Split (1)

train · 60k rows

text stringlengths 18 981k	meta dict
or other similar number or hacks. A lot of mods are using these and they are not functional on PTR. Intended change, or just a bug, don't know yet. Have to wait and see what blizzard says about this. This is an intended change to keep the lua engine in line with changes to our game engine.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Der Premio Grinzane Cavour war einer der prestigeträchtigsten italienischen Literaturpreise. Er wurde von 1982 bis 2008 vom Initiator Giuliano Soria vergeben. Hauptsponsor der Finanzierung der Preise mit einem Gesamtbudget von rund fünf Millionen Euro waren die Region Piemont sowie eine Turiner Bankenstiftung. Korruptionsaffäre Im März 2009 wurde der Hauptinitiator des Preises Giuliano Soria wegen Verdunklungsgefahr festgenommen. Dem Literaturprofessor wurden Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder und Misshandlung eines Hausangestellten vorgeworfen. Soria hat die Verwendung von Literaturpreisgeldern für seine private Residenz in Turin teilweise eingeräumt. Die Preisverleihung im Jahr 2009 wurde abgesagt und der Preis seitdem nicht mehr vergeben. Liste der Preisträger Internationaler Preis für den besten ausländischen Roman 1991 Julien Green 1992 Günter Grass 1993 Czeslaw Milosz 1994 Robert Schneider, Carlos Fuentes 1995 Bohumil Hrabal 1996 Kenzaburo Oe 1997 Yves Bonnefoy 1998 Jean Starobinski 1999 Vidiadhar S. Naipaul 2000 Manuel Vázquez Montalbán 2001 Doris Lessing, Toni Morrison 2002 Daniel Pennac 2003 John Maxwell Coetzee 2004 Mario Vargas Llosa 2005 Anita Desai 2006 Derek Walcott 2007 Amitav Ghosh, Pascal Mercier 2008 Don DeLillo Preis für italienische Literatur 1982 Gennaro Manna* La casa di Napoli Primo Levi Lilit Antonio Terzi La fuga delle api 1983 Giorgio Vigolo* La Virgilia Raffaele Crovi Fuori del paradiso Cesare Greppi I testimoni 1984 Luca Desiato* Galileo mio padre Virgilio Scapin La giostra degli arcangeli Antonio Tabucchi Donna di Porto Pim 1985 Sebastiano Vassalli* La notte della cometa Paolo Barbaro Malalali Giuseppe Bonura Il segreto di Alias 1986 Giorgio Prodi* Lazzaro Gianni Celati Narratori delle pianure Luigi Santucci Il ballo della sposa 1987 Franco Ferrucci* Il mondo creato Ermanno Olmi Ragazzo della Bovisa Nico Orengo Dogana d'amore 1988 Vincenzo Consolo* Retablo Manlio Cancogni Il genio e niente Lalla Romano Nei mari estremi 1989 Luigi Malerba* Testa d'argento Stefano Jacomuzzi Un vento sottile Raffaele La Capria La neve del Vesuvio 1990 Roberto Pazzi* Vangelo di Giuda Cecilia Kin Autoritratto in rosso Alberto Vigevani La casa perduta 1991 Giorgio Calcagno* Il gioco del prigioniero Roberto Mussapi Tusitala Ferruccio Parazzoli 1994 – La nudità e la spada 1992 Gianni Riotta* Cambio di stagione Paola Capriolo Il doppio regno Vincenzo Cerami L'ipocrita 1993 Raffaele Nigro* Ombre sull'Ofanto Cordelia Edvardson La principessa delle ombre Salvatore Mannuzzu La figlia perduta 1994 Rossana Ombres* Un dio coperto di rose Guido Ceronetti D.D. Deliri Disarmati Laura Pariani Di corno o d'oro 1995 Luca Doninelli* Le decorose memorie Alberto Arbasino Mekong Francesco Biamonti Attesa sul mare 1996 Mario Rigoni Stern* Le stagioni di Giacomo Paolo Barbaro La casa con le luci Rosetta Loy Cioccolata da Hanselmann 1997 Marco Lodoli* Il vento Paolo di Stefano Azzurro, troppo azzurro Gina Lagorio Il bastardo 1998 Daniele Del Giudice* Mania Silvana La Spina L'amante del Paradiso Alessandro Tamburini L'onore delle armi 1999 Aurelio Picca* Tuttestelle Sergio Givone Favola delle cose ultime Fabrizia Ramondino L'isola riflessa 2000 Filippo Tuena* Tutti i sognatori Luca Doninelli La nuova era Laura Pariani La signora dei porci 2001 Diego Marani* Nuova grammatica finlandese Giuseppe Bonura Le notti del cardinale Manlio Cancogni Il mister 2002 Margaret Mazzantini* Non ti muovere Arnaldo Colasanti Gatti e scimmie Romana Petri La donna delle Azzorre 2003 Boris Biancheri* Il ritorno a Stomersee Alberto Asor Rosa L'alba di un mondo nuovo Clara Sereni Passami il sale 2004 Elena Gianini Belotti* Prima della quiete Marina Jarre Ritorno in Lettonia Andrea Vitali Una finestra vistalago 2005 Alessandro Perissinotto* Al mio giudice Eraldo Affinati Secoli di gioventu Maria Pace Ottieri Abbandonami 2006 Tullio Avoledo* Tre sono le cose misteriose Silvia Di Natale L'ombra del cerro Silvana Grasso Disio 2007 Marcello Fois* Memoria del vuoto Gianni Clerici Zoo Rosa Matteucci Cuore di mamma 2008 Michele Mari* Verderame Elisabetta Rasy L'estranea Serena Vitale L'imbroglio del turbante (* Hauptpreisträger) Quellen Grinzane Cavour Literatur (Italienisch) Kultur (Piemont) Erstverleihung 1982 Ehemalige Auszeichnung	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia" }
filter your search All ContentBoom Research Article\| December 01 2015 A New African Revival Comes to Orange County: The postcolonial cosmopolitan future of evangelism Jim Hinch Jim Hinch is a senior editor at Guideposts magazine and a contributing writer for The Los Angeles Review of Books and other publications. He writes about religion, California, Los Angeles, and the arts. Boom (2015) 5 (4): 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1525/boom.2015.5.4.44 Jim Hinch; A New African Revival Comes to Orange County: The postcolonial cosmopolitan future of evangelism. Boom 1 December 2015; 5 (4): 44–53. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/boom.2015.5.4.44 In 2006, the evangelical Mariners megachurch in Orange County began to incorporate the teachings of Mavuno, an evangelical church in Nairobi, in its mission. Kenyan evangelicals have become leaders in Mariners, and Mariners members have travelled to Mavuno to learn from members there firsthand. This reversal of the standard missionary dynamic—where American Christians bring their style of religious practice to places such as Kenya—has had a profound impact on this suburban California religious community. In the last decade, Mariners has become more involved in its wider community–hosting a farmers market on the church grounds, donating to local charities, hosting intrafaith discussions, encouraging its members to take a more hands–on approach to charity, and becoming involved in political issues such as immigration reform. megachurches, American evangelicals Mariners, Orange County, Mavuno, Kenyan evangelicals, Kent Beshore, Laurie Beshore, Christian Mungai, Kenya, Orange County Recipient(s) will receive an email with a link to 'A New African Revival Comes to Orange CountyThe postcolonial cosmopolitan future of evangelism' and will not need an account to access the content. Subject: A New African Revival Comes to Orange CountyThe postcolonial cosmopolitan future of evangelism Lying in Plain Sight: La Jolla's assemblage of religious art A Boom Interview with California's Poet Laureate: With "A California Requiem" Anthropologist as Court Jester: Civil disobedience and the People's Café What Does It Mean to Become Californian?	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
To strengthen your customer relationships and brand value, Europ Assistance India can support your company and customers during the complete relationship with pre-sales, sales and after-sales services. Our dedicated CRM service operation manages inbound and outbound calls to existing or prospective customers. It also handles the lead, complaints, service requests and organizes appointments with the service network.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Larry Woods wasn't sure what to expect when he was hired as an assistant football coach at Penn in 1994. He certainly never expected to stay on head coach Al Bagnoli's staff for more than two decades as the quarterbacks coach, or to help the program capture nine Ivy League championships, or to coach record-setting QBs like Billy Ragone C'13 (who just wrapped up a standout career in which he won three Ivy titles), Mike Mitchell W'03 (the 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year) and Gavin Hoffman W'01 (the 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year). But, much to his own surprise, Woods was able to accomplish all of those things – making him feel very good about his decision to retire, which he announced earlier this month. Recently, the Gazette caught up with Woods to discuss his 21-year coaching tenure at Penn, why he decided to walk away and his future plans. Why did you decide that now was the right time for you to retire? I've thought about it long and hard. I've been a college football coach for 31 years. I've been here with Al for 21 seasons. And it's just time. I feel like I want to do something else. It's probably an energy level thing. There's so much involved in this game that's changed an awful lot. On the recruiting front and with summer camps – it just gets tiring after a while. It's a great profession and I've certainly made a wonderful livelihood doing it and I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience at Penn. But I just feel like it's time to step away from it. I don't quite have the energy and the passion that I had a while ago. And I feel the program needs more of that than I can give after 21 seasons. Looking back at your time at Penn, what are your best memories? I think there are several things. My first year here with Coach Bagnoli was 1994 and that was my first championship season. That one was special because it was the first one of the new tenure here. The 2003 championship was a pretty special one because, in my personal opinion, it was done in such a dominant fashion. We had won back-to-back championships and I don't want to ever say any season was easy but we were such a dominant team from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Conversely, the 2009 championship was a good one because we ended up having to play four different quarterbacks at some point during the season because of injuries. So from a personal standpoint, that one was pretty special and unique. And then the 2012 championship was a pretty special one as well, because it was the most recent one and because that season had sort of teetered. At midseason, it could have gone either way and I think it was a testament to the kids' resilience that they fought through when things got a little tight. Billy Ragone had such a good year in 2012 and then he got injured in the third quarter against Harvard and it really set the stage for a storybook ending for Andrew Holland, the backup quarterback who came in and played the fourth quarter against Harvard and won and then ended up playing the game of his life against Cornell in the last game of the season. I hesitate to highlight any one two or three because it seems each one is unique but those are the four seasons that stick out. Woods got used to championship celebrations during his career at Penn. Is it nice to leave at the same time as one of the best quarterbacks in Penn history in Billy Ragone? I don't think that was really anything that weighed into it. It wasn't, 'OK, two fifth-year guys are gone, I'm going to have to start from scratch now because there's not one quarterback coming back with any significant amount of playing time.' That really didn't factor into it. It was more my personal feeling on how I felt and the job that I could do. There's a lot of young talent at the position here now and I'd like to think I helped, in some very small and insignificant way, develop that talent to the point that it's at right now. What was it like coaching Gavin Hoffman and Mike Mitchell back to back? That was a pretty good run of things! We won the championship in 2000, we lost to Harvard in 2001 and then won the championship back-to-back in 2002 and 2003. And as I was reflecting back – this was something that had not crossed my mind in a long time – but we were seven points away from winning four consecutive championships and having the player of the year at quarterback at the front end and having the player of the year at quarterback on the back end of that four-year run. That would have been really special. They were both very, very talented. They were direct opposites of each other in a lot of ways. Gavin was a real student of the game from the time he came in here. He came in here with a Division I mentality. He had transferred from Northwestern and really came in knowing how to play the position and, more importantly, how to prepare to be a starting quarterback. Mike came in with a lot of hoopla – he was a highly recruited player out of high school – but he was just the opposite. Not that he was not a student of the game because he was – but where Gavin was a very serious quarterback, Mike was sort of this laid-back, carefree, if-I-make-a-mistake-it's-no-big-deal [kind of guy]. He really, in a lot of ways, had the best mentality you could have to play the quarterback position. He had a great personality and he had a short memory. Woods was a tight ends coach at Penn and an assistant at Brown before returning to Penn in 1994. Do you wish Penn and the rest of the Ivy League teams could compete in the FCS playoffs? Yes. Honestly, I do. I certainly think a good number of our teams that have won championships could have been very, very competitive in the 1-AA playoffs. Would any of those teams been good enough to go to the finals or be fortunate enough to win a 1-AA championship? That I don't know. But I do know that some of those teams I was involved with here certainly would have gone in and be competitive. And it would have been fun to be able to challenge yourself at the highest level of 1-AA. What can you say about Al Bagnoli as a football coach and a boss? Honestly, I can't say enough. He gave me an opportunity 21 years ago when I left Brown to come here. I honestly didn't foresee the opportunity to stay here for 21 years. I thought it would be a place I'd come work for a couple of years and see what would happen. He's had an incredible run, an incredible level of success, and he took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity in 1994 to come here and be an assistant coach. And I have not regretted a moment's time I have been here in 21 years. He's been a great mentor to me, he has guided me through this profession and he's allowed me to be my own person. He's not a guy that ever felt he had to micro-manage the coaching staff. He gives you the resources that you need to be successful and then he lets you go and coach. As long as you're doing a good job and he feels you're doing the right things and you're working hard, he pretty much leaves you alone and he handles the big items that a head coach has to handle. And he has great perspective on things. We work hard and there are periods of time during the season and in preseason camp when we know we have to grind and put the hours in and we have to work hard – and then there's times when he's telling us to get the hell out of the office to get home and see our wives and kids. It really made for a special work environment for me. I can't say enough about him as a boss, as a mentor and as a friend. He's been the best guy I've been associated with in this professional in 31 years of college football coaching. Woods has been on the coaching staff for all but two years of Al Bagnoli's tenure. What do you have in store for retired life? Do you still plan on going to Franklin Field on some Saturdays in the fall? The first thing I'm going to do is go home and hug my wife and walk the dog. What I would like to do is stay at Penn and I would like to stay in an administrative capacity long term, if I can. I'm going to stay with the football program in an administrative role through the summertime. I have no on-field responsibilities once spring ball started. I'd like to stay in some capacity. Penn is my home. I've been here 21 years. I met my wife here. I love where I live. I love the commute in. I love what Penn is about. And I would like to stay here. I'm going to weigh some options and see if I can find something administratively that I can do. I'm young enough where I still have some good years in front of me and some good years of work left in me, and if I can find my way to stay here at Penn I'm going to do that.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Home / Bible Commentaries / Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible/ Hosea Hosea Hosea 8 Brown's Commentary on the Bible When I would have healed Israel - God begins anew by appealing to Israel, that all which He had done to heal them, had but served to make their sin more evident, and "that," from highest to lowest, as to all manners and ways of sin. When the flash of God's light on the sinner's conscience enlightens it not, it only discloses its darkness. The name "Israel" includes the whole people; the names, Ephraim and Samaria, probably are meant to designate the chief among them, Ephraim having been their royal tribe, and being the chief tribe among them; Samaria being their royal city. The sins, which Hoses denounces in this chapter, are chiefly the sins of the great, which, from them, had spread among the people. Whatever healing methods God had used, whether through the teaching of the prophets or through His own fatherly chastisements, they "would not hearken nor be amended, but ran on still more obstinately in their evil courses. The disease prevailed against the remedy, and was irritated by it, so that the remedy served only to "lay open" the extent of its malignity, and to shew that there was worse in it, than did at first appear". Paul says of all human nature. "When the commandment came, sin revived" Romans 7:9. Apart from grace, the knowledge of good only enhances evil.: "So, when God, made Man, present and visible, willed to "heal Israel," then that iniquity of the Jews and wickedness of the Scribes and Pharisees was discovered, whereof this iniquity of Ephraim and wickedness of Samaria was a type. For an evil spirit goaded them to mock, persecute, blaspheme the Teacher of repentance who, together with the word of preaching, did works, such as none other man did. For Christ pleased them not, a Teacher of repentance, persuading to poverty, a Pattern of humility, a Guide to meekness, a Monitor to mourn for sins, a Proclaimer of righteousness, a Requirer of mercy, a Praiser of purity of heart, a Rewarder of peace, a Consoler of those who suffered persecution for righteousness' sake. Why did they reject, hate, persecute, Him who taught thus? Because they loved all contrary thereto, and wished for a Messiah, who should exalt them in this world, and disturb the peace of nations, until he should by war subdue to their empire all the rest of the world, build for them on earth a Jerusalem of gold and gems, and fulfill their covetousness in all things of this sort. This their mind He once briefly expressed; "How can ye believe which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor which cometh from God only?" John 5:24. They persecuted Him then who willed to heal them, as madmen strike the physician offering them medicine, nor did they cease, until they required Him their King to be crucified. Thus was the "iniquity of Ephraim and wickedness of Samaria discovered," yet filled up by them; and so they filled up the measure of their fathers, and discovered and testified, that they were of the same mind with their fathers. In all these things they "committed falsehood," lying against, their King whom they denied, and accused as seditious." For they - (i. e. all of them) commit falsehood Falsehood was the whole habit and tissue of their lives.: "They dealt falsely in all their doings both with God and man, being hypocritical and false in all their words and doings, given to fraud and deceit, from the highest to the lowest." Night and day; in silence and in open violence; "within," where all seemed guarded and secure, and "without," in open defiance of law and public justice; these deeds of wrong went on in an unceasing round. In the night, "the thief cometh in," breaking into people's houses and pillaging secretly; "a troop of robbers spoileth without," spreading their ravages far and wide, and desolating without resistance. It was all one state of anarchy, violence, and disorganization. And they consider not in their hearts - Literally, (as in the E. M) "they say not to their hearts." The conscience is God's voice to the heart from within; man's knowledge of the law of God, and his memory of it, is man's voice, reminding his heart and rebellious affections to abide in their obedience to God. God speaks through the heart, when by His secret inspirations he recalls it to its duty. Man speaks to his own heart, when he checks its sinful or passionate impulses by the rule of God's law, "Thou shalt not." "At first, people feel the deformity of certain sorts of wickedness. When accustomed to them, people think that God is indifferent to what no longer shocks themselves." "They say not to their heart" anymore, that "God remembers them." I remember all their wickedness - This was the root of "all their wickedness," want of thought. They would not stop to say to themselves, that God not only saw, but "remembered their wickedness," and not only this, but that He remembered it all. Many will acknowledge that God sees them. He sees all things, and so them also. This is a part of His natural attribute of omniscience. It costs them nothing to own it. But what God "remembers, that" He will repay. This belongs to God's attributes, as the moral Governor of the world; and this, man would gladly forget. But in vain. God does "remember," and remembers in order to punish. "Now," at the very moment when man would not recall this to his own heart, "their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face." Unless or until man repent, God sees man continually, encompassed by all his past evil deeds; they surround him, accompany him, whithersoever he goeth; they attend him, like a band of followers; they lie down with him, they await him at his awakening; they live with him, but they do not die with him; they encircle him, that he should in no wise escape them, until he come attended by them, as witnesses against him, at the judgmentseat of God. "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. God remembers all their wickedness" Proverbs 5:22. Then He will requite "all;" not the last sins only, but all. So when Moses interceded for his people after the sin of the calf, God says to him, "go lead the people unto the place, of which I have spoken unto thee; behold My Angel shall go before thee; nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them" Exodus 32:34; and of the sins of Israel and their enemies; "Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures? to Me belongeth "vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time" Deuteronomy 32:34-35. The sins, forgotten by man, are remembered by God, and are requited all together in the end. A slight image of the Day of Judgment, "the Day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, against" which the hard and impenitent heart "treasures up unto itself wrath!" They are before My face - All things, past, present, and to come, are present before God. He sees all things which have been, or which are, or which shall be, or which could be, although He shall never will that they should be, in one eternal, unvarying, present. To what end then for man to cherish an idle hope, that God will not remember, what He is ever seeing? In vain wouldest thou think, that the manifold ways of man are too small, too intricate, too countless, to be remembered by God. God says, "They are before My Face." They make the king glad with their wickedness - Wicked sovereigns and a wicked people are a curse to each other, each encouraging the other in sin. Their king, being wicked, had pleasure in their wickedness; and they, seeing him to be pleased by it, set themselves the more, to do what was evil, and to amuse him with accounts of their sins. Sin is in itself so shameful, that even the great cannot, by themselves, sustain themselves in it, without others to flatter them. A good and serious man is a reproach to them. And so, the sinful great corrupt others, both as aiding them in their debaucheries, and in order not to be reproached by their virtues, and because the sinner has a corrupt pleasure and excitement in hearing of tales of sin, as the good joy to hear of good. Whence Paul says, "who, knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" Romans 1:32. But whereas, they all, kings, princes, and people, thus agreed and conspired in sin, and the sin of the great is the rarest destructive, the prophet here upbraids the people most for this common sin, apparently because they were free from the greater temptations of the great, and so their sin was the more willful. "An unhappy complaisance was the ruling character of Israel. It preferred its kings to God. Conscience was versatile, accommodating. Whatever was authorized by those in power, was approved." Ahab added the worship of Baal to that of the calves; Jehu confined himself to the sin of Jeroboam. The people acquiesced in the legalized sin. Much as if now, marriages, which by God's law are incest, or remarriages of the divorced, which our Lord pronounces adultery, were to be held allowable, because man's law ceases to annex any penalty to them. They are all adulterers - The prophet continues to picture the corruption of all kinds and degrees of people. "All of them," king, princes, people; all were given to adultery, both spiritual, in departing from God, and actual, (for both sorts of sins went together,) in defiling themselves and others. "All of them" were, (so the word means,) habitual "adulterers." One only pause there was in their sin, the preparation to complete it. He likens their hearts, inflamed with lawless lusts, to the heat of "an oven" which "the baker" had already "heated." The unusual construction "burning from the baker" instead of "heated "by" the baker" may have been chosen, in order to express, how the fire continued to burn of itself, as it were, (although at first kindled by the baker,) and was ever-ready to burn whatever was brought to it, and even now was all red-hot, burning on continually; and Satan, who had stirred it, gave it just this respite, "from the time when he had kneaded the dough", until the leaven, which he had put into it, had fully worked, and the whole was ready for the operation of the fire. The world is full of such people now, ever on fire, and pausing only from sin, until the flatteries, whereby they seduce the unstable, have worked and penetrated the whole mind, and victim after victim is gradually leavened and prepared for sin. In the day of our king, the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine - (Or, "with heat from wine.") Their holydays, like those of so many Englishmen now, were days of excess. "The day of their king" was probably some civil festival; his birthday, or his coronation-day. The prophet owns the king, in that he calls him "our king;" he does not blame them for keeping the day, but for the way in which they kept it. Their festival they turned into an irreligious and anti-religious carousal; making themselves like "the brutes which perish," and tempting their king first to forget his royal dignity, and then to blaspheme the majesty of God. He stretched out his hand with scorners - as it is said, "Wine is a mocker" (or "scoffer"). Drunkenness, by taking off all power of self restraint, brings out the evil which is in the man. The "scorner" or "scoffer" is one who "neither fears God nor regards man" Luke 18:4, but makes a jest of all things, true and good, human or divine. Such were these corrupt princes of the king of Israel; with these "he stretched out the hand," in token of his good fellowship with them, and that he was one with them. He withdrew his hand or his society from good and sober people, and "stretched" it "out," not to punish these, but to join with them, as people in drink reach out their hands to any whom they meet, in token of their sottish would-be friendliness. With these the king drank, jested, played the buffoon, praised his idols, scoffed at God. The flattery of the bad is a man's worst foe. For they have made ready their heart like an oven - He gives the reason old their bursting out into open mischief; it was ever stored up within. They "made ready," (literally, "brought near") "their heart." Their heart was ever brought near to sin, even while the occasion was removed at a distance from it. "The "oven" is their heart; the fuel, their corrupt affections, and inclinations, and evil concupiscence, with which it is filled; "their baker," their own evil will and imagination, which stirs up whatever is evil in them." The prophet then pictures how, while they seem for a while to rest from sin, it is but "while they lie in wait;" still, all the while, they made and kept their hearts ready, full of fire for sin and passion; any breathing-time from actual sin was no real rest; the heart was still all on fire; "in the morning," right early, as soon as the occasion came, it burst forth. The same truth is seen where the tempter is without. Such, whether Satan or his agents, having lodged the evil thought or desire in the soul, often feign themselves asleep, as it were, "letting the fire and the fuel which they had inserted, work together," that so the fire pent-in might kindle more thoroughly and fatally, and, the heart being filled and penetrated with it, might burst out of itself, as soon as the occasion should come. They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges - Plans of sin, sooner or later, through God's overruling providence, bound back upon their authors. The wisdom of God's justice and of His government shows itself the more, in that, without any apparent agency of His own, the sin is guided by Him through all the intricate mazes of human passion, malice, and cunning, back to the sinner's bosom. Jeroboam, and the kings who followed him, had corrupted the people, in order to establish their own kingdom. They had heated and inflamed the people, and had done their work completely, for the prophet says, "They are all hot as an oven;" none had escaped the contagion; and they, thus heated, burst forth and, like the furnace of Nebchadnezzar, devoured not only what was cast into it, but those who kindled it. The pagan observed, that the "artificers of death perished by their own art." Probably the prophet is describing a scene of revelry, debauchery, and scoffing, which preceded the murder of the unhappy Zechariah; and so fills up the brief history of the Book of Kings. He describes a profligate court and a debauched king; and him doubtless, Zechariah; those around him, delighting him with their wickedness; all of them habitual adulterers; but one secret agent stirring them up, firing them with sin, and resting only, until the evil leaven had worked through and through. Then follows the revel, and the ground wily they intoxicated the king, namely, their lying-in-wait. "For," he adds, "they prepared their hearts like a furnace, "when they lie in wait."" The mention of dates, of facts, and of the connection of these together; "the day of our king;" his behavior: their lying in wait; the secret working of one individual; the bursting out of the fire in the morning; the falling of their kings; looks, as if he were relating an actual history. We know that Zechariah, of whom he is speaking, was slain through conspiracy publicly in the open face of day, "before all the people," no one heeding, no one resisting. Hosea seems to supply the moral aspect of the history, how Zechariah fell into this general contempt; how, in him, all which was good in the house of Jehu expired. All their kings are fallen - The kingdom of Israel, having been set up in sin, was, throughout its whole course, unstable and unsettled. Jeroboam's house ended in his son; that of Baasha, who killed Jeroboam's son, Nadab, ended in his own son, Elah; Omri's ended in his son's son, God having delayed the punishment on Ahab's sins for one generation, on account of his partial repentance; then followed Jehu's, to whose house God, for his obedience in some things, continued the kingdom to "the fourth generation." With these two exceptions, in the houses of Omri and Jehu, the kings of Israel either left no sons, or left them to be slain. Nadab, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Jehoram, Zechariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, Pekah, were put to death by those who succeeded them. Of all the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Baasha, Omri, Menahem, alone, in addition to Jehu and the three next of his house, died natural deaths. So was it written by God's hand on the house of Israel, "all their kings have fallen." The captivity was the tenth change after they had deserted the house of David. Yet such was the stupidity and obstinacy both of kings and people, that, amid all these chastisements, none, either people or king, turned to God and prayed Him to deliver them. Not even distress, amid which almost all betake themselves to God, awakened any sense of religion in them. "There is none among them, that calleth unto Me." Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people - i. e., with the pagan; he "mixed" or "mingled" himself among or with them, so as to corrupt himself, as it is said, "they were mingled among the pagan and learned their works" Psalm 106:35. God had forbidden all intermarriage with the pagan Exodus 34:12-16, lest His people should corrupt themselves: they thought themselves wiser than He, intermarried, and were corrupted. Such are the ways of those who put themselves amid occasions of sin. Ephraim is - (literally, "is become") a cake (literally, "on the coals") not turned The prophet continues the image. "Ephraim" had been "mingled," steeped, kneaded up into one, as it were, "with the pagan," their ways, their idolatries, their vices. God would amend them, and they, withholding themselves from His discipline, and not yielding themselves wholly to it, were but spoiled. The sort of cake, to which Ephraim is here likened, "uggah" literally, "circular," was a thin pancake, to which a scorching heat was applied on one side; sometimes by means of hot charcoal heaped upon it; sometimes, (it is thought,) the fire was within the earthen jar, around which the thin dough was fitted. If it remained long "unturned," it was burned on the one side; while it continued unbaked, doughy, recking, on the other; the fire spoiling, not penetrating it through. Such were the people; such are too many so-called Christians; they united in themselves hypocrisy and ungodliness, outward performance and inward lukewarmness; the one overdone, but without any wholesome effect on the other. The one was scorched and black; the other, steamed, damp, and lukewarm; the whole worthless, spoiled irremediably, fit only to be cast away. The fire of God's judgment, with which the people should have been amended, made but an outward impression upon them, and reached not within, nor to any thorough change, so that they were the more hopelessly spoiled through the means which God used for their amendment. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not - Like Samson, when, for sensual pleasure, he had betrayed the source of his strength and God had departed from him, lsrael knew not how or wherein his alliancs with the pagan had impaired his strength. He thought his losses at the hand of the enemy, passing wounds, which time would heal; he thought not of them, as tokens of God's separation from him, that his time of trial was coming to its close, his strength decaying, his end at hand. Israel was not only incorrigible, but "past feeling" Ephesians 4:19, as the Apostle says of the pagan. The marks of wasting and decay were visible to sight and touch; yet he himself perceived not what all saw except himself. Israel had sought to strangers for help, and it "had turned to his decay." Pul and Tiglath-pileser had "devoured his strength," despoiling him of his wealth and treasure, the flower of his men, and the produce of his land, draining him of his riches, and hardly oppressing him through the tribute imposed upon him. But "like men quite stupified, they, though thus continually gnawed upon, yet suffered themselves willingly to be devoured, and seemed insensible of it." Yet not only so, but the present evils were the forerunners of worse. Grey hairs, themselves the effects of declining age and tokens of decay, are the forerunners of death. "Thy grey hairs are thy passing-bell," says the proverb. The prophet repeats, after each clause, "he knoweth not." He knoweth nothing; be knoweth not the tokens of decay in himself, but hides them from himself; he knoweth not God, who is the author of them;. he knoweth not the cause of them, his sins; he knoweth not the end and object of them, his conversion; he knoweth not, what, since he knoweth not any of these things, will be the issue of them, his destruction. People hide from themselves the tokens of decay, whether of body or soul. And so death, whether of body or soul or both, comes upon them unawares.: "Looking on the surface, he imagines that all things are right with him, not feeling the secret worm which gnaws within. The outward garb remains; the rules of fasting are observed; the stated times of prayer are kept; but the heart is far from Me, saith the Lord. Consider diligently what thou lovest, what thou fearest, whereat thou rejoicest or art saddened, and thou will find, under the habit of religion, a worldly mind; under the rags of conversion, a heart of perversion." And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face - His pride convicted him. All the afflictions of God humbled him not; yea, they but brought out his pride, which "kept him from acknowledging and repenting of the sins which had brought those evils upon him, and from "turning to God and seeking to Him" for remedy". People complain of their "fortune" or "fate" or "stars," and go on the more obstinately, to build up what God destroys, to prop up by human means or human aid what, by God's providence, is failing; they venture more desperately, in order to recover past losses, until the crash at last becomes hopeless and final. Nor seek Him for all this - God had exhausted all the treasures of His severity, as, before, of His love. He Himself marvels at His incorrigible and contumacious servant, as He says in Isaiah, "Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more" Isaiah 1:5. How is this? It follows, because they have "no heart." Ephraim is - (become) like a silly dove "There is nothing more simple than a dove," says the Eastern proverb. Simplicity is good or bad, not in itself, but according to some other qualities of the soul, good or evil, with which it is united, to which it opens the mind, and which lead it to good or mislead it to evil. The word describes one, easily persuaded, open, and so, one who takes God's word simply, obeys His will, without refinement or subtlety or explaining it away; in which way it is said, "The Lord preserveth the simple;" or, on the other hand, one who lets himself easily be led to evil, as the pagan said of youth, that they were "like wax to be bent to evil" Psalm 116:6. In this way, it is said, "How long, ye simple one, will ye love simplicity?" Proverbs 1:22. Our Lord uses this likeness of the dove, for good, "be wise as serpents, simple, or harmless as doves" Matthew 10:16. Hosea speaks of simplicity without wisdom, for he adds, "a silly dove without understanding," (literally, "without a heart,") whereby they should love God's will, and so should understand it. Ephraim "became," he says, like a silly dove. Neglecting God's calls, unmoved by calamity or sufferings, and not "seeking" to God "for all this" which He has done to recall them, they grew in folly. Man is ever "growing in wisdom" or in folly, in grace or in gracelessness. This new stage of folly lay in their flying to Assyria, to help them, in fact, against God; as it follows, They call to Egypt - Instead of "calling to" God who could and would help, they "called to Egypt" who could not, and "went to Assyria" who would not. So God complains by Isaiah, "To Me, thou hast not called, O Jacob" Isaiah 43:22. This was their folly; they called not to God, who had delivered them out of Egypt, but, alternately, to their two powerful neighbors, of whom Egypt was a delusive promiser, not failing only, but piercing, those who leant on it; Assyria was a powerful oppressor. Yet what else is almost the whole history of Christian states? The "balance of power," which has been the pride of the later policy of Europe, which has been idolized as a god, to which statesmen have looked, as a deliverance out of all their troubles; as if it were a sort of divine providence, regulating the affairs of human beings, and dispensing with the interference of God; what is it but the self-same wisdom, which balanced Egypt against Assyria? When they go - (Literally, "according as" they go, in all circumstances of time or place or manner, when whithersoever or howsoever they shall go,) I "will spread My net upon them," so as to surround and envelop them on all sides and hold them down. The "dove" soaring aloft, with speed like the storm-wind Psalm 55:6-8, is a picture of freedom, independence, impetuous, unhindered, following on its own course; weak and timid, it trusts in the skillfulness with which it guides its flight, to escape pursuit; the "net," with its thin slight meshes, betokens how weak instruments become all-sufficient in the hands of the Almighty; the same dove, brought down from its almost viewless height, fluttering weakly, helplessly and hopelessly, under those same meshes, is a picture of that same self-dependent spirit humiliated, overwhelmed by inevitable evils, against which it impotently struggles, from which it seems to see its escape, but by which it is held as fast, as if it lay motionless in iron. As their congregation hath heard - Manifoldly had the message of reward on obedience, and of punishment on disobedience, come to Israel. It was spread throughout the law; it fills the book of Deuteronomy; it was concentrated in the blessing and the curse on mount Ebal and Gerizim; it was put into their mouths in the song of Moses; it was inculcated by all the prophets who had already prophesied to them, and now it was being enforced on that generation by Hosea himself. Other kingdoms have fallen; but their fall, apart from Scripture, has not been the subject of prophecy. Their ruin has come mostly unexpected, either by themselves or others. Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me - The threatening rises in severity, as did the measure of their sin. Whereas "Salvation belonged to God" Psalm 3:8 alone, and they only "abide under His shadow" Psalm 91:1-2, who make Him their "refuge, woe" must needs come on them, who leave Him. "They forsake their own mercy" Jonah 2:8. "Woe" they draw upon themselves, who forget God; how much more then they, who willfully and with a high hand transgress against Him! "Destruction unto them, for they have transgressed against Me." To be separated from God is the source of all evils; it is the "pain of loss" of God's presence, in hell; but "destruction" is more than this; it is everlasting death. And I have redeemed them and they have spoken lies against Me - The "I" and "they" are both emphatic in Hebrew; "I redeemed;" "they spoke lies." Such is man's requital of His God. Oft as He redeemed, so often did they traduce Him. Such was the history of the passage through the wilderness; such, of the period under the Judges; such had it been recently, when God delivered Israel by the hand of Jereboam II 2 Kings 14:25-27. The word, "I have redeemed," denotes "habitual oft-renewed deliverance," "that He was their constant Redeemer, from whom they had found help, did still find it, and might yet look to find it, if they did not, by their ill behavior, stop the course of His favor toward them". God's mercy overflowed their ingratitude. "They" had Spoken lies against Him, often as He had delivered them; He was still their abiding Redeemer. "I do redeem them." They have spoken lies against Me - People "speak lies" against God, in their hearts, their words, their deeds; whenever they harbor thoughts, speak words, or act, so as to deny that God is what He is, or as to imply that He is not what He has declared Himself to be. Whoever seeks anything out of God or against His will; whoever seeks from man, or from idols, or from fortune, or from his own powers, what God alone bestows; whoever acts as if God was not a good God, ready to receive the penitent, or a just God who will avenge the holiness of His laws and "not clear the guilty," does in fact, "speak lies against God." People, day by day, "speak lies against God," against His Wisdom, His providence, His justice, His Goodness, His Omniscience, when they are thinking of nothing less. Jeroboam spake lies against God, when he said, "these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt," whereas God had so often enforced upon them Exodus 20:2; Leviticus 19:36; Leviticus 23:43; Numbers 15:41; Deuteronomy 5:6, Deuteronomy 5:15, "the Lord redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:8; add. Deuteronomy 13:5; Deuteronomy 15:15; Deuteronomy 24:18); the Lord thy God brought thee out thence with a mighty hand and stretched out arm." Israel "spake lies against God," when he said, "these are my rewards which my lovers have given me" Hosea 2:12, or when, "they returned not to Him" but "called on Egypt," as though God would not help them, who said that He would, or as though Egypt could help them, of whom God said that it should not. Sometimes, they "spoke" out "lies" boldly, telling God's true prophets that He had not sent them, or forbidding them to speak in His Name; sometimes covertly, as when they turned to God, not sincerely but feignedly; but always perversely. And when God the Son came on earth to "redeem them," then still more, they spoke lies against Him, all His life long, saying, "He deceiveth the people," and all their other blasphemies, and, "when He, forgave them the sin of His death, saying, "Father, forgave them for they know not what they do," they persevered in "speaking lies" against Him, and bribed the soldiers to speak lies against Him," and themselves do so to this day. And they have not cried unto him with their heart, when they howled upon their beds - Or, in the present time, "they cry not unto Me when they howl." They did "cry," and, it may be, they "cried" even "unto God." At least, the prophet does not deny that they cried to God at all; only, he says, that they did "not cry to" Him "with their heart." Their cries were wrung from them by their temporal distresses, and ended in them, not in God. There was no sincerity in their hearts, no change in their doings. Their cry was a mere howling. The secret complaint of the heart is a loud cry in the ears of God. The impetuous "cry" of impatient and unconverted suffering is a mere brutish "howling." Their heart was set wholly on their earthly needs; it did not thank God for giving them good things, nor cry to Him truly when He withheld them. But, it may be, that the prophet means also to contrast the acts of the ungodly, private and public, amid distress, with those of the godly. The godly man implores God in public and in private. The prayer on the "bed," expresses the private prayer of the soul to God, when, the world being shut out, it is alone with Him. In place of this, there was the "howling," as people toss fretfully and angrily on their beds, roar for pain; but, instead of complaining "to" God, complain "of" Him, and are angry, not with themselves, but with God. In place of the public prayer and humiliation, there was a mere tumultuous assembly, in which they clamored "for grain and wine," and "rebelled against God. They assemble themselves;" (literally, "they gather themselves tumultuously together). They rebel against Me;" (literally, "they turn aside against Me"). They did not only (as it is expressed elsewhere) "turn aside "from" God." "They turn aside against Me," He says, flying, as it were, in the very face of God. This "tumultuous assembly" was either some stormy civil debate, how to obtain the grain and wine which God withheld, or a tumultuous clamoring to their idols and false gods, like that of the priests of Baal, when arrayed against Elijah on Mount Carmel; whereby they removed the further from God's law, and rebelled with a high hand against Him. : What is to "cry to the Lord," but to long for the Lord? But if anyone multiply prayers, crying and weeping as he may, yet not with any intent to gain God Himself, but to obtain some earthly or passing thing, he cannot truly be said to "cry unto the Lord," i. e., so to cry that his cry should come to the hearing of the Lord. This is a cry like Esau's, who sought no other fruit from his father's blessing, save to be rich and powerful in this world. When then He saith, "They cried not to Me in their heart, etc.," He means, they were not devoted to Me, their heart was not right with Me; they sought not Myself, but things of Mine. They howled, desiring only things for the belly, and seeking not to have Me. Thus they belong not to "the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob" Psalm 24:6, but to the generation of Esau." Though I have bound - Rather, (as in the E. M) "And I have chastened, I have strenghened their arms, and they imagine mischief against Me." God had tried all ways with them, but it was all one. He chastened them in love, and in love He strengthened them; He brought the enemy upon them, (as aforetime in the days of the Judges,) and He gave them strength to repel the enemy; as He raised up judges of old, and lately had fulfilled His promise which He had made to Joash through Elisha. But it was all in vain. Whatever God did, Israel was still the same. All only issued in further evil. The prophet sums up in four words all God's varied methods for their recovery, and then sets over against them the one result, fresh rebellion on the part of His creatures and His people. They imagine - Or "devise mischief against Me." The order in the Hebrew is emphatic, "and against Me they devise evil;" i. e., "against Me," who had thus tried all the resources and methods of divine wisdom to reclaim them, "they devise evil." These are words of great condescension. For the creature can neither hurt nor profit the Creator. But since God vouchsafed to be their King, He deigned to look upon their rebellions, as so many efforts to injure Him. All God's creatures are made for His glory, and on earth, chiefly man; and among men, chiefly those whom He had chosen as His people. In that, then, they set themselves to diminish that glory, giving to idols (see Isaiah 42:8), they, as far as in them lay, "devised evil against" Him. Man would dethrone God, if he could. They return, but not to the most High - God exhorts by Jeremiah, "If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto Me" Jeremiah 4:1. They changed, whenever they did change, with a feigned, hypocritical conversion, but not to God, nor acknowledging His Majesty. Man, until truly converted, turns to and fro, unstably, hither and thither, changing from one evil to another, from the sins of youth to the sins of age, from the sins of prosperity to the sin of adversity; but he remains himself unchanged. He "turns, not to the most High." The prophet says this in three, as it were, broken words, "They turn, not most High." The hearer readily filled up the broken sentence, which fell, drop by drop, from the prophet's choked heart. They are like a deceitful bow - Which, "howsoever the archer directs it, will not carry the arrow right home to the mark," but to other objects clean contrary to his will.: "God had, as it were, bent Israel, as His own bow, against the tyranny of the devil and the deceit of idolatry. For Israel alone in the whole world cast aside the worship of idols, and was attached to the true and natural Lord of all things. But they turned themselves to the contrary. For, being bound to this, they fought against God for the glory of idols. They became then as a warped bow, shooting their arrows contrariwise." In like way doth every sinner act, using against God, in the service of Satan, God's gifts of nature or of outward means, talents, or wealth, or strength, or beauty, or power of speech. God gave all for His own glory; and man turns all aside to do honor and service to Satan. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue - The word, rendered "rage," is everywhere else used of the wrath of God; here, of the "wrath" and "foaming" of man against God. Jeremiah relates how, the nearer their destruction came upon Judah, the more madly the politicians and false prophets cantradicted what God revealed. Their tongue was a "sharp sword." They sharpened their tongue like a sword; and the sword pierced their own bosom. The phrensy of their speech not only drew down God's anger, but was the instrument of their destruction. They misled the people; taught them to trust in Egypt, not in God; persuaded them to believe themselves, and to disbelieve God; to believe, that the enemy should depart from them and not carry them away captive. They worked up the people to their will, and so they secured their own destruction. The princes of Judah were especially judged and put to death by Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah 52:10. The like probably took place in Israel. In any case, those chief in power are chief objects of destruction. Still more did these words come true before the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. They were maddened by their own curse, "the rage of their tongue" against their Redeemer, "His blood be on us and on our children." Frenzy became their characteristic. It was the amazement of the Romans, and their own destruction. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt - This, i. e., all this, their boasting of Egypt, their failure, their destruction, shall become their "derision." In Egypt had they trusted; to Egypt had they gone for succor; in Egypt should they be derided. Such is the way of man. The world derides those who trusted in it, sued it, courted it, served it, preferred it to their God. Such are the wages, which it gives. So Isaiah prophesied of Judah, "the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame and also a reproach" Isaiah 30:3, Isaiah 30:5. Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Hosea 7:4". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". http://odl.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/hosea-7.html. 1870.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Six current and former state employees are facing criminal charges in connection with the Flint water crisis. Attorney General Bill Schuette outlined the charges in a news conference this morning. We've learned the defendants worked or did work for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The six are facing several felonies and misdemeanors including misconduct, conspiracy to commit misconduct and willful neglect of duty charges. This is the second round of charges filed in relation to Flint. Now, there are nine current and former state officials facing charges. "The families of Flint will not be forgotten. We will provide the justice they deserve. And in Michigan, the justice system is not rigged. There is one system of justice.The laws apply to everyone, equally, no matter who you are. Period," said Schuette in a news release. Schuette says his investigation into the crisis is ongoing. Based upon the filing of the charges, the DEQ and MDHHS will each be suspending two current employees without pay until further review of the charges can be conducted. Two additional state employees charged are no longer with DEQ or MDHHS. DEQ and MDHHS will continue to monitor the legal proceedings and evaluate next steps as appropriate.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Home » Music » Tuesday Tune: '2112' by Rush Tuesday Tune: '2112' by Rush Posted on November 10, 2009 by John Anealio in Music // 19 Comments Song: "2112 Overture" Artist: Rush Album: 2112 This week we are blessed with the arrival "2012", the latest cinematic masterpiece from Roland "I like to blow things up" Emmerich. When I first read the title of this film, I briefly thought that someone had made a movie out of Rush's magnum opus "2112". Sadly this appears to be another by the numbers world catastrophe movie. "2112" marks the beginning of the Canadian rockers most fertile period. Rush marched through the 70's releasing one progressive rock masterpiece after the other while simultaneously inspiring countless teen-aged percussionists to construct their own 37 piece drum set. "2112" possesses every quality that made Rush such a compelling band: crushing, Led Zeppelin inspired guitar riffs, odd time signatures, muscular drumming, athletic bass playing, and an intellectual, Sci-Fi-ish story line inspired by the writings of Ayn Rand. I imagine that many of you who are loyal SF Signal readers are also fans of Progressive Rock. If so: 1. What is your favorite Rush album? 2. Who is your favorite progressive rock band ? Tuesday Tune About John Anealio (116 Articles) John Anealio performs geeky anthems for writers, librarians, lovers of Sci-Fi, Best Buy customers & robots. His music sounds like John Mayer, Weezer & James Taylor playing Dungeons & Dragons together on their iPhones. Tuesday Tune: 'UFO Tofu' by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones Tuesday Tune: "Chimera Panorama" by Mirage in the Water Tuesday Tune: "Pythagoras Switch" By Half-Acre Day Tuesday Tune: "Day of the Triffids" by 2000AD's Henry Flint Tuesday Tune: "Space Oddity" by David Bowie 19 Comments on Tuesday Tune: '2112' by Rush Michael Natale // November 10, 2009 at 7:00 am // Hands down, 2112. Followed closely by A Farewell to Kings. Dammit. Now I have to go get those albums again. Geddy Lee was my inspiration for learning to play bass guitar, which led me into several bands and more than a decade of great times playing local clubs. Of course that was 25+ yrs ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a much, much younger man. Dave Spencer // November 10, 2009 at 7:15 am // Asking my favorite Rush album is like asking which of my kids is my favorite … in a theoretical world where I have over 20 kids. My standard answer for years though wah always Exit Stage Left. It captures them at the peak of what music of theirs I initially fell in love with. But now I'd have to say that Different Stages takes that prize, which has one of my hands-down favorite tracks (Natural Science) as well as 2112. Oh, you wanted a studio album? Doug Hulick // November 10, 2009 at 10:09 am // I am ashamed to say that I did not even make that link (album vs. movie) until I saw it here. Shame on me. Time to dig out my old vinyl and transfer it over to digital for easier on-the-go listening and memories. 🙂 Paul // November 10, 2009 at 10:47 am // Attention all planets of the Solar Federation John Anealio // November 10, 2009 at 11:34 am // Farewell to Kings is a Fantastic album. "Xanadu" is one of my favorite Rush tunes, especially the live version. It goes without saying that Geddy Lee is one of the greatest bass players of all time. I'm particularly fond of his bass work on some of the 80's Rush albums like "Hold Your Fire". I feel the same way about the Rush albums. I love them all, but when asked this question I'll generally point out less popular Rush albums like Presto and Hold Your Fire. If you haven't checked it out yet, the Rush 3X is a great DVD box set that includes the Exit Stage Left Convert as well as a Show of Hands and the Grace Under Pressure tour. Doug & Paul: Thanks for commenting. What are some of your other favorite Progressive Rock bands? Fred // November 10, 2009 at 2:42 pm // I imagine that many of you who are loyal SF Signal readers are also fans of Progressive Rock. In my case, at least, you imagine correctly. Grace Under Pressure… though I admit to have gaps in the collection on either side of this album 2. What are some of your other favorite Progressive Rock bands? From the heyday: early ELP, Yes, Genesis ("Get 'Em Out By Friday" — now there's an SF story), Gentle Giant, and the fabulous Van Der Graff Generator From the 80's & early '90's: I've always thought of The Cure's Disintegration as great Prog music From the 90's & early 00's: can't warm up to the "new" Prog bands (e.g. Porcupine Tree) — too close to metal for my tastes Current: I'm fond of Post-Rock bands (once again stretching the Prog rock definition), particularly the luminous Explosions in the Sky. John Anealio // November 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm // I'm quite fond of Grace Under Pressure myself. In the Rush 3x DVD there is a concert from the Grace Under Pressure tour. Somewhat unusually, I'm quite partial to Rush's keyboard dominated material. For classic Progressive Rock, its hard to beat Yes' mid seventies albums. I'm also a big fan of the 80's lineup of King Crimson. Porcupine Tree & Dream Theater are pretty metal sounding. I happen to like both bands quite a bit though. For neo-prog rock bands who aren't quite so metal I highly recommend checking out both The Flower Kings and Spock's Beard. Derek C. F. Pegritz // November 10, 2009 at 11:05 pm // Favourite Rush album: you already have it–2112. Favourite prog bands: post-Syd Barret Pink Floyd, Yes, and Porcupine Tree. They're all tied for first place in my book. Greg van Eekhout // November 11, 2009 at 12:55 am // Wow, favorite Rush album … It's hard not to pick Moving Pictures, since it's sort of the quintessential Rush album, and plus it's generally awesome. But I also have a weakness for Power Windows. And Test For Echo. And Farewell to Kings. And Permanent Waves. And Hemispheres. And … and … This is too hard. Dominic // November 11, 2009 at 9:23 am // Is "2012" based on the horrendous Whitley Streiber novel of the same name? Filming "2112" would basically be filming "Anthem", and the very thought might give Leonard Peikoff fits. Favorite Rush album…"Signals". It was my first, and it was like musical peyote to a mind that had been raised on pop music and 8 tracks of Conway Twitty. Favorite prog rock band…does Primus count as prog rock? I like prog rock that crosses over into metal, so bands like Queensryche and Dream Theatre really get my motor running. Mike F // November 11, 2009 at 4:52 pm // I would say my favorite Rush Album is Hemispheres. It's great from start to finish, of course it's about 38 minutes long, but still. La Villa Strangiato is probably their best instrumental. I'll so give a thumbs up to Spock's Beard, Dream Theater and throw in Kansas. Stace Johnson // November 11, 2009 at 7:16 pm // (Hmmm … I posted just after Doug on Tuesday, but it doesn't seem to have stuck. Here's basically what I wrote, though.) Favorite Rush Album: Power Windows, especially the song "Territories". I think Peart's lyricism was at its best on this album. Favorite Prog Rock bands: Rush (of course), Dream Theater, early 90s Ozric Tentacles, Pink Floyd if you consider them Prog Rock. Personally, I think Floyd is in a class of its own. Derek: I actually saw Porcupine Tree open up for Yes a few years ago. It was one of the best shows I'd ever seen. Both bands were in great form. Greg: I agree with you on Moving Pictures. Even though many of their greatest hits are on it, it is just a great album from start to finish. As many times as I've heard Limelight, I still get chills when I hear Alex Lifeson's guitar solo. My favorite tracks on Moving Pictures are Vital Signs and The Camera Eye. Dominic: You can't really go wrong with "Signals". I love Geddy Lee's synthesizer solo on "Countdown". I must have listened to that solo a hundred times. I think Primus counts as Progressive in the same way that Frank Zappa can be considered Progressive, although he's really in a category of his own. Les Claypool actually made a cool power trio album with Stewart Copeland of The Police and Trey Anastasio of Phish. If you like Dream Theater, check out Kevin J. Anderson's Roswell Six project. Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie is singing on a few songs. Mike: I'm actually a fan of shorter albums. I think 40 minutes or shorter is the ideal length for an album. Just meaty enough for extended listening but short enough so it can be consumed in one sitting. I think if artists just picked their 10 best songs and cut out the filler, most albums would be a lot better. I was never super into Kansas, but I'm a giant fan of guitarist Steve Morse, who was in the band for a few albums in the 80's. If you like ripping guitar, check out The Power album by Kansas. Stace: Ozric Tentacles is one of those bands that always comes up in prog-rock conversations, but I've never really heard them before. What album would you recommend. Johne Cook // November 11, 2009 at 11:18 pm // For pure guitar power, I liked Vapor Trails. No keys, no frills, just Prog Rock. My Fave Prog Rock band includes the usual suspects; Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater (and all its variants, such as Liquid Tension Experiment and the DT / Spock's Beard hybrid, Transatlantic), Yes, King Crimson. Cool Johne. I liked Vapor Trails. I haven't listened to it nearly as much as earlier albums, but its still solid. I love all of the side project Prog bands myself. I just Netflixed a Transatlantic lived DVD. I love their first two albums. I heard that they are getting back together again to tour and to possibley record a new album. Matthew Sanborn Smith // November 14, 2009 at 1:38 am // You guys are going to think I'm the biggest loser here, but I absolutely love Hold Your Fire. I think it was their best produced album. Favorite prog rock band is Rush. Maybe Yes after that. John D. // November 14, 2009 at 3:21 pm // [Finally raises hand on Hold Your Fire] Stace Johnson // November 15, 2009 at 2:53 am // @John: for Ozric Tentacles prog rock, I'd stick with the early 90s stuff: Strangitude and Jurassic Shift in particular. The later stuff tends toward trance and dub. I saw them at a club in Tempe called The Nile in 1994 or so. Great show; high energy and an amazing light show. I spoke with Ed Wynne at the edge of the stage after the show, and he was very personable, though a bit of a smart aleck. If you dig those albums up and give them a listen, let me know what you think. Savant // November 18, 2009 at 3:58 pm // Sorry, John: I'm listening to Hold Your Fire right now. And loving it. 🙂 Friday YouTube: That Time Wonder Woman Went Aquatic "WTF?" said Aquaman... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI58kc-sUCY A 2004 SF/Fantasy Movie Calendar 2004 promises some interesting SF and Fantasy tites.... Thursday Video: La Jette I loves me some 12 Monkeys. In fact, I think it's probably Terry Gilliam's best film. I even know it's based upon the French film, La Jette by Chris Marker, but I've never seen the original, until now. Thanks to our series of tubes, you too can watch the original film below. Well, it's really a slide show with narration, Continue Reading → [GUEST POST] Brian Staveley on Bootlegging and Manure-Spreading: The Starting of Sequels After teaching literature, philosophy, history, and religion for more than a decide, Brian Staveley began writing epic fantasy. His first book, The Emperor's Blades (forthcoming from Tor on January 14, 2014), is the start of his series, Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne. Tor.com has been good enough to release the first seven chapters as a teaser. Brian lives on a Continue Reading →	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Vatican 'welcomes' the release of Cardinal George Pell Written by: Giacomo Bruno The Vatican welcomes the acquittal of Cardinal George Pell The Vatican have welcomed yesterday's decision from the Australian High Court to acquit Cardinal George Pell of the five counts of sexual abuse to two 13-year-old choirboys during the 1990s. Roman Catholic headquarters The Holy See (the Vatican) press office released a statement saying they had confidence in the Australian justice system, and that they welcome the decision of his release from Victoria's Barwon prison. "The Holy See, which has always expressed confidence in the Australian judicial authority, welcomes the High Court's unanimous decision concerning Cardinal George Pell, acquitting him of the accusations of abuse of minors and overturning his sentence," they said. "Entrusting his case to the court's justice, Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence, and has waited for the truth to be ascertained." Additionally, the Holy See also maintained their stance that they will continue to prevent and pursue all cases of abuse towards minors. "The Holy See reaffirms its commitment to preventing and pursuing all cases of abuse against minors." Pope Francis tweeted that the prosecution of Cardinal Pell was similar treatment to Jesus. Though Cardinal Pell is not mentioned by name it is believed the tweet was aimed at the cardinal. "In these days of Lent, we've been witnessing the persecution that Jesus underwent and how He was judged ferociously, even though He was innocent," said Pope Francis. "Let us #PrayTogether today for all those persons who suffer due to an unjust sentence because of someone had it in for them." In early 2019 the Vatican launched their own inquiry into Cardinal Pell, but it had been put on hold until a decision was made in Australian court. Despite a decision being made in the Australia High Court, the Vatican is yet to make a statement on their investigation. Photo: grayscale photography of building by Sins S available HERE and used under a Creative Commons Attribution. This image has not been modified. Tags: Cardinal George Pell Giacomo Bruno Justice system Pope Francis The Holy See	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Oh my. This cafe is joining the list of my must-visit recommendations for Tokyo. Hidden in the back of the Minami Aoyama branch of Aoyama Flower Market, the Tea House is definitely worth the queue (we waited around 45 mins). Full of live plants and the flower of the week (peonies, when we visited), the cafe offers brunch/lunch and dessert plus tea. I ordered the Flower Parfait (¥918) and the Kimono green tea with apricot, peach and rose (¥756). The tea came out in a beautiful clear pot, and was surprisingly strong (and a little bitter) for a green tea. I would have liked to be able to add some more hot water to dilute it a bit. But then came the parfait. Layered beautifully with rose jelly (not overpowering), cherry mousse (also nice and subtle but with a great texture), vanilla icecream (mmm, creamy) and cereal (yes, the perfect way to add crunch) it was tasty, pretty and quite filling. Oh and there were rose petals scattered on top too. Swoon. Just being in this space was a pleasure – it's the perfect escape from the city bustle and a chance to be surrounded by beauty. Highly recommended. When I first heard that Petal Met Sugar was selling a dessert called 'Terrarium', I raced to my calendar to find when I could next go to Sydney to try it. Meeting a couple of lovely friends there, we snagged a table out the front and then it was terrarium time! The dessert ($10.50) is a finger lime panna cotta, dusted with cocoa nibs and topped with edible flowers. Let me start off by saying that the presentation was immaculate! This was a work of art, and I certainly wasn't disappointed by the flavour either. The white chocolate wasn't the sugary, sickly sweet kind, but it did add a rich, creaminess to the contrasting textures of the rest of the dessert. The cocoa nibs were almost like a biscuit crumb, super chocolatey but not overly sweet – I think they were my favourite element actually. Hidden beneath was the delightful burst of sourness from the finger lime panna cotta, just as soft and slightly wobbly as you would expect. Combined, a mouthful with all elements made for the perfect balance. So Petal Met Sugar isn't just a pretty face, their desserts are well thought-out and definitely worth a visit. Or two. Ok, so I'm a little … maybe a LOT … excited that the hyacinth bulbs I planted in autumn are sprouting! I've been taking pictures of their progress – I planted 3 bulbs, 2 of which are turning out to be a gorgeous blue/purple, and the last one is still a mystery (although I'm betting white or pink). This week they've grown so much, and even over the course of today the fastest growing one has opened up so much since this morning!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
You are here: Home / Categories / 13 great books to make you laugh or cry. If you're like me, you love reading but never get enough time to read very much! So if you're stuck for some last minute Christmas gift ideas or need a Christmas Santa idea for yourself, I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of 13 great books to make you laugh or cry – books that have kept me up at night. I have to admit to a travel theme which runs through most of them, although there are a couple of surprises which I hope you'll like too. A story about the disintegration of a family set within the collapse of a country. Peter Godwin returns to Zimbabwe from America when he hears that his father is dying. What he finds is a country teetering on violent chaos, destruction and famine – but a country which his English parents refuse to leave. Like all good books, this memoir involves a secret, a fifty year old family secret and an omen – for 'when a crocodile eats the sun' is how the Shona people of Zimbabwe describe a solar elipse – the celestial crocdile consumes the life giving star as a warning that he is displeased with man below. Peter Godwin's writing is astute, informational and moving. This memoir follows on from A White Boy in Africa, but can be read as a standalone. Verdict Loved it. There's not a shred of self pity and it's full of humour and wisdom. Click on the image to buy from Amazon. After living in and travelling around Namibia for two years in 1986 this fascinating, true tale came as a revelation to me. It's all about the power of survival in a harsh but beautiful environment. During World War II two German geologists, Henno Martin and Hermann Korn were threatened with internment. They fled into the Namib Desert where they, "Sought the shelter of the desert in order to escape the madness of the Second World War." In this harshest of places they, along with the dog Otto, eked out an existence for 2.5 years, independent of human society living like primitive hunters, governed only by the laws of the wilderness and their own limitations. Verdict Inspirational. OK so you've seen the movie? Haven't you? The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel? Now it's time to read the book which is a comedy of manners about how different cultures cope outside their comfort zone – in this case in a ramshackle guesthouse in Bangalore. Funny and full of colour it's also an insightful view of old age and what it has in store. Verdict Couldn't put it down. Extraordinary, astonishing testament to the power of the human spirit. How Joe Simpson survived against the odds is told in one of the classics of mountaineering. Not only is it a hear stopping adventure it also touches on great life questions that really make you think. It's all true, about the spirit of a man and the life force that drives us all. There's a movie too – gruelling but you won't be able to peal your eyes off the screen. Verdict Harrowing. I was repulsed and amazed. I defy any mother not to fall to pieces while reading this fast paced memoir. It's haunting, poetic and incredibly moving, capturing the magic of Kenya with all its perceived wealth, its beautiful landscapes, its isolation and drama, and mixing it all up with human tragedy so intense that it stops you in your tracks. I'd give the story away if I tell you too much here. If you've ever been to Africa, or you're a Mum – just read it. Verdict One box of tissues is not enough. We moved to Kathmandu, Nepal when our son was five weeks old. As a severely sleep deprived, breast feeding mother, this book had to be gripping to keep my attention – and gripping it was. Heinrich Harrer, a mountaineer escaped from an internment camp in 1943 at Dehra Dun and headed for Tibet. He was a fugitive with no status and no papers travelling on foot with his companion Aufschnaiter. They arrived in Lhasa penniless and in rags, but were met not with hostility but with kindness, and Harrer became tutor and confidant to the young Dalai Lama. Life in Lhasa and the Chinese invasion are all covered in a memoir that gives a glimpse of another and at that time, relatively unknown world. Verdict For anyone interested in Tibet and the Dalai Lama, this book gives a fascinating glimpse into a once forbidden country. Okay, so I love Peter Godwin's writing and tales of Africa. The life white people used to live in colonial Africa has vanished now, but growing up in Rhodesia in the 1960s, Peter Godwin inhabited a magical and frightening world of leopard-hunting, lepers, witch doctors, snakes and forest fires. A classic, easy to read book that takes you to the heart of a different and vanished way of life. The writing is both adventure memoir and poignant moral dilemma. For me there's nothing like a well written memoir, and if it involves either Asia or Africa, then I'm probably going to buy it. Alexandra Fuller writes about her African Childhood in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia with great wit and insight, relating her experiences of living through a civil war at an extraordinary time with an eccentric family that displayed an unbreakable loyalty to their family farms and Africa despite violence and uncertainty. Verdict After living for many years in Africa I both laughed and empathised with Ms Fuller's memoir, because Africa gets deep into your veins. It's a classic, it's sensitive and it's readable. Back in 1934 and a young man walked from the security of his home in the English Cotswolds to London, and from there on to Spain, tramping through a violent country on the brink of civil war. The book is lyrical and all encompassing, capturing the atmosphere of Spain in an undiluted way. Hygge is all the rage as a lifestyle trend, and I'm always banging on about living more simply on Lifestyle Fifty, so this little book spoke to my heart. Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world and that's down to Hygge, which has been translated as everything from the art of creating intimacy to cosiness of the soul to taking pleasure from the present of soothing things. You know hygge when you feel it. It's like being cuddled up on a sofa drinking hot chocolate with a loved one, or the bright blue of a summer sky. Lifestylers, do you have a book that's on your Christmas wish list or a great book to recommend? Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy a book through one of these links (thank you) I stand to earn a small commission, but at no cost to you. I haven't read any of these but always looking for new titles to read. I'm currently reading 'Nest' by Queensland author Inga Simpson. Evocative and just waiting for the twist that I think is coming! FAAAAAAABULOUS!! My Xmas gift dreams come true 😀 They all sound good – and weirdly, I haven't read ANY of them yet!! Hope Santa's reading this, haha!! Apart from text books for my business studies, I only read two books last year. I'm determined to make more time for reading next year. I might need to start with your list! Hi Raych, I get you on the time thing. For me there has to be quiet space for reading books that aren't associated with blogging or online entrepreneurship. Somehow have to make a plan to make that time available. Looks like I've got a few books to add to my must-read reading list. My latest favourite book was one from our local library – A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar – by Suzanne Joinson – a mixture of a diary from the past and a modern day young woman. Fabulous writing and a great read. I really enjoyed it. Last year I did a reading challenge – 13 books on various topics. It was a great way to direct my reading. One of my favourite past-times on the summer school holidays when I was a kid was laying on the passage floor reading. It was the coolest spot in the house. Happy holiday reading! Hi Jill, oh that's a book for my list. Sounds great. 13 books on various topics would be a good way to direct and expand your reading – I need to do something like that. It's all too easy to get sidetracked by the internet these days. 'The Light Between Oceans' was one of those books for me too, will re read this summer. Thanks for a varied and interesting list. Many you have featured are in genres I don't usually explore but I am now inspired. Can't say I've read any of these!! Haven't even heard of half of them. I am now clued in. Thanks! Haha Min! I know exactly what you mean. I did practically the same. During our cruise, a rather long one, I read just one book! I'm looking forward to reading that book Jean. One box of tissues or two? You've talked about that book before Janet – I think I'm going to have to check it out! And fair enough, reading tastes are often very different. Oh I'm loving book round up posts! I'm putting together a list of books to read/borrow over my break so I'm getting great ideas. Hi Vanessa, glad you're getting some good ideas. Enjoy your Christmas break and happy reading! Some great reads here Jo and just in time for the holiday season. I love discovering new authors and there are quite a few here that I haven't heard of. Thanks! That Hygge is everywhere at the moment….I've just started The Dry…. Fantastic Jo! I am in need of some holiday reading matter. I can see a real African theme going on in these books. Is there a reason for this? I saw the movie "Light Between The Oceans" with a friend recently and it was a real tear jerker. The movie was filmed in Stanley, Tasmania so I was interested to see it in the movie set back in the early 1900s. Thanks I will definitely try to read some of these over Christmas when I'm not blogging! Happy reading when you're not blogging this Christmas Kathy! Yep, a definite African theme, probably because we lived there for quite a few years. I'm tossing up whether to watch Light Between Oceans first or read the book, which I think I should really. I suspected it would be a tear jerker just from the movie trailer!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
east cosmos events - come join us! Join us at exclusive events at coast by east Hamburg in our unique location. In the mean time HafenCity has become a lively district hosting numerous events a year. Don't miss the docking process of gigantic cruise liners like Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, MS Europe, Mein Schiff and many more. Our east restaurant in St.Pauli transforms into one of the most exceptional party locations in Hamburg multiple times a year. For these occasions the restaurants floor converts into a dance floor while the sushi counter transmutes into a DJ console and cocktail bar. Come by and join us at these events!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Finish the quest Grind (or quest Grind (Remix)). Lulu Lvl. 2 - Greassmonkeys 2 - Consumable Items have -10 Appetite (minimum 0%)! These drops only drop in PizzaWitch and BurgerNinja missions. Cici drops a package of mystery food!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
A far from complicated policy minimizing or limiting out-of-pocket financial risks. Health insurance policies often exclude or limit coverage for third party reproduction, including egg donation and surrogacy.With this Egg Donor and Recipient coverage in place, any expenses related to the complications from an egg donor retrieval and embryo transfer do not have to be paid out-of-pocket. YOU HAVE OPTIONS – Plans can be purchased for Donor only, Recipient only, or Donor and Recipient with a variety of coverage options. COVERAGE PERIOD – Coverage begins at start date of medication and continues through four months. CHOICE OF PROVIDERS – No network of providers allows the client to choose their preferred provider and the plan will cover any hospital, clinic, or physician nationwide. PREVENT A LAPSE IN COVERAGE –An insurance that protects everyone involved (Intended Parents, Egg Donors, and Gestational Carriers) to prevent any lapse in coverage in the event of any egg retrieval or embryo transfer complications. REDUCE OUT-OF-POCKET FINANCIAL RISKS – With zero deductibles and policy limits ranging from $100,000 – $1M, the small premium paid for coverage can prevent personal risks of claims totaling $150,000 and upwards. COMPETITIVE PRICING – Insurance coverage is competitively priced.Given that UFI/ART Risk Solutions shares about 35% of the market, our clients agree. OUR GUIDELINES GO ABOVE THAT SUGGESTED BY ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) – ASRM recommends six cycles and underwriter, Universal Family Insurance has approved on average 8-9+ cycles. EASY APPLICATION PROCESS– Simple, online application process for applicants; no need for lengthy forms or time needed to complete the enrollment process. EXPERTISE – ART Risk Solutions has been placing policies since 2010.$1.6M has been paid out in claims since 2011 by Universal Family Insurance and approximately 2600 EggDonor and Recipient polices are put in place yearly by ART Risk. Our expertise in finding the right coverage for our clients that lowers their financial risk should a complication arise, only allows for more peace of mind for all involved. Egg Donor and Recipient Complications Insurance is provided by Universal Family Insurance and backed by Lloyd's of London, rated at A+ superior. All insurance plans are brokered by ART Risk Financial & Insurance Solutions, Inc.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
The Landings is a gated community in Fort Myers that provides perfect amenities that support the lifestyle of people who are into yachting. The community is the ideal location for you if you wish to buy property in a location that allows you to be a member of local social yacht clubs. The Intracoastal Waterway of Fort Myers is the place where you'll find the gated community. The master-planned community has a country club, which you become a member of immediately after buying a house and becoming one of the local homeowners. At the country club, you're entitled to amenities that include boating, tennis and golf. The gated community is established on 200 acres. The community thrived in a part of the country that was renowned for boasting the most productive farm for growing flowers. The area has enough space for 1,200 residential properties. Some of the residential properties here that you can buy or rent include condominiums, villas, townhomes and single-family homes. Luxury high-rise buildings are also available at The Landings.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
There have been builders in next door for the last three weeks, hammering, drilling, sawing, shouting and generally being aurally annoying. They promise to be around for another three weeks at least. When I'm at home, I cover their noise by providing some sounds of my own. Very loud music emanates from the rectory, as we are kind of isolated, apart from our immediate neighbours with the challenging builders. It doesn't disturb anyone, except our children, who come to me and tell me to turn my music down. Surely there is something wrong with the children of today, when they have to tell their parents off for playing music too loud? My musical background session ended with the Chancellor of the Exchequer's (and wannabe Prime Minister?) favourite, the Artic Monkeys. Does he really like waking up to them, or was he just trying to be trendy? Unlike me, of course, who genuinely does like them. Honestly. Ruth is right. Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich the famous Russian composer and musical genius of the Soviet era was born on 25 September (and according to the Orthodox Church's Julian calandar on September 12) 1906 and died on 9 August 1975 of lung cancer. I agree with Mrs GadjetVicar that we can really feel the depth of sadness in some of his music. But who can blame him for that considering that his music during Stalin's time was regularly banned by the authorities and twice officially dennounced in 1936 and 1948 even though he received a number of state awards in later years. The sadness in his music also comes from the fact that he felt suicidal when political pressure forced to join the Communist Party and later served in the Supreme Soviet. Dmitri Shostakovich was also an outspoken critic of anti-semitism and used his music to convey the pain, suffering, oppression and persecution the Jewish people have faced and his Thirteenth Symphony commemorates the massacre of the Jews during the Second World War at Babi Yar. Artic Monkeys david? i didnt know u had it in you :P If your bored u should have a look at my bands site www.myspace.com/therockpaperscissorsmusic sublimable messages "goto the site" did u hear that voice? "goto the site!" Yesterday I was talking of the Thirteenth Symphony, also known as the Babi Yar Symphony, the subject of anti-Semitism and one of the saddest symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich. It is set amidst a number of poems on anti-semitism by Yevgeny Yevtushenko and commemorates the Babi Yar massacre of more than 30,000 Jews in the Soviet Union who were shot by the Nazis at Babi Yar ravine near Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, during the Second World War. Thank you for mentioning Scott Matthews. I'd never heard of him before but Mr Jeff Buckley (the voice, the lyrics, the music...) was always very special. Been listening to Mr Matthews this morning and am very impressed so far... . Thank you! God bless... .	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
For those of you out there who are planning on starting your own business, we want you to know this kind of venture is not as easy as simply financing it and so some selling, no matter what kind of business you think of having. Having a business is not something that you can take lightly, especially if you invest in it your hard-earned money, as you are expected to make it grow and become successful. You have to bear in mind all the time that the money you will invest in your business is not a small a sum that even though you lose it, you will not bother recovering it or thinking too much about it. Instead, it will be a large amount that losing it will not do you any good. You can actually say that this is the primary reason why you have to ensure you are protecting the security of your business. What you can do best with regards to this matter at hand is to hire the service of a business law attorney who will not only help you get started with your plan, but also assist you all throughout the life of your business. There are lots of things that business law attorneys can do for you like they can help you secure important legal documents such as permits and the likes as you start your business in order for you to become fully operational without fearing the possibility of closing down due to a violation committed. Not only that, it has been said as well that business law attorneys will make it a point to educate you and your business partners properly and appropriately regarding the different laws and how to oblige to all of them. It is also the job of a business law attorney to help you deal with your clients, your customers and your business partners as well in secure way. They will extend their helping hand to you in terms of guiding you in the different contracts that are involved and even educate you about the different taxes and other fees which you need to comply with. Furthermore, business law attorneys also educate you about the Uniform Commercial Code, Competition Law, Financial Regulation and everything else that you should be aware of. It has been said as well that business law attorneys ensure that you are creating a secure and effective contract between you and your employees as a way to ensure that they will not turn against you and your business. Securing your satisfaction and your employees too are what they always mean to achieve. The bottom line here is that business law attorneys are important your business because of the things that they are capable of doing to help make it grow and prosper.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
If you're searching for cheap Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home , We are pleased to offer a large selection of affordable Entry & Mudroom Furniture and sofas & loveseats, coffee tables, daybeds, display cabinets, hall trees, including products from top name brands, visit us in-store to see all the fantastic products we have to offer! take a good look at the Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home reviews, There are still many other products in our website Get more style for less money when you buy Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home on sale, News just in! Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home 20 per cent off all Entry & Mudroom Furniture from today and over Black Friday week. Visit us stores, and make us your one stop shop for all of your discount Entry & Mudroom Furniture needs. we recommend the best places to buy Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home online, Happy shopping friends! I hope you find something you love! Thanks so much for stopping! 50% OFF sofas & loveseats, coffee tables, daybeds, display cabinets, hall trees, Coupon Code. I love my this . This one is beautiful and well crafted. It smells very good. Everything fits perfectly. This is a very good quality item. Love this Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home Entry & Mudroom Furniture for the quality. Everyone thinks I pick out the best , well it's true. Fast shipping and Arrived just as pictured. Love it and great deal, Happy for the amount paid. Buying Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home is a large investment that affects how your home looks and feels. That is why it is important to look around to find the best Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home for your home and your budget. Keep reading for some easy tips to help you find the right Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home for you. Learn to recognize different quality of woods. Some Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home is made from solid wood, which is a lot more expensive and fragile. Veneers are basically made from a low quality wood base covered in layers of real wood. The cheapest wood Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home you will find is made from resin, plastic and wood scraps. Kailani Navy/Green Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug Beachcrest Home.. Fast delivery!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
These Healing Hypnosis Scripts make the connection between your mind and your body. Your mind works on two levels, the conscious and the unconscious. Your conscious mind appears to decide what you eat, how much you exercise, what you choose to think about. But in reality, your unconscious mind is actually in control. That is where your fears and habits originate. That is where you hold your beliefs about who you are, what others think of you, and what you deserve. Your surface behavior is actually based on hidden needs and triggers. These Healing Hypnosis Scripts work by letting your mind relax its guard, and open up to healing suggestions. They help people with health problems by replacing unconscious instructions hidden in their own mind. Healing Hypnosis can make startling improvements to your quality of life. Healing Hypnosis Scripts can change how you think, how you feel, and really make a difference. This Eczema Psoriasis Hypnosis script gives a natural option for some chronic skin problems. Your skin is very sensitive to psychological influence. Long term skin problems are usually the result of stress. Your worries show in your skin. Remove the cause of the stress and the skin rapidly heals. Asthma Control script shows how to use metaphor to control psychological reactions to stress. You can use this technique as a model to apply to other psychosomatic problems. How to get your child to eat anything. This healing hypnosis script uses the child's imagination and their love of a good story to avoid battles at mealtimes. Get your child back to normal eating. Recovering from Miscarriage script gives a gentle way for a woman to re-interpret what happened to her. The script prepares her to try again and feel good about herself. Harmony fertility script gives the woman a way to reconcile conflicting parts of her body. Sometimes a woman feels as if there is a barrier in her mind stopping her getting pregnant. This script takes her into her own unconscious mind and works out a way to keep all parts of her happy. A script to rewrite your life. Create a metaphor of your life in the form of a fairy tale. By working through your fairy tale you will find the magic to change. Nail biting is a common outcome from anxiety. This script lets you end nail biting. It uses a mixture of hypnotic techniques to ensure that all triggers for the nail biting are neutralized. Grief is a natural and normal response to the loss of a loved one. Loss can trigger an inappropriate behavior. It can be regret at not having done or said something. It can be guilt. It be just a feeling of lack of completion. Healing Hypnosis Scripts to let go of the past. We all have an inner child, and if that child is unhappy then we are unhappy too. Nothing will seem right until that inner child is released from the prison inside us. This exercise allows you to get in touch with your own inner child and arrange the release. Once you discover that you actually have some conscious control over your internal movements, your are much more willing to accept the idea that you can manage your own care and learn to get well. This is reinforced in the Personal Ability direct suggestion section. Many people faint at the sight of blood. This properly called Blood Needle Phobia. This is not actually a phobia. It is a physical response to blood. It can also be triggered by any medical procedure, or just the thought of one. You can learn to control your level of anxiety. Anxiety Control can reduce your anxiety whenever you need. Just knowing that you are able to let go of stress, to control how you feel, moment to moment is wonderfully effective at controlling anxiety. Imagine planting all your worries in a magical garden. This metaphor lets you let go and stop worrying. Listen to the gentle words and imagery and have a happy time planting and pruning everything that you want to leave outside.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
I am looking for a bagpiper/celtic music performer for either Sat. March 16th or Sun. March 17th at 3pm. A Celtic harp or Celtic flute can create a relaxed and enchanting atmosphere at a cocktail hour, art gallery opening, wedding ceremony or festival, while a Celtic Band performs fun and traditional music. Search for Celtic Music in Northbrook, Illinois above. Please note that these Celtic Music may also travel to Techny, Riverwoods, Glencoe, Northfield, Bannockburn, Winnetka, Golf, Lincolnshire, Highwood, Fort Sheridan, Kenilworth, Long Grove, Mettawa, Indian Creek, Rosemont, Lincolnwood, Lake Bluff, Amf Ohare, Kildeer, Norridge, Harwood Heights, Schiller Park, Forest Lake, Great Lakes, Deer Park, Hawthorn Woods, Inverness, Wood Dale, River Grove, and Itasca.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
caged but undaunted stanley l cohen Israeli Justice… a Futile Chase From Tel Aviv to Tallahassee The Enemy is not Resistance The Brazen Detention of Marzieh Hashemi, America's Newest Political Prisoner He Raised Legal Hell for 35 Years. Now He's Back. The Two-State Solution is Neither A Short History of Collective Punishment: From the British Empire to Gaza The Peace Deal That is All Israel Broken Dreams and Lost Lives: Israel, Gaza, and the Hamas Card The Apprentice: the Education of Mohammed bin Salman Building For Sale, All Bids Considered: the UN and the Middle East When Zionism Rubs Up Against Reality The Marketplace of Ideas: Assaulting the First Amendment Thirteen Russians: a Defense Lawyer Decodes the Mueller Indictments On Resistance: BDS and Israel's Declining Support Among Diaspora Jews In the Occupied Territory, Justice for Jews Parallel Worlds: Gaza and Israel Donald Trump: A president swallowed by history Peter Kassig the Untold Story Sessions' Jaded Justice Decency Lost: McCarthyism Revisited Charlottesville Redux Why Netanyahu's Departure Will Mean Nothing Palestinians have a legal right to armed struggle The Attack on Al Jazeera Los palestinos tienen un derecho legal a la lucha armada View from the Outside/The Danger of a Single Media Voice Breaking With Qatar Where Food is More than Nourishment Theatre 80 Discussion House of Hate The White House . . . Denial and Cover-ups Jim Crow is alive and well in Israel Trump's 'Muslim ban' is not an exception in US history Move the Embassy: End the Charade From war to more war It's Not Just Settlements An Open Letter to American Jews Not Our President To some, ignorance is bliss Comey's Blindside: You're Just a Cop Israel: 1984 Everlasting Equality and Justice for All, It Seems, But Palestinians The lone wolf of Gaza American Nightmare: the Criminal, Justice System Israel and Academic Freedom: a Closed Book When US Congress chases votes and not the law The Road from Standing Rock to Gaza is a Straight Line Boycotts, Now and Then: an Open Letter on BDS to the City Council of New York November 8, 2016 Offers No Relief For Palestine Attica Lives BDS is a war Israel can't win The Road Home for Prisoner 19846 052 In Re: South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies vs. Radio 786 We Feared Witches. We Hung Women Stanley Cohen unbound: Radical lawyer out of jail, headed abroad It Ain't The Promised Land…Part Seven It Ain't The Promised Land…Part Six It Ain't The Promised Land… Part Five It Ain't The Promised Land… Part Four It Ain't The Promised Land…Part Three It Ain't The Promised Land… Part Two It Ain't the Promised Land We Are Truly Legion…The Appeal Continues Declare Victory, Come Home Forgotten Words "We Are Truly Legion" The Children of Oslo In the Matter of the International Community v Israel Staying Strong Prison America Prison America Part II It Ain't Vigilantism Eulogy for Said Lights Dim He isn't dead…he's just moved on "We Wanted Coltrane – We Got Kenny G With a Tan" Dr. Cornell West The Persecution of Ahmed Mansour To the Haters Just Kids Child of Gaza She's Magic Song for Walaa New Faces Old Rhetoric and Hatred If Rand Paul is the answer… Succinct Response Take your pick. Ode to Said sleepless nights and long anxious days Archives Select Month January 2020 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 (Originally published JANUARY 3, 2020 in Counterpunch) by STANLEY L. COHEN "Doctrine of Futility" Seventeen years ago, 23 year old Rachel Corrie (a Washington State volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement) was crushed to death by an armored military bulldozer as she stood on top of a mound of dirt trying to prevent the dozer from destroying a civilian home in the Southern Gaza Strip village of Rafa. Wearing a bright orange vest and shouting out at the bulldozer through a megaphone, Corrie was murdered for the temerity of her unarmed act of peaceful defiance. More than a dozen years later the Israeli Supreme Court rejected her parents' suit to hold Israel's military accountable for her death. In finding that an "explicit statutory provision of the Knesset overrides the provisions of international law", the Israeli High Court sacrificed well more than a century of settled international protections, including those memorialized under the laws of war and human rights, to the endless Israeli talisman of "wartime activity." More than a few historians can recall that very chant, raised and rejected at the Nuremberg Tribunals, which held Nazis accountable for targeted attacks on civilians throughout World War II. Less than two months after the murder of Corrie, 34 year old James Henry Dominic Miller (a Welsh cameraman, producer and director who had won five Emmy awards for his work) was shot dead by an Israeli soldier, at night, while filming a documentary in the Rafah refugee camp. Moments after he and his crew left a Palestinian home bearing a white flag, two shots rang out. After the first shot a crew member cried out, "…we are British journalists.". Soon, a second shot hit Miller, killing him instantly. Initially, one spokesperson reported that after the IDF discovered a tunnel at the house Miller had exited, he was shot in the back when caught in the middle of a crossfire precipitated by an anti-tank missile fired at Israeli troops. Another spokesperson said his death occurred during "…an operation taking place at night, in which the [Israeli] force was under fire and in which the force returned fire with light weapons." Later, both versions were retracted when it turned out that the round that killed Miller had entered not through his back but the front of his neck. Likewise, the tale of crossfire fell apart with witnesses reporting no such exchange of gunfire and none having been heard on an audio recording made contemporaneous to the incident. Some two years later, an Israeli military police investigation into Miller's killing was closed without returning any criminal charges against the Israeli soldier suspected of firing the fatal shot … though he was to be "disciplined" for violating the rules of engagement and for altering his account of what had occurred. The following year, an inquest jury at St Pancras Coroner's Court in London returned a verdict finding that Miller had been "murdered" and that the fatal shot matched rounds used by the IDF. Not long thereafter, the UK Attorney General made a formal request to Israel for it to prosecute the soldier responsible for firing the shot. That request was ignored. To date, no such proceedings have been undertaken by Israel …be it by an independent investigatory body, the military or the office of the state prosecutor. In March of 2009, thirty-eight year old California native, Tristan Anderson, was hit in the forehead by a high-velocity teargas canister fired directly at him by an Israeli border policeman, some 60 metres away, following a regular joint Palestinian -Jewish demonstration against the Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank village of Ni'lin. When struck, Anderson was simply talking with three or four other activists in the center of the village some distance from the "shame wall" where the demonstration had earlier occurred. In the months prior, four Palestinians had been killed by soldiers during like demonstrations. Taken to a hospital with his head split open, Anderson underwent three emergency brain operations which required the partial removal of his frontal lobe. The surgery, which left him in a coma and in critical condition, blinded his right eye and paralyzed half of his body. After fifteen months of hospitalization, Anderson returned home where, a decade later, he continues to require around the clock care because of permanent cognitive impairment and physical disability. Several days after Anderson was crippled, Israeli police opened an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting. Given the 400 plus metre range of the canister, and their respective positions, there was clear evidence of criminal intent on the part of the soldier who shot Anderson. Despite this, the investigation was closed, some six months later, without explanation or any public finding… and with no criminal charges filed against any police or military personnel. When no criminal charges were filed against those involved, the Andersons filed a civil law suit against Israel but waited years for the case to proceed in an Israeli court. Years later, the case remains very much in a state of judicial limbo with no determination as to it merits. Not unusual at all, counsel for the Anderson's has noted that "…[t]he astonishing negligence of this investigation and of the prosecutorial team that monitored its outcome is unacceptable, but it epitomizes Israel's culture of impunity. Tristan's case is actually not rare; it represents hundreds of other cases of Palestinian victims whose investigations have also failed." As she walked out of the courtroom after a judicial proceeding into the civil lawsuit regarding the shooting of her partner, Gabby Silverman, who is Jewish, was served with an order that she had to leave Israel within the following 7 days because there was "insufficient proof that there was a lawsuit going on, and insufficient proof that she is a Jew." These three matters involving the murder or cripple of foreign nationals by Israel are very much the rule and not the exception in a state that sees dissent or disobedience as an open invitation for retaliation. For the fortunate, it means but arrest or expulsion for the less so …outright assassination. For those who survive politically rooted Israeli assault, or their mourning heirs, the road to equity remains a dead end… one blocked by walls of incompetence or indifference… smothered by systemic delay and legislative fiat that convert black robes of justice to mere rubber stamps of state. To be sure, Israel's failure to promptly and thoroughly investigate facts and circumstances, let alone to prosecute its agents… military or otherwise… who commit crimes against foreign nationals or to provide for an equitable and expeditious civil remedy for them or their loved ones, is well-known, indeed, notorious throughout the world. For Palestinians, every step outside their home is to navigate a mine field of uncertainty; every encounter with an Israeli soldier or police officer a literal tempt to their life or liberty. The famed Israeli human rights center, B'Tselem, has archived a veritable cemetery of Palestinians victimized by extra-judicial Israeli assassination. Most cry out for justice from beyond the headstones that mark their name with little else but the smile of their memory. Meanwhile, loved ones wait for the call of justice… an echo, for almost all, never to be heard. On July 13, 2011, twenty-one year old Ibrahim 'Omar Muhammad Sarhan was shot dead at al-Far'ah Refugee Camp by soldiers who ordered him to stop during an arrest operation. When he refused, he was killed. Though a military investigation into his killing was opened, it was eventually closed, with no one charged, on the grounds "…that the shooting soldier's conduct was not unreasonable given the overall circumstances and his understanding of the situation at the time." On February 23, 2012 twenty-five year old Tal'at 'Abd a-Rahman Ziad Ramyeh was shot dead at the northeast corner to a-Ram, al-Quds District, after throwing a firecracker at soldiers during a clash with demonstrators. A military investigation into his death was closed "…on the grounds that the gunfire that killed Ramyeh was carried out in accordance with open fire regulations." On March 27, 2012, twenty-seven year old Rashad Dhib Hassan Shawakhah was wounded, in the village of Rammun, when he and his two brothers confronted two out-of-uniform soldiers who approached their home in the middle of the night. Believing the men to be burglars, the brothers, armed with a knife and a club, confronted the soldiers who, without identifying themselves, shot the three of them. Uniformed soldiers arriving at the scene shot Rashad, again, as he lay wounded on the ground. He died six days later. Although a military investigation was opened, more than seven years later no action has yet been taken. On January 15, 2013, sixteen year old Samir Ahmad Muhammad 'Awad of Budrus, Ramallah District, was shot and killed by soldiers near the Separation Barrier. After crossing the first barbed wire fence of the barrier, Awad was shot in the back and in the head as he tried to flee the soldiers' ambush and return to Budrus. Although two soldiers were indicted, several years later, for reckless and negligent use of a firearm, the charges were eventually dismissed when prosecutors told the court that because their evidence had "weakened" there was no longer "…a reasonable prospect of conviction." On January 23, 2013, twenty-one year old Lubna Munir Sa'id al-Hanash was shot and killed while walking on the grounds of Al-' Arrub College, after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli car traveling ahead of the vehicle in which the soldier who fired and the second-in-command of the Yehuda Brigade were passengers. The following year, an investigation into the killing by the military was closed after a finding that the "… shooting did not breach protocol and did not constitute any type of criminal offense." On December 7, 2013, fifteen year old Wajih Wajdi Wajih a-Ramahi was shot in the back and killed by soldiers, at the Jalazon Refugee Camp, while standing in the vicinity of teenagers in the camp who were throwing stones at the soldiers from approximately 200 meters away. Six years later, the case remains under military "investigation." On March 19, 2014, fourteen year old Yusef Sami Yusef a-Shawamreh of Deir al-'Asal al-Foqa, Hebron District, was shot by soldiers after he and two friends crossed a gap in the Separation Barrier to gather gundelia [Arabic: 'Akub], a thistle-like edible plant. Not long thereafter, a military investigation of the shooting was closed with a finding of the "…absence of a suspected breach of open fire regulations or criminal conduct on the part of any military personnel." On May 15, 2014, sixteen year old Muhammad Mahmoud 'Odeh Salameh was shot in the back and killed in a protest near the village of Bitunya, near the Ofer military base, that included stone-throwing. He was not throwing stones when killed. Two years later, the military closed an investigation into the killing after it claimed that no evidence was found connecting a soldier to the shooting. On July 22, 2014, twenty-nine year old Mahmoud Saleh 'Ali Hamamreh of Husan, Bethlehem District, was shot in the chest and killed by soldiers when he stepped out of his grocery shop to observe clashes underway in the village. While a military investigation was initiated soon thereafter, four years later no decision has yet to be reached. On August 10, 2014, ten year old Khalil Muhammad Ahmad al-'Anati of the al-Fawwar Refugee Camp was shot in the back by a soldier while near other boys who were throwing stones at a military jeep in the Camp. He died of his wounds in hospital. Several years later, a military investigation into the child's killing ended after "…the investigation found that the troops had acted out of a sense of mortal danger, and that no link between the gunfire and the death of the boy… could be proven." On July 23, 2015, fifty-three year old Fallah Hamdi Zamel Abu Maryah of Beit Ummar, Hebron District, was killed after soldiers entered his home, to make an arrest, and shot and wounded his son. When Abu Mariyah threw pottery at the soldiers from a second floor balcony of his home, soldiers shot him three times in the chest. A military "investigation" continues. On September 18, 2015, twenty-four year old Ahmad 'Izat 'Issa Khatatbeh of Beit Furik, Nablus District, who was congenitally deaf, was shot in the back by soldiers near the Beit Furik Checkpoint. He died six days later. To date, it appears no investigation into his killing has been initiated. On September 22, 2015, eighteen year old Hadil Salah a-Din Sadeq al-Hashlamun of Hebron was shot and killed when hit multiple times in her legs and upper body after refusing to stop on her way out of the Police (Shoter) Checkpoint. As it turned out a concealed knife was recovered from her. No criminal investigation into her killing was undertaken. On October 5, 2015, thirteen year old 'Abd a-Rahman Shadi Khalil 'Obeidallah of the 'Aydah Refugee Camp, Bethlehem District, was shot dead by soldiers as he stood, with other teenagers, approximately 200 meters away from a military post at Rachel's Tomb where minor clashes were underway between Palestinians and soldiers. Although a military investigation into the child's killing was initiated, no decisions have been reached more than four years later. On November 6, 2015, seventy-two year old Tharwat Ibrahim Suliman a-Sha'rawi was shot dead by soldiers standing on a road after they "suspected" she was trying to run some of them over. Even after the car passed, soldiers continued firing at her. The military reported no investigation was launched as a "…preliminary review of the incident did not indicate suspicion of a criminal offense." On November 13, 2015, twenty year old Lafy Yusef Mustafa 'Awad of Budrus, Ramallah District, was critically injured when shot in the back by soldiers after he broke free from their grasp and began to flee. Driven to hospital in a civilian vehicle, which necessarily took longer because of a military checkpoint, he was pronounced dead upon arrival. No investigation was undertaken as the military stated "…a preliminary review of the incident did not indicate suspicion of a criminal offense." On December 11, 2015, fifty-six year old 'Issa Ibrahim Salameh al-Hrub of Deir Samit, Hebron District was shot and killed by Border Police and soldiers who "suspected" he was trying to run them over. Six months later, the military advised that no investigation would be launched into the incident as a "…preliminary review of the incident did not indicate suspicion of a criminal offense." On December 18, 2015, thirty–four year old Nasha't Jamal 'Abd a-Razeq 'Asfur of Sinjil, Ramallah District, was shot and critically wounded, while walking home, by soldiers more than a hundred meters away who opened fire while other Palestinians threw stones at them. He died later that day in hospital. While a military investigation was opened it was apparently closed without any charges. On February 10, 2016, fifteen years old 'Omar Yusef Isma'il Madi of the al-'Arrub Refugee Camp, Hebron District, was shot dead by a soldier in a military tower, at the entrance to the camp, while stones were being thrown at the tower. Though an investigation was launched, more than three year later no conclusion has been reported. On May 4, 2016, twenty-three year old Arif Sharif 'Abd al-Ghafar Jaradat of Sa'ir, Hebron District, (who had Down's syndrome) was shot as he approached soldiers as they were leaving his village. He died six weeks later. Although a military investigation was closed because "…the gunfire at the casualty did not deviate from open-fire regulations" an appeal has been filed. On June 21, 2016, fifteen year old Mahmoud Raafat Mahmoud Mustafa Badran of Beit 'Ur a-Tahta, Ramallah, was fatally shot… and four other young men injured… by soldiers who fired on their car while they were driving through a tunnel on their way home from a night at a swimming pool. An investigation was closed by the military which concluded "…in light of the circumstances of the incident, the miss-identification of the car was an honest and reasonable error, and it was permissible for the troops to initiate suspect apprehension procedure." On October 20, 2016, fifteen year old Khaled Bahar Ahmad Bahar of Beit Ummar, Hebron District, was shot in the back and killed as he ran into a grove fleeing soldiers. Although an investigation was reportedly begun, more than three year later no action has ensued. On October 31, 2017, twenty-six year old Muhammad 'Abdallah 'Ali Musa of Deir Ballut, was shot dead by soldiers, while driving to Ramallah with his sister, after soldiers had reportedly been alerted that a suspicious vehicle was approaching. Ordering the car to stop, one of the soldiers began to fire at the car, and continued even after it had passed by, without any of its passengers having tried to harm anyone. It was reported that Musa lay wounded on the ground for some 10 minutes without receiving any medical care and was later seized by soldiers while being treated by a Palestinian ambulance team. Two years after the military opened an investigation, it was closed because the soldiers had "…acted in accordance with open-fire regulations and because their operational actions did not evince ethic deficiency." On January 30, 2018, sixteen year old Layth Haitham Fathi Abu Na'im of al-Mughayir, Ramallah, was shot in the head and critically injured by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by a soldier from 20 meters away, after returning to his village post clashes he had taken part in had ended. A military investigation is pending. On December 4, 2018, twenty-two year old Muhammad Husam 'Abd a-Latif Hbali of Tulkarm Refugee Camp, was shot in the head by soldiers from behind. Intellectually disabled, when shot, he was moving away from soldiers while carrying a stick. All was quiet at the time he was shot. A military investigation has been on-going since. On December 14, 2018, eighteen year old Mahmoud Yusef Mahmoud Nakhleh of al-Jalazun Refugee Camp Ramallah, was shot in the back by soldiers from about 80 meters away while running near the entrance to the refugee camp… after others had thrown stones at a military post at its entrance. Soldiers dragged Nakhleh away by the arms and legs and denied him medical treatment for about 15 minutes. He died soon thereafter. A year ago, a military investigation was launched. On December 20, 2018, seventeen year old Qassem Muhammad 'Ali 'Abasi of Ras al-'Amud, East Jerusalem, was fatally shot in the back by soldiers, who were stationed near a checkpoint, as the car in which he and three of his relatives were passengers was driving away from the checkpoint. A military investigation was opened. On March 20, 2019, twenty-two year old Ahmad Jamal Mahmoud Manasrah of Wadi Fukin, Bethlehem, was shot dead by a soldier who fired at him from a military tower near a local checkpoint. At the time he was killed, he was helping a family whose car had been shot at by soldiers and had pulled over. An investigation is pending. On March 7, 2019, seventeen year old Sajed 'Abd al-Hakim Helmi Muzher, a volunteer medic, from the a-Duheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem District, was shot in the stomach as he ran to evacuate a Palestinian who had been shot in the leg when stones were being thrown at troops who had entered the camp. He died later that day. A military investigation is on-going. These horrors are but a microcosm of a deadly, systemic tradition that has raged unabated for generations in which thousands of largely young Palestinians have been targeted, crippled and murdered without penalty of consequence to Israel's military or security structure… essentially unmonitored and uncontrolled… indifferent to human rights and international law. Yes, there have been those rare empty exceptions in which a perverse judicial performance has made a mockery of life and law with token punishment meted out for crimes that shock the conscience of humanity. Thus, on January 1, 2013, twenty-one year old 'Udai Muhammad Salameh Darawish of a-Ramadin, Hebron District, was shot dead by soldiers near the Meitar checkpoint as he fled them after he entered Israel, for work purposes, without a permit. Following a military investigation and plea bargain to negligent manslaughter, a soldier received a seven-month suspended sentence and was demoted to sergeant. Two more recent judicial miscarriages remind us, once again, that law in Israel remains but a gavel for Jews and a bludgeon for all others: On May 10th of this year, Elor Azaria, an Israeli medic who faced up to 20 years upon his conviction for manslaughter, walked out of prison after serving but nine months of an eighteen month sentence originally imposed on him by a military court. It was subsequently reduced to fourteen months by the IDF chief of staff and then again by the army's prison parole board (and agreed to by military prosecutors) for his cold-blooded execution of twenty-one year old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif who lay injured and motionless on the ground after stabbing, but not seriously injuring, an Israeli soldier in Occupied Hebron. With calm, deliberate ease, Azaria was recorded as he approached his victim, cocked his rifle and executed him with a single shot to his head. Not long ago, an Israeli military court sentenced a soldier to one month of the military's equivalent of community service over the execution of fifteen year old Othman Rami Halles who he shot dead during protests near the Israel fence east of the Gaza Strip on July 13, 2018. The unnamed soldier was convicted for "…acting without authorisation in a manner endangering to life and well-being." These sentences pale in comparison to those routinely imposed upon Palestinian children convicted of throwing stones. For example, sixteen year old stone thrower Saleh Ashraf Ishtayya was sentenced to three years and three months in prison. Fourteen year-olds Muhammad Ahmad Jaber and Murad Raed Alqam received three year sentences. Seventeen year old Muhammad Na'el and sixteen year old Zaid Ayed al-Taweel each received two years and four months in prison for the same offense. None of these children injured, let alone, took the life of an Israeli. Tragically, casualties have long been the anguished, up-close face of the Occupation with an historical character that wields a deadly reach unmatched and long ignored by the world. As very much a perverse rite of passage, thousands of Palestinian civilians have paid the ultimate price for little more than their presence… lost to multiple high-tech military operations that have targeted residential communities and schools, hospitals and core infrastructure. Many more have been wounded or crippled by relentless Israeli attacks designed to leave survivors not just overwhelmed and battered but with a sense of isolation and futility. Nowhere has this brutal assault on fundamental human rights and international law been more conspicuous than through the sniper attacks on Gaza, over the past 18 months, that have slaughtered or injured tens of thousands of demonstrators whose only weapons have been the step of their march and the resound of their voice. And what of international law? Volumes have been written on humanitarian law… the law of war and human rights. No doubt they line the walls of judicial halls throughout Israel… from its lowest military courtroom in the Occupied Territories to the highest civilian chamber that claims to rule supreme as the guardian of due process and equal protection for Israeli citizens and those held captive by it. Yet, even a cursory glance by an untrained eye leaves the imprint of a judicial system that is subservient to the chant of state security and legislative fiat and slowed to a process of delay that drags on and on for years leaving no one but Israeli Jews comfortable in the notion that they will have their day in court and with speed and fairness. Millions of Palestinians are held captive in the Occupied Territories be it in the West Bank by security onslaught or military patrol or by the heap of Concertina wire, sniper mounds and air force and naval watch that keeps all of Gaza imprisoned every minute of every hour of every day. For these foreign nationals… and they are foreign nationals… they never see the inside of an Israeli civilian court or the due process it infers. For these perpetual prisoners, the uniformed soldiers that carry weapons become uniformed soldiers that investigate and prosecute cases to uniformed soldiers that pass judgment adorned not by robes of independence but by order of salute. As noted above in the archive of causality, few if any Palestinians ever obtain due process and equal protection of the law, let alone with independent and foreseeable resolution, as investigations and cases linger on for years pushed, predictably, to the back of the line as each new public outrage unfolds. This is not justice but the "Doctrine of Futility" at its primordial worst. It is settled law that before seeking international relief, aggrieved parties must first seek redress for harm, caused by a state, within its own domestic legal system. Exhaustion of local remedies (ELR) is intended to uphold state sovereignty by recognizing its own judicial process as a presumptive vehicle for the independent, equitable and expeditious resolution of claims against the state. ELR presumes a state's judicial and administrative systems provide for a credible and apolitical avenue for injured foreign nationals to obtain their day in court before moving-on for diplomatic protection or undertaking international proceedings directly against the state. Yet, very much the proverbial beauty locked in the eyes of the beholder, provisions like equitable, independent and expeditious are routinely recast by repressive regimes across the globe to mirror little more than partisan safeguard of the state's tyrannical needs and agenda. Nowhere is that more palpably evident or painfully clear than it is in Israel where judicial remedies have long and repeatedly proven to be little more than a convenient faith based tease… a non-existent march to the beat of the overarching political gavel of the Knesset. For Israeli Jews, "all rise" portends opportunity denied all others. For Israeli Jews, lady justice cheats as she peeks out from behind her blindfold… for all others, she is but a symbol without a sign. The ELR rule is a foundational mainstay of all global and regional international human rights entities and covenants. For example, within the UN, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that it's Human Rights Committee "shall deal with a matter referred to it only after it has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been invoked and exhausted in the matter, in conformity with the generally recognized principles of international law." Likewise, the European Convention on Human Rights provides that the European Court of Human Rights "may only deal with the matter after all domestic remedies have been exhausted, according to the generally recognized rules of international law." The American Convention on Human Rights requires exhaustion of local remedies "in accordance with generally recognized principles of international law" before the submission of petitions or communications to the commission. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights provides that the Commission "can only deal with a matter submitted to it after making sure that all local remedies, if they exist, have been exhausted, unless it is obvious to the Commission that the procedure of achieving these remedies would be unduly prolonged." This exemption is but one of several that find smooth fit within the so-called "Doctrine of Futility." Under this doctrine, while release from the requirements of the ELR fluctuates from venue to venue, by-in-large one need not chase domestic justice where none can be had. Thus, in general, ELR may be bypassed: a. If the domestic legislation of the state concerned does not afford due process of law for the protection of the right or rights that have allegedly been violated; b. If the party alleging violation of his rights has been denied access to the remedies under domestic law or has been prevented from exhausting them; or c. If there has been unwarranted delay in rendering a final judgment under these remedies. Israel is a veritable primer, a law school's teach, on when and where all three damning exemptions merge to validate an apt and speedy march to the nearest international forum in pursuit of justice and human rights otherwise willfully denied foreign nationals in any courthouse or military barrack that flies the banner of the Star of David. And just who are foreign nationals? In most jurisdictions they cut a relatively narrow swath; typically but a handful of tourists, temporary workers, or businesses and those incidentally injured by practices of cross-border states. Yet, the numbers balloon to millions of foreign nationals in occupied Palestine where all aspects of every Palestinian's life is impacted… if not controlled… daily by an occupation force and judicial process of another state. Independent of the pervasive culture of military and security violence and its companion lack of fairness and accountability, the Israeli judicial system… both criminal and civil… presents a compelling case study in a double standard delayed and disabled based solely upon ones faith and national identity. Child Prisoners Over the last two decades, more than 8,000 Palestinian children (foreign nationals) have been arrested in the Occupied Territories and prosecuted in an Israeli military system devoid of any meaningful due process or equal protection for the most vulnerable and traumatized among those that have known nothing but the bark of occupation their entire lives. It is a military justice process notorious for the systematic ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children. Several hours after their arrest, these children arrive at an interrogation and detention center alone, tired, and frightened. All interrogations, by their very nature, are inherently coercive no matter the age or experience of its victim. None are more so than for an often bruised and scared child forced to go through the process without the benefit of counsel or the presence of parents who are never permitted to participate. Israeli law provides that all military interrogations must be undertaken in a prisoner's native language and that any statement made must be reduced to writing in that language. Despite this prohibition, Palestinian detainees are typically coerced into signing statements, through verbal abuse, threats, and physical violence, that is memorialized by police in Hebrew… which most cannot understand. These statements usually provide the main evidence against children in Israeli military courts. The Military Court Process The military "courts" themselves are held inside military bases and closed to the public… and usually family members of the accused. Within these courts, military orders supersede Israeli civilian and international law. In military courts, all parties… the judge, prosecutor and translators… are members of the Israeli armed forces. The judges are military officers with minimal judicial training and, by-in- large, served as military prosecutors before assuming the bench. The prosecutors are Israeli soldiers, some not yet certified as attorneys by the Israeli Bar. Under the rules of Occupation, all defendants in military courts are Palestinian… as the jurisdiction of the Israeli military court never extends to some eight hundred thousand Jewish settlers living in the West Bank who are accorded the full panoply and safeguard of Israeli civil law. Under military law, Palestinians can be held without charge, for the purpose of interrogation, for a total period of 90 days during which they are denied the benefit of counsel. Detention can be extended without limit and requires but an ex parte request of military prosecutors. By comparison, a Jewish citizen accused of a security offense, within the Occupied Territory, can be held without indictment in the civil process for a period of up to 64 days during which time counsel is available at all times. Though Palestinian detainees are entitled to military trials which must be completed within eighteen months of their arrest, their detention can be extended indefinitely, by a military judge, in multiple six-month increments. It is this limitless process which has left thousands of Palestinian political detainees imprisoned for years on end without the benefit of counsel, formal charges, or trial. The comparable time limit for detainees in Israeli civilian courts is no more than nine months. While criminal liability begins at age twelve for Palestinians and Israelis alike, under the military system Palestinians can be tried as adults at sixteen. For Israelis, prosecution as an adult in a civilian court is eighteen. This two year difference, without physical distinction of consequence, can mean a sentence disparity of many years should a conviction ensue. In some cases, it can literally mean a difference between a few years in prison versus decades upon conviction. Although the United Nations has repeatedly held that the military justice system in the Occupied Territory violates international law, it has done nothing to ensure equal protection and due process to hundreds of thousands denied justice by virtue of being Palestinian and nothing else. This continues to be true for Palestinian minors. According to B'tselem "…at the end of October 2019, 185 Palestinian minors were held in Israeli prisons as security detainees and prisoners, including one under the age of 14." Neighborhood Cleansing With the onset of the Occupation in 1967, Israel initiated a wide range of largely extrajudicial strategies in its incessant effort to claim new municipal boundaries and to remake the age old Palestinian character of east Jerusalem. What began with the seize of large swaths of vacant land surrounding the Old City… for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements… eventually gave rise to the de facto annexation of East Jerusalem… universally condemned as a flaunt of international law. However, never ones to allow legal standards to become barricade to political needs, successive Israeli governments have accelerated the Judaization of the historic capital of Palestine, typically using the call of security as a pretext, while Israel's judiciary has looked away…largely indifferent to its responsibility to ensure that equal justice be done. Recently, Israel destroyed 10 mostly unfinished buildings containing some 70 apartments, in the Wadi Hummus neighborhood on the edge of southeast Jerusalem, which were being built with permits issued by the Palestinian Authority in an area under its recognized jurisdiction. Displacing 17 Palestinians, including an older couple and five children, from apartments that were finished, the demolitions also left several hundred others, awaiting housing in the buildings, saddled with ensuing economic loss. Though condemned by the United Nations, the government nonetheless proceeded with the demolitions after Israel's High Court refused to intervene on the grounds that the project was being built in a military-declared buffer zone near a "security" fence that had gone up years before. That barrier, which is part of the system of steel fences and concrete walls which runs throughout the West Bank and around Jerusalem, was subsequently found to be illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Like hundreds of other international declarations, Israel ignored the findings. The destruction of these residential buildings is by no means an isolated or unpredictable phenomenon. In point of fact, another one-hundred buildings completed, or under construction, under similar circumstances in the same neighborhood, face the same risk. While the proffered basis for demolitions has changed to suit the Israeli needs of the moment, they play an essential mainstay in its intended policy of ethnic cleansing throughout east Jerusalem. This modern-day pogrom finds its genesis in a cap that was placed on the expansion of Palestinian neighborhoods in the days following the seizure of east Jerusalem, thereby forcing many to build illegally according to the laws of the Occupation. This artificial limit has been exacerbated by systemic discrimination when it comes to the issue of building permits in east Jerusalem. Though Palestinians make up more than 60% of the population of the Old City according to the Israeli civil rights group Peace Now, they have received just 30% of the building permits issued by Israel dating back to 1991. Given these circumstances, it has been estimated that more than twenty-thousand housing units built in traditional Palestinian neighborhoods dating back to 1967 fall into the category of illegal… thus placing them at risk of demolition no matter what their condition, how long they have stood or the numbers of their occupants. This danger has found new impetus since the United States moved its Embassy to east Jerusalem, essentially declaring it to be the capital of Israel. Emboldened by this act, and not now fearing either political or economic reprisal by the United States (or meaningful intervention by its own courts), Israel has recently accelerated its demolition policy leading to the destruction of several hundred residential and commercial structures… leaving hundreds of Palestinians homeless and dozens of businesses in ruins. While precise figures are unknown, it is estimated that, over the last fifteen years, more than one thousand- five hundred residential and commercial units have been demolished by Israel leaving more than three-thousand Palestinians homeless… including some one thousand- five hundred minors. Of late, we have seen an increase in the number of demolitions carried out by Palestinians, themselves. While some construe the demolition of several dozen Palestinian structures by their own residents as almost a willful, romanticized act of political defiance, self-demolition has less to do with self-determination than it does the unbearable cruelty and cost of the moment. The aching reality is that a judicial system without justice has authorized the state to bill those for the cost of the destruction of their own homes… lest they do so themselves. Collective Punishment While Israeli authorities have argued that punitive home demolitions provide "…a severe message of deterrence to terrorists and their accomplices", such demolitions violate the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as a host of Israel's human rights obligations… in particular that no-one should be punished for an act they did not commit. Under Israeli law, those subject to punitive home demolitions are accorded an opportunity to appeal a demolition order to a court. However, Israel's High Court has routinely refused to consider the absolute prohibition in customary international law against collective punishment of civilians in occupied territory when ruling on petitions against punitive home demolitions in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem. As almost settled law, the Court has held that demolitions can, in general, be justified as "proportionate" when balanced against the need to deter other Palestinians from carrying out future attacks. Moreover, as a practical matter, rare are the opportunities for prospective victims to obtain timely judicial relief thru applications for review of looming military demolitions. Thus, according to Article 119 of the Military Authority, the IDF commanders responsible for application of military measures in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are empowered to confiscate and demolish any property, if he determines that the inhabitant…and not necessarily owner… of the property resorted to terrorist violence. That power is not vested or required to go through judicial process but rather is purely administrative. Thus there is no need for a court order to authorize house demolitions and the evidence required to demolish a home carries for the military a low threshold of internal administrative proof …"…convincing in the eyes of a reasonable decision maker." Though reprisal has long enjoyed a high degree of support among the Israeli public, and thus politicians, there can be no reasoned debate over whether house demolitions constitute a form of collective punishment, and thus a war crime. Prohibited under basic principles of human rights law and Articles 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and Article 50 of the 1907 Hague Regulations, demolitions also constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and are selectively applied as against Palestinians and never Jews who commit acts of terrorism. At their core, these demolitions, which also violate the prohibition on the destruction of private property set forth under Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 23(g) of the 1907 Hague Regulations, seek not to penalize a "terrorist" who is likely dead or in custody charged with serious offenses and facing years, if not decades, in prison, but rather, family members who reside in the home targeted for military reprisal. Thus, innocent parents, husbands or wives, children and siblings or other residents are left homeless as they are forced to bear the consequences of the acts of loved ones, even in the absence of any prior knowledge or nexus to them. Although Israel has periodically suspended home demolitions, in times of heightened tension or militant resistance they have become very much part of the military mainstream since the onset of the Occupation. While the exact number of such demolitions is neither documented nor certain, it is estimated that more than 2,000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed pursuant to Article 119 since 1967. Though the Israeli High Court requires the IDF commander to hold a hearing for the residents of a property to be destroyed and permits a petition to the court to stay the demolition, these "safeguards" have proven to be a promise without purpose. While the court has stressed those demolitions are harsh security measures that should be used only in "extreme circumstances" not once has it overridden the authority of the IDF to proceed accordingly. Lest there be any doubt that history can be but a harbinger of things to come, some of those that run the bulldozer of today in Palestine are progeny of those who picked through the rubble of homes and businesses ransacked and destroyed as collective punishment for acts of terrorism. Undoubtedly a pretext, in 1938, following the assassination of a German Embassy attaché in Paris by a young Polish-German Jew, a campaign of collective reprisal was unleashed against Jews in Germany. Known as Kristallnacht, crowds set fire to synagogues, smashed shop windows, demolished furniture and stocks of goods with the approval of the German Government. Years later Nazis applied the principle of Sippenhaft (collective responsibility) to avenge the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich ,the architect of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question", through mass executions and the destruction of two Czech villages… Lidice and Lezaky. With predictable promote, Prime Minister Netanyahu recently indicted the ICC investigation of Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity as little more than anti-Semitism. Putting aside Netanyahu's readily transparent canard, at its core, the ICC typically does not exercise its jurisdiction pursuant to the Rome Statute unless and until a state fails to provide a meaningful domestic remedy for violations of international law. On this score, few can deny that no such equitable and effective opportunity exists within Israel. As noted by Human Rights Watch, "…the impetus for the establishment of the ICC is the stark failure of national court systems to hold the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes accountable under law." Be it by virtue of the blanket political control of the Knesset or the deadly untamed reach of its security apparatus, Israel's judiciary stands as an emasculated reminder that foreign nationals, whether occupied Palestinians or Westerners seen as enemies of the state, have not, and cannot, obtain due process and equal protection of the law, let alone in an independent and expeditious manner, through Israel's judicial process. Under these circumstances, the Doctrine of Futility overshadows the need to exhaust local remedies to seek international relief for domestic wrongs. The Doctrine does not provide for an easy and settled pathway for foreign nationals to obtain justice outside the confines of extant domestic procedure. Yet, at its core, this international exemption finds its greatest potential and need when and where, as here, a judicial system is built upon a double standard of law… one for Palestinians, the other for Jews. Stanley L. Cohen is lawyer and activist in New York City. Posted on January 13, 2020 Author mala1143 Comments on Israeli Justice… a Futile Chase Any discussion of the detention of journalist Marzieh Hashemi must begin in the historical context that all presidents have used the Department of Justice for constitutionally prohibited personal ends. The calculated seizure and political intimidation of Mrs. Hashemi and her family in the United States is but the most recent flagrant instance. Whether it's the deportation of political enemies during the Palmer Raids of the early 1900's, or the COINTELPRO attacks a half a century later upon dissidents of color through assassination, mock show trials and indefinite detention of political prisoners, or the post 9-11 hysteria that drove hundreds of thousands of Muslims from the United States, or the targeted attack on whistle blowers and construct of the surveillance state by the last president, all have seen their executive power as essentially boundless, and their thirst to use it . . . largely unrestrained. Yet none before has been so public, indeed brazen, as is the current one in his utter contempt for the settled rule of law and procedure. Indeed in Trump's view the Department of Justice exists as but a mere extension of his own political thirst and agenda and may be employed as a tool to implement personal and political reprisal. In this light, the lawless seizure of Marzieh Hashemi was as predictable as it is ominous in both process and substance. The history of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) has largely lain dormant with few prosecutions, if any, for violations and none before that have triggered the seizure of an American journalist pursuant to the subterfuge of a material witness order, here employed as little more than political handcuffs. As of now there has been no official comment by the Department of Justice as to the nature of the grand jury dodge that served for the illegal and unnecessary seizure of Mrs. Hashemi when she recently de-boarded a flight in St. Louis, Missouri. Initial grounds for the unprecedented seizure of the highly respected anchor for Press TV swung wildly, ranging from leverage to obtain the release of other Americans "held" in Iran to a US investigation into possible violations of the recently re-imposed political sanctions against Iran to OFAC violations (Office of Financial Assets Control) arising from her unlicensed work for a designated foreign state. If, as it turns out, the seizure of Mrs. Hashemi finds its genesis in an unprecedented criminal investigation of a news outlet pursuant to FARA, to understand just how calculated and arbitrary a step it is, one need only look at its very different application against the Russian state owned media outlets Sputnik and RT. Cast in the light of the hysteria over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, Congress and various government agencies turned their attention to both outlets. Claiming the need to provide listeners with notice as to their partisan bent, in point of fact FARA was used against Sputnik and RT as so much a legislative bully-pulpit in a readily transparent effort to "purify" if not control the message of these two foreign owned outlets. Yet, if FARA triggered the stunning seizure of Marzieh Hashemi, that precipitous step bears no likeliness whatsoever to the procedural and substantive approach employed by the US government with regard to like violations by Sputnik and RT. In neither case were journalists of the networks seized by the government for possible violation of FARA. In neither case were the networks targeted for grand jury investigation. In fact, unlike here, both media outlets were given ample opportunity to raise objections to the applicability of FARA to their activity and when their arguments proved unavailing a chance to either register with it or to cease operations within the United States. Failing this, the government threatened but did not, at any time, undertake criminal prosecutions or arrests of employees, let alone journalists, who worked for the outlets. That is not what has apparently happened here with Press TV. In this regard there is no evidence that Press was put on notice that it's "presence" within the United States or acquiring and using information it received in and about controversial US issues for airing in Iran, and elsewhere, triggered FARA oversight let alone a criminal violation of its reach. Nor, does it appear, Press was given an opportunity to challenge a claim that its activity fell within the rubric of FARA. Finally, there is no evidence Press was given an option to either register with FARA or to cease its operation or a warning that failure to do so could result in the prosecution of the network or the arrest of its journalists. In this light it is palpably clear that the Department of Justice has employed a double standard between its approach to the application of FARA to Sputnik and RT and to that applied as against Press TV. Given a grand jury investigation into Press for an alleged criminal violation of FARA and the arrest of one of its most respected journalists, it is beyond cavil that the US government has chosen to selectively enforce and punish it for political reasons driven, no doubt, by an Oval Office agenda. Can it be that this double standard is as much the result of the administration's conscious effort to curry favor with the Russian government at the same time it seeks to punish Iran for the temerity of its political will and social independence? Putting aside the government's arbitrary application of FARA to Press, there can be no informed debate that the seizure and detention of Mrs. Hashemi pursuant to a material witness order is not just well beyond the norm, but here borders on political kidnapping. As a rule subpoenas are served many thousands of times each year in the United States during the course of federal criminal or civil proceedings to ensure the availability of witnesses before grand juries or at trial who possess material and relevant information that is probative of a fact or an issue in controversy. For those who, without legal challenge, simply refuse service of a subpoena or who seek to avoid or evade it the government or a private litigant may seek relief from the court to enforce compliance. Known as a material witness order, that relief compels the recalcitrant witness to appear before the court to determine for itself whether any further judicial intervention is necessary to ensure compliance with the subpoena. A rare, by design, intimidating exception to the rule, a material witness order can only be issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C § 3144following a sworn fact based assertion that the necessary witness will not make herself available for testimony pursuant to normal process of law. Generally an affirmative showing must be made that the witness has by voice or conduct attempted, or will attempt, to flee or place herself beyond the reach of the court and thus unavailable to provide testimony in a given proceeding. Once issued, a material witness order does not allow for indefinite detention of a witness but simply permits federal agents, in this case the FBI, to temporarily detain and present the witness to the court forthwith for a determination as to what steps, if any, must be taken to ensure the on-going availability and appearance of them as needed. Although not charged with a crime, the court essentially considers the same factors for release or detention of a witness that it would weigh and balance if they had otherwise been arrested for an offense. Among other things it must consider whether she is a flight risk or poses a danger to the broader community if released. It considers whether the witness is a citizen or lawful resident and if he or she has ties to the community such as family and employment. It may consider what affirmative acts if any have been taken by the witness to avoid process and appearance and what steps the government undertook before seeking judicial relief to obtain their availability before the grand jury or at trial. Most important, the court must keep in mind that the witness has not been charged with an offense and should undertake such examination as is necessary to determine to the degree possible whether she will in fact appear for testimony of her own volition, thus militating against the need for imposition of any court imposed conditions. Should the court remain unsettled over the willing availability of the witness to appear at a future proceeding, it has at its disposal a full range of coercive but non-custodial options ranging from bail or secured bond to home confinement or supervised release including reporting to pre-trial services and electronic monitoring such as an ankle bracelet. Typically, if released, the court will require that the witness surrender travel documents including any passport and restrict domestic transit during the pendency of the proceeding to the district where she is to reside and to that where her testimony is compelled. Although the law varies from circuit to circuit there is generally a presumption that detention of a prospective witness especially long-term incarceration should be used sparingly and only as a last resort and where there is no less burdensome alternative. Nowhere is that more applicable, than here, where Marzieh Hashemi is a US citizen with extensive family and life-long ties to the United States and who has made frequent travel to her home and community for family and professional reasons. Indeed, there is nothing before us that indicates that she would willingly avoid or evade the jurisdiction of the court or has indicated any failure to comply with the lawful requirements of a duly issued subpoena. To the contrary it beggars the imagination that Mrs. Hashemi would travel to the United States to visit with her children and grand children and to continue working on a documentary apparently long under way and, yet, without more, pose a risk of non-compliance with a subpoena for her testimony while here. The voluntary arrival of Marzieh Hashemi in St. Louis Airport under her lawful name, with her duly issued passport and high profile persona puts the lie to any government claim that she is a fugitive, evasive or unwilling to voluntarily comply with lawful process of any court. Yet upon arrival, this prominent journalist and long standing critic of US policy at home and abroad was seized by the government and essentially disappeared as so much an unconstitutional domestic rendition. That she subsequently appeared before a court does little to salvage her abduction at the hands of government agents. The public record with regard to the arrest and detention of Mrs. Hashemi is sparse indeed. In this light it is, at this point, impossible to discern the basis for any claim that a material witness order was appropriate or necessary to assure her appearance before the grand jury. Under the law, the government cannot seek nor can the court issue a material witness order on the basis of mere soothsay that non-compliance is expected at some future date on the part of a witness once served with a subpoena. Nor can it argue that it anticipates a potential witness will seek to avoid service or lawful obligation at some future date. To hold otherwise would be to empower the government to ignore long settled and basic procedure to obtain the testimony of a witness without resort to rank force and encourage its use as a systematic tool of coercion and intimidation. Yet that is precisely what appears to have occurred with regard to Marzieh Hashemi. Under the law it is not possible that the government could have been in possession of a material witness order for Mrs. Hashemi's arrest upon arrival in St. Louis in the absence of any evidence that she had previously evaded service of a subpoena or fled the United States to avoid one only later to return. Nor is there any evidence that while living in Iran the US government attempted to serve a subpoena upon her or through counsel for some future appearance which she willfully ignored. Under these circumstances it is well grounded to assume that as a Muslim and a popular Iranian employed journalist long critical of the United States, Mrs. Hashemi was, at some point, added to a list of political dissidents to be detained upon her return to the United States. Once here, she was moved quickly by the government from dissident status to that of presumptive disobedient witness and arrested. Marzieh Hashemi has appeared before a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia at least once, if not twice, yet remains detained in isolation under severe conditions that violate her fundamental religious rights and practices–a political prisoner, perhaps indefinitely. There is simply no compelling reason that she remain in custody. As a United States citizen with no criminal history, and strong ties to her family and community here, there is no lawful basis upon which to conclude that she cannot and should not be released immediately under conditions that are routinely accorded to persons accused of federal crimes, at times even serious breaches of law. Years ago in the shadow of 9-11 hundreds perhaps thousands of Muslims were rounded up and detained in political sweeps throughout the United States under the talisman and license of material witness orders as judges became blind gavels for government repression. Among them were citizens, resident aliens and lawful tourists. The one criterion that united all victims of the political frenzy was their faith and little else. I represented more than a few who sat frozen in federal detention facilities from coast to coast searching for truth and justice; for many, none was to be had for years to come. Others, upon release, fled the United States seeking refuge elsewhere from its mindless fear and blind hate. Almost two decades later the political rage of this administration against Iran has once again unleashed its Justice Department as so much a partisan batter and little else. Today Marzieh Hashemi sits alone. Isolated and entombed deep in a government catacomb, she stands charged with no offense but in the eyes of this administration guilty as charged . . . a Muslim, a journalist, and a US ex-pat who has found shelter from its storm in Iran. [Marzieh was released January 23, 2019] Posted on July 12, 2019 Author mala114Leave a comment on The Brazen Detention of Marzieh Hashemi, America's Newest Political Prisoner {Originally published in Counterpunch 6-21-19} "Please take your seat, sir," said the steward to Governor Ron DeSantis "we will be landing at Ben Gurion Airport shortly." Snapping his seat-belt firmly into place, the edgy Governor fingered his rosary beads as he wondered, to himself, whether Israeli Jews would have big noses like those of Miami. Do they tan well? Would he understand what they say, given their heavy, Eastern European accents? What was the exchange rate for his pocketful of "Benjamins"? Looking around the first class section, DeSantis eyed a man with a long, thick, black beard seated one aisle away. For a moment, he thought about getting up to ask him for the missing answers… but he stopped, The guy was too tall and fit with no hook nose… and where was his black beanie? Goyim, he thought to himself, using a term he had picked up in a Boca campaign stop. He looked away uncertain of what awaited. No… I've not lost my mind. And for those of you who I have offended by this frenzy of odious, dark canards… good! It was intended to cause reaction. It's a parody. It's called protected speech. It's the First Amendment. It allows me to say what I want… to affront who I please, to stand on any street corner shouting out to passersby they should boycott that damn lunch counter that won't serve people of color or that country that will not allow Palestinians to breathe. And to do so without any imposition of government will upon my voice… be it through a penalty on my purse or the loss of my personal liberty. On May 29th, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, flew to Israel with his cabinet for a closed, political moot court session. Barring journalists, and thus, ultimately, the public who elected him and paid for his trip, the governor performed a symbolic signing of a bill that places the interests of Tel Aviv clearly ahead of the constitutional rights of Tallahassee. Surrounded by Israeli dignitaries, accompanied by AIPAC checkbooks, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, and Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America, the DeSantis journey was nothing short of a full on fidelity cheer for Israel. A staunch supporter of the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, earlier this year attending a meeting of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, the governor urged sanctions against Airbnb unless it reversed its decision barring lodging listings in the occupied West Bank of Palestine. While still in Congress, he supported several Florida anti-BDS laws prohibiting public entities from contracting with any company or non-profit group engaged in an Israeli boycott. He also embraced legislation that prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies which participate in "politically motivated" challenges to Israel. DeSantis has an opportune history of vilifying those who confront Israeli apartheid. Indeed, like his predecessor, former Gov. Rick Scott, who took three Florida funded trips to Israel, he is an astute politician who knows just what it takes to get elected. Describing BDS as "nothing more than a cloak for anti-Semitism", he has boasted that, "as long as I'm Governor, BDS will be DOA." Yet, the bill DeSantis lobbied for, and signed but two days after his empty performance in Israel, is much more insidious than the mere imposition of civil penalties upon activists who advocate a non-violent boycott. In relevant part, HB 741 states that, "A public K-20 educational institution must treat discrimination by students or employees or resulting from institutional policies motivated by anti-Semitic intent in an identical manner to discrimination motivated by race." With sweeping unconstitutional reach, this legislation conflates mere criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. It lays bare the authoritarian groundwork for criminal prosecution for those in public schools and universities with the temerity to challenge Israel through words… and nothing more. Using provocative tripwires of Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories that target Jews as examples of prohibited academic speech, the statute remains at odds with the First Amendment nonetheless. Moreover, to the extent HB 741 equates a challenge to Israel with bias motivated by racial animus, it is an interesting legislative recast in the light of the personal history of DeSantis… indeed, of Florida as a whole. To be sure, in his campaign for governor, DeSantis drew support from various self-professed neo-Nazis. He spoke at a conference chaired by a man who believes that African Americans should thank white people for freeing slaves. His campaign used ads with jungle music and the call of monkeys in their background. He, himself, urged voters "not to monkey up" by voting for his African American opponent. The divide between one who has never hesitated to use vile, painful speech to promote his voice and his proud, eager squeeze of a censorship whip has rarely been so vivid. Not one to walk alone, from coast to coast the governor's duplicity drives statehouse halls as legislators speak in selective tones promoting constitutional protections such as the right to bear arms while suppressing others that extol fundamental rights of speech, association and peaceful boycott. DeSantis is a true son of Florida. While it has long prided itself on the mirage of cultural, religious and political diversity, it has an insidious history of ignoring, if not accepting, the very brand of political and social disenfranchisement and violence that is synonymous with Israel. Thus, in the shadow of the Civil War, Florida enacted laws called Black Codes that, by design, were intended to disenfranchise its black citizens. Can a Nation State be far off? Twenty years later, the white-Democrat controlled legislature passed a poll tax which finished the job. Losing what little remaining political power they had, African American voters were essentially stripped of all legal and political rights. No longer able to vote, they were excluded from sitting as jurors and barred from running for elective office. Before the turn of the century, there was no black political influence anywhere in Florida. Not long thereafter, Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward suggested that African Americans find a location outside the state for them to live. To be named the deal of the century? In the mid-1920's, the Ku Klux Klan moved the political assault upon African American communities throughout Florida to one of sheer terror and outright violence. With power bases in major cities such as Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami, the Klan soon became the very public face of the hatred that had long found comfort through the state's legislative batter. So brazen was the Klan's thumb-print on the life and death of black Floridians that it held publicized group initiations at the Miami Country club. During this time, Klan-like violence flourished throughout rural Florida,,, with mob attacks on African Americans so frequent that local newspapers rarely covered it and law enforcement typically looked away. In1920, a white mob broke into a jail in Macclenny and lynched four black men accused of raping a white woman. In Ocoee, the same year, a white mob destroyed its black community… causing as many as 30 deaths and destroying 25 homes, two churches, and a Masonic Lodge. This devastation was later mirrored in the Rosewood massacre, a racially charged slaughter that resulted in the deaths of upwards of 150 black residents in rural Levy County and which left the town of Rosewood completely destroyed. To be, later, rebuilt with new white "settlers"? Decades have passed since the Klan and mob rule shaped Florida with a public iron fist. Yet, in the years since, a walk down its streets from the Panhandle to Miami Beach remains very much a tempt of fate for persons of color. Once adorned with sheets of hate, the attacks are now most often carried out by those who wear the badge of law enforcement. It would be far too easy to simply cluster police violence in Florida with that endemic across the country. However, that toll bears a dramatic face in Florida, a state driven by a transparent legislative show of support for the agenda of a far off country that flaunts international law while it shows palpable indifference to the constitutional rights and physical safety of its own citizenry. As of five years ago, the African American population in Florida was outnumbered 3 to 1 by their white counterparts. An investigation, by the Tampa Bay Times, found that during the six year period preceding it, Florida police shot 827 people… 343 of them were black. More than half were fatal… the majority of them black. Paring off cases involving crimes of "violence" or where there was actual evidence that those shot had threatened police with weapons, the Tampa Bay Times investigation found there were 147 cases that presented no apparent grounds for the use of deadly force by police,.. 97 of them involved black Floridians. Of those who were unarmed, African Americans outnumbered whites two to one. They were twice as likely to be shot after being pulled over for a traffic violation, or by reaching for something harmless such as a license or gearshift. They were also three times as likely to be shot while being chased by police on foot, while suspected of a minor crime such as smoking pot, or while not committing any offense at all.The report found African American victims were four times more likely to be shot in the back. These statistics give no one with knowledge of the recent history of Florida reason to pause. They reflect but one short period of unbroken police violence directed at the African American community throughout the state. In 1967, Martin Chambers, 19, was shot dead by police in Tampa. Fleeing with two other young black men from the scene of a robbery of a photo supply store, he was shot in the back by an officer who later said he feared that Chambers would escape. In noting that lawbreakers accept the risk that "officers might have to use force to do their jobs", the State Attorney ruled the shooting justified because the victim was a "felon fleeing apprehension." Within hours, rioting broke out which lasted three days… destroying a large swath of the African American community. Rodney Mitchell, 23, was stopped in Sarasota for not wearing a seat belt. Police shot him as he reached to put the car in park… claiming they feared he had a gun. After being stopped by police for riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road in West Palm Beach, 22 year old Dontrell Stephens was shot in the back and paralyzed when an officer said he saw Stephens flash a dark object at him with his left hand. The object was a cell phone. 17-year-old Jeremy Hutton, with Down syndrome, who took his mom's minivan for a joyride, was shot three times during a low-speed car chase. Alens Charles, 21, fell asleep in his car, unarmed, and in his own driveway. He woke up to investigating officers who shot him when he sat up. Gregory Frazier, 55, was using a small pocket knife to eat near his home in Pompano Beach when police responded to a phone call of an argument between him and his daughter. Knowing he had a knife, officers told Frazier to get down on the ground. Not long after saying "leave me alone", he was shot dead. Corey Jones was shot and killed by a plainclothes officer while he stood waiting by his disabled car in Palm Beach Gardens. 31 years of age, Jones was struck by three of six shots fired by the officer who falsely claimed that he had identified himself and shot in self defense. Latasha Walton, 32 years old, was shot and killed by a Florida Highway patrol officer after being pulled over for allegedly driving erratically. Officers claim a trooper opened fire as she attempted to flee the scene. Charles Kinsey, a mental health therapist, was shot by police in North Miami while he sat on the ground with his hands in the air… seated next to his autistic 23 year old patient who had wandered away from his group home. Unarmed, Kinsey asked the police not to shoot him while trying to convince his patient who was playing with his toy truck to obey officers. After being shot, he was handcuffed and left bleeding on the ground for 20 minutes with no medical aid. Recently, Dyma Loving, a 26-year-old mother-of-three, called police after getting into an argument with a white neighbor who threatened her and a friend with a rifle. Responding officers pushed Loving against a metal fence and put her in a headlock before forcing her to the ground. Not long thereafter, police slammed a 15 year old boy's head into the pavement during a "trespassing" incident in which he had been seen merely reaching down to pick something up off the ground outside of a McDonald's in Tamarac, Florida. These are but a few of the faces of African American women and men, of all ages and backgrounds, that have long been victimized by police violence throughout Florida. The fortunate ones have been injured or left crippled but lived to tell their story. Countless others have been buried leaving family to wonder why, seeking not just answers… but justice. For them, it never came. Just what is there about Florida that lingers-on for its African American community forced to relive the horrors of Macclenny, Ocoee and Rosewood far removed in time and place… but not outcome? It's far too easy and academic to simply write it off to the residual effects of "badges and incidents of slavery". Can it be the North Miami Police Department using images of black men for target practice which reinforces it daily? Or the once Biscayne police chief who told his officers "… if they have burglaries that are open cases that are not solved yet, if you see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglaries." Or the scathing indictment by the Department of Justice of the Miami Police Department in 2013 concluding it's officer's shot and killed way too many people of color yet doing nothing of consequence about it. Meanwhile, as DeSantis posed in Jerusalem, life and death for Palestinians went on very much as it has these past ten, thirty, fifty, seventy plus years… an unbroken march of death and destruction fed by excuse… fueled by hate. According to B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) over the last decade, approximately three-thousand five hundred Palestinians have lost their lives to the Israeli armed forces or paramilitary settler violence. (I have no idea what it based these figures on… they seem low with my figures well over 4K… including the three "wars" and the great March) Among those killed have been seven-hundred eighty two minors and three-hundred thirty eight women. According to a data base maintained by Israel-Palestine Timeline, since 2000, approximately 10,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel… including 2,172 children. Another 100,000 have been injured. Over the last year, much of the world has watched fixated on the Great Return March in which Israeli snipers have murdered more than 300 Palestinian demonstrators on the eastern edge of Gaza. Another 30,000 have been injured by gunshots or teargas. Nearly 60 of those killed and 7,000 of those injured have been children. Hundreds, including children, have had their limbs amputated as a result of being shot with ammunition designed to tear apart limbs. Apparently the Florida State Legislature has slept through the carnage. Perhaps a match between some recent numbers and names and backdrop might awaken Tallahassee politicians who fear words but seem perfectly comfortable with violence. On January 11, 2019 Abdul-Rauf Ismael Salha, 14 was shot in the head with live fire by an Israeli sniper while demonstrating during the Great Return March in Northern Gaza. He died three days later. On May 31, 2019 Israeli soldiers shot and killed Abdullah Luay Gheith, 16, from Hebron, as he and several other young men tried to enter Jerusalem by climbing over a border fence from just outside Bethlehem to attend Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque. He died instantly after being shot in the heart. Mo'men Abu Tbeish, 21, was also shot and seriously injured in the same incident. On May 5, 2019, Maria Ahmad Ramadan al-Ghazali, 4 months, was killed along with her father, Ahmad Ramadan al-Ghazali, 31, and Eman Abdullah Asraf, 30, when their high-rise apartment in a Beit Lahiya building was hit by Israeli missiles. On May 4, 2019, Seba Abu Arar, 14 months, and her pregnant aunt, Falastin Abu Arar, 37, were killed by a rocket that struck close to their apartment building. The infant died instantly when, while sitting on her aunt's lap, was hit by shrapnel which entered their apartment. Her aunt succumbed later to her wounds. On April 18, 2019 Fatima Suleiman, 42, a school teacher, was killed after the car she was driving was rammed by a large truck driven by a settler near her home in Teqoua'. Thrown from her car, the truck struck and killed her before fleeing the scene. On March 6, 2019 Malak Rajabi, 18 months, and her brother, Wa'el, age 4, died in a fire in Hebron when Palestinian rescue crews were blocked, by the Israeli military, from reaching their home before they were burned alive inside. On December 15, 2018, Sumayya Mahmoud Nasser, 68, died in Jerusalem when she suffered a heart attack while praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli forces outside the mosque prevented an ambulance with life saving equipment from reaching her. On October 13, 2018 Aisha Rabi, 48, mother of eight, was on her way home with her husband, to Bidya in the northern West Bank, when her family's car was struck, near the Za'tara roadblock, by a hail of large rocks thrown by a group of young settlers just south of Nablus. One of the rocks smashed the windshield and struck her in the cheek and ear. She bled for about two minutes and died. On August 9, 2108, Israeli air force dropped a guided bomb on a home in the al-Ja'frawi neighborhood which lies on the southeastern outskirts of the Gazan town of Deir al-Balah. The bomb, which failed to detonate, went through the roof of a house rented by Muhammad and Inas Abu Khamash and into their living room… killing Inas, 22, an education student who was nine months pregnant, and Bayan, the couple's 22-month-old daughter. On August 27, 2017, eight year old Aseel Tareq Abu 'Oun was run over and killed by a settler as she left a supermarket near her home in Foroush Beit Dajan village in Nablus. On August 11, 2017, Amir and Hamza Abu Sbeih, Anas Haymouni and Youssef Roman, each six years old, were severely injured when a settler mounted a curb in East Jerusalem and crashed his vehicle into them. On May 20, 2017, Fatima Jibril 'Ayed Taqatqa, 15, died two months after she had been shot in the head by an Israeli soldier at the Etzion junction, south of Bethlehem. Shot on March 15th, soldiers claimed she had tried to ram them with her car. Evidence showed she had no driver's license, was an inexperienced driver who panicked upon seeing soldiers and was shot after her car came to a complete halt. On July 1, 2016, Sara Daoud Ata Tarayra, a 27 year old pregnant woman living in Hebron, was shot dead at the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city. Ordered to accompany a female soldier to a room to be searched, after being sprayed with pepper spray and fleeing, she was shot and killed by other soldiers. Palestinian medics were prevented from treating her as she lay bleeding on the ground. On July 1, 2016, Muhammad Mustafa Habash, 63, from Nablus, died after suffering from severe tear gas inhalation after being fired upon by Israeli troops. He was one of 40 who suffered from excessive tear gas as they attempted to cross the Qalandiya checkpoint from Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank, to attend prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. On April 28, 2016, Maram Saleh Abu Ismael, 24, from Beit Surik, five-months pregnant and a mother of two young daughters, and her 16 year old brother, Ibrahim Taha, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia terminal north of occupied Jerusalem. On her way for a visit to Jerusalem for the first time in her life, the two were apparently approaching soldiers in a drive through lane not intended for pedestrians. Told to stop in Hebrew, a language which neither understood, they continued on until shot dead in a hail of 20 rounds fired from a distance. Both lay bleeding on the ground while soldiers prevented Palestinian medics from treating them. On August 1, 2014, the extended family of Salem Al Mahmoum was wiped out by indiscriminate Israeli tank and artillery shelling, on a street in Rafah, after fleeing a house that had been attacked just moments before by an Israeli war plane. The 16 extended family members who were killed in that attack: Aziza Mahmoud Salaman Al Mahmoum (50), Salem's wife; Wafa' Salem Suleiman Al Mahmoum (25, Aziza and Salem's daughter; Hani Salem Suleiman Al Mahmoum (23), Aziza and Salem's son; Yahia Salem Suleiman Al Mahmoum (13).Aziza and Salem's son Asma Salem Suleiman Mahmoum (16), Aziza and Salem's daughter; Iqzaya Hammad Salman Al Mahmoum (36), wife of Mustafa Nasser Al Mahmoum; Bisan Mustafa Nasser Al Mahmoum (9), Mustafa and Iqzaya's daughter; Hiba Mustafa Nasser Al Mahmoum (7), Mustafa and Iqzaya's daughter; Dou'a Mustafa Nasser Al Mahmoum (4), Mustafa and Iqzaya's daughter; Ubada Mustafa Nasser Al Mahmoum (2), Mustafa and Iqzaya's son; 'Itaf Hammad Suleiman Al Mahmoum (30), Iqzaya's sister; Ibtisam Hammad Suleiman Al Mahmoun (18), Iqzaya's sister; Anas Ibrahim Hamdan bin Hamad (4); Mohammed Anas Mohammed Arafat (4 months); Usama Hussein Hassan Abu Sneima (30); and Su'ad Jum'a Hamad Al Tarabin (31) On July 30, 2014, Israeli tanks fired two artillery shells at the house of Mohammed A'ta Al Khalili located in Al Sanafour area in At-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. One shell landed on a group of family members awaiting evacuation, killing eight, including two women and three children. The eight were: Ashraf Mahmoud Al Khalili (33) Nedaa Ziyad Al Khalili (27). Ashraf's wife Deema Ashraf Al Khalili (5). Ashraf's daughter Ziyad Ashraf Al Khalili (2). Ashraf's son. Mahmoud Ashraf Al Kahlili (7). Ashraf's son. Ahmed Mahmoud Al Khalili (28). Ashraf's brother Aya Mohammed Al Khalili (23). Ahmed's wife who was three months pregnant Lama Ahmed Al Khalili, 4. Ahmed's daughter Israeli Demolitions On June 11, 2018, Israeli forces demolished a house, a multi-story residential building and 2 commercial facilities in the villages of sour Baher and al-Mukaber Mount, south of occupied East Jerusalem. The next day, their bulldozers razed a residential building, 7 stores and a gas station in the vicinity of the Qalendia checkpoint north of occupied East Jerusalem. Elsewhere, they seized a large plot of Palestinian land to build a new "settlement" street Northeast of Nablus. That same day, they destroyed another multi-story residential building under construction and back-filled a well in Khelet al-Surbat in southern Hebron. Southeast of Nablus, the Israeli military moved boundaries to seize Palestinian agricultural land in the village of 'Asirah al-Qibliyah. There was nothing remarkable about these two days. In all respects they were typical ones in the life of occupied Palestine. A small seize in a timeless grab, the destruction of these homes, residential buildings and shops, along with the confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli military purpose or settler convenience, was a continuum of a boundless land snatch that started long before the occupation. One year later the targets may have changed… the theft has not. On June 10, 2019, as part of "settlement" expansion, a Palestinian woman… unable to pay the demolition costs of her home… was forced, pursuant to an Israeli municipality order, to demolish her own home in Sur Baher village, south of occupied East Jerusalem, rendering her and her six children homeless. That same day Israeli forces compelled a Palestinian civilian to self-demolish his residential building, under-construction, in Sho'fat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, other Israeli vehicles demolished a residential house, an under-construction building and a commercial facility in Surbaher village and al-Mukaber Mount area, south of occupied East Jerusalem. Accompanied by dozens of soldiers and police officers, streets surrounding the demolition sites were closed before the properties were raided and leveled. Later that day, a military order was issued to confiscate a sizeable plot of land to construct a new street for the Alon Moreh settlement northeast of Nablus. On Wednesday, June 12, 2019, Israeli forces moved into Um al-Khair village, southeast of Yatta, south of Hebron, and demolished a Palestinian house that was home to ten persons, including 7 children. Meanwhile, other Israeli forces and a bulldozer moved into Kherbit Khashem al-Daraj, east of Yatta, south of Hebron, where they uprooted barbed wire and demolished a Palestinian barn. That same day, Israeli forces moved into Kherbit Ras al-Ahmar, in the northern Jordan Valley, where they uprooted tents and demolished houses and barns belonging to 4 families. Later, they destroyed a residence and 4 barracks for grazing sheep and horses in Beer 'Onah village, north of occupied East Jerusalem. On June 11, 2019, Israeli forces and 2 bulldozers moved into Kherbet Abu Kbaish, east of Tamoun village, southeast of Tubas. Uprooting some 550 forest and 240 olive trees and destroying two wells in one location… and an additional 310 forest trees and an agricultural well in another, they declared the now leveled woodlands to be a "nature reserve.". The trees and wells had been donated by the Brazilian Consulate. Later that day, military forces and 3 diggers moved into Khelat al-Sharbati area near Jawhar Mount neighborhood, in the southern area of Hebron, where they demolished an under-construction multi-unit building and a well. Elsewhere, the military issued 3 orders: one to change borders and seize agricultural lands belonging to Palestinian civilians in 'Asirah al-Qabaliyah village, southeast of Nablus… another to confiscate agricultural lands belonging in Burin village, also in southeast of Nablus,.. and a third to change borders and seize around nearby land to expand a military camp assigned security for a nearby settlement. Not long thereafter, Israeli forces demolished a residence, 4 barracks used to raise livestock and horses, and four agricultural facilities in Ber 'Ounah. Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces randomly fired rubber bullets during the demolition process. By no means a rarity, increasingly, demolition orders, have become the rai·son d'ê·tre for the Judaization of Jerusalem as Israel seeks to transform its physical and demographic landscape and character at the expense of its Muslim and Christian ones. Just several days ago, Israeli occupation forces issued demolition orders for all Palestinian homes in Jerusalem's Wadi Yasul neighbourhood… leaving some 550 Palestinians homeless. Settler Attacks Never ones to leave the theft and destruction of Palestinian land and homes to military forces, alone, illegal "settlers" were active during the same period… typically under the watchful eyes and protection of Israeli troops. For example, on June 5, 2019, settlers from "Ahiya" settlement, which sits on the southern side of Jaloud village, southeast of Nablus, attacked the village outskirts from the southern side. They threw stones at the village secondary school breaking several windows and set fire to olive fields destroying over 1000 olive trees planted some 65 years ago. The following day settlers seized agricultural lands in the al-Makhrour area in Beit Jala, where they planted various crops before enclosing it with barbed wire and placing mobile homes on what was Palestinian land. On June 8, 2019, settlers attacked a land trust in the Al-Khader village, in southern Bethlehem, where they placed water pipes and planted hundreds of olive, apricot, and peach trees. Not long thereafter, settlers from the nearby Yitzhar settlement vandalized Palestinian homes in Einabous village, South of Nablus city, in the northern West Bank… as well as a local mosque, and clinic. According to local residents, they slashed the tires of Palestinian vehicles and spray-painted the Star of David on the mosque, clinic, and homes, along with racist, anti-Palestinian slogans spray-painted in Hebrew. These are but a few of the thousands of instances of theft, violence and outright murder perpetrated by the Israeli military and deadly settler movement against Palestinian civilians for as far back as one can see. Yet, in the run-up to his fawning recital in Israel, even a casual glance of recent events in Palestine should have given DeSantis reason to pause. Predictably… he did not. In the run-up to the DeSantis arrival, Israeli forces conducted at least 90 military incursions into Palestinian communities throughout the occupied West Bank… including 7 in Jerusalem and its suburbs. During those raids, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian child and wounded 17 civilians,,, including 6 children. Ten of them, including 2 children, were wounded during their participation in the weekly protest, at Kafr Qaddoum, against Israeli land confiscations and the closure of the village's southern road by Israeli forces. Six, including 4 children, were wounded while protesting a military incursion into Nablus to secure the entry of hundreds of settlers into the eastern area of the city to perform rituals in Joseph's Tomb. During this same period, Israeli forces arrested at least 82 Palestinians…including children. Among them were 45 civilians and 3 women in Jerusalem and its suburbs. In early May of this year, Israeli bombings in Gaza took the lives of at least 12 civilians… including two women, one of them pregnant, and a number of toddlers. Another 100 were injured. This past Friday, the 61st Friday of the Great Return March, Israeli snipers wounded 92 Palestinian civilians… 28 of them children and four paramedics, one a female, in the eastern Gaza Strip. One of the wounded was a child who was hit with a live bullet to the chest sustaining serious wound. In addition, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures due to tear gas canisters that were fired by Israeli forces from military jeeps and rifles in the eastern Gaza Strip. Against this light, Governor DeSantis flew to Israel to show support for a country which cripples and murders with impunity, while ignoring the precise violence perpetrated daily against citizens of his own state. Against this light, the State of Florida seeks not to end violence which targets generations of African American citizens but, rather, to silence protected speech that seeks little more than to express solidarity and support with others who know all too well that same deadly aim some 6,500 miles away. It would be far too easy to confront the conspicuous marrow of the latest legislative attacks on BDS by reliance on constitutional purpose and precedent alone. That pure non-violent speech, association and boycott carry and further the stamp of First Amendment approval is, by now, beyond peradventure. Long ago, in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. the United States Supreme Court unanimously recognized that economic boycotts constitute a form of constitutionally protected expression no different than traditional means of communication such as speaking or writing and that those who exercise that right may not be penalized for any such lawful conduct. In Claiborne, a local branch of the NAACP launched a boycott, in 1966, of white merchant's to obtain a long list of demands for equality and racial justice from civic and business leaders. Though the boycott was largely limited to speeches encouraging others to support their cause through nonviolent picketing, some acts and threats of violence did result. Several years later, the merchants sued the NAACP seeking damages for the boycott alleging it caused malicious interference with business interests, for antitrust violations and for violation of a state boycott statute. Rejecting First Amendment claims, the lower Mississippi state court found for the merchants and ordered the NAACP to pay $3.5 million in damages. It also issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the protesters from posting "store watchers" at the premises of the boycotted businesses; persuading others to withhold patronage from the boycotted businesses; "using demeaning or obscene language to or about any person" for continuing to patronize the boycotted merchants; "picketing or patrolling" the premises of the boycotted businesses; and "using violence against any person or inflicting damage to any real or personal property." On appeal, the verdict was largely upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the state court decision finding that the boycott was a form of political speech entitled to protection under the First Amendment. In doing so, it noted that "…the boycott clearly involved constitutionally protected activity" through which the NAACP "… sought to bring about political, social, and economic change." The high court found that while the boycott may have negatively impacted local businesses, it was part of broader peaceful political activity on an issue of public significance: "Through speech, assembly, and petition… rather than through riot or revolution… petitioners sought to change a social order that had consistently treated them as second-class citizens." Moreover, it reasoned that, without proof of an organization's unlawful goals, an individual cannot be held liable for exercising their First Amendment right to assemble with other people… even if some of the others committed violent acts. Under those circumstances, the Supreme Court noted that when acts of violence are committed in conjunction with lawful expression, regulations must be sufficiently precise to impose damages only upon those who are guilty of wrongful conduct. There should be no doubt about the continuing vitality, indeed, controlling application of Claiborne to the latest spate of legislative efforts to silence BDS. In a series of recent cases that have considered the state's power to prohibit political boycotts, district courts have fallen clearly on the side of those who engage in BDS, and related speech activity, as a fundamental constitutional right. For example, in Amawi v. Pflugerville Indep. Sch. Dist, Texas sought to require an oath from public employees that they would not support BDS or, essentially, any other challenge to Israel as a condition of their employment. The lead plaintiff, Bahia Amawia, a U.S. citizen and speech pathologist, is a Palestinian, with family in Palestine, who participates in the BDS movement because she "advocate[s] for Palestinian human rights and justice [and to that end] support[s] peaceful efforts to impose economic pressure on Israel, with the goal of making Israel recognize Palestinians' dignity and human rights." For almost a decade, she contracted with a local school district in Texas to provide speech therapy and childhood evaluations. When she refused to certify that she did not, and will not in the future, boycott Israel, she was fired and sued. Rejecting the state's power to prohibit the boycott of Israel as a condition of public employment, the court scoffed at the Texas argument that BDS was merely an effort to "…refuse to buy things." In siding with the broadest reach of First Amendment protection the court reminded Texas of the now almost four decade old teach of Claiborne "… that boycotts are "deeply embedded in the American political process"—so embedded not because "refusing to buy things" is of paramount importance, but because in boycotts, the "elements of speech, assembly, association, and petition… "are inseparable" and are magnified by the "banding together" of individuals "to make their voices heard." With quick dispatch, the court ruled the Texas statute unconstitutional. Likewise, in Koontz v. Watson, the court rejected an attempt by the Kansas legislature to impose a fidelity clause upon state contractors which prohibited them from engaging in a boycott of Israel. In Koontz, the plaintiff, a Mormon, became motivated to boycott Israel by a documentary she saw, in 2016, about conditions in Palestine. The following year, she began to boycott Israeli businesses not long before the Mennonite Church USA passed a resolution that called on its members to boycott products associated with the occupation. As a result, Ms. Koontz decided she would not purchase any products or services from Israeli companies or from any company which operates in Israeli-occupied Palestine. Because of her refusal to sign the required certification, Ms. Koontz, a curriculum coach at a public school, was denied an opportunity to participate as a teacher trainer in a statewide program under a contract that would have enhanced her career and increased her income. In revisiting Claiborne, the court noted that Ms. Koontz, and other members of the Mennonite Church, have "banded together" to express their dissatisfaction with Israel and to influence its governmental action which, they see, as one riddled with injustice and violence. Drawing no distinction between the unconstitutional anti-boycott efforts of Mississippi, some fifty years ago, and that of Kansas, today, the court reasoned Ms. Koontz "and others participating in this boycott of Israel seek to amplify their voices to influence change… as did the boycotters in Claiborne." Agreeing with Ms. Koontz, that the law violated her First Amendment rights, the court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the state from enforcing the law. A similar conclusion was recently reached in the matter of Jordahl v. Brnovich. In 2016, Arizona enacted legislation "… aimed at divesting state funding from companies that engage in a boycott of Israel.". In relevant part Arizona Revised Statute § 35-393.01 states : "A public entity may not enter into a contract with a company to acquire or dispose of services, supplies, information technology or construction unless the contract includes a written certification that the company is not currently engaged in, and agrees for the duration of the contract to not engage in, a boycott of Israel." Mikkel Jordahl is an attorney who participates, on a personal level, in a boycott of consumer goods and services offered by businesses which support the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Jordahl was moved by the Peace Not Walls campaign, promoted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which calls on "… individuals to invest in Palestinian products to build their economy and to utilize selective purchasing to avoid buying products made in illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land." Mr. Jordahl is a non-Jewish member of Jewish Voice for Peace and supports its endorsement of BDS campaigns. As head of his own law firm, he desired that it participate in his boycott of "all businesses operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories." For more than a decade, Mr. Jordahl's firm contracted with an Arizona county jail to provide legal services to incarcerated individuals. Following passage of Arizona's anti-BDS law, the County asked him to execute a written certification, on the Firm's behalf, that it "is not currently engaged in a boycott of Israel,", that "no wholly owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies, or affiliates" of the Firm are "engaged in a boycott of Israel," and that neither the Firm nor any of the above-mentioned associated entities would "engage in a boycott of Israel" for the duration of the contract agreement." He refused. As a result, the county stopped paying for his firm's legal services although Mr. Jordahl continued its work, free of charge, at significant personal expense. The Arizona court had little difficulty in siding with Mr. Jordahl and his firm. Beginning with the settled proposition that citizens do not forfeit their First Amendment rights by accepting public employment, the court found no difference of constitutional consequence between Claiborne and its progeny and the Arizona law at hand. From there it was a quick judicial walk to the conclusion that Arizona's anti-BDS law impermissibly "burdens the protected expression of companies wishing to engage in such a boycott. The type of collective action targeted by the Act specifically implicates the rights of assembly and association that Americans and Arizonans use "to bring about political, social, and economic change.". In light of these cases, it is wishful sophistry to see the Supreme Court do a 180 degree turn if, and when, an anti-BDS case reaches its historic bench and to find that such legislation passes constitutional muster. Yet, Florida and its toadying Governor, desperate for political pomp, have gone one step further in its most recent law that not only impermissibly prohibits boycotts, but seeks to criminalize mere words,themselves. Under their broken view of the First Amendment, one can silence public discussion and debate over the policies and practices of Israel by simply reducing it to little more than a trendy puerile talisman of anti-Semitism. It will not work. If there is any remarkable feature of the American experience, it is the First Amendment. By its very language, it is imposing. It is meant to be. "Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech or of the press…" While this unqualified phrasing was not intended to safeguard all expressions, First Amendment protection of speech and press is the exalted cornerstone of our Republic. Nowhere is there more compelling than it is with regard to political speech. As noted by the Supreme Court… "Speech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government." To be sure, the High Court has often "… reaffirmed that speech on public issues occupies the highest rung of the [hierarchy] of First Amendment values and is entitled to special protection" The constitution thus permits only the most minimal of interference with political speech. The constitution permits but minimal interference with political speech. And when it takes the form of a "prior restraint" suppressing it before the fact, it is presumptively unconstitutional whether from a court or by legislative act. The right of speech stretches from the speaker's voice to the listener's right to hear what others have to say… free from government interference.Ultimately, it is only through a robust exchange of ideas and opinion that decisions can be drawn on essential issues of public concern. Ripped from the historical presence of Palestine, Israel has received hundreds of billions of dollars from the United States since its founding. In the decades since, it has provided Israel an endless supply of high grade weaponry, technical assistance and unbridled support in the United Nations. It has shaped much of its own foreign policy in the Middle East, Gulf and parts of North Africa in reliance upon what is described, by some, as a bilateral relationship that has furthered the interests of both states. Over these years, the United States has inflicted millions of casualties in the region and suffered tens of thousands of its own. While some choose to describe the relationship between the United States and Israel as one of architect and proxy, with vigorous disagreement over which is which, there can be no reasonable quarrel over the fact that they have been inexorably intertwined with one another on issues of public interest and policy for more than seventy years. Given this history, to suggest that discourse and debate about that relationship, indeed, about Israel itself, does not constitute protected speech about pressing public issues is sheer folly. That is not to suggest that all comment and speech about Israel, its leadership, its people, its property must be constitutionally countenanced under all circumstances at all times. Indeed, it is well settled that, under limited circumstances, speech can cross the line from protected observation and comment to illegal conduct. Thus, in the landmark case of Brandenburg v. Ohio the Supreme Court noted that speech "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and "likely to incite or produce such action" may be punishable via criminal law. However it went on to note that speech may encourage or even advocate lawless action, yet be unlikely to incite such action, leaving it fully protected under the First Amendment. Cut to its essential chase, Brandenburg and its progeny reaffirm a call for calculation and consideration of words and context not whitewash of thoughts. Florida would silence that calculus by legislative fiat. It would convert any challenge to Israel, any dare to its policies, any opposition to its practices to prohibited, perhaps criminal speech. Whether by ignorance or political convenience, the fundamental disconnect between the secular evil that is Zionism and the age-old faith that is Judaism seems to narrow day by day across certain political divides. BDS is a movement of non violence and humanity… it singles out no one faith, race, or sexual identity for either scorn or praise. Yet, with unsurprising ease and clear purpose, it has been reworked, by some, to turn aside its well defined goal and, by now, settled history and practice. Short on cover, excuse and allies, desperate Zionists have never hesitated to exploit painful historical events to further their faithless geopolitical blueprint. And while many wince at the claim of an age-old international Jewish conspiracy, Zionists welcome the screed as so much supporting fodder for their all too convenient baseless charge that Jews are under attack, everywhere. Make no mistake about it, Israeli hate and violence is under attack… as well it should be. But to cast its long, supremacist and deadly shadow as vulnerable victim to "anti-Semitism" by critical speech,.. and speech alone… is little more than cheap obfuscation and petty rewrite. While HB 741 may please Florida's political benefactors, ultimately it will fail as but another cheap pander to those who find comfort in lofty self-praise but flee the search for truth. That search will not permit the future of Palestinians to remain high jacked through the fabrication of a shallow Zionist chronicle. When the history of our time is written, anti-BDS legislation will be dispatched as little more than opportune political chant. As for BDS, itself, it will have proven to have played a defining role as a loud and powerful megaphone that confronted the longest and most insidious system of apartheid of our day… bar none. Posted on June 24, 2019 June 24, 2019 Author mala114Tags AIPAC, al-Mukaber Mount, Amawi v. Pflugerville Indep. Sch. Dist, anti-semitism, BDS, Black Codes, Brandenburg v. Ohio, First Amendment, Gaza Strip, Governor Ron DeSantis, HB 741, Jordahl v. Brnovich., Kherbit Khashem al-Daraj, Koontz v. Watson, Ku Klux Klan, Morton Klein, NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co, Qalendia checkpoint, Rosewood massacre, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, sour Baher, Tampa Bay Times, U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Zionist, Zionist Organization of America1 Comment on From Tel Aviv to Tallahassee {Originally published May 10, 2019) The Islamic Resistance Movement began more than thirty years ago at an historical moment in time which it knew to be fraught with absolute peril for their people. The founders of this national liberation struggle examined the overwhelming military capabilities of Israel, fostered by its global superpower sponsor, the United States. They looked at Israel's expansionist programs… the Zionist project of illegal settlements erasing their homes and villages, dispossessing mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers… and at the failure of the international community to stop them. They knew then, that within a generation Palestinians would lose it all … their motherland and patrimony and their nation… leaving them homeless captives to the whims of another man's door. In that moment, resistance was not a lifestyle choice or a revolutionary pose. It was existential necessity, just as it is now. Everything Hamas predicted then has come to pass. Here, a generation later, it should take no comfort reminding the world that they were right in its analysis. Israel has grown only stronger and more rapacious, more intransigent and murderous in its deeds. Its "democracy" did not save it from becoming a racist, apartheid state presiding over a military occupation of millions of Palestinians. Israel's policy of creating "facts on the ground"… that is, the illegal settlement project… has transitioned from a de facto expulsion and annexation policy into a de jure one, as its prime minister calls for the removal of Palestinians and the annexation of the West Bank, and the American president and congress pre-emptively applaud the crime-to-be. The Golan Heights… sovereign territory of another nation… is now Israel's by force, cynically annexed while Syria struggles in the throes of war. And Jerusalem (al Quds) is ringed by new, fortified suburbs and restricted highways demolishing Palestinian neighborhoods and cutting off their city from them. America now calls Jerusalem Israel's capital… in direct violation of international law. Since 1967, successive U.S. administrations have told Palestinians to trust in their good faith as brokers of a just peace. This has been a lie… as Hamas anticipated then, America was running cover, a stalling tactic, for the slow-motion destruction of Palestinian national aspirations. Tragically, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and maimed and many more imprisoned by Israeli state violence since Hamas began. The international community has done little to stop the monstrous crime unfolding. Palestinians were right to resist then. The world surely can see that now. The tragedy of retrospection should, at the very least, accord Palestinians their due: resistance is morally right, history has proven it so. Yet, even last month, in the pages of America's official paper of record, the New York Times, the U.S. administration through its craven spokesman Jason Greenblatt… a Zionist real estate lawyer from New York, charged with shepherding the "peace process" for the President as the Special Representative for International Negotiations, heaps insult upon injury, twisting history and recent events in a grotesque parody of a policy statement, adopting the Likud Party platform as the publicly declared U.S. position. None of us should be surprised by the falsifications in the Trump Administration's official pronouncements. It has proven itself, after all, to be a presidency built on lying. Yet only the most gullible American readers could possibly believe its juvenile "blame Hamas" refrain. Hamas did not create the thirteen-year siege of Gaza, cutting Palestinians off from the world. It did not commence any of the three wars launched by Israel against Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014 or it's countless other attacks and outrages since. It did not destroy Gaza's industries, its water treatment plant, its power generation, its hospitals, houses, mosques, schools, television stations and roads… Israeli missiles and bombs did that. Hamas does not keep two million people penned in an open-air prison, with a prison economy in tatters… Israel does that. The cynicism of the Administration's statement is unparalleled: "The countries of the world have attempted to help the people of Gaza," …but their good works have been destroyed by Hamas, according to the Special Representative. Perhaps he had in mind the post-Oslo airport, built by multinational leadership, attacked in 2001 by Israeli air forces, with its runways bulldozed by Israel a few years later? Or the catastrophic damage wrought upon the water system by Israeli air strikes during Operation Cast Lead in 2008? Or the extensive bombing of the sanitation system in Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012? Or Gaza's only power plant, attacked in 2006, 2008 and finally leveled by Israeli missiles in 2014's Operation Protective Edge? All of these key infrastructure projects, indeed, were funded by international donors, but destroyed by American jet planes, flown by the Israeli armed forces. Empty-headed slogans, scribbled by a huckster and moral fraud that has no more business posing as a diplomat than he does as a man of sincere religious belief, cannot smother the truth. The continuing tragedy of Gaza, indeed, all of Palestine, is not so easy to conceal… and Palestinian resistance continues. There is no choice. Palestinians were right to resist then. The world surely can see that now. The tragedy of retrospection should, at the very least, accord Palestinians their due: resistance is morally right, history has proven it so. Yet, even last month, in the pages of America's official paper of record, the New York Times, the U.S. administration through its cravens pokesman Jason Greenblatt… a Zionist real estate lawyer from New York, charged with shepherding the "peace process" for the President as the Special Representative for International Negotiations, heaps insult upon injury, twisting history and recent events in a grotesque parody of a policy statement, adopting the Likud Party platform as the publicly declared U.S. position. None of us should be surprised by the falsifications in the Trump Administration's official pronouncements. It has proven itself, after all, to be a presidency built on lying. Yet only the most gullible American readers could possibly believe its juvenile "blame Hamas" refrain. Hamas did not create the thirteen-year siege of Gaza, cutting Palestinians off from the world. It did not commence any of the three wars launched by Israel against Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014 or it's countless other attacks and outrages since. It did not destroy Gaza's industries, its water treatment plant, its power generation, its hospitals, houses, mosques, schools, television stations and roads… Israeli missiles and bombs did that. Hamas does not keep two million people penned in an open-air prison, with a prison economy in tatters… Israel does that. The cynicism of the Administration's statement is unparalleled: "The countries of the world have attempted to help the people of Gaza," …but their good works have been destroyed by Hamas, according to the Special Representative. Perhaps he had in mind the post-Oslo airport, built by multinational leadership, attacked in 2001 by Israeli air forces, with its runways bulldozed by Israel a few years later? Or the catastrophic damage wrought upon the water system by Israeli air strikes during Operation Cast Lead in 2008? Or the extensive bombing of the sanitation system in Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012? Or Gaza's only power plant, attacked in 2006, 2008 and finally leveled by Israeli missiles in 2014's Operation Protective Edge? All of these key infrastructure projects, indeed, were funded by international donors, but destroyed by American jet planes, flown by the Israeli armed forces. Empty-headed slogans, scribbled by a huckster and moral fraud that has no more business posing as a diplomat than he does as a man of sincere religious belief, cannot smother the truth. The continuing tragedy of Gaza, indeed, all of Palestine, is not so easy to conceal… and Palestinian resistance continues. There is no choice. Israel daily blocks some 650 basic goods from entry to the Gaza Strip for alleged "security" reasons… including medicines, hospital equipment and even some types of baby formula. Israel denies fishing nets to Gaza's fishermen, or materials to repair boats. Infrastructure materials… from pumping equipment to water and sanitation piping,to electrical supplies and cement… are all but forbidden. Communication supplies and the technology of the internet… server and switching equipment… are embargoed, leaving Gaza lagging behind in poverty and despair, cut off from the world. A United Nations-approved system instituted after the cease-fire in 2014 exists for monitoring so-called "dual use" materials, yet, Israel continues to ignore it as it stifles the free flow of goods needed to rebuild Gaza… in a deliberate policy of attrition. Hundreds of Palestinians die annually, per the World Health Organization, because they cannot travel for medical treatment and the health care infrastructure and supply chain is destroyed. Gaza suffers, but not because of Hamas and its administration. Hamas has done everything in its power to spare the Palestinian people in Gaza the devastating effects of the Israeli siege. It opened the doors wide to facilitate international support reaching Gaza's residents. It accepted that infrastructure and public health projects should be implemented under full international supervision in coordination with government agencies. It has sought to ensure the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be open in both directions as an alternative to the dehumanizing caged passageway at Beit Hanoun (Erez). It has worked in coordination with the United Nations and Egypt to reach understandings that can achieve calm with the occupation and avoid escalation… a step on the road to lifting the siege and alleviating the hardships facing the people in Gaza. At the strategic political level, Hamas has made great efforts to bring about Palestinian reconciliation, achieve unity, end the division and form an internationally recognized Palestinian unity government… but these efforts have been thwarted by the American veto and Israeli sabotage. Moreover, Hamas has worked with all its Palestinian partners to reach a consensus and internationally recognized formula on the national vision… in order to find a way out of the current crisis, as expressed most recently in May 2017, wherein it again accepted a state configured upon the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, while simultaneously preserving the right of return for the millions in the Palestinian Diaspora. Hamas is a national liberation movement democratically elected by a majority of Palestinians in 2006 under the watchful eye of the world community. At its core it promotes and fights for the fundamental right of Palestinian self-determination fueled byfull equality, independence and return. It does not embrace gratuitous violence. Nor, however, does it leave the people of Gaza defenseless at the mercy of an occupation force that has proven itself unworthy of trust and unwilling to exercise even a modicum of respect for international law. A long settled tenet of that law is the right of the occupied to engage in resistance, that includes armed struggle. Palestinians continue to resist legally. They do not owe their occupier passive surrender. Not long ago, Israel sent an assassination-squad surreptitiously into Gaza to kill Palestinian leaders. In the weeks since, it has repeatedly attacked civilian targets and infrastructure. It has been met by Palestinian defensive measures; and Israel responds, predictably, with F-16 attacks and tank shelling throughout Gaza… killing some two dozen including three children and two pregnant women, one who was clutching her 14 month old in her arms as both perished. More than a hundred and fifty other civilians were wounded over the last several days of Israeli attacks. This latest assault does not yet have an operational name to sell it to the world… marketing Israel's "bravery" narrative… but surely they'll think of something catchy to disguise the carnage. This past year, the Palestinian people, with all its factions and vital forces, including Hamas, took part in peaceful demonstrations… as affirmed by UN monitoring, along the separation fence at the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, demanding the lifting of the siege on Gaza and the right of return. How did the occupation respond? With live ammunition and sniper fire intended to kill and maim. Approximately 280 Palestinians have died and more than 28,000 have been wounded during this time… many of whom will live the rest of their lives disabled. Not one Israeli on the other side was killed because of the demonstrations. These protests also persist on a smaller scale in the West Bank where Israel continues to steal Palestinian land, destroy Palestinian homes and imprison Palestinian women and children at a pace second to none. To the Greenblatts and Trumps and their Zionist cheer no amount of campaign sloganeering in puerile public statements can rewrite the palpable facts of Israeli aggression and its deadly occupation or recast Hamas from a lawful indigenous defense force into a mercenary political outlier. Nor can the soon to come US "deal of the century" entice millions of Palestinians to surrender an age-old history and tradition to the cheap ring of a common real estate cash box. Hamas is no rogue militant group, with anonymous, shadowy operators. It will not disappear or shirk its leadership responsibility. It remains an authentic and powerful part of the Palestinian people, for over thirty years… much older than some of the current Israeli political parties in the Knesset. While many of its founders, all those years ago, have been killed by Israel, Hamas continues to speak on behalf of the dignity and hope of millions of Palestinians worldwide. Like them, it carries the kindle of resilience and self-determination of a People rendered stateless but neither hopeless nor powerless by a European colonial project. Like them, it will not cease to exist or fade into silence. Posted on May 22, 2019 Author mala1143 Comments on The Enemy is not Resistance By Corey Kilgannon JEFFERSONVILLE, N.Y. — On the day his law license was reinstated this past summer, Stanley L. Cohen got a call from an old friend and client, Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior political leader of Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza. "He said, 'You're up to trouble again already?'" recalled Mr. Cohen, 67. In certain circles in the Middle East, he said, "Word had gotten around very quickly that I was back." That Mr. Cohen is back — after a prison sentence on federal tax charges that resulted in the suspension of his law license — is certain to infuriate many people. He has spent much of his 35-year law career raising legal hell, defending controversial clients with an audacity that has antagonized his enemies, including United States intelligence figures and many Jewish groups. He calls his clients "the despaired, the despised and the disenfranchised." Others call them terrorists and irredeemable criminals. They include members of Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, all of which the United States considers terrorist groups, as well as Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who was convicted in 2014 of conspiring to kill Americans. He helped represent Kathy Boudin, the member of the Weather Underground involved in a 1981 Brink's robbery outside New York City that left two police officers and a security guard dead. Another client, Larry Davis, shot six police officers in a shootout in 1986 in the Bronx. The lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz — no stranger to controversy himself, having represented O.J. Simpson and Claus von Bülow, among others — said of Mr. Cohen: "I think he's a horrible human being with horrible values, but I've defended worse." Stanley Cohen represented Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden.CreditBryan R. Smith for The New York Times Mr. Cohen has also handled cases involving a variety of causes, including Native American rights, East Village squatters and Occupy Wall Street protesters. The criticism and the labels — terrorist supporter, traitor to his country, Jewish anti-Semite — all "come with the turf," said Mr. Cohen, who relishes the spotlight his provocative style attracts. In 2015, he suddenly dropped out of public view when he entered a federal prison in Pennsylvania after pleading guilty to having failed to file proper tax returns or maintain necessary financial records for his law practice. True to form, Mr. Cohen denounced the case as politically motivated and retribution for his history of defending radicals and terrorists. He served nearly 11 months of an 18-month sentence, in conditions he likened to a "Boy Scouts barracks." Inside, he started a blog called "Caged But Undaunted" and ran the law library. He taught inmates civil and human rights law and held classes on Middle Eastern issues, he said. His first call from prison after his release, he said, was also from Mr. Abu Marzook, who told him, "O.K. Vacation's over." Before he entered prison, financial pressures led Mr. Cohen to give up a funky loft on the Lower East Side where he had kept a bohemian home office. Now, with his law license reinstated after its suspension because of his conviction, he is looking for a new base in New York City. Mr. Cohen used to work from his loft on the Lower East Side but is now based in the Catskills.CreditRobert Caplin for The New York Times For years, the legal fees from defendants in murder, drug, robbery and other criminal cases helped sustain his pro bono work for terrorist and political activist cases, he said. But that will have to change. "I have to make a living now," he said. "The days of 500 street arrests or 1,000 pro bono cases from Tompkins Square, I can't do that anymore." Mr. Cohen, with his distinctive beard and ponytail, was dressed in a rugged tan outfit and leather boots. His three-legged chocolate lab, Emma, rested at his feet in the chalet-style home in the Catskills that now serves as his office, a two-hour drive northwest of New York City. "This is all I have, after 35 years of practicing law, a house in the mountains," he said. Mr. Cohen said he was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household but in his teens became interested in social justice issues and turned from religion toward the political activism that has fueled his law career. He attended law school at Pace University in Westchester County and then worked in the 1980s as a Legal Aid lawyer in the Bronx. As a lawyer in private practice in the 1990s, he took on Albanian and Bosnian clients and started to become known among Muslim civil rights groups. This led to his defense of Mr. Abu Marzook against efforts to extradite him to Israel in 1995 on suspicion of terror. Mr. Abu Marzook was able to avoid the charges and was flown instead to Jordan. Mr. Cohen represented Moataz Al-Hallak, center, the imam of the Islamic Society of Arlington, after he was linked in 1999 by federal prosecutors to Mr. bin Laden. CreditSteve Hart/The New York Times For now, Mr. Cohen works on an aging laptop surrounded by paintings by his longtime companion, Joni Sarah White, an artist and a member of the Mohawk Nation. The walls are also covered with newspaper articles and photos chronicling his career, showing him with other radical lawyers like William Kunstler and Lynne F. Stewart, or with Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader regarded by many Palestinians as a hero and by many Israelis as a terrorist. In one photo, he is smiling broadly and sitting between two Hamas leaders who were later assassinated in rocket attacks by the Israeli military. The same image is the profile photo on his Twitter feed. Mr. Cohen has long been a fierce supporter of Hamas, touting his friendships with its leaders and supporting their right to armed resistance against Israel. "Occupied people, under international law, have a right to armed struggle, period," he said. But his views on Hamas, among other things, have led to fierce criticism from Jewish groups, and he said one militant group labeled him "the world's No. 1 self-hating Jew." Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an Israeli lawyer who represents victims of terrorist violence, criticized Mr. Cohen for taking a tradition of representing marginalized clients "to a very extreme and dangerous place," and compared his representation of some terror groups to representing Nazi war criminals. "Islamic terrorists are not the underdog or downtrodden deserving a zealous defense," she said. "They are aggressive perpetrators who maliciously try to murder innocent Jews." Mr. Cohen has this broken picture frame holding a photo of a Hamas camp in his home office in Jeffersonville, N.Y.CreditEve Edelheit for The New York Times Scarves Mr. Cohen has collected hang in his home in Sullivan County.CreditEve Edelheit for The New York Times CreditEve Edelheit for The New York Times Mr. Cohen countered that he has "always opposed attacks on civilians by anyone for any reason." "But to draw any comparisons of that suffered by Palestinians with the rare injury to Israelis, is simply disingenuous or dishonest," he said. Mr. Cohen has incensed critics by saying that, to take a case, he must feel a kinship with his clients or their cause. Mr. Cohen made headlines after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, by saying publicly that he would not rule out representing Osama bin Laden. Mr. Dershowitz said he has represented clients he does not necessarily like or agree with, but whom he believes deserve a rigorous defense. Mr. Cohen, he said, goes a step too far. "I pick my clients by their need for representation," he said. "If you represent people because you like them, then you can be judged by the clients you keep." As for his tax conviction, which included failing to file tax returns for six years, Mr. Cohen said he pleaded guilty only after growing tired of fighting the charges, accumulating legal fees and having relatives, friends and clients "harassed" by the authorities. "I'm a target till the day I die, because of what I say, who I represent and what I write," Mr. Cohen said. Mr. Cohen spoke outside the federal courthouse in Newark in 2011 after two of his clients, Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, pleaded guilty to conspiring to acts of terrrorism.CreditJuan Arredondo for The New York Times But prosecutors have dismissed his claim of selective prosecution. In pleading guilty, Mr. Cohen did not "downplay his guilt, or his conduct," said Grant C. Jaquith, the United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, the office that won a conviction against Mr. Cohen. "In this case, as in all cases, our decision to bring charges was based on careful consideration of long-established principles of federal prosecution and our commitment to equal justice under the law," Mr. Jaquith said. In any case, Mr. Cohen said he recently hired a scrupulous accountant and still plans on handling pro bono political work in the Middle East, albeit on a more limited basis. "I just spent 80 hours researching a Palestinian case," he said. "I still take them — that ain't going to change." Corey Kilgannon is a Metro reporter covering news and human interest stories. His writes the Character Study column in the Sunday Metropolitan section. He was also part of the team that won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. @coreykilgannon • Facebook A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 22, 2018 , on Page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: After Jail, a Lawyer for Extremist Clients Rehangs His Shingle. Order Reprints \| Today's Paper \| Subscribe Posted on October 28, 2018 October 27, 2018 Author mala114Leave a comment on He Raised Legal Hell for 35 Years. Now He's Back. Originally published in Counterpunch October 5, 2018 Is the Two-State Solution now the zombie of Western political-thought–an idea long dead, yet still walking the landscape, with bits of it rotting and falling off, while reason and history shoot holes in it, but it keeps staggering on, infecting the political discourse? Who can sincerely believe in it anymore? Least of all, Israel and the Zionists, since the idea's basic post-Madrid concept has been so thoroughly abused and violated, perforated with holes so big you can plant a settlement in them. The idea has been rendered no longer materially feasible, to put it politely–well and truly screwed to pieces, not so politely– while any lingering confidence by the Palestinians in the good-faith intentions of Israel and the United States has been replaced with mistrust and despair, and the cold realization that US policy does not have any interest in a just or fair outcome for the Palestinians. It never really has had any interest in helping the Palestinians. What killed the Two State Solution, we might ask? The settlements killed the Two-State Solution–but NOT as an accidental by-product of Israeli "security" issues, as if the settlements were a casual, reversible mistake. But rather they killed the Two-State Solution as part of a calculated agenda from the very start of the Zionist project to capture, de-populate and settle Jews on ALL the land of Palestine. Zionism's early generation of founders always envisioned the large-scale removal of the Arab population, and the settlement of their own descendants in land belonging to others–you can read it in their diaries and letters, in their unguarded moments when they are talking among themselves. Herschel, Jabotinsky, Ben Gurion, Meir–they all spoke privately of what they understood: that all of Palestine would be theirs, and that it would be a state for the Jews alone. This has not changed. The Israeli political establishment is today far more racist and authoritarian than the original Zionists ever dreamed of being. We see today how the orthodox right wing has taken over the official agenda entirely, with predictable results: more walls, fences, checkpoints, prisons, military forces, deadly raids by helicopters and fighter planes, and dehumanization for the occupied people. When the Israeli Occupation Forces start getting their first shipment of drones from the US arsenal, it will only get worse. The settlements–whose population has roughly quadrupled since Madrid–were ALWAYS part of the plan historically, even though the agenda of settlement has always been directly at odds with international law, and counter to the creation of a Palestinian state, or any "peace process." This contradiction has stymied forty years of negotiations–and any continued talk with settlement-building part of the equation is simply contrary to common sense. Speaking as an American, I must note for you here today that it is fundamentally difficult to understand why Americans ever believed in the Two-State Solution at all–I don't mean the deep political establishment in my country, which is essentially pro-Zionist, strategically and sentimentally, and has used the Two State Solution as a stalling ruse to buy more time for Zionism's plan. But rather, I mean the thinking, commenting, "chattering class" of intellectuals, television hosts, and so on, tasked with the job of "selling" the idea over the last forty years or so, and those average Americans targeted for this deception. Because for Americans, a fundamental cognitive dissonance has always surrounded the very idea of Israel as an exclusive "state for the Jews": and that is the fact that American political culture and civil polity are founded on the sacrosanct, bedrock value of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, which essentially says that a democracy does not establish ANY religion as the religion of the state, and may not favor any faith over another. We can't claim credit for this idea–we got it from the French revolution, and from English philosophers before them. It was a radical idea in the 18th century, but today it's a mainstream, default concept in the West. It's how we do government in the West. So how did the United States become the proponent and guarantor of the zombie idea of Israel–an exclusive state which bases citizenship on membership in one religion, while reserving a degraded, second-class citizenship for those who are not Jews? Everything about this is antithetical to the American political tradition. It has been one of the great, triumphant acts of cynical political salesmanship in my lifetime: that the exclusive "state for the Jews" has been rendered as acceptable in polite quarters– even just and fair!–to Americans, within the context of our political discourse, even though every ten year old in American Civics class learns in school that we are a nation where all people are equal, and no religion controls, but you are free to worship as you please. Selling this idea to Americans has taken decades and lots of money and influence, operating sometimes quietly, sometimes openly. US President Harry Truman in 1947 was extremely skeptical of any "state for the Jews," and generally objected to the Zionist plan on purely fundamental American values–that the establishment of a religious state was counter to what America stands for, and he didn't want any part of it. He thought he had worked out with his British counterparts a solution for partitioning Palestine that would allow 100,000 Holocaust survivors from Europe to move there, but would create a federal, democratic government with the existing majority Arab population controlling the majority of the land, in a secular state, among which the European Jews would be permitted to live. Truman even went so far as to remind advisors that "religious wars" had ravaged Europe for centuries, and had been the very thing the American Revolution had got us all away from in 1776, and that a "Jewish State" was not an American idea. Eventually, Truman went along with partition, but only if it awarded Palestine mostly to the Palestinians, with a small enclave for the Jews. He expressed his doubts that any creation of a Jewish state could ever be fair to the Arabs. But then something happened–and this is the salesmanship of Zionism–in the circle of liberal, "progressive" Democrats surrounding the Truman White House: famous men like Judge Brandeis, or the former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Liberals! They pushed on behalf of the Zionists for a Jewish state, and against the fairness doctrine that Truman wanted. The Liberal movement in the United States helped create Israel, and in doing so, robbed the Palestinians of their homes, their villages, their farms, their cities and towns. Always beware of the smiling, do-gooder liberals, is the lesson there. So much for the American ideal of the Establishment Clause. Next, the US Constitution enshrines the basic idea of "equality" before the law, and due process for all citizens. As a lawyer, I can tell you that "due process" is the mechanical operating feature of the US Constitution which triggers so many of our rights as citizens–that everyone has the same access to, relationship to, and enfranchisement under the law. The United States has fought bitterly over these issues–including its own civil war, and many rounds of social and political rights movements–but this fundamental western Enlightenment idea has held up as the core value of all our laws in the United States. The foundation of the Zionist state, of course, was a monstrous crime against the notion of "due process." Who among the 800,000 Palestinians stripped of their land and homes in 1948 ever received "due process" of the law? Who among the millions of refugees today refused the right to return to where their families come from has ever received any "due process" of the law? Speaking as a lawyer, this is the most troubling aspect of any "Two State Solution"–the constant threat by the Zionists that any Palestinian assertion of the Right of Return justifies a cancellation of all other rights Palestinians possess–it is a miserable, deceitful and coercive cruelty played out over decades by the Zionists against those displaced Palestinians and their descendants who have suffered. It is the original crime at the foundation of the Zionist state–and the Zionists continually cry for the Palestinians to renounce their human right before any other rights can be discussed. As if the human right did not precede all other rights. This is why the Two State Solution is dead–because the Zionists cannot admit that their state is founded on a crime, and the moral contradiction of their position does not permit a way forward. There is only blind advancement of conquest, subjugation and Apartheid. Speaking as a lawyer, I am most troubled by the failure of the Israeli people to understand the Right of Return in purely legalistic terms: it is a property right, and the body of law dealing with property is long and deep, and originates in many cultures and languages, including, famously, the law-giving culture of the Jews. Much of the ancient Jewish Torah and religious teachings, after all, are concerned explicitly with property, righteousness and what is fair. The foundation of their faith is, in essence, the story of a contract between a people and God, and what happens when contracts are not honored. Even this past year, we have witnessed the vindication of property claims by Jews against banks, insurance companies, and art collections, concerning the plunder of the Nazis–where property is concerned, many Jews have vindicated their rights across many decades of troubling history, recovering bank accounts, businesses, houses and art. Yet where are the Israelis who stand up and say, "the Right of Return is an issue of equity and property–the land belongs to someone else." Again, the moral failure of the Israeli state, under the corruption of Zionism, blinds all who stand on stolen ground. Yet, the "due process" concept is even more troubling for the future that is upon us now: the Apartheid state that the Zionists have built over the years since the Madrid talks can never permit even the faintest whisper of "due process" for those who must live under it. Why do Americans support this? Do they even know what they support? The One State of Zionist Apartheid is upon us, and that needs to be spelled out in every way to folks in the United States. Because now, as the Two-State Solution is dead, the choice for even liberal, peace-seeking Israelis (and for the Americans who would support them) is a choice between a single state from the river to the sea, in which every single person has total and equal enfranchisement before the law, with a resulting Arab majority; or it is a single state ruled by an iron fist, with two classes of citizens–the official, enfranchised class, and the subjugated, serving class, with walls and fences and Bantustan villages to keep them in their place. Does this sound familiar? But still, proponents push the zombie corpse of the Two State Solution forward. I am amazed at how hollowed out this concept has become from all the abuse it has suffered–according to the Occupiers and the United States' right wing, the future Palestinian "state" will not have control of its own borders, or ports; exclusive highways for Jews only will criss-cross its land, connecting settlements; it will not have any army or national military force; it will not be permitted armor or airplanes; it will have fences and walls, and the Israeli army and navy, surrounding all of it. That doesn't sound much like a state I'd like to live in! I wouldn't live in that state if you made me the President. Zionist phobia of a dignified Palestinian neighbor runs deep and broad–just like racism–and would provoke laughter if it were not such a sickness. This phobia is so powerful that the Israelis and the Americans won't even allow the Palestinians to take their place among the organizations of nations, and have access to international cultural and political resources–as witness the temper-tantrum Israel and the US State Department threw last year when the Palestinian Authority joined various United Nations organizations. It is time for the Zionists to grow up, and stop poisoning the phony discourse–either admit your agenda is conquest, or get out. If it's conquest, then the apartheid system shall prevail, which–as South Africa demonstrated–will lead to a protracted battle for rights by the majority population, leading to their eventual triumphant–in A ONE STATE FRAMEWORK. This is what Palestinians have to look forward to, I'm afraid! But I have been visiting South Africa quite a lot in the past few years as a lawyer–and I can tell you, I know of no more other society so determined to find a just and equitable future together, really struggling with the legacy of injustice and working creatively to make a real nation, than I find in South Africa. It holds out the promise that one day Palestine will be the state we are talking about, from the river to the sea. Yet the zombie of the Two State Solution still strides the land, spawning its infected army of zombie believers–most recently the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, who staggered through the region, ineffective and clueless, then made an observation back home that Israel was flirting with Apartheid. The result? He has paid politically in Washington, where he had to go down on bended knee and apologize publicly to the Zionist lobby, and it's unlikely his political career has anywhere left to go now, because he dared to use the "A-word" in referring to Israel. Of course, popular cinema has taught us that to kill a zombie, you must hit it in the head, and destroy its brain. This tells me that we must struggle now to defeat the intellectual justifications for the Two State Solution–defeat the far-flung network of bogus think-tanks and apologists who hold up Israel as a shining beacon of polite, lawful statehood, while keeping the Palestinians disenfranchised. We must win the intellectual battle, at the same time as the fight on the ground continues–the world must learn that the American and Zionist agenda is intended to subjugate the Palestinians further, and will continue to do so until world opinion & the Palestinians themselves change that–just as happened in South Africa. This article is adapted from an address to the "Nakba 2014" Conference in Zurich, 15 May 2014. Translation http://www.alquds.com/pdf/1539421787168777600/1539423079000/#page=10&zoom=auto,-13,1536 Posted on October 13, 2018 October 17, 2018 Author mala114Leave a comment on The Two-State Solution is Neither Originally published August 24, 2018 in Counterpunch As old as war itself, collective punishment has long been the most damning and destructive weapon of all. Not satisfied with engaging combatants alone and directly, historically, it has fueled state reprisal against families, communities and entire populations in a drive to "win" a given conflict, military or otherwise, at all costs. With roots that trace, literally, to the start of time, reprisal has evolved as modern warfare has became more proficient and popular resistance more prevalent. Nowhere has collective punishment proved more evident and systemic than it has in the West where it has long run the gamut from civil sanctions, to population displacement, to political penalty, to imprisonment, to outright slaughter. Of late, it has grown more subtle, yet no less pernicious, through state censorship that seeks to control the narrative of the day. In the American Civil War, during his "march to the sea", General Sherman ordered his troops, when faced with any resistance from guerillas, to "enforce devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility." In doing so, his troops targeted non-combatants causing more than one-hundred million dollars in property damage. Today that destruction would be valued at more than one-and half billion dollars. The strategy known as "hard war" was defined by widespread destruction of civilian supplies, infrastructure and property, which disrupted the South's economy and transportation networks. Foragers, known as "bummers", seized food from local farms for the Army while they destroyed railroads, manufacturing and agricultural infrastructure in the South. As troops marched through Georgia, they took whatever horses, mules and wagons, owned by civilians, for military use. In leaving Atlanta, all buildings and structures that might have had a military "value", including rail depots, roundhouses, arsenals and storage areas, were disassembled and burned. Although monitored, the "controlled" fires resulted in heavy damage, if not widespread destruction, to civilian homes located throughout Atlanta. Sherman's "scorched earth" policy was not new and was to continue after the Civil War as military forces targeted non-combatants in particular indigenous communities as an essential part of an early European colonial project. Thus, in 1863, after a small group of miners were killed, the US military laid the blame at a band of nearby "defiant" Shoshone Indians. During the four hour onslaught that followed, 200 soldiers killed several hundred Shoshone, including at least 90 women, children and infants. They were shot, stabbed and battered to death. Others were driven into the icy river to drown or to freeze. In1864, following an unsolved murder of a settler family not far from a reservation at Sand Creek Colorado, the territorial governor called on citizens to "kill and destroy . . . hostile natives." Seeking the "chastisement" of the Indians, a military raid followed not long thereafter. According to one soldier, "… hundreds of women and children were coming towards us, and getting on their knees for mercy, only to be shot and have their brains beat out." Of the 200 defenseless Cheyenne and Arapaho that were murdered, all but 60 were women and children. The dead, women and men alike, were scalped… with their ears and genitals cut out. Dance has always played an essential role in religious practice and ceremony among indigenous communities in North America. Following the civil war, traditional Native dance was increasingly viewed as a threat to white "settlers" as they moved further west. Seeing religious practice as a potential flashpoint for an Indian uprising, the U.S. and Canadian governments passed laws banning cultural and religious rituals… including all forms of traditional dance. That ban was to lead to the massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Early one December morning in 1890, a large contingent of heavily armed soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry surrounded several hundred Lakota Sioux at a makeshift camp along the banks of Wounded Knee Creek where some were practicing the Ghost Dance… a new and spreading ritual seen as a bridge between the living and the spirits of the dead… to bring unity to natives throughout the region. Sent to arrest the native participants for their Ghost Dance, a gunshot unleashed a barrage of fire… including a military machine gun… that slaughtered several hundred Lakota men, women and children caught in crossfire as they fled to find safety in a nearby ravine. Half a century later, on the eve of the surrender of Germany, a series of bombing raids were carried out on the city of Dresden by 800 American and British aircraft. Known as the "Florence of the Elbe", Dresden was a medieval city renowned for its artistic and architectural treasures. It played no role whatsoever in war-production and had no major industry. The two days of bombing, which involved 3,400 tons of explosives, unleashed a veritable firestorm which continued burning for days. When the fire ended, the streets were littered with charred corpses… including many children. Although the exact number of those, mostly civilians, killed remains unknown it is estimated that upwards of 135,000 lost their lives and were buried in mass graves… including some within the eight square miles of the city that lay in ruins. While various rationales have been raised, the consensus is the attack was simply a mission to collectively punish the Germans and weaken their morale. Six months later, on August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki… killing an estimated 40,000 people. Tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure in and around both cities. Already defeated before the use of the atom bombs, Japan's Emperor surrendered a week later citing the mass destruction and punishment wrought by "a new and most cruel bomb." As shown by its participation in the firebombing of Dresden, the British are not at all strangers to collective punishment. Indeed, the UK often employed it during its once long reign as the world's leading colonial power. Thus, in response to the Boston Tea Party the "Intolerable Acts" were enacted by the British Parliament. These acts closed the Port of Boston, revoked the Massachusetts Charter and, thus, home rule, moved the trials of accused outside North America and required the colonies to quarter the King's troops, thereby, imposing mass punishment upon much of the colonies for the acts of a few. During the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 the British rounded up more than a hundred thousand of the Boer civilian population, mostly women and children, and detained them in camps. Overcrowded, with little nourishment, and prone to outbreaks of disease, some twenty-seven thousand Boers and an unknown number of black Africans died. In April of 1919 peaceful protestors defied a government ban and demonstrated against British Colonial rule in India. Blocked inside a walled off garden, they were fired upon by Gurkha soldiers who kept shooting until they ran out of ammunition. After 10 minutes, the firing stopped… leaving upwards of a thousand protestors dead and another 1,100 injured. Although precise figures are unknown, it is estimated that between 12 and 29 million Indians died of starvation while under the control of the British Empire… as millions of tons of wheat were exported to Britain even while famine raged throughout India. In 1943, up to four million Bengalis starved to death when Winston Churchill diverted food to British soldiers and countries such as Greece while a deadly famine swept through Bengal. When asked about the famine Churchill said: "I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion. The famine was their own fault for breeding like rabbits" In 1956, in Cyprus, Britain evicted families from their homes and closed shops in neighborhoods where British soldiers and police had been attacked, purportedly to obtain information about the attackers. During the so-called Mau Mau uprisings in "British" Kenya, Kikuyu tenants who lost their land to white settlers were detained, en masse, in camps known as "British gulags" where many suffered from torture and sexual assault. It is estimated that during 1951-1960 between 20k and 100k Kikuyu lost their lives. In 1935-36, Italian troops carried out mass reprisals following their invasion and occupation of Ethiopia. Among other atrocities, fascists used mustard gas against civilian communities, bombed Red Cross hospitals and ambulances, destroyed monasteries and shot "witch-doctors" who foretold the end of Italian rule. Following a partisan grenade attack that wounded the Italian viceroy, some 19,000 civilians were murdered in Addis Ababa during a three day rampage carried out by local fascist militias, colonial troops and Italian soldiers. Victims were shot, hanged, burned to death, beaten with clubs and shovels and drowned… being thrown down wells or into the river. The German Punishment During World War II, collective punishment was very much the norm in Europe and Asia as German and Japanese troops engaged in targeted reprisals against persons and communities as revenge for the acts of the few or for purposes of population control. Following attacks by the Serbian resistance in October of 1941 German soldiers raided the town of Kragujevac in Yugoslavia seizing some ten-thousand civilians… including high school students while in class. Beginning the next day, people were executed in groups of four hundred at a time. When the massacre ended over 5,000 civilians, including women and children, were dead. To understand where collective punishment would eventually lead, at the hands of Nazi Germany, one must look to its activity well before World War II. Thus, in the early 1930's, it began to target its civil population by virtue of nothing more than their trade union and political activities and beliefs or religion. Soon after the election of May 2, 1933, the SA (Nazi paramilitary) and SS (initially Hitler's bodyguards) began to attack all forms of political opposition… beginning with raids on trade unions offices whose leaders were arrested and imprisoned. Later that year, they raided offices of political opposition parties… destroying equipment, confiscating funds and arresting their leaders. By the middle of that year, Nazis had banned all opposition parties. In May 1933, the first book burnings under the Nazis occurred outside of the University of Berlin with university students leading the torch lit parade. In 1817, over 100 years earlier, students had initiated book burning with the goal of unifying the patchwork Germany of the time. Among the first works thrown into the fire in 1933 were those of Sigmund Freud's. In what was clearly prophetic, German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine had written, one-hundred years earlier, "any people that burn books, will one day burn people." As Hitler consolidated power, thousands of communists, socialists, church leaders and anyone else who might oppose the Nazis were rounded up. Initially, these prisoners were held in local prisons and police stations. There were so many prisoners that makeshift buildings were converted to house them. Eventually, the Nazis solution to the inefficiency of the buildings was found in establishing large, purpose-built camps to hold these prisoners. These they called concentration camps. The first camp was established on 1 April 1933 at Dachau. Between 1933 and the end of the war, some dozen years later, many thousands of people resisted the Nazis using both violent and non-violent means. Among the earliest opponents were Communists, Socialists, and trade union leaders. As punishment against this movement thousands were executed including German theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer who opposed the regime. As millions of Jews, Communists, Socialists, Gypsies, gays and political opposition were murdered in concentration camps throughout Germany and Europe, resistance continued to grow in Nazi-occupied areas outside of Germany. In France, Denmark, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Greece and Poland, guerilla fighters engaged in anti-Nazi sabotage. After Czech agents assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia, the Nazis shot all of the men in the Czech village of Lidice none of whom had any involvement in the assassination. Warsaw was, perhaps, the most legendary of all uprisings by an urban population in German-occupied territory. On April 19, 1943 an armed revolt was begun by a group of Warsaw ghetto dwellers. The Jewish Fighter Organization (ZOB) led the insurgency and battled, for a month, using weapons smuggled into the ghetto. The Nazis responded by bringing in tanks and machine guns. In massive collective punishment, the Nazis burned blocks of buildings and destroyed the ghetto in its entirety. Ultimately, many of the 60,000 remaining residents, most of whom had nothing to do with the uprising, were executed or lost their lives as buildings were bombed or set aflame. In 1942 German troops destroyed the village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, executing 340 civilians as reprisal for an earlier commando raid by partisans. In the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane more than 600 men, women and children were murdered as collective punishment for acts of the resistance. Similar reprisals occurred in the Dutch village of Putten, the Italian village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema and the Soviet village of Kortelisky. The Japanese Punishment Beginning long before the onset of World War II, during the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, Japan made widespread use of biological and chemical weapons, created in the infamous Unit 731 labs, in their drive to reduce and control China's population through weapons of mass destruction. From 1931 through 1945, Japan employed thousands of biological and chemical weapons throughout China. Hunan, Jiangsu, Jilin, Kwangtung and Zhejiang provinces were a few of the targets of many such attacks. The biological weapons attacks in Zhejiang province offer a chilling view of Japan's routine use of biological or germ warfare as a weapon of collective punishment against a civilian population. Thus, on October 4, 1940, a Japanese airplane dropped plague-infected fleas (causing bubonic and other plagues) over Quzhou, a small town in western Zhejiang Province. Within days the first victims died. Within a year more than a two- thousand others died. In September of 1941 the plague was carried to another village causing the death of an additional one thousand persons. In 1942 Japan unleashed a series of anthrax and glanders (a rare infectious disease) attacks on numerous villages throughout Zhejiang Province leading to the painful deaths of some three thousand villagers soon after the onset of the infection. Population displacement has also been a mainstay of prohibited collective punishment. Though the world map has long been artificially reconfigured to reflect changing political winds, two displacements, in particular, provide insight into how political priorities and retribution have directed the forced movement of people in contravention of international law. In 1944, Stalin deported the entire population of the North Caucasus… more than half a million people from the republics of Ingushetia, Chechnya, and North Ossetia… to the Soviet republics of Central Asia based on an assumption they were "collaborating" with the Nazis. The forced displacement was accomplished through crowded cattle-cars which simply dropped the displaced in a barren wilderness without any means of survival. In an earlier period of forced displacement it is estimated that between 1941 and 1949 more than three-million Russian Poles and Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians were deported to Siberia and the Central Asian republics. It is estimated almost half of those resettled died of various diseases and malnutrition. As a result of an agreement among the victorious parties in World War II, between 1945-1950 upwards of 14 million German speaking civilians… most of whom were women, the elderly and children… were forcibly expelled from their homes in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Poland and sent to the rubble of Allied-occupied Germany. Along the way perhaps half a million lost their lives to starvation, disease, attacks and executions. Tens of thousands of others died of ill treatment in forced labor camps as so much "reparations." Many of these camps were once German concentration camps which remained in operations for years after the cessation of hostilities. The Israeli Punishment Collective punishment is the alluring call of the desperate tyrant. It is a shameless group stab that targets communities when a despot's aim, at the few, falls short of their coveted mark. To them, how much easier it is to break a people's step by spreading anguish among all… the young, the old, those waiting to take their turn. Collective punishment comes in many shapes. Some short, explosive and deadly. Others the kind that hang heavy like an amorphous throb that just never seems to go away… an ache always there to remind that there's something about your race, religion or heritage that panics tyranny. And, then, there is the kind that confronts every breath you take, every step you make… day in and out… generation after generation. The sort that demands you walk or run off into the past and never return to a future that is yours to claim. No tomorrow. No vision. No voice. No hope. That is the collective punishment begun by European Zionists decades before the United Nations ripped Palestine from Palestine… when they unleashed a spree of death, dispossession and destruction that has continued unabated for more than ninety years. No modern collective punishment has been as long, as public or as perversely proud. Though the Nakba began on May 14, 1948, it unfolded decades before when Balfour issued an open invitation to terrorists such as the Irgun, Palmach or Lehi (the Stern Gang) to commence a deadly colonial project that came to know no bounds. For years, Palestinians were targeted in their homes, businesses, and marketplaces for no reason but their easy mark. Men, women and children were butchered by bombs or slain by shots… not as armed opposition but as civilians swept up in a pogrom of collective punishment. No one can erase the terrorist blast of the King David Hotel ,by the Irgun in1946, that took ninety-one lives including some four dozen Palestinians. Nor can the massacres at Deir Yassin and Ein al-Zeitun, by the Irgun or Lehi in April and May of 1948, be apologized away as the unfortunate loss from competitive battle. Hundreds of executed civilians, many tethered and shot, others mutilated and raped, is not warfare but collective punishment of the worst kind… the type designed to spread mass terror through a despicable feed upon the most vulnerable in two defenseless, age-old, rural villages. If these were to be the explosive benchmarks of early shared punishment, for more than a decade before, thousands of Palestinians were murdered or injured in a rampage of non-stop terrorism that determined life and death by little more than mere happenstance. Crowded Souqs (marketplaces) in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa were a particular favorite for collective punishment as bombs exploded… some hidden on donkeys or under fruit stands, others tossed into crowds of shoppers from passing vehicles. Many were shot and killed in random drive-bys. Small lodges, town halls, political headquarters, cinemas and trains were the scene of repeated carnage caused by explosives or ambush. More than once, the Damascus Gate of the Old City was attacked by barrel bombs or strafed by gun fire. In Jaffa, more than one hundred homes were burned to the ground as part of a coordinated bombing attack. And in a precursor of what was to come, soon, en masse, on the night of December 31, 1947- January 1, 1948, the village of Balad al-Shaykh was attacked by paramilitary forces who proceeded to blow up homes and execute 70 Palestinians as retaliation for an earlier battle elsewhere between Zionist and Palestinian fighters. With the establishment of Israel, over night, collective punishment took on a new, more odious, meaning as mass displacement became a prime weapon of choice throughout Palestine. Fearing advancing Israeli troops or another Deir Yassin massacre by marauding militias, some eight hundred thousand Palestinians fled, or were expelled, from their age-old homes, to become stateless refugees strewn throughout the Middle East. In the days that followed, between 400 and 600 Palestinian villages were sacked… reduced to little more than rubble. As panic spread, Israeli troops patrolled urban centers using vans and loudspeakers to order terrified inhabitants to evacuate their homes. (O'Ballance, Edgar). As mass flight took hold it became clear to international observers and journalists, alike, that cleansing Palestine of its civil population had become a formal Israeli policy. Not long thereafter, a series of laws were passed by Israel which prevented Palestinians from returning to their homes. It sealed the fate of millions of Palestinians who 70 years later continue to suffer from an unprecedented formalized state policy of mass collective punishment and exile. "The IDF began to attack civilian targets, including population centers, with the goal of causing the residents to understand the price of escalation and placing Hamas in a problematic situation." With these words, a recent newspaper article in the Hebrew-language version of Haaretz confirmed what informed observers had long known: that Israel sees itself above international law in its use of collective punishment as an essential element of its drive to complete its goal of ethnic cleansing throughout Palestine. To understand the contemporary reality of collective punishment in Palestine, for context one need only look back some thirteen years to the electoral victory of Hamas in Gaza. In the years since, the Israeli government has targeted its two million civilians for direct and unremitting punishment for little more than their electoral will and political determination. Parallel to this attack has been a simultaneous one, of a different nature, on the Palestinian civil population throughout the Occupied West Bank. Even before the on-going bloodbath in the Great Return March, few can deny Israel's frequent use of collective punishment on non-combatants in the Gaza strip. Predictably, each time, it has blamed "terrorists" within the civil society itself for the unfortunate and substantial casualties and widespread destruction of infrastructure, buildings and homes that ensued. On January 3, 2009, Israel began a ground offensive in Gaza. When it ended some two weeks later more than eight-hundred civilians lay dead, including those who lost their lives seeking shelter in U.N. compounds that were targeted by Israel. In one such attack 43 were killed by an Israeli shelling on January 6. In what was to become the rai·son d'ê·tre of future assaults, Israel destroyed homes, university and apartment buildings, schools, factories and infrastructure describing them as part of the Hamas "support network." Damage estimated in excess of $3 billion further strained the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza leaving 46,000 displaced persons in UNRWA shelters. Less than three years later, on November 14, 2012 ,Israel once again attacked Gaza using planes, mortar fire and tanks throughout the embattled enclave. According to a report by the UNHCR, during the onslaught 174 Palestinians were killed including 33 children, 13 women and three journalists by air strikes on their cars. Hundreds of others were wounded, among them at least 88 under the age of five. On November 19, 2012, an Israeli airstrike killed ten members of the Dalu family, including five children and two neighbors. In what can only be described as an all-out attack on civil society, Al Mezan, reported that, in just one week, the Israeli army destroyed 124 homes and damaged more than 2000 others while targeting numerous residential communities and apartment blocks. When the attack ended , 52 places of worship, 25 NGO's, 97 schools, 15 health institutions, 14 journalist offices and 16 government buildings lay in ruins. Fifteen factories and 192 trade shops, twelve water wells and large agricultural tracts were damaged or destroyed… as was the main bridge connecting Gaza City with the rest of the enclave. In 2014, Israel undertook its most recent coordinated military assault on Gaza as it once again targeted its two millions civilians with massive disproportionate force. According to a United Nations report "the scale of the devastation was unprecedented… tallying more than 6,000 airstrikes, 14,500 tank shells and 45,000 artillery shells unleashed between July 7 and Aug. 26." Many of these explosive devices, in particular artillery and mortars, were used in densely populated areas and designed to have a "wide-area" impact to ensure that anyone or anything within the contact area would likely be killed, injured or damaged due to their explosive power and imprecision. By design the haphazard use of these weapons destroyed entire neighborhoods. When the carnage ended, 2310 Palestinians were killed… the majority of them civilians including 551 children and 299 women. More than 11,000 others were wounded, a third of them children, with over 1,000 left permanently disabled. Many of the killed or maimed had sought refuge in various shelters including U.N. schools which were hit despite the fact their coordinates had been provided to Israel in advance of the attack. [Excerpt from "Building For Sale, All Bids Considered: The UN And The Middle East" May 1, 2018 Counterpunch Stanley Cohen] The collective punishment unleashed on Gaza during the attack of 2014 was meant to cause lasting devastation on a civil community already overwhelmed by poverty and still reeling from the last assault on its infrastructure just a few years earlier. During the 50 day attack, Israel struck more than 5,200 targets including thousands of homes that were destroyed or severely damaged. Hundreds of factories, dairy farms (with livestock) and orange groves were destroyed, as were the lone power station and major sewage pipe in Gaza, serving 500,000 residents.138 schools and 10 out of 26 hospitals were damaged or destroyed along with 203 mosques and two of Gaza's three Christian churches. [Excerpt from "Building For Sale, All Bids Considered: The UN And The Middle East" May 1, 2018 Counterpunch Stanley Cohen] For those in need of a painful primer on what explosive collective punishment looks and feels like today, these deadly mass attacks upon the civil society, indeed life, of Gaza leave nothing to the imagination. Each assault caused substantial casualties among non combatants and crippled essential infrastructure and support services for the health, welfare and safety of some two million men, women and children. Make no mistake about it, carpet bombing is not an isolated military misstep. It is a determined, strategic call. Repeat targeted attacks upon residential neighborhoods and schools, shelters and hospitals by "wide area" impact weapons are not intended to minimize civilian suffer but, rather, to serve as triggers for horrific collective punishment. Yet, military assault is but one deadly adjunct to a systematic choke upon Gaza, now in its thirteenth year of Israeli occupation, that has denied its civil population sufficient food, water, clothing, medicines, fuel, shelter, bedding, hospital equipment and freedom of movement. Recognized as guaranteed humanitarian rights, these are not mere commodities of privilege or luxuries of life. To be sure, their absence is the core distinction between victims of collective punishment and those who impose it. Completely surrounded by walls and fences, years of Israeli attacks and a suffocating embargo on produce and supplies have left Gaza reeling from an absence of an infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of its people. Whether its electricity, clean water, healthcare, or sewage treatment and waste management, it is undergoing a humanitarian crisis now entering its second decade. In Gaza, abject poverty is rampant. At 41.1 percent, the unemployment rate is the highest in the world. Its youth unemployment is 64 percent. Although thousands of homes damaged or destroyed during Israel's attacks remain in need of repair, the construction sector is idle. More than a hundred thousand live in cramped shelters or remain homeless. Sixty per cent of Gaza lives under the poverty line. According to UNICEF a third of Gaza's children suffer from chronic malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies that can stunt development and affect overall health. [Excerpted from "Parallel Worlds: Gaza and Israel" December 29, 2017 Counterpunch Stanley Cohen"] According to the WHO, power cuts and fuel shortages have created constant crises for Gaza's 14 public hospitals; threatening the closure of essential health services leaving thousands of people without access to life-saving medical care. For well over a year electricity for Gaza has dropped to a total of just three hours daily. At any given time, power loss threatens the lives of hundreds of new-borns and adults in neonatal and intensive care units. Only three percent of the entire water supply in Gaza is fit for human consumption with the rest contaminated and dangerous because of untreated sewage, agricultural chemicals and a large concentration of chloride. With the shortage of clean water looms the fear of a deadly cholera epidemic particularly in a community with a young population with increasing numbers showing signs of acute malnutrition and severe wasting. [Excerpted from "Parallel Worlds: Gaza and Israel" December 29, 2017 Counterpunch Stanley Cohen"] According to the World Bank, 56 % of all Palestinians have no access to "reasonable and customary" healthcare in Gaza. Dozens of basic drugs are unavailable. Currently, more than eight thousand chemotherapy patients including hundreds of children are unable to obtain life saving treatment due to the absence of drugs needed to sustain them. According to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), the public health system is not able to provide specialized treatments for complex medical problems in a variety of fields including neonatal care, cardiology, orthopedics and oncology. So far this year, 30 patients have died after their exit permits to obtain treatment were either denied or not granted in time. Not long ago three seriously ill babies died after permits to grant them treatment in Israel were denied. Earlier this year, 2 children died while waiting permission from Israel to leave for external treatment. The Seeds of Collective Punishment In November of 1998, the Yasser Arafat Airport, located between Rafah and Dahaniya, was opened with much fanfare. Capable of handling some 700,000 passengers per year, it was seen as an important step forward in the establishment of Palestinian statehood as it provided the only transit into and out of Gaza beyond the control of Israel. In 2001, Israel destroyed its radar station and control tower, in a bombing attack, after the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada in the occupied West Bank. Never again would the airport be used. After 38 years of internal occupation in southern Gaza, the Israeli army and 21 "settlements" with almost ten-thousand settlers were, in 2005, driven from the coastal enclave. Though Israel has long claimed it was a voluntary "withdrawal" for security reasons, it is clear that increasing confrontations and resistance by Palestinian fighters in Gaza was the cause of the evacuation. Not long after the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006, Israel declared the Gaza strip "hostile territory." Soon thereafter it imposed a series of political, economic and military sanctions to isolate and destroy Hamas and to punish Gaza's population for the exercise of its political will. In its thirst for collective punishment, Israel imposed a naval blockade which limited offshore fishing zones and initiated a siege that resulted in the closure of border crossings, for people, goods and services. It also implemented a "buffer zone" within the territory. These measures have had a devastating impact on the living standards and life of all of Gaza and destroyed any prospect of economic development or independence. They have created a grave and protracted humanitarian crisis that has only been exacerbated by three unwarranted and excessive military onslaughts that have killed thousands of Palestinians and laid waste to Gaza's infrastructure. Thirteen years later, Israel controls Gaza's air and maritime space, and six of its seven land crossings; Egypt rules the seventh. It controls Gaza's population registry and arbitrarily decides who comes into and out of the world's largest open air prison. Gaza remains dependent on Israel for its water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities. And what of that buffer zone? As shown by the Great Return March, it's proved deadly… as Israeli snipers decide who will live and who will die from the safety of their mounds for the daring of Gaza's voice. The Law of Collective Punishment Throughout history, during times of armed conflict and occupation, military forces have repeatedly used acts of collective punishment on groups of persons without regard to whether or not they bore personal responsibility for the very acts, it was claimed, that required a response. The use of collective punishments and infliction of cruel punitive measures upon civil populations is not new. For many years, belligerent reprisals have been little more than illegal means of repression or intimidation often imposed under the guise of legitimate law enforcement. Unable to locate insurgents responsible for so-called hostile acts, invading armies and occupation powers have long used collective punishment in the hopes of suppressing resistance and ensuring willful obedience. Ultimately, the goal of deterrence is little more than a pretext for tyranny. International law has responded to this military ritual by increasingly restricting and outlawing the practice of collective punishment Of the many prohibitions set forth under international law, the one most frequently ignored, yet, clearly defined, is the ban on collective punishment. The prohibition of collective punishment in international humanitarian law is based on one of the oldest, and most basic, tenets of criminal law… the principle of individual responsibility. Article 3 of the Fourth Geneva Convention Section 1 Art. 33 provides that: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited." This convention codifies the Hague Regulations of 1899 which provide "No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, can be inflicted on the population on account of the acts of individuals for which it cannot be regarded as collectively responsible" The Hague Resolution of 1907 Section 3 Art 50 affirmed this rule with only a slight modification amending "collective responsible" to "jointly and severally responsible." Article 4, par. 2(b), of Protocol II of the Convention further defines collective punishment as "penalties of any kind inflicted on persons or entire groups of persons in defiance of the most elementary principles of humanity, for acts that these persons have not committed." The Commentary on Protocol II emphasizes that collective punishment should be given the widest possible application and includes any kind of sanction. Under International law, the law of wars (humanitarian law) is no less applicable to conflicts between non-international combatants than it is fighting among international forces. Accordingly, although political debate may arise over whether which category the decades old conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories may fall, for purposes of humanitarian law it is difference without a distinction. Both Israel and the resistance forces of Palestine are obligated to observe article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 ("common article 3"), the Second Additional Protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol II), applicable to non-international armed conflicts, and relevant customary international law. In relevant part, humanitarian law forbids deliberately harming civilians and other persons no longer taking part in the hostilities, including wounded. It also establishes specific rules on the conduct of hostilities to minimize unnecessary suffering. These provisions prohibit violations of the right to life, torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and unfair trials. They also provide for the rights to the protection of the home and family, and particularized protection of children in times of armed conflict. Persons under the control of government in an internal armed conflict must, in all cases, be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law, which incorporates important human rights standards. (The UN Human Rights Committee, the expert international committee that monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has stated that "the Covenant applies also in situations of armed conflict to which the rules of international humanitarian law are applicable. While, in respect of certain Covenant rights, more specific rules of international humanitarian law may be specially relevant for the purposes of the interpretation of Covenant rights, both spheres of law are complementary, not mutually exclusive." Violations of international humanitarian and human rights law provide for personal criminal liability for those individuals found in breach of their prohibition. Human rights abuses committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population are crimes against humanity. In sum, international human rights laws prohibit the arbitrary deprivation of life and, at all times, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. (See ICCPR, articles 5 and 7; Convention against Torture, articles 1 and 16.) At their core, a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law is that parties to a conflict must distinguish between combatants and civilians, and may not deliberately target civilians or civilian objects. Protocol II states, in no uncertain terms, "civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations." They are not to be the object of attack and all acts or threats of violence with the primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. Customary international humanitarian law prohibits attacks directed against civilian objects, such as homes and places of worship. (See ICRC, Customary IHL, rule 7) Protocol II specifically bans attacks, destruction, or removal of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population including food-stuffs, agricultural areas, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works. Pillage (or plunder) – the forcible taking of private property – is also prohibited. Collective punishments are prohibited under international humanitarian law in all circumstances. The prohibition on collective punishments applies to criminal sanctions against persons for actions for which they do not bear individual criminal responsibility, but also to "all sanctions and harassment of any sort, administrative, by police action or otherwise." Article 4 of Protocol II also sets out the fundamental guarantees of humane treatment, which explicitly includes a prohibition on collective punishments, acts of terrorism, and pillage. Commentaries of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Protocol II and customary international law make clear that these articles leave no room for reprisals in non-international armed conflict. With respect to individual responsibility, serious violations of international humanitarian law include the mistreatment of persons in custody and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian property, when committed with criminal intent amount to war crimes. Criminal intent requires purposeful or reckless action. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for attempting to commit a war crime, as well as assisting in, facilitating, aiding or abetting a war crime. Responsibility may also fall on persons ordering, planning, or instigating the commission of a war crime. Commanders and civilian leaders may be prosecuted for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility when they knew or should have known about the commission of war crimes and took insufficient measures to prevent them or punish those responsible. A "systematic" attack indicates "a pattern or methodical plan." (Tadic, para. 648). International courts have considered to what extent a systematic attack requires a policy or plan. For instance, such a plan need not be adopted formally as a policy of the state. (Akayesu, para. 580.) The use of collective punishments and infliction of cruel punitive measures upon civil populations is not new. For many years belligerent reprisals have been little more than illegal means of repression or intimidation, often imposed under the guise of legitimate law enforcement. Unable to locate insurgents responsible for so-called hostile acts, invading armies and occupation powers have long used collective punishment in the hopes of suppressing resistance and ensuring willful obedience. Ultimately the goal of deterrence is little more than a pretext for tyranny. The Israeli Punishment… Continued In Palestine the use of collective punishment began long ago through a rampage of indiscriminate bombings, kidnappings, arson and random shootings that targeted civil society. After the establishment of Israel, population displacement and exile turned upwards of eighty percent of the indigenous community into stateless refugees. Ethnic cleansing was then well underway. In the years since the Irgun became the IDF, collective punishment has become very much the norm as the Israeli military has routinely embraced mass murder and reprisal as a strategic weapon of choice in Gaza. Wholesale destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, houses of worship and essential infrastructure has become very much the wretched political norm in Israel. At the same time, Israel has imposed an embargo on the import of necessary food, medicine, water, and reconstruction materials and placed a stranglehold on a once flourishing maritime industry while reducing movement in and out of Gaza to a trickle. Beginning more than a decade ago, these steps were imposed against the entire civil society of Gaza as punishment for its political will and for the lawful resistance acts of the few. Although qualitatively different, collective punishment in the occupied West Bank is no less pernicious, every bit as illegal and, beyond question, another conscious step by Israel to strip millions of occupied people of their indigenous identity and rights in violation of international law. As in Gaza, there is no shortage of evidence of Israel's decade's old systematic attack upon the civil society and institutions of the occupied West Bank. As in Gaza, ultimately, all Israeli policies there are driven by the subterfuge of necessity. Whether it is forced population displacement or the ever present dividing walls and checkpoints or a dozen other illegal military sanctions, Israel punishes some two and a half-million civilians for the drive of their political will or the legitimate military resistance of the relatively few. Simply put collective punishment at its worst. Thus, since the occupation began in 1967 mass incarceration has become the norm with more than 800,000 Palestinians from the West Bank imprisoned. Almost all have been denied any modicum of due process and were prosecuted, tried and convicted by military tribunals. Jews living in the Occupied Territory are, of course, prosecuted in civil courts and receive the full panoply of their civil criminal rights. Most of the 800,000 were charged on the basis of unreliable secret evidence. Using the talisman of "security," those imprisoned over the years include many tens of thousands prosecuted for little more than their politics beliefs, or their speech, association or movement. Prisons come in many forms. There are those with cellblocks and bunks and others with walls and checkpoints which keep those at liberty nonetheless prisoner to their plight. Throughout the West Bank these walls and checkpoints not only limit movement and illegally divide families into crafted segregated communities, but deny students equal education and the frail and infirm quality medical care. Throughout the occupation mass displacement of indigenous communities, including those of Bedouin families and neighborhoods, in East Jerusalem that date back millennium, have been undertaken or razed to accommodate illegal settlements. To date, more than 800,000 settlers reside in the West bank with much of it now annexed in clear violation of international law. Often Muslims, and increasingly Christian Palestinians, are denied the right to exercise their religious beliefs due to their age, through embargoes on travel or closure of Mosques or churches due to "security" … including the Al Aqsa Mosque and compound. It has become common place for settlers or Israeli soldiers or police to attack Al Aqsa causing damage to the third holiest site in Islam or casualties, including death, to those in prayer. During other periods, East Jerusalem has been hard hit by Israeli "security" steps… including the military setting up dozens of checkpoints and concrete roadblocks at entrances to various neighborhoods and internal community roads causing great disruption to the lives of several hundred thousand Palestinian residents. Typically, as an adjunct to such neighborhood closures, policing operations are undertaken in which thousands of residents, of all ages, are stopped, searched and questioned for nothing more than living on a given street. More than a few reported abusive encounters with Israeli police and soldiers… including sexual harassment either by comments or physical contact. These measures, which arbitrarily targeted large segments of the East Jerusalem population, bear no nexus to the commission of attacks that had occurred earlier, elsewhere, in East Jerusalem. As a result tens of thousands of Palestinians had their rights to freedom of movement, access to healthcare and to maintain their standard of living unreasonably disrupted. While many of these restrictions have been lifted, some neighborhoods continue to suffer from on-going and severe access restrictions as well as abusive policing operations. Overall, these arbitrary security measures have adversely impacted the local and whole Palestinian economies and reduced employment opportunities to a community already suffering from high rates of joblessness. Elsewhere, on occasions, entire villages or towns have been sealed off in the West Bank because of military operations, once again unrelated to local acts of violence, thereby disrupting the lives and livelihoods of their residents. These measures constitute prohibited collective punishment. Elsewhere, other Palestinians have not been so "fortunate" as to merely suffer from checkpoint harassment on their way back home. Punitive home demolitions have long been a mainstay of the Israeli military targeting the families and relatives of Palestinians allegedly involved in attacks, even in the absence of any evidence that the families had any prior knowledge of, or participated in, them. Although intermittent, these demolitions have destroyed dozens of homes leaving several hundred Palestinians homeless… including almost one-hundred children. Punitive demolitions of Palestinian homes also violate a number of core human rights including the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to family life, the right to freedom of movement and physical and mental health. Although the practice eventually reached the Israeli High Court, it was upheld on the basis that the destruction was necessary on "deterrence and security grounds." It was not the first time the Court ignored well-settled international prohibitions against collective punishment and if history is, indeed, the guidepost of what is yet to come… it will not be the last. What greater crime can there be than to steal a child's smile… to snatch their hope, health and happiness. Yet, today, that heartless theft has become so much the norm throughout the world. Neither warrior, nor foe, they have become the soft side of hard hearts that embrace collective punishment as the sure path to conquest. In the last three months alone, 23 Palestinian children have been murdered by Israeli snipers; their crime… the audacity to march for a dream. Just last week, in Yemen, 40 children lost their future to a bomb dropped on a school bus by a Saudi Jet supplied by a US company. Last year 50,000 Yemini children lost their lives to a measured more twisted death, one caused by starvation or disease through an embargo that has long denied its civil population food, medicine and water. In Syria it is estimated children are one out of every four who have lost their lives to bombing campaigns of the United States and Russia. Tens of thousands of others have been killed by guns and ground explosives. Greater than four hundred thousand Rohingya children now live in refugee camps in Bangladesh, fleeing genocide in Myanmar. Thousands are orphans… many of them work in the sprawling sex trade having been greeted in their flight by utter poverty and rape. This is the face of collective punishment in all its horror. Our collective future lost to our failed past. Battered and bruised, more than a hundred and fifty years ago, some in the community of nations began to ponder the madness that had long consumed non combatants for the folly of a fight that was not theirs to pick. In the midst of the mayhem that was the US Civil War, the nascent Red Cross began to speak of humanitarian relief. In Europe, others stunned by seeming decades of on-going, widespread conflict began to explore the plight of the wounded. From this discussion grew the Geneva Convention of 1864. Other conventions and protocols were soon to follow ultimately extending to the protection of civilians in enemy and occupied territories. Known simply as a ban on collective punishment, it was to be the wishful panacea that would protect most of the world from the ravage of the few. It has failed. To walk down these roads from afar is a painful journey as so much a witness to events and places that have unfolded with tragic eyes before us, but not nearly as difficult and destructive as it has been for those who have lived it. We of exceptional position, whether born of race, opportunity or mere providence, are witness today to an unprecedented attack on the most vulnerable among us… millions lost to the callous crosshairs of dispute and despair, some age-old, others of recent vintage. Long ago, at the opening of the war crimes tribunal at Nuremberg, a simple question was posed that remains no less probative or powerful today than it was more than seventy years ago: "Under the law of all civilized peoples, it has been a crime for one man with his bare knuckles to assault another. How did it come that multiplying this crime by a mil#lion, and adding fire arms to bare knuckles, makes it a legally innocent act?" Prohibition of collective punishment is the long settled law of the international community. Yet it remains very much but a tease… a sanction without a herald. It is a message lost to the powerful. But as we approach the midnight of our shared fate there is still time for it to become our collective call. If not… we are all doomed, deserving victims to our own indifference. Posted on August 31, 2018 August 31, 2018 Author mala1142 Comments on A Short History of Collective Punishment: From the British Empire to Gaza	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Remove "the style" in life . . . and get rid of CAD ! Coronary artery disease (CAD) is man-kind's greatest threat in modern times.CAD ,diabetes ,Hypertension, obesity, mental illness has become an epidemic even among the young ! There is a simple solution for lifestyle diseases ! Just . . . Remove style from your life ! One study which researched all lives who crossed 100 Years concluded something like this ! "To live a longer and healthy life* ,Get up early , have a purposeful daily chore that must include a physical component , work with conscience ,love every one sync with the nature and lastly and most importantly remove style from your life ! Choose your life . . . It is simply there in your hand for grabs ! * Please note , Doctors are never listed in the top with relevance to health of mankind ! They simply cure some illness ! Over-Indulgence in private health care is a backward thinking ! How to eradicate this backwardness we all suffer from ! I stumbled upon a book which made me wonder , whether eradication of backwardness is little to do with education ! It lies much, much deeper in our cortical thinking influenced by inheritance , evolution , culture and economy . The stunning truth was exemplified by American political scientist Edward C. Banfield .A must read for every one who have mind for society , community and the humanity ! I am afraid there is a compelling link between Banfield's observation in a remote Italian village to the current medical community mind set who care only for their patients who pay them and keep them happy ! If you think education will eradicate social backwardness ,Why ? one of the most highly educated community that form the noble profession remain backward in their thinking ! How do you explain innumerable instances of hospitals , doctors shutting doors for lesser humans even in dire emergencies ! ? Why do many of them join hands with powers that can be detrimental to the overall health of the society ? The stunning irony is , they do it unashamed (with pleasure at times!) in violation of the oath they take when they join the Noble profession. Shall we call it as " Moral Bankruptcy in medical care ? The Moral Basis of a Backward Society is a book by Edward C. Banfield, a political scientist who visited Montegrano, Italy . He observed a self-interested, family centric society which sacrificed the public good for the sake of nepotism and the immediate family. Banfield as an American was witnessing what was to become infamous as the "mafia" or families that cared only for its own "members" at the expense of their fellow citizens. Banfield postulated that the backwardness of such a society could be explained 'largely but not entirely' by 'the inability of the villagers to act together for their common good or, indeed, for any end transcending the immediate, material interest of the nuclear family'. A tribute to a great cardiologist from Grady ! Today , we post cases for coronary angiogram , just like sending clients to breakfast table ! Close your eyes. Think for a moment. It is heartening to know how cardiac catheterization grew from a humble beginning . We know , Forssman , Cournand and Richardson who shared the Nobel price for Inventing cardiac catheterization in 1930s . How many of us know this man from Atlanta ,Georgia ? Born in a humble background in the suburbs of Atlanta , became a great medical teacher , researcher and educator . He is one of the founding fathers of cardiac catheterization . Defined it's usage in clinical cardiology . The other major achievement was his strong conviction that medical science is indeed simple but made complicated by complex concepts .This thought transformed in him , as he found the concept of physician assistant . He believed focused medical knowledge in young and enthusiastic mind can make huge difference in the way medical knowledge is disseminated, applied and consumed .What a stunning truth even today ! The legacy of Grady continues which is one of the largest public hospital in USA with special affinity to poor and low-income population. Invention of a concept is one thing . Accepting it , trying it , improving it , disseminating it , is an equally important contribution to science. Dr Stead did exactly that .He remained a positive force in propagation of medical knowledge, made it available for those people who need it . He passed away on June 12, 2005 at the age of 96 leaving behind a huge legacy .It will be an error if we don't teach our young students history of such great men , in medical schools today ! Happy new year to all . . . It all started in 2008. This is 6th year of my attempt to share knowledge in cardiology.The followers of my blog is the only strength that sustain my writing . But . . . please be reminded we don't require a New year to bring a bout of happiness , it is sitting right in our minds every day ! On this day let me quote my most revered quote of Hemmingway. Ernest Hemmingway the Nobel laureate who was born in USA, Lived in Paris , fought in world war 2 , lived in the deep forests of Africa with wild animals during the fag end of his life .He had a Intimate relationship with Cuba, made a passionate appeal to end the man made disaster called wars in this planet , before his life ended in 1961. When cost of dying . . . exceeds cost of living . . . this world will go nuts ! News : In any developed nation , 90 % of total health expenditure is exhausted in prolonging final few days of human life ! The current real world experience from India's five star hospitals indicate, many elderly rich men and women spend their last few days before being buried or burnt .They spent an average of 15 lakh Rs per death . This amounts to the entire "life time" cost of living of majority of Indians . When human organ donation is considered a greatest philanthropic act, there is one more excellent alternative for those who can't do it .If only every super rich translate their cost of dying into cost of others living ! many new lives will bloom . The exorbitant rise in cost of dying in India , is a recent development and reflects the affluence , honor , pride and of course lots of prejudice lack of wisdom ! Instead of filling the deep pockets of greedy corporates why not the rich add new lives ? ! Let all elders with irreversible conditions , who have finished their life , shall die peacefully at home .Why don't we ( Affluent . . . would be cadavers !) cross sponsor their dying cost to a public health , nutrition or medical fund . Oh America , . . . Am I right ,? Obama thought it and implementing it too ! I would believe , his health care policy is a small first step in this direction !	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
ePRNews FitzGeraldFineArts FitzGerald Fine Arts' 2017 Asia Week New York Exhibition Feb 24, 2017 Mark Press Release (ePRNews.com) - NEW YORK - Feb 24, 2017 - Every year, Asia Week New York produces a spectacular program of events, exhibitions, symposia, auctions, lectures, and more. 2017 marks the second year of FitzGerald Fine Arts' formal participation The full festivities run from March 9th – 18th, including a city-wide Open House Weekend Saturday and Sunday March 11th and 12th for all participating galleries. The opening reception at FitzGerald Fine Arts will be held at their 40 Wooster Street gallery location in SoHo, New York, on March 11th from 6-9pm. For this special occasion, the gallery will be debuting works by acclaimed contemporary artist Beili Liu. Liu, recent winner of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, works with a wide range of media including site-specific installations and mixed-media painting. She has had a long and robust career as both a visual artist and academic. Born in Jilin, China, Liu explores themes and materials mired in ancient East Asian history and tradition, and applies them to her process-driven contemporary artworks. In subject matter, Liu's works are engaged with multifaceted dichotomies: lightness contrasted with heft; fierceness countered by resilience; and chaos balanced by quiet order. Rise and Fall, 2016 is an impressive triptych at the focal point of the exhibition on view. Liu calls this series of canvases "Wind Drawings" in reference to her process of blowing delicate sumi ink on variegated surfaces, thereby creating intricate patterns and a rich gradient of tone. The physical traces of the blown sumi ink evoke an aesthetic of movement with the look of wind, air, or breath. Also on view at FitzGerald Fine Arts are works by renowned photographer and performance artist Han Bing, emerging sculptor Zhou Rong, graphite artist Hui Chi Lee and established porcelain painter Jared FitzGerald. The gallery's group exhibition aims to showcase and celebrate the range and diversity of aesthetic and media across Asian contemporary art. About FitzGerald Fine Arts: With two locations in New York City at 40 Wooster Street and 41 Greene Street, FitzGerald Fine Arts' focus is to bring the most innovative contemporary Asian art to the international market. Since its inception in 2007, the gallery has sought out and exhibited Asian art that examines traditional media of the past, but redefines these media, techniques and motifs with contemporary aesthetics and contextual underpinnings. Many of the artists' works appear in the permanent collections of prominent museums worldwide and all have exhibited internationally in major solo and group shows. The gallery maintains a network of artist studios and offices in China, giving it full time access to Eastern and Western trends, artists and opportunities. For upcoming exhibits, events and private art commissions, please visit http://www.fitzgeraldfinearts.com Source : FitzGerald Fine Arts Business Info : FitzGerald Fine Arts CATEGORIES : Arts and Entertainment Tags : art gallery Asia Week New York Contemporary Asian Art events Report Disclaimer YOU MUST ALSO READ Disco Glow Kids Party Satirical Presidential Candidate Tootsie Warhol Releases New Video Outlining Black Lives Matter Platform that Bans Chokeholds by Police Departments YabaLeftOnline.com is Offering Instant Entertainment News in Nigeria Haitian Heritage Museum Celebrates Haitian Heritage Month & Miami Museum Month John Burman's New Book "God Answers" is a Contemplative Work That Delves Into the Questions of "Why", and "How Come" in Regard to Mankind's Current Situation on Earth. 28th Annual CHAIRity Art Auction Please login to leave comment Create a Character for Free with Mango Animate Character Animation Maker Alamo City Performing Art's 28th Annual the Nutcracker Premieres as a Full-Length Film Customer preferences for selection of Tapestries Ways to Offer Entertainment for Your Passengers on a Bus Community First and SA Street Art Initiative Partner to Launch the Southside Mural Project If you have any concerns regarding this press release, please contact the Author / Media Contact / Business of this press release. ePRNews is not resposible for the accuracy of the news posted and do not endorse, support any product/ services/ business mentioned and hereby disclaims any content contained in this press release.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Slate Coffee will be introducing a decadent and artsy version of a traditional macchiato. In celebration of Slate entering the art walk each macchiato will come with a hang sculpted caramel art topped with edible gold leaf. We will also be featuring resin artist Josh Quest and painter Sarah Young.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
We live in a world where conflict is inevitable. Learning how to navigate through these conflicts is an important aspect of finding peace and equanimity in our lives. Unresolved conflicts can lead to a myriad of difficulties such as sadness, unworthiness, anger, and even physical symptoms. Learning how to resolve conflicts requires the development of conflict resolution skills that can identify and re-train maladaptive coping skills in favor of more effective ones. By increasing a person's interpersonal effectiveness skills, an increased sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy is acquired.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Ha ha the sin of envy - we've all been there! I can't tell you the number of author talks I've been to where, describing their road to publishing, wthe speaker asserts they wrote their first book in a couple of months, sent it off to a big publisher (because they were so naive they had no idea this wasn't what you do, you have to get an agent etc), and received a contract back by return of post. No rewriting required, book is perfect. The audience is enchanted by such humblebragging, while I am quietly turning green in a corner. Only later do I realize this is just a bit off showmanship - I wonder why some people do it? Could be true also of song writers - even if Waterloo Sunset was written in an afternoon, perhaps 1000 forgettable melodies had to be got out of the way first. But I do agree with you about book length. I don't want these great doorstoppers, I'd much rather a story told within 50 - 80,000 words. So heavy to carry around too. Scaling your numbers down by many thousands, one of the points I make to kids in school workshops on essay writing is that it's always better to exceed the word count then cut stuff out rather than the other way round. Padding always shows. On the other hand, I've just started reading an all-action best seller and I'm longing for the characters to start becoming real. Andrew, can it really be true that the length and size of books is determined by the regulations of a postal service defunct for over a century? Well, yes, it certainly has a dreadful ring of authenticity about it. As far as young adults are concerned, I fear Rowling has a lot to answer for. I was appalled a while back when a new writer I mentor told me that an agent informed him that it was no use in sending less than 90,000 words to a young adult publisher nowadays. I had to tell him that if he wanted to be the good writer I thought he would be he should put such heresies out of his mind at once. Besides, what chance would I have had nowadays? The longest book I've ever written was 70,000 words. It would have been nearer 90k but I work by the rule of thumb that every book will lose about one fifth, probably more, of its length not by 'murdering our darlings' but simply realising how loose and baggy our prose can be when left to its own devices. In my small way, I've just found out what a problem this is for ghostwriters, so I sympathise, Andrew. But it's no better when I assume corporeal form again. Hey, than last fanciful image should be one for the chop, surely! Dennis; I think I stole the American postal service story from Merchants of Culture by Professor John Thompson. I also think it has the grim ring of truth about it. Ah - just written my own blog on a similar theme!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Club Standings Club Schedules Summer 7s High School Rugby Flag Mini-Leagues Club Rugby Overview The Club competition is organized by age, beginning with the Under-8 non-contact division. Contact (tackling) is introduced carefully and safely at the U10 level and continues up through the U18s. U8 through U12 rugby is coed, while older ages are separated by gender. All matches are scheduled for Saturday mornings before 11am whenever possible. Interested in starting a new youth rugby Club? Visit our Grow the Game page. Spring 2019 Olders Playoff Outline & Hosting Protocol SCYR Club Rugby Season Policies SCYR 2018-19 Seasons Key Dates and Competition Calendar Club Rugby Structure The co-ed U8, U10 and U12 ages and the Boys U14s compete from January to March. The U8s and U10s from several clubs (usually three) will be scheduled at one site, while U12 and BU14 head-to-head matches will be paired together. Whenever possible, all four ages will be scheduled at the same location. In our Tri-Counties region, clubs will continue to schedule matches for the entire club (all ages) against an opponent on the same day. The U8 & U10 ages introduce rugby and begin the process of developing skill and game knowledge, including an emphasis on safety in contact (U10). Scores are not tracked and standings are not kept. The emphasis is on giving kids (and parents!) a very positive experience and nurturing their new love for the game and its unique culture. Both ages play small-sided (from 7 to 10 athletes), shorter duration (30-40 minute games in 2 halves), smaller field games. The Coed U12s and U14 Boys, while still emphasizing safety, development of basic skills and love of the game, also introduce strategies and tactics and start to focus a little bit more on competition. The U12s play 12-a-side in two 20-minute halves, while the BU14s play 15-a-side and two 25-minute halves. The Girls competition is organized into U15 & U18 age levels, with the competitive season running from March to May. U15 will be 7's. U18 offers a 7's and a 15's division. Our Boys U16 and U18 ages also run from March to May and are each organized into Green and Gold Divisions playing 15-a-side rugby. Teams must meet the specified requirements by the listed deadlines in order to qualify to compete in the Gold Division. Youth Summit Meeting Minutes from July 29, 2018 SCYR Technical Zone & Sideline Management Policy ©2019 Southern California Youth Rugby / SportsEngine. All Rights Reserved.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Back in 2009, an unknown TV director by the name of Ruben Fleischer made a splash at the box office with the cult favorite ZOMBIELAND; now Fleischer offers a wild romp of a different kind with GANGSTER SQUAD. The movie focuses on two LAPD Sergeants who team up and put an off the books police unit together to dismantle gangster Mickey Cohen's criminal organization by any means necessary. This is no easy task as Cohen is a raging psychopath who has no intention of going down easy; couple that with the fact that one of the Sergeants is involved with Cohen's current squeeze, and you've got a recipe for mayhem. The movie is really a mash up of a western and a gangster movie, but it works pretty well and the overall story is really fun. The movie features a diverse group of characters to keep you entertained, but most of them are one dimensional, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for a movie like this, but I often found myself wishing they had done a little more with some of the more prominent supporting roles. While the fun story is one of the main highlights of the movie, it does have a few other things going for it. It's pretty obvious from watching GANGSTER SQUAD that Fleischer is trying to grow as a film maker. There is a great deal of interesting cinematography in the movie, most notable are a fight in a blackened holding cell in a police station and a shoot out in a hotel lobby. However, some of these effects come off as unpolished and jittery, making you more annoyed then interested at times. What does shine through in this film is the period look achieved through costume and set design, which is to be expected for a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1949. The men are all running around in suits with hats and waistcoats or shoulder holsters, while the women are wearing dresses and occasionally swanky evening gowns. We get a smattering of interesting locations as well, classic night clubs, underground gambling and prostitution dens, swanky hotels, and a palatial estate. Add to this a bundle of classic cars and a terrific soundtrack, and you've got a passably good rendition of Los Angeles at the middle of the 20th century. Despite the look and soundtrack, there were occasional moments when I felt that the movie lost the authenticity a bit, usually when a particular line or encounter seemed to sound too modern and used phrases and form that just felt wrong for the time period. While it's clear that Fleischer is pushing himself to become a better film maker, he isn't quite there yet. However, he does have some talent and I hope that he continues to improve, after all, many great directors had quite humble offerings early in their careers (Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson come to mind) and later went on to make some fantastic movies. The fantastic cast really helps make GANGSTER SQUAD an enjoyable movie. Josh Brolin (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) is perfect as Sgt. John O'Mara. His gruff voice and hard features practically scream detective. Ryan Gosling (DRIVE) always seems to do a nice job in every movie he's in, and this one is no exception. He plays Sgt. Jerry Wooters, a cop who's not too sure what side of the corruption line he wants to stand on, and the accent he adopts really adds to the smooth talking, cool character persona. Emma Stone steps into the role of Grace Faraday, and really makes it sizzle. She is smoldering as the glamorous girl of Mickey Cohen who starts to play a dangerous game when she gets entangled with Sgt Wooters. The biggest surprise for me was Sean Penn (MILK). Most of you are probably wondering why he would be a surprise, and rightly so as he has had a long and celebrated career, and the reason for my surprise is that I think he is entirely overrated. Prior to GANGSTER SQUAD I haven't seen a single performance by him that I thought was good, feeling that most of his performances were dialed in and lacked any real range. So, in this case, I am forced to eat my words, because while I still don't feel he is an Oscar caliber actor, he did an amazing job as Mickey Cohen and I found myself really loving the character. While the leads did a nice job, I was really pleased with the supporting cast. Giovanni Ribisi is great as the subdued Officer Conway Keeler, the brainiac of the squad. Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY) does a nice job as Officer Max Kennard, the gunslinger of the squad. Michael Peña (END OF WATCH) fills the role of Officer Navidad Ramirez, Kennard's young apprentice. Anthony Mackie (ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER) embodies Officer Coleman Harris, a street wise cop with a chip on his shoulder. Last but certainly not least is Nick Nolte, who tackles the role of Police Chief Parker, the man who sets Sgt. O'Mara loose on Mickey Cohen. All told this great group of actors helped to elevate the movie, while they may not have played the most in-depth characters, they really brought what was there to life and leave a memorable impression on the audience. GANGSTER SQUAD may not be the one of the best mob/western movies out there, but it really is a lot of fun. While I don't think the movie should have been released during the booming blockbuster period of Christmas time, I think it deserves better than the dumping ground that January usually turns into. If you are looking for a movie with some cool characters, a slew of good actors, plenty of action, and a little bit of romance, then head on down to your local theater and give it a peep. You might just be glad you did.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
High fail: Afghan opium production rises as ex-Blackwater profits 1 Apr, 2015 15:17 Reuters / Goran Tomasevic © Reuters Opium production has been on the rise in Afghanistan over recent years despite US counternarcotics efforts. Infamous mercenary firm, formerly known as Blackwater, has creamed off $569 million from the Pentagon in this unsuccessful drive. The money the company received from US tax-payers was used for "training, equipment, and logistical support" for Afghan forces engaged in counternarcotics operations. These agencies included the "Afghan National Interdiction Unit, the Ministry of Interior, and the Afghan Border Police," says a report from The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, cited by the Guardian. Formerly known as Blackwater, and later rebranded as Academi, the notorious company has been the biggest beneficiary of counternarcotics expenditure in the war-torn country. However, the firm failed to eradicate opium production. In fact, this has reached record highs since the beginning of US occupation in 2001. READ MORE: Record opium poppy cultivation has 5% of Afghan pop. using heroin Since the US toppled the Taliban in 2002, opium production in the country has tripled. Afghanistan accounted for over 90 percent of the world's heroin market in 2014. A UNAIDS report from 2014 said that there is a 7-percent increase in land being cultivated despite the US spending over $7 billion on counternarcotics programs. READ MORE: America's $7.6 billion war on Afghan drugs fails, opium production peaks The organization said poppy cultivation had expanded to 224,000 hectares in 2014, an increase of 7 percent. In contrast, a mere 74,000 hectares were being used to grow poppies in 2002, a year after the Taliban regime was ousted from power. Not surprisingly, with more land being used to grow poppies, there has been an increase in opium production, the raw material for heroin. Around 6,400 tons of opium were produced in 2014, a hike of 17 percent over the previous year. "In 2014, opium prices decreased in all regions of Afghanistan. One probable reason for the decrease was an increase in supply due to an increase in production," the survey said. In December, the UN issued a separate report saying there had been a 60-percent growth in Afghan land used for opium poppy cultivation since 2011. "Given the growth in opium poppy cultivation, it must be assumed that the Taliban's income from the illegal trade in narcotics has remained an important factor in generating assets for the group," the document said. READ MORE: Blackwater guards convicted in 2007 Baghdad shooting Blackwater was founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince and grew to become a private security giant with billions worth of contracts from the US government. After a series of deadly incidents dented the company's reputation, Prince sold it. Blackwater was renamed three times eventually merging with its competitor Triple Canopy to form what is now called Constellis Holdings. The company gained worldwide notoriety for the substantial role it played in the Iraq war as a contractor for the US government. It was allegedly behind the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square on September 16, 2007. Iraqi officials say the attack was without justification and in violation of deadly-force rules governing American security contractors at the time. Between 2005 and September 2007, Blackwater security staff were involved in 195 shooting incidents. In 163 of those cases, their personnel were found to have fired first.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Q: Segmentation fault (core dumped) in C program I have the following program: #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <string.h> #define MAX 255 char * decrypt(char p, int key){ char tmp; for(int i = 0; p[i] != '\0'; i++){ tmp[i] = p[i]-key; } return tmp; } int main(void){ printf("Hallo Welt!"); printf("%s\n", decrypt("ibmmp", 1)); return EXIT_SUCCESS; } When I compile it with gcc -Wall i get the Warning tmp could get uninitialized in this function [-Wmaybe-uninitialized] tmp[i] = p[i]-key(translated from german) and segmentation fault (core dumped) ./crypto when i run it What is causing that error? I know this quesion has been asked many times, but i could not fix this warning, because other people had different sourcecodes and i couldn't adapt it to my problem. A: You need to allocate 'tmp' and then, keeping with good 'c' coding, check that the allocation was successful. I assume you have MAX defined so you can set an upper-bound on the length of your string, so I use that below. If MAX is intended to be the number of characters without a null, then you need to 'malloc(MAX +1)'. If it is intended to include NULL, then just leave the code as defined below. You also want to decide what to return on failure of the malloc. I return NULL, but you may want to do something different depending on your needs. Also be aware, that this function is returning allocated memory, so someone needs to free it so you aren't leaking memory. char * decrypt(char p, int key){ char tmp; tmp = (char ) malloc(MAX); if(!tmp) return NULL; for(int i = 0; p[i] != '\0'; i++){ tmp[i] = p[i]-key; } return tmp; } A: Allocate memory for tmp before using it. Make sure you null-terminate the string before returning it. // Make the input a const string. // char decrypt(char p, int key){ char decrypt(char const* p, int key){ char tmp = malloc(strlen(p) + 1); // Allocate memory int i = 0; for( ; p[i] != '\0'; i++){ tmp[i] = p[i]-key; } tmp[i] = '\0'; // null terminate. return tmp; } Make sure you deallocate the memory. Just using printf("%s\n", decrypt("ibmmp", 1)); will result in a memory leak. int main(void){ printf("Hallo Welt!"); char dec = decrypt("ibmmp", 1) printf("%s\n", dec); free(dec); // Deallocate memory. return EXIT_SUCCESS; }	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange" }
This Memorial Day send flowers of gratitude to honor the men and women veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country. Whoever you decide to honor. Firefly Floral & Gifts can send your bouquet to Waupaca, WI or nationwide!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Anchusella ist eine Pflanzengattung, die zur Familie der Raublattgewächse (Boraginaceae) gehört. Sie ist mit nur zwei Arten im zentralöstlichen Mittelmeerraum vertreten. Beschreibung Vegetative Merkmale Die Anchusella-Arten sind einjährige, krautige Pflanzen. Die oberirdischen Pflanzenteile besitzen eine striegelige Behaarung. Die bis zu 50 Zentimeter langen Stängel sind niederliegend-aufsteigend bis aufsteigend, selten aufrecht. Die borstig behaarten Grundblätter sind zur Blütezeit oft vertrocknet. Die ungestielten, nach oben zunehmend kleineren Stängelblätter sind dreieckig-eiförmig, geschweift gezähnt und ebenfalls borstenhaarig mit durchsichtigen, steifen Trichomen, die am Grund eine weißliche Verdickung besitzen und vor allem entlang der Spreitenränder und der Blattadern verteilt sind. Generative Merkmale Der endständige, unverzweigte Blütenstand ist ein vielblütiger Doppelwickel. Die 1 bis 3 mm lang gestielten Blüten stehen in den Achseln eiförmiger, zugespitzter, borstig behaarter, oft purpurn überlaufener Tragblätter, die im unteren Teil des Blütenstandes zur Blütezeit die halbe Länge des Kelches erreichen und sich bis zur Fruchtreife auf 7 bis 8 mm verlängern. Die zwittrigen Blüten sind fünfzählig mit doppelter Blütenhülle. Die fünf Kelchblätter sind nur an ihrer Basis verwachsen. Die fünf borstenhaarigen, purpurfarben überlaufenen Kelchzipfel sind bei einer Länge von 6 bis 8,5 Millimetern schmal dreieckig. Die zygomorphe Krone besteht aus einer geraden bis schwach gekrümmten, 6 bis 7 mm langen Röhre und einem schief stehenden Saum mit ungleichen, 6 bis 8 mm langen Kronzipfeln. Die Kronröhre weist fünf behaarte Schlundschuppen auf. Das Androeceum besteht aus drei verkümmerten Staminodien und zwei großen fruchtbaren Staubblättern, die auf der Ventralseite im oberen Teil der Kronröhre ansitzen und den Grund der Schlundschuppen erreichen. Die Staubfäden sind am Grund zusammengedrückt und verbreitert. Die 1,5 bis 1,7 mm langen, hellvioletten Staubbeutel sind mit ihrem oberen Drittel an den Staubfäden eingefügt. Der gynobasische, am Grund der Klausen stehende Griffel ist schwach gebogen und endet in einer zusammengedrückten Narbe, die aus zwei schief gestutzten, mehr oder weniger spitzen, mit Papillen dicht bedeckten Lappen besteht. Die Klausenfrucht zerfällt in vier mit einzelligen Papillen bedeckte Teilfrüchte, deren Ansatzstelle nur einen dünnen Rand aufweist. Beide Arten sind diploid mit einer Chromosomenzahl von 2n = 16. Systematik und Verbreitung Die Gattung Anchusella gehört zur Tribus Boragineae in der Unterfamilie Boraginoideae innerhalb der Familie der Raublattgewächse (Boraginaceae). Die beiden ursprünglich zu Lycopsis oder in eine weit gefasste Gattung Anchusa gestellten Arten wurden 1965 von Werner Greuter innerhalb Anchusa als Untergattung Rivinia abgetrennt. Auf der Grundlage mikro- und makromorphologischer Untersuchungen, deren Ergebnisse im Einklang mit später erfolgten molekularsystematischen Untersuchungen stehen, erhielten sie 1997 von Massimo Bigazzi, Enio Nardi und Frederico Selvi den Rang einer Gattung Anchusella. Die nur zwei Arten mit ihrer Verbreitung: Kretische Ochsenzunge (Anchusella cretica , Syn.: Anchusa cretica ): Sie kommt in Italien und entlang der Küsten des Adriatischen Meeres und des Ionischen Meeres an der Westseite der Balkanhalbinsel von Istrien bis zum südlichen Peloponnes vor. Bunte Ochsenzunge (Anchusella variegata , Syn.: Anchusa variegata ): Sie kommt endemisch im südlichen Griechenland mit Schwerpunkten in Attika, auf dem Peloponnes, in West-Kreta und auf den westlichen Kykladen, im Norden an der Ionischen Küste bis Korfu, im Ägäischen Meer bis zur Nordküste, auf den Ostägäischen Inseln auf den Inseln Kalymnos und Leros vor. Quellen Einzelnachweise Weblinks Raublattgewächse Boraginaceae	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia" }
Janelle Monáe claims her throne at Blue Hills By Zoë Madonna Globe Staff,July 22, 2018, 3:08 p.m. Janelle Monáe, shown performing in Los Angeles in June, covered most of the songs from her album "Dirty Computer" during her Boston show Saturday night.Rich Polk/Getty Images Those who ventured near singer Janelle Monáe's concert at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Saturday evening were treated to more colorful people-watching than the city usually offers. "Purple Rain" crop tops. A jean jacket with almost no denim surface area visible under a melange of patches and buttons, paired with swishy velvet trousers. Full-out goth regalia. A blue floral three-piece suit, with blue glitter lipstick. Hair of every imaginable style and color. Lots of sequins: sequined tops, sequined sneakers, sequined fanny packs. Being in the center of such a multi-hued maelstrom may cause you to ask yourself a few questions. You might ask why you don't dress to express more often. Or if there's anything stopping you from taking as much joy in who you are as the woman onstage wants you to. And that, my dears, is the magic of Monáe. During a set that covered most of "Dirty Computer" and a few old hits such as "Q.U.E.E.N.," "Cold War" and "Tightrope," her onstage manner flashed between laser-cut precision (the astounding dance break before "Make Me Feel") and goofy realness. Her forthright messages of pride, love, and healing have flooded out as audiences see more of the real Janelle (sorry, Bratmobile) than ever before. She previously presented herself at an artistic remove, taking on the alter-ego of android freedom fighter Cindi Mayweather, but with her third studio album "Dirty Computer," she peels off her chrome plating, and she has placed the intersection of her queerness and blackness at the center of what's underneath. Since she danced her way into the public eye a little less than 10 years ago, looking better than you do in a tuxedo (don't fight me, it's the truth), she has been a hero for the LGBTQ community. In the past, she coyly dodged inquiries about her own sexuality, but since dropping some of her most sexually and sapphically suggestive imagery in the lyrics and videos for "Dirty Computer" (those vulva trousers from the "Pynk" video made an appearance onstage) and coming out in a "Rolling Stone" interview as a "queer black woman in America" and "free-ass mother[expletive]," her star has shone even more brightly. She dedicated "Primetime" to love of all kinds, inviting the crowd to hold their partners close. And while the audience was racially diverse, the stage itself was set with black excellence all night. With her, she brought a quartet of ferociously energetic dancers and a full arsenal of grinning musicians to provide delicious grooves. As her opening act she brought the excellent St. Beauty, a black electro-soul band that she discovered in Atlanta. Animated black panthers (subtle) leapt across the giant screens onstage during "Django Jane" as she rapped while perched on a throne, and through the night she placed stylistic nods to black musicians who came before: James Brown, Prince, Michael Jackson, Salt-n-Pepa. Most of Monáe's music is eminently danceable, but there were definite moments that were not for the colonizers, when the whiter segment of the crowd hushed and the black concertgoers got even louder and more free. "This entire experience has been rooted in love," she told the crowd between songs. She was here to love, and if you were there to love too, you were welcome. Take what happened during "I Got the Juice," when she scanned the crowd and invited some people onto the stage to dance solo in the spotlight for a few bars each. No matter how "well" each person danced, they were met with wild cheers and Monáe's affirmation that they did got the juice. This wasn't a contest, this was a celebration. With St. Beauty At Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, July 21 Zoë Madonna can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @knitandlisten.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Q: Getting protobuf linking errors even after seemingly linking protobuf libraries (C++) I am doing a project in which I am using protobuf. I have version 3.1.0 installed. I wrote a program to test serialization in protobuf which looks like this // This file exists to facilitate testing //MIST.cpp //#include <asio.hpp> #include <Task.hpp> //user defined, not relevant #include <MIST.hpp> //user defined, not relevant #include <ReceiveData.hpp> //user defined, not relevant #include <MIST.pb.h> //protobuf file made from protoc int main() { /MIST::ReceiveData receiveObj; std::string s = receiveObj.receive<64>(); std::cout << "Message received: '" << s << "'" << std::endl;/ ProtobufMIST::Task taskObj; taskObj.set_task_name("The Best Task"); taskObj.set_task_id("7"); std::string* message; if(!taskObj.SerializeToString(message)) std::cout << "Task '" << taskObj.task_name() << "'" << " not serialized successfully\n"; else std::cout << message << std::endl; return 0; } I compiled it with a build script. The underlying command is g++ std=c++1y [link include files] -lpthread MIST.cpp -lprotobuf -o a.o This command exits successfully. I then try to link a.o with the command g++ a.o -std=c++1y -L/usr/local/lib/ -lprotobuf -o a and I get the following error a.o: In function `main': MIST.cpp:(.text+0x20): undefined reference to `ProtobufMIST::Task::Task()' MIST.cpp:(.text+0x55): undefined reference to `google::protobuf::MessageLite::SerializeToString(std::string*) const' MIST.cpp:(.text+0xd0): undefined reference to `ProtobufMIST::Task::~Task()' MIST.cpp:(.text+0xf2): undefined reference to `ProtobufMIST::Task::~Task()' a.o: In function `google::protobuf::internal::GetEmptyStringAlreadyInited()': MIST.cpp:(.text._ZN6google8protobuf8internal27GetEmptyStringAlreadyInitedEv[_ZN6google8protobuf8internal27GetEmptyStringAlreadyInitedEv]+0x5): undefined reference to `google::protobuf::internal::fixed_address_empty_string' collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status I'm not sure how there can be undefined references to include files I have already compiled with, or how there can be undefined references to protobuf when I've included both -L/usr/local/lib and -lprotobuf. I'm stumped as to how to what could be the problem. For reference, I have tried to implement these solutions little success problems with linking protobuf library Linking protobuf library with code (Google protocol buffers) Can't compile example from google protocol buffers Running Kubuntu 16.10 on a virtual machine. Host is Windows 10. A: Compile the .pb.cc file into a .o file and link it with the main program, this should solve the issue.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange" }
Internal Audits are a Management System's best friend. Audit findings lead to great improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. How can you make your internal audit program work for your organization? Here are some tips to help get the most from your internal audits. You must have an internal audit team and be able to show records of effective training for each of the auditors. Training should include internal audit steps, requirements and techniques. It should also cover the requirements of the standard, and basics of prerequisite programs and HACCP so the auditors are able to effectively evaluate processes. Auditors need to learn how to schedule and prepare for audits and how to communicate with the department being audited so they are able to have a well organized and effective audit. There are also important requirements that auditors must be aware of such as the requirement to follow up on previous audit findings. Technique is important to the success of the audit. The questions that are asked and the method of following audit trails will be key in evaluating the effectiveness of the system. Internal Auditor Training. This 6 hour class is available on demand and includes an interactive practice audit of Mandy's Vanilla. Learn and practice each step of an internal audit. Make sure the authority of the audit team is established. This will increase the cooperation from auditees. Ensure the audit team's success with effective FSSC Internal Auditor training. Decide what areas of the company will be audited together and the frequency of the audits. Prepare a yearly audit schedule and distribute. Develop an audit plan. Decide what other audit resources are needed - checklists, other auditors? Determine the purpose of the audit - is it an overview of the area being audited or is it to concentrate on a specific system within the area? Determine the purpose of the audit - is it to comply with government regulations, quality standards, internal procedures and system? Hold a meeting with the auditors to discuss the plan, purpose, and scope of the audit. Read the documents you will be auditing against. Know what they say. Develop questions to ask the auditees. Conduct an opening meeting with the auditees. Be professional at all times. Avoid being judgmental. Follow safety procedures, clean room procedures, and all other required procedures. Explain the purpose of the audit to the auditees. Answer questions or discuss compliance problems brought to your attention by auditees. Be flexible - if you find a potential problem not within the scope of the audit - evaluate the potential risks of the problem if left unaddressed. Encourage honesty with the auditees. Hold an auditors meeting to discuss the closing meeting content. Hold a closing meeting with all auditees involved with the audit. First, point what was done well. Second, address the nonconformances and ensure the auditees understand the nonconformance and what part of the standard is not met. Issue the audit report in a timely manner. Encourage auditees to decide on the corrective actions. Allowing auditees to have input will give them ownership in implementing changes. Assist those responsible for completing the corrective actions with setting reasonable deadlines. The correct action deadlines may vary depending on the severity of the noncompliance. Be available and willing to help the auditees. Ask for feedback on how you and your audit team were perceived - adjust your approach if necessary. One last tip, involve people! I have just completed the SQF Internal Auditor Training module online. I think this a great course! The scope of the training is extensive and gives the trainee all the tools necessary to develop an effective internal auditing strategy. Whether you have an existing program or are starting from scratch, this training will strengthen your program. This online training module was accepted by our SQF Auditor to satisfy the Internal Auditor training requirement. You can complete the modules at your own pace and practice as much as needed. It is the most cost effective way to get Internal Auditor training. There are no travel or hotel costs making this a great way to train one person or team of internal auditors. Thanks for putting together such a great training tool! The online training course is a very convenient way to train your auditors with no travel required. The training is available on-demand, and can be completed in multiple sessions as the students schedule allows. The training is approximately 6 hours long and includes and interactive practice audit of "Mandy's Vanilla". The student can access the procedures and records for Mandy's, and is coached through the audit step by step.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Slovakia Ambassador to China Visited Linglong Tire \| Linglong Americas, Inc. On May 18th, Slovakia ambassador to China, Mr. Dusan BELLA, and economic counselor, Mr. Miroslav TOMO, paid a visit to Linglong Tire. They visited Linglong's R&D center and PCR plant #6 in Zhaoyuan, Linglong Tire's HQ, accompanied by Liu Zhancun, vice president of Linglong Tire, and Li Wei, deputy general manager of Linglong Tire. The two guests spoke highly of Linglong tire's technical level and intelligent manufacturing level. After the visit, the two sides held a friendly talks. Ambassador Dusan BELLA and counselor Miroslav TOMO introduced Slovakian investment policy and taxation and labor provisions to Linglong Tire and said that Slovakian government was willing to communicate directly with Linglong Tire and provide accurate and reliable information and policy to help Linglong to build its second overseas manufacturing base. At the end of the meeting, they sincerely invited Linglong Tire to invest and build factories in Slovakia. Slovakia is located in the center of Europe with convenient traffic conditions. Its annual output of automobiles is around one million, its speed of economic growth is the fastest among the four countries in central Europe. At present, there are more than 100 Korean companies and a number of German companies setting up factories in Slovakia. As an important part of Linglong tire "3+3" strategy, LLIT, Linglong Tire's first overseas manufacturing base, has achieved a great success in Thailand, contributing to the local economic development and social welfare. Therefore, the location of Linglong's second overseas base has aroused widespread concern in many European countries. Currently, Czech, Slovakia, Belgium and other countries have extended an olive branch to Linglong Tire.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
April 15, 2009 September 25, 2013 David Villareal cannot handle Arsenal Arsenal swept into the Champions League semi-finals with a 3-0 victory over Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium. Theo Walcott broke the deadock after 10 minutes before Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie, from the penalty spot, scored in the second-half to complete a 4-1 aggregate success. The visitors had Sebastian Eguren sent-off for protesting the spot kick award and the Liga outfit were helpless to prevent the Gunners setting up an all-Premier League last four meeting with Manchester United. Walcott gave Arsene Wenger's men the vital early goal when Emmanuel Eboue, stepping in for the ill Bacary Sagna at right-back, played a ball down the right flank that was flicked on by captain Cesc Fabregas. The touch wrong-footed Diego Godin and gave the England winger a sight at goal which he took with some aplomb, dinking the ball audaciously over keeper Diego Lopez. Walcott continued to give Spain left-back Joan Capdevila a torrid time, producing two dangerous crosses, the first of which ended in Van Persie nodding over and the second seeing the hesitant Gonzalo Rodriguez tread on the ball in the six yard box only to do just enough to avert the danger. The Gunners came close to a second just before the half hour when Van Persie's free-kick was superbly saved by Lopez, diving one handed to his right. Adebayor should have scored from the rebound but failed to get much purchase on his header and Rodriguez hacked off the line. Villarreal failed to seriously test a makeshift Arsenal rearguard without Sagna, William Gallas, Johan Djourou and Gael Clichy plus keeper Manuel Almunia. A scissors kick from Godin was straight at Lukasz Fabianski and the big defender also headed over while former Gunner Robert Pires had a shot from the edge of the area deflected for a corner. The Londoners started the second-half tentatively but their nerves were eased with a second on the hour. Fabregas nodded on to Van Persie and the Dutchman picked out Adebayor who escaped the attentions of Godin and poked the ball into the corner for his fourth goal in three starts since recovering from injury. And the match was settled nine minutes later when Walcott checked inside and was brought down by a sliding Godin. The big Uruguayan defender took some ball but also the man in his follow through and a spot kick was awarded by German referee Wolfgang Stark. Villarreal were incensed by the decision and Eguren received a second yellow card for dissent. Van Persie swept a left-footed penalty into the corner past the diving Lopez as Arsenal ended Villarreal's Champions League hopes for the second time in four seasons. Ruud on schedule for return next season Barca earn draw in Munich I am a long time soccer fan who grew up in England traveling the country watching Coventry City in the 70's. Now living in the U.S. I am still as passionate about soccer as I was when I was a kid. More Posts by David More from La Liga Barcelona Face Giant-Killers In Copa del Rey	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Jamal's career has spanned finance, media, theater, entrepreneurship, and technology. What ties it all together is a passion for how creative thinking and communication unfold in a business context. Nothing is more exciting to him than helping others find their voice. As Director, Marketing and Business Development at JDI, Jamal gets to reframe the questions that founding teams are facing. In these conversations, he counsels on messaging, client acquisition, and public relations tactics that push business strategies forward. Risk takers spark Jamal's curiosity; uncovering their drivers, goals, and emotions is his favorite part of the job. Jamal studied International Business and Finance at Howard University, and Finance and Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to JDI, Jamal had a 15 year career as a licensed investment professional. His experience at boutique investment management firms William Blair & Company and Dimensional Fund Advisors gave him a deep appreciation for the value of good advice. Jamal is also the founder of a media platform designed to help users fall in love with new thoughts and thinkers. As an entrepreneur, he knows firsthand the challenges of resonating with users, triangulating around a value proposition, and creating order out of chaos. Outside the office, Jamal is often reading the Economist, working on his deadlift, or watching Netflix. And chilling. I only buy used cars. I drink a lot of green tea.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Several works by Lane Simmons, Evangel photography prof., are featured in Rosette Studios Gallery, downtown Springfield, Dec. 2017. The works of Evangel University photography instructor Lane Simmons are featured in Rosette Studios Gallery for the month of December. "I am drawn to light and movement and split seconds of time and how the culmination of those elements bring photography to life," said Simmons. Rosette Studios, 214 S. Campbell Ave. in downtown Springfield, features a different artist each month, with an opening event during First Friday Artwalk. Everything in the store and gallery is produced by limited production artists, and they have the work of more than 70 artists in store at all times. New products are brought in every month. Simmons graduated from Evangel University in 1996 with a degree in Communication Studies. After working for nine years as a freelance photographer, he was invited back to coordinate the University's photography program. A few years later he returned to the classroom as a student, while teaching a full load, and earned his Master of Organizational Leadership from Evangel in 2011. Outside the classroom, Simmons continues to improve his craft as a freelancer and doing volunteer work for the creative team at James River Church, where he has attended since 1994.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Burning Rain este o trupă formată de chitaristul Doug Aldrich și cântărețul Keith Sf. Ioan în 1998. Membri Doug Aldrich - chitară principala Keith St. John - solist Ian Mayo - chitară bass Discografie 1999 - Burning Rain 2000 - Pleasure to Burn 2013 - Epic Obsession 2019 - Face the Music Legături externe Burning Rain Site-ul oficial Burning Rain MySpace Formații hard rock Formații heavy metal Grupuri muzicale din Los Angeles, California Formații americane	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia" }
Принципы датировки В IX веке до нашей эры историческая хронология впервые достигает точности датирования событий вплоть до года благодаря летописям Ассирии и Китая. В целом данные для хронологии Ассирии для IX века вполне точны (начиная с 880-х годов), а для Египта не превышают нескольких лет в ту или другую сторону. Данные по правителям Китая приведены по статье Хронологический проект Ся-Шан-Чжоу, а с 841 года не вызывают разногласий. Данные по правителям Израиля и Иудеи следуют работам Е. Р. Тиле, принятыми И. Р. Тантлевским. Существуют и другие списки царей, относимых к этому периоду: но для Армении (см.), Аракана (см.), Кореи (см.) и Ирландии (см.) они явно вымышлены в средние века, а для Греции и Индии, а также царей Альба-Лонги носят полулегендарный характер, поэтому в статьях о годах они не указываются. Правители Африка Древний Египет (XXII (ливийская) и XXIII династии): Осоркон I (924—890 годы до н. э.), Такелот I (в 890—889 годы до н. э. был соправителем Шешонка II) (890—872 годы до н. э.), Осоркон II (872—837 годы до н. э.), Такелот II (837—817 годы до н. э.), Шешонк III (817—798 годы до н. э.), Петубастис I (основатель XXIII династии) (817—793 годы до н. э.) Карфаген: Дидона (814—760 до н. э.) Ближний Восток Фригия: Мидас II, Гордий III (ок. 850 год до н. э.—738 год до н. э.) Финикия Арвад: Милкули (ок. 860), Маттан (Меттенбал, Матан-баал I) (ок. 854) Тир: Астарим (906—897 до н. э.), Фелет (897—896 (или 888—887) до н. э.), Итобаал I (896—863 до н. э.), Балеазар I (863—829 до н. э.), Маттан I (829—820 до н. э.), Пигмалион (820—774 до н. э.). Арамейский Дамаск (Арам): Венедад (Бен-Хадад I) (900—860 до н. э.), Бен-Хадад II (860—843 до н. э.), Азаил (843—796 до н. э.). Израильское царство (северное): Бааша (Вааса) (906—883 или 955—932), Эла (Ила) (883—882 или 932—931), Зимри (Замврий) (882 или 931), Фамний (Тибни) (882 или 931—927), Омри (Амврий) (882—873 или 927—920), Ахав (873—852 или 920—900), Охозия (852—851 или 900—899), Иорам (851—842 или 999—887), Иегу (842—814 или 887—859), Иоахаз (814—798 или 859—842), Иоас (798—782 или 842—825), Иеровоам II (782—753 или 825—799). Иудейское царство (южное): Аса (Асса) (913—873), Иосафат (873—849), Иорам (Йорам) (849—842), Охозия (Ахазия) (842), Афалия (Аталия) (842—837), Иоас (Йоаш) (837—800). Месопотамия Новоассирийское царство: Адад-нирари II (912—891), Тукульти-Нинурта II (891—884), Ашшур-нацир-апал II (884—859), Салманасар III (859—824), Шамши-Адад V (824—811), Шаммурамат (811—805), Адад-нирари III (811—783). Вавилония (VIII Вавилонская династия (Династия «Э»)): Набу-шум-укин I, (ок. 900—888), Набу-апла-иддин (888—855), Мардук-закир-шуми I (в 851—850 соправитель Мардук-бел-усати) (855—819), Мардук-балашу-икби (819—813), Баба-ах-иддин (813—802). Урарту: Арама (859—844 годы до н. э.), Сардури I (844—828 годы до н. э.), Ишпуини (828—810 годы до н. э.), Менуа (810—786 годы до н. э.). Дальний Восток Китай (династия Западная Чжоу): И-ван I (899—892), Сяо-ван (891—886), И-ван II (885—878), Ли-ван (877—841), правление опекунов Сюянь-вана (841—828), Сюянь-ван (828—782). Полулегендарные правители Древняя Греция (Предполисный период) Цари Мессении Дотад, Сибота, Финт. Цари Спарты: из династии Агидов — Агесилай I, Архелай; из династии Эврипонтидов — Полидект, Харилай. Цари Аргоса. Цари Коринфа. Цари Аркадии. Архонты Афин: Мегакл (922—892), Диогнет (892—864), Ферекл (864—845), Арифрон (845—825), Теспиэй (825—798) царь Древней Македонии Каран (827—797 гг. до н. э.) цари Альба-Лонги. Тхандже Кочосон (Корея): Нэхю (909—874 до н. э.), Тыноль (874—849 до н. э.), Чхумиль (849—819 до н. э.), Каммуль (819—795 до н. э.) Важные персоны Ли-ван Чжоу-гун Чжао-гун Елисей (пророк) (935—835) Легендарный законодатель Ликург (с 884 до н. э.) Илия (пророк) (примерно 873—852 до н. э.) Иезавель Гомер Основные события 825 год до н. э. (или 814 год до н. э.) — Основан Карфаген колонистами из финикийского города Тир. IX—VIII века до н. э. — Гегемония Фригии в Малой Азии. Основание поселения на месте Спарты. Возникновение государства Мидия. На территории южнее Аракса, к югу и востоку от озера Урмия сформировалось государство Манна со столицей Зирта (Изирту). Древний Китай: Народные восстания. Хунну совершают вторжение в Китай. Регентство Чжоу-гуна и Чжао-гуна (Эпоха «Всеобщее согласие»). События, условно относимые к 900 году до н. э. Формирование гальштатской культуры племён южной части Средней Европы в период раннего железного века (исчезла к 400 году до н. э.). Формирование археологической культуры Вилланова раннего железного века в Северной Италии (исчезла к 500 году до н. э.). Формирование археологической культуры Нок на территории современного штата Бенуэ-Плато в Нигерии (исчезла ко II веку н. э.). Около 900 года до н. э. Возникновение эфиопского государства с центром в Напате. Объединение Лаконии под властью дорийской Спарты. Вторжение кельтов в Галлию. Цивилизация ольмеков простирается от Сан-Лоренцо до Ла-Венты в Месоамерике. Начало расцвета культуры Паракас в Андах. Период с 900 по 200 год до н. э. — культура Чавин в Северном Перу. События, условно относимые к 850 году до н. э. В этом году было основано первое укрепление на месте Эдинбургского замка В халдейском Уре была составлена клинописная глиняная табличка, содержащая одно из первых упоминаний о вредоносном колдовстве: «И есть у них идолы, так похожие на человека, но воображение моё меркнет перед их сутью. И уносили они моё дыхание, выдёргивали мои волосы, раздирали мои одежды, мазями из неведомых трав они натирали моё тело. О, Бог Огня! Рассей их чары! Ибо ведут они меня к смерти моей!» Предположительный год начала создания в азиатской Греции поэм гомеровского цикла. Составлен древнеэфиопский кодекс «Кебра Негест» («Слава королей»). Примерная дата сведения в единый список т. н. яхвистских частей Книги Бытия (по Веллхаузену). Появление в Южном Египте первых документов, написанных мероитским фонетическим письмом. Ориентировочная дата начала цикла потепления на Аляске, продлившегося до 1200 года н. э. Начало строительства городов в государстве сапотеков. Ориентировочная дата основания крепости Чавин-де-Унтар в Перу, центр культуры Чавин. См. также Примечания Древний мир	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia" }
As Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC secured tier 2 status to the FA Women's Super League, February were asked to help push the club's fan engagement and match day experience forward. We began by redesigning a range of fan touch points from match day programmes, player sponsorship campaigns to soccer school branding. All aspects were considered including ticketing and signage, helping to create an open, unified and welcoming feel.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Rofo researches and displays commercial real estate listings from top brokerage firms and landlords in Moodus, CT making it easier to find available commercial space and compare current asking rental rates. In Moodus, CT there are currently and 1 warehouse spaces for rent with 1 real estate professionals to help you find the right space for you. Filter your search below and get free advice from recommended brokers in Moodus, CT. 423 E Haddam Moodus Rd is for lease in Moodus, CT. 423 E Haddam Moodus Rd is an industrial property for lease in Moodus, CT. The property currently has 1 industrial space for lease and is marketed by Lyman Real Estate. 1 industrial space 39,240 square feet. Please describe your commercial real estate requirements in Moodus, CT. We'll create a list of matching properties that meet your criteria.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Charles Thomas Weatherby (7 May 1860 – 24 June 1913) was an English first-class cricketer and publisher. The eldest son of Edward Weatherby, he was born at Kensington in May 1860. He was educated at Winchester College, where he played for the cricket eleven. He was described by Lillywhite's Companion as "a fair bat and field" while at Winchester. From Winchester he went up to New College, Oxford. He played cricket for New College, but did not represent Oxford University Cricket Club in first-class cricket. He did however play one first-class match for the Marylebone Cricket Club against Oxford University in 1882, a year after his graduation from New College. He batted twice in the match, being dismissed for scores of 1 and 15 by Edward Peake and Charles Godfrey respectively. After graduating from Oxford, he worked for the family business, Weatherby & Sons, which was responsible for publishing the Racing Calendar. Weatherby died suddenly in June 1913 at Lindfield, Sussex. His brothers, Francis and John, both played first-class cricket, as did his nephew John Atkinson-Clark. References External links 1860 births 1913 deaths Sportspeople from Kensington People educated at Winchester College Alumni of New College, Oxford English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Publishers (people) from London 19th-century English businesspeople	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaWikipedia" }
Music Life Posted on July 18, 2019 The Memory of Music review AReview by using Barney Zwartz I'm not positive why Andrew Ford wrote this e-book. That's an unusual element to mention about a book, so let me add speedy that I'm satisfied he did; it's miles each informative and wonderful, and I loved it greatly. The Memory of Music isn't an autobiography, it isn't a philosophy music phi cal or sociological attention of, neither is it a technical evaluation, even though it has factors of each, and greater. It is exceptionally cataloged, below the Zwartz taxonomy, as an as a substitute disconnected collection of entertaining and regularly illuminating biographical anecdotes. Or, to be thoroughly elegant, a memoir. Get the modern day news and updates emailed instantly to your inbox. By submitting your email you're agreeing to Fairfax Media's phrases and conditions and privacy policy. Documentary Captures The Music Of One North Philly Family Life Mark E Smith: A life in photos The destiny of training is digital Watch Russian band EIMIC convey artwork to life The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2017 I suspect that Ford is someone who, when he has some thing to mention, absolutely says it, as he has achieved very correctly on the slave, as a composer; on the airwaves, as a broadcaster; and in print, as an as a substitute prolific author. He has interviewed greater than 6000 guests seeing that taking on as host of the ABC Radio National's Music Show in 1995. However, if his prolixity on occasion appears self-indulgent, he has the purest of motives. "There are most effective reasons to write or broadcast approximately tune. The first is to encourage humans to concentrate harder; the second one is to encourage them to think musically – on the way to listening harder." With his remaining phrases, Ford pleads that we have to also pay attention with the generosity of spirit. Amen, I say. Delightful anecdotes abound. For instance, at a new primary school, an accidental accurate kick led the sports trainer to make Ford centre-forward within the subsequent match. That centre-forward "had the ball at his toes precisely eleven instances in the course of the suit – kicking off at the start and kicking off after every of the ten goals his facet conceded". On his first date, Ford mistook the time of the movie, so spent an hour dull the bad female inflexible together with his thoughts on The Communist Manifesto, having study best the primary four pages and the closing (to at the present time). Or, ruminating on how librettists address modifications to their texts, he recounts how composer Elizabeth Lutyens rang poet Elias Canetti to invite how he could sense about a line trade. "There became a loud crash at the opposite stop of the cell phone, followed by way of silence. After a few moments, Canetti's wife came on the line. 'Elias has fainted,' she informed Lutyens." He recalls, as a young track lecturer, review engaging in Michael Tippett's Memory A Child of Our Time Music within the presence of the composer and bringing him to tears. But he neglects to inform us whether of pleasure or fury – with college performers one can not make sure. Ford discourses curiously on a selection of Australian composers, especially the late Peter Sculthorpe. They had been no longer buddies, he says, but had many conversations over 30 years, frequently fuelled by bottles of Australian sparkling wine. More than decades broadcasting The Music Show is likewise fertile floor for cloth. He tells us how tune changed faith in his lifestyles – "what I thought changed into God now I suppose became Beethoven" – and he now sees faith as a branch of poetry. Art is humanity's try to explain itself to itself, and so is religion, Ford indicates. Much the maximum exiting bankruptcy is the penultimate, "Inventing Music", about the genesis of many of his compositions, what turned into influencing him at the time, how he evolved the soundscape and scoring, how they worked in performance. He discusses all of this with an openness and reflective honesty that is exceedingly appealing. Ford works workplace hours, because an idea may be tardy, and he takes into account the (first) performers, whom he typically knows. Ideas can come from anywhere: a poem, a portray, a movie, a tale, even a word. Sometimes the identity arrives first, as while he knew he desired to jot down a piece called Harbour before he knew it would be a song cycle for Gerald English and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The musical genesis of his viola concerto got here from being woken in his New York inn through a truck driving force blowing a sustained be aware on his horn at the equal time as a clang sounded one tonne better from a bit of falling scaffolding. Ford is properly aware of the pitfalls of writing about the song, even though he denies that it's far as futile as dancing approximately structure. The Memory of Music, again demonstrating what a terrific communicator he's, offers proof that he is right. The origins of Indian music can be traced back to the chanting of the Sama Veda nearly 4,000 years ago. The primacy of the voice and the association of musical sound with prayer were thus established early in the history of Indian music. Today, music is available to us in different forms and the choice of music varies from person to person just as the reading choices vary from one another. There is folk music, classical music, devotional music, instrumental, jazz, rock music, pop music, Hindi movie songs and much more. In the modern world, Music has gained an honorable designation of 'HEALING WITHOUT MEDICINE'. Doctors feel that music therapy has been helping them in treating many people with problems like dementia, dyslexia depression, and trauma." Many children with learning disability and poor coordination have been able to learn, and respond to set pieces of music. Many people with genetic disability have found a new light in the form of music. Dance critic Ashish Khokar cites an experiment as proof: "Music is produced from sound, and sound affects our sense perception in many ways. Even fish in an aquarium was once made to listen to different kinds of music and it was found that their movements corresponded with the beat of the music. Mind you, fish do not hear, they only felt the vibrations of the sound through water. So you can imagine what a profound effect sound and music might have on the human mind." Life and Times of the Music Inn': A look back Cranbourne Secondary College brings story Music Life Sep 30, 2019 A existence dedicated to song Music Life Jun 29, 2019 Nik Turner Aiming for a protracted shelf life Music Life Jul 18, 2019 Life and Times of the Music Inn': A look back How Kesha's 3-year legal battle with Dr. Luke The Prodigy helped me placed my circle	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Woman jumps in front of a Sydney train while clutching a small child. A woman has died after jumping in front of a train while holding a small child in Sydney's west. The young girl is in a critical condition at Westmead Hospital. The fatal incident occurred around 2pm today at Harris Park railway station. Witnesses reports varied, with some claiming the woman had a baby in her arms and others placing the child's age at up to four years, Fairfax Media reports. Police are reviewing CCTV footage of the horrific incident and will prepare a report for the coroner. Train services were disrupted on several lines, but are returning to normal. If this post brings up issues for you, or you just want someone to talk to, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. *Feature image via Google Maps.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
UPDATE: Man drowns at Portage campground By Dave O'Brien, staff writer The Portage County Coroner's Office is investigating the apparent accidental drowning Sunday night of a Trumbull County man at a Nelson campground. Joseph Zook, 21, of Kinsman, died Sunday night at University Hospitals Portage Medical Center in Ravenna after being transported there from the Kool Lakes Family Campground, located at 12990 Nelson Ledge Road/S.R. 282, the coroner's office said. Community EMS Chief Christopher Sanchez confirmed his agency transported Zook to the hospital, but could not release any other details. Zook apparently tried to swim across a lake at the campground but did not make it, and was found at the bottom of the lake, according to the coroner's office. No autopsy was performed, as the incident was witnessed by onlookers, and no foul play is suspected, the coroner's office said. Mike Halas, chief investigator with the coroner's office, said toxicology results are pending. The lake is very cold, even during warmer months, and its temperature may have contributed to Zook's inability to get across the body of water, the coroner's office said. Portage County Sheriff David Doak said Sunday night that one of his deputies was at a family gathering nearby when the incident occurred, and attempted to assist in Zook's rescue.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
package com.planet_ink.coffee_web.servlets; import java.io.File; import java.io.FileOutputStream; import java.io.IOException; import java.util.List; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.http.HTTPMethod; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.http.HTTPStatus; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.http.MIMEType; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.http.MultiPartData; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.interfaces.SimpleServlet; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.interfaces.SimpleServletRequest; import com.planet_ink.coffee_web.interfaces.SimpleServletResponse; /** * Relies on multi-part form data to write all received files to the current * web server directory. * @author Bo Zimmerman * */ public class MultipartFileWriter implements SimpleServlet { @Override public void doGet(SimpleServletRequest request, SimpleServletResponse response) { response.setStatusCode(HTTPStatus.S405_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED.getStatusCode()); } private void writeFilesFromParts(List<MultiPartData> parts, StringBuilder filesList) throws IOException { if(parts != null) { for(final MultiPartData part : parts) { final String filename = part.getVariables().get("filename"); if(filename != null) { final File f = new File(filename); FileOutputStream fout=null; try { fout=new FileOutputStream(f); fout.write(part.getData()); filesList.append(filename).append("<br>"); } finally { if(fout!=null) fout.close(); } } writeFilesFromParts(part.getSubParts(), filesList); } } } @Override public void doPost(SimpleServletRequest request, SimpleServletResponse response) { try { final StringBuilder filesList=new StringBuilder(""); response.setMimeType(MIMEType.All.html.getType()); writeFilesFromParts(request.getMultiParts(), filesList); response.getOutputStream().write(("<html><body><h1>Done</h1><br>"+filesList.toString()+"</body></html>").getBytes()); } catch (final IOException e) { response.setStatusCode(500); } } @Override public void init() { } @Override public void service(HTTPMethod method, SimpleServletRequest request, SimpleServletResponse response) { if(method != HTTPMethod.POST) response.setStatusCode(HTTPStatus.S405_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED.getStatusCode()); } }	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub" }
Squabbles, shuffles and communication snafus: 2020 in N.W.T. politics January 3, 2021, 6:00 a.m. ·9 min read The year 2020 felt at least 48 months long. In Northwest Territories politics, it's hard to believe some of this year's newsiest events actually took place in the last 366 days. When COVID-19 took off in March, thrusting the territory and much of the world into a state of emergency, the 19th legislative assembly was just five months old and coming off a territorial vote that saw a record number of women elected. But the high of October 2019 didn't last long, and the months to follow would be marred by internal conflicts, cabinet shuffles and communication snafus. Take, for an early example, Tom Weegar's unceremonious dismissal from the helm of Aurora College. Remember Weegar? The former president of the college and associate deputy minister of post-secondary renewal was appointed after a nationwide search — and dismissed a year later, in early February (you read that right, this February). A flurry of confusion surrounded who made the call to let go of Weegar. Walter Strong/CBC First, Education Minister R.J. Simpson said the former president left to "pursue other opportunities," which checked out, kind of, with an email Weegar sent to college faculty and staff. Simpson then changed the story so that the decision came from the premier herself, but later told the Legislative Assembly that he advised Premier Caroline Cochrane to give Weegar the pink slip. Weegar told CBC at the time he faced a "real strong resistance to change." He was replaced by N.W.T. government insider Andy Bevan, the former assistant deputy minister of labour and income security. We didn't know it then, but the Weegar saga foreshadowed a year in territorial politics punctuated by misstatements and mixed messaging. 'We are not in a crisis' — wait a minute ... At the end of February, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek proposed her first budget — a run-of-the-mill, $1.9-billion fiscal plan with no new taxes and modest spending on the government's 22 mandate priorities. The niggling question, then, was how the government would avoid bumping up against its federally-imposed borrowing limit of $1.3 billion. In her Feb. 25 budget address, Wawzonek made a proclamation that would not age well: "We are not in a crisis." Oh, the cruel clarity of hindsight. Fifteen days after the 2020-21 budget was tabled, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The novel coronavirus would go on to spur a global recession and prompt more than $240 billion in Canadian government spending. For many in the North, the pandemic hit home on March 7, when the Arctic Winter Games, set to take place in Whitehorse a week later, were cancelled. Nearly all N.W.T. events quickly followed suit, as did the territorial legislature, which suspended its sitting on March 13. Soon after, most government employees began working from home and schools shuttered for the remainder of the academic year. (The federal government would, in June, increase N.W.T.'s debt cap to $1.8 billion.) In March, the N.W.T. had gained a new and unlikely celebrity in Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola. When then-Health Minister Diane Archie declared a public health emergency on March 18, Kandola was granted extraordinary powers: among them, the ability to prohibit travel within the territory. Mario De Ciccio/CBC She exercised that power on March 20, closing the territory to most non-essential travellers in 24 hours, and ordering all returning residents to isolate for 14 days in Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith or Inuvik. Also on March 20, the territorial government released details of its first COVID-19 relief package, priced at $13.2 million. The territory has since projected it will spend more than $53 million on its pandemic response this fiscal year, with another $50.1 million coming from Ottawa. COVID-19 arrived in the North a day later, on March 21, when the first case among the three territories was confirmed in Yellowknife. N.W.T.'s house of cards The department of Municipal and Community Affairs is in charge of the territory's emergency response, and in early April, the premier seized control of the department from its minister, Paulie Chinna. Cochrane, leveraging her experience as cabinet's longest-serving member, said the move would give her a "hands-on role" as the government confronted the coronavirus. Though Cochrane claimed the takeover was not a reflection of Chinna's performance, the minister was absent from the press conference announcing the shuffle, and she wasn't quoted in the accompanying news release. Was it a consolidation of power or an efficiency, since the premier would inevitably be called on to answer for the N.W.T.'s pandemic response anyway? The 19th assembly would see four cabinet shuffles this year, a brand new minister (Health) in Julie Green, and the acrimonious ouster of former Industry and Infrastructure minister Katrina Nokleby. More on "Noklegate" later. With the N.W.T. under a strict COVID-19-imposed lockdown in April and all indoor gatherings banned, one of the territory's more distant anxieties barreled into the foreground: Dominion Diamond Mines, the part owner of two N.W.T. mines, filed for and was granted insolvency protection. The company placed much of the blame for its situation on COVID-19. The filing sent a shock to the territory's 250-or-so N.W.T. residents who worked for Dominion, and the countless others in mining-related businesses. 'Noklegate' In 2020, perhaps no N.W.T. politician was the centre of as much controversy as Great Slave Lake MLA Katrina Nokleby. (Monfwi MLA Jackson Lafferty comes in a close second, for, among other public dustups, refusing to recant after accusing the premier of acting in contempt of the legislative assembly when she fired the president of Aurora College. For this, he was expelled from the legislature for a day.) Mario De Ciccio/Radio-Canada Nokleby oversaw the department of Infrastructure, as well as Industry, Tourism and Investment, and thus the government's economic response to the pandemic. In the early days, some N.W.T. businesses said governments weren't doing enough to help them. Called "a bit of a bull in a china shop" by caucus chair Rylund Johnson, Nokleby was rebuked in the Legislative Assembly by Premier Cochrane for allegedly yelling at staff and throwing "continual tantrums" in meetings. But a May 27 confidence motion citing concerns with Nokleby's performance — the first attempt to push her out of cabinet — died before going to a vote. Initially, a vocal contingent of supporters vouched for Nokleby. An online petition to "Save Minister Katrina Nokleby" garnered nearly 1,500 signatures and Cochrane expressed her "complete confidence" in the minister. But Nokleby faced additional ire this summer when Tłı̨chǫ leadership lambasted the territorial government for its handling of public works contracts on their land. Soon after, the premier plucked Procurement Shared Services, which deals with such contracts, out of Nokleby's hands and placed it into those of Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek. Nokleby was, eventually, stripped of her portfolios and ejected from cabinet. In the legislature, she decried a "toxic culture of secrecy [that] has allowed my character and professionalism to be disparaged, while not allowing me to respond, reply, or defend myself." In the end, all MLAs but Nunakput representative Jackie Jacobson, who abstained, and Nokleby herself, voted to give her the boot. What's that you say about tourism? For months following the March 21 order restricting travel in the N.W.T., residents believed the territory was out of bounds to most everyone but themselves and essential workers. So naturally, some were befuddled when, in early June, the premier told CBC's Rosemary Barton on national television that in the Northwest Territories, "tourism is on the table" and that visitors are welcome. Submitted by Kristian Binder It was four days before the record was corrected. While certain visitors could enter with, for example, a compassionate exemption, the chief public health officer made clear that leisure travellers would not be among them. Cochrane later admitted that the government mishandled its messaging on travel restrictions and changes to those rules. This wasn't the only communication fumble: since the start of the pandemic, Cochrane's government withheld information about major changes to the territory's laws on at least three occasions. While all this was going on, a wellspring of activism was bursting forth, unleashed by the May 25 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a Minnesota police officer. In Yellowknife, hundreds descended on the RCMP detachment downtown on June 9 to demonstrate peacefully against anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and police brutality. Nearly all participants were wearing masks. At a press conference addressing the rally, the commanding officer of Northwest Territories RCMP admitted there is racism in the force. One agency, under Cochrane As a second wave of COVID-19 began swelling in the provinces, the territorial government announced in September the creation of a COVID-19 "co-ordinating secretariat": a single agency to manage its pandemic response. The secretariat's head would report directly to the premier. The division would create 150 new government jobs and cost an estimated $87 million over 2.5 years, with $23.4 million coming from Ottawa. Critics loudly denounced the expansion of government at a time when residents were struggling and communities were underfunded. The N.W.T. Chamber of Commerce asked why the territory wasn't spending this money on health care, while Monfwi MLA Lafferty made a motion to delete funding for the secretariat, saying no one in the territory had died of the coronavirus, yet many are dying as a result of suicide and addiction. Lastly, some kudos When it comes to N.W.T. political reporting, it can seem as though the media's heart is two sizes too small. But we're not grinchy all the time at CBC North, and we'd be remiss not to mention the territorial government's successes, specifically, the remarkable job it's done so far at preventing community transmission of COVID-19, and keeping cases lower here than in any other jurisdiction in Canada. The territorial government also stepped up when some of its most vulnerable residents needed it to. Kate Kyle/CBC It helped transform Yellowknife's Arnica Inn into a COVID-19 isolation centre for people experiencing homelessness; it declared a local state of emergency in the capital to quickly open an additional day shelter downtown; and it supported managed alcohol programs. Now, with the arrival of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the N.W.T. is on track to inoculate 75 per cent of adult residents in the first three months of 2021. By every measure, 2020 was an unprecedented year, and this government, led by a new and majority-first-term assembly, deserves some credit. Through a frightening and devastating global pandemic, it's done the one job it really needed to do: it's kept N.W.T. residents safe.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
O. J. Simpson Testifies; Christine Todd Whitman; Caio Fonseca Court TV anchor Rikki Klieman and attorney Martin Garbus discuss the civil trial of O. J. Simpson, his testimony on domestic violence, and the legal strategies of the prosecution and defense. New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman talks about the ways the Republican party can reform to become the party of inclusion. Caio Fonseca discusses establishing himself as a painter amongst a family of artists and writers. Christine Todd Whitman Martin Garbus Rikki Klieman Caio Fonseca Politics Society Law Fred Graham Court TV anchor Fred Graham gives his opinion on whether certain evidence gathered from O. J. Simpson's house will be admissible. 16:57 O. J. Simpson Verdict Society, Law, Media Following the "Not Guilty" verdict, Fred Graham and Gerald Lefcourt propose potential questions for O. J. Simpson's NBC interview. 18:07 Sports, Law Fred Graham of Court TV reports on the rift between O. J. Simpson lawyers F. Lee Bailey and Robert Shapiro and the rumors about the opening... 06:39 O. J. Simpson Trial Update Law, Media A look at the O. J. Simpson trial in the midst of the case with attorneys Gerald Lefcourt, Jay Goldberg and, Dick Thornburgh. 18:28 O. J. Simpson Trial: Day 2 Legal correspondents Cynthia McFadden and Jack Ford and defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt analyze Mark Fuhrman's testimony. 20:14	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Anne began her career as a silkscreen artist. After 25 years of printmaking, she now works with watercolor where she builds successive layers of color to create her vibrant, rich, and detailed paintings. She has lived in Boulder since 1976 and finds inspiration in the natural beauty of Colorado. On her many walks and hikes throughout the area, Anne is always on the lookout for new imagery. Light, shadows, rocks, water, mountains, canyons, wildlife and whimsy are all part of Anne�s subject matter and she brings her own unique vision to her work. She is an award winning artist and the seven time poster artist for the Bolder Boulder 10K Memorial Day Race, one of the largest road races in the United States. Her watercolor painting "Lilacs at Walker Ranch" was chosen in 2011 as the image to represent the 150th Anniversary of Boulder County. Anne additionally enjoys teaching watercolor classes to the elderly as well as playing her guitar and fiddle.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Fremantle have made five list changes following the 2017 season, with three senior listed players moving on from the club. Zac Clarke, Jon Griffin and Sam Collins have all been told their futures lie elsewhere, while rookies Josh Deluca and Matthew Uebergang have also been advised they will not be offered contracts for 2018 and beyond. Clarke played 101 games for the Dockers over the past eight seasons, while Griffin played 56 of his 97 AFL games for Fremantle since making the move from Adelaide at the start of the 2011 season. The quintet join recent retirees Zac Dawson and Garrick Ibbotson as outgoing players this season. "We thank all of the players for their contribution to the club," Fremantle's general manager of football operations Chris Bond told fremantlefc.com.au. In other news, Fremantle duo Brady Grey and Tommy Sheridan have both signed one-year contract extensions that will see them continue as Dockers in the 2018 season. In his third season with the club, Grey played 14 of his 17 matches in 2017, and became an important member of their side in the early stages of the season. Sheridan will enter his seventh season as a Docker in 2018 after 68 games for the club, and is looking forward to another positive season. Fremantle's general manager of list managerment Brad Lloyd said the duo had certainly earned their new deals, and was excited to see their progress continue next season. "We look forward to seeing Brady and Tommy playing in more important roles with our playing list and contributing to the senior team in the coming years," Lloyd told fremantlefc.com.au. "Tommy had the opportunity from a young age to experience finals football for the club. We're really pleased to see him sign on and he'll continue to develop as a player and play a role for our team. "We're also pleased with Brady's extension. He's really impressed us with his work ethic and his attack on the football. He's developed consistently each year since arriving at the club.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
On this episode of the AYP Wrestling Podcast Dr. Lewis is joined by Arizona indie & international lucha libre sensation Prophet! Subjects discussed include how he began his career, who were his inspirations, working in Mexico and the United States, his recent trip south of the border working on a show headlined by Mistico/Sin Cara/Myzteziz, his ring gear tailoring business, and (though Dr. Lewis forgot to bring it up initially) his music career. Join us for over 40 minutes of talk with a true wrestling renaissance man! New Episode to be Recorded Later Today! Well we skipped a week due to unforeseeable circumstances but we will be back later today with an all new AYP Wrestling Podcast! Joining us will be one of the most talented wrestlers on the indie/lucha scene Prophet! We will talk the lucha scene, the AZ indie scene, his gear/wardrobe business, and much more! Stay tuned for the new episode an in the meantime checkout Prophet's facebook at http://www.facebook.com/azprophet.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Prince Caspian - CD A full-cast dramatisation C S Lewis' stories about the magical land of Narnia have offered a joyous escape into another mystical world to generations of enthralled readers. The bewitched kingdom of dwarves, nymphs and giants, where animals talk and horses fly, has been thrillingly recreated in these acclaimed BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations. The series features Stephen Thorne as the mighty Aslan, with a host of start including Martin Jarvis, Maurice Denham and Timothy Spall. 'Prince Caspian' is the fourth thrilling adventure in the classic 'Chronicles Of Narnia' fantasy series. It is an ideal gift to excite and inspire children of all ages! Other Titles by C S Lewis by C S Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -Pocket Ed. The Space Trilogy (75th Anniversary Edition) The Weight of Glory: A Collection of Lewis' Most Moving Addresses The Complete Chronicles Of Narnia Best-loved Classics: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe The Magician's Nephew - Fantasy Cover The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe - Fantasy Cover The Horse And His Boy - Fantasy Cover Prince Caspian - Fantasy Cover The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader - Fantasy Cover The Silver Chair - Fantasy Cover The Last Battle - Fantasy Cover The Last Battle - CD The Magician's Nephew - Collector's Edition The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Collector's Ed The Horse And His Boy - Collector's Edition Prince Caspian - Collector's Edition The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader - Collector's Edition The Silver Chair - Collector's Edition	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Nintendo Names Koji Miyake as New European CEO Bole had served as MD of Nintendo France between 2001 and 2015, and has held roles such as senior managing director of corporate strategy (2009 - 2015) and senior managing director European subsidiaries and affiliates (2015 - 2018) for NOE. (gonintendo) It follows the imminent departure of Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata after 18 years in the role. Shibata returns to Nintendo's HQ in Kyoto to take up the position of general manager for the firm's marketing and licensing divisions. He is also joining Nintendo's Board of Directors... Read more here News Nintendo Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Switch	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
This photoshoot was the last of five in three days on my trip to California, and I'll be honest with you, I was exhausted. That morning Bri asked if I wanted to stop by early to grab coffee with the two of them at one of their fav local spots. As soon as I arrived, I was energized by Bri and Evan. They instantly felt like old friends as we joked around and got to know one another.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
For the last 8 or so months, I've been getting some serious questions about my guitar - heaps more than I've had in 10 years as a touring musician. The reason? I've been playing an Ormsby Goliath, a guitar which is different in a LOT of different ways. New leaps and bounds in guitar technology don't come along often, so I'll give you guys a rundown of what the Goliath is, why it's different, what it's good for (and not so good for) and most importantly - is it the guitar for you? Full disclosure - I've become an official Ormsby endorsee for 2019, but I will still be outlining the positives and negatives equally as this guitar is DEFINITELY not for everyone. Up until recently, Ormsby Guitars were a well-loved custom guitar manufacturer run by a passionate metalhead in Perth, Western Australia. Ok - that part is still true. Nowadays, Ormsby Guitars are sold worldwide, with premium production line models coming out of Korea, rumours of more affordable options in the pipeline and a growing roster of "Ormsbros" falling in love with the brand. Now, onto the Goliath GTR specs! The model I have is from Run 4. What's a Run? Because Ormsby models are so popular (and to help manage order quantities as they scale up), most GTRs are pre-ordered as part of a run, where you get to choose things like the tonewood, finish, number of strings and so forth and then receive your guitar in 6-12 months time. Since then, there is a new model of Goliath GTR that has been produced, with slight improvements and adjustments, so each run is a little different to the ones before (the Ormsby team have a very Kaizen, or continuous improvement, approach to their guitars). All the GTR models are made in Korea, which separates them from the Ormsby Customshop models, which are built in Australia. I also opted for some hand-wound pickups rather than the stock pickups to suit my preferences, which is an option on many GTR Runs, so my tones are slightly hotter than the standard Goliath. Forget that unnecessary piece of equipment! Who needs an extra bit of wood on the top of the guitar? More seriously, the Goliath has no headstock for both aesthetic and practical reasons. If you love the look of a headstock, this probably isn't the guitar for you, but many love the clean, minimalist look of a guitar with no headstock. Practically, however, this guitar stays in tune far better than any electric I've owned. Part of that is due to the build quality, but being headless make tuners less likely to get bumped and a lighter, smoother-feeling neck. The fact that I don't have as much weight on the left side of my body now makes fretting notes much faster and easier, much more akin to how I would sit playing a classical guitar, and this reduction in weight overall is nicer on my back and shoulders too. The tuners are instead located at the bridge, very similar to the way you would fine-tune a guitar with a Floyd Rose bridge. The only drawback is that it can be a little more challenging to restring the guitar (I find it takes me about twice as long as a traditional headstock/bridge setup), but Ormsby have announced they have made improvements to their headless bridge design for future models based on our feedback. Hang on - what does multiscale mean? The other big difference with all Ormsby GTRs is that they have a unique scale length, with the highest string 25.5" and the lowest 27.5". This fanned fret design gives effectively equal tension on each string, which feels very smooth and consistent across the entire neck. It's also a factor in the excellent tuning stability of the guitar. This does mean that your chord shapes (particularly barre chords) will take a bit of adjusting, but not necessarily in a bad way. For leads, it's instantly easier to access the higher frets, as the angle of the frets more closely follows the natural position of your hand. For low tunings, this scale length is perfect, as it's basically like having a half-baritone guitar, but I wouldn't recommend the standard Ormsby scale length for a beginner guitarist due to the length of the stretch required to play low riffs. If I'm recording low riffs, I would select the Ormsby if the stretches aren't too bad (because it'll give a much more consistent response, especially across multiple strings) but if it's a fast, stretchy riff, I would probably still prefer a more traditional scale length instead. However, if you're worried about playing chords with the multiscale, don't - your fingers will be pretty much in position right away, and a bit of fine-tuning will make your shapes adapt to the neck and actually become more comfortable. Despite its obvious metal focus, this is a very versatile guitar. The cleans are crystal clear, the rhythms are heavy but controlled, and the option for 6 to 8 string models makes it useful for Jazz, Metal, Djent and everything in between. It's lightweight, compact but catches the eye with its colour-changing finish and body shape, so perfect for touring musicians (it's a little too big for standard Aus carry-on requirements unfortunately, but it's much easier to transport than any other guitar). The Goliath feels like a guitar twice it's price, which goes to show the quality of the manufacturers in Korea. One would think that a production guitar with this many new and unique design elements would have issues with quality control,,but surprisingly the only build quality issues I have had have been with an earthing cable that wasn't earthing as well as it should (repaired under warranty by Ormsby by my local tech, Brock Guitars) and a screw regularly popping out on the input jack, which may be due to its odd position on the back of the body. I've only heard of one other complaint about Ormsby guitars from an earlier run related to a bad batch of pickups (which were all repaired by Ormsby as required) - and each run seems to be faster, smoother and easier than the last for everyone involved. The Ormsby team are willing to go the extra mile to make sure the guitars play and feel the way they should (I recall Perry, the owner of Ormsby Guitars giving me some tips on how to resolve the earthing problem via Facebook chat to avoid a trip to the guitar doctors - no other guitar company would give its customers such a level of service). Should I Get an Ormsby Goliath GTR? First of all, you may not be able to! Whilst there are a number of Ormsbys being sold around the world in guitar shops, plus a number being sold directly by Ormsby over Reverb.com (Ormsby often order spares where possible), most of the GTR range are sold as pre-orders, so you'll have to order one to make sure you get it. If you'd like to find out which runs are coming up, just head over to the OrmsbyGuitars.com.au website, fill out the form and you'll get added to the GTR user group on Facebook. First of all, if you were to ask me whether or not you should get an Ormsby Customshop, I would say if you have the money and the time, definitely. These guys have got the skills and drive to make very special instruments, and they're completely customisable. If you're after a Goliath GTR, I'd say it depends on the type of player you are, your budget and your patience. The Run pre-order process takes 6-12 months (but it's getting faster). The trade-off for your time is that you'll get to customise elements of the guitar to suit yourself, which is a special feeling usually resolved for Customshop guitars. The price point of the Goliath GTR puts it competing with Indonesian or Mexican made guitars from other manufacturers, so if you're looking to spend less than $2k Australian on a guitar, you can't get much better than this, as the GTR range is miles ahead in terms of build quality and features. If you were looking to spend $3-$4k+, and you've got the time to wait, I'd probably look more at the Ormsby Customshop range and get yourself a guitar better than any production model out there (or buy two GTRS!). Style-wise, if you're into metal, djent, drop tunings, this is definitely the guitar built for you. If you're into jazz and prog, it's also perfect. For any other style, it really just depends what sort of player you are, as you're not going to get much advantage out of the multiscale unless you're playing leads, have had wrist issues with standard scale guitars, want more than 6 strings or want to experiment with lower tunings. If you're in this category, best bet is to play an Ormsby (ideally for a month) to see if it's for you, but don't let me put you off - there are hundred (if not thousands) of Ormsby players who are not into metal or jazz and swear by them. tl:dr The Guitar Game is changing - join the movement (especially for jazz and metal players!)!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
An education at the University of San Diego prepares graduates to work in a variety of jobs in diverse industries throughout the world. The data displayed below represents the employers, job titles and industries reported by USD graduates over the past five years. Click on an industry below to view employers. Click an industry below to view job titles.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Hide IP Easy 5.2.5.8 Full + Patch hide your real IP with a fake one, surf anonymously, prevent hackers from monitoring your activity, zhonreturn, and provide full encryption of your online activity, all with the click of a button. Hide IP Easy 5.2.5.8 Full + Patch. Anonymous Web Surfing - You are assigned fake IP addresses and protected from hackers who will be tricked by your fake IP instead of your real one. Protect Your Identity - Surf anonymously to prevent websites, identity thieves or even government from compromising your computer, tracking your online activities, tracing your exact location or intercepting your private financial information. Select Your Physical IP location - You decide fake IP of which country to use by choosing a country from the Choose IP Country window. Send Anonymous E-mails - Hide your real IP in E-mail headers. Be protected while sending emails from Yahoo!, Hotmail, GMail. Un-ban Yourself from Forums and Restricted Sites - Use Hide IP Easy to change your IP address and access forums and restricted sites that have ever banned you from. Anda baru saja membaca artikel yang berkategori IP Address dengan judul Download Hide IP Easy 5.2.5.8 Full + Patch. Anda bisa bookmark halaman ini dengan URL http://newhardwaresoftware.blogspot.com/2013/05/download-hide-ip-easy-5258-full-patch.html. Terima kasih!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
The truth is I'm frightened. Everyone is in life. However, I'm a bit more terrified at the thought of being vulnerable. I like to write prose and poems on love and life. The truth is that I'm a hypocrite. I'm the biggest hypocrite, I know and I know plenty. I don't allow myself the love that I preach to the world. I'm a coward. I look for shelter in the rain. I don't dance in it. I pen down love and life. I spill poetry like vodka and intoxicate hearts. I'm terrific at making people fall in love with me. I will write you love poems and tell you to give your heart away. The truth is that when it comes to myself, all I have is an out of tune heart beat and some lies to give. The truth is I'm a coward. I look for shelter in the rain. I don't dance in it.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
With 64 years experience hand-crafting traditional ceremonial candles in Oaxaca, these beautiful velas are individually made works of art by a family of artisans who have developed a sacred and unique process using beeswax and create natural dyes with indigo, cochineal, wild marigolds, pomegranates, moss, among others. Candles are unscented and measure about 4" tall. Sold individually. Please note that candles are extremely delicate and may bend or tear while in transit. We will do our best to pack each piece with significant care. If any flowers fall off, you can slightly melt its base to reapply. We highly recommend picking up your candles at our store. For a long life, keep away from direct sunlight. Unfortunately, we cannot ship this item outside the United States at this time.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Linda has decided to go A La Carte! Photography by Linda has created new package ideas to let her couple decide how to build their own custom package! Now her wedding clients can start with a Formal Package and add on the coverage that best suits them and their budget! For more info visit my website under information and wedding pricing! Phil Lepage of Re/max Reality Professionals has just list this incredible 2 story! What a wonderful family home. Features on this dream home is long so for more information and veiwing give Phil Lepage a call at 259-4141. This little cutie, is my great niece, she was born in November and I can't wait to go home and spoil her rotten, with tons of hugs and kisses. Happy Valentine sweetie! just listed this spectacular, breath taking fully finished bungalow today and I had the pleasure of photographing it. If you are looking for a truly beautiful home then give Sandy a call @ 403-259-4141 today. and check out my real estate site! Thank you to all who entered my name that portrait draw! We have a winner! This image is being entered in the Nationals in April!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
layout: post title: Announcing Leaflet 1.1.0 description: a new version, based on ES6 modules, has been released author: Per Liedman authorsite: http://www.liedman.net --- We have released Leaflet version 1.1.0, the first version built with [ES6 modules](https://babeljs.io/learn-es2015/#ecmascript-2015-features-modules) - a big step forward ensuring Leaflet is up to date with how modern JavaScript is written. For users upgrading to this release, this change should not make a difference, while it offers the possibility to import individual parts of Leaflet individually if your app is built with ES6. As a consequence, 1.1.0 is also the first version built without Leaflet's now deprecated custom build system, in favor of using [Rollup](https://rollupjs.org/). Also new in this release is the new `L.VideoOverlay` class, allowing [overlaying video on your maps](http://leafletjs.com/examples/video-overlay/). We also managed to fix over 30 bugs with the help of about 20 different contributors: see the full [changelog](https://github.com/Leaflet/Leaflet/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md) for details. To get the new release, update your dependencies in your favorite package manager, or check the [downloads page](http://leafletjs.com/download.html). Cheers,<br> The Leaflet team.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub" }
Looking forward to LASA 2016, NYC May 16, 2016 10:15 am / Leave a comment The 2016 Latin American Studies Association conference is right around the corner, and I am looking forward to participating. This year, I will be giving a paper called "The United States and Latin America Decline of power or decline in interest?" on a panel on Sunday at 2:30. The panel, organized by Laura MacDonald of Carleton, is called "The Role of External Actors in Post-Hegemonic Latin America." My paper (abstract below) sort of starts with asking, "how 'post-hegemonic' is the Western Hemisphere?" I am also discussant on a panel Sunday evening on "Contentious political issues in contemporary inter-American affairs: from (non)insurgency to international security and trade policymaking," which includes my friend and superb young scholar Mariano Bertucci of Tulane. Abstract: It is commonly asserted that the United States no longer holds the dominant position it once did in Latin America. This decline is credited to several factors: a global decline in U.S. power, lower levels of U.S. attention to the region, the entrance of new extra-hemispheric challengers, and more "assertive" Latin American leaders. This paper seeks to test these claims of U.S. decline. First, using a variety of metrics, it will ask whether U.S. power in the hemisphere has declined relative to regional and extra-regional actors. It assesses recent, frequently cited U.S. struggles to exert influence Latin America—that is, relational power—in comparison to the more distant past. The paper concludes that U.S. decline has too often been assumed instead of demonstrated, that when evidence has been provided it has often been anecdotal, and that this evidence actually demonstrates significant continuities. U.S. decline, both relative to extra-hemispheric powers and in regards to states within the region has been overstated, in part because of a tendency to exaggerate U.S. power in the past, a focus on changes, and an underestimation of the continued depth of U.S. military, economic, structural, and ideational power in the region. There have been real changes in the geographic concentration and nature of U.S. power, as well as in the economic role of China. However, these changes are often outweighed by the continuities of relationships that are still defined by asymmetry. Truman in Rio: How Brazil, Mexico, and the United States Shaped Regionalism in the Americas May 13, 2016 3:11 am / Leave a comment I have just learned that the Harry Truman Library Institute has awarded me a travel and research grant to support archival work at the Truman Presidential Library. My work there will focus on the creation of the inter-American system after World War II. I am particularly interested in debates around democracy, sovereignty/intervention, and international organization. The archives there will complement the work that I am doing in Rio de Janeiro this summer (supported by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust), work I did last fall in Washington, and archival research done previously in Mexico City while a visiting professor at CIDE. Harry and Margaret Truman in Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Truman Library Here are a couple paragraphs from the application that give a sense of the project: "The creation of the modern inter-American system, particularly the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty), has usually been explained as an effect of U.S. regional hegemony. On the one hand, this is understandable. The United States, in the closing stages and immediate aftermath of the Second World War, was at the apex of its relative power. In the Western Hemisphere, it had achieved the near-unanimous cooperation of Latin American states with the Allied war effort—with the exception of Argentina. The inter-American system solidified this state of affairs, while also serving to bring the reluctant Argentines into line. "This project adopts a more multifaceted approach to regionalism. U.S. power and leadership were certainly crucial to the development of the regional system. However, during the creation of the post-war regional institutions, Latin American states—often led by Mexico and Brazil—sought to create a system that provided them an important forum and offered the possibility of greater influence. President Truman recognized those countries' importance, paying each a visit in 1947, as well as hosting their leaders in Washington." The project ties into a couple medium-term article projects, including one with Max Paul Friedman. Eventually, it will all be part of a big book project that looks at Brazilian and Mexican policies toward regionalism and regional organizations over several decades. Recommendations for U.S.-Latin American Policy A group of more than twenty scholars, many with policy experience, have put together a document offering consensus policy recommendations for the next U.S. president: Recommendations for U.S.-Latin America/Caribbean Policy, 2016 Elections: Conclusions of Global Americans Working Group. The effort, ably led by Chris Sabatini, editor of the web magazine Latin America Goes Global, provides an analysis of the current situation in U.S.-Latin American relations. It also offers ideas for how to move forward on security, trade, diplomacy, human rights, the OAS, etc. I am glad to have been involved in this consensus effort, which I think moves the discussion in a positive direction. So far, unfortunately, the campaign's discussion and portrayal of Latin America and its people has been overwhelmingly negative. Now is a time for building bridges, not walls, between the United States and its partners and friends in Latin America and the Caribbean. Check out the report here. May 9, 2016 6:58 am / Leave a comment The first review of my book (I think) is online at Post-Western World. Oliver Stuenkel pulls out some lessons from the book for Brazil and other countries hoping to influence Washington. He writes, "Successfully engaging and influencing the United States will be crucial for Latin America in the coming years — be it vis-à-vis designing policies to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, fighting corruption, or articulating a regional response to deal with China's growing influence. Latin America Confronts the United States offers a very interesting look back about how Latin America has been able to influence its dominant neighbor in the North." Check out the review.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
type="main"> We present a two-period model in which an employee searches for business projects in a changing environment. An employee who discovers a profitable project in period 1 is reluctant to search again in period 2 because the old project may continue to be profitable. Management's response to this inertial tendency is either to increase the financial incentives to encourage searching or to accept no searching. The former response increases search efforts and total profits; the latter response has the opposite results. Inertia can be removed by restructuring the firm in period 2, but this may create a time-inconsistency problem. Martin Ruckes & Thomas Rønde, 2015. "Dynamic Incentives in Organizations: Success and Inertia," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 83(4), pages 475-497, July. Reinganum, Jennifer F, 1983. "Uncertain Innovation and the Persistence of Monopoly," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(4), pages 741-748, September. Reinganum, Jennifer R., 1982. "Uncertain Innovation and the Persistence of Monopoly," Working Papers 431, California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Fudenberg, Drew & Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1990. "Short-term contracts and long-term agency relationships," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 1-31, June. Drew Fudenberg & Bengt Holmstrom & Paul Milgrom, 1987. "Short-Term Contracts and Long-Term Agency Relationships," Working papers 468, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1999. "Foundations of Incomplete Contracts," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 115-138. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1998. "Foundations of incomplete contracts," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19354, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Foundations of Incomplete Contracts," NBER Working Papers 6726, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Foundations of Incomplete Contracts," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1846, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. Alfonso Gambardella & Marco S. Giarratana & Claudio Panico, 2010. "How and when should companies retain their human capital? Contracts, incentives and human resource implications," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 1-24, February. Tor Eriksson & Jaime Ortega, 2006. "The Adoption of Job Rotation: Testing the Theories," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(4), pages 653-666, July. Eriksson, Tor & Ortega, Jaime, 2004. "The Adoption of Job Rotation: Testing the Theories," Working Papers 04-3, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics. Meyer, Margaret & Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1992. "Organizational Prospects, Influence Costs, and Ownership Changes," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 9-35, Spring. Meyer, Margaret A & Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, Donald John, 1992. "Organizational Prospects, Influence Costs, and Ownership Changes," CEPR Discussion Papers 665, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. Feinstein, Jonathan S. & Stein, Jeremy, 1988. "Employee opportunism and redundancy in firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 401-414, December. Thomas Hellmann & Veikko Thiele, 2011. "Incentives and Innovation: A Multitasking Approach," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 78-128, February. Boyer, Marcel & Robert, Jacques, 2006. "Organizational inertia and dynamic incentives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 324-348, March. McPherson, Michael S. & Winston, Gordon C., 1983. "The economics of academic tenure : A relational perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 4(2-3), pages 163-184. Sarah Kaplan & Rebecca Henderson, 2005. "Inertia and Incentives: Bridging Organizational Economics and Organizational Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 509-521, October. Rebecca Henderson & Sarah Kaplan, 2005. "Inertia and Incentives: Bridging Organizational Economics and Organizational Theory," NBER Working Papers 11849, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:manchs:v:83:y:2015:i:4:p:475-497. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Archives/records management Metadata for records ISO/TC 46/SC11 has published three pieces of work related to metadata for records. These are known as the ISO 23081 series. The first ISO 23081-1:2017 Information and documentation - Records management processes - Metadata for records - Part 1: Principles is a principles-based standard which links requirements for metadata to the core professional statements in the foundational ISO 15489-1. The second ISO 23081-2:2009 Information and documentation -- Managing metadata for records - Part 2: Conceptual and implementation issues is a practical approach to implementation, providing discussion on implementation options, managing metadata and a conceptual model for defining metadata elements for records. A third ISO/TR 23081-3:2011 Information and documentation -- Managing metadata for records -Part 3: Self-assessment method is a self-assessment checklist in excel format to allow implementers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their metadata schema against the requirements of the standard. These standards provide generic guidance that will apply in any implementation environment. The key requirement is defining the metadata needed to show that an electronic object has been managed as a record over all the events that may take place during its physical existence: that is, that the digital object can be interpreted in the context of the business and people that do the business, and that support assertions about the characteristics of integrity, authenticity, reliability, and usability. It is a cornerstone document for designing technical specifications for records that will be applied in specific technological applications, and can be used to support assertions of authenticity and reliability at a point in time, and in all business and records environments. Distinct from simply describing digital records, these standards ensure that the actions taken on records are appropriately defined and managed. Being able to tell the story about who did what, to which digital object is the core to reliable digital communications. These standards are focussed firmly on the future. The intent is to enable innovation in the way the market designs business solutions for managing records and to enable organisations to develop the records solutions that suit their specific requirements and implement them using innovative technical solutions. ISO 23081 Metadata for records Analysis methodology Digital records processes and services Management systems for records (ISO 30300 series) ISO 15489 Records management Records management in scope Common terminology in one standard Records systems design and requirements Records in the cloud Where to start. Advice on creating a metadata schema or application profile (English, Spanish) Adrian Cunningham Convenor WG1, Metadata for records and Project Leader of ISO 16175-1 ISO TC 46/SC 11 official Linkedin Group TC46/SC11 Twitter account www.iso.org Our page on iso.org	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
When I say Lovely, what springs to your mind should be Sarah Jessica Parker and her perfumes. They are always unique and instant classics which is what's made them hits season after season. This spring, the collection expands with 3 new incarnations called together The Lovely Collection. There's Dawn, Endless, and Twilight and they all smell different from each other. Dawn is for those of you who want something fresh, Endless is for the fruit lovers, and Twilight is for those who like floral fragrances. Each scent has a deep musky, vanilla base so the scents have a deeper dry down than it seems at first smell. My favourite scent, and the one that I think you should check out, is the Twilight. It's light enough for day-wear because the florals are helped by a touch of citrus, but the scent is still amber and musk at its heart. You can find the Lovely Collection on perfume counters now!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
A8E011D3-8444-4D02-8329-E713557FEE4F Fire fuel management is essential to forest health By Dayne Barron and Scott Conroy In a recent guest opinion, Dennis Odion and Dominick DellaSalla suggested that fire and hazardous fuels management on federal forest lands is misguided and offer an approach based on road closures, defensible space, replacing combustible roofs and limiting the spread of non-native grasses and "sprawl" in areas prone to wildfire. They proclaim this approach is informed by sound science, citing historical documents from land surveys done in the 1800s. We all agree that the top priority for fire management is the protection of lives and property. We also support defensible space around homes, agree that fire has a positive ecological role in natural forests, and share their concern for the potential invasion of non-native vegetation. However, we know that forest thinning and the reduction of hazardous fuels do indeed address forest health. Those of us who spend time in the forests have probably noticed fire-burned trees, charred logs, and charcoal. Evidence of previous fires is observed in virtually every forest stand in southwest Oregon. Prior to settlement and before there were barriers to fire such as roads and farmland, fires would burn across the landscape, sculpting the forest with every pass. We know many trees survived dozens of fires. In fact, by repeatedly thinning stands and reducing competition for the established trees, it was fire that created the possibility for trees to survive and grow. Research conducted into the history and frequency of fires reveals that nearly every old-growth forest stand in southwest Oregon has experienced multiple fires and many older stands survived six or more fires each century. Because of these frequent fires, trees became large enough and accumulated bark thick enough to survive low-intensity fires, leading to park-like stands that were not nearly as novel as Odion and DellaSalla claim. With fires excluded, forests continue to grow, becoming denser and accumulating fuel. This dynamic has been the subject of many studies, including a recent Umpqua watershed study, which measured a 10-fold increase in forest density since 1800. Similar numbers have been documented across the Rogue Valley on both the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the BLM's Medford District. Practically all the increases are a consequence of fire exclusion over the past century. Fire intensity effects on forests and tree mortality is likely the most studied concept in the field of fire ecology. There are more than 30 models in use today that incorporate real data on potential weather, topography, fuels, structure, moisture and quantity of available fuel. They all agree that more fuel leads to more extreme fires which mean greater tree mortality regardless of size or age. Federal land managers recognize the ecological role of fire. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has the authority to manage naturally ignited fires for ecological benefit where it is practical, safe and contributes to land-use objectives. Because BLM lands are primarily at lower elevations and intermixed with private ownership, the objective for most fire starts is full suppression. Both agencies have robust prescribed fire and thinning programs that treat thousands of acres each year. While the typical burn or thinning project may not take place directly adjacent to developments, they are designed to strategically treat areas that will allow for the protection of private property should a large fire become established during the long, hot and sometimes windy days of August. Odion and DellaSalla believe the pre-settlement forests were "a patchwork of densely grown areas intermixed with oak woodlands and shrublands." They advocate that management is not necessary because high-intensity fires are natural and beneficial to the forests. There is no doubt that under the right conditions and in the right fuel types, high-intensity fires did occur. However, we now have a completely different forest than was present in the late 1800s. Uncharacteristically high tree density coupled with a huge increase in homes creates an environment where high-intensity fires are not desirable for the forests and not compatible with current management objectives. The Medford District and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest are responsible for about 2.6 million acres of federal land, most of which is managed for multiple objectives. For example, watersheds are often managed for wildlife habitat, clean water, recreation, and riparian and stream values while generating both economic and social benefits. These objectives are designated by Congress and implemented through local plans and policies. Thinning and fuel treatments are designed to promote and protect these values and objectives by reducing the chances of high-intensity fires. Given the potential for intense fires, the responsibility for the protection of lives and property, the commitment to preserving and enhancing wildlife habitat, and the obligation to manage these lands for multiple objectives, we simply cannot afford to treat fire and fuels on the public lands cavalierly. To do so is not in the best interest of the forests or our communities. Dayne Barron is Medford District manager for the Bureau of Land Management. Scott Conroy is supervisor of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Now that we are 15 years old . . . interested. Fairfield, la., was such a place. Scouting had a discouraging start there. direct every energy to that end. Scouting on its feet in Fairfield. Sixteen boys who wanted Scouting. community know how the camp succeeded. affairs, Chautauquas and similar events. enrollment has gone up to nearly 100 scouts. membership, in the Round-Up of 1922. at the edge of the town, in the Movement. work now that we are fifteen years old. Waseca, Minn., one scoutmaster, R. E. ID YOU PUSH the "Come-Back" Ames. The scoutmaster of the troop, E. G. planning for hikes and camps. The P. Ls. jobs over a period of from two to four years. brings to the meeting "Obedience Slips" each month on school grade of the scouts. Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 13, Number 2, February 1925, periodical, February 1925; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth310781/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
using Newtonsoft.Json; namespace Stripe { public abstract class BankAccountOptions { [JsonProperty("bank_account[country]")] public string BankAccountCountry { get; set; } [JsonProperty("bank_account[routing_number]")] public string BankAccountRoutingNumber { get; set; } [JsonProperty("bank_account[account_number]")] public string BankAccountNumber { get; set; } } }	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub" }
A week ago I had a bit of downtime, because I decided to switch hosts. Previously, I was using DigitalOcean, with a droplet running Ubuntu 14.04. I paid $10 a month for a 30GB SSD, 1 CPU core, and 1GB of RAM. This used to be alright for me, because I was just running this website, which doesn't really get a lot of traffic. Recently however, this hadn't quite sufficed. I've been really researching the best way to move some of my work to the cloud. Ideally, I'd like to have a separate server for this, but in the meantime, I've been testing out different methods to do so here, and I'm using up too many resources to be able to run both this website and my tests. Because of this, I went ahead and switched over to Linode. With Linode, I get 24GB SSD storage, a 1 core CPU, and 2 GB of RAM at the same price. For me, having a bit more RAM was more important than the 6GB of storage that I lost. I'm nowhere near the limit anyways, so for now, this will do. The VPS host wasn't the only thing I changed, however. As I stated earlier, the DigitalOcean droplet I was on ran Ubuntu 14.04. I decided that I wanted to learn more enterprise-oriented Linux distributions, so I went for CentOS. Not only that, but I wanted more stability and a longer support cycle. So, I've noticed a few things that have broken in the migration, but if you happen to come across something that I've missed, please use the contact form to send me a message and let me know. I would greatly appreciate it.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
When women are economically empowered, there is a direct benefit to their societies. Dina Powell, global head of corporate engagement, discusses our 10,000 Women initiative, which provides underserved women in emerging economies with a business and management education. Learn how remarkable women are driving economic growth and opportunity in the Growth Markets, where 80% of the firm's investment in 10,000 Women has been made so far.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Eames Lounge Chair Set (670/671) Restoration — Bernacki & Associates, Inc. The commonly called Eames Lounge Chair set (670/671) was introduced in 1956 and has been since one of the most significant furniture designs of the 20th century. Engineered by the American design couple Charles and Ray Eames, the set is often called "the chair of the century" and is still received with enthusiasm for the beauty of the design and exceptional comfort. The Chair's modern comfort comes not only from the way the headrest, the backrest, and the seat are ergonomically fashioned, but also from the unprecedented combination of the other components. The soft filled cushions finished in black leather with button tufting and the rocking connection system fitted with flexing shock mounts make the luxury complete. From the fabrication perspective, the famous chair combines modern technology with intricate traditional hand craftsmanship. The signature curved plywood components are made of several layers of glued together wood veneer and shaped under high pressure in industrial molding press. After the basic molds are made, the excess wood is trimmed to the desired shapes and the edges are smoothed. The plywood parts are then treated with a finish that enhances the depth of the outer veneer wood grain. The original version made by Herman Miller in the mid-1950s used Brazilian rosewood veneer which was discontinued in the early 1990s. Still in production, Herman Miller uses veneers of cherry, walnut, Palisander rosewood (a sustainably grown wood with similar grain patterns to the original Brazilian versions), and other finishes. The original cushions were made of soft leather and plush down feathers similar to more traditional upholstered chair styles, despite its modern design. In 1960, a combination of foam padding was added to the down. The modern cushions are now padded with foam and Dacron. Iconic for their comfort and design, many chairs are still in use today. As with any functional object, components can tend to wear out over time. Even though the set is still in production, not all the components are compatible to facilitate partial replacement. Given the subtle changes in fabrication over the years; treatment to ensure their continued functionality while retaining their historic integrity, yields unique challenges and considerations. The following are four examples of past treatments for this iconic model. The chair arrived missing the metal riser at base. The veneer was selectively delaminating with related areas of loss on both the chair and ottoman. The finish was well worn, with a dull luster. The leather was dry and cracked, with tears, and loss at left and right-side armrest, and welt. The zipper was compromised. The cushion had lost support and shape. Leather was dry and cracked on seat cushions. The cushion panels were removed from frame of the seat and ottoman. All of the surfaces of the chair were cleaned. The delaminated veneer was consolidated, and loss areas infilled with comparable wood species sympathetic in tone and grain. A new Herman Miller Eames chair riser was installed on base. Surface imperfections were locally addressed and infills retouched and integrated. The surface was polished and waxed, hand buffed to a uniform sheen. The support was reconditioned, the down added in all cushions to restore shape and feel. The torn and or worn sections of leather and welting were mended. The leather was cleaned and conditioned. The studio worked with Herman Miller to replace the cushion zipper and back support. The metal base arrived dirty with scratches and corrosion. The wood frame sustained damage from water exposure with related areas of discoloration and damage to the finish. The decorative veneer had areas of delamination and related areas of loss. The outer edges of the wood elements were abraded with gouges. The leather upholstery was well worn with related tears, cracks, abrasion and grime. The attachment of the upholstered components was loose due to the corrosion of the hardware. The metal base was surface cleaned, the corrosion addressed and the scratches on the black finish base were retouched. The delaminating veneer was consolidated, losses infilled with a species matching in grain and tone. The oxidized finish was saturated, and areas in the finish were retouched and integrated where necessary. The treatment of the upholstery and metal attachments was completed by the manufacturer. Leather samples were provided for client's approval. Above: During treatment photos show the disassembled upholstery components in preparation for collaboration with Herman Miller. The chair arrived at the studio in two parts due to a full break in the back rest. The arm pad was detached from the back rest on the side. The proper right-side flexing shock mount was broken. The seat and head rest panel were in good structural condition. The wood elements had minor imperfections, gouges, chipped veneer, scratches with various sizes, along with minor discoloration. The leather upholstery (cushions and arm pads) had some evidence of wear and cracking with minor imperfections such as in-prints and scratches. All metal parts (base and back braces) had similar evidence of wear as the other components. Unlike solid wood furniture, broken bent plywood parts could not be satisfactorily addressed with wood infills. The entire component must be replaced in order to ensure stability. Any attempt to repair the existing break in the chair panels would have rendered the chair as extremely delicate and use of the chair would have not been recommended. Given the historic Rosewood finish of the original panels, it was not possible to order just one new plywood panel to match the remaining panels. It was determined that the part must be ordered in a different veneer and then re-veneered in rosewood and treated for color to match the remaining panels. Given the cost involved, the client decided to proceed with a more cost-effective treatment, in which all of the plywood elements were ordered from Herman Miller and they were not re-veneered. The client was satisfied with the new look of wooden elements in the combination with existing upholstery. The following chair was damaged as a result of a ceiling collapse. The chair was broken in two parts with the seat section disconnected from the back rest, but not fully broken. The disconnection was caused by detachment of the top veneer layer from the bent plywood substrate which was located under the arm rests with a section of veneer still attached under the arm. It was a superficial and repairable break; while the rest of plywood shell was in good condition. Typical with chairs of this age, the veneered wooden frame of both chair and ottoman had scratches, chips on the edges, visible previous repairs, and slight discoloration. The back veneered frame was darker than the seat frame, most likely caused by a variance in exposure to sunlight from an adjacent window. The metal risers of both the chair and ottoman had scratches and an uneven sheen. The upholstered seat and back cushions slightly lost their shape and support - visible by slightly sagging leather - which is typical from regular use. Since the client wanted to continue using the chair in the future, simply adhering the chair back together at the arms was not an option since it would not guarantee that the break would not occur again, as the bond had been weakened. Hence, the chair was disassembled, and the disjointed parts were shipped to the manufacturer for structural treatment. It was then assembled back together at Bernacki & Associates using hardware ordered from the manufacturer. The area of damage was retouched and integrated with the rest of the chair. The metal risers were cleaned and polished. The leather upholstery was cleaned and conditioned. These case studies reveal that even with a generally consistent design, a piece can sustain varying degrees of damage and require different approaches to treatment. At Bernacki & Associates each piece is individually assessed and treatment prescribed to best suit the item as well as the needs of the client. Charles and Ray Eames set out to design a lounge chair that had the "warm receptive look of a well-used first basemen's mitt". With the plush cushions, supple leather, contrasted with the contemporary plywood, metal base, along with the comfortable ergonomic design, they not only succeeded, they created an icon, one that is still revered over 60 years later.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Purchase the very best computer, copier, phone system, and so forth that you can afford. They offer advantages such as: When they talk with the Vender Cooperative's Head honcho they had become recorded mentioning "It's applying load for a board hanging around a couple of ergonomic chair, ultimately whatever has got to grant. The multi level networking business of global domains international gets you income at the least amount of effort. These plans guide them about the procedures to gain admission in institutions abroad. Global Domains International is one such firm has incorporated this business solution for itself. ??? Home businesses are a subject of which there is a lot of bad information. The degree will automatically open up new horizons for a successful career in internationally popularized companies. There is wrong thought in end users that performance is directly proportional to concentration. ??? Before moving ahead it is better to mention the need and the meaning of the vastu. Even if biometric identity can be used wrongly, there is another level of authentication and verification that makes it a fail-safe apparatus. 59 year-old Technical Cable Jointer Rey from Mont-Tremblant, spends time with hobbies which include internet, , and cosplay. In the recent month or two has visited to locations including Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels).	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Do not use iMovie sounds for YouTube videos 2011-10-23 Raoul Popabuse, apple, copyright, google, music, trolls, youtube 26 Comments Updated 4/24/12: YouTube has greatly improved the copyright claim dispute process in recent weeks, and it seems that even copyright holders have gotten much more responsive and willing to relinquish claims falsely flagged by YouTube's Copyright ID engine. These are all good steps in the right direction! Are you a YouTube Partner? Great! Then don't use sounds or tracks from the Final Cut Pro/iMovie/iLife library in your YouTube videos, because sooner or later, they'll be flagged, taking them out of the revenue sharing program. I've touched on this topic in this post and this earlier post as well. Until now, I thought filing a copyright dispute and trying to work within that process on the issue would lead to the correct solution, which would be a rejection of the false claims, but unfortunately that's not the way the copyright dispute process is structured. There is no mechanism on YouTube to adequately dispute a copyright claim, because the process is heavily tilted in the favor of the supposed copyright holder. There is a first step, which allows you to raise your hand and say to the alleged copyright holder, "Wait a minute, I'm not using your music, the track I'm using here is royalty-free, here is the iLife SLA, see where it says I'm allowed to use it commercially", which may lead to the removal of the copyright claim, or not, in which case you can re-dispute but risk jeopardizing the standing of your YouTube account, the removal of your video along with its view count and the possible loss of your Partner status. That can be a terrible situation. That's right, beyond that initial "raising of your hand", there is nothing else you can do. If YouTube staff is nice, they might give you an email address for the supposed copyright holder, and in some rare cases, someone might read your email at those places, respond and actually do something meaningful about your problem, but that chance is slim. The majority of the time, you're going to be screwed over, and some alleged copyright holder is going to profit from your work. The really annoying part in this whole screwing-over business is there's no middle ground. Your video's either in the revenue sharing program or it isn't. YouTube has chosen to ignore the whole video aspect of this altogether, meaning that when a copyright claim is filed for the music in a video, even though you have a video which is wholly yours, and only the music might belong to someone else (but it doesn't when you use sounds from iMovie, because they're royalty-free), they pull the video out of revenue sharing altogether, as if there's no video, only audio. Shouldn't they allow you to continue to make some money on that video? After all, you shot it and edited it! Your only "fault" (if we could even call it that) was using royalty-free tracks from Apple to score it. In a logical world, that's what would happen, but we don't live in a logical world. We live in a world where YouTube chooses to obey the demands of alleged copyright owners without standing up for its YouTube Partners. All these supposed owners have to do is to upload sound-alike tracks to their YouTube catalog and they're set. YouTube's Content ID engine will start identifying videos that are using similar-sounding tracks and flagging them, leading to a lot of frustration on our part. I know this sounds harsh and I love Google and YouTube, but this is so frustrating for me that I'm not sure how else to put it. Things have gotten so bad that now the copyright trolls have started to make music that sounds like the tracks from the iLife Library, for the express purpose of cashing in on YouTube. See this thread in the YouTube forums. And for a bit of background on the issue, see this thread as well. The problem's existed for years, not months. YouTube likely knows about it. Privately, they're likely tweaking the copyright engine algorithm and they're trying to address the problem, but publicly, all I'm seeing is people getting screwed over by the copyright trolls. You can't even rely on the initial copyright warning anymore. In the past, you'd upload a video to YouTube, and within a few minutes, you'd get a warning saying the video matches content from such and such entity. Fine. I'd pull it down and re-edit it, using other sounds, even though the sounds I'd used were also from Apple's royalty-free library. But now, you upload the video, everything's fine, and months down the road, after the video's been seen by thousands of people or more, and it's been linked to, etc., you get the dreaded copyright warning. What are you going to do then? Pull it down? As you can see from the thread I linked to in the paragraph above, the copyright trolls are going through popular YouTube videos, identifying the music used in those videos, and then profiting from this loophole. We, the YouTube Partners, who do the hard work to create the videos that make YouTube a popular website are the ones getting screwed over. When is YouTube going to stand up for us? To be fair, I think the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of both Google and Apple on this matter. What Apple should have done, years ago, was to sign up for the Content ID program and upload all of the tracks in the iMovie/iLife Library (you know, the ones they keep saying are royalty-free). Then, they should have indicated to YouTube that whenever a video uploaded to the platform matches one of the tracks in their library, YouTube should do absolutely nothing about it, because it's perfectly okay, they're royalty-free tracks. If they had done that, we wouldn't be in this mess now, would we? YouTube is to blame as well. The copyright dispute process does not work. It puts all the balance of power in the hands of those who file the copyright claim, and because no person at Google reviews our disputes, the trolls have all the say in the matter. (I understand the sheer amount of work it would take if YouTube staff would have to review every dispute filed for false claims, but at least they could do it for their YouTube Partners, there aren't that many of us.) Instead our copyright disputes only get seen by the staff at the various copyright holding groups, who have an interest in maintaining their claims, since there's no recourse from Google/YouTube for wrongly identified videos, and of course, let's not forget the copyright trolls, who hang onto every claim they make no matter what one says in a dispute. I make that distinction above because there are some groups within the music industry who aren't copyright trolls. For example, I've had copyright disputes reviewed by staff at the GoDigital Media Group and the Warner Music Group, and they've ultimately agreed with me and retracted their copyright claims. So there are some good guys around, there just aren't enough of them. So my advice to you, as stated at the start of this post, is do not use music from the Final Cut Pro/iMovie/iLife Library at all if you're a YouTube Partner. You're better off using music from independent artists and licensing it directly from them, or getting it from websites like MusOpen — or scoring your videos yourself, with original music. Perhaps Apple and Google will fix this at some point. Until then, do yourself a favor and follow my advice. You'll be able to sleep better for it. → Why is it that Apple has three messaging apps? ← How to avoid nightmares when upgrading your Drupal install 26 thoughts on "Do not use iMovie sounds for YouTube videos" JoyfulCreativeGeek says: I have the same problem because I used a bit of iMovie music in my intro that appears before every video and now I get more content matches becuse of that… I used a piece by Bach, Air "On the G String" in a video which Youtube is saying that was administered by Believe. However I found it on https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Keith_Joseph_Salmon_Essential_Bach_Volume_1?id=B7rg6eys6f67h7tocchafwhk45a&hl=en This states that it is royalty free music. Then I read your blog and looked into it further. I looked it up on Believe and yes it is there, even though it says in the previous link that it is royalty free. Not sure what to do with YouTube. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Raoul Pop says: Bach's music is all public domain. New recordings of his music can be copyrighted, or released as royalty-free or public domain recordings, as the artist or copyright holder desires. What's likely happening here is that you are indeed using a RF track while Believe holds another recording of that same Bach piece in their copyright catalog. The two sound the same but aren't the same. File a claim dispute on YT and explain this nicely to them. Provide them with the download link for your recording. They should release the copyright claim. But be nice and explain all this in detail. Thank you for your help. i appreciate it. cody plant says: iMovie contains sample content including but not limited to graphics, audio clips, video clips and/or templates ("Sample Content"). This Sample Content is proprietary to Apple and/or its licensors, and is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright. Except as otherwise provided, all Sample Content included in iMovie may be used on a royalty-free basis in your own video projects but may not be distributed on a standalone basis." this is the only way to get them to allow this Gabe Shakour says: Man, I totally agree. It's even worse than them just wrongly identifying iLife music. I write and record my own music and upload the music videos to YouTube, yet YouTube has repeatedly has repeatedly blocked my attempts at monetization on several videos by leaving the case "Under Review" for well over a year. It is EXTREMELY frustrating to say the least. I am not a youtube partner but I just got one of one of my old videos, I think this is stupid as a lot of people use iMovie music in their videos-these people should stop claiming iLife music as theirs, as Apple wouldn't of given us the music within the package if it was illegal to use it in home videos. copet80 says: One of my videos was recently flagged as well. It was showing me playing on the piano a well-known game music score. Can this be disputed? Forgetful Orange (@ForgotMyOrange) says: I must admit, after all this advice, I still don't know which option to choose when my iLife music has been flagged: own the CD / DVD or bought the song online. I'm not selling the video or making any money from it. I gave credit in the video. The video is my original content and I own all of the rights to it. I have a license or written permission from the proper rights holder to use this material. My use of the content meets the legal requirements for fair use or fair dealing under applicable copyright laws. The content is in the public domain or is not eligible for copyright protection. Hi. I also have this problem for every video. So I have a text ready I cut'n'paste every time with a link to the PDF of the SLA for iMovie that Apple has on their website. CM says: Could I get that text? This happened to me too with imovie music, Rumblefish http://rumblefish.com/ claims they own the music but I can't figure out where I complain or challenge the claim on the youtube site. Any tips? Raoul says: Go to Video Manager on YouTube, then look for a section called "Copyright Notices" on the left hand side. Click on it and the videos that raised copyright flags will be listed there. Click on the little link next to the video that says "Matched third party content", and that will take you to a page that explains what's going on and will also have a link that says "Dispute copyright claim". Click on that, fill it out, submit it and it'll take up to a month to get a response. Thanks – I resolved it by disputing it. Seems like they are looking for people who lie down or ignore them. After I disputed it saying that the music was from imovie, youtube wrote "rumblefish has reviewed your dispute and released its copyright claim on your video,…" I've just had the same thing happen when uploading a movie generated from iMovie. Youtube emailed almost immediately saying it was copyrighted music, and I've disputed it showing the relevant Apple license : "Except as otherwise provided, all Sample Content included in iMovie may be used on a royalty-free basis in your own video projects but may not be distributed on a standalone basis." I'm now waiting to see what happens next… It worked – the "copyright owner" released their claim the next day 🙂 This has happened to me THREE times today (for a total of 6 wasted hours of uploading time)! "Johnson Gao-Part 1. Love" and one was linked to a BOOK ON TAPE something Laurence. Seriously?!?! They were jingles from iMovie! I'd like a list of songs NOT to use on iMovie, so that I can use the right music with assurance that I am not going to have to delete the video and upload with different jingles. How ridiculous. J. says: Youtube sickens me. They dont even have a complaint section all you can do is counter the copyright infringement. Its just becoming a more and more disgusting service. They also didnt include independents running for election in '08. i had to click on the link that you use to send documentation for ownership of music just to send them a messageit shouldn't be that hard to contact them its ridiculous Andre Dias says: I have the same problem. I just use 3 sound effect from iMovie library for my intro. In my whole video I didn't put any music as background.. And I got a email from YouTube saying that I used copyright music as background music. Wait a minute are they even watching my videos? I did not use any music as background.. This is just crazy.. Pingback: Who's monetizing your videos? \| jcarter.ca Rogier Noort (@RogierNoort) says: "Music Publishing Rights Collecting Society" is another one of.., those… (they even mention their actions in their name). I am very very disturbed by this practice.., they make even the big "copyright companies" look bad.., and that's a difficult thing to do. I talked to my legal department and decided to file a dispute. It has to be on the record and people need to dispute and complain about this… I am shocked about this.., I'm also surprised that I can still be after spending so many years on the Internet. Very helpfull post Raoul.., many thanks. You're quite welcome! Go get 'em! 🙂 Lisa Creffield (@lisacc) says: This has just happened to me – I googled "The Orchard Music" and found your blog – I am so frustrated as I deliberately chose an Apple Sound Loop ("Spacey Club.aif") for my video so that I wouldn't run into copyright problems. Interestingly while I got the "may have content that is owned or licensed by The Orchard Music" email almost immediately after uploading, it hasn't been listed in my Content ID Matches section yet. If YouTube gives me a change to dispute the issue I will do so. Please do. Follow up all the way with YouTube within their framework. The more people complain, the higher it'll be on their to-do list. I hope you have enclosed the paragraph before the last one in an email to youtube, have you ? They probably hate being trolled as much as partners do. Enough complaints on X and Y trolls will point them to the culprit, so they can focus on eradicating the germ once identified. They know about it. So far, no action on their part. Perhaps they're planning something.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to completely overhaul truck emissions regulation with a new proposal set for 2020. The EPA wants to further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which could greatly impact many drivers and fleets across the United States. The last time the EPA made a ruling on truck emissions was back in 2000. California and other states, along with some big players in the trucking industry, have made a push for even cleaner emissions due to the changes in technology and the environment over the past 19 years. Oddly, California has some of the strictest truck emissions laws in the country, and even those supporting the EPAs new overhaul prefer the national standard to California's prohibitive emissions laws. There was a focus from Washington, DC on deregulating the trucking industry. Since those intentions were stated, we've seen the ELD rule, the FMCSA mandate on hours of service and breaks, and not a push for stricter truck emissions. All of these things cost time and money for drivers and fleet owners. Some look at the EPAs push for lower nitrogen oxide emissions as further interference in the trucking industry. Others see it as a smart move that looks ahead to the future that places the United States closer to emissions standards in "greener" nations. Recent regulations have imposed expenses on the trucking industry, and a potential crack-down on nitrogen oxide emissions will likely bring additional costs as trucks get refitted. However, the EPA aims to find a new standard for truck emissions that is lower than the current national regulations, but not as restrictive as those in California. In the case of California, their emissions laws have very little to do with an ideology that wants to restrict the freight business. If anything, their emissions laws are about overcompensation. California has some of the worst air pollution in the United States. In an attempt to mitigate the pollution, California has enacted measures which are more stringent than most other states. While the EPA has been rather vague on the details of its Cleaner Trucks Initiative, Express Freight Finance will be following this issue and reporting any details as they are released.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Bus Collides With Canadian Prime Minister's Aircraft Justin Trudeau's re-election bid suffered a setback on Thursday when a bus carrying journalists collided with his campaign plane at a whistlestop in westernmost Canada, forcing him to fly a loaner, AFP reports. According to reporters travelling with the Canadian Prime Minister, the collision occurred shortly after landing in Victoria late on Wednesday on the first leg of a cross-country tour. The media bus drove under and scraped the wing of the plane. "There were no injuries and the damage to the plane is being assessed," Liberal spokeswoman, Eleanore Catenaro, told AFP. The mishap, she added, would not affect Trudeau's busy schedule, which included campaign stops in Kamloops and Edmonton this week.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
A recent publication by the OECD highlights the Limerick region as a best practice collaborative model for education, local authority and industry partnerships. The report entitled 'Shared Governance, Leadership and Regional Development – A Case Study' was prepared by Richard Thorn for the OECD in collaboration with the University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology. The report highlights the success of industry-academia partnership models such as Limerick for IT and Limerick for Engineering; with regional HEI's working with industry and local government in delivering skills and talent, thereby enabling regional economic growth. This is yet another acknowledgement of the leading force of collaboration and cooperation that occurs across the Mid-West region.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Freeman Audio Visual Canada's Creative Services department is always looking for new ways to be innovative. Colour Motion was custom designed by the team using Pandora's Box, a camera, a custom table, LED lighting fixtures, and a bit of programming. "In our ongoing research in interactive technology, this is just one example of how we've been able to input information from some kind of sensor, and then use that information in real-time to change other elements that could be used as part of a stage setup," explained Derek Anderson, Director of Freeman Audio Visual Canada Digital Services. This kind of technology allows for on-the-fly changes to occur at an event that do not have to be scripted, hence producing authentic interaction with what is taking place on stage.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Posted byCapturing The Art Of Living July 8, 2022 January 24, 2023 Posted inSloveniaTags:Attractions, Destinations, Europe, Slovenia, Travel, Travel Blog Having left the picturesque Lake Bled, we were off to Ljubljana, Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana is also the smallest capital city in Europe. With an average age of 40, it is a vibrant city. It is also home to the University of Ljubljana, the largest university in Slovenia. We arrived anxious to explore the history, architecture, shops and outdoor cafes lining the Ljubljana River. We started at the Dragon Bridge, named for the four dragon sculptures anchoring its four corners. Constructed in 1900, we are told it is one of the first bridges to be constructed of reinforced concrete. Today, it is a popular meeting point with "meet me at the Dragon Bridge" being a common expression. The Dragon Bridge As we walked along the river that winds its way through the city, it was easy to understand why Slovenia is ranked the third 'greenest country' following Sweden and Finland. The tree lined Ljubljana River Outdoor restaurants and cafes offer a myriad of culinary choices that exemplify Ljubljana's cultural diversity while tour boats leisurely navigate their way through the city. Crossing the Triple Bridge, we entered the cobbledstoned Prešernov trg square, the central square of Ljubljana. Anchored by the bright pink Franciscan Church of the Annunciation and the monument to France Preseren, a Slovene national poet whom the square is named after, it is a popular spot for locals to socialize as well as the site for concerts and festivals. With rain clouds beginning to move in, we crossed the bridge into the Town Square. At the centre of the Square and in front of the Town Hall with its distinctive Clock Tower is the Robba Fountain, created by Francesco Robba who was inspired by Rome's Fontana dei Quattro Flumi (Fountain of Four Rivers). The Robba Fountain The fountain is distinguished by three figures representing the gods of the three rivers in Slovenia – the Krka, the Sava, and the Ljubljana. As we continue to walk down Dolničarjeva ulica, we enter the Cyril Methodist Square and the Cathedral of Ljubljana. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The cathedral was originally built in 1736. Distinguished by its green dome and clock tower, the cathedral's exterior is not particularly impressive. However, as we enter through the massive bronze sculptured doors (added when Pope John Paul II visited in 1996) … Bronze Doors of the Cathedral of Ljubljana River We were met with an interior that is is breathtaking! After leaving the cathedral, we set out for the Ljubljana Castle. Situated majestically on a forested hill overlooking the city, the castle has stood guard for over 900 years. Ljubljana Castle Although the castle can be reached by walking a trail up the 375m-high hill, we elected instead to take the funicular at a round trip cost of €8.00 per person. Originally a medieval fortress, it was used by Napoleon as a barracks and military hospital. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction especially the Castle's Outlook Tower from which the panoramic vistas of the entire city of Ljubljana can be viewed. View of Ljubljana from the Castle Outlook Tower The castle also houses a number of museums, exhibits, historical rooms and outdoor cafes. As the day comes to an end, we leave Ljubljana for the return trip to Zagreb. With the beauty of Bled Lake and the vibrance of Ljubljana etched in our minds, we hope to return one day to explore more of this enchanting country. Next we are off to the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Follow us as we continue to ZigZag Our Way Across Europe! Have you been to Ljubljana? Tell us about it!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Chinese swimmer, 17, suspended for doping By Jason DevaneyJan 29, 2013, 11:09 AM EST Last summer, Li Zhesi's hopes of competing at the Olympics were taken away when she was busted for taking EPO, a banned substance. EPO, you may remember, is what Lance Armstrong took during his cycling career. It's a blood-boosting drug that we normally see endurance athletes take. On Tuesday, it was announced that swimming's international governing body FINA has suspended Li for two years because of the offense. Li was part of China's winning 4x100m freestyle relay team at the 2009 World Championships that broke the world record. The mark stood for three years before the United States reset the record in London. Li (at the far right in the accompanying photo) was just 14 years old at the 2009 Worlds; she's 17 now.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Run through the fantastic world of Fancy Pants guy, avoid all dangers and try to stay alive. The only way for you to escape from the police is to jump from the roof of your car to another to get through the traffic. Run, jump, swim and do not touch anything spiky in order to survive in the dangerous world of Vex 3. Start an exiting race against other small cars and use your paintball gun to get the victory. Drive your expensive super-car in narrow streets and try to park it without scratching or crashing it. Control your toy car and drive it through the garden crushing all obstacles on the way. You still have a long way to reach the rescue spot. Crush zombies on the way to earn cash, then use it to upgrade your vehicle. Choose your vehicle, a track and start racing in the insane amusement park. Join the exciting race of monster-trucks, crush the cars on the way and try to finish first. Ride your bike along bumpy, dusty tracks and be the fastest to win against other bikes.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Sexual behaviour in adolescents and young people attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic, Ile Ife, Nigeria Olayinka Abimbola Olasode Department of Dermatology and Venereology, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State WHO estimates that 20% of persons living with HIV/AIDS are in their 20s and one out of twenty adolescents contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year. A total of 303 adolescents and youths (10-24 years of age) attending an STD clinic were subjected to a questionnaire to assess sexual behavioural patterns that predisposed them to STD. Scope of the questions included age at initiation of sexual intercourse, partner at first exposure, number of sexual partners, use of condoms, exposure to commercial sex workers (CSWs), previous infection with STDs and role of alcohol. Their diagnosis was based on history, clinical findings and laboratory confirmation. Adolescents and youths accounted for 30% of the total number of patients attending the STD clinic during this period. The male to female ratio was 1:0.95. Ninety-six percent (290) were single while 4% (13) were married. Seventy-two percent (217) were students. Age at onset of sexual activity was 10-20 years in 80%, 85% practiced risky sexual behaviour, patronising casual partners was frequent especially after alcohol use, 10% had been exposed to CSWs, condom use was poor, number of sexual partners varied between 1 and 5 and previous infections were not professionally treated. Adolescents and young people are sexually active and practice risky sexual behavioural patterns. Adolescents and youths account for a high percentage of patients patronising the STD clinic. Sexual education and youth friendly reproductive health services are urgently needed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS/STDs. Keywords: Sexual behaviour, STD, young people Olasode OA. Sexual behaviour in adolescents and young people attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic, Ile Ife, Nigeria. Indian J Sex Transm Dis 2007;28:83-6 Olasode OA. Sexual behaviour in adolescents and young people attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic, Ile Ife, Nigeria. Indian J Sex Transm Dis [serial online] 2007 [cited 2023 Jan 31];28:83-6. Available from: https://ijstd.org/text.asp?2007/28/2/83/39010 Public health officials and educators have a long-standing interest in adolescent sexual behaviour and risk prevention - an interest intensified by the spread of HIV. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health problem among adolescents and young adults. More than 15 million new cases of STDs are diagnosed every year and approximately 65% of these cases are diagnosed in people under the age of 24 years. [1],[2] The STD clinic constitutes a pool of available clients that can be assessed for the risk factors contributing to their infection. One in five Africans and one in three African adolescents live in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. Nigeria's birthrate for adolescence is one of the highest in the world and the prevalence among female adolescents in Nigeria of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, is climbing rapidly. [3] Early sexual debut places young people at increased risk of acquiring STDs. This vulnerability to STDs is because of biological and behavioural factors. The biological factors among young women have more to do with their sexual anatomy being more susceptible to abrasions that can allow organisms to enter the body. The immature reproductive and immune systems make adolescents more vulnerable to infection by STD agents. There are evidences in developed and in developing countries that acknowledging the sexual activity of young people and meeting their sexual health needs with targeted education and preventive care services can help to reduce risky sexual behaviour and its consequences. [4],[5] Young people who begin sexual activity early appear more likely to have sex with high-risk partners or multiple partners and are less likely to use condoms. [6] Managing STDs and altering the behaviour that leads to it are the essential elements of any HIV/AIDS prevention and control programme. Adolescents and youth between the ages of 10 and 24 years presenting to a sexual disease clinic as a part of their risk assessment were subjected to a pretested open-ended questionnaire to identify the sexual behaviour that predisposed them to STDs. Scope of questions, included personal history, age at initiation of sexual intercourse, partner at first exposure, number of sexual partners, use of condoms, exposure to commercial sex workers, previous STDs and treatment, indulgence in alcohol and one night stands. Their diagnosis was based on history, clinical findings and laboratory confirmation. They all had counselling sessions. Adolescents and youth accounted for 30% of the total number of patients attending the STD clinic during this period. Sexual activity was documented in this series of young people as early as 10-12 years of age. Seventy-two percent (217) of this group of young people were students at various level of education [Table - 1]. Ninety-six (96%) were single and only 13 (4%) were married. All the married in this series were females. Vaginal intercourse was reported in all the sexually active youth in this series. Age at onset of sexual activity was 10-20 years in 80%, 85% practiced risky sexual behaviour, patronising casual partners was frequent especially after alcohol use, 10% had been exposed to CSWs, consistent condom use was poor, number of sexual partners varied between 1 and 5 and previous infections were not professionally treated [Table - 2]. There are gender-based differences in the age-related progression in sexual activity with a larger number of girls initiating sexual activity before the age of 18 years of age [Table - 2]. There was a progressive increase in the number of young people engaging in sexual activity with gradual increase in age documented with a peak between 18 and 24 years in both sexes. Onset of sexual activity was earlier in females with 23.6% having initiated sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years as compared to 12.9% among the males. However, the average number of sexual partners was higher in the males. Condom use was higher in males and only the males were documented to have had exposure to CSWs. Previous symptoms of STI were found to have occurred in 27.7% of males as compared with 19% of females. The adolescent age is a stage of life between puberty and adulthood. It is characterised by profound body changes due to hormonal influence causing biological, physiological and morphological alterations. These body changes lead to progressive sexual impulse. Initiation of sexual activity due to this impulse has biological and social consequences. Early sexual intercourse is commonly associated with a higher number of lifetime sexual partners and, consequently, a higher risk of contracting STIs. [7] In a study carried out by Fawole et al. [8] in Ibadan, Nigeria, results revealed that adolescents constituted between 3.3% and 4.8% of the total number of patients seen in the STI clinic each year. A total of 54 (38.3%) were aged 19 years, 133 (94.3%) were single, 79 (53.2%) were females and 103 (73.0%) were students. As in Fawole's study, the majority of young people in our study were students (71.6%) and a high percentage (95.7%) were single. However, males were more in current series (51.1%). Vaginal intercourse was reported in all the sexually active youths in our series. Fawole also reported vaginal intercourse in all the sexually active youth, but two (1.71%) reported oral sex, while 10 (8.41%) admitted that they had multiple sexual partners. The number presenting with STI was noticed to gradually increase with increasing age with a peak at the age of 24 years. There was an increasing sexual exposure with increasing age and increasing number presenting with STI. There was a gender difference in the time of initiation of sexual intercourse with a higher percentage of girls initiating intercourse before age of 18 years. Girls are more likely to be exposed to older male counterparts and cross-generational sex. The female child is also prone to sexual abuse at a very early age and the initiation of sexual activity may have been non-consensual. Between 2% and 20% of adolescents and young women are subject to the experience of forced sexual relations over the course of their lifetime. [9] A review of over 45 studies of cross-generational and transactional sexual relations in sub-Saharan Africa reports that engaging in sexual relations with older partners is the norm among adolescent girls in some settings. [10],[11] Some of the female youths were married. In fact all the married in this study were females. Condom use was higher in males. This is not surprising as male condom negotiation is mainly controlled by males. This is so in the previous studies. In one study done in Uganda, the independent predictors of condom use included being a man, not having a regular partner, having had sex with a casual partner, being able to read English, having at least secondary education and using electricity for lighting. [12] Only the males were documented to have had exposure to commercial sex workers and they had a higher number of sexual partners. Obviously this can be linked to why there were more males with symptoms of previous STI. Symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease may actually be absent in females. A study examined the association between sexual risk behaviour and STI testing in a sample of homeless youth and found 50% had been sexually active in the past 3 months. In that study, high-risk sexual behaviour did not predict STI testing. [13] The reproductive health needs of young age group are poorly understood and yet have far reaching implications on the future of any country and the world at large. Sexual content is regularly marketed to young people and this affects their sexual activity and beliefs about sex. TV, movies, music and the Internet provide teens with seemingly unlimited access to information on sex as well as a steady supply of people willing to talk about sex with them. The consequence of these exposures is increased stimulation to sexual activity with resultant consequences including sexually transmitted illnesses. 1. Godin G, Fortin C, Mahnes G, Boyer R, Nadeau D, Duval B, et al . University students' intention to seek medical care promptly if symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases were suspected. Sex Transm Dis 1993;20:100-4. 2. Institute of Medicine. In : Eng TR, Butler WT, editor. The hidden epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases. National Academy Press: 1997. 3. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Nigeria: Epidemiological fact sheet on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections. UNAIDS and WHO: Geneva; 2000. 4. Allan Guttmacher Institute. Can more progress be made? Teenage sexual and reproductive behavior in developed countries (executive summary). Allan Guttmacher Institute: Washington, DC; 2001. 5. Kirby D. Emerging answers: Research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy (summary). National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: Washington, DC; 2001. 6. World Health Organization. The content of young people's sexual relations. Prog Reprod Health Res 2000;53:2-4. 7. Santelli JS, Brener ND, Lowry R, Bhatt A, Zabin LS. Multiple sexual partners among US adolescents and young adults. Fam Plann Perspect 1998;30:271-5. [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] 8. Fawole OI, Ajaiyi IO, Babalola TD, Oni AA, Asuzu MC. Socio-demographic characteristics and sexual behaviour of adolescents attending the STC, UCH, Ibadan: A 5 year review. West Afr J Med 1999;18:165-9. 9. Jejeebhoy SJ, Bott S. Non-consensual sexual experiences of young people: A review of the evidence from developing countries. Regional Working Papers; Population Council: New Delhi, India; 2003. p. 6. 10. Luke N. Age and economic asymmetries in the sexual relationships of adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Stud Fam Plann 2003;34:67-86. [PUBMED] 11. Luke N, Kurz K. Cross-generational and transactional sexual relations in sub-Saharan Africa: Prevalence of behaviour and implications for negotiating safer sexual practices. ICRW and PSI: Washington DC; 2002. 12. Nuwaha F, Faxelid E, Hojer B. Predictors of condom use among patients with sexually transmitted diseases in Uganda. Sex Transm Dis 1999;26:491-5. 13. Solorio MR, Milburn NG, Rotheram-Borus MJ, Higgins C, Gelberg L. Predictors of sexually transmitted infection testing among sexually active homeless youth. AIDS Behav 2006;10:179-84. [PUBMED] [FULLTEXT] [Table - 1], [Table - 2] 1 A retrospective analysis of sexually transmitted infections among males presenting to a tertiary care hospital of India Sunil Sethi, Nandita Sharma, Charu Singh, Hemant Chaudhry, Rajneesh Dadwal, Sakshi Malhotra, Vanita Gupta Indian Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS. 2022; 43(2): 170 2 Knowledge, attitude and perception of sex education among school going adolescents in urban area of Chennai, Tamil Nadu VK Siva, GShiny Chrism Queen Nesan, Timsi Jain Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2021; 10(1): 259 3 A Pilot Psychometric Investigation of the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) and Womenæs Sexual Addiction Screening Test (W-SAST) in a Nigerian Hospital Setting Halilu Abdullahi,Owoidoho Udofia Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. 2015; 22(1): 16 4 Factors Influences the Screening and Counseling on Sexually Transmitted Infections among Adults in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, North-Eastern, Nigeria Suleiman Said Buba, Amina Kaidal International journal of community medicine and Health Education. 2002; : 1 Olasode OA Sexual behaviour Article in PDF (50 KB)	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Mendoza Recorded Mayoral Announcement Video — But Still Plays Coy By Dan Mihalopoulos, Claudia Morell Nov. 2, 2018, 4:30 p.m. CT Listen 0:36 Illinois state Comptroller Susana Mendoza, accompanied by state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, speaks to reporters at the state Capitol in Springfield, Ill. on Nov. 8, 2017. AP Photo/John O'Connor Despite publicly playing coy about her ambitions to run for mayor of Chicago, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has recorded a video in which she announces her campaign to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In the video first reported Friday by WBEZ, the Democrat says, "I'm Susana Mendoza and I'm running for mayor of Chicago. … And I ask you to join me on this journey together." .@WBEZ has obtained a video recorded for the planned announcement of Susana Mendoza's Chicago mayoral bid. More to come shortly at https://t.co/8YuP2iSdXI and 91.5FM pic.twitter.com/8u3EdHfKRK — Dan Mihalopoulos (@dmihalopoulos) November 2, 2018 Chicago's Race For Mayor A Game Of Musical Chairs Because she's running for re-election as comptroller on Tuesday, Mendoza has repeatedly dodged questions about her potential mayoral ambitions ever since Emanuel revealed in September that he will not seek a third term in the February election. Asked about the video Friday, a spokeswoman for Mendoza issued a statement saying she's still not sure whether she'll run for mayor. "I am focused on the Nov. 6 election because too much is at stake for the people of Illinois," Mendoza was quoted as saying. "I'm considering a run for another office and have taken steps to prepare for that should I choose to move forward, but I have not made any formal decision." Veteran Democratic political consultant Eric Adelstein confirmed that his firm filmed the video and said it had been "leaked." "When we were filming Mendoza for her re-election campaign, I suggested, because it is no secret that she's thinking about running for mayor, that we record some lines," Adelstein told WBEZ. "It's no secret that this campaign would be coming up quickly, and I thought even though you have not made up your mind, would you be willing to record it so we could move quickly, and she agreed." He added that "it's too bad that it was" leaked before Tuesday's election but that Mendoza would make a great mayor. Sources said Mendoza could announce her mayoral run as soon as a few days after the election. She faces challenges from Republican Darlene Senger and Libertarian Claire Ball. Republicans immediately sought to capitalize on the leaked mayoral-announcement video. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner tweeted, "It's now clear that Susana Mendoza is running for Chicago Mayor and she should drop off the ballot for State Comptroller immediately." Another member of the Madigan Machine proves they care more about political gain than the people. It's more corruption hurting our state. It's now clear that Susana Mendoza is running for Chicago Mayor and she should drop off the ballot for State Comptroller immediately. — Bruce Rauner (@BruceRauner) November 2, 2018 Later Friday afternoon, Republican comptroller candidate Darlene Senger held a hastily arranged press conference in downtown Chicago to call Mendoza a "liar." "It's not too late for her to make a statement that, 'I don't want you voting for me for Comptroller because I am running for mayor of Chicago,'" Senger said. Senger said she "feels bad" for anyone who voted early for Mendoza because she's been "disingenuous." .@sengerdarlene calls mendoza a "liar" pic.twitter.com/6KAAiJufBJ — Claudia Morell (@claudiamorell) November 2, 2018 Before becoming comptroller in 2016, Mendoza was Chicago's city clerk and a state representative. Chicago Hoped To Generate Millions With Expensive City Sticker Tickets. It Didn't Work. New Report Aims To Address, Fix Obstacles For Women In Illinois Politics Sept. 26, 2018 read more It's (Finally?) Jane Byrne's Turn Dec. 2, 2017 read more	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Both sides are wrong in Libya 9 There are conflicts in which neither side is worthy of sympathy. An example from the past is the Afghan Mujahideen versus the Soviet Union. The Western powers decided to give help to the Mujahideen. The result was the victory of the Taliban, the formation of al-Qaeda, and 9/11. Another example, in the present, is the Libyan civil war in which again both sides are abominable. This report comes from The Independent: The killings were pitiless. They had taken place at a makeshift hospital, in a tent marked clearly with the symbols of the Islamic Crescent. Some of the dead were on stretchers, attached to intravenous drips. Some were on the back of an ambulance that had been shot at. A few were on the ground, seemingly attempting to crawl to safety when the bullets came. Around 30 men lay decomposing in the heat. Many of them had their hands tied behind their back, either with plastic handcuffs or ropes. One had a scarf stuffed into his mouth. Almost all of the victims were black men. Their bodies had been dumped near the scene of two of the fierce battles between rebel and regime forces in Tripoli. "Come and see. These are blacks, Africans, hired by Gaddafi, mercenaries," shouted Ahmed Bin Sabri, lifting the tent flap to show the body of one dead patient, his grey T-shirt stained dark red with blood, the saline pipe running into his arm black with flies. Why had an injured man receiving treatment been executed? Mr Sabri, more a camp follower than a fighter, shrugged. It was seemingly incomprehensible to him that anything wrong had been done. The corpses were on the grass verges of two large roundabouts between Bab al-Aziziyah, Muammar Gaddafi's compound stormed by the revolutionaries at the weekend and Abu Salim, a loyalist district which saw three days of ferocious violence. … It is also the case that the regime has repeatedly unleashed appalling violence on its own people. But the mounting number of deaths of men from sub-Saharan Africa at the hands of the rebels – lynchings in many cases – raises disturbing questions about the opposition administration, the Transitional National Council (TNC) taking over as Libya's government, and about Western backing for it. The atrocities have apparently not been confined to Tripoli: Amnesty International [a nasty lefty organization which sometimes inadvertently tells the truth – JB] has reported similar violence in the coastal town of Zawiyah, much of it against men from sub-Saharan Africa who, it has been claimed, were migrant workers. … Only a few of the dead found at the roundabouts yesterday were in uniform. However, regime forces have often worn civilian clothes during combat in Tripoli. The street-fighting for Abu Salim was particularly fierce with regime snipers taking a steady toll among the ranks of al-Shabaab volunteer fighters. The losses, and frustration at the continuing stubborn resistance by the enemy after an entry into the capital greeted with celebration by residents, has led to something approaching fury among some of the revolutionaries in the last few days. "They were shooting at us and that is the reason they were killed," said Mushab Abdullah, a 35-year-old rebel fighter from Misrata, pointing at the bodies. "It had been really tough at Abu Salim, because these mercenaries know that, without Gaddafi to protect them, they are in big trouble. That is why they were fighting so hard." His companion, Mohammed Tariq Muthar, counted them off on the fingers of his hand: "We have found mercenaries from Chad, Niger, Mali and Ghana, all with guns. And they took action against us." But, if the men had been killed in action, why did they have their hands tied behind their back? "Maybe they were injured, and they had to be brought to this hospital and the handcuffs were to stop them from attacking. And then something went wrong," suggested Mr Abdullah. What went wrong and stays wrong is the Arab culture, shaped by the Islamic ideology of cruelty and murder. The Libyan rebels are no better and no worse than the savage regime they're replacing. Ghaddafi's cruelty has been well documented. Here's a titbit of information from CNN about a member of his family – what Aline, wife of his son Hannibal, did to their children's nanny: One of the staff told us there was a nanny who worked for Hannibal Gadhafi who might speak to us. He said she'd been burnt by Hannibal's wife, Aline. I thought he meant perhaps a cigarette stubbed out on her arm. Nothing prepared me for the moment I walked into the room to see Shweyga Mullah. At first I thought she was wearing a hat and something over her face. Then the awful realization dawned that her entire scalp and face were covered in red wounds and scabs, a mosaic of injuries that rendered her face into a grotesque patchwork. What do the Western powers expect of this new regime in Libya that they are helping to establish? If the Europeans are expecting oil, okay, maybe they'll get it. Libyans must sell oil to survive. But what is America expecting? Gratitude? From that blood-thirsty rabble? Why yes, it seems so. This is from Investor's Business Daily: So the U.S. just spent $1 billion to liberate Libya from terrorist rule only to have Libya's new rulers thumb their noses at extraditing the Lockerbie bomber? Explain to us again what we've been doing in Libya. Presumably, President Obama's slapped-together NATO mission to aid Libya's rebels was to rid that country of its mad-dog dictator, who was a one-man nexus for global terrorism. … His biggest atrocity was his own: killing 270 innocent people, many of them Americans, in the 1988 bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Gadhafi's on the run now, but his key man on Lockerbie, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, remains in a wealthy Tripoli neighborhood, incredibly enough because Libya's new rulers have declared they won't extradite him abroad to face justice. "Extradition is what Gadhafi did," the National Transition Council's Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagi said. "We will not give any Libyan citizen to the West." That's some chutzpah coming from someone who'd be just another dead body in the street or a prisoner dangling from a meat hook had NATO not intervened on his behalf with airstrikes, training and aid since March. It's even more ungrateful because these rebels have made it clear they expect more military and humanitarian aid from the West. Libya's National Transitional Council chair Mustafa Abdul Jalil urged NATO at a meeting Monday in Qatar to continue its air campaign against Gadhafi's forces. … But with Libya's rebels willfully sheltering one of the world's worst terrorists — the latest report is he's sick, a ruse Libyan officials used to get him prematurely released from a U.K. prison two years ago — it seems they aren't interested in creating a new kind of democratic and law-abiding nation and ridding Libya of the taint of terrorism. … Imagine that! Arab rebels including al-Qaeda not interested in democracy and getting rid of terrorism! What a revelation, what a shock! Is the White House reminding the rebels that the U.S. taxpayers have just shelled out $1 billion to buy their freedom? Or that the U.S. has released several billion in Gadhafi's oil assets abroad for their use? No. There were plenty of good reasons to object to the NATO involvement in the Libyan rebellion, and perhaps the main one was that the rebels were an unknown quantity. With this refusal to release the Lockerbie bomber, they've shown their colors. If the Obama administration doesn't want to be seen as Uncle Sucker, it must make the Libyan rebels face consequences for their ingratitude. Obama will do that? Oh, sure. Wait for it … … any moment now … … Posted under Africa, Arab States, Commentary, Libya, NATO, revolution, United States, War by Jillian Becker on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Tagged with Abdel Baset al-Megrahi the Lockerbie bomber safe and possibly quite well in Libya, al-Qaeda, Aline Gaddafi burnt the head and face of her children's nanny, America expects gratitude from the Libyan rebels, America expects the Libyan rebels that include al-Qaeda terrorists to hand over the terrorist al-Megrahi, Both sides in the Libyan conflict are cruel murderers, Hannibal and Aline Gaddafi, Libyan rebels will not hand over al-Megrahi to the US, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, National Transitional Council of Libya, Shweyga Mullah, The cold-blooded murder of black African mercenaries by the Libyan rebels 2. Articles of Reason Against God and Socialism Against Nature Civilization's Fulcrum Moment Communism is Secular Christianity Enlightenment, atheism, reason, and the humanist Left God's emails Muslim Terrorism and Immortal Longings On human nature Review: Atheism: The Case Against God Review: Capital in the Twenty-First Century: The "Savior of Socialism" Proves the Worth of Capitalism Review: Confessions of a Born Again Pagan Review: God Is Not Great Review: Godless: The Church of Liberalism Review: How Jesus Became God Review: The God Delusion Review: The New Testament Review: Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion. Tell Them The Atheist Conservative's (Starter) Reading List The Birth and Early History of Christianity The Cultivation of Evil, the Sickness of Europe The Darkness of This World (Part 1) The Envy of Suffering The Last Lecture: a satire The Pursuit of Happiness in an Age of Destruction The Sick Revolution The Tsoig What is Socialism? When Hate is a Virtue Why the New Left Won the Cold War World Government – The Ultimate Nightmare Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang A new edition of Jillian Becker's famous book Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang has been published as an ebook. Find it now at Amazon. Chauncey Tinker on Britain condemns an heroic truth-teller to prison liz on Virtue and its emanation, terror Jeanne on Virtue and its emanation, terror Jillian Becker on Britain condemns an heroic truth-teller to prison liz on Britain condemns an heroic truth-teller to prison liz on What have we allowed to happen to us? Jeanne on Who governs the rotten European Union? Jillian Becker on Who governs the rotten European Union? Jeanne on What have we allowed to happen to us? Atheist Revolution Conservative Tendency conservativeatheist.com DailyKenn.com Discover the Networks Disobedient Media Freedom Center Further Adventures of Indigo Red Handbook for Infidels Online PhD Programs Republican Atheists Respvblica Secular Conservative Steyn on Line The Participator The Spirit of Man Watchdog Community Religion general The Atheist Conservative	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
How to Travel Internationally: Where to Begin? Everyone who has done something, even very successfully, had to start from the beginning. No one is born an expert, and everyone's path to success has a day one. Travel is no different; even the most well-traveled backpackers had their first trip abroad at some point. Partaking in the act of travel can be intimidating because you are willingly lifting yourself out of your comfort zone and exploring the unfamiliar. No amount of books, blogs, or podcasts can take away the feeling of stepping into a new place and feeling the rush of excitement that comes with the unknown. That's why we love to travel! Follow along and learn the basics for how to travel internationally for the first time. • What Type of Trip Should I Take? Want to learn how to earn free flights? Click here to find out more. When you are starting out, choosing a destination can be overwhelming. There are so many amazing places in the world with so many different metrics to play around with. Should you go to a region that is generally cheaper, like South America or Southeast Asia, or do you take the romantic getaway to Paris? Should you head to a beach and kick back in the sand for a week or should you go to Spain and hike the El Camino? The list goes on and on, and any source you look at will base their list on different metrics. While this research can be useful, try to avoid overloading yourself with information. When it's all new to you, doing excessive research can just be off-putting because the world will feel too immense. Instead, choosing the location for your first international trip should really be based on a combination of what you are comfortable with and what gets you excited. While embarking on a three month backpacking trip sounds really exciting, maybe it's not in your comfort zone. Or anywhere close to your comfort zone. That's perfectly fine! There are a million ways to travel, and as long as you're excited about your trip and ready to embrace a new country, that's all that matters. That being said, traveling to a country where you speak the language is a much easier undertaking. From taxis to restaurants, and even when you're trying to find a restroom, it's helpful when you can communicate easily with locals. If you are particularly nervous about this side of the venture, travel to a country where you speak the language. You will still experience plenty of culture shock while having the safety net of communication to ease your mind on your first adventure. Even if you are going to a country that presents a language barrier, in the major tourist centers you will be able find people who speak English in most countries in the world. If you are looking for a challenge and intentionally want to head to a country that doesn't speak English, then go for it! To make the experience more enjoyable, learn a few common phrases in the local language before going. Download Duolingo for free language lessons that will teach you the basics in no time. Another useful tool for language learning and my personal favorite is Pimsleur. The quick, 30 minute daily lessons have you speaking the language of your choice, an area I have always struggled with. A little effort can go a long way; you'll never know what relationships or experiences will come from attempting to communicate with locals in their own language! Choosing a location can be difficult, but go with your gut. You know what you're ready for and how far you can push yourself. Just keep in mind that this is just the first trip – if you're like us, you'll love it so much that you'll be booking the next adventure before you even get home. The best way to find out how you like to travel is to give different options a try. Everyone has a range of different travel needs, and thankfully there are options available for all different types of travelers. If you are looking for a relaxing, hands-off style trip, you should be looking into all-inclusive resorts and cruises. Both of these can range from luxurious to affordable and can suit all price ranges if you look hard enough for the deals. Cruises are great if this is the style you are looking for because you can bounce between destinations while your travel, food, and entertainment are taken care of for you. Fun fact, Erin and I actually met on a cruise! All-inclusive resorts are the ultimate break from reality – all the food and beverages are paid for ahead of time, it's just time to lay back on a beautiful beach and unwind. For those of you who are feeling more adventurous, luckily now there are a litany of options that fall in-between all-inclusive resort and backpacking. Especially for your first international experience, traveling with a tour company can be a wonderful, stress free introduction to travel. Tour companies generally take care of all of the logistics, such as booking your flights, ground transportation between locations (often on a bus), meals, and day-to-day sightseeing. The itinerary is completely taken care of so that you can focus your efforts on enjoying the ride. Whether you are traveling with a group or solo, this can be a great chance to make friends while you travel because you are all on the tour together. This is also a great option for families because the kids and parents alike will find friends in the group and have a more enjoyable experience. If you are young and want a hostel experience in a group setting for your first trip, EF Ultimate Break is the way to go. With age restrictions limiting the experience to participants between the ages of 18 – 29, EF Ultimate Break offers trips to awesome locations all around the globe. Everything is taken care of logistically, even down to your flights, but you have a more rugged experience, often staying in hostels and sharing rooms with other travelers. It's a great way to meet people while learning the ropes of international travel. I traveled with EF Ultimate Break on my first independent international trip and it was an incredible experience. I made friends on my 12 day trip through Spain several years ago that I am still in contact with to this day. Roughing it really just means that you are independently taking care of all of the preparations, planning, and logistics for your trip. The level of "extremity" could vary tremendously. However, if you have it in your mind that you want to rough it, then it's likely that you already know your comfort level and what you are excited about. This requires a certain level of organization and research to make sure you cover all of the essentials when planning and jumping from destination to destination. The best advice I can give to those brave souls who are jumping into the world of travel independently is to roll with the punches. As much of a cliché as that sounds, it's the most important thing to remember when you hit adversity in your trip. The reason I say "when" is that no matter how experienced you are issues of some nature will always arise. These difficulties often end up forcing us into uncomfortable situations that form the basis for our best travel stories. If you are going the relaxing or even the semi-adventurous route, the planning phase is pretty simple. Once you have figured out your location, then the research transitions to finding the right company that suits your needs. Look at customer reviews, both good and bad, to try to gain an unbiased opinion of a company to try to judge if it's the right fit for you. Often, your budget can make this decision process easier for you. Once you are set on a trip, hold off before you pull the trigger! Search high and low for deals because I guarantee they are out there. Research deals that the company has offered in previous years and see if there is a time when they always seem to offer large discounts. Join the email lists for the companies you are looking at; while no one enjoys being spammed on their email, this is often the way that companies offer flash deals to their loyal consumer base. You want to be able to jump on a deal right when they send it out. However, once you have booked the trip, your planning phase is essentially finished! For those taking the "Roughing it" road, the planning is multifaceted. Not only will you have to book all travel and accommodations, you will have to do research into what you want to do in each place. You will have to make sure you do your homework on visas which depending on the length of your trip could be very important. The name of the game is research, research, research! We will be covering all different planning aspects while roughing it in a future post, so sign up for the email list so you don't miss it! Unfortunately, travel is rarely free and therefore financial considerations become very important when planning a trip. If you are booking a package deal vacation that is all-inclusive, you have a pretty good idea what you are going to spend up front. If you are roughing it, you'll have to make a budget before you travel to make sure that you have enough money put aside to cover all of your activities. However, a common misconception about travel is that it's too expensive. If you travel smart and plan accordingly you can budget travel and save a lot of money. For instance, staying in hostels and using public transportation will help you save immensely while on the road. It definitely can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be! The most important financial aspect about traveling is making sure you have access to your money while you're abroad. First of all, you will want to have a travel credit card that does not incur foreign transaction fees. Pretty much any travel credit card you get in this day and age will state specifically that it won't have these fees, just read the fine print to be sure. Also, with many credit card companies you need to set a travel notice with them ahead of time for the dates you will be traveling or else they will freeze your card. Having no access to funds when you're abroad can be an awful experience, and sometimes even if you set a travel notification your card is liable to be frozen. If you like to err on the side of caution, bring two travel credit cards. Whenever you are traveling to another country, bring a couple hundred dollars' worth of the local currency in cash. That way, if you have issues with your credit card, you won't be stranded in a foreign country with no way to buy a meal or buy a place to stay for the night. In some countries, like Cuba, American credit cards will not work at all. Do your homework to try to avoid the small mistakes that can really put a damper on your first international experience. The best way to save money on travel is to mileage hack your way to free flights. Who doesn't want free flights? Follow the instructions listed here to begin mileage hacking today. Pack lightly. I repeat, pack lightly! You will regret every ounce of extra luggage you bring on a trip, especially if you are on the move constantly. This extra weight will just weigh you down and frustrate you along the way. If you need a carry-on backpack, I highly recommend Tortuga Backpacks. If you use the promo code "TRAVEL", you will receive 10% off your order! I personally have the V2 which is an older style, but I have had my eye on their newest backpack, the Setout. Through travel, you will learn that we really don't need as much as we think we do; I promise that you don't need 20 pairs of underwear for a week-long trip. Shed the extra weight, and if at all possible, travel with just a carry-on. Don't give the airline a chance to lose your luggage and ruin your trip; keep your belongings as close to you as possible. Unfortunately, when electricity was becoming widespread, the world didn't get together and decide to choose one universal outlet to draw power from. All over the world outlets vary widely in style and in voltage. There are adapters you can find on Amazon that not only serve as an adapter, but convert the voltage so it doesn't fry your devices. I highly suggest investing in a nice adapter because there is nothing worse than being in another country with a dead phone and no way to charge up. There are many other gadgets and tips when it comes to packing, but the details will be shared in another post. Make sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you don't miss any exciting new content! Just like life is messy, travel is messy too. Things will inevitably and predictably go wrong; I can personally guarantee it! However, these are the moments that turn into the best stories. Roll with the punches and try to laugh through the hard times. Try to assimilate to the culture as much as possible and if the language is different, try your hand at a few phrases. Take lots of pictures but try to avoid living through the screen; put down your camera and phone and have real encounters with locals. Embrace the moment for what it is; you are an adventurer in strange, exciting new land. Sure beats being at work, right?	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
LibDems Try To Hire Apprentice Bad news for Lembit Opik – it seems that Cowley Street doesn't have faith in his bid to be London Mayor. Much like the Tories were before Boris threw his hat in the ring, the LibDems are desperately seeking a decent candidate for the coalition's first big election battle. A yellow spinner said "that's not the way we would do it", but Guido hears that senior LibDems have approached The Apprentice winner Tim Campbell and asked him to put his name forward… A rather odd choice of candidate given a) Campbell is not a LibDem and b) he has just taken up a role advising Boris. mdi-tag-outline LibDems Mayor of London	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Hamilton charged with residential burglary By submitted, 06/25/18 10:10 AM HOPE – On June 22, Hannah Hamilton, 20, of Mt. Ida, Arkansas was arrested and charged with residential burglary and theft of property in reference to a burglary that occurred on Thursday June 21of a home located in the 600 block of Hempstead County Road 10. Upon responding to the location investigators discovered a white GMC pick-up behind the residence. A check revealed that the truck had been reported from Lafayette County. Investigators discovered that a 2000 Chevrolet pick-up belonging to the victims on county road 10 was missing. Along with a 22-caliber rifle, a 22-caliber savage with scope, a Glock model 19, 9mm handgun, a kindle fire tablet, a Toshiba laptop, a Remington 7mm rifle, and several items of women's clothes. The 2000 Chevrolet taken from the residence on County road 10, was stopped in Clark County and the driver was identified as 20-year-old Hannah Hamilton of Mt. Ida. The vehicle contained all the reported stolen property. Hamilton was booked into the Hempstead County Detention center and charged with residential burglary and theft of property, she is awaiting a first court appearance. All property including the two vehicles were recovered and returned to the victims.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
Here are some of my new and old favorites of fall.. I live in a desert. Leaves just die off of trees, they do not change beautiful colors and then fall. I am craving some fall activities, feelings, or just food. Here is what I have found for fall and why I just love it soo soo much. In the future I am totally planning a trip to this festival! They also have pumpkin recipes for EVERYTHING possible on this page. and the WORLD'S LARGEST PUMPKIN PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fall Changing... is just beautiful. Here is a list of the top 15 places for leaves changing. Household items in earth tones! SWEATERS! and other fall clothes... I turn my ac on high and wear fall/winter clothes around my place because I want to soo bad! I can't forget to mention the fact that new tv seasons start. Although what does it matter now that Gilmore Girls is over. I need a new series to watch. Although I think Beauty and the Geek is promising this year. So in order to get my fill of fall. I am going to bake, wear sweaters, and take a trip up to Northern Arizona. See some leaves change and get some cooler temps. Plus double check our wedding location!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Want to be notified of new releases in utterance/utterances? A lightweight comments widget built on GitHub issues. Use GitHub issues for blog comments, wiki pages and more! When Utterances loads, the GitHub issue search API is used to find the issue associated with the page based on url, pathname or title. If we cannot find an issue that matches the page, no problem, utterances-bot will automatically create an issue the first time someone comments. Are you using utterances? Add your site to the list!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Exhibitors in Serbia are hoping that their government's recent measure to do away with visa requirements for Chinese tourists will help increase arrivals from the world's second-largest economy. Vladimir Koricanac, a manager with Serbia Tour Operator, was quoted by TTG Asia as saying that earlier, visa requirements for the nationals of China were hampering them from obtaining a tourist visa easily to Serbia. It was taking at least 20 days and Chinese, additionally, had to submit documents which had to be processed by Serbia, he added. Koricanac said that by removing visa requirements for Chinese tourists, they expect a surge in the FIT (Free Independent Tourist) market from the Asian superpower. Darko Kuzeljevic, the project manager at Serbia Tour Operator, said that he expected the 10- to 15-night Balkan Tours, which combines Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, will attract the FIT segment from China because of the pretty scenery. He added that after the leisure segment is developed, they would target the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) segment of China. Gregor Levic, owner and general manager of Serbia-based iDMC Travel, said that they were also targeting the Chinese FIT segment. Besides, their company is geared up to receive visitors from China as it has guides, interpreters and a sales staff who speak Mandarin. If you are looking to visit Serbia, get in touch with Y-Axis, a premier immigration consultancy firm, to file for a visa from one of its several offices.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
It is a sad reality of modern times that not for profit organizations whose mission is to help others can be targeted for violence by those with an opposing point of view. In a world of political and social unrest, charitable and religious institutions are not exempt from the need to guard against violence, vandalism, theft and acts of terrorism. People need to feel secure in their surroundings so they can devote their undivided attention to worship or service. Unfortunately, no organization is immune to the threat of violence. Valor Consulting will work with you to make sure that your not for profit facility is prepared for everyday and unexpected safety issues. We design and implement security solutions that address vandalism, theft, fire, acts of terrorism and other violent attacks, addressing your specific needs.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
Hellogoodbye Lyrics - Jesse Buy Nothing... Go To Prom Anyways! Home > H > Hellogoodbye > Hellogoodbye > Jesse Buy Nothing... Go To Prom Anyways! 4. Jesse Buy Nothing... Go To Prom Anyways! This is "Jesse Buy Nothing... Go To Prom Anyways!" lyrics interpretation transcribed by AliveLyrics.com visitors. All rights belong to the respective authors, artists and labels. The lyrics are provided only for private study, scholarship, or research. Please consider buying related album to support Hellogoodbye.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
The sodium-activated potassium channel is encoded by a member of the Slo gene family. Na(+)-activated potassium channels (K(Na)) have been identified in cardiomyocytes and neurons where they may provide protection against ischemia. We now report that K(Na) is encoded by the rSlo2 gene (also called Slack), the mammalian ortholog of slo-2 in C. elegans. rSlo2, heterologously expressed, shares many properties of native K(Na) including activation by intracellular Na(+), high conductance, and prominent subconductance states. In addition to activation by Na(+), we report that rSLO-2 channels are cooperatively activated by intracellular Cl(-), similar to C. elegans SLO-2 channels. Since intracellular Na(+) and Cl(-) both rise in oxygen-deprived cells, coactivation may more effectively trigger the activity of rSLO-2 channels in ischemia. In C. elegans, mutational and physiological analysis revealed that the SLO-2 current is a major component of the delayed rectifier. We demonstrate in C. elegans that slo-2 mutants are hypersensitive to hypoxia, suggesting a conserved role for the slo-2 gene subfamily.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
I have officially decided to start my very own Project 52. For those of you who don't know what that is, it basically means that I plan to shoot, edit, and post one self-portrait every week for one year (52 weeks in a year, get it?) with the intention to improve my skills and concentrate my efforts on photography as well as create a really neat collection of photographs. I thought about the doing 365 Project (one photo everyday for a year), and I am still considering doing that in the near future as well, but I chose the Project 52 because I really want to concentrate on producing one spectacular image each week – this will consist of pre-planning such as sketching out ideas and organizing the locations/props, shooting the actual photos, and a good amount of photoshop editing – and I'm super excited to push myself to get better with every aspect of it. I'd like to take it a step further and document a bit of behind the scenes action to give you all an idea of how much time and effort it can take to produce an outstanding image. I also hope this helps other photographers learn more about photography and photoshop and just how powerful these two mediums really are. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section or by sending me an email! If you want the less nerdy version, you can click here for my Project 52 Set on 500px, and be sure to Follow me on Facebook so you can stay up to date with the project!!	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
This website will provide you with a range of tools and resources that will help you better understand the minerals and extractives industry on the West Coast. The Trust is reliant on support from membership in order to continue the work associated the objectives and purpose of the trust deed. New members are always welcome and a membership application can be found here. Copies of current consultation documents and submissions on behalf of Minerals West Coast and it's members can be found here. For further information or to discuss specific issues please contact the Minerals West Coast Manager.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
The presumption by some that only a select group of thinkers are capable of shedding light on the important elements of human life needs to be set aside, for indeed, the most profound realisations often come to us from a variety of sources and the creative genius of artists is most often that which brings to all of us, the most important revelations. Alan Jay Learner was the brilliant lyricist who wrote the words for My Fair Lady, Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Funny Girl and many more great Broadway musicals wrote the book and lyrics for what was a whimsical fantasy about a character Daisy Gamble, a New York student who was mysteriously able to tell that the phone was going to ring before it happened and could make flowers grow. Mr. Learner put his character into a little play called "On a clear day you can see forever" and it first was put into production in 1965 then in 1970 it was converted into a movie and starred Barbara Streisand. Below is the email I received this morning from Amarjit Singh Kabo from Bombay, India. i read ur article on predictions for 2003 and the previous ones also and am surprised to learn that u have predicted the right in all aspects. You'll feel part of every mountain sea and shore. And ever more. . . The implications of Lorenz Butterfly haunt me. Up until now I have tossed off my predications only thinking about the possibility of being right. Now I wonder about the influence and contamination of the future that just tossing those ideas out into the world might have on influencing what might happen. Immediately you realise that I have defined a causal loop. The kind of problem that is often described as "which came first, the chicken or the egg" problem. By predicting the future we may predetermine the future and without time travel, actually be guilty of influencing, or changing the course of history. A temporal anomaly, a temporal paradox,a preemptive historical strike, a determination of what shall be. Of course you realise as you read the above, that this is incredibly presumptuous, but at the same time, each of us influence each other and who knows the ultimate affects of the butterflies in our past, the little messages that Professor Nash in his Philosophy 101C class in 1962 dropped into my consciousness, may now influence how I see things and in turn I reflect that impression on to others who in turn . . . well you see what I mean. Ultimately, almost every question becomes one of ethics and ecology. As humans, we are residents of this planet and as a natural organism destine by our biological make up, to carry out our lives as we are constructed. But as sentient beings we have will, we have the collective capability of working together and we have awareness limited not by our life span, but because of our evolving communication skills, (of which you are presently experiencing) we have responsibilities to the greater good and to what we perceive to be right and good. Ultra sound gives prospective parents the window into the future and long before their child is born they can find out if their new baby will be a boy or a girl, yet so many parent choose not to know. If I were to have the gifts of the clairvoyant like the fictional character Daisy Gamble I would be faced with the terrifying prospect of dealing with pre-cognition. It is most likely the best ethical solution to be blessed with would be ignorance rather than the curse of guessing, even some of the time, about what might lie ahead. What, if any responsible and ethical message should I pass on to the inquisitive twenty-four year old from Bombay. If I knew, should I tell him that devoting his energy to finding a lifelong mate to share his life with is the most important thing on his personal agenda, when that might oppose directly the carefully made plans of his parents and relatives, in his living up to the expectation that he marry the girl and family that has already been chosen for him. The reality is, that statistics and relationship research shows clearly that one of the most successful means of selection of a suitable mate is an arranged marriage. Love, an emotional and perhaps biological construct, is far less successful and for one living in Bombay, probably completely incompatible. I have to filter these facts through my extremely limited background and cultural bias, but what tiny facts, or what I think are facts, about Bombay come into play. I believe the population density of Bombay to very very concentrated with millions and millions of young people in a city, with amazing extremes between the rich and the desperately poor. Bombay is the cultural formulating city of the whole subcontinent and for its magnificent and enormously successful motion picture industry, is referred to as Bollywood churning out more modern entertainment than almost any place else on the planet. Music, movies, television, popular culture; Bombay is the source. Keep in mind the importance of location. Where, is always far more important that what anyone is. For such a huge city the crime rate is pretty good with less than four hundred murders a year and fewer car thefts than Regina (2685 in 1995 compared with more than 3,000 in Regina). Since Amarjit uses the computer, we can assume he is literate and from his message his English is more than adequate, keeping in mind that Bombay is the gateway to India. It was there that the East India trading company set up shop long before there was a Hudson Bay trading company. However, he uses a hotmail email address, so he does not use the computer he is using for personal email, as it would have the corporation email address, so this suggests he is not using his own computer, but a public access, or one at work. Oh yes an important and significant thing about this fellow, like most of us ,he was born at 7:55 in the morning. You can bet a natural birth, natural term and perhaps not the eldest in his family. Based on what we have for information we can predict, without leading the man astray, that he has a much better than average chance of living a full and productive life. In a society where literacy is well below 50% he is clearly literate. Even more so, he is able to use the Internet gaining information, and interacting over this communication system, which moves him way up the ladder world wide in prospects. He is above average intelligence, having completed high school and post secondary level training, which moves him statistically further up the income and prospects ladder. With these advantages he can expect to earn, in his lifetime, an income that would place him in the top thirty percent of his society. This means that he will enjoy better health care and that in turn will raise his life expectancy. If the assumption of education is correct, he will marry a person of equal education, which will mean that they will have above average expectations for their children's lives who will indeed follow them in professional careers. Those people with post secondary education tend to recognise their advantage and for this reason scale downward the number of children they will produce and most likely will aim for that "2.5" average for numbers of children. Amarjit ethnicity is Punjabi and since he carries the name "Singh" we can be almost certain that he is Sikh (language spoken at home most likely Urdu). The cool thing about being a part of a traditional family oriented and culturally rich society, he will have grown up knowing who and what he is, which dramatically reduces the chances that he will ever suffer from alcoholism, or drug abuse which are associated with deculturalisation. But despite this rosy picture for Amarjit, there is one serious and important issue. Ten years ago the ongoing conflict with India and Pakistan was just friction and a few shots fired over the border. Now with nuclear weapons and missiles this young man, his family and their future could vanish in a split second. India is a success story, it feeds its huge population, despite its enormity it is controlling health issues. Politically India, if it pursues its own solutions, working out differences, compromising and relying upon its traditions, it has a good future. But with twenty-five major language groups and the dangers of social unrest the people, people like Amarjit, must be involved in the political process to see their society function safely and positively for everyone. May you be bless with true happiness and success and may your grandchildren know and honour you Amarjit Singh Kabo. Stewart, R. S., The Sixth Sense of Alan Jay Learner, November 1965, Atlantic monthly as posted on On a clear day you can see forever website. Musical Heaven website, On a clear day you can see forever, facts and synopsis on play and movie. Powers of ten - check out the presentation that takes you from far above our Galaxy and zooms in to a leave on the ground and ultimately to the interior of a proton.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }
if ( Centi && !Centi.plugins ) Centi.plugins = []; try { Centi.plugins.push( function(centi){ this.target = centi; this.prefix = 'THREE'; this.shortPrefix = 'T'; this.target.renderer = null; this.target.scene = null; this.target.cam = null; this.destroy = function(){ this.target.renderer = null; this.target.scene = null; this.target.cam = null; this.target = null; }; this.preSetup = function(){ var obj = this.target; if ( obj.b3d ) { obj.ctx = null; obj.scene = new THREE.Scene(); } else { obj.renderer = null; obj.scene = null; obj.cam = null; } }; this.postSetup = function(){ var obj = this.target; if ( obj.b3d ) { obj.size(obj.w, obj.h); try { console.log(obj.canvas.width, obj.canvas.height); obj.renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({canvas:obj.canvas, preserveDrawingBuffer: true}); } catch(e){ obj.renderer = new THREE.CanvasRenderer({canvas:obj.canvas}); } obj.cam = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera( 60, obj.w/obj.h, 1, 100000 ); obj.cam.position.set( 0, 0, 367 ); } }; this.preUpdate = function(){ }; this.postUpdate = function(){ var obj = this.target; if ( obj.b3d && obj.renderer ) obj.renderer.render(obj.scene, obj.cam); }; } ); } catch(e){}	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub" }
Charlie Cox friend uncovers that at first he thought he was in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home 'John Wick: Chapter 4', New Art Unveiled; Everything we know so far Chapter 4 of John Wick features new, blood-red-hued concept art for the eagerly awaited sequel Three Industries To Watch For In 2023 According To Sid Jawahar Of Swiftarc Why Private Equity Investors are Joining Pre IPOX Recording Academy Names 'All Too Well' as Taylor Swift's Magnum Opus How Noah Aussems is Transforming the Nightlife Scene – Follow Your Passion The Flash Season 9 Premiere Early Shots What Netflix Show Was Viewed the Most in 2022, We Have The List The sixth-most watched Netflix original show of 2022 was Virgin River Blake Lively to Star in the Movie Adaption of Colleen Hoover's 'It Ends With Us' Poster out of Taxi Driver 2, Here's what you need to know RM from BTS becomes the first K-Pop solo artist to reach THIS on the Billboard 200 by Sheena Bhandari in Lifestyle & Entertainment, News Daredevil star Charlie Cox uncovers that a friend at first accepted he was in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home. The impending Marvel film follows Peter Parker as he wrestles with the results of his superhero character being uncovered. While trying to switch this occasion, he works together with Doctor Strange to modify the current course of events. Subsequently, the film will explore the repercussions of the multiverse, including equal real factors where earlier cycles of comic book figures actually exist. During the film's creation, unsubstantiated bits of hearsay flourished that famous Marvel characters, including Cox's Daredevil, would elegance the big Screen. While addressing the Irish Examiner, Cox shared his contemplations on the new Spider-Man trailer. Acknowledging its far and wide effect on the web, he depicted the second a dear friend endeavored to affirm that Cox was in the film: "One of my old buddies in New York, who knows me all around well texted me a clasp from a spilled trailer that has me in it. I needed to compose back to reveal to him that it wasn't genuine. Like you could plainly see it wasn't genuine. This is a person that knows me and he got bulldozed. I'm similar to, 'Do you figure I wouldn't have advised you?'" Considering the suffering effect Cox's Murdock has left on the MCU, it's a good idea that fans have relentlessly required his return as Daredevil. Cox instilled his job with a compassionate blend of hard-won coarseness and affectability, yet recall that Daredevil never imparted any associations with the MCU. Spider-Man: No Way Home is by all accounts the ideal spot to incorporate Matt Murdock since Peter needs an attorney, however this could simply be a way to present Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk) in front of her Disney+ show. It's too soon to know Marvel's arrangements, however ideally, Spider-Man: No Way Home accepts this particular fan hypothesis and carries a hotly anticipated talk to fulfillment. Tags: Charlie CoxDaredevil	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl" }
The online casino industry is a big market and within this market the name of Playtech stands as a giant, that has both a great share in market along with a good repute among its customers and the gaming casinos. Playtech was established in 2000 and since then it has made its name in the online casino industry in general and gaming casino software development in particular. It specializes in development of kiosk games, bingo and poker. All was going well for Playtech until 2006 when the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act was passed forcing Playtech casino to close its operations in the United States and not expect any customer from the US. Despite that Playtech has made a great name because of its software among gamblers from across the globe. A brief Playtech casino software review is presented as under for all those who wish to gamble via this services provider in the near future. Sounds and Graphics – The one thing amazing about Playtech casino software games is the sounds and graphics. Whether it's the animation in the slots or the ambiance created by graphics in the poker or roulette games, it is all amazing and enriches the experience greatly. Games Variety – The other thing the Playtech casino software is known for is the variety in games. There is almost everything for everyone in this software. Games that involve skills to games that are simply a gamble, all are present and you can choose from any of them. Instant Play – For those who wish to play the game one time only and don't want to go through the download and installation process, there is a great variety of games that can be played instantly online without denting the experience. Downloadable – Those who wish to play games over and over again, for them the downloadable versions are also available that help them play the game any time they want with ease.	{ "redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4" }

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.