in
2003 entitled "Watching MTV: Neoethnic Songs and Dances." The album includes an anti-Jewish song
entitled "Fear the Jews," as well as other songs with homophobic and anti-Semitic lyrics authored by Jones.
JONES AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The position that Jones articulates about Judaism is one that does not enjoy the support of the Catholic
Church, and his views are considered to be extreme even in staunchly traditionalist circles. Many Catholics
have denounced Jones' bigoted rhetoric and exploitation of Catholic teachings for his own purposes.
Responding to his participation on a panel in Prague in September 2006, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop
of Prague, released a statement criticizing Jones for his outreach to "political extremists, Lefebvrites,
nationalists, anti-Semites, Islamists and neo-Nazis." In 2004, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil
Rights "unequivocally condemned" Jones for his anti-Semitism and denounced "his efforts to justify it in the
name of Catholic theology." It also strongly criticized Jones for "outrageously blam[ing] the Jews themselves
for the Holocaust and pogroms."
EXTREMIST AFFILIATIONS
In his writings, Jones takes pains to clarify that his views on Jews are not based on racial theories, and
that he is "anti-Jewish" but not "anti-Semitic". Nevertheless, he courts individuals on the extremist
fringe of American society whose racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia is unmistakable. Jones' book
The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit cites such bigoted sources as Holocaust denier Michael A. Hoffman II
and anti-Semitic ideologue Professor Kevin MacDonald. To market The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit,
Jones has also sought the support of extremist, conspiracy-theorist radio and television hosts such as
Hesham Tillawi, Henry Makow, and Peter Schaenk. Alex Linder featured the book on his virulently
racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic internet radio program Radio Istina. The radio program is
broadcast on Linder's Vanguard News Network, a white supremacist website whose slogan is "No Jews.
Just Right." Jones has also formed working relationship with the far-left anti-Semitic writer Israel
Shamir, a Russian-born Jewish convert to Christianity. Jones' extremist associations, and the support he
enjoys among the radical fringe, underscore his hateful message.
E. Michael Jones wrote in 2003:
I never liked the title of Rabbi Dresner's book. It was called Can Families Survive in Pagan America? and was published in 1995 by Huntington House out of Lafayettte, Louisiana. I got a copy just as I was starting Culture Wars, a magazine that ran concurrently with Fidelity and eventually superseded it. I liked Dresner's book because it fit in perfectly with the idea of Culture Wars at the time. Both the magazine and the book were meditations on the moral basis for America, which as anyone who is familiar with American history knows, is the only basis for America. Rabbi Dresner's take on the American experiment in ordered liberty was essentially the same as that of John Adams, Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Courtney Murray. We, John Adams wrote concerning the citizens of the nation he had been instrumental in bringing into being, have no constitution that functions in the absence of a moral people. According to Dresner's reading of the American experiment in ordered liberty:
The founding fathers of America, taking the biblical record as their model, knew that political democracy could only flourish if established on the dual foundations of faith and family. Our contemporary malaise is the consequence of abandoning that ideal in favor of a society that is largely secular, hedonistic and atomistic. Judaism, by advocating a God-centered family-based society , established by the covenant and governed by the Torah can play a key role in recalling America to its origins (Families, p. 77).
As a result of the decadence which has dominated American cultural life since the 60s, sexually degenerate America needed, in Dresner's view, a new coalition, a union of Jews and Gentiles with a common commitment to civilization and a common abhorrence of social and moral chaos.
Families was an American book, but it was different than the plethora of jeremiads about the moral decline of America in the Bill Bennett mode. Dresner's book was about something else. It had a subtext that escaped its title. Families was really about American Jews, or, better, the effect that America had had on the Jews who came here largely in the aftermath of the Russian pogroms of the 1880s. Families was about how many modern Jews, in their search for passion and pleasure and power, have lost themselves in the kingdom of Caesar. It was about the ironies which abounded when one compared the strictures of the Torah and the mores of contemporary American Jews. Is it not ironic, Dresner asked rhetorically, that the descendants of the those who wrote the Psalms and offered prayer to the world became, according to all accountings, the least worshipful?
Like Culture Wars, Can Families Survive in Pagan America? was a deliberate attempt to step outside the normal ethnic and religious boundaries; but like Fidelity magazine, which preceded and eventually morphed into Culture Wars, it could not do this without addressing the intra-ethnic situation, which is to say, in this instance the state of American Jews. In addition to being about morals, Families was about ethnicity and its antinomy, assimilation, and Rabbi Dresner was, by and large, not happy with the American Jewish experience. The Jews had prospered in American, but they paid a price for their prosperity. The chosen people seemed to flatten into normality, according to Dresner's pessimistic view, becoming what the prophets had warned against: like the nations. They had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in assimilating and achieving success. They even succeeded in remaking American culture in the course of the 20th century in their image, but in doing that they also discovered that they were in some very real sense of the word, a sense which Dresner explored in detail, no longer Jews. Jews, according to Dresner, have tried all things. In the process they have exhausted modernity; and discovered to their chagrin; the puzzling truth that
No license has replaced the Law; no symphony, the Psalms, no chandelier, the Sabbath candles; no opera, Yom Kippur; not country club , the synagogue; no mansion, the home; no Jaguar, a child; no mistress, a wife; no banquet, the Passover seder; not towering metropolis, Jerusalem; no impulse, the joy of doing a mitzvah; no man, God. (p. 329).
Dresner carried the hope that American Jews would seek the recovery of the sacred to his grave when he died three years ago.
This entry was posted in Catholics, Christianity, Jews. Bookmark the permalink. | {
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Bold stripes are everywhere this season and are in fact perfect for the fall season. Vertical stripes may seem scary for some, but not for others. ~One really cool feature I like about this piece is the double-breasted blazer style, bringing back the retro feel.
#YourTurn: Mention 3 ways you'd restyle this look or 3 occasions you'd wear this look to? | {
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DORAL, Fla (Nov. 12, 2014) – With just one race left to decide the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, the nerves and excitement are building quickly. The Championship Four drivers and their owners went to The Trump National Doral for NASCAR Media Day, which included a Q&A session with the racers and owners to talk about this Sunday's big race.
For Walter Czarnecki, owner of Team Penske, it took 29 years to get to their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and now with Joey Logano they have the opportunity to win two in three years. "It means a lot with the great heritage of our team… I think everyone will agree on our team that winning the Sprint Cup championship is probably the most difficult, the most challenging, and maybe the one that's most rewarding," stated Czarnecki. | {
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Join our student community by clicking Sign Up on the top right of your screen.
Choose from our free classes, or upgrade to a Premium Membership for full access to our Premium catalog. Once you've found your first class, simply start watching the videos. Make sure to ask questions in the Discussions section, and post your project for feedback from your classmates. | {
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My assumptions are probably wrong, but this is what I was thinking of. Due to human skin having some capacitance, when one would touch the plate, there would be some current flow due to change in capacitance. High pass RC filter would get rid off DC offset and the signal would get amplified by LM358. This would then trigger 555 timer in monostable mode.
Any help is greately appreciated!
If you're really after a capacitive touch sensor, this likely won't work at all because the aluminum plate is a short to ground. You're better off making an oscillator (ring or 555 based oscillator's are my favorites) that has a frequency based on R and C where C is two separate contacts where the touch sensor goes. A persons finger near the two contacts greatly changes the dielectric between the two contacts and you end up with a very different capacitance. With a different capacitance, you now have two different frequencies that your oscillator will ring at. It's actually a range of frequencies depending on how close the finger is, but that will be turned digital at the end.
Then you send the oscillator output into a high pass filter (small capacitor in series), set the DC operating point and then use a comparator with a chosen voltage level to determine whether the person's finger touched it or not.
There's always digital versions if you wanted to travel into uController land. Here's an app note by TI on capacitive touch sensors. A lot of the front-end concepts are the same regardless of whether you want to go digital immediately or just keep it analog until the end as I described above.
The downside to this version is that if your plate is too big, it can act as an antenna and the output will be very unstable. Additional circuitry can be used to filter out the noise if desired.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged operational-amplifier touch-panel or ask your own question. | {
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The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Daily Maverick hosted a seminar with a difference. Beyond the headlines and the final tallies, what was the South African electorate's real message on 7 May 2014? Which parties and politicians were the real winners – and losers – once all the ballots were counted?
This seminar was chaired by Judith February, a senior researcher in the Governance, Justice and Crime Division at the ISS, and J Brooks Spector, Associate Editor at Daily Maverick.
Dr Collette Schulz-Herzenberg, an academic and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town, noted that the 2014 elections saw the continuation of a persistent decline in electoral participation. The African National Congress's (ANC's) sustained national dominance at the polls conceals important losses for the party at a provincial and local level. Schulz-Herzenberg suggested that the shifts in support for opposition parties – the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – signifies important changes as voters are becoming more critical of the parties they choose to represent them. Competitive electoral campaigns are also becoming an important factor in the party preference of voters, especially in metropolitan areas. Moreover, voter turnout – when measured as a proportion of the voting age population – has dropped from 86% in 1994 to 57% this year. Schulz-Herzenberg stressed that this is worrying, as it may weaken the quality of democracy in South Africa.
Jonathan Faull, the ISS elections consultant, said that the final 2014 election results 'disguise significant challenges and disquiet within the ANC and its support base.' Notably, the ANC's share of the vote declined in all provinces – bar very slight increases in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the Western Cape and the Northern Cape. His presentation further showed that in real terms, the ruling party lost 10,41% of its electoral support, when the number of new voters added to the voters' roll between 2009 and 2014 are taken into account. Faull also indicated that South African elections are becoming more competitive, as is demonstrated by the considerable growth experienced by the DA. His data revealed that the DA's share of the total vote increased from a mere 2% in 1994 to 22% in the 2014 election. Faull's findings also reflected a decline in voter turnout, especially in rural areas.
Discussant Nic Borain, a political analyst, said that the outcome of the 2014 polls was a 'perfect' result given that anything below 60% for the ruling party would have served a significant blow to international investor confidence. This is because too much of a drop in support for the ANC may have weakened the ability to implement the National Development Plan, and possibly forced the governing party to adopt more populist economic policies. He suggested that the modest decline in the ANC's total share of the vote in metro areas such as Ekurhuleni, the City of Johannesburg and Tshwane was an optimistic development, as it may encourage the ruling party to improve its governance in the run-up to the 2016 local elections. He added that a decline in the ANC's electoral support in the 2014 elections and its growth in KZN was an inevitable trend, taking into account the number of recent political scandals that have occurred. | {
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Tag Archives: King George VI
Port of Elizabeth: Royal Visit of 1947
Unlike more recent Royal visits, the visit by the Royal Family to South Africa in 1947 was a full marathon and not a 100-metre dash. It was a two-month swirl of introductions, photographs, handshakes, toasts and speeches. Even the vivacious Princess Elizabeth, the heir apparent, was afforded the opportunity to make a speech, her first. The two-month long sojourn to a land on the cusp of fundamental change, would include two days, the 26th & the 27th February 1947, to make the acquaintance of the peoples of arguably the most English city in South Africa, Port Elizabeth.
Main picture:
Brigadier Arthur Coy with the Mayor of PE, Mr Neave, inspecting the Ex Servicemen with the King and Queen at Crusaders ground, St. George's Park in February 1947. The princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were in attendance. There was a garden party in Victoria Park afterwards.
The Narvik Landings Fiasco: In its wake why was its progenitor Churchill appointed as Prime Minister
By Dean McCleland in History, Military History May 1, 2014 0 Comment
A Personal View – April 2014
The Parliamentary Session in the British House of Commons on the 9th May 1940 was acrimonious. The emergency debate revolved around the catastrophe in Norway.
This campaign had been Churchill's brainchild as the First Lord of the Admiralty. As Churchill rose to speak, he instinctively knew that this speech would probably be the most important speech in his entire political career. At 64 years of age, his life-long ambition of holding high political office could possibly remain a pipe-dream.
Main picture: Untrained British forces landing at Narvik, Norway
The King's Speech – A compelling human interest story of human failings & courage
By Dean McCleland in Movies & DVDs April 20, 2014 0 Comment
In spite of apparently having everything in life, the second son of King George V of England had one troubling impediment: a debilitating stammer.
Prince Albert, or Bertie as he was affectionately known, was a high-ranking member of the Royal family. As such he was obliged to make speeches periodically. Every one became a nightmare for him. To overcome this affliction he had tried every form of speech therapy but none worked. Fortunately for him, he had a wonderful loving wife who persevered. | {
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Studied At Ashdown House Stock Photos and Images
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairshttps://www.alamy.com/licenses-and-pricing/?v=1https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-british-foreign-secretary-boris-johnson-secretary-of-state-for-foreign-174122897.html
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Home / References / VALO Hotel & Work
VALO Hotel & Work
Bringing work and tourism under one roof – VALO Hotel & Work, Finland
Inroduction
VALO Hotel & Work Helsinki opened in 2020 with unique concept that combines a hotel and office premises under the same roof. It challenges the way these spaces have been used traditionally. The building has 422 rooms which are designed for meeting, office, and accommodation use. On top of that, the building has a restaurant, lounge bar, and a wellness and sauna area on the rooftop terrace on the 7th floor.
When VALO Hotel & Work Helsinki was founded, the vision was clear, but on a technical level it was slightly difficult to implement. Therefore, VALO Hotel & Work chose to partner with Hoist Group.
"It's technically very challenging to put an office complex and a hotel together because the needs are so different. We definitely needed a reliable partner with whom we could solve this problem together." says Jani Liljavirta, Revenue & IT Manager at VALO Hotel & Work.
Requirements & Solution
Combining the features of a hotel and office premises, VALO Hotel needed diverse technology solutions for its operations. Firstly, they needed a dynamic network infrastructure to support the connectivity and modern entertainment requirements of hotel guests, as well as local desk-based office workers. Hoist Group worked very closely with VALO Hotel to implement a high-bandwidth, reliable infotainment network, which brought together dozens of different service providers.
The hotel wanted to build a contemporary appeal to a digital generation and was keen on using all the modern hospitality technology that was required for this. In this context, Hoist Group supplied a set of relevant TV channels, a modern Booking Engine to empower the Valo Hotel website and a revenue protecting and revenue boosting gift card solution – Hoist Gift Card Manager.
We also addressed the hotel's office infrastructure requirements by supplying workstations and monitors. Hoist Group's diverse services only complemented the hotel's ambitions to impress their guests and office workers.
Jani Liljavirta said:
"One good example of how Hoist Group's is enabling us to implement our vision, is the Hoist Dashboard. It allows us to have a LIVE overview of the status of our WiFi network, which of course helps us to be proactive with potential issues. And if we encounter any technical challenges, Hoist Group is at hand to address those very well."
While there are several hotels who have repurposed some of their hotel premises for office workers, the idea of launching a purpose-built hotel-cum-office is one the first. As a result, there were many questions that the hotel has at the beginning of the project. Their technical needs have also evolved within this short span of time. Yet, Hoist Group has adapted and delivered to all the requirements of this unique hotel.
According to Liljavirta, the trust between Hoist Group and Valo Hotel & Work is the cornerstone of the cooperation, especially since Hoist Group is responsible for the internal network, which is vital for the hotel.
"Extreme flexibility has been crucial for us. Our needs have changed along the way and we have had a lot of open questions, because the purpose-built hotel-cum-office as a concept is novel. Especially on the technical side, we were not able to specify all the details at the beginning of the project. That is why it has been extremely important for us to have a partner as accommodating and flexible as Hoist Group." concludes Liljavirta.
According to Liljavirta, Hoist Group has demonstrated a genuine desire to help. Above all, the partnership over the years has built trust and a mutual understanding that will last.
"The really valuable aspect of this collaboration is the fact that over time we have been able to work with the same people consistently. From our perspective, it has helped us get to know each other. Hoist Group understands our needs and we better understand what they can do for us." says Liljavirta.
Steigenberger Alsik Hotel & Spa
Mercure Porto Centro Aliados Hotel
Øyna Hotel
Deegenbergklinik
FORM Hotel
Aghadoe Heights
Okko Hotels Group
Courtyard Stockholm Kungsholmen by Marriott
Stora Hotellet
Corinthia Hotels
Magic Hotels
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
"Extreme flexibility has been crucial for us. Our needs have changed along the way and we have had a lot of open questions, because the purpose-built hotel-cum-office as a concept is novel. Especially on the technical side, we were not able to specify all the details at the beginning of the project. That is why it has been extremely important for us to have a partner as accommodating and flexible as Hoist Group."
Jani Liljavirta
IT & Revenue Manager
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Home » Perchlorate Under EPA Scrutiny
Perchlorate Under EPA Scrutiny
Pam Hunter McFarland and Tom Ichniowski
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has re-opened the door for developing a standard for perchlorate in drinking water. Perchlorate is a naturally occurring substance and also a man-made chemical used as an oxidizer in rocket fuel and fireworks. In October 2008, EPA published a preliminary determination not to regulate the substance. But the agency said on Aug. 5 it wanted to reassess perchlorate's impact on public health. In large doses, it can affect the thyroid gland.
Alan Roberson, the American Water Works Association's director of security and regulatory affairs, says a drinking-water standard for perchlorate probably would require utilities to upgrade their facilities, which could prove expensive. Roberson says, "It adds a lot of costs, both in capital costs and in operation and maintenance."
EPA: Choice for Number-Two Post Pulls Out
EPA: Bill To Block Clean-Air Regs Advances in House
ENR June 24, 2019 Issue | {
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When Sara and Roger Parish retired several years ago, I purchased their share (43%) of the company for $56,000.00 to keep Wren open and solvent. I also loaned the company 20,000 GBP (at the time the exchange rate equaled $34,000.00) to keep the doors open. Mike Murphy personally signed a contract for this loan, which was never honored. Little did I realize that they were in such financial trouble. So when they took a "Voluntary Liquidation", I lost all investments I had put in the company. If you watch their Face Book site...anytime someone posts a question regarding their order that has been paid for but not filled...the posts mysteriously disappear. Although I was with the company for more than 7 years, and a major shareholder, I had no say in the day to day operations of the company.
They walked away from more than 400,000.00 GBP of outstanding debt, so I feel lucky that my personal loss was not more !
With 4 grandsons and taking 3 to efest, I was asked many times by some notable legends how the heck do I get them going so young.
I think too many view it as a desire to fly model planes, is what I was hearing from most now with kids or grandkids awaiting some desire to follow in footsteps, I guess I never viewd that way.? I have always tried to buy a gift good or bad that makes a memmory that 12 months later they remember it, This grampbro does not take orders for gifts. My daughter now 27 still remembers the slot car track she got for Cmas age 10.
Next up is Yellow Blade heli now 2 working sticks, rubber band on throttle same drill let it go before you hit something.
Next is a Blade quad, same drill rubberband on throttle, They really start connecting motor skills with nothing to refference, Tanner would fly a quad in a small long hallway so fast I was amazed how fast he grasped both sticks.
"I had a vey good view of the whole incedent. The guy in all black in this photo is me"
WOW, This was uncovered in the MIHIA findings after SEFF 2009 with a new DX7 sent in for evaluation.
I'd like to see the 100 transmitter test be executed one at a time out of range of the TEST model where the collision avoidance feature of the 100 upon activation is void of the TEST model TX, Then they be brought onsite of TEST model. The turning on of the 100 in such close proximity of the TEST model where the Collison avoidance feature is active, is not indicative of what happens at large venues and multiple flightlines across large expanses and proves nothing.
It is long understood that 2.4G transmitter protocol of Collision avoidance prior to transmission of ALL brand TX, was the ONLY interferrence protection Spektrum has had since its inception. The MIHIA test proved 2 years ago there was no guidded active protection. The receiver just shuts down and returns on as if nothing happened and not part of the lost frame data aquisition or LED flashing. | {
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Contronatura est un film fantastique germano-italien réalisé par Antonio Margheriti, sorti en 1969.
Synopsis
Angleterre, dans les années 1920. M. Barret, un notaire, doit se rendre à Brighton le plus rapidement possible pour régler une affaire de la plus haute importance. Au cours du trajet, il est accompagné par l'avocat Ben Taylor, sa femme Vivian ainsi que d'Alfred, son administrateur, et sa maîtresse Margaret. À cause d'un violent orage, leur voiture s'enlise dans un chantier et ils sont obligés de s'abriter dans un lugubre chalet tenu par Uriat et sa vieille mère, une spirite capable de parler avec les morts. Le petit hôtel ressemble à une maison hantée car l'électricité et le téléphone sont coupés. La mère d'Uriat propose à leurs invités de participer à une séance de spiritisme. Mais celle-ci prend une tournure inattendue lorsque le passé trouble des cinq voyageurs est révélé. Ils sont tous responsables de la mort de trois personnes et elles réclament désormais vengeance contre eux.
Fiche technique
Titre original et français : Contronatura
Réalisation : Antonio Margheriti
Réalisation et scénario : Antonio Margheriti (crédité sous le nom d'« Anthony M. Dawson »), Giuseppe Masini
Production : Central Cinema Company Film
Montage : Otello Colangeli
Musique : Carlo Savina
Photographie : Riccardo Pallottini
Production : Artur Brauner et Antonio Margheriti
Pays : ,
Langue d'origine : Italien
Genre : Thriller fantastique
Durée :
Dates de sortie :
:
:
:
Distribution
Joachim Fuchsberger : Ben Taylor
Marianne Koch : madame Vivian Taylor
Helga Anders : Elisabeth
Dominique Boschero : Margarete
Claudio Camaso : Alfred Sinclair
Luciano Pigozzi : Uriat (crédité comme Alan Collins)
Marianne Leibl : la mère d'Uriat
Giuliano Raffaelli : Archibald Barrett
Marco Morelli : Richard Wright
Gudrun Schmidt : Diana
Notes et références
Liens externes
Film réalisé par Antonio Margheriti
Film italien sorti en 1969
Film allemand sorti en 1969
Thriller (film) italien
Thriller (film) allemand
LGBT au cinéma en Italie
LGBT au cinéma en Allemagne
Lesbianisme au cinéma
Film avec une musique composée par Carlo Savina | {
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<Kingston After Dark: Autumn spectacular
Mohonk Preserve's magical Rock Rift>
Report: More than 4 in 10 Ulster County households are broke
by William Dendis/ October 3, 2018 /Comments closed
A United Way report shows that more than 4 out of 10 Ulster County households are unable to afford basic necessities, including food, housing and child care.
That figure includes both households below the poverty line and those not in poverty who still struggle to make ends meet. The latter group is the report's focus, and a description of their situation provides its name: ALICE, or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
"It will be one thing that happens, and then that has a domino effect on how they're able to meet their financial needs, things like electricity and heat, fuel oil and medicine," said Ulster County United Way President and CEO Stacey Rein.
In Ulster County, 41 percent of households are struggling: 11 percent in poverty, and 30 percent ALICE. For the latter group, the report details a situation in which the cost of living is outpacing wages. Rein said a separate study found 70 percent of the people United Way was helping were gainfully employed. The results surprised her. "This circumstance is kind of new – that there would be working people being evicted or having their electricity turned off," she said.
The report focuses on a group of people whose situation isn't apparent in the main economic indicators. The unemployment rate continues to decline, but these folks are working. The stock market keeps rising, but that's a reflection of corporate earnings, which don't necessarily result in the creation of a large number of middle-class jobs. "For ALICE, finding well-paying jobs with security and financial stability is becoming harder as low-wage and gig-economy jobs continue to dominate the landscape," said the report. "Fluctuating income — through unpredictable schedules and on-demand work — is one of the biggest problems ALICE workers face."
ALICE jobs include many in retail, human services, hospitality, restaurant service and clerical positions.
The highest rates of poverty/ALICE households are found in the city of Kingston (58 percent), Denning (55 percent), Shandaken and Wawarsing (both 53 percent); the lowest in Shawangunk (30 percent), Esopus (32 percent) and Hurley (34 percent).
Rates also vary by ethnicity and marital status. The poverty/ALICE rate for black and hispanic households are both over 60 percent, while for white households, the rate is less than 40 percent. For households with children, the poverty/ALICE rate for households headed by a married couple is 25 percent (with just 3 percent in poverty). For single-parent households, the rate is 83 percent for single-mothers and 70 percent for single-fathers.
The federal income threshold for poverty in 2016 was $11,880 for an individual and $24,300 for a family of four. Households below the poverty line qualify for many benefits that ALICE households may not, including SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid and home energy assistance.
Unlike the poverty line, the ALICE framework takes into account the cost of living for an area, and assumes that wages need to meet the full cost of expenses. The report uses federal data to estimate the cost of necessities and makes adjustments for local cost of living. In Ulster County, the minimum income level needed to exceed the ALICE threshold is an hourly wage of $12.05 or $24,108 per year for an individual. For a family of four (two adults, one infant, one preschooler), those numbers jump to an hourly wage of $39.96 (combined) or $79,920 per year.
Here are the numbers, broken down by category and by household type.
The report also gives numbers for what it considers a "stability budget"- which "reflects the cost for household necessities at a modest but sustainable level and accounts for savings." Here are the numbers for Ulster:
The report is based on 2016 economic data. In Ulster, the number of poverty/ALICE households fell by four points over the previous report two years ago (45 to 41 percent), while the statewide number increased by one point (44 to 45 percent).
The main goal of the report is bring attention to the plight of the working poor who don't qualify for safety net programs. "This is 30 percent of our population that really could use just a little bit more assistance," said Rein.
Only a fraction of the content from our newspapers is published online. To read it all, subscribe to an Ulster Publishing paper today.
New Paltz board seeks to map town's environmentally sensitive areas
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Joe Brockman October 3, 2018 at 11:51 am
Looks like Conservatives were correct! Don't want to be poor? Easy, just get married and get a job, like everyone used to do. Everybody looks for big conspiratorial reasons for why people are "struggling" today vs. the past, but everyone simply did what people used to do in the past (get married when you reach adulthood), the problem dissolves.
Seth A Brown October 3, 2018 at 4:34 pm
I am think Joe Brockman doesn't quite understand what the article is saying. These people ARE working or recently were. Conservatives are incorrect here as usual. In Ulster County you need a car to work and there really aren't many good paying jobs. Telling people "well you shouldn't have had kids" or you should just get a better job" shows limited mental capacity or just lazy thinking. The people are in a position where they need the help NOW.
Joe Brockman October 3, 2018 at 4:59 pm
I am think Seth A Brown doesn't quite understand what my comment is saying. I'm not denying that people are working and not suggesting they need a better job. I only said if adults were married and working they are much less likely to be in poverty or "ALICE." If they don't have any children yet and are both working it's actually impossible!
FunkieGunkie October 6, 2018 at 8:24 am
Married is your answer to financial security?? Please explain.
Fran Squires October 3, 2018 at 7:19 pm
Soaring out of control healthcare premium costs coupled with outrageous property and school taxes are making this a good area to move away from. How can southern states manage with one tenth the taxes we have ? A lot less waste. Also teachers unions are bankrupting the taxpayers with their unjustified ridiculous salaries and pensions.
Bill Myers October 10, 2018 at 10:34 am
The hourly wage number does not take into account income taxes. They are taking the total expenses and dividing by 2080 work hours in a year. The real hourly wage needed to cover those expenses would be about 20% more.
Editor October 10, 2018 at 11:01 am
Income taxes are included. Figures are listed in the tables "Alice Household Survival Budget" and "Alice Household Stability Budget."
Southern Sawyer October 10, 2018 at 11:32 am
I couldn't afford to keep living in Saugerties. When I retired I moved south. On a fixed income the cost of living was getting too close to my monthly income. Every year the taxes increased, the heating fuel cost rose (Paraco/Kosco ransom) and electric was rising for an unreliable system.
Here the total tax bill is only 15% of my Saugerties/Ulster County/School bill. My electric is only 11 cents per kilowatt hour which is for heat as well.
More comfortable and even temperatures, a huge growing economy. Very restrictive welfare, nearly everyone needs to work and the jobs are here for them. No teacher, town, county, state unions!!!! that is a huge burden on the taxpayers.
Explore Wethersfield Estate and Gardens
Where to kayak in the Hudson Valley
How to navigate New Paltz, from someone who never really left
Track stars: A tour of Hudson Valley recording studios | {
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Say hello to our summer intern, Faith Walker, a rising senior at The University of Nebraska at Omaha.
I am a rising senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with majors in International Studies and English. I grew up in small towns across Nebraska and Iowa before I was recruited to Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart for high school. Omaha has been my home ever since!
In high school, I joined and led clubs like Louder than a Bomb, Discrimination Stops Here, the Literary Magazine, and Race for the Cure. In college, I have been a student senator and mentor, advocated to the Nebraska state legislature about the rights and protections of minors, and worked in nonprofits with varied missions across Omaha. After I graduate, I plan to join the Peace Corps and then go to law school.
After my experiences with the Nebraska state legislature, I'm passionate about public policy and the interaction of policy and law. My internship this summer with Washington Council of Lawyers will expose me to the legal side of things: the opportunities for activism within litigation and the role of public-interest lawyers in protecting and expanding civil rights. I'm extremely excited! | {
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#ifndef __SUBTILIS_LEXER_H
#define __SUBTILIS_LEXER_H
#include <stdint.h>
#include "../common/buffer.h"
#include "../common/keywords.h"
#include "../common/stream.h"
#include "../common/type.h"
/* Does not apply to strings which are limitless in size */
#define SUBTILIS_MAX_TOKEN_SIZE 255
#define SUBTILIS_LEXER_MAX_BLOCKS 32
typedef enum {
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_EOF,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_KEYWORD,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_OPERATOR,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_STRING,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_INTEGER,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_REAL,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_IDENTIFIER,
SUBTILIS_TOKEN_UNKNOWN,
} subtilis_token_type_t;
struct _subtilis_token_keyword_t {
int type;
bool supported;
/*
* As the lexer does not understand or return complex types
* we're just going to treat this as a scalar type, e.g.,
* no subtilis_type_copy or subtilis_type_free needed here.
*/
subtilis_type_t id_type;
};
typedef struct _subtilis_token_t subtilis_token_t;
typedef struct _subtilis_token_keyword_t subtilis_token_keyword_t;
struct _subtilis_token_t {
subtilis_token_type_t type;
union {
subtilis_token_keyword_t keyword;
int32_t integer;
double real;
subtilis_type_t id_type;
} tok;
subtilis_buffer_t buf;
};
struct subtilis_lexer_block_t_ {
size_t index;
subtilis_token_t *t;
unsigned int line;
};
typedef struct subtilis_lexer_block_t_ subtilis_lexer_block_t;
struct _subtilis_lexer_t {
const subtilis_keyword_t *keywords;
size_t num_keywords;
const subtilis_keyword_t *basic_keywords;
size_t num_basic_keywords;
const subtilis_keyword_t *ass_keywords;
size_t num_ass_keywords;
subtilis_stream_t *stream;
unsigned int line;
unsigned int character;
size_t index;
size_t num_blocks;
subtilis_lexer_block_t blocks[SUBTILIS_LEXER_MAX_BLOCKS];
subtilis_token_t *next;
size_t buf_size;
size_t buf_end;
char *buffer;
};
typedef struct _subtilis_lexer_t subtilis_lexer_t;
/* Takes ownership of s*/
subtilis_lexer_t *subtilis_lexer_new(subtilis_stream_t *s, size_t buf_size,
const subtilis_keyword_t *basic_keywords,
size_t num_basic_keywords,
const subtilis_keyword_t *ass_keywords,
size_t num_ass_keywords,
subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_lexer_delete(subtilis_lexer_t *l, subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_lexer_set_ass_keywords(subtilis_lexer_t *l, bool ass,
subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_lexer_get(subtilis_lexer_t *l, subtilis_token_t *t,
subtilis_error_t *err);
subtilis_token_t *subtilis_token_new(subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_token_claim(subtilis_token_t *dest, subtilis_token_t *src);
void subtilis_lexer_push_block(subtilis_lexer_t *l, const subtilis_token_t *t,
subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_lexer_set_block_start(subtilis_lexer_t *l, subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_lexer_pop_block(subtilis_lexer_t *l, subtilis_error_t *err);
const char *subtilis_token_get_text(subtilis_token_t *t);
const char *subtilis_token_get_text_with_err(subtilis_token_t *t,
subtilis_error_t *err);
subtilis_token_t *subtilis_token_dup(const subtilis_token_t *src,
subtilis_error_t *err);
void subtilis_token_delete(subtilis_token_t *t);
void subtilis_dump_token(subtilis_token_t *t);
#endif
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Know Montgomery Blair Class of 2018 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 2018 Class List by adding missing names.
More 2018 alumni from Montgomery Blair HS have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 2018 alumni.
Missing some friends from MBHS that graduated with you in 2018? Check the list below that shows the Montgomery Blair class of '18. | {
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Thank you to Brian Paco Alvarez for sending us this information! As you can see, it's based on one of Jack's favorite obsessions, decorative block. There's lots more of them on our old blog.
Please join us for the dedication of Ornamental, a public artwork by Catherine Borg on Wednesday, April 9th.
Ornamental is a project by the City of Las Vegas Arts Commission percent for the arts program.
The patterns incorporated in ornamental are based on photographs by the artist documenting brick walls in older Las Vegas neighborhoods. Reduced from the photographic to essential patterns and presented on a mirrored material, the intent of this project is to suggest connection among all downtown dwellers, old and new.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.
Reception immediately following in the lobby of the Soho Lofts, 900 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
ornamental is a 120′ long public artwork commissioned in association with the Hoover Street Improvement Project.
Special thanks to Sam Cherry for his support of the project.
ornamental is a project by the City of Las Vegas Arts Commission. For more information, visit our website: www.lvartscommission.com or call (702) 229-6844. | {
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Image Title: A Very Sweet Popcorn Granules Coloring Pages Food Within For Kids Decorations 6. Post Title: Popcorn Coloring Pages For Kids. Filename: a-very-sweet-popcorn-granules-coloring-pages-food-within-for-kids-decorations-6.jpg. Image Dimension: 590 x 792 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Jordon Gislason. Uploaded Date: Sunday - January 27th. 2019 11:35:10 AM. Category: Coloring Page. Image Source: interior.com. For Popcorn 7. Pages Coloring Page Poppy Activities 0. Lovely Use Download Decorations Print Kids Plans Sheet Stalk And Printable Personal Throughout Corn With Intended Elegant To Boy 5. Shopkins Bucket Designs 2 Inside Free Box Inspirations. Board Happy Decor At GetDrawings 19. Remodel Com Drawing Prepare Improved 10. Day Girl The Healthiest 12. Big Regard 17. Snack Sheets Season Learn In 18. 15. | {
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The Sun Voyager won Jón Gunnar Árnason the sculpturecontest for Reykavjik's 200-year anniversary in 1986. It is a tribute to thesun with the promise of undiscovered territory, progress and freedom. In Sweden, there is roughly one church for 2,600 inhabitants. The correspondingfigure for Iceland is 888 inhabitants. Iceland became Christian as early as theyear 1,000 AC. A map of all the country's churches is also a picture of thenation's history. Well behaved citizens could always count on having a churchnearby, while outlaws and those exiled to the inhospitable highlands had to dowithout. Inthis newsletter, you can travel to some of Iceland's spectacular churcheslocated in and around Reykjavik. Click on the images to view a larger versionwith more details. Enjoy!
LASSE OLSSON | PHOTO
The remarkable churches of Iceland
The Sun Voyager won Jón Gunnar Árnason the sculpture contest for Reykavjik's 200-year anniversary in 1986. It is a tribute to the sun with the promise of undiscovered territory, progress and freedom.
In Sweden, there is roughly one church for 2,600 inhabitants. The corresponding figure for Iceland is 888 inhabitants. Iceland became Christian as early as the year 1,000 AC. A map of all the country's churches is also a picture of the nation's history. Well behaved citizens could always count on having a church nearby, while outlaws and those exiled to the inhospitable highlands had to do without.
In this newsletter, you can travel to some of Iceland's spectacular churches located in and around Reykjavik. Click on the images to view a larger version with more details.
Fríkirkja
The growing population of Reykjavík and the accompanying social changes contributed to a nonconformist church being founded in 1899. It followed the nonconformist church movement in Norway and the Icelandic immigrant communities in North America who wanted to bring the church closer to the people, without breaking with the national Lutheran Church. Fríkirkja welcomes everyone, regardless of race, color, language, gender, sexual orientation, social status or religion.
The church was built in 1903 and is centrally located on lake Tjörnin. It is basically built of wood, but covered with corrugated iron. A construction method that can be seen on many of Reykjavik buildings from the same period.
Kópavogkirkja
The church is located at Borgarholt, a hill in the west of Kópavogur, just outside Reykjavik, which is protected from more development because of its unique nature. This is where people come not only to visit the beautiful church but also to seek tranquility and admire the views of Reykjavik. The church was designed by Ragnar Emilsson's architectural office and was completed in 1963.
Beautiful glass arches
From the outside the facade's glass arches may seem quite modest. But once inside the church they alone are well worth the visit. Even on a cloudy day the light shimmers through the hand -painted glass, created by Heinrich Oidtmann Brothers. They are Germany's oldest manufacturer of stained glass and have supplied for the construction of the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The arches are designed by the Icelandic sculptor Have Helgadóttur.
impressive stone block
Outside the main entrance, with a view toward Reykjavik, is a split stone of over 2.5 tons.
The observant will notice that the other half is found walled up as part of the church's altar.
(See step above, right image).
Strandarkirkja
The church was built sometime during the 1100s. According to history, one stormy night a ship tried to return to the south coast of Iceland, notorious for its hidden reefs. The distressed sailors prayed to God for a safe path into the harbor, and promised that wherever they landed they would build a church.
As the story goes, an angel, seemingly made of light, suddenly appeared and led the ship to Engilsvík (Angel's Cove). The sailors kept their promise and built a wooden church named Strandarkirkja on the site. The church has been credited for many miracles. Donations from across the country were sent here, with the hope of prayers and wishes being granted. For a time, Strandarkirkja was one of Iceland's richest churches.
Landsýn watches over the cove
The statue, Landsýn, by Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir was unveiled during a Pentecost ceremony in 1950. It was dedicated to the then Bishop of Iceland, Sigurdsson Sigurgeir and depicts an angel watching over people in need. The statue is made of light granite and was sculpted in Norway.
Háteigskirkja
The Háteigs parish in Reykjavik was established on July 17, 1952, but was without a church of its own until Advent in 1965 when Háteigskirkja was inaugurated by Bishop Sigurbjörn Einarsson. The church is built of concrete and designed by architect Halldór H. Jónsson.
Altar of glass, gemstones and paper
Today's altar was created after a competition in 1988, as the congregation wanted to replace the original that was not considered sufficiently spectacular. The winner was artist and sculptor Benedikt Gunnarsson whose work, Kórmyndin, pictures a cross against a background of the Holy Trinity.
The altarpiece measures 40 square meters and consists mainly of hand-cast mirror glass and colored Murano glass. It has been supplemented with various kinds of marble, semi-precious stones and paper made of gold and silver. The mosaic's theme recurs in the gold-clad pillars
Hallgrimskirkja
At 74.5 m above sea level, this church is Reykjavik's obvious landmark. The architect, Guðjón Samuelsson, was inspired by Icelandic nature and wanted to emulate a structure of lava that has cooled after a volcanic eruption. Construction began in 1937 and it took a full 38 years for the church to be finished. Hallgrímskirkja has 1,000 seats and is named after the Icelandic priest and hymn writer, Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614-1674).
Proud statue
In front of the church stands a statue of Leifur Eiríksson, the famous viking who discovered America in the year 1000, almost five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. The statue was created by Alexander Stirling Calder and was donated in 1930 as a gift from the USA to celebrate the Althing's thousand-year anniversary.
Mighty organ
The church organ was built by the Johannes Klais' organ workshop in Bonn, Germany. It was inaugurated in 1992 and is 15 m high, weighs 25 tons and has 5,275 pipes, of which the longest is 10 m. To raise money for the purchase of the organ, the public could pay for a pipe and have their name engraved. Visit the church during a worship service when the organ is used. You can feel when it is playing!
Lasse Olsson Photo photographs interiors, architecture and lighting. My newsletter is published 6-8 times a year. It presents photographed projects and reports from furniture fairs in Milan and Stockholm.
contact@lasseolsson.com +46(0)70-8576195 www.lasseolsson.com unsubscribe
Sweden Stockholm | {
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Kids Helping Honeybees Learn Lessons Across the Curriculum
by Ellen Eldridge | Jun 12, 2014 | Articles
Murdock Elementary fourth-graders making a difference for bees has had some positive results: Kids helping honeybees learn lessons across the curriculum.
Honeybees are disappearing around the world, and a fourth grade class started a school year long project to help the honeybees and find out more about them, said teacher Jackie Bold.
Click here to purchase book
Bold's class of 27 students read the August 13 cover story in Time Magazine, "The Plight of the Honeybees". The group of children at Murdock Elementary School in Marietta decided to do something about the disappearance of the bees.
"The students were moved by the importance of the honeybee to pollination of crops worldwide, and the students were puzzled by their dwindling population," Bold said.
According to the Time article, one-third of the human diet relies on some degree of bee pollination such as almonds, which are 100 percent dependent on bees for pollination.
Under Bold's supervision, the students studied the issue and researched possible solutions, she said. Taking advantage of the students' passion on the issue, Bold incorporated bees and pollination into her curriculum when appropriate. For example, bees became part of math equations.
"The students' desire to help the honeybees provided inspiration for them to learn across the board," Bold said.
After the students read the article, they really wanted to do something, room parent Yvonne Matherne said. "The project was driven by the kids, and Gerry Kiernan stepped up to spearhead the project as the parent volunteer coordinator."
Kiernan was so inspired by the students and by the project, he is taking steps to become a beekeeper, Matherne said, adding he has already been through some training.
Honey tasting became a recurring event for the class, Bold said, because, with Kiernan's help, the students brought in honey samples from near and far, including Marietta, Arizona and Vermont. | {
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Search - Max Steiner, David Raksin, Elmer Bernstein :: Hollywood Hits: 70 Years of Memorable Movie Music
Max Steiner, David Raksin, Elmer Bernstein
Hollywood Hits: 70 Years of Memorable Movie Music
Genres: Special Interest, Pop, Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1
Tara's Theme (Main Title) - Raskin, David
Laura - Bernstein, Elmer
The Frankie Machine - Alford, Kenneth
March From The River Kwai And Colo - Steiner, Max
A Theme From "A Summer Place" - Gold, Ernest
Theme From Exodus - Norman, Monty
James Bond Theme - Mancini, Henry
The The Pink Panther Theme - Jarre, Maurice
Lara's Theme - Strauss, Richard
Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zoroaster), tone poem for orchestra - Hefti, Neal
The The Odd Couple - Barry, John
Midnight Cowboy - Mandel, Johnny
Suicide is painless, song (theme from the movie & television series M*A - Legrand, Michel
The Summer Of '42 - Joplin, Scott
The Entertainer, for piano - Williams, John
Theme From Jaws - Connors, Carol
Gonny Fly Now (Theme From "Rocky") - Williams, John
Star Wars Main Title - Williams, John
Theme From Superman (Main Title) - Kern, Jerome
The Way You Look Tonight - Harburg, E. Y.
The Over The Rainbow - Heusen, Jimmy Van
Going My Way / Swinging On A Star - Mercer, Johnny
The On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe - Evans, Ray
The Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será, - Mancini, Henry
Moon River - Mancini, Henry
Days of Wine and Roses (for the film The Days of Wine and Roses) - Barry, John
Born Free - Bergman, Alan
The The Windmills Of Your Mind - Bacharach, Burt
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head (for the film "Butch Cassidy and the - Hayes, Isaac
Theme From "Shaft" - Brooks, Joe
You Light Up My Life, song (for the film You Light Up My Life) - Jabara, Paul
Last Dance (for the film "Thank God It's Friday"), song - Gore, Michael
Fame, song (as used in the musical play "Fame") - Allen, Peter [Piano
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Jennings, Will
Up Where We Belong - Richie, Lionel
Say You, Say Me (for the film "White Nights"), song - DeNicola, John
(I've Had) the Time of My Life - Simon, Carly
Let The River Run - Berlin, Irving
Cheek To Cheek - Harburg, E. Y.
The If I Only Had A Brain - Berlin, Irving
Easter Parade - Berlin, Irving
Anything You Can Do - Kern, Jerome
Ol' Man River, song (from "Show Boat") - Brown, Nacio Herb
Singin' In The Rain - Rodgers, Richard
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top - Loesser, Frank
Luck Be A Lady - Rodgers, Richard
You'll Never Walk Alone - Rodgers, Richard
The Getting To Know You - Rodgers, Richard
Some Enchanged Evening - Lerner, Alan Jay
Thank Heaven For Little Girls - Bernstein, Leonard
Maria - Wilson, Meredith
The Seventy-Six Trombones - Lerner, Alan Jay
If Ever I Would Leave You - Bart, Lionel
I'd Do Anything - Ebb, Fred
Cabaret - Williams, Paul [Mis
The Rainbow Connection - Strouse, Charles
Assembled as a companion piece/pledge item for the 2007 PBS television concert special Movie Songs Live this boxed collection is divvied into separate discs each devoted to movie themes Oscar-winning songs and film musical... more »s. While the vast and rich history of the motion picture music genre cannot possibly be compressed into any three-CD set the compilers did a... More remarkable job of covering the touchstones -- although there are only 54 tracks here in all there is little to quibble about when playing the what's-included-and-what's-left-out? game. These are all original recordings not remakes by cheesy pops orchestras or Broadway wannabes. Most of the chosen tracks are instantly recognizable certified classics so ingrained into the collective consciousness that all it takes is a few seconds before you're singing or humming along (so don't be surprised if after spinning a disc you find yourself walking around belting out "Maria I just met a girl named Maria" or whistling the theme from The Bridge on the River Kwai). Great movie music will do more than remind you of the film in which it was originally featured and many of the tracks here are evocative of entire eras deeply embedded emotions and in the larger sense the art of cinema itself.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 826663976458 Manufacturer No: 2666397645 « less
All Artists: Max Steiner, David Raksin, Elmer Bernstein, Malcolm Arnold, Ernest Gold, Monty Norman, Henry Mancini, Maurice Jarre, Richard [1] Strauss, Neal Hefti, John [1] Barry, Johnny Alfred Mandel, Michel Legrand, Scott Joplin, John [Film Composer] Williams, Bill Conti, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, James Van Heusen, Harry Warren
Title: Hollywood Hits: 70 Years of Memorable Movie Music
Label: Shout Factory
Re-Release Date: 3/13/2007
Album Type: Soundtrack
Style: Musicals
Assembled as a companion piece/pledge item for the 2007 PBS television concert special Movie Songs Live this boxed collection is divvied into separate discs each devoted to movie themes Oscar-winning songs and film musicals. While the vast and rich history of the motion picture music genre cannot possibly be compressed into any three-CD set the compilers did a... More remarkable job of covering the touchstones -- although there are only 54 tracks here in all there is little to quibble about when playing the what's-included-and-what's-left-out? game. These are all original recordings not remakes by cheesy pops orchestras or Broadway wannabes. Most of the chosen tracks are instantly recognizable certified classics so ingrained into the collective consciousness that all it takes is a few seconds before you're singing or humming along (so don't be surprised if after spinning a disc you find yourself walking around belting out "Maria I just met a girl named Maria" or whistling the theme from The Bridge on the River Kwai). Great movie music will do more than remind you of the film in which it was originally featured and many of the tracks here are evocative of entire eras deeply embedded emotions and in the larger sense the art of cinema itself.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 826663976458 Manufacturer No: 2666397645
Similarly Requested CDs
Wayne Bailey, Anonymous, Alice Parker
Amazing Grace: American Hymns and Spirituals
Genres: Blues, Folk, Special Interest, New Age, Pop, Classical
Label: Telarc
History Past, Present and Future Book I
Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop
Label: Epic/Sony
Natural Encounters: Song of the Mississippi
Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, New Age, Pop
Label: Unison Records
Andrea Bocelli - The Opera Album ~ Aria
Genres: Pop, Classical
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Christopher Lawrence Mix - Various
United States Of Trance
Label: Moonshine Music
Joe Darion
Man Of La Mancha (1965 Original Broadway Cast)
Genres: Pop, Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
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Edvard Grieg, Franz Liszt, Eugene Ormandy
Liszt: Concertos Nos. 1 in E Flat/Grieg: Concerto, Op. 16 in A Minor/Liszst: Concerto No. 2
Label: RCA
Richard [Classical] Wagner, George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra
Wagner without Words
Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Barbra Streisand
Yentl (1983 Film)
Genres: Pop, Rock, Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
Raymond Murcell, Irish Traditional, Anonymous
The Irish Album
Genres: Folk, World Music, Special Interest, Pop, Classical
Label: RCA Victor
57 Original and Classic Movie tunes,totally awesome!!!
Jason Pumphrey | Falls Church, Virginia United States | 07/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you love classic movie themes,oscar winning movie tunes and and great songs from classic movie musicals,than this a no braner type purchase,I can't beleve I got this band spanking new for just $9.99(won't tell the name of the store!) for this awesome CD set(yes the barcode was slashed,meaning it was a cut-out but it's the music that matters!),57 classics in all!!! And all the songs ARE the original versions baby,no redone or re-recorded stuff here,just the original versions you want in a package like this,I've been looking for these classic forever,and now I got them in one place,in this great 3 CD set with a nice booklet too!!! Sure some of the songs are not the best in sound quality,but there old vintage recordings so thats the best they might ever sound,but most of the tunes on this set set sound prestine,so get out the popcorn and soda and listen to some classic movie tunes!!! A five package all the way!!! Two thumbs up!!! A+ PS,get this before it goes out of print and the price skyrockets!!!"
Excellent Buy!
Sunnyvette | Southern California | 12/17/2008
"I purchased this for my mom-in-law's Hollywood themed 60th birthday party. Our guests sang along and played name that tune amongst themselves. It was perfect!!!"
Memory Lane revisited
Dr. Susi | Lexington, Kentucky United States | 04/10/2007
"This is a very nice CD collection that I enjoy very much. They are original recordings so you have to be aware that a couple of the older songs sound scratchy just like they did when you put the record on the record player. It was a shame they couldn't get a crisper sound with all the new technology but it does make you aware how the sound quality has improved over the years. This would make a great gift to anyone over 50. I put mine in the car and just sing away and before I know it I am at my destination. This would be a great collection to take on a trip.
YOUNGER THAN 70 BUT...
Neil Finnegan | POUGHKEEPSIE, NY United States | 04/10/2007
"Even though I am not 70 years old, I knew most of the music, and this collection is excellent. I chose some songs and put them on my i-pod. This collection is worth every penny. Enjoy it!" | {
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Chris Christie just broke a new record as the least popular governor in two decades. And not only in New Jersey.
A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday found that only 15% of New Jersey voters approve of their governor. That gives the Republican, who was once an early favorite for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, the worst approval rating "for any governor in any state surveyed" by Quinnipiac in 20 years, the pollster said.
Christie's disapproval rating went from 77% in December to 81% in the latest survey. Even a majority of Republican, 58%, disapprove of Christie.
The New Jersey governor recently saw two of his former aides convicted as part of the Bridgegate scandal, and has remained focused on the opioid addiction epidemic in the state during his final year in office.
The survey of of 1,103 New Jersey voters, conducted June 7-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. | {
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Xometry IPO: Looking To Be The Airbnb Of On-Demand Manufacturing
Leave a Comment / AI / By Tom Taulli
It was a busy week for IPOs, as 18 companies issued shares. And one of the standout offerings was from Xometry, which operates an online marketplace for on-demand manufacturing.
The IPO was priced at $44, which was above the $38-to-$42 price range, and the shares soared nearly 100% on the first day of trading (the current market value is close to $3 billion). T. Rowe Price and Capital World Investors purchased $70 million of the shares in the offering.
The CEO and cofounder of Xometry is Randy Altschuler, who is a serial entrepreneur. He launched two other startups that were sold to pubic companies.
As for Xometry, he teamed up with Laurence Zuriff (he is the current Chief Strategy Officer). Prior to this, he was the managing partner at Granite Capital International Group.
Both Altschuler and Zuriff were intrigued by the custom manufacturing industry. But they did not immediately create a company. Instead, they spent months researching the market by talking to many small manufacturers. "We saw certain themes emerge," said Altschuler.
For example, smaller manufacturers were usually dependent on larger customers that were local, which posed considerable risk. They also spent much time responding to requests for custom parts that did not turn into business.
The buyers of custom manufacturing parts also had challenges. It was difficult to find the best vendors and to come up with the right pricing.
To solve these problems, Altschuler and Zuriff saw the need for building a two-sided marketplace. But it took some time to get to critical mass. While sellers were interested, there was skepticism from the buyers.
Then there was the issue of the pricing for the marketplace. Custom jobs do not have SKUs. Rather, each one is unique.
This meant Xometry needed to build an automation system. One approach was to use brute-force and go through the possibilities. "The problem is that it would take too long to build such a system," said Altschuler. "It would also be difficult and time-consuming to maintain it."
The next approach then? It was to leverage AI (Artificial Intelligence). Xometry created a proprietary engine—backed with patents—to provide instant quoting based on factors like volume, material, location and the manufacturing process.
"What really got us excited about Xometry was that they were using incredible technology," said Daniel Docter, who is a Managing Director at Dell Technologies Capital and an investor in the company. "Over time their AI algorithms got better, their modeling became more accurate, and their breadth of capabilities grew."
The result is that the company has been able to efficiently process transactions for more than 6 million parts since inception. Currently there are over 43,000 buyers and 5,000 sellers on the platform (the customers include roughly 30% of the Fortune 500).
In terms of growth, it has been accelerating. From 2018 to 2020, the compound annual growth rate was 92%, with revenues hitting $141.4 million.
However, without the AI, none of this would have been possible. The technology has been strategic to Xometry .
"The AI learns and predicts how to make a part, how much it should cost, how long it should take, how much material would be needed, how would it likely yield, and so on," said Doctor. "Xometry literally transforms an old, manual, grossly human limited process, to an automated, much more accurate and predictable, and hugely more efficient AI-driven process. Manufacturers win; customers win; and frankly the world wins as we collectively can do so much more with so much less waste."
Copyright © 2023 Tom Taulli | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme | {
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If your child has an EHC plan, the Local Authority (LA) must review the plan as a minimum every 12 months to monitor your child's progress and to make sure the plan continues to meet his or her needs. Reviews must also consider whether the outcomes and supporting targets remain appropriate. For children under five, a review may take place every three to six months.
If there is concern about your child's progress or if your child is due to change school, then an annual review may be brought forward. Parents and young people can ask for annual reviews to be held early if there are concerns, however the LA does not have to agree to an early review and refusal does not give rise to any right of appeal.
You will receive a letter from your child's school inviting you to the Annual Review meeting and asking you for your views on your child's progress.
You can really make a difference to the meeting by going along and sharing your views. You can take a friend or someone else for support to the meeting. As a courtesy please let the Head Teacher know if you decide to do this.
It may not be possible for everyone invited to attend the review meeting, but the Head Teacher will try to make sure that the date fixed for the meeting is convenient for those people who have had the most contact with your child.
The school will ask you and the professionals who work with your child for written reports or comments. You should receive copies of these two weeks before the meeting. Make a note of any questions that you want to ask in the meeting about the reports.
As parents/carers it is important to send your comments to the school, your views are an important part of the review.
Pupils should be actively involved in the review process, attending all or part of the annual review meeting. They should be encouraged to give their views. You may wish to talk to the school about how your child can be involved in the review process. You may wish to contact either our Children's (0-16) or Young Person's (16-25) Information Officers for support for your child/young person to document their views.
Each school will organise the annual review in its own way. The SENCO will usually chair the meeting and introduce everyone.
If you are given any extra reports on arrival at the meeting do ask for a few minutes to read through them before the meeting starts.
Any further action that may be needed and the person responsible. This may include arrangements for provision, inclusion programmes, split placements between mainstream and special school etc.
Make sure you ask for a copy of your child's new SEN Support Plan and that you understand it. You may want to know who will tell you when your child has reached one of the targets and is ready to move on. Some parents use a home-school diary as a way of keeping in touch and sharing information about their child's progress.
Children entering Year 5 or Year 9 should have a Transition Plan. This is to ensure their future school or placement is fully explored and the needs of the child will be met. In Rotherham it is regarded as good practice to also have a Transition Review for children transferred from pre-school settings to infants' school and from Year 2 to Year 3.
All Year 5 pupils with an EHC plan should have a Transition Annual Review. This is to ensure enough time for effective planning to take place and for the receiving school to be made aware of and make preparations to meet the needs of your child.
Both current and receiving schools should discuss at the review how they will support your child through the transition process. The review and any amendments must be completed by 15th February in the calendar year of the transfer at the latest for transfers into or between schools.
All Year 9 pupils with EHC plans must have a Transition Planning Review which pulls together the information from various agencies to plan with the young person for their transition to adulthood. This would include a focus on considering options and choices for the next phase of education, employment, independent living and participation in society.
For young people moving from secondary school to a post-16 institution or apprenticeship, the review and any amendments to the EHC plan – including specifying the post-16 provision and naming the institution must be completed by the 31 March in the calendar year of the transfer.
A report is written by the school, within 2 weeks of the review meeting, which includes the recommendations of the meeting and records the new targets for the following year. This report may be written up during the meeting or afterwards. A copy is sent to everyone who attended the meeting and to the LA.
The Local Authority will review your child's EHC plan in light of this information and must send its decision to yourself or your young person within 4 weeks of the meeting. The LA must inform you whether it proposes to continue to maintain the EHC plan in its current form, amend it or cease to maintain it.
If the LA proposes to amend or cease the EHC plan they will let you know in writing of any changes they are planning to make and the reasons for them. Where amendments are proposed, you have 15 days to consider these and comment. You should clarify what support school will continue to provide if the EHC Plan is ceased.
If you do not agree with the LA's decision following review you can discuss this with the EHC Assessment Co-ordinator or Rotherham SENDIASS. You will be given a right of appeal and offered mediation if the LA's decides to amend the educational sections of your child's EHC Plan (sections B, F and I), decides to maintain your child's EHC plan in its current form or if the LA decides to cease to maintain the plan.
For more information about how to appeal to the SEND Tribunal contact Rotherham SENDIASS. | {
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KENNER - Louisiana's new state treasurer has taken the oath of office.
John Schroder, a Republican former lawmaker from St. Tammany Parish, was sworn in Tuesday evening at a ceremony in Kenner, to become Louisiana's chief money manager and investment officer.
Schroder, who resigned his state House seat to focus on the treasurer's race, won the Nov. 18 special election with 56 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic lawyer Derrick Edwards.
A real estate developer, Schroder campaigned on his public service in the Legislature and as an Army veteran and an ex-sheriff's deputy. He touted his small business ownership and management. And he pledged to be a watchdog of Louisiana's finances.
Schroder fills the seat vacated by Republican John Kennedy, who left the job after winning election to the U.S. Senate. | {
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This full-service spa offers facials, massage, and body treatments plus laser procedures, Botox, microdermabrasion, and non-surgical face-lifts.
Enjoy personalized state-of-the-art spa therapies complemented by the latest cosmetic medical procedures. By combining traditional spa services with age-defying medical treatments, Persona Day Spa pampers and indulges their clients with luxury and attention while delivering life enhancing medical aesthetics. | {
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Mountain Resort, Koh Lipe | FROM $50 - SAVE ON AGODA!
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We've briefly touched upon the reasons why we make resolutions. These promises to ourselves can be powerful motivators in helping us to move forward in our lives. They give us a sense of a purpose. They also tend to fail to become a reality more often than not. Chances are good that you've made resolutions, probably with the start of a new year, which have failed to stick. You're certainly not alone. Perhaps if we can understand why resolutions fail, we can find a way to make our next one become more successful. I'd like to take some time to share my thoughts on why resolutions fail to help you with the first step to winning the battle.
This can happen in a number of ways. One common error when making resolutions is to choose a bunch of things you want to change about yourself RIGHT NOW. Your brain can only handle so many things at once. It's not possible for you to focus on making too many changes. Instead, choose one or two resolutions upon which to place priority. Also, know that these changes won't occur overnight. Many experts believe it takes at least a month of concerted effort to make someone become a habit. So bear in mind that progress will occur in small increments, rather than in one magnificent transformation. Understand that taking baby steps to instill new habits will be a far more effective approach than simply expecting to change a long-ingrained behavior immediately.
"I'm going to lose weight this year," is probably the most common resolution ever made. How many times have you uttered these words? How many times have you been successful in losing a significant amount of weight or even changing your health for the better? I'm not condemning you. I've been there, too. The problem isn't that you lack willpower or with any flaw in your character whatsoever. It's that the intention is simply too vague. A resolution transformed into the form of a well-defined goal is needed. This should specify aspects such as the number of pounds you'd like to lose and a time frame for which you hope to see the change occur. In addition, planning should include benchmarks for measuring your progress. We'll discuss these things in more detail later in our challenge.
Without proper focus on your resolution, it's bound to fail. "Out of sight, out of mind," may be a cliché, but most sayings such as these are based in some bit of truth. Getting busy with day to day responsibilities, poor time management, daily stressors, and other distractions can rob your attention from your important goals. Deciding to prioritize your resolution and making a plan to keep it at the forefront of your mind will go far toward making it a reality.
There are tons of other potential reasons why revolutions have failed for you in the past. I don't want to dwell on the negative. Simply understanding these common mistakes will help you to move past them in setting new goals that you will accomplish. | {
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Cheap flights from Las Vegas (LAS) to Luis Munoz Marin Intl (SJU)
Home Caribbean Puerto Rico San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Cheap flights from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Las Vegas (LAS) to Luis Munoz Marin Intl (SJU)
All the information you need to plan the best LAS to SJU flight in 2022: compare Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl flight prices with the expected peak season, weather and rainfall in Luis Munoz Marin Intl.
LAS - SJU
SJU
From Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
One-way flight from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
What is the cheapest month to fly from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport?
The best pricing can be found in the month of August. Prices to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport from Las Vegas average $313. You can even find prices in August for less than $313, as users have found deals to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport from as low as $121. The month of December appears to be one of the more expensive times to travel to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport from Las Vegas. Flying in the targeted month can save you up to 71%.
How far in advance should I book a flight from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport?
Travelers have found it's best to book a flight 19 days in advance to save up to 7% compared to booking the same week of travel. As your travel date approaches, the cost of this flight route may potentially increase. While opting to book 19 days out may not be an option for all, there are still additional ways to secure a deal in the near future. You might find a flight from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport 1-2 weeks in advance for as low as $262, or $281 for flights within the next 24 hours.
When is the cheapest time to fly from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport (LAS - SJU)?
Regardless of the time of day you decide to fly, the ticket price will remain around the same. Book flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport as you normally would.
Cheap flights from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl in January, February 2022
The best prices found for LAS to SJU flights for January, February
$80pp
Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl
San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to Luis Munoz Marin Intl 2022 flight deals
Cheap flights to Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Las Vegas found for this year
Last minute flights from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Late deals on round-trip flights to Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Las Vegas, departing today and this week
One-way flights to Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Las Vegas
The cheapest one-way flights from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl
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Useful info, stats and facts about <span class="emphasized">Las Vegas</span> to <span class="emphasized">Luis Munoz Marin Intl</span> flights.
From Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl
What airport do you fly from for flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl?
Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl (LAS) is the airport you will fly out of if you book a flight from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl. You should not have trouble finding flights to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Harry Reid Intl; the airport handles an average of 0 outbound flights to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl per day. You should also have plenty of airline options to choose from since 7 airlines have flights from the Las Vegas airport to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl. It is only a 6.2 mi journey to Harry Reid Intl (LAS) from Las Vegas's city center.
Which airlines flying from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl have flexible cancellations due to COVID-19?
Some of our airline partners flying from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl have new flexible policies in place due to COVID-19. Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines are some of the carriers where you may find flexible cancellation policies. You can use our site to filter for airlines like Spirit Airlines with this kind of flexibility.
Can I find flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport for under $100 on Cheapflights?
Yes, there are multiple flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport for under $100. The cheapest flight booked recently is on Frontier for just $77, but on average you can expect to pay $119.
Are there last-minute flights available from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport for under $100?
There are currently 20+ open flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport within the next 7 days for less than $100.
What are the cheapest airlines flying from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport round-trip?
Currently priced at $77, Frontier will fly you from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport and back. In addition to Frontier, many other airlines offer competitively priced options for your trip. Check Cheapflights for deals on Spirit Airlines for as low as $139. Frontier is currently priced 75% below the average price you'll pay for this route.
What are the cheapest flights from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport?
Looking for the cheapest flight from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport? While on average our users pay $641, our data indicates the cheapest price to be $57. The most popular route (Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl - San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl), is priced around $130.
What are the most popular airlines that fly from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport?
American Airlines, JetBlue and Delta are the most popular airlines when flying from Las Vegas to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport.
Flights to Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Las Vegas (LAS)
Flights to Las Vegas Flights to Luis Munoz Marin Intl Flights from Las Vegas
Car Rentals at Luis Munoz Marin Intl
View COVID Travel Restrictions for Luis Munoz Marin Intl (SJU)
Do I need a COVID test to fly to Luis Munoz Marin Intl from Las Vegas?
Information is based on travel restrictions from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Most visitors from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result and/or quarantine to enter San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl.
Visitors from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl must present a negative RT-PCR (NAAT) test taken 72 for RT-PCR (NAAT) and 24 Antigen (quick-test) hours before departing to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl.
Visitors from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl are not required to quarantine after entering San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl.
Travel Declaration Form - Must be completed prior to travel to Puerto Rico.
Do I need a test to fly back to Las Vegas from Luis Munoz Marin Intl?
Returning to Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl from San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Visitors from San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl must present a negative RT-PCR (NAAT) or Antigen (quick-test) test taken 24 hours before departing to Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl.
Visitors from San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl are not required to quarantine after entering Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl.
Hide COVID Travel Restrictions for Luis Munoz Marin Intl (SJU)
Alternative routes for Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Reno to San Juan from $293 pp
Destination information for Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Things to know before you go - useful duration and weather info for your trip from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl.
Average temperature for January in Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Avg rainfall for January in Luis Munoz Marin Intl
Airports servicing Las Vegas
Las Vegas (LAS)
Airports servicing San Juan
Luis Munoz Marin Intl (SJU)
Top 6 airlines flying from Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Intl
The chart below displays the airlines Cheapflights users traveling from Las Vegas to Luis Munoz Marin Intl choose most often. Cheapest and average prices are based on aggregated data from the past 12 months.
JetBlue $157 $404 No cancel fee 62%
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Delta $162 $471 No cancel fee N/A
Spirit Airlines $185 $374 No cancel fee 65%
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Frontier $206 $333 No cancel fee 62%
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Dubai Aquaventure Waterpark for enjoying a thrilling holiday!
If you have decided to explore the Atlantis water park, then we certainly want to tell that you have made an amazing decision. The Aquaventure Waterpark is the best place to explore the water world in the Middle East. Overall, we can say that it is the perfect place for adventure lovers. Since its opening, it has become a major choice among the families and young children.
What to expect at the Aquaventure Waterpark?
It is a beautiful and tropical park that is something to offer for everyone, ranging from a private beach to waterfalls. One can relax here and go through the dynamic tunnels located within the Neptune Tower. There are many Atlantis Water Park deals available from time to time for the convenience of the visitors.
Firstly, it has an attraction named The Monstrous Aquaconda that is the largest waterslide in the world. It should be visited at any cost due to its amazing experience. On the other hand, the people who love thrill should go for the Leap of Faith that plunges almost 30 meters down from the vertical waterslide. Also, the Atlantis Water Park has an Anaconda Water Tunnel where one can ride on the bigger waves across the torrent. These attractions have helped the waterpark win plenty of awards like Middle East's Leading Waterpark and Hotel Winner of Best Waterpark 2016.
How to book Atlantis Water Park tickets?
For booking the Atlantis Water Park tickets, one has to visit their official website. There are many different types of packages available for this park that include Day Pass, Day Pass with Meal Deal, Day Pass with Photo Package, and Lost Chambers among others. In addition to that, there is an annual membership offered by the park for frequent visitors.
How to reach Aquaventure Waterpark?
Are you worrying about how you will reach this amazing location? There is no need to stress as the nearest station located at a 2-minute walking distance from the Aquaventure Waterpark. One can find frequent trains from the Palm Atlantis Monorail Station. Also, you can go for the private taxi service if you are high on budget and want to complete the journey in the shortest amount of time.
There is no doubt that the visit to Dubai can't get completed without visiting this beautiful place. It has become a key tourist spot that no one wishes to miss at any cost. It is the first entertainment destination in the city and situated at the center. Along with being home to many open-air marine habitats, this place has many impressive restaurants. Your stay in this city will become memorable for sure after visiting the Aquaventure Waterpark. If there is a question in your mind regarding this article, then tell us in the comment section. We are here to serve you. | {
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} |
What Lured Aon, Noble and Others to Move Headquarters to London
October 17, 2013 by Aaron Kirchfeld
The Swiss town of Baar boasts clean air, easy access to ski slopes and some of Europe's lowest personal taxes. London? Traffic and perpetual drizzle.
Yet executives at Noble Corp., a provider of deepwater oil drilling rigs, are in the process of moving headquarters from Baar to the British capital, citing the talented workforce and easy airline connections from Heathrow, Europe's busiest international airport. On top of that, the U.K. tax rate is now competitive with Switzerland's historically corporate-friendly tax regime.
Noble is part of a wave of overseas companies moving head offices to London, lured in part by the country's declining corporate taxes. The relocations underscore Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts to make the country more attractive to foreign companies — and may help London become less dependent on the financial services industry, which has been retrenching since the 2008 crisis.
"There is definitely a swing back to the U.K. under way and I think there will be more," said Angus Winther, a senior adviser at investment bank Evercore Partners Inc. in London. "There are huge advantages: you have a vast talent pool, infrastructure, language, and lowered tax rates."
Last year 45 foreign companies moved their global or regional headquarters to London, up from just 25 in 2009, data from research group FDI Markets show. Among the moves this year: General Electric Co.'s oil and gas unit, which is departing Florence, Italy, and Chinese developer ABP (China) Holdings Group Ltd., which is setting up its worldwide head office in London.
While London's many cultural opportunities, theater and good restaurants are a draw, a series of cuts in corporate income tax rates by the Conservative Party-led government has been a key motivating factor. The U.K.'s base corporate rate is now 23 percent, down from 28 percent in 2010. By 2015, the rate will drop to about 20 percent, compared with about 29 percent in Germany and about 33 percent in France. The U.S. rate is 40 percent, though deductions mean few companies pay that amount.
"Five or ten years ago, a lot of companies were thinking about moving to places like Ireland or the Channel Islands," said Dan Schuster-Woldan, a partner at law firm Linklaters. "Things have changed. There are now fewer companies going that route because the tax differential is lower."
Tax Neutral
Noble is one example. Chief Executive Officer David Williams said in July the move would be tax-neutral for the company — showing how U.K. tax changes have made the country comparable with Switzerland. The average Swiss corporate tax take is about 18 percent, and as high as 24.4 percent in some regions, according to accountancy firm KPMG.
Other firms with U.S. roots have done the same. Aon Plc, the world's second-largest insurance broker, last year moved its headquarters from Chicago to London, saying it would give the company better access to emerging economies and the Lloyd's of London insurance market.
Taxes also played a role, with the company crediting a U.K. territorial tax system that would drive "significant value to shareholders" in a 2012 regulatory filing.
In addition to slicing the corporate tax rate, the British government last year reduced the amount of tax owed on profits earned outside the country. That prompted some U.K. firms that had moved offshore to return.
WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising agency, last year announced it would return its headquarters to London after moving to Dublin in 2008 in protest of the so-called double taxation. Investors in UBM Plc, the owner of PRNewswire, voted to do the same.
Some of the moves are being executed through merger deals, raising speculation that, like their counterparts in Ireland, U.K. companies could become attractive targets because of their address, rather than just their assets.
Liberty Global Plc used a takeover of broadband provider Virgin Media to move its headquarters to London and give up a U.S. tax domicile. Italian truck maker Fiat Industrial, after merging with its farm equipment unit to form CNH Industrial, is also moving its base to the U.K. while registering in the Netherlands.
The U.K. still faces stiff competition in its bid to attract investment.
American companies including Perrigo Co. and Actavis Plc are planning to re-incorporate in Ireland after completing mergers with Irish companies. Ireland's corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent is among the world's lowest.
Netherlands Neutrality
The Netherlands will be the home of the new company created by the proposed merger of advertising giants Omnicom Group Inc., based in New York, and French rival Publicis Groupe SA. The Dutch corporate tax rate is about 25 percent. Publicis Chief Executive Officer Maurice Levy has said the move to the Netherlands was motivated by the country's neutrality, not its taxes.
The renewed interest in London from companies in a broad range of industries comes as the financial sector retrenches. The number of people employed in London's financial services firms is likely to decline to 236,000 next year, the lowest level since 1993, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The financial sector, which is overwhelmingly concentrated in the capital, accounted for 11.6 percent of total tax receipts last year, down from 13.9 percent in 2007, according to the City of London.
Some hedge funds and asset managers have quit London for Switzerland, blaming tighter financial regulations. And banking giants HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, which have the bulk of their operations abroad, haven't ruled out an eventual move to Asia.
Still, London growth is outpacing the rest of the country. The city's economy will grow by 1.9 percent annually to 2018, 0.5 percent faster than the U.K. as a whole, the CEBR said this year.
Part of the growth is coming from technology companies as London emerges as the undisputed European capital for Internet businesses. Both Amazon Inc. and Google Inc. are building large new facilities in the city, with the search giant pledging to employ 5,000 staff in a new office next to the renovated King's Cross railway hub.
While headquarters moves motivated in part by tax arbitrage don't necessarily bring many jobs to London, they at least create work for local professional-services providers like lawyers and management consultants, said Mark Gregory, the chief U.K. and Ireland economist at Ernst & Young LLP.
Business Destination
To be sure, London's appeal as a business destination isn't assured. The opposition Labour Party has said it will reverse corporate tax cuts if it returns to government.
The potential of a British exit from the European Union, which Cameron has said will be put to an eventual referendum, also complicates London's sales pitch. Almost 80 percent of firms surveyed by the Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group for big U.K. companies, support continued membership in the EU, which administers tariff-free trade between its member states.
Meanwhile, business groups have criticized new immigration rules, introduced by Cameron, that make it harder for companies to hire even highly skilled workers from outside the European Union and to keep them in the country long-term.
Whether London will keep wooing foreign business to re- balance its economy away from banking will be determined by a combination of those policies, tax rates and intangible characteristics — like its cosmopolitan atmosphere and educational institutions, said Ajay Bhalla, a professor of innovation management at Cass Business School.
"Those will be the deciding factors of whether re- balancing is possible," Bhalla said.
–With assistance from Ruth David in London, Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan and David Wethe in Houston. Editor: Larry Reibstein
Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Accounting & TaxBoardroom AgendaCEO / Chief ExecutiveGlobal EconomyGovernmentIndustry NewsInternational
American Family Acquiring InsurTech Bold Penguin | {
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Danville boys fall 51-48 in All-A final; Danville girls advance to state due to COVID; Boyle girls, boys each open with wins
Published 9:40 am Saturday, January 16, 2021
By MIKE MARSEE
They didn't get what they wanted most from the 12th Region All "A" Classic, but the Danville boys can still get something out of the experience.
The Admirals were denied a trip to the statewide small-school tournament when they fell to Somerset 51-48 in the regional final Friday night.
However, coach Ed McKinney was pleased with the way Danville competed against one of the top teams in the 12th Region.
"I thought we did a lot of good things, scrapped hard, played hard with a lot of guys that haven't been in that situation," he said.
McKinney said games such as this one would help the Admirals improve, even if it didn't help them get to the All "A."
"We've got a chance to get a lot better," he said. "It's growing pains. You're going to lose some of (these games), but you've got to use them to get better."
Host Danville (3-2) held its own in a back-and-forth game until Somerset (5-0) took the lead for good at 43-42 with 6:27 remaining. There were nine ties and 12 lead changes, and neither team led by more than four points.
The Briar Jumpers' largest lead was three, and they led by that number when Danville got the ball with 10.1 seconds to play. Somerset had three fouls to give and used two of them to eat up some of the clock, and the Admirals failed to get off a shot after inbounding the ball for the final time with 4.1 seconds left.
This was the closest of Danville's five games to date, and McKinney said it underscored a point he has been trying to make to his players.
"We talk about it all the time: It's going to come down to one or two possessions," he said. "Every possession matters, in the first minute or the last minute. When you see a game like this, 'Oh, gosh, Coach is right.'
"And you never know when that possession is. You just learn that every possession's important.
You've got to get the best shot you can every time down, and you've got to get stops."
Danville shot 39 percent from the field and was within five rebounds (33-28) of Somerset despite being outsized.
Dante Hayden led the Admirals with 17 points, and sophomore Jarius Bryant had a career-high 13.
Kade Grundy had 21 points for Somerset, which won the All "A" regional for the second straight year.
Danville is less experienced than it was a year ago, when it lost in double-overtime to Somerset in the All "A" regional final and lost by 23 points in a February rematch but defeated the Briar Jumpers by two points in the 12th Region Tournament semifinals. Four of the players who were on the floor in the closing minutes Friday weren't in the starting lineup a year ago, while Somerset has several veterans.
In other seasons, a team in Danville's position would have had a chance to close the experience gap before the All "A" regional, which normally falls near midseason but fell in the second week of this unique season altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I don't want that to sound like an excuse … (but) if you've got an experienced team back in this COVID year, you've got some advantages," McKinney said. "We'd have 15 games in by now with two Christmas tournaments, and we would really have a lot of stuff in."
Uncontested champions
The Danville girls will return to the statewide All "A" Classic for the eighth consecutive year after they were declared champions of a regional tournament that never tipped off.
The Lady Admirals were awarded the title Friday upon the cancellation of the championship game between Danville and Somerset due to COVID-19 concerns. Somerset was en route to Danville for the game when the Lady Jumpers learned they would not be able to play.
All previous games in the tournament had been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Danville (2-1) will represent the 12th Region in the All "A" for a record 13th time. The statewide tournament will be played Feb. 16-21 at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond; the Lady Admirals will play the 4th Region champion – Adair County or Metcalfe County – in the first round.
Danville reached the semifinals last year, beating Louisville Collegiate and Glasgow before losing to eventual champion Bethlehem.
Opening night rally
The Boyle County girls were the last local team to open the season, and they finished their first game with a flourish Friday as they came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat McCreary Central 49-40.
The host Lady Rebels trailed 34-27 after three quarters, then opened the fourth with eight straight points to take a 35-34 lead. They went on to outscore McCreary 22-6 in the final period, when Emily Glasscock and Peyton Bugg combined for 14 points.
Emily Glasscock, Boyle's only senior, scored nine of her game-high 20 points, and Bugg scored five of her 10 in the fourth quarter. Andy Glasscock and Ella Coffey contributed 3-point baskets to the Lady Rebels' rally.
Bombs away
Boyle County's boys got off to a hot shooting start in 45th District play, shooting 54 percent from the field in the first half of an 81-59 victory over Garrard County on Friday.
The host Rebels went 9 for 11 from 3-point range and 15 for 28 overall from the field in the first half as they opened a 47-24 halftime lead. They made 12 of 19 3-point attempts overall and led by as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter.
Luke Imfeld (4 for 6 from 3-point range) led Boyle with 24 points. Hagan Webb (3 for 4) and Luke Sheperson (1 for 1) added 13 points each and Jagger Gillis (2 for 2) had 10.
City of Danville and Centre to have virtual events… | {
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New York, November 27, 2018 – Major League Baseball (MLB) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) today announced the formation of an all-inclusive partnership agreement that combines the MLB brand with MGM Resorts and playMGM brands across league and team sponsorships, data usage in gaming, promotion across MLB-owned media platforms, and domestic and international activations at MLB events.
As an official sponsor of Major League Baseball, MGM Resorts will domestically promote its brand and gaming options across MLB's digital and broadcast platforms, including MLB Network, MLB.com, the MLB At Bat app and additional fan engagement offerings to be jointly developed.
MGM Resorts will be identified as an MLB-Authorized Gaming Operator and utilize MLB's official statistics feed, on a non-exclusive basis, throughout its digital and live domestic sports gaming options. MLB will also make enhanced statistics available to MGM on an exclusive basis. In addition, MGM Resorts and MLB will work together on comprehensive responsible gaming measures and work to protect the integrity of the game both on and off the field.
MLB intellectual property will appear in MGM advertising and promotional campaigns. MGM also will broaden its commitment to baseball by securing multiple MLB Club partnerships. MGM will have a presence at MLB Jewel Events, including the All-Star Game and World Series.
In Japan, MGM Resorts will be an official partner at grassroots baseball events like the MLB Road Show. An interactive fan experience that celebrates Major League Baseball, MLB Road Show tours throughout Japan giving fans an opportunity to participate in baseball activities including batting and pitching cages, baserunning stations, virtual reality, and a baseball museum.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 28 unique hotel offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company in 2018 opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 81,000 global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies®. For more information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com. | {
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Q: Styling both grouped and flat list items using Spree and jQuery-Select2 Preamble: This problem is within the context of Spree and the jQuery-select2 library, however it should be answerable for anyone not familiar with those libraries as it mostly pertains to CSS styling.
General problem statement: I have a page with two select boxes, which are being created and handled using jQuery-select2. The first one is a simple flat list. The second, however, is a grouped list. The alternating colour styled applied by Spree is botched on the second list as a result of how select2 creates the sublist and the styles being applied to it, coming from Spree.
Problem Details:
The structure of the select box created by select2 for a simple flat list looks something like this:
<ul class="select2-results">
<li class="some-other-classes">List item 1</li>
... other list items
</ul>
And Spree applies styling to the class select2-results and the list elements. Specifically, the alternating list colour styling is:
.select2-results li:nth-child(odd) {
background: #efefef;
}
In the case of a grouped list, select2 creates the following structure instead:
<ul class="select2-results">
<li class="many-classes">
<div>Label for group list #1</div>
<ul class="select2-result-sub">
<li class="many-sub-list-classes">
<div class="select2-result-label">List item for group #1</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
... other list items
</ul>
Note: I have omitted most of the classes applied to these elements because I fear it would make the example unreadable. If anybody would like me to add them all here, let me know. Barring that, they are properly represented in the jFiddle example (link below).
The problem is that the nth-child(odd) styling is being applied to both the inner AND outer li elements. As a result, I end up with one list group that is one solid colour, like so:
While the second list appears correctly (because, of course, the nth-child(odd) is not being applied on the even numbered list items.
The styling for these lists is coming from here in the Spree framework.
This is a jFiddle containing an example representing this exact scenario. You can see how the styling is affected as I described.
As I said at the top, this is more related to a styling / CSS problem, as I can potentially omit / override the Spree styling. Ultimately, I am at a loss as to how I can solve this problem. In plain English, I feel like I want the CSS to express "apply this style UNLESS the <li> has a child <ul>", or something to that effect. However, as far as I know, it is not possible.
The Question: how can I apply an alternating list item styling such that both a flat list, and a grouped list with sub lists are styled correctly without one overriding or blanketing another?
A: The select2 classes that you omitted on the li allow you to revert the backgrounds.
select2-result-unselectable select2-result-with-children
So, adding the following after your nth-child should revert the background-color of those top li tags:
li:nth-child(odd).select2-result-unselectable {
background-color: #ffffff;
}
| {
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Na is the chemical symbol for which element?
With which name do we refer to a male cat?
The big science & Nature quiz will test your knowledge of scientific facts and trivia as well as some natural questions too that may relate to animal or human anatomy.
So if you think you have what it takes to be a top science quiz brainbox work your way through all the levels and you'll get your score for each one at the end of the level. The science & nature quiz levels get progressively harder and you may find some questions are repeated as you go through the levels so if you get one wrong you may get a second chance to answer it correctly. You can share your science & nature quiz result on social media and show your friends how great your knowledge is!
Our quizzes are based on all types of scientific questions and are regularly updated to provide the best and most entertaining fun Questions and Answers science Quiz. The question rounds are suitable for all kinds of science fans and may be used as part of a bar or pub quiz and family quizzes if you wish. Test your science trivia knowledge with the free Questions and Answers scientific Quiz. | {
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I'm Erin Patton, and after coming to Romania as a short-term volunteer each summer, I'm currently here long-term. Over the years, I have volunteered with FFR, and also connected with other services and charities who support people with disabilities. As an Occupational Therapist, my passion is to enable people to participate in the occupations (activities) that give meaning and purpose to their lives.
A typical week for me here in Romania involves seeing children and adults with disabilities in many different capacities. This can often be overwhelming, but also immeasurably rewarding.
My time at the hospital loving and caring for the babies will always be one of the closest projects to my heart. Many of the children have delays from spending prolonged periods in the hospital, or from health conditions that compromise their development. There are lots of opportunities for me to throw in strengthening exercises or muscle stretches, along with working on skills like sitting, walking, and using their hands to play. I'm always happy to provide some suggestions or information to my fellow volunteers, because even a simple positioning strategy can make a big difference in helping a child progress.
My time at the orphanage for children with severe disabilities is so very hard and so very beautiful at the same time. I've watched the children grow over the years, and have come to know their likes, dislikes, and communication styles. These children teach me how to find joy in seemingly joy-less situations, that no skill is too small to be hugely significant, and that simply having someone sit beside you is often enough. Working with these children does bring tears. Tears from witnessing a child who is almost three years old crawl for the first time, from getting a fleeting smile from one that has lost his interest in living, or from almost feeling the neurons fire in a child's brain as she processes a new experience for the first time. Tears from watching yet another child that I love slowly deteriorate, from having to back away because by simply being in their room I'm upsetting them, or from seeing that holding their hand or rubbing their foot is too overstimulating for them.
My time at the day centres and weekly programs is hope-filled and fun. Having the opportunity to work with the children and adults in a stimulating environment is truly special. Being able to provide activities that encourage them to participate and learn is an important goal. Some of the children have never been in a group setting before, and their excitement over exploring a new place is contagious. I share therapy ideas with their caregivers, and adapt activities so they can succeed in something they never thought would be available to them.
My time visiting families who have a child with a disability in their homes is eye-opening. It is a privilege to be invited into their lives, and to gain a perspective of what their day to day involves. Choosing to raise your child with special needs at home is a major commitment, due to the lack of resources and supports available in the community here. Seeing these children receive the love of a family and be an integral part of their family is something that is guaranteed to fill my heart. I can offer a new way to bathe the child, a blender to puree food, or a meaningful activity to decrease boredom and negative behaviour. These things seem so small, but can have a big impact on the child and family's quality of life.
I'm pushed out of my comfort zone daily. I often think "surely I'm not the best one for that job" or "what about the language and cultural barriers." But each time, God gives me the knowledge and resources that I need to provide just a little bit for these people, and a little bit can go a long way. I also have the support of the FFR team who provide the encouragement that helps me continue. Sometimes this even requires them to collect recycled items for me to turn into craft and therapy activities! Recognizing the needs, being open to assisting where I can, and connecting with different organizations has helped me continue to serve where God asks me to go.
Having a disability in Romania is beyond hard. I'm honoured to be a part of each of the children's and adult's lives that I have met on this journey. To see the determination and motivation of the people themselves, and also of the caregivers and staff that serve them, is inspiring. I am no doubt learning and gaining much more from them than I can ever give to them. | {
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Restaurant Uzbekistan
Neglinnaya street, 29, Moscow-
Restaurant Uzbekistan - Moscow
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Directions to Restaurant Uzbekistan
According to Moscow historic archives, the first reference to this building dates back to the end of 19th century. Initially a popular tavern was opened here. Then the building was purchased, and a French café appeared at that place. After the revolution, that place was known as an officers' mess. Since 1951, the Ministry of Commerce of the Uzbek Soviet Republic adopted a decision to open a restaurant, which was named 'Uzbekistan'. This is the beginning of its history. The restaurant of Eastern cuisine was always popular among Moscovites.
In 1997 Arkadiy Novikov, the new owner of the restaurant, totally updated the building. All you can see here is made by renovators, specially invited from Tashkent.
Uzbekistan is situated in a historic building in the heart of Moscow. The Menu is presented by the Uzbek, Arab, Azerbaijan and Pan-Asian cuisine. As well as 62 years ago, today all dishes are prepared according to centuries-old national traditions: shashlyk (barbeque) is not gruilled, but charbroiled even in winter and served in a special 'taganchyk' with hot coals. The flatbread is baked in crockery tandyr all day long. Making the pilaw is a true art: special sorts of rice are used in strict proportions. The main craftsmanship is making the meal light. The pilaw is served by the Chef, who can tell about the unique history of this national meal.
Some national dishes are prepared in front of guests - the mountain lamb pickled in cognac and spices is spit-roasted. Several hours the foil-wrapped lamb is being turnspat, then the chefs treat the guests solemnly with a piece of tender flavorful meat.
Address: Neglinnaya street, 29 , Moscow Region
Shakti Terrace
In autumn of 2014, a new star appeared in the sky of Moscow restaurants - Shakti Terrace. The name "Shakti" (power and strength in Sanskrit) was given to the restaurant o
One more beer and wine
They say tastes differ, and that's true. Favourite food for each of us is dishes we love. One More Beer & Wine Bar's menu is a combination of offers to cater each...
The Tatler Club is a place where food and drinks and also time-spending are extremely enjoyable. An obvious achievement of the restaurant is its professional technical eq
Madame Wong is a restaurant of modern Chinese cuisine which originates from Hong Kong. It refers to vast territories from southern regions of China to Malaysia, Singapore
'Quite simply the best place to be!' It is no surprise that exactly these seven words are used as Night Flight's slogan.............
A newcomer on Moscow's restaurant scene, Gastro Pub Chelsea brings a fresh breath to the city's pub culture. Named after London's elite Chelsea neighborhood, this exquisi
Novikov
Moscow, Moscow
Inspired by a great success of the first Novikov Restaurant & Bar in London, the famous restaurateur Arkady Novikov decided to open the second one in Moscow. T
Russian Geographic Society restaurant
Do you like travelling, visiting new places, learning about the traditions and customs of various peoples? Then the Russian Geographic Society restaurant (the Russian abb
Khachapuri
There was a time not so long ago when it seemed that all of Moscow's Georgian restaurants were designed by one and the same person. An old-fashioned person at that. Din
The name speaks for itself – Le Restaurant – and nothing extra. The classical concept of restaurant, which includes rich collection of delicacies, wide range of wine
Click here to request a new mini guide for Moscow from your Local Experts!
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50 houses to be demolished in Entebbe's Namiiro Wetland over encroachment - Western Uganda's Biggest radio.
Ministry of Water and Environment staff have started marking houses of alleged encroachers on Namiiro Wetland in Entebbe Municipality, Wakiso District which face demolition. The move has left hundreds stranded with nowhere to go.
Nicholas Magara, the coordinator of wetlands in central region, says no one will stand in their way as they restore the depleted wetland.
So far, at least 50 houses have been marked for demolition and Magara said the exercise will continue this week.
Namiiro is one of the few remaining wetlands in Entebbe while other wetlands have been heavily degraded which include Mabamba, Nambigirwa, Lutembe and Nagadya wetlands.
According to a notice issued by Ministry of Environment last month, residents were given a 21-day ultimatum to vacate the wetland, which elapsed on January 17. | {
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Mayor of Ennis, Mary Coote Ryan will open the conference.
RENOWNED Irish singer Mary Coughlan will visit Ennis this month where she will officially launch the Ennis Women's Shed, the first such organisation in Europe.
The launch will take place as part of Ennis Men's Shed's first national conference to be held in the county capital. The conference, titled 'No Man is an Island' will take place on April 25 and 26 in the West County Hotel.
This conference will be opened by Councillor Mary Coote Ryan, Mayor of Ennis and will be chaired by Ciana Campbell. Speakers will include: John Evoy, chairperson of the Irish Men's Shed Association; Dr Billy O'Connell , GP; Tom Mc Evoy, director at Pieta House; Paul Gillan, Men's Health Promotion Officer with HSE West; John Quinlivan, former Regional Development and Tourism Services Manager with Shannon Development. | {
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From Applewood to Table
By Brooklyn Based
Before writing Eating for Beginners: An Education in the Pleasures of Food from Chefs, Farmers, and One Picky Kid, Melanie Rehak had no experience working in a kitchen or on a farm. But a year working at applewood in Park Slope, and visiting farms that supply much of the restaurant's food, helped her appreciate cooking and the meaning of local, seasonal food–even as her son decided he was barely interested in eating.
Rehak approached Eating for Beginners, which comes out on Thursday, and the local food movement from the point of view "of a normal person with a kid, not super-wealthy, not totally obsessed, trying to make decisions," she says. Rehak's son Jules, who is four now, and still "not a great gourmet," grows from a baby to an opinionated toddler over the course of the book. "He didn't eat pasta until he was three and a half," she sighs, but "he's better now."
Rehak, though originally a Manhattanite, has lived in Park Slope for thirteen years. It's a neighborhood she's watched grow and change–applewood, the 11th Street staple of the local dining scene–opened the first year that she and her husband moved to their current apartment around the corner from the restuarant. They'd been eating there for years by the time Rehak worked up the nerve to ask if she could work in the kitchen as research for Eating for Beginners. Owners David and Laura Shea agreed and she spent a year moving from station to station applewood's kitchen. "I don't think I ever told David I wouldn't do something," says Rehak. Her culinary education including dispatching live lobsters (many chefs kill lobsters by splitting them down the middle rather than by cooking, as it's quicker) and butchering lambs. She left grateful for the opportunity and impressed with the Sheas and their dedication to local food. "They feel about applewood how I feel about writing," Rehak says. '
The pricetag on a locally grown meal is a major issue for many shoppers, and Rehak explores that conundrum from a farmer's perspective. Unlike large commercial farms, whose costs are offset by government subsidies, small farmers are forced to charge more to just break even. "There are certain choices that you can make, like eating less meat," regardless of how much money you have to spend on food, Rehak says. However, "if you can pay more, you should. The farmers are so broke."
But Eating for Beginners never chastises readers for buying out-of-season tomatoes or frozen fish sticks. Instead it illuminates the farm and restaurant framework that shores up our choices as consumers. "Far be it for me to say, 'Don't go out for drinks, buy organic broccoli,'" says Rehak. "The point is to have the idea and work toward it. Remember where your money is going."
Melanie Rehak will read at Greenlight Bookstore on July 9.
Text by Casey Acierno, sent by Annaliese. Photos courtesy of Melanie Rehak.
We are even better over email | {
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Polar tights and stockings are the result of a clever combination of avant-garde and tradition which has made it possible, over the years, to optimise a product with the highest quality standards.
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Much in the vein of classic sports car ethos, the SRKP4 is sleek, yet simple. Muscular, yet agile. Turbo charged by the Mini Kaoss Pad 2, this is the perfect vehicle for any level of aptitude, any style of playing, or any musical genre.
The SRKP4 includes a built-in/detachable Mini Kaoss Pad 2 to create an instrument that offers bassists endless opportunities to incorporate the exhilarating effects of EDM into their performance. A Kaoss Pad 2 back panel, positioned just below the bass volume control, is integrated into the body of this SR style bass for quick, secure docking and easy access to the touch pad interface for real-time manipulation. The Mini Kaoss Pad 2 features 100 effect programs, a synthesizer, built-in mp3 player.
The SRKP4 bass features a slim Maple neck, for clear definition, and a Mahogany body for a warm, rich tone. Electronics include a specifically designed IBZ-KP pickup (a high-output, twin-blade Humbucker for low noise operation) and a built-in distortion circuit with its own on/off switch and Tone/Gain controls.
The SRKP4 comes with on-board high-gain distortion, accessible at the flip of a switch. Fire it up with or without the Mini Kaoss Pad 2 in line to get you to that certain sound you're looking for.
The SRKP4 comes equipped with Korg's latest Kaoss introduction-the Mini Kaoss Pad 2, loaded with 100 dynamic KAOSS effects.
Play when and where you want, using the 1/8" stereo headphone jack located next to the main output. | {
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Dan Piraro
Tweaking simple everyday things with his twisted imagination and award-winning artistic abilities, Dan Piraro deftly proves why he has won The National Cartoonists' Society's "Best Newspaper Cartoon Panel" three years in a row (2000, 2001 and 2002). Today, "Bizarro" is distributed internationally by King Features Syndicate to more than 350 daily and Sunday newspapers, and have been reprinted in 15 book collections between 1986 and the present. Piraro reaches out to loyal readers and creates new ones by bringing his own live comedy show, "The Bizarro Bologna Show," to cities where his "Bizarro" comic panel appears.
Subliminal mind control, you say? Nah, "Bizarro" fans love Dan Piraro and his covert images of bunny rabbits, eyeballs, fishtails, slices of pie, firecrackers, crowns, upside-down birds, tiny spaceships; not to mention the abbreviation "K2" that seems to appear in nearly every cartoon he draws. In the bizzare comic "Bizzaro," cartoonist Dan Piraro unleashes both his secret symbols and uniquely eccentric view of the world on unsuspecting newspaper readers every day. Because the artwork is detail-driven and the humor, off-the-wall , this politically liberal and progressive cartoonist's comic panel has massive appeal among audiences who enjoy an alternative sense of humor. | {
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The ICO is still live if you're considering investing. It just launched recently at the start of the year. It is vital the ability to offer a tangible and economically viable product, and the TBIS concept stands out in this regard.
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Each service provided by TBIS blockchain is a completely customized approach for a particular region of the business that adds to the principal small business solution. Each service given by the TBIS blockchain constitutes a totally bespoke approach to a certain region of the business which rolls up to the principal enterprise solution. 1 thing which you should not neglect to check on is what people are speaking about the Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (BAR) ICO which you're interested. Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services, also called TBIS, are the most recent victims in being hacked and having a sizable number of tokens stolen.
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Systems linked to a greater level can use a reduce system for a machine. For instance, many automated systems can serve a single approach. Technology has ever been my passion. Read our whitepaper to find out how you are able to benefit from this new technology today!" Blockchain technology could possibly be commonplace with many folks, but there's a bigger lot around who aren't familiarized with it. It means this platform isn't an only child.
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Q: How do I take down a ufo without damaging it? I've been looking for a way to take down a UFO without doing any (or little damage) to it as possible. I haven't found any research that would help me either. My question is, is there some weapon that I can research that will act like an EMP against UFOs? It's quite difficult to get Elerium-115 in the game and I was hoping that I could just EMP or do something that can take it down without destroying all of the Elerium-115.
A: In original version of UFO Enemy Unknown/ Defense there is no EMPs. Best strategy to get UFO without damage is raid them when landed. You can send Skyranger, Avenger or Lightning to purse UFO but minimize the fight screen when you catch the UFO. So your ship will follow them and if landed the UFO Mission will start right away.
Using weaker fire power weapons could also help you to more likely get UFOs down without blowing up their Power Sources. This if of course against smaller UFOs. Larger UFOs still might have some intact power sources even if some of them are blown up. *Note: No resarch done, just my own intuation from years of playing*
A: Like Nurkka mentioned it is not possible to crash an UFO undamaged. Personally i never noticed any relation between weapon types and damage. If you have the ability yo identify what type of ship it is you can tell if it will land in a random location (scouts), create a terror site (terror ship) or dock in an alien base (supply ship).
Always crash a supply ship or it will disappear in an alien base, you can also tell if there is a base if these ships suddenly disappear of radar.
Terror sites can yield a good amount of points so it is your choice to down a terror ship or not.
Scouts will most likely land somewhere so you could just chase them with a "crew" ship and once they land you enter the site.
Other then that, if you are after huge amount of alien supplies you can build a base fairly close to one of the alien bases. You will pickup all there supply ships and they offer tons of goodies for you.
A: You could always do this the somewhat cheating method. Just save right before you get there, and keep landing. Find an instance where the ship isn't destroyed, and you'll have it.
Of course, this could take some time to identify, but it's at least worthy of thought.
| {
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Bomb maker to raise Iraq from rubble
The retired general tapped by the Bush administration to oversee rebuilding of post-war Iraq was, until just a few weeks ago, an executive at a leading defense contractor working on missile systems that would be used to bomb Baghdad.
Although a Pentagon official said Jay Garner's new role as head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance does not constitute a conflict of interest, ethics experts say the appointment raises troubling questions.
Why, they ask, would the White House pick a man from a company directly concerned with attacking Iraq to spearhead the country's aid and restoration?
"It's very curious," said Ben Hermalin, a professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business who studies professional ethics. "You have to wonder what the Iraqis will think of this guy and how much trust they'll place in him."
He added: "If it's not a conflict of interest, it's certainly being tone deaf."
A 16-year old Irish girl who was burned in a car explosion as a child will receive the world's first face transplant!
Early this morning I opened up a book to find this poem. Personally and politically, it seems quite important right now:
Did I believe I had a clear mind?
It was like the water of a river
flowing shallow over the ice. And now
that the rising water has broken
the ice, I see what I thought
was the light is part of the dark.
--Wendell Berry, "Breaking"
30 Antiwar Thinkers on How to Deal With Saddam
From The Guardian:
...I decline to buy the sudden idea of a "humanitarian war" when it will be conducted on current American guidelines: keep US casualties below the level of an average supermarket-mall massacre, bomb from high altitude, road-test the latest hardware, and oops, sorry about that wedding party which just went up in smoke. If, on the other hand, we are now announcing a new and truly ethical foreign policy, in which filthy oppressors worldwide are to be removed in order of filth, I would say that this should be done only with a very high majority vote in the UN, and that former - and current - imperial powers should be extremely cautious in their use of hectoring cant. Those who are anti-war have not somehow been cornered by the question, So, peaceniks, what would you do now? It's quite legitimate to answer, well, we wouldn't be here now, because we wouldn't have started from there then. Instead, a question in return. Saddam disarms voluntarily: do we then invade on humanitarian grounds?
...Saddam Hussein is not the only monster supported by the present incumbents in Washington until he did something contrary to their interests. There's a long list that they supported right to the end of their bloody rule - Marcos, Duvalier, and many others, some of them as vicious and brutal as Saddam, and running tyrannies that compare well with his: Ceausescu, for example. They were overthrown internally, despite US support for them. That's been prevented within Iraq by the murderous sanctions regime, which has devastated the population while strengthening Saddam, and forcing the population to become hopelessly reliant on him for survival.
Solution? Give Iraqis a chance to survive, and there's every reason to believe that they'll get rid of him the way that others have. Meanwhile, strengthen measures to ensure that Saddam, or some replacement, doesn't develop significant military capacity. Not a very serious problem right now, since as is well known, Iraq is militarily and economically the weakest country in the region, but it could be down the road, and in his hands, it would be likely, even without the US and UK to supply him.
Kamil Mahdi
...The way out of the present impasse is:
1 Maintain weapons inspections to allay western concerns.
2 Introduce human-rights monitors.
3 Lift the economic blockade and demand professionalism and transparency in economic affairs under UN monitoring.
4 Implement Resolution 688, including an end to repression.
5 Genuinely support Iraqis, not by imposing an agenda and stooges on the opposition.
6 Start a process of truth and reconciliation.
7 Relieve debt and remove reparation to enhance moves toward democracy.
8 Move towards UN-supervised elections after a time.
9 Curb Ariel Sharon and move immediately towards a just Middle East peace under resolution 242, with recognition of Palestinian rights.
Peaceniks jam DC phone lines
Today's Virtual March on Washington was a huge success according to its organizers, the Win Without War coalition and MoveOn.org. More than 400,000 people registered prior to the march, and more than 1,000,000 people faxed, e-mailed or called their senators to express their belief that Bush and Co haven't made a convincing case for war with Iraq. I contacted Minnesota' Democratic Senator Mark Dayton's office and had a nice, but brief talk with a harried phone worker. When I called Republican Senator Norm Coleman's office at 1 pm CST, not only had he forwarded his calls to voicemail, but the mailbox was full.
Bush: Rhetoric vs. Reality
Bush smiles for the cameras, kisses the old ladies, hoists babies, and immediately turns around to cut funding to all of them. A compelling, if incomplete list, produced by the House Appropriations Committee.
Our Polluted Bodies
WHEN MICHAEL LERNER volunteered to give blood and urine samples to medical researchers, he figured they'd only find a few chemicals in his body. After all, Lerner, the president and founder of Commonweal, a health and environmental research institute in Marin County, has lived in Bolinas for 20 years, eaten a healthy diet and avoided exposure to industrial chemicals.
He was wrong. Researchers found his body polluted with 101 industrial toxins and penetrated by elevated levels of arsenic and mercury.
Scientists call such contamination a person's "body burden."
Lerner was one of nine people -- five of whom live and work in the Bay Areas -- who were tested for 210 chemicals commonly found in consumer products and industrial pollution. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, the Environmental Working Group of Oakland and Washington, and Commonweal collaborated on this innovative study of the body burden.
At press conferences held in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., last week, researchers revealed these shocking results: On average, each person had 50 or more chemicals linked to cancer in humans and lab animals, considered toxic to the brain and nervous system or known to interfere with the hormone and reproductive systems. (The Environmental Working Group's Web site features biographies and toxic profiles for each person as well as the kind of products that contain such chemicals.)
(Thanks, Pete.)
13 Myths about the Case for War in Iraq
MYTH: "'Anti-war' protesters ... are giving, at the very least, comfort to Saddam Hussein." Therefore they can be accused of committing treason according to the Constitution. -- NY Sun Editorial, February 7, 2003
RESPONSE: It is true that original Constitution did not include Freedom of Speech or Freedom of the Press or other rights that we cherish today. These freedoms were added as the Bill of Rights to the Constitution in 1791.
The US Supreme Court explicitly recognized the right to freely criticize the government in 1964. The Court ruled that the New York Times could publish an ad critical of the actions of Montgomery, Alabama police against civil rights protesters. The Court, wrote Jamie Kalvern, "made explicit the principle that seditious libel -- criticism of government -- cannot be made a crime in America and spoke in this connection of `the central meaning of the First Amendment.'"
After John McCain -- the Senator from Arizona -- was released from captivity as a POW in Vietnam, he was asked, 'How did it feel when you heard Americans were protesting the war?' He said, I thought that's what we were fighting for -- the right to protest."
Statements that war protestors, may be, in the words of Article III of the Constitution "adhering to the enemies [of the U.S.] or giving them aid or comfort" ignore the Bill of Rights.
Moreover, the Sun's editors fail to acknowledge that it was Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist group that attacked New York City, not Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda still supports the overthrow of Hussein because he is not an Islamic fundamentalist. By supporting Hussein's ouster, the Sun is actually giving a large measure of comfort to Bin Laden and his terrorist movement.
Civilian casualties from a second Iraq war would likely have the same effect that they had during the first Iraq war. They will enable Bin Laden to recruit thousands of soldiers in his war against the "occupying armies" of the United States -- soldiers willing to die in a much larger wave of suicide attacks.
Read the other 12 myths.
(Thanks, Alicia)
Lies, Damn Lies. And Milk.
A Florida judge decided recently that it's technically legal for the media to deliberately lie or distort the news on a television broadcast.
The decison reversed a $425,000 jury verdict in favor of TV journalists Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, who sued WTVT-TV, a Fox affiliate in Tampa, for firing them because they refused to air false reports about the presence of synthetic bovine growth hormone (or BGH) in the area milk supply. The husband-and-wife reporting team asserts that Monsanto, maker of BGH, pressured WTVT to edit the story to be less damning to the company (some of the changes would've undermined the credibility of scientists and studies that link BGH in milk to cancer). Akre and Wilson refused, despite repeated attempts by the station to have the story altered and an offer to terminate them with full pay if they never spoke of their BGH findings. Finally, says Akre, when they threatened to report the station to the FCC for falsifying news, they were canned. The lawsuit was settled in August 2000 with the finding that Fox "acted intentionally and deliberately to falsify or distort the plaintiffs' news reporting on BGH" and that Akre's threat to blow the whistle on Fox's misconduct to the FCC was the sole reason for the termination. The station appealed and prevailed, the judge citing that there is no FCC rule or regulation that specifically makes it illegal to mislead, distort, or falsify the news. The FCC's "news distortion policy," says Judge Casaneuva, isn't enough.
To download court documents see New World Communications of Tampa v. Akre or visit Akre's website.
Is Bush whacked?
Is the president nuts? Or is he a "dry drunk"? William Thomas--in a somewhat poorly written screed--ponders what's really going on in George W. Bush's mind.
Duct and Cower
The Department of Homeland Security's new terrorism preparedness website, Ready.gov, with all its dire warnings, duct-tape wisdom, and over-the-top infographics, is begging to be hacked. And the reinterpretations are rolling out, from the crude to the sophisticated. One more, and another. Boing Boing offers a few more. (Thanks, Ben.)
Day-Old Heroes
On November 8, 2001, President Bush addressed a group of firefighters, police officers, and postal workers in Atlanta about the tragedy and aftermath of September 11:
We have gained new heroes, those who ran into burning buildings to save others: our police and our firefighters….Those who voluntarily place themselves in harm's way to defend our freedom: the men and women of the armed forces.
By last November, the shine was already wearing off their hero medals: the new department of Homeland Security was founded, giving the White House the ability to strip most union protections, including collective bargaining. Today, things got worse for public servants. Military personnel will lose federal school aid for their children--and just in time for war. And seriously underfunded firefighters are lobbying for more money so they can purchase protective breathing gear needed to survive chemical or biological attacks. And more:
Their radios still can't connect with those of police and other rescuers. They don't have a day's worth of training in how to handle a terrorist assault of any kind, let alone the "dirty bombs"--homemade radioactve devices - the men at the top say could be sent our way.
The 2004 White House budget calls for additional $3.6 billion in homeland security funding for localities who would have to foot the bill for these improvements. Local governments and many Democrats say at least $7 billion is needed. (A war with Iraq, by contrast, could cost $50 billion in direct military costs and $200 billion with postwar costs added in--or about $1,550 per taxpayer.) Is this any way to treat our nation's "heroes"?
• "E-bombs" can fire "millions of watts of energy in microwaves that are able to knock out electronic equipment and the weapons that rely on them"--without killing anyone. So why is the US expanding its arsenal of nuclear "bunker busters", "mini-nukes," and neutron bombs?
• Respected Greek mathematics professor Eugene Angelopoulos, invited to speak at a conference at New York University, was met by the FBI at John F. Kennedy airport and was detained, shackled, and asked if he is anti-American and whether he opposes the war against Iraq. (Real Audio stream)
• A student at a Dearborn, Michigan, high school was sent home because he wore a t-shirt bearing a picture of George W. Bush and the words "International Terrorist."
• The General Accounting Office dropped its lawsuit against Dick Cheney (who refused to reveal information on who advised his corporate-friendly energy policy) after being "unambiguously" threatened with budget cuts by Republican Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens. An unrelated fact: Enron made $6 million in political contributions from 1989 to 2001, more than two-thirds to Republicans.
• The US slapped sanctions on an Indian firm that supplied chemical and biological agents to Iran and Iraq. Presumably, these firms weren't likewise punished. Nor was Donald Rumsfeld, who in 1983, according to the Washington Post, "traveled to Baghdad at a time when Iraq was using chemical weapons on an 'almost daily' basis in defiance of international conventions."
• Quote of the day, from David O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive of Chevron Texaco: "I am talking about the protests that say 'no blood for oil.' The slogan rests on two assumptions, first that the conflict with Iraq is about nothing but oil and second that energy security is not a legitimate reason--even as one among many--to go to war."
• "An overlooked, one-sentence provision found in the gargantuan spending bill passed in Congress this Thursday would relax the USDA's standards on organic-labeling. According to Andrew Mollison of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the clause, snuck in by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) would allow organic labels to appear on meat even for livestock raised on non-organic feed."
• In preparation for US attacks on Iraq, Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition demanding that gas masks be distributed to all Palestinians.
• The Virginia State Senate passed legislation today denying illegal aliens in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.
We, the Dumb
America's marvelous diversity extends beyond the racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic melting pot. Along with our Noam Chomskys, Grace Paleys, and Cornel Wests, we've got our share of dumb people too. Like the 83% of people who in a recent poll incorrectly answered the question "To the best of your knowledge, how many of the September 11 hijackers were Iraqi citizens?" (The real answer: none were Iraqi.) Like the 19% of Americans who think they're among the "richest 1% of Americans" who'll benefit from Bush's tax plan. (They'd need to make over $330,000 per year to qualify). And the 52% of Americans who, despite our crushed economy, isolation from the developed world, and the looming spectre of an unbudgeted war in the Middle East, still think Bush is doing a great job.
I'm counting Jeff Maas of Plymouth, Minnesota, in the aforementioned category. His letter to the editor in today's Star Tribune--with its know-it-all bluster, adolescent implication of the left's ingratitude, poor spelling, and screwy logic--earns him an elevated position:
Just a couple of reminders to all of the Minnesotans as well as all Americans who were out protesting the potential war threat:
One, Saddam Hussein was sitting back laughing at each one of you for being fooled into defending him against your own country. Two, had you lodged the same protest under his regime, you and your family would have eventually been killed.
Your right to protest is sacred in our great country, but remember: The First Amendment only applies in this country because our fore fathers fought for it.
By Jeff's logic, the truest patriots are the protesters--the ones who are actively participating in American citizenship by fully utilizing the civil rights our ancestors fought and died for. Those who shrink from free expression--out of fear of Saddam's laughter or fear of reprisal from tyrants, governments, and Jeffs alike--might be considered, well, dumb. But in a democracy, the beauty is we all get to have our say.
Our Rogue Nation
US plan for new nuclear arsenal:
Secret talks may lead to breaking treaties
The Bush administration is planning a secret meeting in August to discuss the construction of a new generation of nuclear weapons, including "mini-nukes", "bunker-busters" and neutron bombs designed to destroy chemical or biological agents, according to a leaked Pentagon document.
The meeting of senior military officials and US nuclear scientists at the Omaha headquarters of the US Strategic Command would also decide whether to restart nuclear testing and how to convince the American public that the new weapons are necessary.
The leaked preparations for the meeting are the clearest sign yet that the administration is determined to overhaul its nuclear arsenal so that it could be used as part of the new "Bush doctrine" of pre-emption, to strike the stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons of rogue states.
Greg Mello, the head of the Los Alamos Study Group, a nuclear watchdog organisation that obtained the Pentagon documents, said the meeting would also prepare the ground for a US breakaway from global arms control treaties, and the moratorium on conducting nuclear tests.
"It is impossible to overstate the challenge these plans pose to the comprehensive test ban treaty, the existing nuclear test moratorium, and US compliance with article six of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty," Mr Mello said.
The documents leaked to Mr Mello are the minutes of a meeting in the Pentagon on January 10 this year called by Dale Klein, the assistant to the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, to prepare the secret conference, planned for "the week of August 4 2003"...
..."To me it indicates there are plans proceeding and well under way ... to resume the development, testing and production of new nuclear weapons. It's very serious," said Stephen Schwartz, the publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who added that it opened the US to charges of hypocrisy when it is demanding the disarmament of Iraq and North Korea.
"How can we possibly go to the international community or to these countries and say 'How dare you develop these weapons', when it's exactly what we're doing?" Mr Schwartz said...
Obstructing Justice
Ari Fleischer blames the "liberal wing" of the Democratic Party for monkeywrenching the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the US Court of Appeals. "Some Democrats view the lesson of the last election as to go out and to run as far to the left as possible," he said. "The reemergence of the liberal wing of the Democratic party is in full swing, which is making many of the moderates of the Democratic party increasingly uncomfortable." He called the Democratic filibuster an "obstructionist tactic." In fact, what the Dems want is some basic information on Estrada's philosophy as a judge. A reasonable request considering an Appeals Court judgeship is seen by many as a stopover on the way to the Supreme Court.
During Judiciary Committee hearings last year, Estrada was utterly evasive, offering only this repeated phrase on his judicial philosophy: "My view of the judicial function, Senator, does not allow me to answer that question." And: "I'm very firmly of the view that although we all have views on a number of subjects from A to Z, the job of a judge is to subconsciously put that aside and look at each case . . . with an open mind." Sen. Chuck Schumer says that, "By remaining silent Mr. Estrada only buttressed the fear that he's a far-right stealth nominee, a... candidate who will drive the nation's second most important court out of the mainstream." If you recall, George W. Bush ran for president as a moderate, a "unifier not a divider," but has since showed his true colors by squandering the world's goodwill after September 11, isolating key allies France and Germany, insulting the UN and destabilizing NATO. What he did was unite the world--against him, as 30 million world citizens spoke out against his war on Iraq on Saturday. A wolf in sheep's clothing Estrada, too, might be. But to characterize the Democrats' filibuster as an tantrum by the liberal wing of the party continues the Republicans' so-far-successful campaign of pushing the national dialogue further to the right. They convinced the world the media has a "liberal bias." And now they're saying that seeking full-disclosure in judicial nominations is "liberal"? Of course, in the age of Operation TIPS, Code Orange, and the USA Patriot Act, it most certainly is.
Click here to urge your senator to keep the pressure on Estrada and Bush for full disclosure. Or visit MoveOn.org to learn more.
The Political Price of War
British PM Tony Blair's approval rating tanked after weekend protests by 1.5 million in London. His popularity--down 20 points--is the lowest its been in 2.5 years, mainly because of his "lapdog" relationship with Bush on Iraq. His
Australian counterpart, Prime Minister John Howard (like Blair, an ardent supporter of the Bush war machine), watched his approval slip to an eight-month low of 48% following an amazing turnout of peace activists in rallies across the country. Is Bush next?
And now, the numbers
Antiwar.com is keeping a running tally of protest counts from the weekend. I don't mean to fixate on numbers, but I'm wondering when we'll hit critical mass, when there will be enough minds focused on peace to radically change history (or at least the momentum toward war). I hope 30 million peopleis getting close.
Bush wants to do to Germany's economy what he's done to ours
Because Germany refuses to support Bush's preemptive war, their economy should suffer, say administration insiders. The Observer of London, quoting a White House representative, reports that the US will withdraw its 42,000 troops from Germany "for one reason only: to harm the German economy." "Our troops contribute many millions of dollars. Why should we continue to support a country which has treated Nato and the protection we provided for decades with such incredible contempt?" said one unnamed source. Another, in the Pentagon, said "The aim is to hit German trade and commerce. It is not just about taking out the troops and equipment; it is also about cancelling commercial contracts and defence-related arrangements." Yet another insider, echoing Rumsfeld's assertion of Germany's "treachery and ineptitude" said "This is simply not the way to conduct diplomacy at a moment of international crisis." Indeed it's not. Too bad he wasn't talking about Americandiplomacy.
Wage Peace
by Mary Oliver
Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings
and flocks of redwing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children
and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen
and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening:
hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools:
flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music, learn the word for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief as the outbreath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious.
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Don't wait another minute.
What the GOP is doing for unemployment (in India)
A first for an American political party: the Republicans have outsourced their telemarketing to a firm in a suburb of New Dehli. Seventy-five "eager and young" workers in Noida and Gurgaon will be fundraising for the Grand Old Party. Yay for America!
War is Over (If You Want It)
And apparently we want it. Some early numbers from peace rallies worldwide:
1,500,000 in London
1,000,000 in New York
500,000 in Berlin, Germany
300,000 in more than 60 French towns
200,000 in Damascus, Syria
100,000 in Los Angeles
50,000 in Athens, Greece
7,500 in Minneapolis
16,000 in Canberra, Australia
10,000 in Perth, Australia
5,000 in Wellington, Australia
150,000 in Melbourne, Australia,
15,000 in Newscastle, Australia
10,000 in Hobart, Australia
2,000 in Seoul, South Korea
2,000 in Bangkok, Thailand...
Someone's Got to Say It
US Senator Robert Byrd's Senate floor speech from Wednesday, in its entirety:
To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war.
Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing.
We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. Only on the editorial pages of our newspapers is there much substantive discussion of the prudence or imprudence of engaging in this particular war.
And this is no small conflagration we contemplate. This is no simple attempt to defang a villain. No. This coming battle, if it materializes, represents a turning point in U.S. foreign policy and possibly a turning point in the recent history of the world.
This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's -- hit list. High level Administration figures recently refused to take nuclear weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against Iraq. What could be more destabilizing and unwise than this type of uncertainty, particularly in a world where globalism has tied the vital economic and security interests of many nations so closely together? There are huge cracks emerging in our time-honored alliances, and U.S. intentions are suddenly subject to damaging worldwide speculation. Anti-Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion, and alarming rhetoric from U.S. leaders is fracturing the once solid alliance against global terrorism which existed after September 11.
Here at home, people are warned of imminent terrorist attacks with little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur. Family members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of the duration of their stay or what horrors they may face. Communities are being left with less than adequate police and fire protection. Other essential services are also short-staffed. The mood of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling. Fuel prices are rising and may soon spike higher.
This Administration, now in power for a little over two years, must be judged on its record. I believe that that record is dismal.
In that scant two years, this Administration has squandered a large projected surplus of some $5.6 trillion over the next decade and taken us to projected deficits as far as the eye can see. This Administration's domestic policy has put many of our states in dire financial condition, under funding scores of essential programs for our people. This Administration has fostered policies which have slowed economic growth. This Administration has ignored urgent matters such as the crisis in health care for our elderly. This Administration has been slow to provide adequate funding for homeland security. This Administration has been reluctant to better protect our long and porous borders.
In foreign policy, this Administration has failed to find Osama bin Laden. In fact, just yesterday we heard from him again marshaling his forces and urging them to kill. This Administration has split traditional alliances, possibly crippling, for all time, International order-keeping entities like the United Nations and NATO. This Administration has called into question the traditional worldwide perception of the United States as well-intentioned, peacekeeper. This Administration has turned the patient art of diplomacy into threats, labeling, and name calling of the sort that reflects quite poorly on the intelligence and sensitivity of our leaders, and which will have consequences for years to come.
Calling heads of state pygmies, labeling whole countries as evil, denigrating powerful European allies as irrelevant -- these types of crude insensitivities can do our great nation no good. We may have massive military might, but we cannot fight a global war on terrorism alone. We need the cooperation and friendship of our time-honored allies as well as the newer found friends whom we can attract with our wealth. Our awesome military machine will do us little good if we suffer another devastating attack on our homeland which severely damages our economy. Our military manpower is already stretched thin and we will need the augmenting support of those nations who can supply troop strength, not just sign letters cheering us on.
The war in Afghanistan has cost us $37 billion so far, yet there is evidence that terrorism may already be starting to regain its hold in that region. We have not found bin Laden, and unless we secure the peace in Afghanistan, the dark dens of terrorism may yet again flourish in that remote and devastated land.
Pakistan as well is at risk of destabilizing forces. This Administration has not finished the first war against terrorism and yet it is eager to embark on another conflict with perils much greater than those in Afghanistan. Is our attention span that short? Have we not learned that after winning the war one must always secure the peace?
And yet we hear little about the aftermath of war in Iraq. In the absence of plans, speculation abroad is rife. Will we seize Iraq's oil fields, becoming an occupying power which controls the price and supply of that nation's oil for the foreseeable future? To whom do we propose to hand the reigns of power after Saddam Hussein?
Will our war inflame the Muslim world resulting in devastating attacks on Israel? Will Israel retaliate with its own nuclear arsenal? Will the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian governments be toppled by radicals, bolstered by Iran which has much closer ties to terrorism than Iraq?
Could a disruption of the world's oil supply lead to a world-wide recession? Has our senselessly bellicose language and our callous disregard of the interests and opinions of other nations increased the global race to join the nuclear club and made proliferation an even more lucrative practice for nations which need the income?
In only the space of two short years this reckless and arrogant Administration has initiated policies which may reap disastrous consequences for years.
One can understand the anger and shock of any President after the savage attacks of September 11. One can appreciate the frustration of having only a shadow to chase and an amorphous, fleeting enemy on which it is nearly impossible to exact retribution.
But to turn one's frustration and anger into the kind of extremely destabilizing and dangerous foreign policy debacle that the world is currently witnessing is inexcusable from any Administration charged with the awesome power and responsibility of guiding the destiny of the greatest superpower on the planet. Frankly many of the pronouncements made by this Administration are outrageous. There is no other word.
Yet this chamber is hauntingly silent. On what is possibly the eve of horrific infliction of death and destruction on the population of the nation of Iraq -- a population, I might add, of which over 50% is under age 15 -- this chamber is silent. On what is possibly only days before we send thousands of our own citizens to face unimagined horrors of chemical and biological warfare -- this chamber is silent. On the eve of what could possibly be a vicious terrorist attack in retaliation for our attack on Iraq, it is business as usual in the United States Senate.
We are truly "sleepwalking through history." In my heart of hearts I pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not in for a rudest of awakenings.
To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50% children is "in the highest moral traditions of our country". This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time.
What did French wine ever do to Dennis Hastert?
Because France isn't on the Bush-Blair lovetrain to destroy Iraq, Dennis Hastert suggests we impose strict trade sanctions on French wine. Yet another reason to protest tomorrow.
Who's Next?
The Stop the War Coalition's Andrew Murray in The Guardian:
The "collateral damage" of Bush's war drive is mounting daily - the cohesion of Nato, the chimera of a common EU foreign policy (and Blair's fantasy of being at the heart of Europe) and the post-1945 structure of international law included. All of this seems merely to be whipping the US political class into a still greater frenzy of bellicosity. How long before France is officially designated a "rogue state" and Gerhard Schröder becomes a card-carrying member of the "axis of evil"?
International Peace Rally Tomorrow
Tomorrow, the people of the world will tell George W. Bush what they think of his war on Iraq. From Antarctica to Zagreb, hundreds of thousands will gather in 354 cities across the globe. Find one near you and go make your voice heard! (Twin Citizens: gather at the corner of Hennepin and Lagoon in Minneapolis at 1 pm Saturday for a march that will end with a rally in Loring Park.)
Cairo - Cape Town - Durban - Johannesburg - Kigali - Niamey - Rabat - Reunion Island
ASIA/MIDDLE EAST:
Baghdad - Bahawalpur - Bangkok - Beirut - Dili - Faisalabad - Gojranwala - Hong Kong - Hyderabad - Islamabad - Istanbul - Jakarta - Kansai - Karachi - Kharian - Kuala Lumpur - Kumamoto - Lahore - Larkana - Layya Muharraq - Manama - Mandi Bahaudin - Manila - Matsumoto - Multan - Naha - Okara Osaka - Otsu - Peshawar - Qasur - Ramallah - Sahiwal - Sargodha - Seoul - Sheikhupura - Tel Aviv - Tokyo
A Coruna - Aix-en-Provence - Albacete - Alicante - Amsterdam (Hi Mom!) - Andorra - Antwerp - Athens - Barcelona - Belfast - Bergen - Berlin - Berne - Bilbao - Bodoe - Brussels - Budapest - Cadiz - Castellon - Ciudad Real - Cluj-Napoca - Coimbra - Copenhagen - Cordoba - Cuenca - Dublin - Evora - Faro - Girona - Glasgow - Gothenburg - Granada - Guadalajara - Helsinki - Hereford - Huelva - Huesca - Isafjordur - Jaen - Joensuu - Jyvaskyla - Kiev - Kristiansand - Kuopio - Lancaster - Lillehammer - Lisbon - Ljubljana - Lleida - London - Longyearbyen - Luxembourg - Madrid - Malaga - Malmo - Marseille - Moscow - Murcia - Nokia - Oslo - Oulu - Oviedo - Palma de Mallorca - Pamplona - Paris - Patras - Pontevedra - Porto - Poznan - Prague - Puertollano - Reykjavik - Rodos - Rome - Rovaniemi - Salamanca - San Sebastian - Santander - Savolinna - Seinajoki - Sevilla - Shetland - Skopje - Sofia - Stavanger - Stockholm - Talavera de la Reina - Tallinn - Tarragona - Teruel - Thessaloniki - Toledo - Tromsoe - Trondheim - Turku - Valencia - Valetta - Vienna - Vigo - Vilnius - Volos - Warsaw - Wroclaw - Zagreb - Zaragoza
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN:
Bahia - Buenos Aires - Havana - Kingston, Jamaica - Lima - Martinique - Mexicali - Mexico City - Montevideo - Quito - Rio de Janiero - Rio Grande do - Sol - San Jose, CR - San Juan - Santiago - Santo Domingo - Sao Paulo
USA and CANADA:
Akron - Asheville - Atlanta - Austin - Bakersfield - Baltimore - Bellingham - Bisbee - Blacksburg - Bloomington - Boise - Brampton - Butler - Calexico - Calgary - Canmore - Cape C od - Cape Girardeau - Carbondale - Charleston - Charlotte - Charlottesville - Chicago - Chico - Coburg - Colorado Springs - Columbia, MO - Columbia, SC - Corpus Christi - Cortez - Cranbrook, BC - Dallas - Detroit - Durango - Edmonton - Encino - Eugene - Fayetteville - Fi llmore - Flagstaff - Fort Wayne - Fresno - Galveston - Grand Junction - Grand Rapids - Halifax - Hamilton - Hilo - Honolulu - Houston -Huntington - Indianapolis - Jefferson City - Juneau - Kamloops - Kelowna - Kingston - Knoxville - Lancaster - Lansing - Las Cruces - Las Vegas - Lawrence, KS - Lethbridge - Lincoln - London - Long Beach - Los Angeles - Louisville - Macomb - Madison - Melbourne - Memphis - Minneapolis - Miami - Milwaukee - Montpelier - Montreal - Mount Vernon, OH - Nanaimo - Naples - New Orleans - New York City - Newark, DE - Norfolk, VA - North Newton - Olympia - Orange - Orangeville - Orlando - Ottawa - Palm Desert - Parry Sound - Pensacola - Philadelphia - Phoenix - Pittsboro - Portland, ME - Portland, OR - Port Perry - Portsmouth - Prince Albert - Raleigh - Regina - Richland Center - Rolla - St. Augustine - St. Louis - Salem - Salt Lake City - Sacramento - San Diego - San Francisco - San Jose - San Luis Obispo - Santa Barbara - Santa Cruz - Santa Fe - Santa Monica - Sarasota - Saskatoon - Savannah - Seattle - Sitka - Sonora - South Bend - South Haven - Spokane - Starkville - St. John's - Sudbury - Tacoma - Tallahassee - Tehachapi - Temple - Thornbury - Toronto - Tulsa - Vallejo - Vancouver, B.C. - Victoria - Wausau - Waterloo - Wilkes-Barre - Williamsburg - Williamsport - Wilmington - Windsor - Winnipeg - Youngstown
Adelaide - Aotearoa - Auckland - Brisbane - Bundaberg - Byron Bay - Canberra - Christchurch - Dunedin - Geelong - Gisborne - Greymouth - Hamilton, NZ - Hastings - Hobart - Kelowna - Launceton - Lismore - Melbourne - Nelson - Newcastle - Opotiki - Palmerston North - Perth - Rockhampton - Rotorua - Sydney - Takaka - Tauranga - Timaru - Wanganui - Wellington - Whakatane - Wollongong
ANTARCTICA:
McMurdo Station
Give her a daisy instead
The current issue of Mother Jones offers a reason to reconsider roses on Valentine's Day: laborers who earn $140/month in Ecuador's rose industry are coming down with some scary side-effects:
Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and soil fumigants used in the greenhouses are causing serious health problems for Ecuador's 60,000 rose workers -- especially the women and children who sort and package the flowers prior to shipping. In recent years, studies by the International Labor Organization and Ecuador's Catholic University have found that as many as 60 percent of postharvest workers complain of pesticide-poisoning symptoms, including headaches, blurred vision, and muscular twitching. Women in the industry, who represent 70 percent of all rose workers, experience significantly elevated rates of miscarriages. Children under 18, who make up more than a fifth of the workforce, display signs of neurological damage at 22 percent above average.
Today's New York Times follows up with another story on the thorns in Ecuador's rose business.
Impeach Bush!
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark has drafted articles of impeachment setting forth high crimes and misdemeanors by President Bush and other civil officers of his administration.
Terror, Fear, and Product Placement
When the government raised the terror alert level to "orange" without any credible evidence the other day, I figured it was yet another case of blatant fear-mongering. Announcing the change in "terrorism vulnerability," John Ashcroft said vaguely that apartment buildings, hotels, and other "lightly secured targets" could be at risk. Also in danger are "economic targets, including the transportation and energy sectors, as well as symbolic targets and symbols of American power." As one of the most lightly secured targets in America, an apartment dweller, and a frequent user of America's energy reserves and transportation systems, I am deeply frightened.
Maybe I should run out and buy a terrorism survival kit, a silly (and likely useless) conglomeration of duct tape, plastic wrap, water, tuna fish, and other items. More fear mongering. But my real question is: how much did Campbell's Chunky Soup, Chicken of the Sea tuna, Rayovac batteries, and Johnson & Johnson have to pay for this primo product placement?
Electronic Intifada, the excellent website dedicated to presenting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a much-needed Palestinian perspective, has joined forces with veteran peace group Voices in the Wilderness to launch Electronic Iraq.
An Open Letter to Europe
AlterNet and MoveOn.org have teamed up to send a letter to our friends in Europe, urging them to continue their resistance to war in Iraq. The Guardian of London reports tonight that Bush has the backing of the American people to attack Iraq, with 57% of poll respondents agreeing that a war without the UN's support is OK as long as allies like the UK and Australia are on board. Tell Europe these polls are bunk. Click here to sign and send this letter:
We, the undersigned citizens of the United States of America, are writing to ask for your help.
We are already grateful for your principled opposition to our government's misguided and dangerous policy toward Iraq. Despite the deceptive claims of the Bush Administration and the poor coverage of the crisis by our media, huge numbers of Americans have evaluated the facts for themselves and join with you to oppose our government's drive toward war.
Like many of you, we believe that war will not lead to future peace in the Middle East but to more violence and death -- not just in Iraq but eventually throughout the region, as well as in the United States and across the globe. With you, we believe that war will not bring about the liberation of the Iraqi people but visit upon them even greater catastrophe than in the past.
We are doing everything within our power here in America to change our government's policy. However, we fear this war cannot be stopped without strong opposition from the nations of Europe.
We, and the rest of the world, therefore look to you for support in this daunting task we share.
We ask that you attend the antiwar rallies this Saturday, Feb. 15 in London, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Warsaw and other cities across Europe. An overwhelming turnout in the streets will show your governments and the world that Europe says no to preemptive war. Before and after the demonstrations, write, speak out and protest in every way possible.
We ask also that you demand that your governments support the French-German initiative for additional inspections. If your government currently backs the Bush Administration, make it clear that they should withdraw this support. If your government is standing against the Bush Administration, make it clear that you support their actions and call upon them to stand firm.
Finally, we ask that, when the threat of war recedes, you join together with us in non-violent efforts to help the long-suffering Iraqi people in their struggle for democracy and freedom.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we were deeply moved by Europe's messages of sympathy and support. Those of us who visited the sites of the attacks in the weeks that followed will always remember the comfort we took in the letters posted nearby sent from your families to ours.
Today, we need your unity more than ever -- or we fear that Sept. 11 will be only the beginning of a terrible spiral of violence that will engulf the Middle East, the United States and the world.
However, we believe this frightening vision of the future need not come to pass. As former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, who was Commander General of the Allied Forces in World War II once said, "I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
Let this be the moment when the people of the world, for the first time, truly come together to force our governments to give us peace. Please stand with us on February 15 and in the future, as we stand with you.
Dissent = Treason?
As the courts uphold a ban on antiwar protests in Manhattan this weekend, the conservative New York Sun equates protest with treason:
So long as the protesters are invoking the Constitution, they might have a look at Article III. That says, "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."
There can be no question at this point that Saddam Hussein is an enemy of America. Iraq was the only Arab-Muslim country that did not condemn the September 11 attacks against the United States. A commentary of the official Iraqi station on September 11 stated that America was "…reaping the fruits of [its] crimes against humanity." A government employee in Iraq reacted to the loss this month of the space shuttle Columbia by telling Reuters, "God is avenging us."
And there is no reason to doubt that the "anti-war" protesters — we prefer to call them protesters against freeing Iraq — are giving, at the very least, comfort to Saddam Hussein. In a television interview aired this week, Saddam said, "First of all we admire the development of the peace movement around the world in the last few years. We pray to God to empower all those working against war and for the cause of peace and security based on just peace for all." After the last big anti-war protest, the one in Washington last month, Saddam hailed the anti-war protests as proof that Americans back Iraq rather than President Bush. "They are supporting you because they know that evildoers target Iraq to silence and dissenting voice to their evil and destructive policies," Saddam told senior officers, including his son Qusay, commander of the Republican Guard.
So the New York City police could do worse, in the end, than to allow the protest and send two witnesses along for each participant, with an eye toward preserving at least Thus fully respecting not just some, but all of the constitutional principles at stake.
To those concerned about civil liberties, we'd cite the pragmatic argument made last night by, of all people, the New York Times's three-time Pulitzer-Prize winning foreignaffairs columnist, Thos. Friedman. "I believe we are one more 9/11 away from the end of the open society," Mr. Friedman told an American Jewish Committee dinner honoring the chief executive of the New York Times Company, Russell Lewis. His point was that if terrorists strike again at America and kill large numbers of Americans, the pressure to curb civil liberties and civil rights will be "enormous and unstoppable." What we took from that was that the more successful the protesters are in making their case in New York, the less chance they'll have the precious constitutional freedom to protest here the next time around.
Interesting logic: don't use your civil liberties because by doing so you'll support an enemy that will encourage our government to strip even more of our civil liberties. Hmm. Other commentaries on this editorial here and here.
What's Left?
With Republicans in control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, America appears to be in a belligerent, rightwing mood. And while most of the world might complain about the Bush administration or, at most, seek to contain its excesses, only Americans can get rid of it.
Which raises the question: whatever happened to the left in America? What became of the political culture that stopped the Vietnam war, brought about civil rights and very nearly made Jesse Jackson the Democratic presidential candidate? Where are the popular, progressive forces that could challenge the Bush administration from within? Ask leftwingers this - people who have devoted their life to progressive causes - and most of them will laugh. "The left is not a word you mention in polite company here," says Karen Rothmeyer, an editor on the leftwing weekly, the Nation. "We talk about the right, but we never talk about the left."
Wendell Berry: A Citizen's Response to the National Security Strategy of the United States of America
Orion Magazine published this essay by Wendell Berry as a full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times. Read it online, or request a free issue containing the full essay (it's abridged in the ad). An excerpt:
THE NEW NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY published by the White House in September 2002, if carried out, would amount to a radical revision of the political character of our nation. Its central and most significant statement is this:
While the United States will constantly strive to enlist the support of the international community, we will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self defense by acting preemptively against such terrorists...(p. 6)
A democratic citizen must deal here first of all with the question, Who is this "we"? It is not the "we" of the Declaration of Independence, which referred to a small group of signatories bound by the conviction that "governments [derive] their just powers from the consent of the governed." And it is not the "we" of the Constitution, which refers to "the people [my emphasis] of the United States."
This "we" of the new strategy can refer only to the president. It is a royal "we". A head of state, preparing to act alone in starting a preemptive war, will need to justify his intention by secret information, and will need to plan in secret and execute his plan without forewarning. The idea of a government acting alone in preemptive war is inherently undemocratic, for it does not require or even permit the president to obtain the consent of the governed. As a policy, this new strategy depends on the acquiescence of a public kept fearful and ignorant, subject to manipulation by the executive power, and on the compliance of an intimidated and office dependent legislature. To the extent that a government is secret, it cannot be democratic or its people free. By this new doctrine, the president alone may start a war against any nation at any time, and with no more forewarning than preceded the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Would be participating citizens of a democratic nation, unwilling to have their consent coerced or taken for granted, therefore have no choice but to remove themselves from the illegitimate constraints of this "we" in as immediate and public a way as possible.
THE ALLEGED JUSTIFICATION for this new strategy is the recent emergence in the United States of international terrorism. But why the events of September 11, 2001, horrifying as they were, should have called for a radical new investiture of power in the executive branch is not clear.
The National Security Strategy defines terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against innocents" (p. 5). This is truly a distinct kind of violence, but to imply by the word "terrorism" that this sort of terror is the work exclusively of "terrorists" is misleading. The "legitimate" warfare of technologically advanced nations likewise is premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against innocents. The distinction between the intention to perpetrate violence against innocents, as in "terrorism," and the willingness to do so, as in "war," is not a source of comfort.
Supposedly, if a nation perpetrates violence officially -- whether to bomb an enemy airfield or a hospital it is not guilty of "terrorism." But there is no need to hesitate over the difference between "terrorism" and any violence or threat of violence that is terrifying. The National Security Strategy wishes to cause "terrorism" to be seen "in the same light as slavery, piracy, or genocide" (p. 6) but not in the same light as war. It accepts and affirms the legitimacy of war.
THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM is not, strictly speaking, a war against nations, even though it has already involved international war in Afghanistan and presidential threats against other nations. This is a war against "the embittered few" "thousands of trained terrorists" -- who are "at large" (p. 5) among many millions of others who are, in the language of this document, "innocents," and thus are deserving of our protection.
Unless we are willing to kill innocents in order to kill the guilty, the need to be lethal will be impeded constantly by the need to be careful. Because we must suppose a new supply of villains to be always in the making, we can expect the war on terrorism to be more or less endless, endlessly costly and endlessly supportive of a thriving bureaucracy.
Unless, that is, we should become willing to ask why, and to do something about the causes. Why do people become terrorists? Such questions arise from the recognition that problems have causes. There is, however, no acknowledgement in The National Security Strategy that terrorism might have a cause that could possibly be discovered and possibly remedied. "The embittered few," it seems, are merely "evil."
Briefly noted:
• German antiwar demonstrator urges "Re-elect Gore!"
• Of 535 members of the U.S. House and Senate, only one has a child or grandchild in military service, Sen. Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota.
• Last week, Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced legislation repealing the president's "blank check" for war.
• The royal family of Qatar--home to US Central Command in the event of war with Iraq--allegedly helped a chief al-Qaeda leader escape the FBI.
• Sen. Edward Kennedy asks the president: "We will certainly win the war, but how do we win the peace if there are massive civilian casualties, if factional fighting fractures Iraq, if food, water, and medicine are in short supply and millions of Iraqis are displaced from their homes, or if a new wave of terrorism erupts against America as an occupying power, or because of the war itself?"
• Comedian Al Franken: "I love statistics. For example, 1.7 million jobs were lost in the six total years of the two Bushes. If you extrapolate that, if the Bushes had run this country from its inception to the present day, no one would have ever worked. We'd be the poorest country in the world. Numbers don't lie."
• Bill O'Reilly of Fox's The O'Reilly Factor calls Mexicans "wetbacks."
• In a live interview, O'Reilly called Jeremy M. Glick, a signer of the Not In Our Name "Statement of Conscience" whose father was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11, "anti-American," cut the power to Glick's microphone, and later told Glick to "Get out, get out of my studio before I tear you to f**king pieces!"
(All links via BuzzFlash).
The US military admitted for the first time last week that they'll use chemical weapons on Iraq, in probable violation of the same laws they purport to defend.
Celebrate your independents
Shopping at local independent businesses has an enormous impact on the local economy, according to two new reports cited by the New Rules Project of the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance. And shopping at corporate chain stores, as you'd guess, is a suckerpunch to hometown sustainability. Consider the math:
• When you spend $100 at the chain Borders Books & Music, your purchase creates only $13 worth of local economic activity. Spend $100 at a locally owned book or record store and you'll be putting $45 into local circulation--more than three times as much local economic activity. (From the study, "Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study" conducted by Civic Economics)
•Big box retailers actually drain public coffers, while independent businesses generate more tax revenue than it costs to service them.
The Wal-Marts of the world generate a net annual deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet. Shopping centers produce an annual drain of $314 per 1,000 square feet. And, worse still, fast-food restaurants have a net annual cost of $5,168 per 1,000 square feet. To be clear, these chains cost taxpayers more than they produce in revenue.
In contrast, specialty retail, a category that includes small-scale Main Street businesses, has a positive impact on pubic revenue. Specialty retail produces a net annual return of $326 per 1,000 square feet. (From a study by Tischler & Associates)
Mourning in America
Am I inhuman to not mourn the loss of seven human beings who merely went to work one day and ended up dead? I've been having difficulty expressing my thoughts about the space shuttle disaster a week ago, and my own detachment from what is obviously deep suffering for some. I begin with a disclaimer: it's a tragedy; how horrible for the families of the seven astronauts to see their loved ones as an exhaust trail in the sky and know they're gone. While I mourn for those seven intellectually, I don't feel a loss, for I never knew them and I never knew their cause well, except through unscientific cliches (exploration of the unknown void, the final frontier). Watching the endless newscasts on the subject I was reminded of my friend Dave who—callously I thought, at the time--told me of his reaction to September 11: "It's sad, but it doesn't affect me that much. No one I knew died. When they say 'everything changed on September 11,' it didn't for me. Everything changed when my brother died a few years ago." Considering the massive outpouring of emotion for Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy Jr., and the rest, I begin to wonder about America's mourning, what role it serves and what it prevents us from feeling.
It's as if we institutionalize our grief, we collectivize it and present it publicly through mass media, sanctifying it through the ritual of broadcast and, yearning to feel deeply, we make it fake. We shed tears for people we never knew, people we can idealize for the values we perceive they had (although you can be certain they were regular folks with the same struggles and shortcomings as you and me), while at the same time we ignore the death of a neighbor or the truly tragic struggles of, say, the local family one paycheck away from homelessness. We burn out our compassion like booster rockets in the stratosphere of high ideals and imagined nobility, when right here, where it's gritty and real, there's real pain to take heed of.
And we seem to be taking our cues from the media. Sometimes it seems they're not merely reporting news, but suggesting appropriate responses. When the banner headline reads "A Nation Mourns" it's perhaps more an instruction than a documentation of fact. And the instructions are pretty powerful.
Is our grief synched with a news cycle? I consider this even as I write, one week after the disaster, when the press is growing bored with the shuttle story: is there any merit in writing this column now? Will anyone care--i.e. is this newsworthy?--now that we've gone through our "grief" and started to forget?
The timeliness of the story was collapsed: the tears mixed with the wrenching biographies of fallen heroes and big questions of policy and politics. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, John Balzar wonders if the Columbia disaster merited all the questions the media felt duty-bound to ask: "Will President Bush have to rethink Iraq? Will he find it easier to bend Congress to his will for the sake of tax cuts? Are critics of the president once again unpatriotic? Has Bush displayed anew his remarkable leadership? Should humankind abandon the quest to explore our universe?" He offers a reality check:
Is it really shocking to learn that something as risky as entering the Earth's atmosphere from space at more than 12,000 mph results in a fatal accident? From long experience, we know that humans and fast-moving machines are a dangerous mix. Extrapolating from annual statistics, we can estimate that about 115 people die each day in the U.S. from traffic accidents--events that are shocking to survivors and families of the victims but not beyond. What is really shocking are the grandiose generalizations, the repetitive hyperbole and the sheer echo-chamber volume and mass that accompany the periodic blow-up of big news accounts these days.
He's right. The question within hours of the Columbia explosion turned to policy: whether the shuttle program would be scrapped or at least put on hold, how it would affect the president's budget, etc., and within hours the president was on TV in all his Type-A glory urging us to grieve and then get on with it: the space program must continue, these people didn't die for nothing. Whatever real grief existed was being spun, and these deaths were being repurposed--instrumentalized--toward political ends.
But my lack of feeling here isn't mine along. The Wall Street Journal's science writer, Sharon Begley, wrote yesterday about habituation, how repeated exposure to disaster wears down not only our unquantifiable reserves of compassion but our actual neurological ability to be shocked by tragedy. She quotes Northwestern psychology professor Susan Mineka: "In the last five or ten years, we as a society have been getting increasingly accustomed to violence, and unless it reaches the proportions of 9/11, most of us do respond with less intensity than we did in the 1980s. And of course, this is all happening in the context of a probable war with Iraq." Scientifically, what happens is this:
… after an electrical impulse zipping down a neuron triggers the release of neurotransmitters often enough, subsequent electrical impulses are less likely to have that effect. Without the release of neurotransmitters, the message the neuron was carrying ("this event has just happened") comes to a screeching halt just before the synapse. It's as if the string in an old-fashioned game of telephone has been snipped. The information encoded in the electrical signal never reaches the next neuron in the circuit. As a result, downstream neurons, including those that attach emotional significance to the event, remain quiet.
Begley ends up her article with this musing: "Science can explain pretty well why America and the world have reacted as they did to the tragedy of last Saturday morning. But it can't explain whether this muted response reflects a hard-won emotional maturity -- or, instead, a hardening of the heart that speaks ill of us as human beings." What am I saying here? I'm not sure. Maybe simply that we should take the time to grieve. To make sure we feel something first.
Kiss Your Rights Goodbye (Again)
The Center for Public Integrity has published a leaked draft of what is termed by Washington insiders as "Patriot Act II." The White House has denied that such legislation was in the works, and it's effects will be wide-sweeping. NOW with Bill Moyers addresses the issue on tonight's show (log onto the site for pdfs of key documents and transcripts of the show). This is huge. And horrifying. An excerpt from CPI:
Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act
Center Publishes Secret Draft of 'Patriot II' Legislation
By Charles Lewis and Adam Mayle
(WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of September 11, 2001, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information.
The Center for Public Integrity has obtained a draft, dated January 9, 2003, of this previously undisclosed legislation and is making it available in full text. The bill, drafted by the staff of Attorney General John Ashcroft and entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, has not been officially released by the Department of Justice, although rumors of its development have circulated around the Capitol for the last few months under the name of "the Patriot Act II" in legislative parlance...
...Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of Terrorism and the Constitution, reviewed the draft legislation at the request of the Center, and said that the legislation "raises a lot of serious concerns. It's troubling that they have gotten this far along and they've been telling people there is nothing in the works." This proposed law, he added, "would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive 'suspicion,' create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups."
The Sport of War
My two favorite antiwar posters: the president as a runningback with a missile cradled against his chest and his right hand extended in a Heismanesque stiffarm, and as a cowboy riding a bucking missile a la "Dr. Strangelove." Given Bush's macho (yet sporty!) posturing with the UN yesterday--"The game is over" for Iraq, he said--the imagery seems apt. A new website takes the sports-as-war metaphor a step further, elegantly subverting the team logos of three NFL teams in a clever critique of Bush's war motivations.
Jim Lasser, the logos' (re)designer, e-mailed his rationale:
I believe Americans' choices about war are made with little regard to the true pain that is involved. Our 20th Century war experiences have left us quite insulated to the true face of war: what it means to see your home burned, your factories bombed, or your children slaughtered. Though I am not flatly opposed to the use of force, I wish there was a truer national context on which our opinions are made. Sometimes I feel, while watching the excitement with which the media "reports" on the coming war, that we are witnessing the countdown to the big game, rather than the coming tragedies of millions of human lives. Thus, war = sport; another means to entertain ourselves in front of the safety of the television. (And we thought 9-11 changed everything.)
(Thanks Ben.)
UK war dossier a sham, say experts
British 'intelligence' lifted from academic articles
Michael White and Brian Whitaker
Downing Street was last night plunged into acute international embarrassment after it emerged that large parts of the British government's latest dossier on Iraq - allegedly based on "intelligence material" - were taken from published academic articles, some of them several years old.
Amid charges of "scandalous" plagiarism on the night when Tony Blair attempted to rally support for the US-led campaign against Saddam Hussein, Whitehall's dismay was compounded by the knowledge that the disputed document was singled out for praise by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, in his speech to the UN security council on Wednesday.
Citing the British dossier, entitled Iraq - its infrastructure of concealment, deception and intimidation in front of a worldwide television audience Mr Powell said: "I would call my colleagues' attention to the fine paper that the United Kingdom distributed... which describes in exquisite detail Iraqi deception activities."
But on Channel 4 News last night it was revealed that four of the report's 19 pages had been copied - with only minor editing and a few insertions - from the internet version of an article by Ibrahim al-Marashi which appeared in the Middle East Review of International Affairs last September.
King on Vietnam/King Today?
Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
—Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City
Masked Men
Check out this photo of plastic masks of George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein rolling off an assembly line in Brazil. Eerily poetic, eh?
(Via BoingBoing.)
Stand for sustainability. Sit for dinner.
Minneapolis friends:
Elsie's Farm invites you to stand for sustainable agriculture at a special fundraising evening. Join guest MC Jay Walljasper, editor of Utne, for a gourmet meal prepared by French Meadow chef John Grumbles, then join in a conversation with area chefs, farmers, and friends of Elsie's about community-supported agriculture.
February 17, 7–10 pm
French Meadow Bakery and Café, 2610 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis
$15 Donation
For reservations or information, call 612.822.6395.
ALSO: Elsie's is welcoming new members for its CSA (community supported agriculture). As a CSA member, you get a full season's worth--approximagely 18 weeks--of fresh, organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs for $400. Click here for information. (They also offer a $100 "community membership," good for discounts on your farm purchases at the Market, a subscription to the Elsie's newsletter, invitations to Elsie's events, and more.)
Environment in a world of hurt
With so much attention focused on George Bush's war on logic, I mean Iraq, and his record-setting, defecit-spending, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, $2.2 trillion federal budget, it's easy to overlook the quiet and comprehensive dismantling of environmental protections by his administration. From revived plans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to oil drilling to Bush's proposal to exempt the US military from key environmental regulations like the Clean Water and Endangered Species acts, the earth is in a world of hurt. And a little cash for hydrogen-cell research won't be enough to undo the damage.
Mark Hertsgaard, author of Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future and a recent guest on NOW with Bill Moyers (transcript here), writes in the Santa Fe New Mexican that the Bush administration has no environmental policy. It's not even an afterthought. But the real damage the president has done to the environment has come through his "bold" changes to economic, military, and energy policy, and through the interests of his friends:
It's easy enough to say that Bush's approach reflects his and his top aides' pasts in the oil, mining, timber, chemical and electric utility industries. It's likewise easy to understand Bush's actions as thanks for the $44 million in contributions those industries showered on him and the Republican National Committee in 2000.
The question for environmentalists is how to defeat Bush in 2004:
So, will Bush end up paying a price in 2004 for his betrayal of environmental values? His supporters within corporate America and the far right are apparently so blinded by their ideological biases that they perceive little political risk. Paul Weyrich, the president of the Free Congress Foundation, told the Washington Post in March 2001 that things would be fine as long as the body count didn't get too high: "There's a risk with some of the swing voters, but unless something happens where lots of people turn up dead before the election, these issues are not going to resonate with lots of voters." An unnamed senior Republican agreed, asserting that "unless there's a catastrophe, these decisions aren't going to affect a mom in Fairfax."
Read Hertsgaard's article.
by Robert Jensen
Last week at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, I talked with dozens of people from around the world. I learned a lot about the struggles for justice in their countries, but the most important lesson I brought home was about my own country.
The question I thought people at the Forum would ask me is, "Why does the U.S. government follow such brutal policies of economic and military domination around the world?" I thought they would want me to explain the United States to them. But they didn't -- because, I came to realize, they already knew the answer to the question.
In one session I listened to a man who works with the MST, the landless movement in Brazil that is widely considered to be the biggest and most important social movement in the world today. He told us that the people he works with often are lucky if they get a fourth-grade education; many are illiterate. "But I don't have to tell them about imperialism," he said. That they understand. They live with it.
The question that people in Porto Alegre did ask me was simple: What are people of conscience in the United States -- what am I -- doing to stop the U.S. government, especially in its mad drive to war in Iraq?
Those of us organizing in the United States are in a strange situation. Our task is to work to educate the people of our own privileged and affluent culture about what the rest of the world already knows: The United States is an empire, and -- as has been the case throughout history -- empires are a threat to peace and life and justice in the world. There is no such thing as a benevolent empire.
It is crucial that we in the United States who have so much unearned privilege that comes with living in the empire face their question: What are we willing to do to stop our government? What are those of us in the heart of the beast doing to tame that beast?
The United States is preparing for a war in Iraq that virtually the entire world opposes. No matter how brutal the regime of Saddam Hussein, the world understands that even more threatening is the empire unleashed and unrestrained.
The cynical among us say that it is clear that Bush and his boys want this war, and that the war will come. That may be true; there's no way to see the future. But I know that no matter what will come, our task is clear:
We are the first citizens of the empire. In the past, empires had subjects. But we are truly citizens, with freedom of expression and rights of political participation that aren't perfect but are real. With those freedoms comes a responsibility, to use them to stop our government from pursuing a war that will kill and destroy innocents while further entrenching U.S. power in the Middle East and U.S. control over the strategically crucial oil resources there.
We have a choice. We can hide from our responsibility. Or we can stand up, speak up, organize, and join the people of the world in movements to challenge the powerful, to resist the empire.
It may seem safer to avoid that choice, to hide from that responsibility. But I learned one other thing in Porto Alegre: The people of the world do not accept the American empire. All over the world there are movements for social justice that are strengthening, gathering support and challenging power. They are the future. History is not on the side of the empire.
To take the side of the empire is to give into our fear, to cast our lot with the past. To resist the empire is to grab onto hope, to cast our lot with the future. It is literally a choice of empire and death, or resistance and life. This is not about liberals v. conservatives or Republicans and Democrats; both parties are on the wrong side of this struggle right now. This is about a far more fundamental choice.
There is much work to be done on many fronts. One thing we can all do is come out on Saturday, Feb. 15, when people in New York City, Austin and around the world will rally to oppose the U.S. drive to war. Information is available at United for Peace.
If you doubt the importance of this, think back to September 11, 2001. On that day, we got a glimpse of what it will look like if the empire is dismantled from the outside, if the empire continues to ignore the world. But we have a choice. We, the first citizens of the empire, can commit to dismantling the empire from within, peacefully and non-violently, in solidarity with those around the world struggling for justice.
Let me leave you with one image from Porto Alegre, from the floor of the arena in which the closing ceremonies took place. As the conveners of the World Social Forum delivered a final declaration and stood on stage, the sounds of John Lennon's "Imagine" came over the loudspeakers, and the 15,000 people in the arena stood, held hands, moved with the music and sang of a world with no countries, a world living life in peace, a world without possessions and greed.
When the song was over, I turned to an older man sitting next to me. I had told him I was from the United States and we had exchanged nods and smiles throughout the event, but he spoke little English and I spoke even less Portuguese. At that moment, language mattered little. I extended my hand to him. But he rejected it.
Instead, he reached out, grabbed me and enveloped me in a hug as big as that song, as big as Brazil, as big as the world.
"Peace," he said. "Paz," I replied.
We are Americans, but if we choose to resist we are not the American empire. And if we do resist, there is a world we can join, a world that is waiting for us.
Perhaps I am investing too much symbolism in one simple hug. But that moment with that man, that hug in Porto Alegre, was for me the promise of life outside the empire. It was the feel of a future that we can all imagine. It is easy, if we try.
Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, a member of the Nowar Collective www.nowarcollective.com and author of "Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream." He can be reached at rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.
From ZNet.
The Saudi embassy helped smuggle a terror suspect's wife out of the country after she was subpoenaed, providing her with transit and a passport. Let me get this straight: Saudi Arabia is helping suspects avoid prosecution; the 9-11 attacks were heavily financed by Saudis, and Osama bin Laden as well as 15 of the 19 September 11th hijackers were Saudi. And we're gunning for Iraq?
From an e-mail making the rounds:
Early this morning a devastating fire burned down the personal library of President George W. Bush. Tragically, both books were lost in the conflagration. More poignantly, the President, due to his hectic schedule, had not found time to colour in the second one.
From BuzzFlash:
For your consideration, here are 10 non-leftist, non-peacenik complaints against the war in Iraq.
A Metaphor Too Powerful?
A tapestry featuring imagery from Picasso's 1937 painting "Guernica" has hung outside the UN Security Council at UN headquarters since 1985. Commemorating the death of 1,600 Basque villagers at Franco's hands during the Spanish Civil War, it's become a powerful antiwar symbol. When Colin Powell enters the Council chambers on Wednesday to present "evidence" for war with Iraq, the tapestry won't be seen: it's been covered up by a baby-blue banner bearing the UN logo, and no one will say why.
NASA Engineer Predicted Shuttle Disaster
Last August, Don Nelson, a NASA engineer for 36 years, wrote President Bush a letter that began like this:
I am a recently retired NASA aerospace engineer and it is my duty to inform you that our space shuttle astronauts are in eminent danger. Your intervention is required to prevent another catastrophic space shuttle accident. NASA management and the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel have failed to respond to the growing warning signs of another shuttle accident.
After enumerating serious problems with the space shuttle, he requested the president place a moratorium on space shuttle operations until safety measures could be implemented. In December, the White House sent this reply:
I do not think that it is appropriate for the President to issue a moratorium on Space Shuttle launches at this time.
View Nelson's website, nasaproblems.com.
Not Your Father's Gulf War
Forget Shock and Awe, the military tactic the Pentagon planned to use on Iraq in which up to 800 warheads would be dropped two days (the same amount the US dropped over 40 days in the first Gulf War). Now the Pentagon is upping that figure to 3,000 precision-guided bombs and missiles within the first 48 hours alone. That's TEN TIMES the number used in the first two days of the 1991 attacks. This would pave the way for ground strikes called "vertical envelopment" in which troops would parachute into 12 or more sites simultaneously.
Consider the numbers: 6,700 satellite-guided bombs and 3,000 laser-guided bombs are already stockpiled by the Air Force, as many as 50,000 US marines are expected to fight and 25,000 British troops are en route to the Gulf. And there are currently 100,000 US troops on standby in the Middle East, a figure that should swell to 175,000 by the end of the month. As one Pentagon official said, "This is not going to be your father's Persian Gulf war."
Well, Jesus, we're not talking about Oldsmobiles here. Let's consider a few more numbers: According to the CIA, 41.1% of the Iraqi population is under the age of 14. According to Physicians for Human Rights, more than 50% of Iraqis are under age 17. Right now there are 18 million people living Iraq. Not your father's war, eh? Well, it's not the fathers I'm worried about.
Putting the Arms in Armageddon
The US weapons industry gets $10 billion in government subsidies, and in 1999 it supplied arms that were used in more than 92 percent of the world's active conflicts. According to a report by the Federation of American Scientists:
In Fiscal Year 1999, the United States delivered roughly $6.8 billion in armaments to nations which violate the basic standards of human rights... In the period from 1998-2001, over 68% of world arms deliveries were sold or given to developing nations, where lingering conflicts or societal violence [rages...].The United States military has had to face troops previously trained by its own military or supplied with US weaponry in Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and now in Afghanistan. Due to the advanced capabilities these militaries have acquired from past US training and sales, the US had to invest much more money and manpower in these conflicts than would have otherwise been needed."
Our Orphan Vets
Col. David Hackworth writes:
Despite George Washington's wise warning, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation," American vets from our Civil War to Desert Storm have been consistently treated like orphans.
Most recently, more than 161,000 Desert Storm vets have been disabled, and almost 10,000 have died from Gulf War Illness. During the near-decade they spent pleading for help, in pain and dying, their ingrate government kept insisting that their wounds – now proven to be caused by U.S.-destroyed Iraqi chemical munitions and an assortment of other killer cocktails such as oil-fire fumes, untested inoculations and local bugs that they weren't protected against – were "all in their heads."
(Thanks, Mike) | {
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(turc : Yıldırım Bayezıd), en français Bajazet, est un sultan ottoman né le et mort le . Il succéda à son père en 1389 après la mort de ce dernier à la bataille de Kosovo, en se débarrassant immédiatement de son frère Yakub Çelebi.
Son caractère emporté et la rapidité de ses décisions lui valurent son surnom de la « Foudre ». Fait prisonnier par Tamerlan en 1402, il mourut en captivité l'année suivante.
Histoire
Il passa son enfance à Bursa où il reçut la meilleure éducation possible. Il épousa en 1381 la fille du bey de Germiyan, qui apporta plusieurs villes en dot aux Ottomans, dont Kütahya.
Prise du pouvoir et conquêtes dans les Balkans
En 1389, il participa avec son père et son frère à la bataille de Kosovo ; étant mort sur le champ de bataille, Bayezid s'empara du pouvoir et fit exécuter son demi-frère Yakub. Il conclut avec Milica (veuve du prince serbe Lazar Hrebeljanović tué lui aussi) et les dignitaires de l'Église serbe un traité laissant à la Serbie une large autonomie. Il épousa la fille de Lazar, Olivera Despina. Stefan Lazarević, fils de Lazar, devenu son beau-frère et vassal, devait assurer sa victoire contre les armées chrétiennes à la bataille de Nicopolis en 1396.
Entre 1389 et 1395, Bayezid conquit la Bulgarie et le nord de la Grèce.
Campagnes en Anatolie
Dès 1389, les princes turcs de l'Anatolie, notamment ceux des deux grands émirats de Germiyan (région centre-ouest de l'Anatolie, autour de Kütahya) et de Karaman, commencèrent à s'opposer à la dynastie ottomane. En 1390, Bayezid parvint, grâce à la dot de son mariage avec la princesse Devlet de Germiyan, à annexer le vaste territoire des princes de Germiyan. Puis, Bayezid arriva en Anatolie avec des troupes serbes et conquit l'émirat de Karaman en 1397.
Siège de Constantinople
En 1391, il entreprit le blocus de Constantinople, la capitale de l'Empire byzantin. Ce siège fut à la fois terrestre et maritime. Les Turcs ne vinrent pas à bout des murailles de la ville. En 1392, une armée hongroise menée par le roi obligea Bayezid à lever le siège. En 1393, Bayezid assiégea la ville de Tirnovo, capitale de l'Empire bulgare. Après cette campagne en Valachie et l'annexion de la province de Salonique en Grèce, le siège de Constantinople fut repris en 1394.
Pour ce faire, la forteresse Anadolu Hisarı (« forteresse d'Anatolie ») fut construite en 1394 au nord de Constantinople, sur la rive asiatique du Bosphore, afin de bloquer le passage des Détroits aux navires ennemis. Mais l'absence de marine et de canons suffisamment puissants rendit ce siège sans effet. À la demande de l'Empereur byzantin une nouvelle expédition de soutien fut organisée en 1396 avec les Bourguignons. De nouveau commandée par , cette armée de secours fut défaite à la bataille de Nicopolis et les coalisés perdirent le terrain gagné. Cette expédition est appelée parfois la dernière croisade ou encore croisade de Nicopolis. Après cette victoire le calife abbasside du Caire nomma Bayezid Sultan d'Anatolie.
Le siège de Constantinople fut maintenu jusqu'en 1398. L'irruption de Tamerlan en Anatolie obligea à le lever. Le traité prévoyait que Constantinople paie une très forte rançon et qu'une mosquée soit construite dans la ville. Bayezid engagea une bataille avec les Génois du quartier de Galata sur la rive nord de la Corne d'Or.
Bataille d'Ankara
En 1400, Tamerlan, après avoir pillé un certain nombre de villages, réussit à soulever les petites principautés turques que Bajazet avait annexées. Le à Ankara s'engagea la bataille, fatale pour Bajazet qui fut vaincu et fait prisonnier. L'histoire raconte que lorsque Bajazet fut amené enchaîné dans la tente de Tamerlan, il éclata de rire. L'enfermement de Bajazet dans une cage par Tamerlan semble une légende mais il est probable que Tamerlan l'ait gardé auprès de lui. Sa femme et ses filles furent transférées dans le harem de Tamerlan.
Bajazet est mort en captivité en 1403. Selon certaines sources, il se serait suicidé en utilisant le poison dissimulé dans son anneau tandis que pour d'autres, il se serait fendu le crâne en le heurtant contre les barreaux de sa geôle.
Descendance
a eu au moins huit fils : Ertuğrul, Yusuf, Kasım, Suleyman, Isa, Musa, Mehmed et Mustafa (capturé ou tué à la bataille d'Ankara). Les quatre survivants se disputèrent le pouvoir : l'État ottoman entra dans une période de désordre et de querelles de succession appelée « l'interrègne ». Son fils Mehmed lui succéda finalement.
Dans les arts
Antonio Vivaldi a composé un opéra inspiré de l'histoire du sultan, Bajazet.
Georg Friedrich Haendel a également mis en scène , dans son opéra Tamerlano, où lui et sa fille Asteria s'opposent au conquérant timouride.
Tradition religieuse
Bajazet est le premier sultan à avoir initié la tradition de la procession de Surre.
Notes et références
Voir aussi
Bibliographie
Joseph de Hammer, Histoire de l'Empire ottoman (1835)
John Julius Norwich :
Liens externes
Sultan ottoman du XIVe siècle
Sultan ottoman du XVe siècle
Naissance en 1354
Décès en mars 1403
Décès à 48 ans | {
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Gimly M (de) wrote: This was the first film of 2016 that had me hit that "I can't do it" point, and had to turn off. I have a pretty good tolerance for bad movies, being a horror-pundit will do that to a man, but Tape 407 was unbearable.
Jiana W (nl) wrote: Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston are an interesting screen couple. Zahn is Mike, an impulsive but very sweet night manager at his family's Podunk motel. He is instantly smitten when Susan, an art dealer, checks in one night. He awkwardly pursues her and Susan gives in the morning that she departs, sleeping with him in the motel's laundry room. That is all Mike needs, because he falls for her, hard, and decides to visit/follow her where ever she goes. When he discovers that she is living with someone else-- a successful, ex-punk rocker turned dog trainer named Jango-- he travels to her town to win her back. Mike is a sympathetic character that you root for but you also understand where Susan is coming from as well when she rejects his advances. It's sweet and funny. It almost kind of reminded me of "Arthur" a little, except Mike isn't super-wealthy. But he's got the playful, kid-like qualities and a starry-eyed way of looking at relationships that his love interest finds charming but can't fully get behind. It isn't the greatest romantic comedy, or the funniest, but it has some cute, sweet moments.
Ben C (gb) wrote: This was good when I was eight. Inspiring even.
Private U (fr) wrote: I really love Judy Garland and Van Johnson together, they had a really good dynamic.
Julian S (kr) wrote: Never underestimate Batman!!!!!! | {
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Q: Export Stored Procedure Results To CSV I have seen many options for doing such, however most of them involve using bcp or using exec master..xp_cmdshell which I am unable to use on my server (security restrictions).
I was looking at other alternatives, such as calling a powershell script from a stored procedure, or maybe SSIS. Since I am unable to use the above 2 options, what is the quickest/cleanest option, to run a stored procedure and export the results to a .csv file?
EDIT
I get an error of:
Invalid object name 'tempTest'.
When I try this syntax:
Select
name1
,name2
,add1
,add2
,phone1
,phone2
Into temptest
From prod
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail
@profile_name = 'Master',
@from_address = 'haheho12@gmail.com',
@recipients='haheho12@gmail.com',
@subject='CSV Extract',
@body='See attachment',
@query ='SELECT name1,name2,add1,add2,phone1,phone2 FROM temptest',
@attach_query_result_as_file = 1,
@query_attachment_filename = 'CSV_Extract.csv',
@query_result_separator = ',',
@query_result_header = 1
| {
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Subsets and Splits