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Blog Archives Animal Farm 2 is a sequel and update on George Orwell’s novel Animal farm (1945). The story is about totalitarianism, animal liberation and climate change. The animals have difficulty imagining the amount of global temperature increase and the alternative causes possible. They have most evidence of global warming coming from all kinds of heat emission, including entropy increase from domestic and transport consumption of energy, amid balanced daily solar cycling. An enhanced greenhouse effect is an unnecessary complication, that promotes renewable energy. To reduce environment warming, it is logical to reduce consumption of energy of all kinds. My book is available on Amazon. Reviews: George Orwell’s political satire Animal Farm (1945) has been extended and updated into modern times by Martin Knox. Controlled by pigs, the other animals work Animal Farm until they discover coal there and mine it for supply to a power station. When the power station is ordered shut down, they are concerned about losing their jobs mining coal. Wanting liberation, they question climate change and the effects of combusting coal compared with using renewable energy, with surprising conclusions. The novel has a blend of superpower politics and climate science with a host of amusing animal characters. Solar, wind and hydro technologies convert enthalpy into entropy and would cool the Earth, except that it is in dynamic radiative balance with the Sun, which has a relatively infinite energy supply and would restore the equilibrium. The enthalpy has to be restored from the Sun because the enthalpy cannot be replaced, except from higher temperatures by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, ultimately by the temperature of the Sun. There would be additional warming of the Earth to maintain its temperatures, causing global warming. Therefore renewable energy would not reduce global warming. The theory that reducing fossil fuel combustion would reduce warming by carbon dioxide could be tested, as I have described in my Proposal to Demonstrate Greenhouse Warming see and my book Animal Farm 2 available on Amazon. Earth’s heat balance is certainly complex. Combustion emits carbon dioxide, water vapour and heat. Carbon dioxide has received most attention but heat probably causes most global warming. According to the greenhouse gases theory global warming is caused by carbon dioxide, but increased heat from Earth sources could cause warming, with solar radiation absorption and emission continuing as in the past. Heat energy to warm Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere, is emitted by respiration of living things, by combustion of vegetation and fossil fuels, by capture of renewable energy replenished by the Sun and by geothermal processes. Some heat produced is radiated into space, but my calculations indicate the remainder is sufficient to add to normal solar warming and cooling, causing warming noticeable near city heat sources. Warming would not in the least be reduced by substituting for fossil fuels with solar, wind or hydro energy supplies because they are replenished from the Sun. Warming in the environment is caused by spent inefficient energy consumed. To reduce heat emissions enough to stop warming could require cutting energy consumption and waste to a low level, until entropy increase is prevented by energy removal in endothermic reactions, such as photosynthesis, which absorbs heat with light. Deindustrialisation may be necessary. The theory of warming by greenhouse gases is considered in my previous post here Greenhouse Gases Not To Blame. My satirical book Animal Farm 2 explains paradigm-shifted climate science. %d bloggers like this:	[]
1. pH noun. (from potential of Hydrogen) the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen-ion concentration in gram atoms per liter; provides a measure on a scale from 0 to 14 of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution (where 7 is neutral and greater than 7 is more basic and less than 7 is more acidic); . • alkalinity • neutrality • pH scale • hydrogen ion concentration • alkalinity • involvement • engagement • participation Featured Games Rhymes with Ph • gmbh • hgh Sentences with ph 1. Noun, singular or mass The ph level, consistency, fertility and more are all aspects that can mean all the difference between a successful garden and a failed one.	[]
A Blog by Jonathan Low Sep 30, 2021 How the Pandemic Revealed That the US Has Too Many Managers Remote work revealed that the 'school hall monitor' approach to management was not only ineffective but inefficient and ridiculously expensive. JL Ed Zitron reports in The Atlantic: Office workers—particularly those in industries that rely on the skill or creativity of day-to-day employees—are entering a new world where bureaucracy will be reduced not because executives have magically become empathetic during the pandemic, but because slowing down progress is bad business. In a mostly remote world, a manager will be assessed not on their ability to intimidate other people into doing things, but on their ability to provide their workers with the tools they need to measurably succeed at their job. America has too many managers. In a 2016 Harvard Business Review analysis, two writers calculated the annual cost of excess corporate bureaucracy as about $3 trillion, with an average of one manager per every 4.7 workers. Their story mentioned several case studies—a successful GE plant with 300 technicians and a single supervisor, a Swedish bank with 12,000 workers and three levels of hierarchy—that showed that reducing the number of managers usually led to more productivity and profit. And yet, at the time of the story, 17.6 percent of the U.S. workforce (and 30 percent of the workforce’s compensation) was made up of managers and administrators—an alarming statistic that shows how bloated America’s management ranks had become. The United States, more than anywhere else in the world, is addicted to the concept of management. As I’ve written before, management has become a title rather than a discipline. We have a glut of people in management who were never evaluated on their ability to manage before being promoted to their role. We have built corporate America around the idea that if you work hard enough, one day you might become a manager, someone who makes rather than takes orders. While this is not the only form of management, based on the response to my previous article and my newsletters on the subject, this appears to be how many white-collar employees feel. Across disparate industries, an overwhelming portion of management personnel is focused more on taking credit and placing blame rather than actually managing people, with dire consequences. This type of “hall monitor” management, as a practice, is extremely difficult to execute remotely, and thus the coming shift toward permanent all- or part-remote work will lead to a dramatic rethinking of corporate structure. Many office workers—particularly those in industries that rely on the skill or creativity of day-to-day employees—are entering a new world where bureaucracy will be reduced not because executives have magically become empathetic during the pandemic, but because slowing down progress is bad business. In my eyes, that looks like a world in which the power dynamics of the office are inverted. With large swaths of people working from home some or all of the time, managers will be assessed not on their ability to intimidate other people into doing things, but on their ability to provide their workers with the tools they need to measurably succeed at their job. In order to survive, managers, in other words, will need to start proving that they actually do something. What makes this shift all the more complicated is that many 21st-century, white-collar employees don’t necessarily need a hands-on manager to make sure they get their work done. One truly insufferable habit of the modern manager is their reliance on the sports metaphor—the home run, the Hail Mary, the slam dunk—when trying to inspire their team. And yet modern businesses regularly fail to learn lessons from successful sports franchises. The strongest modern companies will win the talent war not by simply hiring well from the outside, but by fostering and empowering the employees they have to create and produce for the company in the long term. The pandemic has laid bare that corporate America disrespects entry-level workers. At many large companies, the early years of your career are a proving ground with little mentorship and training. Too many companies hand out enormous sums to poach people trained elsewhere, while ignoring the way that the best sports teams tend to develop stars—by taking young, energetic people and investing in their future (“trust the process,” etc.). This goes beyond investing in education and courses; it involves taking rising stars in your profession and working to make them as good as your top performer. In a mostly remote world, a strong manager is someone who gets the best out of the people they’re managing, and sees the forest from the trees—directing workers in a way that’s informed by both experience and respect. Unfortunately, the traditional worker-to-manager pipeline often sets people up for inefficiency and failure. It’s the equivalent of taking a pitcher in their prime and making them a coach—being good at one thing doesn’t mean you can make other people good at the same thing. This is known as the Peter principle, a management concept developed by Laurence J. Peter in the late ’60s that posits that a person who’s good at their job in a hierarchical organization will invariably be promoted to a position that requires different skills, until they’re eventually promoted to something they can’t do, at which point they’ve reached their “maximum incompetence.” Consistent evidence shows that the principle is real: A study of sales workers at 214 firms by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that firms prioritize current job performance in promotion decisions over whether the person can actually do the job for which they’re being considered. In doing so, they’re placing higher value on offering the incentive of promotion to get more out of their workers, at the cost of potentially injecting bad management into their organization. Successful sports teams generally—though not always—abide by the mantra that you put the best people for the job in the best position to succeed. That’s why you see a good number of former catchers in baseball end up as fairly successful managers—they’re workhorses who control the pace of the game, learning and directing the approach to each batter and, one might say, the entire field as a result. It’s a logical choice, because it involves a person who participates in both the strategy and the action, understanding the batting order and how to attack it—the same skill set a coach would need. Right now, we basically have only one track (management), and it actively drains talent from an organization by siloing and repressing it in supervisory roles. Employees may rise into management, then leave to go make more money managing somewhere else. What we need—and will likely see—are more organizations opening a different track for people who are very good at their specific job, where these people are compensated for being great at what they do and mentoring others. While not everybody is a born teacher or mentor, I’ve yet to see someone very good at their job who doesn’t have anything useful to impart to the younger generation. Countless companies let high-flying performers write books and do seminars about their successes, but rarely take that success and look inward to see how it might be given to others. And instead of vacuous perks such as pool tables and free lunches, perhaps we simply give talent the means to get distractions and annoyances out of the way, such as assistants and software that automates parts of their job. The reasoning behind this lack of talent focus in modern American business is cultural and fiscal. While you can give people senior-leadership positions, it’s challenging for an executive to keep paying someone more for being good at their job, for fear that they’ll start demanding compensation befitting the revenue that they bring to the business. And when someone is good at their job, it can still be hard to quantify exactly how good they are, or how much they actually contribute to the business. It’s easier to say, “Okay, let’s have you manage some people,” and pay them more to do that. A focus on talent and potential is why many well-managed NFL teams draft their future quarterback years before their current one is out of his prime—they want someone who can hold the clipboard and spend his time watching and learning so that he can be a starter one day. While this relationship creates tension, there’s also an acknowledgment that winning football games is what matters. It may mean that talent leaves—as happened with Brett Favre, and may happen again with his replacement, Aaron Rodgers, over at Green Bay—but it is also necessary for an organization to last. And the problems that Rodgers has raised in his last years with the Packers have transparently been about a philosophical mismatch: an organization’s failure to listen to and empower its most prolific worker. What i’m talking about here is a fundamental shift in how we view talent in the workplace. Usually, when someone is good at their job, they are given a soft remit to mentor people, but rarely is that formalized into something that is mutually beneficial. A lack of focus on fostering talent is counterintuitive, and likely based on a level of fear that one could train one’s own replacement, or that a business could foster its own competition. This is a problem that could be solved by paying people more money for being better at their job. Growing talent is also a more sustainable form of business—one that harkens back to the days of apprenticeships—where you’re fostering and locking up talent so that it doesn’t go elsewhere, and doesn’t cost you time and money to have to recruit it (or onboard it, which costs, on average, more than $4,000 a person). Philosophically, it changes organizations from a defensive position (having to recruit to keep up) to an offensive position (building an organization from within), and also greatly expands an organization’s ability to scale affordably. A predominantly remote future will challenge the need for layer upon layer of bureaucracy in American work by rejecting the assumption that “management” is the only way to grow in a company. When a majority of employees are remote, a manager may be considered a tool to organize the assets of an organization and utilize them to their fullest, rather than a title that mostly means “I make sure you’re actually working.” A great manager (like a great coach) can take a good worker and make them great, or take an average worker and make them good. It’s an adjustment from seeing the young as employees who must be tolerated until they’re good to seeing them as early-stage investments who can be grown into something incredibly valuable. Some Millennials entering the workforce feel isolated and hopeless, and not just because they have to work harder and their money doesn’t go as far as it did in previous generations. Recent graduates enter new roles burdened by student debt, knowing that they’re years from being able to even consider saving for a down payment on a house, and are too often told “Get these things done” with no real investment in their future. Young employees have to be their own champions, their own cheerleaders, their own coaches—despite the fact that the organization has a fiscal advantage to get the most out of them. The problem is that modern American capitalism has equated “getting the most out of someone” with “getting the most hours out of them,” rather than getting the most value out of them. “Success,” as I’ve discussed before, is worryingly disconnected from actually succeeding in business. Reducing bureaucracy is also a net positive for the labor market, especially for young people. Entry-level corporate work is extremely competitive and painful, a years-long process in which you’re finding your footing in an industry and an organization. If we can change the lens through which we view those new to the workforce—as the potential hotshots of the future, rather than people who have to prove themselves—we’ll have stronger organizations that waste less money. We should be trying to distill and export the talents of our best performers, and give them what they need to keep doing great things for our companies while also making their colleagues better too. All of this seems inevitable, to me, because a remote future naturally reconfigures the scaffolding of how work is done and how workers are organized. The internet makes the world a much smaller place, which means that simple things such as keeping people on task don’t justify an entire position—but mentorship and coaching that can get the best out of each worker do. Hopefully we can move beyond management as a means of control, and toward a culture that appreciates a manager who fosters and grows the greatness in others. zoeyriley890 said... I can't praise Programming Homework services enough, except for the previous order. It wasn't completed and sent in time. There were also a lot of mistakes and a few plagiarism issues, too, but I'm glad they came in and resolved the issue quite fast. 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Way to have the conscious play with online poker games Is online poker play a series of aptitude or karma is not a theoretical dispute, is the essential conflict as for the destiny of online poker in the United States. The UIGEA showing was gone through in the year 2006 and has as of late become compelling. As demonstrated by UIGEA, it is unlawful for fiscal establishments to move resources for bets whenever the opportunity to win is basically at risk to chance. Be that as it may, the UIGEA expressly clears trading stocks and horse hustling yet poker is by and by a-days orchestrated as such leaving on the web poker areas that oblige players an odd move. Online Bandarqq The conversation is far from being done and the possibility that poker is a series of aptitude is getting vitality. As demonstrated by a progressing review done in 2009 by the item consultancy firm examined 103 million hands of Texas Hold’em that occurred on Poker stars. They found that more than 75 of the hands oversaw never made it to the deadlock. The noteworthiness of this the truth is that accomplishment depend a greater number of players’ strategy and rather than on the cards that they were overseen. For a circumstance that starting late went before the qiuqiu online, the Poker Players’ Alliance – a non advantage social affair of more than 1 million online poker and live rivalries players battled that structure and rules of poker consider a player to overwhelm the open door segment of the game. He in like manner saw that a various master chess players moved to poker to obtain the money. The betray American Women’s Chess Champion, Jennifer Shade, is one of these esteemed chess players that moved to poker playing. As showed, both chess and poker rely upon a comparative course of action of capacities and that triumphant chess players will generally be winning Agen Judi Terpercaya player as they will concentrate on causing the correct moves instead of to making some extraordinary memories and be less introduced to feeling of self. He communicated that it has more to do with losing than it does with winning. In his points of view, Baccarat or roulette are the essentially the rounds of chance since it is freakish for one to deliberately lose. Regardless, no body deliberately would yet it is yet unfathomable considering the way that bets are put before anything is overseen or rolled and whatever hits, hits. You cannot intentionally play insufficiently much in like way that you cannot play well.	[]
Monday, October 15, 2012 What the Zhang Boys Know by Clifford Garstang: Impressions What the Zhang Boys Know by Clifford Garstang is, as you might have guessed from the descriptive subtitle, is a book of linked stories, the link here being the Nanking Mansion, an old building renovated into condos in an up-and-coming Chinatown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The Zhang boys, around 3 and 6, have just lost their young, blonde mother in the opening story, and their father is having trouble dealing with his own grief at the same time as figuring out how to care for his young sons and deal with their confusion of the sudden disappearance of their mother. The young Zhang boys see everything, the peculiar habits of the neighbors, the comings and goings into their apartments, but are, of course, too young to fully comprehend the obvious conclusions to their observations. The Nanking Mansion is full of an eclectic bunch of neighbors, all dealing with their own struggles - divorces, infidelities, heartbreak, financial woes - each trying to find a bit of comfort in their lives, if not meaning. The glimpses we get get into each of the characters lives are a bit like walking down a dark street, glimpsing in the scenes behind uncurtained, lit windows, except that all these neighbors interact in a very un-urban like way, possibly due to the limited number of condos in the building. The neighbors are friendly in a way that distantly echoes Melrose Place, sans communal pool and the comparatively easy drama of those early-twenties lives. The stories compel the reader on, not because the characters are particularly worthy, morally upstanding citizens, but because they are deeply human and flawed, on the precipice of realizing something deeper, but, with few exceptions, ultimately failing to overcome their less-than-honorable character traits. Each of their voices are distinct, their portraits carefully crafted to reveal a darkness contrasted with a thin light, and a striking vulnerability. Though many of their lives seem bleak, and the characters are far from perfect, they do offer a hope of continuing, of moving on towards a richer, fuller life. *I received a copy of this book courtesy of Press53 and TLC Book Tours - see what others thought of the book. Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...	[]
Argumentative Essay Examples How should you approach writing a good argumentative essay? Whether you're writing the essay for school, work, or just for fun, the purpose of an argumentative essay is to convince the one reading, that your standpoint on a given issue is the best possible choice. Most people tend to end up with weak arguments for the sole reason that they do not understand how to make an argument compelling. First of all, the tone you use must be professional, and using it you must state not only your perspective on the subject but also refuse the other points of view with the aid of credible facts. If your argument lacks facts, it can have the exact opposite effect on your readers and push them towards the points you are trying to disprove, and this will render your essay useless. We will use examples of argumentative essays to aid you in understanding what the proper approach to writing one is. What is an Argumentative Essay? At its core, the argumentative essay consists of a persuasive essay with which you will attempt to convince the reader to rally around your argument and switch sides. Facts are essential in order to back up your point of view and aid the readers into drawing their own conclusions and making connections with the purpose of backing up your argument. A debatable topic must be your first course of action, and it needs to have a few somewhat strong sides to make a good topic. If you come up with a one-sided argument, then you should discard it. The way you approach the topic is to gather, generate, and verify credible sources in order to validate your evidence. Every argumentative essay must consist of four parts to create the body of the composition. The compelling argument, your stance regarding the subject, evidence that supports the said claims, and a relevant and as straight as possible counter-argument. We provide examples of such argumentative so that you can visualize what one looks like. Selecting a debatable topic is essential for an argumentative essay. If the topic cannot be debated, then you will need to pick a different argument. A list of popular essay topics you can online. However, we suggest that you take the time and find your own topic. Check out news outlets, newspapers, and TV and find ongoing debates. Keep in mind that when it comes to television, the debates tend not to have their sources checked. So to craft a strong argumentation, you will need to double-check at all times and find out if there are enough raw data and information that backs up your viewpoint. Your Stance Of utmost importance, aside from choosing the topic is the fact that you will need to stay on point argument-wise. Once again, you need to stick to your viewpoint. Most students get tempted to address various viewpoints and give out facts that back up their claims for each in part. The problem that can occur from this strategy is that you will send mixed signals to your audience which will remove your credibility as it makes it appear that even you do not know what stance you have adopted, and this makes for a weaker overall viewpoint. A way to circumvent this issue is to select a stance that is stronger or has more information backing it towards one side. It will become easier to stay on track if you encounter and you can provide more credible information about a given side of the argument. Check out the argumentative essay example below. What makes most students hit a dead end is gathering the evidence that backs up their claims. The argument has to be fact-based, or it will lack convincing elements. Keeping up with the latest information and obtaining from a verified and credible source is a good way to make sure that the persuasive element of your essay will be on point. You should include references at the bottom of the essay, and the APA or MLA format are preferred. Wikipedia, various forums and websites where people get their questions answered, cannot be considered a valid source. The information there consists of opinions rather than facts. Counter argument You do not only have the task of finding arguments to back up your arguments, but you will also have to figure out what the other sides arguments can be in order to refute them better. If you want to paint your side as the winning one, you will have to spend extra time and effort to acquire the most accurate information available that suits your claim. This will boost your credibility over the others. The apter you are at countering the opposite side, your chances at convincing the reasons are also improved, and they will be more willing to side with you and agree. Your opponent will not be happy when you will challenge their viewpoint, but your essay will become far more convincing to your reader if you can include three to four strong points to back up your claim. You have to acknowledge the opposition's view, but when you want to refute their position, you must always include statistics, quotes, and logic. The more statistics you can include in your paper, the stronger it gets. It comes as no surprise that you will have to dedicate quite some time to this part of the essay. You have to gather all the relevant information available and compile it. Also, if you get a little creative, you can find loopholes in the opposition's point of view. This makes the research process more comfortable, but it is a double-edged sword. A strong thesis must be the ending piece for your writing. The purpose is to let your audience know that you had a plan, and you kept on track with it. If the conclusion you craft is well balanced, it can summarize the data you have provided in the article, and it can be used as a last resort to turn them and make them join your side. You will have to make sure that your argument is well displayed here and that you eliminate the other arguments at this point. Two examples of argumentative essays Argumentative essays can prove tricky to write, and you need to know what you are trying to do. The most notable flaw that occurs in argumentative essays is that students get the wrong idea, and they focus all their resources on trying to persuade the reader to our side by pointing out that they are wrong. What you need to do is to share with the readers and let them consider both options. Below you will find two examples of argumentative essays to assist you at writing your own. The first example is on the fast-food industry and the fact that a warning sign should be included when one consumes fast food and the other topic tackles the concept of having students change to electronic textbooks while attending class. You can use it as a guideline when later writing your own essay. Once you are done with the essay, it is a bad idea just to let it sit and gather dust. Instead, the writer has to revisit the body of work and check for any grammatical errors or to see if any typos were made. On topics that are evolving, it is a good idea to revisit the body of work whenever new information comes to light on the given subject. This means that you should have the topic in the back of your head, and whenever you encounter any new information that pertains to your topic, you need to read up on it. If anything relevant appears, you should revisit your essay and make the necessary changes. Argumentative Essay Example #1 Should fast food come with a warning like drugs? Fast food is readily available anywhere and at any time. We are creating more and more fast food shops worldwide, and if you look at your balcony, you can probably spot one shop right now. When it comes to accessibility, fast food trumps all other sources of food; it has also become popular as an alternative to the traditional dinner. At work, people operating in business are forced to order fast food for lunch and dinner, and most of the time they opt for fast food joints that have a drive-through. The fast-food industry is making use of chemicals to preserve their products better, and sadly, these are not exactly healthy for a human being - especially if on a regular basis. So how come we let the fast-food industry get away with hiding the chemicals they use and not even displaying the ingredients added to their products. Also, why do we not see a list of side effects that come with eating the said product? The biggest problem is that fast food products aren't healthy. In healthy foods, you cannot find most of the ingredients that the fast-food industry uses, and the body is not affected the same way. Healthy foods originate from wholesome ingredients and do not include preservatives, pesticides or human growth hormones. We are all aware that some of the ingredients are not exactly healthy, but we fail to read the ingredients on the items we order entirely. And even if we actually read up all the ingredients, sadly, most become not capable of figuring out just how much harm it is doing to us. Do you agree that fast food should have a warning attached just like any other product purchased? You really need to know exactly what reactions will happen in your body, and you have the right to know that. It should be visible, and not a company secret like it is at the moment. If people understand what the food does to their bodies, they will be capable of making the correct choice when it comes to buying said product or choosing a healthier one. Documentaries about McDonald's you most likely noticed what fast food does to your body if consumed for long-term.No harm will come if the food is consumed seldom, but some people eat fast food daily. That does not make for a healthy lifestyle and will end up causing damage to your body in the long run due to the chemicals that are slowly getting inside your body with every single meal. However, many people do not want to know what exactly is inside their food. Everyone should have the option to see how the product will affect their bodies. Similar to the pharma industry that has labels attached to their pills or comparable to workout equipment and supplements. They let you know what can happen when you are taking overusing or what side effects might occur. Why would we not have that apply for fast food? If some people refuse to have the curiosity to know what they are doing with their bodies, it does not mean that the rest shouldn't have access to a sticker with information. Everyone is in their right to know what our food contains. They deserve to know the effects it will have on their bodies and minds. People think fast food only affects calorie intake - that is not the only thing they do. Fast food will interact with someone's brain, their psyche, and their body. And this is why we strongly believe that labels that offer a warning should be included with every fast food meal. Argumentative essay example #2 Should schools switch to electronic textbooks in order to save money and paper? Textbooks are acquired by students mostly from Amazon or on some other website that has textbooks available for online purchase. Textbooks contain some hundred pages filled with information, and all of it is available on paper. The first issued posed by this consists of cost as many pieces of paper go into making a book, and the second issue is posed by the cost of said pages. What would you rather use? Would you go for the online textbook or one printed on paper? The problems stem from the fact that it takes so many papers just to complete one textbook. There are somewhere between 50 to 100 students in one class. If we were to average the textbook to 350 pages, this quickly becomes damaging to the environment and with a hefty cost. Some students have learned by experience that if you were to purchase a textbook online through various websites, you only have to pay half the price that you would pay for a real-life book. We strongly consider that all textbooks should be available as electronic textbooks. This will not only reduce costs for every single student, but it will also eliminate waste because far less paper will be used. The only problem with this strategy comes from the professors themselves that refuse to allow students to use online textbooks in their classes. This action is unfair and only damaging to the student and to the environment. What is your stance on this issue? Are you pro textbooks or would you rather see more electronic textbooks? Every textbook sold in stores means essentially the waste of 600 pages. The lifespan of a textbook is one year since they are always upgraded. The old books just end up being recycled, however, if we were to adopt electronic textbooks that would be equal to almost zero waste and a lower price. So, what is holding us back from switching? With electronic textbooks, you get access instantly to the same information, and it has a few useful functions like highlight, search, and bookmark. Some institutions are getting behind the normal textbooks as a way to move forward. The main reason is the fact that the college income is based on book sales. So it makes perfect sense that they do not want to put an end to such practices. However, since times are changing and a change in their point of view has to come, and they need to reach the conclusion that electronic textbooks are the way to go. They might make less money, but money can be saved on shipping, printing or keeping them as stock. Just picture how much it costs to have all textbooks shipped and kept up to date with the information needed for a student to graduate. In conclusion, the electronic book is better options from a learning standpoint. Causing no damage to the environment. Much much cheaper than your average traditional book. It's all the benefits only with faster access to information. If the topic is readily available, if you own a strong stance topic-wise, if you have the evidence that backs up your claims, and are ready to refute any viewpoint your opponent might have, then you will be capable of writing a solid argumentative essay. Keep in mind to go for a strong thesis, that has an introduction, the four body sections, and a conclusion. If you use our examples to guide you in the process of writing your essay, success is guaranteed for your argumentative essay. Remember, all claims must be backed up with facts from reputable sources as it makes your argument appear much stronger. If you encounter, any issues do give our essay examples another read. Fantastic 10% discount will make you happy! Save this discount code: Mr15K26yuo We accept: © 2022 Lifetime 10% discount! Discount Code: Mr15K26yuo Use now	[]
Yahoo Web Search 1. About 5,070,000 search results 1. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, also known as just Washington or just D.C., is the capital city and only federal district of the United States. • United States • 20001–20098, 20201–20599, 56901–56999 2. Take advantage of Washington, DC’s numerous free events, museums, tours, attractions & more 60+ Things to Do This July in Washington, DC Summer rolls on with exciting events, including Independence Day, the Capital Fringe Festival, Citi Open and more. Explore Our Neighborhoods 3. Washington, D.C., remains a territory, not a state, and since 1974 it has been governed by a locally elected mayor and city council over which Congress retains the power of veto. 4. (Washington, DC) On Monday, June 20, 2022, the District Government will observe Juneteenth. While... Jun 5 2022. 5. Jun 18, 2010 · Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The city is home to all three branches of the federal... • 2 min 6. People also ask What are the Must See Places in Washington DC? Is Washington DC a state or city? What state is Washington DC located in? What state is Washington DC considered?	[]
Mount Royal University (MRU) in Calgary, Alberta was set to run an international geography field school called “Sustainable Europe” in the Spring 2020 semester, but the university has quietly cancelled the field school. Field schools are generally only cancelled due to illness or low student enrolment, but the Sustainable Europe field school was cancelled for a different reason. According to correspondence between MRU’s Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology, Jonathan Withey, and Brian Sevick, Chair of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the school cancelled the field program because “the full-time faculty in geography… no longer support” it. “After consulting with full-time faculty in geography…there is no longer support for offering the Sustainable Europe field school,” said Withey, according to a letter shared with True North. Perhaps the cancelling of the Sustainable Europe school trip had more to do with the fact that the lead instructor was Mark Hecht. Hecht, an instructor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at MRU, penned an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun on September 6th, 2019 entitled “Ethnic diversity harms a country’s social trust, economic well-being, argues instructor.” The article was met with immediate criticism on social media, with activists and journalists accusing Hecht, the Vancouver Sun and Postmedia (the Sun’s parent company) of bigotry, hate, and white supremacy. BC Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender declared Hecht’s article a “call to hatred”, and NDP MLA Ravi Kahlon wrote a response op-ed, saying that Hecht’s piece was “racism and white supremacy wearing a thin disguise of academic bluster.” Harold Munro, editor-in-chief of the Vancouver Sun, apologized for running Hecht’s article. The article was then pulled from the Vancouver Sun’s website, though it was too late to pull it from the print edition. Much of the criticism over the article was filled with name-calling and hyperbolic accusations, while few refuted Hecht’s claims, which he himself admitted were controversial. Critics tended not to engage in discussion about the research cited in Hecht’s op-ed or evaluate his arguments in good faith: they simply denounced Hecht and the newspaper as white supremacist bigots. The Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship (SAFS) wrote a letter to Mount Royal University to inquire into the reasoning behind this sudden cancellation. “Can you clarify that Mr. Hecht’s views on social trust and immigration played no role in the decision to cancel the field school?” they asked in a letter, shared with True North. They add “If Mr. Hecht’s views…played a role in the cancellation of the field school, then Mount Royal has violated Mr. Hecht’s academic freedom and compromised its academic mission and its usefulness to the public.” + posts	[]
June 5, 2009 Porchetta - All things Swine porchettaPorchetta is a pork lover's paradise down in the East Village. Just a small takeout stand - they have counter seating for at max 5 or 6 people - Porchetta delivers with a simple menu of slow roasted pork - tender, succulent, delicious. Porchetta serves two dishes - pork sandwich and a pork plate - the first is piled into ciabatta sourced from Sullivan St. Bakery and the plate is served with beans and sauteed greens. For those vegetarians dragged by their swine loving pals - there is a mozzarella sandwich. For sides - the crispy potatoes and the burnt ends is the must have - basically fried pork rinds - I mean, really is there anything better?? As for dessert - cross the street and pick up some delicious cupcakes from Butter Lane. So while I looove Porchetta, I would be amiss if I said it was the best ever. That title goes to a porchetta sandwich I had at a Harrods airport cafe in the Lisbon airport - random, I know - but if you are ever passing through a Harrods cafe - you MUST try their suckling pig sandwich. Utterly heavenly - soooooo moist - it beats Porchetta. But since we are most likely not going to be able to go to Harrods on a whim - Porchetta + Butter Lane is a recipe for a perfect casual Friday night! 110 East 7th St. (between Ave A and 1st Ave) 1 comment: Diane said... every time we walk past there my husband says, "we have to eat here"...we just never have. so glad to hear it is yummy though! it always smells amazing! :) Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.	[]
Uncovering All Kinds of Love: #PaintTheirHandsBack The Bench ad campaign titled “Love All Kinds of Love,” which is open for the public to check along EDSA, bears the message of gender equality and shows openness and support towards the LGBT community. Photo: Twitter (@iloveraymon) The billboards feature different kinds of love showcasing the grandmother-grandson tandem of legendary actress Gloria Romero and Chris Gutierrez and the magic of true love between model and actress Solenn Heussaff with her fiancé Nico Bolzico, magazine creative director Vince Uy and his boyfriend Nino Gaddi, and the lesbian couple makeup artist Ana Paredes and girlfriend, interior designer Carla Peña sharing a hug with one another. Aside from the love season being observed at the moment, people are also celebrating the message shared by the clothing company, but as always, not everyone was happy about it. The festivity quickly turned to condemnation and criticism after people noticed that something was not right. The billboard displaying the image of Vince and Nino had some alteration since instead of showcasing their love by holding hands, a black paint was placed over with the intention of hiding it. Photo: Twitter (@vince_uy) As a country filled with very opinionated set of citizens, different reactions come hauling every corner and everything is evident online. Using social media as weapon, a protest called #PaintTheirHandsBack started few days ago, criticizing the action done with the ads. While others expressed disgust, a number of netizens showed creativity by putting back the hands of the gay couple with the use of Mickey Mouse's gloves, Baymax hand, Disney fairies, lobsters and the like. The issue about that hidden-hands-under-the-black-paint actually became more beneficial and had set enough sound to resonate and share the brand’s message far and wide. The more they want it hidden, the more people see it. Isn't that a good marketing strategy? Anyway, I was wondering if two men who love each other and publicly hold their hands were too gay for others, how about two lesbians hugging each other? Is there such thing as too lesbian? I just feel partiality but nevertheless, love all kinds of love because love is what truly matters.	[]
Myths and misunderstandings regarding the performance and care of blackpowder rifles and propellants have cost many hunters a buck. Don’t be one of them. If you spend any time in hunting camps, sooner or later you will hear amazing stories about the long-range performance of modern muzzleloaders. The thing is, I have been messing with these guns for more than four decades. I have written a book and more magazine articles than I can count about them. I think I have loaded and fired more shots from muzzleloaders than the entire Continental Army did in the American Revolution, and I have yet to see the sort of performance I hear of around the campfire. Hunting stories are wonderful things; facts are pesky little critters that suck the fun out of them. Let’s take a look at a few, shall we? (Facts, that is.) I picked at random 30 three-shot 100-yard groups from several modern in-line muzzleloader rifles I have tested. The average group size is 2.24 inches. Sure, some guns shoot better than that, but some guns shoot worse, too. That 100-yard average projects to exceed a deer’s 6-inch kill zone at 268 yards. That means you could miss even without all the other factors we’ve yet to cover. With three Pyrodex pellets, the Barnes 250-grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 2,197 fps from a 28-inch barrel. It has 1,467 fps remaining at 200 yards. Retained velocity is 1,325 fps at 250 yards and 1,204 fps at 300 yards. Bullet Path With a 100-yard zero, that same bullet is 3.04 inches below the line of sight at 150 yards, 9.4 inches low at 200 yards, almost 20 inches low at 250, and nearly a yard low at 300 yards. The force of gravity causes the bullet to drop faster and faster as its time in flight increases. It drops more from 200 to 250 yards than it does from zero to 200 yards. Assuming a 6-inch kill zone, which is typical for deer, 3 inches in any direction can put you out of the zone—and that’s how much the bullet drops between 200 and 217 yards. By 300 yards, it only needs 9 yards of forward movement to drop 3 inches. The muzzleloader has 2,680 ft.-lb. of energy at the muzzle and only 1,180 ft.-lb. at 200 yards. At 243 yards, the bullet falls below 1,000 ft.-lb. of energy—the widely accepted minimum needed to ethically kill whitetail deer. Wind Drift With even a 10 mph wind, the 250-gr. Barnes will drift 10.91 inches at 200 yards. At 250 yards it’s 17.89 inches, and 26.80 inches at 300 yards. A 15 mph wind pushes it 16.2 inches at 200 yards, 26.83 inches at 250 yards, and 40.20 inches at 300 yards. Can you judge the wind with that kind of precision? I know I can’t. Is it 10 mph or 15 mph? Is it a perfect 90-degree angle or closer to 45 degrees? Is the wind speed and direction the same all the way to the target? Final Word Ballistics don’t lie. For any ethical hunter, 200 yards is about the limit of ballistic and shooter performance for a modern muzzleloader. Your best bet? Use your hunting skills to get closer. That’s what muzzleloader hunting is all about anyway. Muzzleloader Buck This nice Iowa buck fell to a modern in-line muzzleloader. Photo by John Hafner Cold-Weather Care Inside or out? That’s the perpetual question for the late-season muzzleloader hunter. Should you leave your rifle outside in the garage, shed, or truck? Or should you bring it inside where it’s warm and cozy at night? Experts abound in every camp, and the group is usually divided on which method is best. Why It’s an Issue Black powder and its substitutes are hygroscopic, which means they absorb water, which in turn will prevent them from igniting. The theory behind leaving the gun outside or in the truck is to prevent the buildup of condensation created by bringing a cold gun into a warm room, but it ignores the fact that water exists in three states: gas, liquid, and solid. The H2O that forms condensation is already present in a gaseous state wherever there is any amount of humidity. As a gas, water has an easier time of finding your powder charge, since gases can penetrate the smallest of orifices. It will find the one spot where the bullet does not seal in the bore, or it’ll follow the threads on the nipple or the breech plug until it locates the powder charge. You might delay this by leaving the gun outside, but under the right conditions, water vapor in the air can degrade a muzzleloader’s propellant charge. Of course, if you are in the desert where humidity is in the single digits and it hasn’t rained since the Bush administration, you have less to worry about than a guy hunting in a place where it rains or snows half the hunting season. But is it worth the chance that your gun might not fire when the moment of truth comes crashing through the woods? Make Sure It Fires At the end of the hunting day, empty your muzzleloader. The easiest way to do that is to fire it, but if you can’t do that, remove the breech plug and push the charge out with a rod. Clean the gun. Now stand it, with the muzzle pointing up, close to a heat source for the night. That will warm the gun and dry out any residual moisture. In the morning, make sure the flash hole is clear and carefully reload the gun. If the weather is questionable, seal the muzzle with electrician’s tape. Then seal the percussion cap with nail polish. Repeat the process at the end of every hunting day.	[]
Advice hub I'm in Blog Audience Category Dropdown Facet Show me Blog Topics Category Dropdown Facet 9 minute read Few&Far Employer Spotlight: ZOE 5 minute read 75% of our team got a promotion last year… How did they do it? 5 minute read What Makes a Happy Team? Here's Five Tips You Can Implement Today 6 minute read Few&Far Employer Spotlight: Superbet 3 minute read How We Expanded Our Benefits Package in Partnership with Ben 5 minute read How We’re Ensuring a Fair Pay and Progression Across Our Team 1 minute read How we can help spread the cost of recruitment 7 minute read Championing Women in Recruitment - IWD2020 3 minute read Why good recruiters are few and far 5 minute read What staff really want - listening to your teams needs What we offer How can we help you? See what we do and how well we do it. Visit Client Services Who are we? Meet all the faces in our personable and friendly team. Find out more	[]
Ardotalia Vicus Roman Settlement The Ardotalia vicus was the civilian settlement that grew up around the Roman fort. This one had a protective stockade on top of a banked earthwork around its outskirts. Today much of the vicus lies under the Gamesley housing estate, but rescue archaeology has shown there to have been a variety of interesting features. Between the fort and the modern road was a Mansio – an official inn for government officials. This was unusually large for such a small fort, and consisted of a reception room, sleeping and servants’ quarters, kitchen, dining room, latrines and stables. A cremation cemetery lay 750 feet south of the fort close to the Roman road. From this, five cremation burials inside urns were recovered and there would have been more that have been left undiscovered. To the north of the fort was a small industrial zone. Evidence from excavation of hearths shows that there was iron, glass and lead manufacturing occurring here. Further out still were outlying farmsteads which may well have been owned by veteran soldiers. It was fairly common for those that made it through 25 years of service to be given a farm nearby, and these men could be relied on if there was any trouble in the area.	[]
Science and Technology Intertwined: When surfers are patiently waiting for the right wave, they can allow other waves to pass beneath their boards. What are the forces at work here? You’re sitting on your surfboard when you notice a wave approaching from behind you. Your eyes, brain, and body have all honed their timing skills so that you can catch and ride a wave when it comes along. The onrushing mass of water accelerates you as you paddle hard, and you feel the acceleration as you reach the speed of the water. After that, you maintain your balance on the board and enjoy the forces that you feel as you crank off some turns to the music. When you’ve decided to call it a day, you step back onto your board and lower the tail into the water, effectively applying the brakes. The Pleasures of Physics Although you didn’t need to whip out a calculator to figure out what was going to happen while surfing, there is a significant amount of physics involved in the act of riding a wave. Examine a few instances in which the laws of physics and surfing come into conflict. In the same way that a surfer starts his session, we’ll begin by waiting on the board between sets of waves. After that, we’ll look at the acceleration that occurs as the surfer catches the wave. The forces acting on the surfboard as it turns will be discussed in detail later. Waiting for the opportunity to go The forces of gravity and buoyancy are at work when you are lying on your board in still water, waiting for the next wave to come along: gravity pulls you down and buoyancy pulls you up. Fortunately, these forces are relatively simple to comprehend. However, despite the fact that this force acts on every atom in you and your board, it behaves as if it were only acting at your centre of mass. When a person is standing up straight, their centre of mass is conveniently located behind their navel in the middle of their body, which is convenient for most people. Your balance point is located at your centre of mass. With the help of a support under your centre of mass, you can find your equilibrium. (For the time being, we’ll disregard the surfboard.) Of course, the board is not massless, but physicists tell these kinds of little lies all the time to help them get to the heart of a problem more quickly. A hydrostatic force is an upward force created by still water pushing up on the board, and it is also known as a buoyant force (a force exerted by a liquid at rest). The water exerts its force on every part of the board that it touches, yet the buoyant force acts as if it were pushing up on the board just at the centre of buoyancy, which is the centre of mass of the water displaced by the board. In fact, according to legend, when Archimedes, an ancient Greek mathematician, discovered the mathematics of buoyancy while bathing, he became so excited that he leapt out of the bath and ran naked through the streets, shouting “Eureka!—I’ve found it!” Net Force is a term that refers to a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal. Given that you are remaining in one location, you are not accelerating. We also know that the sum of all the forces acting on you—the net force—is equal to zero, thanks to Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery. If there is no acceleration, there is no net force. Having the answer before beginning to study the physics is extremely helpful in many situations. (However, it should be noted that you can be moving at a constant velocity even when the acceleration is zero because acceleration causes changes in velocity.)	[]
Customer Service / Customer Experience How to improve customer experience with Virtual Reality (VR) Jolina Landicho Updated: May 26, 2020 · 7 min read Toolkit for download in this article enhance customer experience ideas To pedestrian onlookers, the excitement for virtual reality lies mainly in the innovation it can potentially bring to how people consume entertainment. And while that may be the case, it's not the sole reason why deeply invested companies like Microsoft, Oculus, and Vive are pleased with how the development of the technology is progressing in terms of providing virtual reality customer support. This article aims to touch on the virtual reality customer experience, its potential benefits, and the companies that currently have a leg up on the competition when it comes to being imaginative with the technology. Benefits of virtual reality Immersive power Just in case you're one of the few who hasn't tried putting on a VR headset yet, it's a fully immersive experience that transports users to a virtual world, boasting 360-degree video and audio. One moment you're in your room, the next you could be on top of a mountain riding a rollercoaster replete with stunning panoramas and virtual adrenaline rush. VR glasses virtual reality customer experience This VR advantage has already been used by brands like The North Face to make customers identify with their brand identity–giving shoppers an immersive experience of Nepal's landscape of ancient monuments, fostering their love for the great outdoors in one campaign, and in their McMurdo's South Pole Experience campaign. Play to emotions In a marketing world where playing to people's emotions is a significant aspect of the machinations, VR's ability to inspire emotional stimuli is something marketers should take full advantage of once they are able to fully utilize the tech. To demonstrate the power of VR when it comes to affecting people's emotions, the Institute of Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California, for example, has used VR for mental health rehabilitation. "This is where VR shines," says team director Skip Rizzo. "You can put people in simulations that bring up an emotion, and then teach them ways to deal with that emotion in an appropriate fashion." VR's potential for customer experience Try before you buy Despite still being in its nascent stages, a number of brands have already started using VR to improve the customer experience. IKEA virtual reality customer experience At IKEA, for example, prospective customers can explore different possibilities for their kitchen design (different fixtures, colors, dimensions, etc.)–all via an app and a VR headset. Redefine online shopping As pointed out by e-commerce fulfillment provider Red Stag, VR could soon be used to provide a middle ground between e-commerce sites and brick and mortar shops–providing a solution to the limitations of both, and ultimately providing an enhanced customer experience. Enhanced customer service VR best practices Product simulation You could have the most talented, persuasive salesperson, but that still wouldn't be on par with having customers experience the product firsthand via a VR product simulation. Brands like Audi have already been improving customer experience by allowing them to sift through vehicle customizations, while also traveling to other countries onboard their virtual Audi. Not only does the experience give customers a better idea of the kind of value an Audi vehicle can bring to their lives, it also provides the company a great opportunity for cross-selling. stated when consumers actually use the product, they can trust that the performance was as adequately described by a sales presentation. Apart from giving customers a detailed look at the products, the gamification process emotionalized what would otherwise be a highly technical exchange–a win for both the company and its customers. Samples of brands taking advantage of VR for customer experience Alibaba virtual reality customer experience Last year, the Chinese e-commerce giant launched a virtual reality shopping program, where customers were able to choose clothes and accessories while getting help from a shopping assistan–all by wearing a VR headset. This gives Alibaba's 400 million users access to 3D renderings for thousands of products, and in the future, will allow retailers to create their own VR stores. This could potentially change online shopping as we know it–and open windows to vast possibilities yet to be explored. OnePlus virtual reality customer experience Smartphone manufacturer OnePlus created a VR experience set in space to launch one of the flagship handsets. The campaign "transported" 60,000 people to a space station, where they were provided with a fully immersive experience that allowed them to learn about the new phone's features. According to Clickz, within six hours, OnePlus enjoyed an incredible 30% conversion rate. Despite a relatively muted hype around VR, compared to 2014 when Facebook purchased Oculus, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the evolution of the technology. Companies are beginning to realize the vast potential of the technology, and as the price for VR headsets continually drop, more and more people can have access to the game-changing potential of VR experiences. jolina virtual reality customer experience Was this post helpful? Subscribe to our newsletter You may also like Knowledge is power, get some more...	[]
What does fine motor skills mean? What are examples of fine motor skills? Examples of Fine Motor Skills • Dialing the phone. • Turning doorknobs, keys, and locks. • Putting a plug into a socket. • Buttoning and unbuttoning clothes. • Opening and closing zippers. • Fastening snaps and buckles. • Tying shoelaces. • Brushing teeth and flossing. What is an example of a fine skill? Fine skills involve precise movements using small muscle groups. These movements are performed with great detail and generally involve high levels of hand-eye coordination. A snooker shot or the hand movements when throwing a dart are examples of fine skills. What is the meaning of child’s fine motor skills? Fine motor skills are the ability to make movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists. We rely on these skills to do key tasks in school, at work, and in everyday life. What is the meaning of gross motor skills? Gross motor skills involve movements of the large muscles of the arms, legs, and torso. People rely on gross motor skills for activities at school, at work, at home, and in their everyday lives. People who struggle with gross motor skills have trouble doing whole-body movements like running and jumping. IT\'S INTERESTING: You asked: Are LS engines good? Is hand-eye coordination a fine motor skill? Hand-eye coordination requires fine and gross motor skills. With time, attention, and practice, children can develop strong hand-eye coordination. What are poor fine motor skills? If a child has difficulties with fine motor skills they might: Have an awkward or immature pencil grasp for their age. Have messy, slow or laborious drawing, colouring or writing skills. Fatigue quickly when typing or using a mouse on a computer. Have difficulty (or achieves a messy/choppy outcome) when using scissors. What are the 3 types of motor skills? Why Are Motor Skills Important? • Watch the Parents’ Guide to Fine Versus Gross Motor Skills: • Why does my child need motor skills? What are the 5 motor skills? What are considered motor skills? What fine motor skills should a 7 year old have? Fine Motor Development Checklist Age Skill 6-7 years Drawing detailed pictures with recognisable objects. Tying shoelaces. 7-8 years Writing neatly. Holding a pencil with a 3 fingered grasp and generate movement from fingers (not wrist). IT\'S INTERESTING: Your question: How can I decorate my car without damaging it? What fine motor skills should a 3 year old have? Developing fine motor skills in 3-year-olds • Dressing and undressing dolls. • Playing with blocks. • Threading beads. • Sand play. • Using different size containers for water play. • Coloring. • Tearing paper for collages. • Manipulating zippers and snaps. What is the difference between fine and gross motor skills? Gross motor skills pertain to skills involving large muscle movements, such as independent sitting, crawling, walking, or running. Fine motor skills involve use of smaller muscles, such as grasping, object manipulation, or drawing. Is clapping a fine motor skill? Clapping along to songs You’re working on verbal skills, fine motor skills, and bonding. Is throwing a ball a fine motor skill? Throwing also builds on fine motor skills, like the ability to grasp and let go of an object.	[]
New Innovation Brings Robots One Step Closer To Being Better Than Humans There is a segment of the population that is terrified of artificial intelligence. Critics, like Stephen Hawking, believe the robots can learn to be smarter than humans, and eventually take over the world. So imagine how terrified everyone’s going to be when they learn of artificial muscles. That’s right, engineers have finally developed a life like, synthetic muscle that can lift 1000 times its own weight. “We’ve over one of the final barriers to making life like robots.” – Proffessor Hod Lipson According to experts, it’s one of the final barriers to making a robot exactly like a human being. According to team leader professor Hod Lipson, the long-term plan is to develop artificial intelligence that will also control the artificial muscles.	[]
People For the American Way PFAW and AAMIA: Unpaid, Unprotected Days Off Have Stark Consequences for Working Families and Domestic Violence Survivors People For in Action As part of our efforts to promote gender equity, People For the American Way and PFAW’s African American Ministers In Action are supporting the Healthy Families Act. This legislation would not only guarantee paid sick days that can be used to address a range of personal and family health concerns, but it would also create paid safe days for domestic violence survivors. You can download the latest coalition letter here. Dear Members of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to cosponsor and advocate for swift consideration of the Healthy Families Act, which would create a national paid sick and safe days standard. The Healthy Families Act would guarantee working people the ability to earn up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from short-term illnesses, access preventive care, care for a sick family member or seek assistance related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Without paid sick days, workers are forced to make impossible choices when illness strikes: stay home, lose pay and risk their jobs; or go to work sick, jeopardize their health and spread illness to their co-workers and communities. Paid sick and safe days help keep families financially secure, workplaces and communities healthy and productive, and businesses and the economy strong. Paid Sick Days Ten states and 22 jurisdictions have or will soon have paid sick days laws in place in the United States.1 These laws currently protect nearly 41 million workers2 and have helped increase the share of private sector workers with access to paid sick days by 10 percentage points since 2015.3 A strong, growing body of evidence from jurisdictions that have had laws in place for years shows that paid sick days benefit workers and families. These studies also show virtually no adverse effects—and some positive effects—on businesses and local economies.4 Despite substantial increases in access to paid sick days as a result of new laws, nearly one-third of the private sector workforce in the United States—at least 34 million people—cannot earn paid sick days to use when they get sick.5 Millions more cannot earn time to care for a sick child or family member.6 Lower-wage workers, workers of color and hourly workers are least likely to have access to paid sick time.7 Unpaid, unprotected days off have stark consequences for working families. For a family without paid sick days, just 3.3 days of lost pay due to illness are equivalent to an entire month of health care, on average, and 4.5 days are equivalent to an entire month of food.8 Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults (23 percent) report they have lost a job or have been threatened with job loss for taking time off work due to illness or to care for a sick child or relative.9 Paid sick days make business and economic sense. When sick workers are able to stay home, the spread of disease slows and workplaces are both healthier and more productive. Paid sick days also reduce “presenteeism,” the productivity lost when employees work sick, which is estimated to cost our national economy approximately $227.9 billion annually (after adjusting for inflation) and surpasses the cost of absenteeism.10 Paid sick days also reduce workplace injuries: Workers who earn paid sick days are 28 percent less likely than workers who don’t earn paid sick days to be injured on the job—with an even greater difference among workers in high-risk occupations.11 Grave public health consequences can result when workers do not have paid sick days. Workers in jobs that require frequent contact with the public, including those in food preparation and service, personal home care and child care, are among the least likely to have paid sick days and the most likely to be unable to afford to take an unpaid day away from work.12 Without paid sick days, workers are forced to take unpaid leave or work sick. Workers without paid sick days are more likely to report going to work with a contagious illness like the flu.13 This puts workers, customers and businesses in danger. Ensuring all workers can earn paid sick days would significantly reduce health care expenditures. People without paid sick days are more likely to incur high health care expenses14 and are more likely to seek treatment at an emergency department because they can’t take time off to get care during regular business hours.15 If all workers had paid sick days, 1.3 million emergency room visits could be prevented each year, saving $1.1 billion annually.16 More than half of these savings—$517 million—would accrue to taxpayer-funded health insurance programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.17 Workers with paid sick days are more likely to get regular cancer screenings and preventive care,18 holding down health care costs and improving long-term health. Paid sick days enable working parents to care for their children when they are sick—shortening recovery time and reducing community contagion. Parents without paid sick days are nearly twice as likely as parents with paid sick days to send a sick child to school or day care.19 When parents have no choice but to do so, children’s health and educational attainment is put at risk—as is the health of classmates, teachers, school staff and child care providers. Women are disproportionately affected by the nation’s lack of paid sick days, which jeopardizes the economic stability of families increasingly dependent on women’s wages. Women make up nearly half the workforce20 and nearly two-thirds of U.S. mothers are breadwinners or co-breadwinners for their families.21 Yet, overwhelmingly, mothers still have primary responsibility for selecting their children’s doctors, accompanying children to appointments and getting them recommended care.22 In 2014, nearly four in 10 employed mothers (39 percent) said they alone must miss work when a sick child needs to stay home, compared to 3 percent of working fathers. Among these mothers, 60 percent were not paid when they take that time, up significantly from 45 percent in 2004.23 Like paid sick days, paid “safe” days are critical for workers’ productivity, security and well-being. In a 2018 survey of domestic violence survivors, nearly three-fourths (73 percent) reported that financial problems forced them to remain with their abusers longer than they wanted or to return after having left, and more than half (53 percent) said they lost a job because of the abuse.24 Because survivors of domestic violence are at increased risk of harm during and shortly after separating from an abusive partner,25 it is essential that they be able to find shelter, file restraining orders, attend court dates or receive counseling to prevent further abuse and continue working. The Healthy Families Act would strengthen workers and families, businesses and the economy. It would guarantee workers across the country the right to earn paid sick and safe days no matter where they live, bringing the rest of the United States in line with the states and cities that have passed these laws and much of the rest of the world. We urge you to demonstrate your strong commitment to our nation’s working families by cosponsoring the Healthy Families Act and advocating for swift consideration. Thank you.	[]
Presidential Election 2024 For editorial purposes only. Odds from bet365 UK. Political betting is not permitted in the USA. The US Election betting market is now closed. However, you can still see how the odds to win the Presidency changed throughout the course of the campaigns. If you have questions regarding this content or seek more information about odds for your next story, please direct them to [email protected]. A representative will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible. White House Can you bet on politics in America? Betting on politics, along with nearly all non-sporting events, is not permitted by any regulated, licensed and legal on-shore sportsbook in the USA. However, there are some states with regulated online gambling rules enacted. Our Election Odds Probability Tracker is presented strictly for research and entertainment purposes and we do not encourage those based in the US to bet on odds for the next American President or politics in general. How to read the Presidentail Election 2024 betting odds graph? Our data feed pulls Presidential Election and Democratic Nominee odds markets from bet365’s UK market. Our graph displays the average odds between each interval, it’s not representative of daily or minute-by-minute odds fluctuations. We are constantly working to improve our visualization of the 2020 election betting odds. As the election campaigns continue, we will make this page more dynamic, comprehensive, and easier to use for comparing odds for the next American President. How are the probabilities calculated? A probability is simply a mathematical expression of the likelihood of something happening. These probabilities are derived from bet365’s UK-based market on American politics, where odds are ascribed to a wide range of candidates for 2020, both confirmed and speculated. Betting calculator tools can help you understand odds better. The odds fluctuate in real-time based on a simple supply and demand mechanism, like gold, a stock, a currency, or any other commodity openly traded – the more popular a candidate is with the betting public, therefore the more money bet on them, the shorter their odds become which ultimately translates to their % to win increases. It’s possible to go more detailed when learning how to read odds, but the basics are covered here. Political bettors factor in a wide range of variables when placing their wagers and since their only objective is to correctly forecast an event in order to make a profit, there is a huge incentive to make a correct prediction. When these forces are applied to a pool the size of the legal market, with millions of participants, this represents a significant ‘wisdom of the crowds’ scenario, which may go some way to explain why betting markets gave Donald Trump as much as a 40% chance of winning in 2016, compared to some polls which had him on less than 2% and Hillary Clinton at over 98%. The key difference between a betting market and a poll is this – a poll is a snapshot of voter intention at any given time, often including those who are undecided, with an average sample size in the thousands. A betting market is a global future prediction pool, updating in real-time, factoring in the opinion of millions of individuals forecasting an event – backing up their opinion with their own cash. How to calculate chance from betting odds: As you’ve noticed, our chance has undergone a slight change from the decimal odds that many English bettors prefer. But don’t worry, the odds are still an accurate representation of each candidates’ chances to win the presidency. Here’s what we did to convert the 2020 Election betting odds to percent chance: Equation: Odds = 100 / (Percent Chance x 1.1066) So, if bet365 UK has Biden’s odds to win the presidency set at 7.005, this is what we do to display his Percent Chance to win: 1. 7.005 = 100 / (Percent Chance x 1.1066) 2. 7.005 x (Percent Chance x 1.1066) = (100 / (Percent Chance x 1.1066)) x (Percent Chance x 1.1066) 3. 7.005 x Percent Chance x 1.1066 = 100 4. 7.7517 x Percent Chance = 100 5. (7.7517 x Percent Chance) / 7.7517 = 100 / 7.7517 6. Percent Chance = 12.9 As you can see, we’re taking the bet365 UK odds for Democratic and Republican nominations and the Presidential winners in 2020 and displaying it in a format that is easier to comprehend. What is the history of Presidentail Election betting? Informal Presidential Election betting markets flourished in 19th century Wall Street, but have been illegal since the 1930s, and remain so in the United States. During this time, however, bettors managed to correctly predict 11 out of the 15 presidential election outcomes (Source). Polls have always been one of the factors bettors consider when wagering on politics, although the odds always reflect the market’s interpretation of all data available, including many private systems used by professional gamblers. Polls and betting markets are ultimately influenced by their human participants so ultimately neither is 100% accurate. Remember, no human or computer is yet to create a system that forecasts the outcome of events being held in the future with 100% accuracy and if that was ever to be the case, the betting industry would cease to operate. Studies have also shown that even if there is no monetary element involved, the excitement of having correctly predicted the outcome is a reward and motivation in itself (Source). Even though New Jersey sportsbooks and Pennsylvania sportsbooks (among a handful of other states) have regulated operations, political betting remains against the rules here in the US. Again, this article is editorial in its approach and for entertainment only. So, where do these probabilities come from? The probabilities we present are derived from bet365’s UK-based betting market (where betting on all political markets is legal and regulated) which is one of the biggest in the world in terms of volume. You won’t find Vegas odds for President, for instance, because it’s not legal to have them in the US. We’ve converted the odds into a more user-friendly percentage to express the chance each candidate has. For Americans on home soil, this is simply another tool to utilize in order to understand each candidate’s prospects of becoming President, cutting through the noise at a time that can be stressful and confusing, no matter which party you support. What is the Presidential Election process? The US Presidential Election will be held on the first Tuesday of November 2024. The road to the White House is a long one, and it’s easy to get lost. The process has two main stages: the Primary Election, and the National Presidential election. The Primary Election is where the major political parties, Democratic and Republican, choose which candidate will represent them in the Presidential election. This is done by candidates securing delegates in state primaries and caucuses to gain the official nomination as the Presidential Candidate at their party’s national conventions. Once the candidates have been decided, they choose their Vice Presidential running mates. Then the race is on for the opposing parties to campaign and gains the most support across the nation. Now, it’s finally down to Joe Biden with Kamala Harris as his running mate as the Democrat Representatives and President Trump with Vice President Pence going for a second term in office as the Republican Representatives. The National Presidential campaign leads up to the actual Election and is the thing most people are familiar with; one Republican versus one Democrat, along with their chosen Vice Presidential Running-Mates, of course. Throughout the national campaign, there are usually three live televised debates, which are often critical to a campaign’s success (among a huge variety of other factors and unforeseen events). Finally, it’s Election Day. This Presidential Election it’s in November 2024. The winner is usually known by the end of the day. Henceforth, they are known as the President Incumbent and will be inaugurated on January 2024, to officially take over (or simply continue if President Trump is elected to a second term). What is US-Bookies? is a website dedicated to reviewing all regulated sports bookmakers across the United States. As new sportsbooks launch throughout the States, like in the emerging Colorado online sportsbooks or Tennessee online sportsbooks, US-Bookies reviews them. With an affiliate partnership, the owners of this site may receive some compensation if you, as a user, continue on from this site to sign up at one of our recommended sportsbooks. However, all of the reviews strive to be as unbiased as possible. US-Bookies also follows sporting events that you can actually bet on, as opposed to US politics. Horse racing in America has long had a betting tradition and you can follow Kentucky Derby betting. Tournaments are also covered, March Madness betting, for example, is one that you can wager on at many of the online sportsbooks reviewed on this site. This site contains commercial content. Read more.	[]
© 2022 WMKY Play Live Radio Next Up: Available On Air Stations Businesses In Alaska Celebrate The Return Of Tourists On Cruise Ships Cruise ships are returning to Alaska, which is helping the state's economy. But it is not a full comeback just yet. Here's Claire Stremple of member station KTOO. CLAIRE STREMPLE, BYLINE: The sun is still high in the sky at 5 p.m. as the Serenade of the Seas glides into port in the southeast Alaska village of Hoonah. GEORGE DALTON JR: I'm telling you, my heart is pounding right now watching this ship tie up. STREMPLE: One of the local Tlingit dancers greeting the ship is George Dalton Jr. He was hired back to his usual job this year. He works for the Alaska Native-owned port company, the biggest employer in the tiny village. UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing in Tlingit). STREMPLE: It's a late start to the season, but one that marks an end to a hiatus that cost Alaska an estimated $3 billion and more than 40,000 jobs. Those losses are most acute here, in southeast Alaska, where cruising is the easiest way to get large numbers of tourists to remote places. KAREN MCMILLAN: It's been just like a regular cruise other than you just have to wear a mask. STREMPLE: Karen McMillan is visiting from Clinton, Miss. And, she says, there are perks to cruising in a pandemic. MCMILLAN: It's not as packed. MCMILLAN: It's not as full. STREMPLE: In fact, her ship was only one-third full. McMillan says she's glad there are no lines. Crew members outnumber the passengers. It's hard to overstate the economic impact of cruising in the region. The ship in Hoonah doubles the population for the six hours it's in port. MEILANI SCHIJVENS: Well, it's huge. STREMPLE: Meilani Schijvens runs a Juneau economic development firm. She says even a short, meager season is enough to keep some businesses intact. Tourism creates nearly 20% of jobs in the region, even though it only operates half the year. It's the biggest private sector industry. And, says Schijvens... SCHIJVENS: About 90% of all of our tourists come via cruise ship. STREMPLE: The capital city of Juneau has a more diverse economy than Hoonah's. But businesses were still hit hard last year. Tourists usually pour off the docks into the heart of downtown. This summer, it's more of a trickle. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I want three dark chocolate sea otter paws and three dark chocolate Alaskan roca. STREMPLE: Scott Bergmann is an owner of Alaska Fudge Company (ph). Long bars of the candy sit behind him on marble slabs. SCOTT BERGMANN: It was, like, a sigh of relief. Like, OK, we can do this. STREMPLE: He's stirring caramel in a copper pot. STREMPLE: There's a steady flow of customers on this day. Cruise tourists are the bulk of his clientele. BERGMANN: We're going to get through to 2022. Yeah. I mean, that is what a lot of the businesses down here are looking for, you know? It's enough money in the bank to get through the winter. STREMPLE: The year before the pandemic, Alaska set record numbers for cruise ship tourism. On a busy summer day back then, Bergmann made up to 300 pounds of fudge. This year, it's more like 100 pounds. WENDY ANDREWS: We're glad to be back. STREMPLE: Wendy Andrews of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., cruises Alaska every year with her husband. They always stop at Bergmann's fudge shop for local flavors, like glacier chip and motherload maple. ANDREWS: Every time we come, we buy fudge. We buy the three pack because we can't make up our mind. STREMPLE: Cruise companies are expected to operate at a loss this year. But operating at all is a life preserver for them and the shoreside communities that make Alaska a destination. They're both celebrating the ship's return because it means there will be a next year. For NPR News, I'm Claire Stremple in Juneau.	[]
Under the Sea(floor): Ocean Drilling and Scientific Discovery Journey to the center of the earth By uknown - GBG university archive, Public Domain, The Albatross, an ocean going vessel used in early subseafloor exploration What lies beneath? More than a mediocre movie, that is a question that curious denizens have asked for a long time. The bottom of the deep ocean has been described as an underwater desert, but mud and rock at the bottom of the ocean holds incredible records of past events, of ancient life and oceans, and even living organisms! Exploring sediment cores from the sediments has lead to valuable discoveries, like confirming movement of continental plates and discovering life deep in the seafloor. Getting mud from the ocean is not as straightforward as digging up mud from a garden though – you need a lot more than a shovel and a pail. Here we’re going to talk about thedevelopment of subseafloor exploration and some of the technology and agencies that made it possible. Since the 20th century, technological advances have allowed scientists to take deeper sediment cores than ever before, and begin to answer this question. Developing the networks of researchers, the technology, and the resources for ocean discovery took a while though. Up until the 1940s, most of the deep ocean was considered lifeless, and the deepest beneath the seafloor we could explore was a couple of meters. Then, in 1947, a Swedish ship called the Albatross began sailing around the world with a new way to collect sediment, called piston coring. A piston corer is almost like a straw for the seafloor, but with hydraulics. Essentially, a long metal tube ‘corer’ with a straw-like ‘core liner’ inside of it is sent to the seafloor. The corer makes contact with sea bottom, then uses pistons to propel the core liner past the end of the corer and into the sediment. This can collect almost pristine sediment, which is crucial for many later scientific studies. This technology was developed by a Swedish scientist with an awesome name: Börje Kullenberg. With piston coring, sediment up to 20 meters below the seafloor could be taken. The Albatross expedition not only set the stage for using this new coring technology, but also helped prove that important scientific discoveries can be made beneath the seafloor and that the ‘dead zone’ of the ocean was far from lifeless! Hi-ho Project Mohole! A comic from 1959 depicting early coverage of Project Mohole and its aims. Retrieved from Contemporary comic explaining Project MoHole to the American public. Project Mohole, started in 1961, was the first iteration of American scientific drilling initiatives, and was led by a group with potentially the best, but vaguest name – the American Miscellaneous Society. This project intended to drill a hole through ocean sediments into the earth’s crust, to hit the Moho, i.e. the boundary between the earth’s crust and the mantle, hence the clever project name ‘Mohole’. A type of coring technology called ‘advanced piston coring’ (APC) was used to collect sediment cores from up to 601 feet below the seafloor, the deepest at the time, and the first samples of the earth’s basaltic crust underlying this sediment were also collected. Importantly for future work, a type of ship technology called ‘dynamic positioning’ was invented. Dynamic positioning allows a ship to stay in the same location for periods of time, even if the ocean currents or winds try to make the ship drift. This development was incredibly important for drilling sediments, because a ship can stay in the same spot for days or weeks, sometimes with pipes leading down to the seafloor. This makes drilling to very deep depths possible today. While the project was eventually discontinued by the US Congress (i.e. they stopped funding it) and did not have the chance to hit the Moho, it was still a great scientific success that laid the foundation for modern scientific ocean drilling. We must go deeper! The Deep Sea Drilling Project Though Project Mohole did not reach the Moho boundary, it proved that ocean drilling is technologically possible and scientifically worthwhile. Following this, the United States National Science Foundation funded the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP). This project ran from 1968 to 1985 and operated the now-famous scientific drilling vessel the Glomar Challenger. Using technologies developed by industry and during Project Mohole, the DSDP drilled more than 105 miles of sediment and ocean crust (that’s more than 1848 football fields) in its 17 year run. The deepest they drilled was more than a mile deep beneath the seafloor, and sometimes they drilled in over 4 miles of water depth. The DSDP proved that plate tectonics, a then controversial theory, was correct, by drilling and collecting sediment cores that showed seafloors spread. With endings come new beginnings In 1985, the DSDP ended, and the Ocean Drilling Project, referred to as the ODP, began. The ODP was more international than the DSDP, and included collaborations with countries in Europe, Australia, and Asia. The ODP ran from 1985 until 2003, and used the ship the Joides Resolution. Joides sounds like a weird name from Star Trek, but stands for Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling. Resolution is in honor of the HMS Resolution, a ship that explored the Pacific in the 1800s. During this nearly three decade period, the ODP drilled over 2000 boreholes in over 110 expeditions (called ‘Legs’), using a variety of technologies like extended core barrels (XCB) and rotary core barrels (RCB) for collecting harder sediment and rocks samples that the more ‘gentle’ advance piston coring couldn’t collect. Not only were great geological, geochemical, and paleontological discoveries made, but at the end of this period, microbiology became an important part of deep sea exploration, too! Leg (or Expedition) 201 was the first microbiology dedicated drilling cruise. However, ODP didn’t only take things from the seafloor – they also left things there, called CORKs… CORK observatories before they are placed in previously drilled holes near the Pacific Northwest. Credit William Crawford, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, U.S. Implementing Organization (IODP-USIO) CORK is a clever acronym for Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit, and does exactly what it’s nickname says – it corks holes drilled in the seafloor. The need for these corks is similar to why you cork a bottle: to keep fluids in, and out of, the holes they drilled. After you recover a sample from a drilled seafloor hole though, why do you need to keep water from going in and out of it, though? The explorers wanted to study the water in the sediment and rock underneath the seafloor, and how it moves. This is important because water movement carries more than just fluid – it also carries heat, chemical compounds, and even microorganisms! The CORKs provided a nifty way to stop ocean water from going into a hole, let the hole return to close to its previous conditions after a while (we refer to this as reestablishing equilibrium), and eventually scientists can go back to it and sample it! Instruments that record things like temperature and pressure are usually hung from the CORK into the hole below. Later, more types of instruments and sampling devices for things like water chemistry and biology were used as well. We’re better together – the Integrated Ocean Drilling Project The Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) began where the ODP left off in 2003. The IODP wasn’t alone though. Scientists in other countries had seen the ODP’s and the DSDP’s work, and joined in. Japan was the United States’ main partner in the new program, but many European countries as the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and later China contributed as well. The mission of the IODP was to explore the ‘deep biosphere’ (things living deep beneath the seafloor like Bacteria), to investigate climate change, and to understand solid earth cycles and geodynamics. This international collaboration not only allowed scientists and techniques from all over the world to investigate mysteries of the deep (both deep depths and deep time). This allowed international research ships to be used as well. The Japanese-operated Chikyu is a drilling vessel, like the Joides, and was designed to drill up to seven kilometers (4.35 miles!) deep. The European Consortium did not operate a specific ship, but adapted pre-existing ships for individual research cruise needs. The addition of the Chikyu and other ships allowed scientific drilling to happen in multiple places (and query multiple scientific questions) at once. Ultimately, IODP was a part of 52 scientific missions to places like the Arctic, the middles of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists on these cruises endeavored to get sediment, rock, and fluid samples from earth’s crust. The Japanese owned and operated Chikyu. Mt. Fuji can be seen in the background. Photo courtesy of JAMSTEC. The USA owned and operated Joides Resolution. By William Crawford, IODP/TAMU Days of Future (exploring the) Past So what’s IODP up to now? It’s still IODP, but since 2013 it has become the International Ocean Discovery Program. This phase of IODP includes 24 countries, and brings together biologists, chemists, geologists, geophysicists, and many other scientists. Together on cruises that can last over two months, they explore the mysteries of the deep sea and deep time. Before ocean drilling, we thought that ocean bottoms were lifeless, the movement of the continents were hotly debated, and nobody knew about deep hydrothermal activities. Subseafloor exploration is how we know about the existence of life deep beneath earth’s surface, mid-ocean ridges creating new seafloor, the PETM (a very warm period in Earth’s history with high carbon dioxide levels, considered an analog to current climate trends). IODP is actively studying many subseafloor sites today. They are exploring the deep today to answer questions about past climates and what they tell us about climate today; to explore what kind of life can survive miles beneath the seafloor, buried without light, oxygen, or new food; to see what happens when meteors hit the Earth; and to understand our planet. One thought on “Under the Sea(floor): Ocean Drilling and Scientific Discovery 1. A very welcome compact history of deep sea floor scientific research. Early on I read Jules Vern’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Jacque Cousteau’s The Silent World,also Thor Heyerdahl’s The Voyage of the Kontiki(sp?) What a thrill to witness the advances of scientists in understanding Mother Earth! Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.	[]
Spotlight On: Number Dolls Alldolls and signs Make math cuddly and explore early numeracy with these brightly colored, size-scaled dolls! Even the most reluctant learner will want to engage with these plush, smiling dolls. Ranging in size from a 3 1/2″ doll in the shape of a 1 to a 6 1/4″ doll shaped like a 9, the numeric value of each number is clearly visible in relation to the other numbers. Line all ten numbers up in order and they create a mathematical rainbow! The firm base of each number allows the dolls to stand on their own. Each doll loves to hold hands with their friends and Velcro™ lets them do just that! We have also included Velcro™ math signs that let students create their favorite math facts in 3D. Early numeracy students can use the < and > signs to demonstrate an understanding of relative value. Math facts can seem abstract and difficult to comprehend. These dolls make math facts concrete! 8-1 image Put students on the path to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) excellence with plush equations and smiling number pals!	[]
Blackberry CEO John Chen has penned on the company’s blog his argument for extending net neutrality rules to the application and content layers. He cites the opening up of its Blackberry Messenger service (BBM) on the iPhone and Android platforms. His complaint is that popular services like Apple’s iMessage and Netflix’s streaming video apps are not available on Blackberry’s platform, and therefore unfairly shut out Blackberry users from these “essential” services. His solution? Get the government to mandate that certain applications and content services be forced to provide their services on the Blackberry platform, in the name of net neutrality. Chen’s claim leads one to wonder if he’d be advocating the same thing if we rewound the mobile market to 2007. We’ll pick that year because neither the iOS nor Android ecosystem existed then. That year, by some estimates, Blackberry owned 10% of the worldwide market for smartphones. Admittedly, though Blackberry doubled its revenue from 2007 to 2008, the market for smartphones was still nascent. That year, Blackberry was promoting its developer program and many early mobile developers jumped aboard; for instance, the popular music service Slacker was an early Blackberry app. Blackberry could have owned the mobile OS market. As we all know, Apple and Google now dominate the mobile ecosystem, leaving early entrants like Blackberry and Microsoft with niche market shares. Blackberry’s response has been to open up some of its popular services like BBM and Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) to encompass the Android and iOS platforms. While it’s a smart move for them to focus on some core strengths and survive, asking the government to step in and mandate the same from the competition is a very bad idea and precedent. Government has traditionally not understood the nature of competition in computing platforms. In both in the US and Europe, governments have brought antitrust and anti-competition lawsuits against dominant companies like Microsoft and Intel. While it’s fair to say that both Microsoft and Intel flexed their market power often and widely, they won their dominant positions by aggressively pushing forward new technology — whether they invented it or not — and staking out larger parts of their ecosystems for themselves. Competitors who were left in their wake largely drove the complaints behind antitrust lawsuits. Users also choose products based on things they want to do. If they choose Blackberry today for certain positive aspects of the product, but are missing something like Netflix, then that’s the choice they make. There are others products they can choose depending on what they want to do. Software platforms differ from pipes in significant ways. In telecom, a provider gets to own a piece of wireless spectrum or a land-based wire that they operate. As the toll keeper, if they prevent some content or service from using the pipe or promote their own service at a higher cost than something else available, that is a legitimate area to regulate to promote fair competition. Having said that, of course there is a lot of controversy around this and the issue is much more complex. In software platforms, though, open competition typically creates better products and more choices for consumers. Software platforms (at least reasonably open ones like Android and iOS) are not pipes, there are choices in applications, services, and devices. As computing shifts to different devices, interfaces, and services, different companies come to offer the best products and services and grow to dominant positions. IBM dominated the mainframe era, Digital (DEC) the minicomputer era, Microsoft and Intel the PC era, Apple and Google the mobile era, and perhaps Amazon, Google, and Facebook the internet era that goes with it. As Bill Gates used to often say, rarely does one company dominate more than one era of computing. That’s because of the incredibly rapid evolution of the technology. Letting the market pick the winners and losers is a better way to ensure continued innovation. Now read: IBM, Intel, Qualcomm join dozens of tech companies to argue against net neutrality	[]
Open Accessibility Menu Sensory Caregiver Stress Relief: Taste Family Caregivers in Mamaroneck NY Caregiver and Elderly WomanYour senses are how you engage with the world around you and can be a powerful way for you to influence your emotions. As a family caregiver, you can use your senses as a highly effective way of managing the stress that will come up throughout your care journey with your aging loved one. While smell is the emotion that is most closely linked to memory, taste is also a strong trigger for memory and emotion. Using taste as a means of stress relief is one of the simplest, yet most effective, ways that you can keep your stress under control when you are going through difficult times in your care efforts. Use some of these ideas to inspire you for ways that you can utilize your sense of taste to help you relieve and manage your caregiver stress: • Conditioning. Conditioning is when you teach your mind to react a certain way to a specific stimuli. That way each time that you are exposed to that stimuli, you can experience that reaction. When it comes to relieving caregiver stress, you can condition your mind to feel relaxed, calm, and happy in response to specific flavors simply by enjoying that flavor consistently when you are feeling happy. You can also enjoy the flavor in conjunction with relaxation exercises. Choose something that is easily accessible and easily consumed such as a piece of hard candy in a distinct flavor. When you are feeling relaxed and happy, or when you are going through your relaxation exercises, put that flavor in your mouth and really focus on it. Over time this conditioned response will develop and when you are feeling stressed you can simply put that piece of candy or whatever your conditioned flavor is in your mouth to promote a sense of calm. • Flavor memories. Just as smelling something familiar can trigger many fond memories, so can tasting something familiar. Smell and taste are very closely linked, so when you are tasting something, your sense of smell is also being utilized. This means that you can bring up favorite memories that make you feel happier and calmer just by tasting something familiar. Think of some of your favorite memories or experiences, and come up with flavors that remind you of those. A candy cane, for example, might remind you of Christmas, while a specific type of cake could bring up memories of birthday parties when you were a child, and a certain drink may remind you of being at your favorite vacation destination. Let these flavor memories comfort you whenever you feel like you need a few moments “away” from the stresses that you are experiencing. • Special treats. As a family caregiver most of your time and attention is likely focused on your aging loved one and the efforts that you need to put forth for them. If you are a member of the sandwich generation, you are also caring for your children, which takes even more time and attention. This means that you are likely the last one on your priority list, and that can leave you feeling neglected and set aside. Giving yourself an occasional special treat is a fantastic way to ensure that you still feel appreciated and acknowledged, even if it is just you that is appreciating yourself. When you are feeling stressed, choose a small special treat to indulge in. Select something that you really enjoy but that you only have rarely so that it really does feel special and take the time to savor it.	[]
Easter Gift Guide Spoiler Alert: Lots of underwear and chocolate. Beauty Lover: Have you heard of beauty eggs? We sure hadn’t! They’re an Easter Egg filled with all your favourite beauty goodies and they’re the perfect gift for any beauty lover! Pair it with a six month subscription for extra brownie points. 1. The Golden Egg - Lush 2. The Abby - Hello Peachiee 3. Walter Bunny Bar - Lush 4. Follow The White Rabbit - Lush This is for the people who go on early morning runs or do Pilates before getting their day started! What would be better than supporting locally designed and owned active wear brand “Do You Even.” Why not spoil your loved one with a cute new activewear item? Or stylish resistance bands? (Also part of our amazing Easter Egg Hunt Prize Pack!) 1. Excel Sculpt Thin-Strap Crop - Do You Even 2. Essential Fabric Booty Band Pack - Cheeky Peachy. 3. Easter Egg Peanut Protein Bar - Macro Mike 4. The Ellie - Hello Peachiee Does your friend always have their head in a book and can't walk past a bookshop without a quick peek? No matter what they love we have a recommendation for you! 1. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert Explores a flashy love story set in the roaring 1940s A hilarious memoir that covers everything from working in a male-dominated comedian industry to dating woes of NYC, this book has got something for everyone. 3. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin Stunning science fiction book first english translated book, focusing on secret military projects to make contact with aliens during a revolution. 4. The Kayla - Hello Peachiee Comfy lace brief for lounging around reading books. 5. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert This book will satisfy any fantasy lover spending hours with the main character avoiding her uncanny bad luck. This story has many unexpected twists and turns. 6. Caramelised Coconut Flecks in Milk Chocolate Egg - Koko Black No matter what platform they play this person always has gaming on the mind! With each platform having its one top picks were here to give you the best of them all! Consider adding a three month subscription for that perfect combination! 1. The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening: Nintendo Switch Explore an amazing island with this cute side-scroller unlocking mini-games and finding hidden treasure! Perfect for loved ones who already have Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing! 2. Valheim: Steam Perfect for any PC gamer, this sandbox/survival game will take you through beautiful scenery whilst you battle monsters of old! Dubbed “Minecraft for Vikings”, it’s perfect to play with your friends! 3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps: Xbox This beautiful platformer is sure to impress everyone with it’s stunning artwork. Following the story of Ori as it heals the land, finds its family and discovers it’s true identity. 4. The Isabella - Floral Red Lacey Thong For the ultimate combination of style and comfort for an all day gaming binge. 5. Marvel Easter Sweet Rabbit t-shirt - Zing Pop Culture	[]
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April 28, 2018 Shoot me. Please. Everything is painful. What is this in my neck, an IV? That’s painful. What is this in my hand? It’s popping out of the skin like a bulge. I… what??? Actual STAPLES inside me. I use staples to turn in my homework, not seal up a big HOLE. I feel like I’m going to die. My heart is thudding so loud it might pop out of my chest. What is this? I can’t hear anything because my heart is pounding so loud. Why are there tubes inside of me? There’s actually tubes inside my chest. They’re sucking excess blood from inside my chest. I’m so uncomfortable. I’m sweating all over. Why am I so hot? I can’t move and change a position since I’m so sore, which I don’t understand? Before I went into the surgery I could at least sit up. There’s so much plastic inside me: the chest tubes, IVs, and monitors. There’s also a lot of stuff connected to me to. There’s also bruises on my hands and arms. There’s also a big pole with tons of machines onto it. I guess that’s where all the medications are. They want to remove my breathing tube. Did I not mention there’s a tube inside my throat? Yeah there’s a tube inside my throat. They want to remove my breathing tube while I’m conscious. And they did. They just yanked it out like tug a rope. At least I can eat and drink now. There’s also a catheter in my urethra. So… yeah. I’m heavily drugged, so at least I’m happy about that. I mean they’re giving me pain medication which is great (even though I still feel awful). Was transplant right for me? Was this a mistake? I’m so stressed. Nothing prepared me for this. May 10, 2018 I’m cordless! That stupid pole is now gone! They stopped dripping medication for my kidneys. Instead, they’ll just insert medications throughout the day. I can finally walk around without dragging that big stupid pole. Now I can walk outside my unit and downstairs. Walking is a lot more tiring dragging the pole around. There was a festival today on the 3rd floor. For some reason, Tearaway, a video game, wants to advertise their product at a children’s hospital. There was a PS4 demo, which was cool. With the PS4, they demonstrated VR. I couldn’t bend my neck around for the VR because of my neck staples. I don’t want to pull at them since they’re practically loose. They gave me a water bottle, lunch box (like I’d be going to school soon. Ha!), and a blanket. May 13, 2018 They told me I would leave the hospital today or tomorrow! Finally! Staying in the hospital is horrible. I choose to take them out now. It was… painful.	[]
Barbecue in front of Ofer Prison Barbecue in front of Ofer Prison Eliran Aharon National Union Party youth arrived at the square opposite Ofer Prison near Jerusalem Thursday afternoon and held a mass barbecue aroma fest. After about 45 minutes, police halted the event and ordered the young people to leave. צעירי האיחוד הלאומי מול כלא עופר The purpose of the barbecue was to celebrate the hunger strike of Fatah terrorists imprisoned in Ofer Prison, where among others the leaders of the terrorist protest are incarcerated. The event was held to break the spirit of the terrorists and to call upon the Israeli government not to surrender to terrorist blackmail but rather to work energetically for the release of kidnapped soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul. credit: אלירן אהרון credit: אלירן אהרון	[]
What Is Kaggle? The New platform Simply Explained. What Is Kaggle? The New platform Simply Explained. Kaggle is a platform to show your data analysis and machine learning skills and compare yourself against others. Prize money over $ 10,000 is often offered as a reward. What is Kaggle? Kaggle is a competitive platform for data science and machine learning. It is a platform specializing in data science with regular competitions. It is mostly about optimizing machine learning-based predictions, for example, time series forecasting or classification. Real data and prize money provided by organizations, some of which reach millions of euros, results in a mutual measurement of the participants’ skills and the “hunt” for the top placements. In general, a competition runs in such a way that a company or other organization posts data and a description of the problem (e.g., “forecast of sales in month X”). The participants or participating teams can develop and upload their solutions (mostly as an ID prediction pair). These solutions are then automatically evaluated, and thus the leadership board is formed. The lower the error, i.e., the better the prediction, the higher the ranking. The errors are calculated depending on the competition, but mostly simply a squared mean error or a similar measure. The story of Kaggle It was founded in 2010 in Los Angeles, acquired by Google in 2017, and reached over a million members in the same year. From the beginning, It was recognized as a “Competition Platform” and dedicated itself to the challenge of marketing machine learning as an optimization problem. In the meantime, you can find not only hundreds of competitions on Kaggle but also a database of publicly accessible data sets and courses. Thus, It takes on an increasingly central role in the careers of many data scientists, as the first practical experience can be gained here that goes beyond prepared standard data sets (Titanic, iris ..). Who is the target audience? While Kaggle was initially intended more for experienced data scientists and machine learning engineers, it now covers pretty much the entire spectrum of experience in data science and AI. The challenging competitions for experienced data scientists remain the central component of Kaggle, but there are more and more interesting aspects for beginners due to the comprehensive range on offer. Newcomers can quickly gain insights into other ways of thinking and analyzing and implementing their ideas, especially through the publishable notebooks containing code from participants. There are also relatively old but very accessible competitions that are well suited for expanding knowledge. What makes it so special? Kaggle was the first public platform that dealt with the topic of “machine learning as a competition.” The attractiveness of high prize money is a factor, but a very high placement in the competitions alone is often considered an award for the participants. Particularly noteworthy is the possibility of publishing notebooks, i.e., scripts. Most of the time, there is a publicly available notebook in every competition that provides a basic analysis (exploratory data analysis with, if necessary, initial modeling). Based on this, refinements can be worked out. Of course, you can also work completely for yourself without having to publish scripts. Frequently asked questions Whether python or R or Java – the development does not influence the competitions . Since the script is not the evaluated solution, but only the predictions as .csv, you can generate this output with anything you can think of. However, suppose you want to work directly with the Kaggle Notebook Environment. In that case, you have to rely on python or R., But he has the advantage of working directly on the resources provided by Kaggle. Grandmaster is the final stage of the Kaggle Progression System. To become a Kaggle Grandmaster, you must continuously excel in one of the four categories of competitions, datasets, notebooks, and discussion. For example, to become a Notebook Grandmaster, you need 15 gold medals, one medal stands for 50 upvotes, new members and old posts are excluded. Consequently, to become a Kaggle Grandmaster, you must publish an exceptionally good basic analysis in 15 different competitions. Most, however, equate Kaggle Grandmaster with the category “Competitions,” as this is where the analyzes are evaluated. A top 10 placement in some competitions is usually required here, and that with several thousand participants. Overall, the highest level in the Kaggle Progression System is 4x Kaggle Grandmaster, something that very few people have achieved so far. Strictly speaking, as of January 20th, 2021, exactly three of over 150,000 active participants: Chris Deotte, Vopani, and Abhishek Thakur. The Titanic Dataset is often used not only at Kaggle but also in data science if you want to implement classification in practice. Kaggle guides its new users directly through the dataset analysis as a kind of tutorial on how Kaggle works as a platform and how to submit solutions. Yes, Kaggle membership is free. However, you have to be registered to download data sets or to take part in the competitions. Usually, Kaggle Competitions have cash prizes in the lower five-digit range, but higher prices are also possible. There are also competitions without a profit or other prizes such as memberships with companies or the like. The platform was founded and managed by Anthony Goldbloom and Ben Hamner. In the meantime, Google has bought the platform and is, therefore, the owner. Who should join ? We recommend trying Kaggle at least once. Only those who have a lot of time and experience will deliver good results, so prioritization is important as usual. In general, however, if someone has barely had any practical experience in the area of machine learning, It can be a good starting point to deal with the problems in the area of data science. The Tech Spree Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.	[]
How Long Drugs Can Be Detected in Your System drug urine test Peter Dazeley / Getty Images More employers are requiring pre-employment drug tests and developing random drug-testing policies, and the abuse of prescription drugs is reaching epidemic levels in the U.S., prompting a corresponding hike in drugged-driving incidents. The length of time drugs stay in the system has drawn more attention from employers and employees. In addition, the window of time that drugs can be detected in chemical testing can be critical information for both law enforcement and defendants in court proceedings. But the size and shape of this window can vary significantly from person to person and drug to drug. Variables in How the Body Metabolizes a Drug An exact timetable for how long drugs remain detectable in urine, blood, and saliva tests is almost impossible to determine. There are many factors that can affect how an individual's body processes or metabolizes drugs. Drug detection times can be affected by a person's metabolic rate, which can vary widely. Metabolic rates, in turn, can be affected by age and certain health conditions. The higher the metabolic rate, the shorter the time a drug can be detected in the body. Hydration and Body Mass Hydration levels, body mass, and physical activity affect how long drugs will be detectable. Drug detection times can be much longer for people with increased fatty tissues, because some drugs, or their metabolites, tend to accumulate in those tissues. Drug Tolerance If someone has built up a tolerance to a drug, it tends to metabolize more quickly. This means the length of time it can be detected in their system can become very short. Frequency and Amount of Use Another key factor in drug detection time is the amount and frequency of the drug's use. One-time use of a drug might be detectable for only a short period of time, whereas heavy or long-time use of drugs can be detected for extended periods. Very frequent drug use can cause concentrations in the system that can be detected for lengthy periods after last use. Acidity of Urine Even the acid-base balance in urine can affect detection times in urine tests. The more acidic the urine, the shorter the detection time. Pros and Cons of Hair Testing Hair follicle drug tests are less likely to be affected by the above factors—and also less likely to be tampered with. These tests can detect drug use for up to 90 days. The disadvantage of using hair tests is that drugs will not show up in the hair for seven to 10 days. Also, hair tests are currently more expensive than the standard urine, blood and saliva tests in both collection and processing costs. Why Drug Detection Timetables Are Inconsistent Because there are so many different factors affecting the time that drugs can be visible in chemical tests, researchers have not been able to nail down an exact timetable for the detection of individual drugs using standard testing. The best they have been able to do is develop a range of time, or detection window, during which drugs might be detected. Detection Timetables Are Estimates While drug detection timetables can help you better understand how long drugs might be detectable in your system, it is important to remember that these numbers are estimates. Exact timelines depend on your body mass, hydration, usage, and the type of drug testing used. These detection timetables of commonly used and abused prescription and illicit drugs were developed from sources with a vested interest in their accuracy. They include the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the professionals that do the actual testing; companies who sell drug testing kits to employers and law enforcement; and even companies who sell products aimed at helping people beat drug tests. A Word From Verywell Many different factors affect how long drugs can be detected in your system. If you are concerned about a test that you will be having, it's best to look up the particular drug or medication that you are taking for more specific information about timetables of detection. 2 Sources 1. McHugh RK, Nielsen S, Weiss RD. Prescription drug abuse: From epidemiology to public policy. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2015;48(1):1-7. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2014.08.004 2. US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Treatment improvement protocol series. Appendix B. Urine collection and testing procedures and alternative methods for monitoring drug use. Additional Reading By Buddy T	[]
del slo 6in (No reviews yet) Write a Review Adding to cart… The item has been added Do you own a Honda del sol? then you know. Does your friend own a Honda del sol? Make sure they know. Just order it and put it on their car for them; trust me they're cool with it. This die cut decal is the perfect reminder that slow cars are the best cars, and one of the best at doing that with style is the Honda del sol.	[]
• Em promoção • Preço normal $25.22 Frete calculado no checkout. Erythritol Granules offer a simple solution for both health and indulgence. Sweet as table sugar yet contains virtually no calories. Additionally, Erythritol has the highest digestive tolerance compared to other polyol sweeteners. Erythritol is a type of sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohols, also called polyols, are sugar substitutes that occur naturally in plants and starches. It's a part of the sugar alcohol family, which means it's a naturally derived extract from fruits and plants and passes through your body, untouched, much like fiber. Because it's passed through, Erythritol does not affect blood sugar in most people and has 0 net carbs. It's a great option for: • Diabetics • Low carbohydrate dieters • Anyone looking to cut calories without sacrificing sweetness!	[]
Friday, September 19, 2014 Very weak evidence for fairness in animals I expressed skepticism about studies claiming to find fairness in monkeys and other animals. Now a study also says that those animals do not show fairness, but that chimps do: On the flip side, when two unrelated chimps put side by side were presented with a tasty grape and a less tasty carrot, the chimp with the grape sometimes threw it away. "I would say that the most likely cause was either fear of retribution or just general discomfort about being around an individual getting less than you," says Brosnan. Differences in the social hierarchy also played a role, she says. Dominant chimps were angrier when they were on the receiving end of a lesser reward than those lower in the pecking order. The results among the chimps are indicative of highly cooperative societies, where relying on someone else is especially crucial. This may be why chimpanzees and humans will avoid inequity, Brosnan suggests, to have long-term cooperation from friends. However, she cautions against calling it fairness exactly: "Fairness is a social ideal" she says. ... [The animals] don't have social ideals in the same sense [that people do]." Her research reveals behaviors that may look like a push for fairness; but that doesn't mean strategic, higher-order thinking is driving it. The explanation may be much simpler, based more on emotion, Brosnan says: "When my social partner gets upset, I give them something that makes them happy." As you can see, fairness is the rich anthropomorphic explanation, but there are also leaner explanations. People often talk about chimps and other primates as being social like humans, but they are not at all. It is true that they often live in groups, but they do not cooperate on tasks as humans do, so they are not really social. No comments:	[]
Help:New page From raju Wikis are editable by anybody and they need you to add content to them. Just as you can expand existing pages, you can also create new ones. There are several ways to start a new page. Using Wikilinks MediaWiki makes it very easy to link wiki pages using a standard syntax (see formatting). If you (or anyone else) creates a link to an article that doesn't exist yet, the link will be coloured red, like this. Using the URL If you replace ARTICLE with the name of the page you wish to create, you will be taken to a blank page which indicates that no article of that name exists yet. Clicking the "Create" page tab at the top of the page will take you to the edit page for that article, where you can create the new page by typing your text, and clicking submit. From the search page If you search for a page that doesn't exist (using the search box and "Go" button on the left of the page) then you will be provided with a link to create the new page. (Note that this technique doesn't work if you use the "Search" button). What next? Create redirects to your new page Protecting your new page Normally a new wiki page can be edited by other people (that is one of the main ideas of a wiki!) However, you could "protect" the page, if desired, to prevent normal users from editing it. This requires sysop permissions.	[]
there are always more firsts to be had This weekend was the first time my in-laws visited us--as opposed to us visiting them in Denver, which has happened twice. I like both of them, we interact well, and they aren't particularly judgmental or nagging or any of the old-school negative in-law stereotypes. Despite this, I still felt the compulsion to have everything perfect and spent the day of their arrival cleaning and prepping; when I get obsessive over guests (or anything) like this N calls me by my maiden name because it's inherited/learned from my father (Love you, Dad!). Anyway, I cleaned a bunch and made a nice dessert (which unfortunately I didn't photograph, so I'll just have to make something similar but even nicer for a certain wedding dessert-potluck this summer!) and tried out an experiment inspired by the latest Bon Appetit magazine. [Imagine the structure of cinnamon rolls but with a savory spinach, shallot, and goat cheese filling. (BA had a cilantro/scallion filling topped with sesame seeds) I didn't like the dough that much, so I'll try a second round before posting a recipe.] I even bought a bundle of lavender for use as a bouquet. (I'm drying the flowers now to make sachets). Double anyway, the visit went well and now I'm exhausted. Time for a nap. Also wik: we saw Memphis on Broadway with them on Saturday, which was amazing! No comments:	[]
You may have heard the buzz about Catapult Feud, and want to get involved with the biggest and tallest castle possible. Then as you construct your Artificer's Tower you'll need to be careful of the nearby hives! The Chauforts and the Cunningfields build higher and higher, as the fued continues to grow. The Mighty Plunger rams into action, moving closer into battle! Will the troops be safe in the Artificer's Tower or will the fall be their last? Buzzzzzzzzzz... what's that sound?!!! Ready, Aim... Ram the Tower! The Artificer's Tower Expansion adds new weapons, new ammo, and more bricks for elaborate castle-building! Build a tall tower, but watch out for bees... they'' have your troops running in all directions! *Requires Catapult Feud to be played. Catapult Feud Artificer Expansion SKU: 703	[]
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Category Archives: Visual Art Richard Pawlak, Artist Richard Pawlak is a mature fine artist who ranks among the more prolific along the abstract expressionist spectrum in the past 50 years. He has a long art history of his own throughout eastern Massachusetts—from Boston, to the North Shore along the edges of Cape Ann, and south, into Cape Cod. His work shown here is his latest, as he continues to move through newer themes with unique techniques. Detail of painting: “Girl with Mom” “Girl with Mom” detail Artimusi: Richard, it’s been over seven years since Artimusi first featured your website in February 2014. Has your artwork changed since then? If so, how would you characterize it? Pawlak: It’s changed somewhat. In 2014, my artwork was mainly landscapes, marshes, and birds; mostly done on paper. The content went to figurative work, starting with my Bus Stop series. Then I began the Women Studies series. The first four of this set were painted with acrylic on paper. I then began experimenting with a fresco-style painting using a similar textural approach, using shapes resembling my City Shapes series with abstract streets, alleys, and walls. After that, I began using MDF board with multiple layers of lime-based fresco plaster. “A Woman and a Man Walking” detail Artimusi: How would describe this fresco painting technique? Why did you switch? Pawlak: Paper was too delicate for the aggressive application that I was doing. I use razor blades, palette knives, and stainless steel trowels to scrape and layer paint. I remove paint and build color, sometimes scraping into the substrate. That’s why I went to using MDF board. I usually apply two coats of primer, and four-to-five coats of colored plaster, usually blue, black, or grey. When using the tools to scratch and scrape the surface, the underlying layers of colors sometimes show through, depending on what I’m trying to communicate. Texture adds a measure of content on its own. For example, “The Jackhammer” (a guy working a jackhammer), has a more aggressive texture. Others, like ones in the Women’s Series, have a softer texture. Using the blade, knife, or trowel, I can press the color at a flat angle into the surface. Then I can remove color, to add transparency, depending on the angle of the blade. I sometimes use straight edges and brushes for details. I finish, using a stainless-steel trowel edge burnishing technique to “close” the surface. “Horn and Tuba” detail Artimusi: Since 2014, you’ve exhibited over twenty-five times, averaging roughly three times a year. That’s pretty ambitious for a working man, husband, father, and at-home grandfather. What drives you to paint these images and connect with galleries? Pawlak: I love women, a precious part of my life. I thought to myself “Why not do a series of studies of women?” That idea moved me to paint the Women Studies series. I later added men to my studies. I like to think of my work as sending up a “kite,” hopefully a message that might touch somebody in some way. “Woman with a Blue Garment” detail Artimusi: While your paintings are more figurative, you identify your work as “abstract-expressionist.” Would you say it is more abstract or expressionist? What percentage of both? Pawlak: I think both qualities are there. I’d say, on average, a 50/50 percentage. Artimusi: You won a few awards and have been published since 2014. Which are you most pleased with and why? Pawlak: In 2021, I won 1st place in the painting category at Cape Cod Museum of Art. Curators say they see a social message in my work with an “honest” appeal. In summer 2021, I had a one-man show at Woodruff’s Art Center on Cape Cod and sold several pieces. That was exciting. “Seeking” detail Artimusi: You showed exhibits through 2020–the Covid year. How did 2021 shape up? Pawlak: 2020 was more productive because I was home more often due to the lockdown. In 2021 I was busy most of the year with architectural trade work. Artimusi: Your commercial work is in Boston-Cambridge area these days. Have you had interest in making gallery contacts there? Pawlak: Actually, in February 2022, I have a one-man show coming up at Honey Jones Gallery in Cambridge, near Harvard Square. “Passing a Smoke” detail Artimusi: Your work has included, some would say, “socially-sensitive” subject matter. Is that a theme you plan to expand, or is it a limited series? Pawlak: Curators have commented along those lines, though I haven’t claimed that I am trying to send a social message in my work. I’m not done yet with my current series. I plan to expand within that theme of People Studies, and continue to develop the frescos applications with figurative content. Artimusi: Thank you for your interview, Richard. Is there anything you’d like to add? Richard Pawlak Pawlak: If I were to be successful, my hope is that the work would speak for itself. My hope is that people see something of value in my work. To see a more complete body of Richard’s work, visit his website at and his current work via Facebook at “Richard Pawlak, Artist.” Best contact medium: Design Studio Launch: Richard Pawlak, Artist Richard Pawlak Richard Pawlak	[]
Crown Crowd Control Luke 3:7 With a message like Luke 3:7 [“kept saying” is a better translation than “said”] it is a wonder of divine design that no hardline disciple of Moses lifted a stone or raised an allegation against John. Noone could touch John until the appointed time. John was, however, not a one-tune singer. He had several targeted themes in his repertoire. 1. The baptism related to sin remission 2. All flesh shall see God’s salvation 3. Descent from Abraham was irrelevant 4. Sharing with the havenots 5. Public officials must be honest 6. Military discipline demands no violence, no false accusations, and contentment with one’s wages Immigrant crowd dilemma Every time, the people of Israel take a stand for decency the State rubs its hands in western dung and plays the whore for applause. Banning people who are different is an Israeli-American pastime. John would definitely recognize them and ask them to be quite since a felled tree without roots will not rise.	[]
Here’s something I’ve always wondered… Vanilla arrived from the New World at the same time chocolate did in 1520. Its arrival coincided for a reason, namely that vanilla was considered an essential element in the liquid chocolate cocktail that Cortez was first served by the Aztecs (along with corn meal and honey). It wasn’t until some 80 years later that anyone thought to use vanilla on its own as a flavoring. That anyone was a fellow by the name of Hugh Morgan, royal pharmacist to Queen Elizabeth the First. He used it to flavor his medical concoctions and started something of a fad in the process. My question is: how did vanilla, an essential component of chocolate both then and now, come to be seen as chocolate’s practical opposite? The white yin to chocolate’s dark yang? It makes no sense, and I’ve never really read anything on the subject. How did vanilla come to be seen by so many (notably kids in ice cream stores) as in fact the near opposite of a flavor? It’s a mystery, at least to me. If anyone has any ideas on that I’d love to hear them. 26 thoughts on “Here’s something I’ve always wondered…” 1. Hey Steve! I see what you’re saying, but vanilla really isn’t white…it’s black. The things it tastes best in (milk, cream and what-have-you) are white. That’s the thing that I can’t get around. They really aren’t opposites in that way, even though it seems that way. Odd, no? – Joe 1. Huh. Fascinating. A similar (at least in my brain) question: Why in the world does everyone know that Humpty Dumpty is an egg when the nursery rhyme never actually says that? I don’t think I thought of vanilla as anything except a lack of chocolate until my parents discovered Breyer’s vanilla bean ice cream when I was in high school. All vanilla-flavoured confections up until that point had been, to me, “plain”, and not flavoured at all. I still prefer a good dark chocolate, but can appreciate vanilla as it’s own flavour now, of course! 1. Hey Jeremy! I’m not exactly following you there. Can you explain a little more? – Joe 1. I think Jeremy is referring to Humpty Dumpty being an egg (as illustrated in Alice Through the Looking Glass) – nothing to do with vanilla 🙂 2. I think you answered your own question in there. But I have another question: WHEN did vanilla start to be known as the opposite of chocolate? I think that will lead to the “why.” Because if the timeline is at all connected to the “creation” of ice cream and adding flavors to it, then the “opposite” stuff may have come about just because of the visuals, as you mentioned, not the flavors. Makes me think of angel and devil’s food cake, although I think that was more deliberate. 1. Interesting stuff, Chana! I’ll see if I can find anything about it. Thanks for the good ideas! – Joe 3. What an interesting thought! All of us “automatically” think of vanilla as the opposite of chocolate. But why? I’ll be lurking this post to hear other’s comment about it. 4. Ask any five-year-old and they will give you the definitive answer. Because! ¯\(°_o)/¯ The Chocolatiers have a very powerful lobby in place on the Hill, whereas vanilla lags behind in every category except tastiness. I’d say it is time for a revamp of the Vanillin’s PR team , before we attempt a coup d’état. 5. Chocolate is an intense flavor which lingers inside of your mouth; vanilla is richly flavored yet light and refreshing. 6. A very blind guess on my part would be that it might have something to do with race and or class separation issues in the old time. Somebody fell in love with the aroma of vanilla but wanted it isolated from the “staining” power of cocoa…I am sure there was a time when a marketing strategy such as this would have been a well functioning one, especially if the cost of one was considerably higher than the other, and since refined chocolate back then was still in the process of invention, with all the steps needed to make it what it is today. I remembered having seen a book ( a contemporary book ) with the title ” I am chocolate, you are vanilla” which talked about racial issues and kids and it popped into my mind, even though my logic is reverse on the timescale here. 7. It is a perplexing question much like everyone I knew growing up considered cats the female of the same species as the dog who was the male…. Maybe it has something to do with a time when there weren’t 31 flavors to be considered and vanilla or chocolate were the 2 options available? I dunno. But it seems like that time has passed and if you asked most kids today (and if they could articulate it) they’d probably come up with the same dualistic view. As Dave so aptly put it: ¯\(°_o)/¯ 1. I love that emoticon. Meant to say that. But very true, chocolate the opposite of vanilla, cats the opposite of dogs, we need Claude Levi-Strauss in here to instruct us on the binary nature of the human mind. Thanks, Rainey! – Joe 8. Hmm. I wonder if it does have something to do with the ice cream and cake described above? I think in many people’s minds you could make a vanilla , and then add chocolate to it to make it chocolate flavored. That would be the case with cake and ice cream, at least to some extent. And the period of time when these things became household knowledge were during the last 100 years, no? One side note -this theory could also apply for many a flavor – vanilla being the base with something added to it to radically change it. Hence, I think, the analogy of vanilla to being simple, uncomplicated, expected, or even boring. Chocolate and vanilla flavors are not opposite, vanilla is simply the absence of chocolate. Leave a Reply to joepastry Cancel reply	[]
Fact-check the "fact-checkers". You have been lied to about vaccines and masks by the media and government. Check out the "100% censored; 0% debunked" movie series: PLANDEMIC . Masks don't work (like flies through a chain-link fence because virus is in nanometer- size) For REAL news, watch FrankSpeech.com, WorldviewWeekend.com, Americasvoice.com, "ThriveTimeShow" on Rumble.com, or One America News. Don't be a Nazi. Follow Jesus. Browse by Topics: Uncategorized	[]
> Swimming Set of the Week - August 27, 2010 \| GoSwim TV Swimming Set of the Week – August 27, 2010 This week’s set is in response to a forum question: What can I do in the pool when I have a sore shoulder? The answer is, you can do a lot, but you have to use your imagination. WARMUP: 700 500 with fins; mix of dolphin, flutter, single-arm free, single-arm back (use only the good shoulder) 200 breast kick in various positions, e.g., under water, arms up, arms down, stomach, back MAIN SET: 2050 5 X 250 Major/Minor on a sendoff that gives 20-25 seconds rest Major = Breaststroke kick on your stomach with thumbs locked Minor = Eggbeater Kick Descend time 1 to 5. Note: In a major/minor set, you swim primarily the "major" item, but there is a certain distance of a "minor" item that moves through the set. For example, in this set the first 250 is 50 eggbeater + 200 breast kick. The second 250 is 50 breast kick + 50 eggbeater + 150 breast kick. The third 250 is 100 breast kick + 50 eggbeater + 100 breast kick. Etc. 100 easy recovery 5 X 125 with fins, Major/Minor on a sendoff that gives approximately 15 seconds rest Major = Head-Up Dolphin Kick Minor = Head-Lead Flutter kick on your back Descend time 1 to 5. 75 recovery 200 IM kick with pull buoy 50 easy breaststroke with a very small pull Total: 3000 yards/meters	[]
Skip to main content Are 360s the new selfies? This is the best spherical camera we’ve used so far 360 cameras are not an easy concept to get your head around. It’s hard to get used to the idea that it doesn’t matter where you point them, and that you can look in any direction you like when you play back video. But we reckon that the Insta360 ONE X could be the breakthrough camera that makes spherical imaging easy enough for anyone to understand – and we like it so much it’s gone straight to the top of our Best 360 cameras buying guide (opens in new tab). Insta360 ONE X The ONE X is a flat camera slim enough to fit in a shirt pocket, but with 5.7k capture, 6-axis stabilisation and a brilliant mobile editing app. It's simpler than point and shoot because you don't actually have to point it... 360 imaging: what you need to know First, these cameras use two ultra-wide lenses that each capture a 180-degree hemispherical view of the world which is then stitched automatically into a 360-degree image. To understand these, forget about the idea of ‘flat’ photos and videos. Instead, imagine an image captured on the inside of a sphere, so that you can pop your head in and look around in any direction. You’ll need special apps or browsers to be able to pan around 360 content, but it’s also possible to turn your spherical images into regular ‘flat’ panoramic photographs or ‘flat’ video. This is the clever bit. You can choose how to frame your photos and your videos before you save and share them. This is where the Insta360 ONE X is so brilliant, because it works with an app on your smartphone which lets you follow individual subjects, set up smooth panning shots automatically and change the angle and direction of view – all without having to move the camera while you’re filming. It also has a pretty remarkable 6-axis gyro and FlowState image stabilisation to keep your viewpoint steady and level, not matter where and how you point the camera (yes, that is weird). There’s even an optional ‘invisible’ extending grip for the Insta360 ONE X that the app can automatically hide when it stitches its images. Insta360 ONE X 360 imaging means never having to wonder if your lens is wide enough. Or whether you're pointing the camera the right way. Insta360 ONE X Unfortunately, unless you run off and hide behind a pillar (we tried that too), you're always going to be in the shot somewhere. So is 360 the future of travel photography? Why not! Why waste time fiddling around with smartphones and selfie sticks when you can just click a button and film or photograph EVERYTHING around you? There are limits, and while the 5.7k resolution of the Insta360 ONE X leads the field for consumer 360 cameras, it doesn’t go far when it’s spread over the inside of a sphere, so your smartphone or camera will probably give you a better-quality ‘flat’ photo or video. But as a whole new way of seeing and capturing the world, 360 cameras like this one have potential we’re only just starting to grasp, even now! Read more: Best 360 cameras (opens in new tab) *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Join now for unlimited access	[]
Where do stories come from? GPS and high-speed computers can’t pinpoint where they originate. Radar, sonar, Ouija board and ultrasound are all useless indicators. Yet stories come from somewhere and those of us who write feel it when a story quickens. Heart trips over itself, breath pauses, and inspiration shatters preconceptions. A story has arrived! Do stories bubble up out of the shared jumble of archetypes from our cave days? Do they come from an external Muse? Do they leak like static from parallel universes? I don’t know. Perhaps where a story comes from matters less than the fact that it comes at all. Under the sheer improbability that any given story exists, the question of First Cause is almost trivial. As a reader, a tale comes to me as an already revealed whole, but that is not the case when I write. I hear of writers who come up with outlines, who know what a story is before the story has been written. That is not how it happens for me. I do not plan the stories I write to be as they are any more than a mother ‘plans’ her children to be as they are. Each story is an act of nature, a noumenal birth. Unlike mothers of flesh and blood, I am less creator than conduit; what is to be written passes through me, but is in some very basic sense not of me. When a story chooses me, it comes from multiple avenues at once. The universe conspires to bring me into contact with the inspirations that will prepare me for the story that is traveling from those unknowable elsewheres. When the right pair of contradictory ideas come together in one lucid moment, I become an open conduit for the expression of the story. At that instant, I can’t see the entire plot arc or even begin to understand how to fit those contradictions together into some cohesive whole. Everything becomes a possible revelation of the story’s truth. Novels, movies, snippets of overheard conversation, dreams, music, even the moon and sun themselves can be oracles. Revelation and prophecy are anything except convenient. There’s an element of the trickster to stories. They like to play but, like any wild animal, stories can be dangerous. It is not an easy path to be a writer. I am not even certain it is a choice, or at least not the writer’s choice. Even now, a story travels. It will come unto us like religion, like grace, like the purest dharma. It chooses us, and we are humbled. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my newsletter! I adore and reply to comments! 5 thoughts on “Where do stories come from? 1. I think you can take the analogy of the conduit one step farther. A conduit was originally designed protect buried cables. As cable technology evolved, the contents of the conduit became more refined. I think that the more you write, the more use your conduit gets, the more refined the technology (stories) in the conduit becomes. For example, conduit used to hold large electrical and communication cables, now a conduit holds fiber optic cables. The technology in the conduit is more refined, and can do more, and can do it in less time, taking up less space. Keep working at your craft and the contents of your condiut will evolve as well! 2. Z, hi – Thanks for stopping by! I hadn’t considered taking the analogy any farther, but I do believe that the more practice I put into writing, the easier it is for me to get to something good. It resonates with my inner horror writer to think of stories buried in darkness. 3. Pingback: Lollypop Tongues « Aniko Carmean 4. Pingback: Provenance « Aniko Carmean 5. Pingback: Where do stories come from? \| Publetariat WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Connecting to %s	[]
Grass-Fed Bovine Spleen • Organ extracts • New Zealand pasture cattle • Compatible with the body • Freeze-dried raw • Rich in heme iron • Contains proteins and peptides • No hormones or pesticides • 180 capsules Out of stock EUR 66.75 • Personal advice & shipping always within 12 hours! Grass-fed Bovine Spleen by Ancestral Supplements For centuries, Native Americans and other traditional peoples have consumed organs from healthy animals to support the functioning and vitality of their own respective organs. Grass-fed bovine spleen from Ancestral Supplements contains unique peptides, including splenopentine and tuftsine, which are found only in spleen tissue. One capsule contains 500 milligrams of grass-fed beef spleen. Consuming healthy bovine organs is in line with the ancient tradition of eating animals head to tail and is part of a healthy nature-based diet. Natural ingredients of Bovine Spleen: • Contains proteins exclusively present in spleen tissue • Contains splenine • Beef spleen contains 5 times more heme iron than beef liver • Unique peptides, including splenopentine and tuftsine • Contains exclusively New Zealand pasture cattle • With splenine and with proteins that occur exclusively in spleen tissue • Contains unique peptides, including splenopentine and tuftsine • Bovine spleen contains 5 times more heme iron than beef liver • Contains no pesticides, hormones or fillers; GMO-free The power of bovine spleen Consuming natural, nutrient-rich animal organs is living in harmony with nature and in accordance with the way our ancestors. Grass-fed Beef Spleen by Ancestral Supplements is a dietary supplement consisting of pure beef spleen. The supplement provides proteins exclusively found in bovine spleens and contains peptides found only in spleen tissue, including tuftsin and splenopentin. In addition, just like bone marrow, beef spleen contains high concentrations of alkylglycerols (AKGs) and the organ contains up to 5 times more heme iron than beef liver: 28 grams (1 ounce) of beef spleen contains 12.5 milligrams of heme iron, while the same amount of beef liver contains only 2.5 milligrams of heme iron. The spleen in the human body is part of the immune system and provides solid defense against bacteria. Heme iron, as found in beef spleen, has a positive effect on the immune system. How do organ supplements work? Organ meats are an important source of specific proteins, micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals and essential fatty acids. When your body takes in these specific proteins, not all of them are broken down into amino acids: the building blocks that your body needs for different types of tissues in your body. A significant percentage of these proteins from organs and glands reach the bloodstream intact. The nutrients from animal organs not only support general health. Specific nutritional components in the organ meat also fit exactly with the cells in the same organ in our body that is susceptible to it, like puzzle pieces in a puzzle. It appears that organ meat nutrients are recognized by the body as organ-specific nutrients and that they are transported through the body to the corresponding organ in our body. Eating head to tail Animal organs have been eaten in all traditional civilizations, from Native Americans to ancient Chinese, for millennia. In fact, traditional peoples had the knowledge that eating healthy animal organs has a nurturing effect on the same organs in the human body. Today, we have largely forgotten the head-to-tail principle of eating, and some even shy away from consuming animal organs. Fortunately, there has recently been a revival of this ancestral way of life and of evolutionary diets: organ therapy is back. After all, it is part of an ethical, sustainable and healthy lifestyle to use animals in their entirety for consumption. Organ meats contain high concentrations of nutrients, including vitamins A, B12, D, E, K and folate, and are an excellent source of iron and protein. In addition, organs also contain nutrients that our corresponding human organs have a need for. Organ meat is therefore the ideal food for all who want to live healthily, sustainably and with due respect for animals and the environment. According to the principles of Weston Price Organ meat of the highest quality Ancestral Supplements’ carefully formulated products are made from grass-fed New Zealand cattle and sheep. We work with great attention to the welfare of people, animals and environment alike and the quality of life of all animals is constantly monitored. The ingredients are freeze-dried in raw state to preserve as many vitamins, minerals and cofactors as possible. This way the quality of the meat can be guaranteed. With Ancestral Supplements’ products, consuming animal organs and taking advantage of the health benefits they offer become accessible to everyone! About Ancestral Supplements Ancestral Supplements is a young and dynamic company operating out of Texas. The company offers a wide range of organ supplements, such as beef liver capsules, beef brain supplements and a mix of assorted bovine organs. Ancestral Supplements' mission is to "bring back what the modern world has deleted into our lives," or in their own words, "Putting back in, what the modern world has left out." Ancestral Supplements' philosophy is rooted in the lifestyle of our ancestors: the company aims to redeploy ancient (dietary) customs in our modern world. Eating animal organs – indeed, eating animals from head to tail – is an important pillar. The core idea is that eating healthy animal organs has unique benefits for our body, particularly for the corresponding organs in the human body. More Information Product Name Grass-Fed Bovine Spleen Ancestral Supplements 180 capsules User Instructions Ingredients per Serving Amount per capsule % DV Freeze-Dried New Zealand Grassfed Spleen (Bovine) 500 mg % Recommended Daily Allowance not established. EU Norm *RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance Other Ingredients Bovine gelatin (capsule). Write Your Own Review You're reviewing:Grass-Fed Bovine Spleen Your Rating	[]
Byzantine political theory Les Renaissances du XIe siècle: L’évolution de l’imagerie de la théorie politique byzantine The 11th Century’s Renaissances (Transformations in the system of images of the Byzantine political theory) • Summary/Abstract The paper traces the allegories and symbols of state and government the Byzantine writers came to use in the 11th century. These images revive, on the one hand, some ideas from the Antiquity (such as the Aristotle’s organismic symbolic, or the comparison of the government with a competition); on the other hand, they persistently stick to the Biblical imagery (the representation of the people as a herd or the state as a garden); and there are also some completely new rhetorical figures (the king represented as an oikonomos and the state as oikos - a house) which were to be used for long centuries to come, and some of them topical even today. A careful analysis of the relationship between these three levels attests to: 1) parallel revival and giving new meaning to the antic, biblical and patristic rhetoric; 2) conceiving the power through the double prism of a markedly practical approach to the figure of the ruler and a mystical interpretation of power itself; 3) variability and, at times, paradoxical employment and combination of the images of the state and government; 4) increasingly explicit denouncement of sticking to a strictly structured vision of a society in which each person and social layer (at macro-level – each people or state) would occupy a well defined position. Whereas in the West, the same period will have as its climax the crystallization of the well-known horror vacui (its social equivalent being the concept of the three orders), in Byzantium it will see a sua specie amor vacui based on a biased preservation and emphasizing on the ontological difference between rhetoric and pragmatic, ideal (image) and reality, theory and practice. Subscribe to Byzantine political theory	[]
Why is honey clumpy? Last Update: May 30, 2022 Asked by: Clarissa Crist II Score: 4.2/5 (29 votes) Honey is chemically a mix of sugar and water, explains Sheela Prakash for The Kitchn, so when honey crystallizes, that means the sugar is separating from the water. The crystallization of honey happens naturally over time, and that separation between sugar and water is what creates those chunky bits. Is honey safe to eat after it crystallizes? How do you fix clumped honey? First The Fix, Just Add Some Heat! 1. Place jar in a pot of warm water, set heat to medium-low and stir until crystals dissolve. ... 2. Quick Fix: You could also heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir well, allow to cool for 20 seconds then heat again for 30 seconds (if there are still granules needing to be dissolved). Is Lumpy honey bad? Your honey is not bad; it's just changing. It's crystallized honey, and it's totally natural. ... Those little lumps or white flecks you see are a sign that your honey is as close to natural as possible! Does heating honey make it toxic? Honey, when mixed with hot water, can become toxic How to De-Crystallize Honey 41 related questions found Is there fake honey? Yes there are differences between natural (raw) and fake honey. Natural honey is not dissolved in water but fake honey is easily dissolved in water. Raw honey contain pollen after processing(High heat). Fake honey contain sugar such as fructose. How do you get honey back to liquid? Thankfully, honey can be returned to its liquid state with little effort. Heat some water in a pot, and put your honey container in the pot of hot water until the honey turns liquid. This gentle transfer of heat to the honey helps bring it back to liquid form without overheating the honey. Does honey ever expire? While honey is certainly a super-food, it isn't supernatural–if you leave it out, unsealed in a humid environment, it will spoil. As Harris explains, ” As long as the lid stays on it and no water is added to it, honey will not go bad. Does microwaving honey ruin it? Just as importantly, the microwaves generated by the oven do as much damage to honey as when it's subjected to high heat. Microwaves cause the water inside the honey to boil, drastically changing the taste and texture of the honey just like the heat from boiling water would. How do I get my crystalized honey back to normal? Finding a warmer spot to store your honey will slow crystallization. It's fairly simple to turn your honey back into a smooth liquid again by heating it. The best way to do this is by to put your honey in a bowl of warm water and slowly letting it warm up. How long does honey last in a jar? If stored properly, it can essentially stay good for decades, sometimes even longer. Primarily made up of sugars, it's known as one of the most natural stable foods out there. According to the National Honey Board, most honey products have an expiration date or “best by” date of around two years. Does honey make you fat? Does putting honey in hot tea destroy benefits? Pasteurized Honey. Raw honey is not subjected to any sort of heat processing, though it is sometimes strained for a more pleasing presentation. ... Adding pasteurized honey to tea or coffee will have no effect on its nutrients, because they are already destroyed. Does honey lose its health benefits when heated? Honey should not be heated rapidly, over direct heat. ... Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating up to 37°C (98.6 F) causes loss of nearly 200 components, part of which are antibacterial. Heating up to 40°C (104 F) destroys invertase, an important enzyme. Can you put a jar of honey in the microwave? Don't microwave raw honey to decrystallize it. Microwave ovens cook food unevenly (that is why you have to turn your microwave dinner halfway through the cycle). You can't control the temperature at all and are likely to scorch or boil at least some of your raw honey in a microwave. Don't boil raw honey. What is the oldest honey ever found? Ceramic jars containing the world's oldest honey (as far as archaeologists have found) — about 5,500 years old — were discovered in the tomb of a noblewoman in Georgia, not far from Tbilisi. They say honey never expires, but this honey is really old. What are the chances of getting botulism from honey? Can honey go bad in the hive? Long answer: Honey will go bad if handled poorly by the beekeeper or by the consumer. The bees turn flower nectar into honey inside of the hive, removing moisture in the nectar by flapping their wings. ... Because nearly all bacteria are unable to grow and multiply in it, your jar of delicious honey will never spoil. How do you keep honey from getting thick? The way you store your honey, the temperature, humidity, and even the kind of container used will often make honey crystallize. It's difficult, actually, to avoid honey crystallization, but start by storing it in a cool temperature. For long term storage, use air tight, moisture-resistant containers. Can you use honey that has hardened? Crystallized honey is still honey! It's perfectly safe to eat and doesn't mean that your honey has gone bad. ... It means that your honey is natural and oh so good. You can take advantage of the hard, crystallized honey and love its complex texture. How do you rejuvenate honey? How can you tell fake honey? What is the real taste of honey? Real honey is beautifully sweet, often combining flavours from various flowers and herbs. Fake honey tastes sweet, but lacks the rich, natural sweetness of real honey, although there is often a mild, honey-like taste (but don't let that trick you!). What is the most expensive honey in the world? Guinness World Records announced that Centauri Honey is the world's most expensive honey. A Turkish company bagged the record for the world's most expensive honey with a cave-harvested variety. What does honey and warm water do? Helps lose weight	[]
Recent Question/Assignment Case Study - Ethics You are required to complete a research-based case study assignment that is worth 15% of your overall grade in ACCG100. This will encourage you to explore ethical issues in business, using materials outside the unit texts. Research internet, newspapers, and business magazines for a corporate case that has attracted media attention due to ethical issues. Write an ESSAY to address the following points using the case you chose. 1. Provide an overview of the companys background, i.e. its business operations, etc. 2. What ethical issue has arisen? Clearly explain the ethical dilemma faced by the involved parties. 3. Clearly identify and evaluate the stakeholders that were impacted by the ethical issue. 4. Was the decision made by the involved parties ethical? How would the business be positively/negatively impacted by the decision? Explain your answer. 5. Detail your original view on business ethics. How has your view changed after attending lectures and completing this case study assignment? Explain the differences and/or similarities to your original view. The ethical issues under consideration do not necessarily have to be accounting related. You can choose either an Australian or international corporate case, but the case must be reported by the media after the year 2010. Other requirements Length: 1,000 words excluding references. Structure: use essay structure (i.e. introduction + main body + conclusion + reference list). Formatting: standard 12 point font, 1.5 line spacing, and side margins 2.5 wide. Referencing: all sources (i.e. the work and ideas of others) cited and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. You need to provide both in-text references and the reference list. Criteria and standards The estimated workloac^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^^^^^* Editable Microsoft Word Document Word Count: 1404 words including References Buy Now at $19.99 USD Looking for answers ?	[]
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 seven questions Just woke up from my afternoon nap. It looks like Tarte- lights, camera, lashes! is a keeper. 1. Bold or Understated? I am pretty understated. I used to be bold when I was younger. Crazy hair and makeup and outfits. The more out there the better. Now I am a blonde hi-lites, jeans and tshirt kind of gal. My personality is understated also, I am shy and tend not to be bold. If the Hunger Games taught me anything, it was the need for a knife in the wild. It also taught me how to find water...sort of. Look for the wet land and water can't be far. And really what good is ONE book. It will last you a day, two tops. I am not much of a farm girl. Small acts of kindness go a lot further than one legendary act. 6. Can you laugh with out smiling? I have never tried. 7. Do you pop your knuckles? 1. I love, love your answer to #2! Stopping by from the link up! = ) 2. haha! Love your short answers. :) And the answer to #3 is 25 3. Anyone who picks a book is absolutely nuts! :) hahah totally pick the knife as well! Blog Archive	[]
No, Ayn Rand wasn’t a hypocrite for taking Social Security Ayn Rand was right and principled to take her money back from the government. Increasingly, the average American is incapable of debating their position politically. Due to this, we often see people resort to strawman arguments, personal attacks, or attempts to find some way to write off the person delivering the message. Nowhere is this more visible than in the comment sections of online posts. Recently, I watched such an exchange go down on a viral post I shared that contained an excerpt from Ayn Rand. The predictable comments followed swiftly: “Ayn Rand took Social Security!” As if this somehow proves that Rand was dependent on the government, a hypocrite, and needed public assistance. There are multiple problems with this reaction. One, it shows the commenter is actually unable to grapple with the merits of the material being presented to them. That’s a sad state for society. We need people who are capable of logic, debate, and rigorous thought. As Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” We instead have minds who melt down at the sight of any idea that challenges their preconceived notions. This pseudointellectual argument is also flatly wrong on its face and indicates the person making it has no understanding of how our government works. Social Security is not supposed to be a “welfare” program. Rather, it is a Ponzi scheme we’re all forced to pay into by the government. Every time I work a job I am made to pay a percentage of what I earn into Social Security. Allegedly, that money will then be invested by the government and paid back to me when I retire. Currently, Americans can expect to make far less on Social Security’s return than we could expect were we allowed to keep our money and invest it privately. No sane person would opt into Social Security if given the choice, especially considering the fact that the system is going broke. The likelihood my generation will receive even a lower rate of return, or potentially no money at all from this system, is high, despite decades of being robbed by the government and forced to pay into it. It’s a disgustingly immoral system and it’s also very badly designed. Both Ayn Rand and I believed that to be true and advocated/advocate against it. But does that mean I shouldn’t try to take back every single cent from it I can in the future?? LOL… of course not. That would be the epitome of stupidity—to allow myself to be robbed, protest the theft, and then refuse to take back any part of my possessions I can get? Get out of here. It is simply false to, in any way, insinuate that taking Social Security makes one dependent on the government. Hardly. We are simply taking our money back while also working to stop the theft being perpetrated on the American people at the same time. This is a purely principled position. And this position does not just apply to the Social Security attacks against Ayn Rand. The reality is the government steals, at minimum, thousands of dollars from all of us each year. Through income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, business licenses, fees, and fines, we are flat-out mugged by these people day in and day out. In return, the vast majority of us get jack squat for this money. We can and should put an end to this thuggery, and at the same time, we should work to bleed the government dry of every cent we can get back from them. Yes, many Americans accepted stimulus checks or Paycheck Protection Plan loans during the COVID lockdowns. Many citizens will now have $10,000 in student debt paid off. But we can oppose these economically illiterate policies while still taking our money and running for the hills. Taking one’s property back is not an endorsement of the initial theft. Warning about the economically detrimental effects of bad public policies doesn’t mean we should force ourselves to suffer them more. As an example, student loan cancellation is a terrible idea that will surely increase inflation, allow schools to become more expensive, and further devalue college degrees. I and those around me will suffer those economic consequences, even though I’ve worked hard to prevent this policy from going through. Why should I also turn down the $10,000 I’ve more than paid to the government and that will at least minorly offset the poor decisions of politicians? Ayn Rand was right and principled to take her money back from the government. We should all carry on that legacy. Like this article? Check out the latest BASEDPolitics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or below: YouTube player Sign up for Our Email List * indicates required By signing up for our email you consent to getting our emails directly in your inbox. These including our newsletter or other informational emails Our Latest Podcast Related articles Federal ‘anti-terrorism’ funds flowed to zoos, museums: watchdog report The Department of Homeland Security spent $520 million over... Kanye West and Candace Owens boast ‘White Lives Matter’ sweatshirts Another day, another stupid controversy blowing up the internet.... Outrage mounts after more taxpayer dollars go to COVID scientist You’re probably unfamiliar with the name Peter Daszak, but... Oops: Biden’s student loan bailout still mostly helps high-earners, nonpartisan analysis confirms Progressive proposals for total student debt “cancelation” (aka transfer... ‘Black’ activist Shaun King gets exposed as the grifter he always was Within the black community, opinions on so-called "civil rights”... Hannah Cox Hannah Cox Hannah Cox is a libertarian-conservative writer and co-founder of BASEDPolitics. She's also the host of the BASEDPolitics podcast and an experienced political activist. Please enter your comment! Please enter your name here	[]
Skip Navigation Links World of San'Dora GlossographyExpand Glossography HistoryExpand History CosmologyExpand Cosmology OrganizationsExpand Organizations HaelfinanExpand Haelfinan VarExpand Var CympyionExpand Cympyion MankindExpand Mankind Clutching Nine ArrowsExpand Clutching Nine Arrows High Fantasy HERO Contact Webmaster Skip Navigation LinksWorld of San'Dora>Inhabitants>Mankind>Aranashi>Undari History Nations Characters Groups of Note Culture Undari Undari History Once a great Empire stretched over two million square miles, founded by a worker of dark magic that created a death cult. The grim cult of Undu reigned for millennia, opressing the populace and ruling by fear and ritual sacrifice until finally their capital was first weakened by the Cataclysm and then razed to the ground by a surprise assault made by the ragtag remnants of a people from another continent, the Machtig-Baelvolkerung. Word of the defeat of the previously unassailable Undu spread and like a flashfire angry Undari peasants across the vast Empire rose up in waves and overwhelmed the Undu and their guards with sheer press of numbers, tearing down their bloody ziggurats and ending their red-handed rule forever. But left without leadership and with no rival power group available to fill the void, the Undari collapsed into squabbling splinter states of no real organization or power. The first few decades after the fall of the Undu this didn't matter and the generation of those that rebeled had a time of relative peace, but soon neighboring peoples began to take advantage of the destabilized state of the once powerful Empire. The Undari splinter states have spent the last two millennia being raided, taken advantage of, and otherwise living as victims of more powerful neighbors, and depredations from within as well. However the last century has seen a rise in nationalism in some Undari states and attempts to break out of the cycle of victimization, and also annexations by the Zadeshi, a cousin race, have seen the eastern Undari come under strong rule once again. The next few decades will be a pivotal point for the Undari as a people. They may rise up to claim a better existence for themselves, or they may be absorbed by the Zadeshi, or they may incite their stronger neighbors to finally stamp them out entirely. Only time will tell. Towards the end of the Age of Rebirth, that long ago time when the survivors of the wars of the previous Age of Opposition struggled among ruined and wrecked nations and landscape to regain some measure of civilization, a young survivor of the northern Aranashi named Undah (OON-DA) discovered he had an innate power to absorb essense directly from the deaths of living creatures and use that energy to will magical effects into being. All Aranashi had the capacity for Volomancy, though it was a rare attribute, but this was a slightly different aspect of that strange form of magic available only to the Adepts of the Aranashi. In more stable time periods in a land with strong law such a monstrocity as Undah would likely have been identified and killed, or at least checked. But in those unsettled and anarchic times the twisted and embittered young man rose to power virtually unopposed. Able to bend reality to his will and to suck the very life from an opponent to fuel his magic with, Undah was a fearsome and awe inspiring figure and he soon found willing followers to do his bidding to earn his favor. Rumors began to spread that he was the son of the death god Morgar and was thus semi-devine with power over life and death. Soon a cult of superstitious worshippers venerating him as a living godling formed. Called the Urgaza Undu (ER-GAH-ZAH OON-DEW; the Chosen of Undu), they proved to be willing thralls to obligingly capture hapless victims to be sacrificied to feed the death magic of their master, and some were so fanatical as to offer themselves for sacrifice. Others with martial skills became the guardians and enforcers of the cult. Undah lived a long time, supplementing his lifespan with his dark magics, and sired many children on many women. Some of these children had the same Gift as their sire, and some of the children's children did as well even if their parent had not, and so on. In this fashion Undah was joined by young apprentices that allowed the spread of the cult to control more lands. The cult started by Undah spread over three hundred years like a wildfire, and soon controled the central basin of the Danoshorvas continent, most of the previous northern expanses of the once great Aranashi Empire. Any non-Aranashi communities encountered were either displaced or fed to the altars, while Aranashi were subjugated to the grim and merciless rule of the Undu. This new nation was declaimed the Undari Empire by its bloody-handed ruler and marked a dark time within a dark Age. Undah finally died after over three centuries of deathmongering, but the order of "priests" he had formed from his descendants that had the Gift ruled on after his death in his name. They claimed he had ascended to take his place by Morgar's side and had charged them to carry on in his name as his chosen priests and disciples. The Undari Empire was a pyramidal society in both the conceptual and literal sense of the word. The symbol of their power was the step-sided ziggurat which is a sort of pyramid, and similarly their culture was a hierarchical pyramidal caste system. Over ninety percent of the population were essentially agrarian serfs living across the vast countryside of the huge Empire, all laboring for subsistence with the prospect of becoming a sacrifice to fuel the magic of the Undu should they not perform adequately, commit a crime, fall behind on their taxes, or just get chosen for sacrifice by sheer bad luck. Here and there throughout the Empire where geography and convenience coincided were small cities with walls raised with the aid of Undu magic that included squat, ugly, step sided ziggurats that served as temples, residences, and sacrificial altars for the local Undu. Residing in the outskirts of the cities were the high-skill servants of the cult, called Urakaga (ER-RAH-KAH-GAH), which was basically a hereditary caste as a family passed down trade skills to their progeny thus keeping their line useful to the Undu. Largely exempt from sacrifice unless they earned ire in some way these were the priveleged few of the Undari, but they lived uncertain lives of only modest reward all the same. Also residing in the cities were the favored and dedicated Urgaza cultists which served the will of the Undu and were their primary agents of governing and administration. The most dedicated and loyal servants of all, the Empire would never have been able to function without them. Preeminent among the Urgaza were the soldiers of the Undu personal guard, the Orshitoth (OR-SHUH-TOTH). Chosen from among the descendents of the Undu that lacked the full Gift for their dark magic yet still had the potential for it in their blood line, each Orshitoth was trained from early childhood in the art of the three-bladed orgab (OR-GOB) and the wavy-bladed bronze glaive named the turogab (TER-OH-GOB). Upon reaching manhood a would be Orshitoth had to survive a rite of passage. If they did then an aged Orshitoth that was deemed to be no longer useful was sacrificed and their soul was invested into the new Orshitoth by an Undu. This granted numerous abilities upon the warrior so invested, giving them some supernatural powers and greater insight into the fighting arts gleaned from the experience of the veteran the soul had once belonged to and any souls that had been invested into that warrior as well. Each time this was done the souls of all the predecessors in the chain of succession from one Orshitoth to the next accumulated and so to did the power of the resulting new Orshitoth. In the beginning the advantages gained in this fashion were relatively minor, but by the end of the Undari rule there were some unbroken chains of Orshitoth investiture that were extremely potent. Unfortunately for the Undari some chains were lost in battles, to accidents, and occassionally the magic just failed when a new host rejected the investiture; such hosts were sacrificed as punishment of course. Finally there were the Undu themselves who even at their peak were never more numerous than one for every million Undari yet held absolute authority, with total domination of all aspects of existance within their nation, monopolization of almost all wealth, unquestioned religious authority, and unchallenged political control. They lived lives of the most terrible excess and cruelty, feeding on the life forces of others with impunity and weilding their magic as a goad and a means of oppression. Though there were occassional uprisings they were always small scale, unorganized, local affairs that were easily squelched by the Undu and their Orshitoth enforcers, and all such uprisings were mercilously and indiscriminantly punished. In general most Undu didn't even question the rule of the Undu; they were born and grew to adulthood while being indoctrinated by the very society they lived in that resistance was futile. Sheltered between a nartural fortress of stone formed by the mountain ranges that bolstered their lands on all sides the Undari seemed unassailable and indestructable and no other nation ever made a serious attempt to displace them. However the Undari did project force into neighboring nations on all sides of their borders and were bitterly resisted and eventually forced back to their own borders. Interestingly enough, the greatest wars fought by the Undari were against another Aranashi successor state, the Zha'iirian Union to the south. The Zha'iirians hated and feared the Undu more than the other great powers of the day because they were in fact originally one people. The Undu proved in the their expansion that they would chase off or kill non Aranashi but would subjugate Aranashi and force them into servitude. The enlightened Zha'iirians considered existance as a serf toiling endlessly with the fear of being fed to an altar constantly looming to be a fate worse than death. Their fears were well founded for the Undari made numerous attempts to encroach southwards, and it was only highly disciplined and strong magical resistance on the part of the Zha'iirians that rebuffed them. It was the constant struggle with Zha'iir that prevented the Undu from expanding over the Dursha Mountains and conquering the scattered groups of Aranashi that would eventually become Zadesh in fact. Finally, thousands of years of rule later, a great flood rocked the world. The Gersage land bridge was flooded, creating the Gulf of Tears and the Straits of Upinthia, expanding the Sea of Osloanda by half again it's size and drowning the northeastern stretch of Zha'irian cities in the process. In the wake of this, Danoshorvas and Ullushorvas became seperate continents but the Undari had more immediate concerns as their capital of Borshioc, located on the delta where the Unter-Calish River gives way to the Sea of Osloanda, suffered extreme flooding and a loss of some portions of the lower city. It was only the magic of the Undu living in the High Temple that saved the city from being completely destroyed. In the aftermath the Undu began rebuilding the city but needed someone to do the heavy lifting, so they began the usual practice of sending slaving parties into the primeval and dangerous subcontinent south of Undari lands to capture the physically powerful Kor and Hurgur. After many months of this one such slaving party encountered a small group of huge paleskinned men that looked like the men from the north of the Undari lands. The Undari took these menfolk as slaves too, which would prove to be the greatest mistake ever made in the long history of their Empire. What the Undari slavers did not realize was that the big humans were from a group of survivors from a far away land that had come to these shores after destroying their own continent to end the threat of the Morgathi Imperium's Horde of Undying. Though beleaguered and much reduced in number they were still a powerful race of warriors and mighty magic users known as Druids and Obermancers. When knowledge of the lost patrol came to the leadership of these people scouts were sent to discover more about this new enemy. The scouts tracked the slavers back to Borshioc and returned with horrid tales of the Undari death cult and their systematic human sacrifices, but didn't realize that Borshioc was actually the capital of a vast Empire, or that if given time the Undari could marshal forces from far and wide to wipe out the remnants of the Machtig. In typical fashion the brave and bold warrior people rushed to meet their salvation or destruction head-on and soon thereafter a force of around eight thousand Machtig warriors, a few hundred Druids, and a handful of Obermancers assaulted Borshioc. Easily entering the partially destroyed city where its defensive works had been claimed by the Cataclysm, the Machtig poured in to the suprised metropolis. The Druids outnumbered the Undu in the temple three to one and were able to prevent them from working most of their death-feuled magics outright, while the Obermancers rained fire, lightning, gale force winds, surging waters, and shook the very earth itself and the mighty-thewed barbarians ravaged the populace with their iron blades. Even the mighty Orshitoth were unable to repel these fierce invaders that appeared seemingly out of no where. Deprived of their weapon of terror, the Undu were helpless before their invaders and the Macthtig overwhelmed the High Temple of Undah. They put every single occupant of the city to the sword save some few that escaped to the north before they had total control of the city. Though they took some losses, the Machtig were easily victorious, and after the battle was over the Obermancers razed the city leaving barely two stones piled upon another. As news of the High Temple's fall spread it touched off a massive uprising by the oppressed peasant caste of the Undari, who had been kept under heel and used as sacrifices for almost four millenia. Across the breadth of the Empire mobs of hundreds of thousands rushed the cities of the Undu, slaying the higher caste Undari that weren't wise enough to flee or integrate themselves in the masses and pass as lower caste, charging the Temples to pull down the Undu. Many died but sheer press of numbers carried the peasants to victory. Within three months of the fall of the Hight Temple at Borshioc the Empire was shattered and descending into anarchy, and within two years the Undu were no more. A few of the dark false priests were said to escape and survive, but they never became a power again. In the modern day only Vei-Da remains as a successor to the Undu cult.	[]
An escort gives companionship and time to the client. There may or may not be any sex involved. The escort will accompany the client to different places. She will talk to the client, have dinner with him at expensive restaurants, stay at or even fly abroad for holiday. They are professionals, though some escorts have their personal websites now to eliminate the need for agencies. You need to book them in advance and pay whatever they demand. Some escort girls act like a girlfriend and provide the intimacy and needs that a man wants as a lover. In contrast, a sex worker normally doesn’t go through any kind of training. They just use their own ability to take care of the clients. Escort girls are often considered part of the entertainment industry. They provide legal services Escort service is legal as people are not getting paid for money but for companion. The call girls are educated and well-trained. They know the high-class etiquettes and so they can easily adjust to the luxurious lifestyle they are well groomed to accompany high profile clients. They also mix well in social gatherings. Escort girls are well groomed and they are made to look like well-bred women to be part of the high society. Chennai escort It is hard to tell whether the escort is a girlfriend, a wife or an escort. They wear sophisticated and stylish clothes that match with the high-class society. If you’re looking to get away from your life, perhaps what you need is to be spoiled by an attractive lady. You can book escorts for a week to be your assistant or partner, and she will show you and treat you to things that other people don’t normally get to do. When the weekends, she will return home and leave you with wonderful memories of her company and time spent together. Escorts earn huge amount of money and get the opportunity to enjoy a luxury lifestyle. They provide legal services and they are always trained and groomed to meet the demand of the high society clients. So, escort services are actually quite different from other sex workers. They stay in luxury hotels and drive in luxury automobiles. They are also given the best possible working environment.	[]
Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Causes Distress Among Citizens Abbie Lindblade President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and senior military leaders, signs H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Dec. 12, 2017. White House photo by Stephanie Chasez President Trump signed the new divisive Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on December 22nd, 2017. This bill is causing concern to many who are outside of the Republican Party’s conservative viewpoint, specifically, those that are categorized as ‘middle and lower class’ citizens, households that earn below $75,000 a year. By most Republican and conservative Americans, the bill is viewed as a much needed overhaul while Democrats and liberal citizens see the bill as an oppressive piece of fiscal policy (government policy that regulates currency, taxes, and trade) that could further contribute to the nation’s rising debt. Through this bill, several changes to healthcare and environmental policy, as well as tax benefits through individual and corporate taxation will influence our country’s economy and create massive income tax benefits for the upper class citizens. Many of the arrangements being made are set to expire after seven years.This means the individual provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will revert back to the current tax law in 2025. However, there are still pieces of this bill that are meant to go on indefinitely, such as the corporate tax changes. This means that the new tax laws on corporations will continue on, in an effort to grow and bring businesses back to the United States. It’s important to know how this bill will affect your community. Many Loy Norrix students and their parents are taxpayers, business owners, and working class citizens. Loy Norrix Economics teacher Ryan Allen has his own thoughts on how this new policy will affect the economic state of the country and the growth of new business. “Having seen taxes for a lot of my life, I think it’s maybe a good thing that we cut tax on business, I think an issue economically for us is that we’ve had a lot of companies leave, and they have left because there are other countries out there that have a lesser tax rate for them,” Allen said about potential benefits that could be brought about by this bill. The United States has some of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, businesses have to pay a lot more money in taxes here than they do in other countries. Also, other countries have fewer regulatory rules concerning labor laws on minimum wage, child labor, safety laws and manufacturing. According to CNN Money, companies will no longer have to pay federal taxes on income made offshore, meaning businesses based in the U.S won’t be taxed on money they make from locations in other countries, and the corporate tax rate has been cut from 35 percent to 21 percent. This means the territorial system of taxation has been abolished, and the corporate tax rate is a lot lower than it was in the past, so businesses don’t have to pay as high of taxes as they did in the Obama-era. This will hopefully decrease unemployment in the U.S. and locally lower Kalamazoo’s 5.8 percent unemployment rate by leading businesses to manufacture in the United States and hire workers who live here. Loy Norrix senior, Naomi Verne, believes these corporate tax cuts won’t be as helpful as Republicans believe. “I think it [the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] will hurt the economy in the long run. Slashing the corporate taxes from 35 percent to 20 percent will most likely bring some businesses back, but not at a fast pace. Businesses need skilled workers, which the U.S does not have a lot of. The demand for labor that fast would create inflation with the federal reserve, cause high interest rates and offset any benefit the bill offers,” said Verne Verne believes this bill will only benefit the upper class and corporations, fearing that these tax cuts will harm the middle class. The majority of Loy Norrix’s student population is middle and lower class, meaning they make below $75,000 a year. These types of households will likely experience a tax hike, according to Forbes magazine. When asked about how this bill will affect working class families like the ones that Loy Norrix students come from, Allen said, “Hopefully it gives them more money. I don’t think this bill is really meant to alleviate the middle class tax. I feel like this bill is supposed to stimulate economic growth, but from a capital goods point of view… factories, new assembly lines, new businesses opening up, that’s what I think it’s meant for.” It’s obvious the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is meant to cater to businesses, but many working class citizens fear these corporate tax breaks will hurt their families. Since the money to run the government has to come from somewhere, it’s believed it will now have to come from higher taxes on the poor and middle classes and the dissolving of welfare programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and Meals on Wheels. Fifty-eight percent of Norrix’s student population is economically disadvantaged, households with income below $25,000 a year, and many of our families benefit from government assistance such as the federal free lunch program which may end up losing funding due to the changes being made with this bill. Loy Norrix senior Alli Mitchell feels differently from the conservative point of view, she believes the bill will affect the lower and middle classes negatively and sees no real benefits. “I think the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will hurt the middle and lower classes since the tax cuts are not directed towards these classes. Instead, they will benefit the top percent who should not receive tax cuts since they make the most money. It will only benefit the wealthiest Americans instead of helping the lower classes,” said Mitchell. This bill is a part of many divisive pieces of policy that President Trump has either passed into law or promised to pass. Hopefully, the benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act outweighs any negative consequences and creates growth for the American economy without hurting middle class families like those at Loy Norrix, but only time will tell.	[]
Education 4+1 Program Application You will need to work with the Education Administrative Coordinator to complete or retrieve the Assessment of Dispositional Qualities. You will need three letters of recommendation - two from GV faculty and one from somebody of your choosing. Provide the following link to those who wish to recommend you:	[]
Answer the following questions about your symptoms. Put a check next to all that apply to you. If you check more than one question in a block, check the list below. EMDR therapy may help you. Do you experience sudden episodes of intense and overwhelming fear that seem to come on for no apparent reason? During these episodes, do you experience symptoms similar to the following? racing heart, chest pain, difficulty breathing, choking sensation, lightheadedness, tingling or numbness? During the episodes do you worry about something terrible happening to you, such as embarrassing yourself, having a heart attack or dying? Do you worry about having additional episodes? Do you worry about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance)? Is it difficult to control the worry? Do you also have two or more of these symptoms? * feeling restless or on edge * being easily fatigued * having difficulty concentrating * feeling irritable * muscle tension * having difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep Have you experienced or witnessed a frightening, traumatic event, either recently or in the past? Do you continue to have distressing recollections or dreams of the event? Do you become anxious when you face anything that reminds you of that traumatic event? Do you try to avoid those reminders? Do you have any of the following symptoms: difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, feeling "on guard", easily startled? Do you have recurring thoughts or images (other than the worries of everyday life) that feel intrusive and make you anxious? On occasion, do you know that these thoughts or images are unreasonable or excessive? Do you want these thoughts or images to stop, but can't seem to control them? Do you engage in any repetitive behaviors (like hand washing, ordering, or checking) or mental acts (like praying, counting, or repeating words silently) in order to end these intrusive thoughts or images. Are you afraid of one or more social or performance situations? -speaking up -taking a test -eating, writing or working in public -being the center of attention -asking someone for a date Do you get anxious and worried if you try to participate in those situations? Do you avoid these situations when possible? Are you afraid on one specific object or situation, such as heights, storms, water, animals, elevators, closed-in spaces, receiving an injection, or seeing blood (excluding social situations)? Do you avoid these situations when possible? Are you afraid of flying or a commercial airliner? Do you get anxious and worried if you fly? Do you avoid flying when possible? BLOCK 1: Panic Attacks BLOCK 2: Generalized Anxiety BLOCK 3: Post traumatic Stress Disorder BLOCK 4: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder BLOCK 5: Social Phobia BLOCK 6: Specific Phobia BLOCK 7: Fear of Flying	[]
Whitepaper: 01.15.2015 COGEN Gains Popularity Currently, Texas is the American leader for energy production and consumption as recorded by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the state is also the leading importer and refiner of oil and gas products. With more than 102,000 Texans employed in the renewable energy sector and thousands more working in related fields, the state ranks second nationally for employment in an industry that continues to grow. Additionally, the Texas government has contributed millions of dollars to several state-mandated projects to continue energy research and growth, ensuring Texas remains a leader in energy production and innovation. Starting as recently as 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began an initiative to encourage companies to become more energy efficient and protect the environment from harmful energy-generation practices. The EPA initially created a partnership between the government and 17 corporations to employ the use of combined heat and power (CHP) to produce necessary energy on commercial campuses. Over time, more corporations, hospitals and institutions have implemented this method of generating electricity to become more environmentally friendly as well as cost efficient. This CHP method, also known as cogeneration (COGEN), has the capability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly, with annual energy savings equating to 19 million barrels of oil. Studies have found that by increasing COGEN’s total U.S. electricity generation capacity to 20 percent by the year 2030, the method has the ability to lower U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of removing 109 million cars from our roads. With electricity production methods other than COGEN, a certain amount of energy is discarded as wasted heat. For example, thermal power plants produce heat during electricity generation, which is then released back into the environment. In contrast, COGEN takes some or all of this leftover heat, either keeping it close to the plant or using it as hot water, to create more electricity than originally produced. The leftover heat is actually reused to continue the process of generating electricity. COGEN currently accounts for nearly 12 percent of total U.S. electricity generation. Texas, home to one-fifth of all U.S. COGEN structures, is leading this trend with a total of more than 17,000 megawatts (MW). Each individual structure can range anywhere from 30 kiloWatts (kW) to 250 MW, depending on the installment of turbines including gas, steam or microturbines. Many owners are opting to invest in these utilities due to the long-term benefits of COGEN energy methods. As a result, contractors have adapted planning and construction methods to anticipate and react to the challenges that come with building these facilities. Utilizing COGEN for the VA McCarthy’s Texas Division recently completed a CHP/COGEN project at the VA Dallas Medical Center for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While McCarthy has built other major healthcare facilities for the VA, this $23 million project was the company’s first stand-alone CHP/COGEN project in the VA’s nationwide renewable energy program. This design-build project required the construction of a new electrical building and turbine shelter and the installation of a 5 MW, natural gas-fired turbine with a dual-fuel fired Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) in the existing boiler house. It also included the installation of a natural gas compressor, Selective Catalytic Regenerator (SCR), a 15-kilovolt paralleling electrical switchgear and black start generator, and modifications to the existing 15-kilovolt electrical distribution system. The project’s main functions include providing a renewable power source, the efficiencies of COGEN, and enhanced energy security at the VA Medical Center. Planning for and Delivering a COGEN Project While COGEN projects are more energy and cost efficient, owners must be aware of the extensive time it takes to actually receive the parts for a COGEN system and the time it takes to install them. With the considerable equipment required for a COGEN system coupled with an intensive delivery process, there is a risk of an increased construction timeline of several months. To avoid delays, owners should look for a knowledgeable, experienced design-build contractor to manage all aspects of a COGEN project, from preplanning to design and purchase, delivery and installation of the equipment. While COGEN is a viable solution for many energy needs, these systems are major investments for an owner looking to install one. COGEN systems can cost upwards of 40 to 50 percent of the overall contract value of the building process. For example, the cost of a 50 MW gas turbine COGEN system might amount to $45 million, with a construction timeline of six to 18 months. A 1 MW COGEN system that might be used for a hospital may come with a price tag of $1.6 million. Although the initial cost is high, the long-term benefits of the systems are realized in overall energy cost savings. Many COGEN systems maintain a connection to the utility grid for power needs beyond their own abilities and for planned or unplanned blackout or brownout times, but they primarily operate on their own to create electricity. The Texas designated electricity system, or the “Texas Interconnection,” is operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Texas, separate from the rest of the nation, is the only mainland state with its own grid. During times when commercial properties can afford to be off the grid and to run on their own COGEN systems, ERCOT will buy back unused electricity from the corporations employing COGEN systems during times of peak energy use. Over time, the payout from ERCOT can be significant, and systems can even start paying for themselves. With COGEN systems becoming increasingly popular, owners need to determine not only the cost-saving benefits, but also identify a contractor with the experience to design and install these complex systems, all while maintaining the budget to ensure the benefits of a COGEN facility are fully realized. An experienced contractor can help owners decide if a renewable energy source such as COGEN is the best fit for their facility, evaluating both the up-front capital costs and long-term savings. McCarthy continues to work with clients to incorporate COGEN systems into projects and is constantly looking for innovative ways to make the planning and construction process seamless, more efficient and cost effective. sign up to receive insights Sign up to receive McCarthy Insights	[]
• Contact • < Dubravka Franz “Yereven” (Flickr) (CC-BY-NC-SA) How Armenia Became A Tier 1 Country Last week’s post drew dire conclusions about 2014 TIP Report Tier 3 Countries’ prospects. With that in mind, we want to celebrate the country of Armenia. Starting as a Tier 3 country in the early 2000s, the government of Armenia worked hard to improve their record, and succeeded. Check out how they improved their human trafficking/modern-day slavery record! The TIP Report has been published for almost a decade and a half, and we’ve already shown how powerful a force it is in the world. Since the inception of the report, over 120 countries have enacted specific anti-trafficking laws. Others have set up task forces, commissions, and inter-governmental committees to tackle this problem. Police training materials have been developed in many countries, and traffickers have faced justice in the courts. Step by step, the world is making it more dangerous to be a human trafficker. As that happens, as the act of trafficking becomes more and more dangerous, we will see real progress. Today, we want to track a country that is a success story. The TIP Report’s power is obvious, and its efficacy is inarguable. But for it to really fulfill its mission, every one of the countries it ranks must be able to one day reach a Tier 1 ranking. Unfortunately, many countries have been in the third tier for years. Some for almost a decade. That can be incredibly discouraging. We asked the question, last week, whether any of the Tier 3 countries would make it off the Tier 3 list. This week, we’re asking a different question: is it possible for a Tier 3 country to make it to Tier 1? Has it happened? The answer is yes! Armenia was a Tier 3 country in 2002 when they were first included in the countries the TIP Report ranked. Today, they are a Tier 1 country. They have been since 2013. Armenia and its Challenges since Independence © PAN Photo “RA Presidential Elections 2013” (Flickr) (CC-BY-NC-ND) In September of 1991, Armenia officially declared independence from the Soviet Union. An ancient state with a culture that reaches back thousands of years, the country is unfortunately famous for the genocide which occurred in the early 1900s under the Ottoman Empire. It is a small country of, currently, three million people. They experienced a difficult and turbulent ride post-independence. Ethnic tensions between Armenia and the neighboring state of Azerbaijan over a contested area between the two countries escalated until a cease-fire was signed in 1994. While many human rights groups have criticized Armenia still today for some election discrepancies, and generally hard-handed politics, the state is democratic and has seen turnover several times since independence. It’s economy grew in the early years, but suffered some setback due to several external factors in the late 1990s. The economic crisis hit Armenia particularly hard, but the country has managed to remain fairly stable. Since independence, the country has seen periods of political protest, and some violence. In 2008, a series of protests swept through Armenia as a result of a lost election. The electoral process has been criticized by many international observers, and some have characterized Armenia as a nation still transitioning from authoritarian-type rule to a democracy. Despite the challenges that Armenia has faced, their rule of law with regards to human trafficking has been exemplary in the past couple years. Armenia was a Tier 3 country in 2002, and eleven years later they were ranked as a Tier 1 country. We’re going to look at why, and what countries can do to improve their TIP Report Ranking. Armenia’s Path to Success: How the Country listened to the World Armenia was first included in the TIP Report in 2002. At that time, they had signed the Palermo Protocol but had not ratified it. Treaties are self-executing in Armenia, so once the treaty was ratified, in 2003, it became law. Furthermore, a criminal code was in the process of being passed in 2002 that provided stricter penalties for human trafficking. Armenian officials suspected that the reason they were listed as Tier 3 was because of people taking jobs in Europe through shady travel bureaus and ending up as illegal or undocumented migrant workers throughout the EU. An Armenian delegation attended a workshop in DC in early 2003 about human trafficking, and began to consult other international organizations as well as the US Embassy in Armenia. As a result, Armenia was bumped up to Tier 2 in 2003. However, they dropped down the Tier 2 Watch List in 2004. Armenian police began to take the issue a bit more seriously, attempting to cooperate with civil society on investigations. Furthermore, some awareness materials were developed and distributed. The government of Armenia approved a national action plan on human trafficking in January 2004. Despite this, they stayed on the Tier 2 Watch List for several more years. Leniency on the part of judges and prosecutors towards traffickers contributed to their continued Tier 2 Watch List ranking. It was only in 2009 they were able to move up to a Tier 2 ranking. This was done for several reasons. Armenia had continued to prosecute offenders, and was beginning to give them sentences that held real weight. Furthermore, the Armenian police had decided to re-open a closed case: the escape of a human trafficker in 2006. It was alleged his escape was facilitated by Armenian officials. Considering the implication of corruption, the State Department apparently found this to be an important step to addressing the complicity of government officials in anti-trafficking. © Bolshakov “Armenia-1: Sevan (lake)” (Flickr) (CC-BY) The government of Armenia had also began, in 2008, to take seriously the idea of victim protection. They had allocated more money in their budget, 55,000 USD, to NGO-run shelters. Law enforcement prosecutions improved over the next year as well, and were noted. However, Armenia remained as they were. It was only in the 2013 report that they finally made it to their goal: Tier 1 status. In the TIP Report narrative of 2013 for Armenia the State Department focused on their robust trainings for law enforcement, continued prosecutions of offenders, contributions to trafficking shelters and prevention efforts. That didn’t mean they couldn’t improve, of course, as the report also listed their weak victim-witness protection mechanisms and recommended progress in that area. What Can We Learn from Armenia? First and foremost, Armenia listened to the recommendations of the TIP Report. Then they acted on them. They addressed the concerns that the TIP Report brought up, and they have worked hard to build relationships with civil society. They have identified this as an important issue, and they have attempted to correct it. Does this mean that Armenia is perfect? Of course not. Their human rights record still has stains, as does the United States. But they’ve put in enough that they deserve to be ranked with those countries who have identified human trafficking as a problem to be dealt with, not just talked about. Many countries in the TIP Report make small amounts of headway because they see trafficking as a problem of diplomacy, and the TIP Report as an indication of where they stand diplomatically. But those who take the TIP Report’s recommendations seriously find out something different entirely: this is a global issue that concerns police, government and civil society in every nation in the world. It is more than a shame if a country doesn’t take that seriously, it is a tragedy.	[]
What Nietzsche, Jung and Sinatra have in common 20190603 Cover NJS Autenticity The importance of authenticity in the workplace Dale Carnegie on steroids This orientation changed dramatically in the first half of the 1990s. Two popular business books that were published during that time perfectly illustrate this change. The first one was ‘Valuation’ (1990), a book written by Copeland, Koller and Murrin (three McKinsey consultants), the second one ‘Emotional intelligence’ by David Goleman (1995). The key notion in ‘Valuation’ was that the prime purpose of organizations was to deliver value for their investors; a completely different orientation than the personal development of the members of the organization. David Goleman’s bestseller stressed the importance of emotional intelligence, EQ, as opposed to IQ, in career development. Since the publication of his book, a steady stream of books, articles and posts (for instance in the daily HBR alerts) is being published on how to please the different stakeholders (mainly bosses and co-workers) that are important for one’s career. Many of these publications feel like ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie (1936) on steroids. Nowadays, many see conformity no longer as a necessary accommodation to ‘fit-in’ in the workplace, or as something ‘optional’ in addition to actual performance, to further one’s career ambitions. Instead, for a number of people it has become one of the most important, or even the only, ‘Critical Success Factor’ to determine one’s success in the workplace (‘behavior = performance’). Inclusion is not optional Although it is not always easy, many people in the workplace achieve a satisfactory balance between their need for individual development and expression on the one hand, and the social conformity required to cooperate successfully with others, on the other hand. If, however, the degree in which they experience the need to suppress their authentic behaviors becomes extreme, potentially dangerous situations can present themselves for the individuals, their families, co-workers and the organizations they serve. First of all, people who feel forced to deploy extremely adaptive behavior can suffer from mental and physical issues (ranging from the inability to reach their full potential, to depression and even cardiovascular issues). Furthermore, their families sometimes suffer as well (‘spillover effect’). One of the things philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was interested in, was the function of pain and suffering for us as human beings. In this context, he once made the famous statement ‘What does not kill you makes you stronger’. Although this statement is often abused, psychologists agree that adversities create resilience and enable individuals to deal better with traumas. This also implies that individuals who always deny themselves the opportunity to act in an authentic manner in order to avoid going against the tide, rob themselves from the opportunity to become stronger. Instead, they become weaker. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung sees collisions between the individual and his or her external environment as positive. If not too vehement, collisions as a result of making choices and taking a position lead to stronger problem-solving abilities and personal growth. On the other hand, individuals who are afraid to engage in these collisions and try to avoid them at all costs can develop a neurosis. Embracing the shadow In other cases, people who cannot deal with the tension between their need for individual expression and social conformity in a healthy manner, may (sometimes consciously) cynically throw away their own moral compass. Instead, they make a Faustian bargain and embrace those (opportunistic) behaviors they think are necessary to further their careers and/or ensure their corporate survival. According to Jung, they embrace their shadow. Often these people develop into corporate versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Symptoms of people displaying this behavior include, amongst others: • Entertaining ‘the truth’ only as an interesting point of view instead of as a moral checkpoint • Publicly stating convictions they do not share, and never taking a position based on their principles, if they think this can harm their career • Re-creating or erasing memories about their unethical behavior in the workplace • Implementing decisions they know are unfair to their co-workers and/or harmful to their organization, without raising their concerns about this. Worst case, they will not even raise their voice when they become aware of unethical, unsafe, non-compliant or illegal activities in their organization. On the contrary, they may even be instrumental in facilitating them. Paradoxically, this brings them into the same position as their narcissistic colleagues in the 1970s and 1980s. They perceive the organizations they are working for only as vehicles for their personal gain, and do not feel accountable to shareholders, stakeholders or society at large. No wonder that most organizations are battling with ever-increasing compliance costs to manage this type of behavior. A new balance Does this mean we need to go back to the narcissistic orientation on the workplace that was en-vogue in 1970s and 1980s? No, most people will agree with the fact that organizations primarily exist to serve the objectives of their owners. Furthermore, most people realize that a certain degree of adaptation is necessary in order to cooperate effectively with others and that having the drive to make a career is not a bad thing in itself. However, what is needed is a healthy balance between authentic and adaptive behavior. This is especially true for senior leaders who have a big impact on the performance of their organization. Many senior leaders go through their work life as jellyfish, moved only by the current. They are only able to measure their success in terms of the number of times they survived management changes, reorganizations, and reshuffles in the aftermath of M&A’s. They have forgotten, or have become too cynical, to measure their success in terms of their contribution to, or ‘the difference’ they make for, their organizations and society at large. How authentic can you be? It might be interesting for you to reflect on the degree in which you can sing the following lines from the song ‘I did it my way’, immortalized by Frank Sinatra, when you contemplate about your behavior in the workplace, ‘For what is man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels’ It might be helpful to ask yourself to what degree you feel you can be authentic in the workplace, how this affects you in your private life, how this impacts the performance of the organization you are working for, and, finally, on a scale of 1-10, reflect on how satisfied you are with this situation. If you give a score is 5 or less, you might want to reflect on the what and how of the changes you, and/or your workplace, would need to make in order to enable you to act more authentically. An honest discussion with your line manager, co-workers and possibly HR might be a good first step. Alternatively, you could look outside your organization for a ‘more accommodating platform’ to deploy your talents. Success! You're on the list. Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Connecting to %s	[]
• "The Girltron"--Alternative Indigo/Henna Application Method Originally published by Girltron, 01/31/2009 The Inverted Two-Step Indigo/Henna for Warm Colored Highlights (Disclaimer: please strand and patch test any new ingredients before use. People can and do have nasty allergic reactions to natural coloring agents.) I developed an inverted two-step natural coloring method for my hair because my skin tone clashes badly with cool colors. I wanted to darken my hair to nearly black, but I had to keep the color warm. I also wanted to keep the henna "flame" that happens in bright sun, but in a standard two-step process the indigo largely covers up the "flaming". A regular henndigo does not provide the color I needed. Henndigo makes deep browns in the cool range of colors, which wasn't suitable for my skin. Also Henndigo is less fine-tuneable because you're only doing one step and can't adjust the darkness to taste. The inverted two-step is designed to provide the level of darkness I wanted AND still have the luscious henna highlights in a brighter, warmer color. The first step is to get your hair as DARK as you want it. The second step adds HIGHLIGHTS in the hue of your choice. 1) Treat your hair to an indigo treatment. Hairball test to determine how long to leave it on with your brand of indigo. If you want medium browns, you're going to want to do the indigo in gloss form for short applications. For almost-black finished colors, like mine, you can leave the indigo on for an hour or so. I usually just apply the indigo to my roots and comb it through my damp hair so the darkness feathers out toward the tips of my hair. I see that naturally dark hair often bleaches out a bit at the tips, and I want to mimic that natural quality. It's a very subtle difference. 2) Allow the indigo to develop on your hair for about 24 hours after treatment. This DOES mean that you'll be going around town for a day with black hair, or dark bluish brownish hair. You can skip this step if you wish, but I find that Indigo stays put better if you give it some time to settle before taking the next step. 3) Determine your henna mix. This will give you the color of highlights you are looking for. People who are okay with cool colors can use straight henna, but for those of us who need to keep the golden warm colors in our henna, cassia mixes are called for. I use a mix that is 3/4 cassia and 1/4 henna. While your indigo is settling in your hair for that 24 hours, you can mix up your henna and let it dye release. Apply your henna all over the areas of your hair that were treated with indigo. Dye times will vary, between two hours and overnight are usual. The longer the treatment, the deeper and cooler the colors will be. The end result will be hair that is exactly the level of darkness you wanted, with exactly the hue of highlights you wanted! See my avatar for an image in the sun. *Variation for people with salt and pepper hair: if you're trying to cover gray hair and your normal henna mix causes you to have orange streaks where your white hairs are, you can pre-treat with indigo just on the white hairs, effectively doing a miniature inverted two-step. Use a paintbrush to treat the whites with indigo, then after rinsing do your normal henna. They will blend better with the rest of your hair.* Comments 1 Comment 1. lapushka's Avatar lapushka - I dread the blondes that first do indigo, then henna. Because blonde first needs that red "filler" to settle into dark hair. Indigo on blonde will turn green, and then red after might mitigate that, but... damage done, IMO. So I very much doubt this method is for blondes, especially light blondes (that don't have a hint of orange/red in their natural strands).	[]
« This SL Pic is Full of Awesome (But Little Post-Processing) \| Main \| Kickstart This: Epic RPG Game Satirizing Epic RPG Games » Wednesday, March 28, 2012 shockwave yareach If you're blimp, that means you're not really turned on yet. Adeon Writer That's funny because just yesterday I was running around as the default monster truck avatar. I even gave him a giant monocle, mustache, and top hat. As an aside, if you pay attention at infohubs...griefers almost always go for the unicorn or the rabbit..lol Stone Semyorka Linden Lab's PR surely sucks. They should be proactively out front ahead of this nastiness or, afterward, responding strongly with positive messages about their product, Second Life. LL should employ some people who can understand the ramifications of their public face.. tito devinna ya know as much as people try to downplay the whole fetish thing in sl it may be one of a few things that is keeping the whole SL world afloat. Let’s be honest we have whole regions classed as adult, which is also the most expensive land. I don’t think they have created all this land for my personal interests and shopping habits alone. I don’t find myself standing alone in a sex sim to often. I love how SL ers get indignant about the fetish aspect of the game when really at some point SL should except that the whole sex fetish thing is a viable, money making, interest attracting, part of the game. Sure there are many other wonderful things to do in SL which attract revenue, but sex/fetish is an equal part as well. I don’t know the answer or claim to. I just think pretending like it is some kind of small sick nitch group with only 2 or 3 members when we have whole regions dedicated to the subject, is both immature, stoopid and self defeating for the game. I actually like the latest default avatars, especially the "vehitars." There's a lot of other things to be grumpy about in SL, but that won't matter to potential SLers until Linden Lab gets its marketing, signup, and first-hour processes straight. Cindy Bolero Well at least they pulled the vampires and fairies off the Secondlife home page and now picture more sensical human avatars. Maybe SL can get back to attracting new users other than gamers and teens. Of which don't help the virtual economy much. As a solution provider trying to support and promote practical use of the platform for education, training, health support networks, science, music industry, etc., it gives us hope that Linden Lab does care about its existing customers. My team was just about to throw in the towel after five years (and a quarter of a million dollars later in tier). The fairies and vampires on the homepage had denied us the ability to get anyone to take our projects seriously. What would be even better, is in the avatar selection page, offer normal humans first, before a bunny, robot, airship, or goth (another teen attractant). I shudder every time I try to bring in real life friends and colleagues, hoping that the bunny avatar won't make them lose interest with signing up. Average gamers and teens don't have money to go on shopping sprees and buy or rent land. Many just go around begging for Lindens getting banned from areas. Average adults that have interests other than realms, fairies, and vampires, often have real money to blow on virtual products and land. And one would think that average adults would be the demographic to target for sustainability of Secondlife. jo yardley /me sighs. Not only does this indeed support that image of SL that almost scared me off, it also shows the confusion new avatar choices can create. We should just have normal (realistic scaled) human avatars to begin with. It has happened several times that I get some airship avatar visiting our sim, 1 day old, I tell them about our rules and that they have to change. Useless because the new viewers make it so that IM's are often not that obvious, people don't spot them. So the ejecting starts. Sometimes they do get the IM and tell me they choose the airship for fun, not expecting it to be their avatar they would be stuck with. And then I can explain someone who's 1 day old with a different viewer how to create a human avatar... Ann Otoole InSL /me dies bwahahahahahahhhhhhhhh!11 Pussycat Catnap I think we're reading too much into Penny Arcade here. PA is obviously making fun of not what the new avatars represent, but of what people from outside already bring to them as an assumption about the avatars. And this: A strip from 2 entries prior... Demonstrates that PA is really about taking something and finding the funny misconception in it. People won't come away from that thinking Star Wars was really an early gay-pron flick... they'll just laugh at at the PA characters running with the gag on certain conservative groups... Pussycat Catnap "We should just have normal (realistic scaled) human avatars to begin with." Not every sim has such a lack of creativity. The new choices allow people to more fully realize that SL is many things, all in one umbrella, and that its a place to explore varied themes. We had your choice of human only, during M. Linden's realm. It was bad then, its even worse now. Adeon Writer The blog post referencing the comic has now been posted, apparently they took a trip into SL recently, which was triggered by finally getting around to watching Life 2.0. Pussycat Catnap Since 2009 and a short stint in 2006 - I've seen MANY griefer attacks. Only once by a pack of furries - using x-rated art rezzing as their method. All the others were by human avatars. I could rationally draw a conclusion, through my anecdotes, via the logic you're implying; that humans tend to be griefers. Or I could be more sane, and just say "griefers use whatever is convenient for standing out in that moment." Jo yardley Pussycat Catnap, creativity has nothing to do with it... We just have more interest in realism then the whole fantasy scene. History is exciting enough as it is. If people join, become realistic humans, they soon find out they can change into something different and will find a way. If people join and see these unusual avatars, it may scare them off. Like Cindy Bolero said, if I help friends join up in SL and they see the robot and the airship and the vampire, they think they are joining a kids game. And if, for fun, they decide to be something unusual, it is a lot of trouble for new people to undo this. Changing your avatar can be quite a hassle. Enough to scare someone off for ever. What I would like to see, what might work rather well, is the possibility to create an avatar BEFORE going into SL. We have seen this in many games, such as The Sims. Before anything happens, before you go anywhere, you can already have lots of fun to create your avatar. Head, skin, face, etc. It does not have to be as detailed as the avatar creation inworld (but it could!) and on its own it would be a fun thing to do on a website. Create an avatar on the SL website! It will also help you learn how to change it later. And then, you could add a few unrealistic options as well. Here you go, this is your avatar, do you want to be a man or a woman? You choose and see a basic avatar, then you see a few buttons that let you change sex again, but also choose an animal, furry, robot, whatever. I don't mind the options being there. I just don't like the way they are offered now. Wolf Baginski I haven't looked at the sign-up process this year. They don't seem to have gotten any better at explaining things to the new players. jo yardley As for griefing at infohubs, the only way to combat that is to either give every new person a private area in SL to start out. Although.... perhaps this could be something good for a browser based viewer thingy... After all, you won't need that much power to run a simple empty field where you get to test out your abilities as an avatar. Maybe this too is something that could be done outside of Second Life. All alone, you have time to learn how to move, watch a few videos with instructions, etc. Then you can use search to find a nice sim to go to and then, only then, do you start up your real SL viewer to enter the real SL. And you get teleported to the sim you choose. No more infohubs full of annoying people, but straight to the sim you want to explore first. Whoever said that teens have no money don't have any teens around. Maybe not enough for renting a sim...but enough to blow on stuff they don't need. Get the masses of them in and it might become bunny foo-foo land, but the bucks will flow. Arcadia Codesmith What's with the anthropocentrism? All my avis are human (most of the time), but variety is the spice of life... and variety is a HUGE net positive for Second Life vs. the other virtual worlds that offer nothing but vanilla human avatars. If it scares a few people off, well, did we really need more intolerants? Pussycat Catnap What Arcadia said above me. This is 2012, not 1973. People aren't scared of fantasy anymore. We've had decades of literature, movies, and video games. The days of "D&D, fantasy, and Science Fiction is spooky stuff for people who need to be institutionalized" are -LONG- over... If anyone's still scared of it, they need help... If there is anyone out there scared of variety, they need... to be removed... Its a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-national, global world we live in. If you can't handle diversity; go elsewhere. The variety in the avatars -STRONGLY- sends to message to new users that this game is one about being anything you desire - maybe not your world anymore, but still your imagination. You want humans, they're in there. You want to remove choice from other people, GTFO. Tateru Nino @Stone There's not really any nastiness involved. That's how people see Second Life and there's precious little available to them to correct that impression. Mention Second Life to most people and (if they've heard of it at all) they're likely to say something like "That weird sex place?" Of course they have that impression. Why shouldn't they? The predominant information available to them says that Second Life is a sex game. Damien Fate Xenius (creator of the Zeppelins) and I had a good laugh about this :D Deoridhe Quandry I cracked up! I actually have an avatar in one of those ships (heavily retinted), so seeing it show up on Penny Arcade was a trip! Melissa Yeuxdoux I'd like to believe that, Pussycat, but... in the SW strip, there is a character there pointing out that the fellow is going off the deep end. In the SL strip, there's no contrary view; the sole character present spouts, and hence the strip's author is arguably pandering to, the stereotype that Second Life is all perverts--a stereotype not just prevalent in the mainstream media but also at least present in tech media (e.g. Leo Laporte and Chris Pirillo). Adeon Writer I'm trying to think of a witty group name to create for people who love people who love airships.who love airships. Arcadia Codesmith The way I read the strip, it's an epiphany that maybe there's something more to Second Life than nubbin-bumpin'... such as the doggedly unsexy zeppelin. It's less making fun of Second Life than of Gabe's (and by extension, many gamers')limited perception of Second Life. It's also a sign we're still alive and well on the geek culture radar. Yay us. Saying that an anthropomorphic airship would only not be welcome in a sim lacking creativity is an incredibly ignorant and indeed rather offensive assertion, Pussycat. There are countless RP sims with elaborate settings that have developed and expanded through years and years of collaborative creativity where certain "characters" -- like an an anthropomorphic airship -- would not be welcome simply because it would break the carefully established setting and environment. That has nothing to do with a lack of creativity or diversity, as many of those sims are themselves sci-fi, high fantasy, and the like. It's simply about maintaining the integrity of a setting. shockwave yareach 1) you folks running your RP sims certainly have the right to request people be dressed in period costumes and look the part of the activity. A roman simulation will not be a good place for the monster truck AV, for instance. At the same time though, you guys need an entry point where the rules for the rest of the sim are spelled out so folks don't have to intrude when they simply TP in. The noobs looking for stuff to do don't know that they are ruining other people's fun by walking into the Berlin sim wearing a furry avatar. You want to have RPing fun in specific avatars. I've no issue with that. The problem is that you don't take measures to keep out those who aren't in your RP group. So 2) is, make everything but the entry portal spot Group Only with banlines. Only folks who understand that they have to be in period garb while inside the sim will be asked to join said group and be permitted to enter further than the welcome area. Tada, problem solved. But don't beat up the noobs for failing to magically know that your sim is for fairies only (or whatever). There are better ways of keeping out the nonRPers from group lands while giving newcomers a chance to learn what your RPing sim is about. If you won't bother to restrict your land to your group and create an entry portal to explain what's required to enter that land, then you will always be intruded upon. foneco zuzu Sex, why so many are scared by this word? @ Tateru. Pretty much this,one time i mentioned it on a site that is not furry friendly and got banned. They don't realize there are musicians on here who have concerts and such. Connie Arida Gosh, we SL people really do take ourselves seriously. All this hand wringing and furrowed brows over a comic strip. :) Krinkles Q Klown /me loves Penny Arcade Verify your Comment Previewing your Comment Your comment could not be posted. Error type: Your comment has been posted. Post another comment Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate. Post a comment Your Information Wagner James Au Wagner James "Hamlet" Au Dutchie Summer Special Nylon Pinkney Outfitters in SL my site ... ... ... Classic New World Notes stories: Making Love: When virtual sex gets real (2005)	[]
Global trends that are steadily pushing upwards the graph of fuel prices is a fact that Indians have been living with for a while now. Fuel price is such a fundamental part of the economy and our daily lives that irrespective of one’s vehicle ownership status, socio-economic and professional background, fluctuations in fuel price affects every individual as well as every business owner in the country – whether directly or indirectly. For the automotive and construction equipment industry, it is inevitable that the rise and fall or rather a sustained period of rising fuel price will have a direct and major impact in terms of affecting business profitability. After all, fuel cost makes up a huge chunk of the operating cost of these large machines. As a contractor or construction equipment business owner, while managing fuel prices may not be in your control, there are ways in which you can still maintain control on your profit margins. For instance, you can definitely evaluate your options to purchase or rent such heavy earth moving and road construction machineries that are technologically improved and offer better fuel efficiency. Here is where the latest upgraded range of heavy construction machines offers ownership and usage delight in reducing the impact of fuel prices on your pocket. The new CEV-Stage IV emission norms for the Construction Equipment industry coming into effect in India from April 1, 2021, has given an impetus to CE manufacturers for introducing new technologies, thus resulting in a more advanced, feature-rich and efficient range of earth moving machinery. Mahindra Construction Equipment has recently launched its all new BS4 range of road construction and earth moving machinery comprising its flagship models; the Mahindra EarthMaster backhoe loader and Mahindra RoadMaster grader. The new Mahindra BSIV CE range of EarthMaster backhoe loaders and RoadMaster graders are tech-advanced, heavy earth moving machines, equipped with a more refined BS4 engine that is not only CEV Stage-IV compliant but also delivers best-in-class fuel efficiency. The modifications made to the Mahindra BSIV NES-CRDi diesel engine, ensures optimal fuel consumption for better average without any compromise on power and performance. The NES-CRDi BS4 diesel engine in the Mahindra BSIV CE range is based on the more sophisticated Common Rail Injection (CRI) engine technology which operates on electrically controlled high pressure direct fuel injection. The benefits of CRDi technology in BSIV diesel engine are manifold; from greater power output, better emission control, and lower NVH levels to efficient fuel consumption. The BS4 diesel engine in Mahindra EarthMaster and Mahindra RoadMaster has a more powerful catalytic converter called DOC, an Exhaust Gas Regulator or EGR and a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). Put together they ensure that the fuel combustion process is more efficient, resulting in a cleaner and more efficient engine for greater productivity and profits. Along with superior BSIV diesel engine technology, the use of telematics in road construction machinery also has an important role to play in making this new range of construction equipment machines more fuel efficient. Mahindra iMAXX Telematics technology uses location-based technology, combined with vehicle electronics and wireless communication to generate updated information about the vital parameters of the machine. The outcome is a range of smart features that makes for an entirely new way of viewing onboard vehicle diagnostics. This is turn enables real time monitoring of fuel level analysis, fuel consumption, service reminders and vehicle diagnostic reports for timely intervention. In short, Mahindra iMAXX Telematics helps puts complete control of the machine and your business in your hands. In conclusion, deploying a combination of latest engine technology and telematics is the way forward to effectively manage and mitigate impact of fuel prices, while maintaining high productivity and profitability.	[]
GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable, free/libre text editor, bundled with most Linux distros. For more information, see the Emacs page on the GNU website. Emacs ships with support for C and C++ debugging via GDB, and can be configured to use UDB. Using UDB in Emacs 1. Start a debugging session as normal by typing M-x gdb. 2. Edit the command line to replace gdb with udb, for example: udb -i=mi examples/cache This assumes that udb is installed or is otherwise on your path. If it isn’t then supply the full path to the udb executable. 3. Use the run command to run the program as usual. You can use execution, and reverse-execution commands to run forward and backward through the program’s execution history. Using UDB by default To avoid having to edit the command line on every invocation customize the Emacs variable gud-gdb-command-name, set it to udb -i=mi, and “Save for Future Sessions”.	[]
We're sorry Aspose doesn't work properply without JavaScript enabled. Free Support Forum - aspose.com HTML formatting in Aspose.Cells (FileFormatType.Excel2003) I was reading this posting: Writing HTML to Aspose.Cell and wanted to see if a solution exists for this. I want to be able to pass in html tags (such as , , ) using cell.PutValue() and have the given cell apply the html formatting in Excel and strip out the html tags. Hi Kevin, Well I 'm afraid the feature is not supported yet, we will check the feasibility if we can implement it. Thank you.	[]
Forums guidelines Autism & Anxiety Community Member Hello everyone, I’m really struggling. I quit my waitressing job of seven months just last week. It became too much with the unpredictable hours, demanding and challenging tasks, extremely loud noises at functions and bright lights. One of my supervisors treated me poorly too. He grabbed me by my sleeve once and dragged me like a dog. He would also come and hug me from behind without my consent. And him and other workers would not take my autism seriously. they even said “everyone has a bit of autism.” And “when you become a Journalist you can write an article about folding napkins.” Eventually, I got the courage to leave. As I had to work ridiculously long hours and I found the socialising to be extremely detrimental to my mental health. Plus I would have to constantly mask my autism. It was deeply painful and problematic. I’m struggling with my autism and my anxiety right now. I feel like I don’t belong. I have cancelled two social events that were over last weekend because I simply did not have the energy to attend. I feel like such a failure because I quit my toxic place of employment and I did not attend two social events that I was meant to attend. Plus my dad recently got involved with a lady who was insensitive towards his depression and anxiety. And I have been worried about how detrimental that must’ve been for his psychological health. Lucky he stopped talking to her. And also my partner’s father said something really insensitive about my autism earlier last week. Which is making me feel uncomfortable and scared to speak to him now. I feel like I can’t go to him for guidance or support. My partner understands and says he will try to keep me separate from his father until I feel comfortable but I told him I didn’t want to make any dramas or hassles. I tend to not like confrontation or drama. I just feel so lost and stuck. I don’t know what else to do. 6 Replies 6 Dear PsychedelicFur, We are sorry to hear that you have been dealing with so much recently, but we’re so pleased you have reached back out to the supportive community. From what you have described about the workplace and your employer, it sounds as though the decision to leave comes from a desire for positive change so please don’t feel like a ‘failure’. Although major life choices and changes such as this can leave us feeling nervous and fearful due to the uncertainty, decisions made to improve our quality of life or remove ourselves from negativity are usually a positive step forward and should be praised. It is very upsetting to experience this lack of understanding regarding autism in both your professional and personal life. Although you can and have removed yourself from the professional space and you state you are currently distancing from your partner’s father. Has your partner discussed the issue with his father and educated him regarding autism and how he offended you? As you have described your partner as understanding and supportive would he be willing to have this conversation? We are always available and here to talk if you feel overwhelmed or uncertain about stressful life choices, please remember you can contact Beyond Blue either via phone 1300 22 4636 or web chat: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support Warm regards Sophie M Community Champion Community Champion Dear PF As I said when we last talked - you're always welcome here. It's true and it's good to see you , though I'm sorry about what has been happening. Actually I'm only partly sorry. You have suffered from a great deal of stress and unhappiness in unpleasant circumstances at work -that's bad. But you have coped, and had the courage ot walk away - that's excellent. If you work somewhere you are not treated with respect it is no reflection on you, it is a reflection on your ex-boss and the others. So staying would not have been sensible. True one tries things for a while to see how they pan out, if they are going to improve, but if they don't then it simply is not worth staying. As for those two social engagements it is not really surprising. A big thing like getting rid of that job is pretty emotionally and physically taxing, so it is only natural to want to recover. Your dad is lucky to have such a caring daughter. I'm glad your partner is on your side and looking after you BTW is Eleanor Rigby still your favorite song? Hey Croix, how are you going? Yes, Eleanor Rigby is my favourite Beatles song of all time! Still my ringtone on my phone. I’m just stressing about feeling like I don’t belong because of my autism. My partner is also on the autism spectrum, so he is very very understanding about it all.. thankfully! thank you PF. keep well Croix. Dear PF~ Thanks, I'm doing OK except for physical stuff, but managing. Actually I've always thought you are a very unique individual, with strong ways and a taste for music, clothes and other things that is not all modern, shallow and glitz. Your speech reflects that too. You've not changed and I'm glad you still relate to that song. While I can well understand it can be stressful if you feel others have not entirety accepted you I think you have it the wrong way around. You are the one others need to respect, and you really don't need acceptance by any who do not see you for who you are and value you as a result. You judge them, then decide if you want them. I'm very glad you have a partner who you can trust to understand. That's a very big thing. I know at the moment you have reservations about your partner's dad, after all autism is not something to treat lightly, but - if you don't mind me asking - how are you getting on with your dad? Hey Croix, thank you so much for the supportive and thoughtful words. It really means a lot to me. I hope you’re ok. I’m getting along well with my Dad. He is a big supporter of my relationship with my beautiful partner. Both get along well. And my partner loves collecting vinyl records too.. just like me! Yes, acceptance can be enormously difficult. However, I guess I need to just see who I want in my life and select those who make me genuinely happy. Eleanor Rigby is still such a profound and meaningful song.. so special to me! What have you been up to? It’s getting really cold here in Melbourne. I have been watching loads of old British sitcoms on BritBox. It keeps me amused and content. Yet, I still feel so awkward around people my age? I quit my previous place of employment because I felt like I wasn’t appreciated enough and I felt like they never listened to the fact that I have autism. It was debilitating. The unpredictably long shifts.. some going from 3pm until 1am in the morning. Too much mentally. So glad I left! thank you again for your wonderful and kind words of encouragement. Have you listened to any good records lately, Croix? Dear PF~ I'm realy pleased for you that your dad is good and also gets on with your partner. The three of you sound a pretty good unit. I'd not worry too much about fitting in with people your age, as I said you are mature, and won't speak the same language as many. I'm sure you are going to find others scattered though your life on the same wavelength. Getting good friends does take a lifetime. I too like British comedy, Yes (Prime) Minister is one of my favorites, another is Monty Python. I've just finished reading a biography about Janis Joplin by Myra Friedman called "Buried Alive". I think that refers to her immense popularity on and off stage. It's a pretty realistic portrayal of Janis. Myra was part of the music scene, knew everyone, including agents, financiers and Janis' parents. She was Janis' publicity agent in the late 60's Every-time the book mentions a song I go and play it, from Piece of my Heart to Mary Jane. Keep warm	[]
Tag Archives: 2016 presidential election Aught Sixteen I know it’s hard to believe, but the 2016 presidential campaign is upon us. It seems we no longer have any free time between elections. Will Hillary run? Do bears…well, you know. Who will the Republicans nominate? If they nominate another wimpy almost Democrat they will lose again, and the country will be lost to the radical left for generations to come, with the likely future breakup of the United States along blue state red state lines. If the GOP nominates a true conservative they will win, and the country will be safe for a while, but it will never be completely safe, for the left never sleeps, never gives up its dream of absolute Stalinist power. In aught sixteen the Lefty fringe Selects someone who’ll make you cringe The GOP on other hand Selects the ticket Cruz and Rand Who wins? I’ll say it all depends Who has the stash, for he who spends Will win – go back to JFK Whose daddy showed them all the way	[]
Military/Technical Advisement Military Working Dog Nuke and his handler Donovan Hunter. 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment. Multipurpose Canine deployment in Afghanistan. Donovan Hunter enlisted in the United States Army in 2004 and served honorably for 7.5 years in a special operations unit, 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment. Donovan served 8 combat deployments 5 of which were as a multipurpose K9 handler, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant during his military career. After separating from the military, he was commissioned as a police officer for the Austin Police Department where he also became a K9 handler for an undercover tactical Street Narcotics Unit of the Organized Crime Division. Donovan was featured on the HBO documentary War Dogs, A Soldiers Best Friend and was the technical/military advisor for the feature film Dog. Donovan currently lives in Grove, Oklahoma with his wife Melissa and two children. He is the owner/operator of Von Jäger K9 LLC, which provides tactical and K9 training for Law Enforcement agencies, personal protection canines, basic/advanced obedience, and K9 sales. Donovan specializes in special operations tactics, law enforcement operations, and Military/law enforcement K9 utilization. War Dogs: A Soldier's Best Friend: Donovan Hunter was featured with his Military Working Dog Nuke in the HBO documentary War Dogs: A Soldiers Best Friend. During the production of the documentary, Donovan, was able to use his military and law enforcement experience to assist the production team with vetting the film and its subjects for content accuracy. Donovan Hunter Featurette (Military/Technical Advisor) Dog the film starring Channing Tatum with Donovan Hunter as the chief Military and Technical Advisor.	[]
al-Latrun — اللَطْرُون Known also as: al-Atrun Average Elevation 250 m Distance from Al Ramla 14 km Year Arab Total 1931 120 1944/45 190 190 Land Ownership (1944/45) in dunums Year Arab Jewish Public Total 1944/45 7724 134 518 8376 Land Use (1944/45) in dunums Use Arab Jewish Public Total Non-Cultivable & Built-up (Total) Use Arab Public Total Non-Cultivable 720 501 1221 Built-up 4 4 724 501 1225 (15%) Cultivable (Total) Use Arab Jewish Public Total Cereal 6554 134 17 6705 Plantation and Irrigable 439 439 Citrus and Bananas 7 7 7000 134 17 7151 (85%) Number of Houses (1931) The village was situated on a hill at the junction of the Ramla-Jerusalem highway with other highways that led to Gaza and Ramallah. This location lay just south of an ancient Roman road that ran from the Mediterranean coast through Emmaus/'Imwas (149138) and up the mountains to Jerusalem. Because of its proximity to this road, the site of al-Latrun had strategic importance. Its name may have been derived from the phrase Le Toron des Chevaliers ('The Tower of the Knights' in Old French), which was the name of a castle built on the site by the Crusaders between 1150 and 1170. Salah aI-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin) captured the castle in 1187. Migrants from neighboring villages moved to al-Latrun during the governorship of Mustafa Thurayya Pasha (1852-62). In the late nineteenth century, al-Latrun was a small, mud-brick village built within the walls of the Crusader castle. French Trappist monks built a monastery cum agricultural school on a slope near the village in 1890 that became famous for its vineyards. During the British Mandate it was classified as a hamlet by the Palestine Index Gazetteer. Interviews with monks who arrived at al-Latrun before 1940 revealed that there were two al-Latruns: Old al-Latrun (al-Latrun al-Qadima) and New al-Latrun (al-Latrun al-Jadida). The old al-Latrun was situated about 100 m east of the monastery; the new al-Latrun was built around 1940, some 400-500 m south of the monastery. The monks bought the land and houses of old al-Latrun and built twenty new houses for the villagers in return; these houses were built away from the monastery, so that the monks could maintain a quiet environment. AI-Latrun's population was predominantly Christian. The villagers grew mainly grain and beans. In 1944145 a total of 7 dunums was devoted to citrus and bananas and 6,554 dunums was allocated to cereals; 439 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. With the aid of the Trappist monastery the residents drew their drinking water via pipes from Bi'r al-Hilw (the 'sweet well'). Al-Latrun contained the ruins of the Crusader fortress, tombs carved in rock, and a canal. About 2 km west of al-Latrun lay Khirbat Jadira (146137), where a ruined tower, three large cisterns with arch-supported roofs, and a rock-cut tomb chamber were found. This strategically located hamlet, which controlled the Jerusalem-Jaffa road, was the scene of a long series of battles in the course of the war. Six separate Israeli attacks were launched to capture the al-Latrun salient between mid-May and mid-July 1948. The first attack, during Operation Makkabi (see Khirbat Bayt Far, Ramla sub-disctrict), actually led to the occupation of al-Latrun by the Giv'ati Brigade for a brief period on 16-17 May, according to the History of the War of Independence. This occurred while the Arab Liberation Army was in the process of handing over its positions to the Transjordanian Arab Legion. However, al-Latrun was regained by Arab forces when the Giv'ati units were summoned to the southern front. Shortly afterwards, the newly-formed Sheva' (Seventh) Brigade and the Second Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade launched Operation Ben-Nun (Phase A) to gain control of the road to Jerusalem. Their attempt to capture al-Latrun was repulsed by the Arab Legion, which inflicted heavy casualties upon the Israeli forces. The New York Times stated that Arab Legion units rushed to the area to participate in the twenty-four-hour battle on 25-26 May. The fighting later spread to the area of Khulda and Bayt Jiz. Phase B of the same operation was implemented on 30 May. Israeli units reached the al-Latrun police station, but the demolition squad charged with destroying the building came under fire and withdrew. On 31 May the Israeli commander told a New York Times reporter that the attack had left the village badly burned and its police station gutted. After this failure, the Israelis concentrated on finding an alternative route to Jerusalem, bypassing al-Latrun. This effort resulted in the so-called 'Burma Road' (named after the Chinese supply route in World War II), a dirt road making a detour southwards east of Dayr Muhaysin and rejoining the road at Saris. Since the road was insufficient for military purposes, a fourth attempt to occupy al-Latrun was made during the night of 8-9 June. The History of the War of Independence relates that Operation Yoram aimed at attacking the village from the southeast by occupying two overlooking hills. This time, units of the Har'el and Yiftach brigades were again driven back by the Arab Legion. Shortly after this attack, on 18 June, the 'shock troops' of the Irgun Zvai Leumi blasted part of the al-Latrun monastery. The New York Times quoted the Irgun as saying that the monastery was a stronghold for the Arab Legion. However, in the middle of the following month, an Associated Press (AP) correspondent wrote that 'in the face of repeated shelling by Israeli guns, the venerable Trappist monks still cling to their famous Latrun monastery under the French flag.' The AP report added: 'Neutral foreign reporters accredited to the Trans-Jordan Arab Legion have visited Latrun continually during the Palestine hostilities and never have detected the slightest violation by the Arabs of the monastery's sanctity.' The monastery had been attacked at least once before by Zionist forces, according to the newspaper Filastin. It reported on 16 April that a passing Jewish convoy opened fire on gardeners on the grounds of the monastery, wounding two of them and breaking windows. The fifth attempt to occupy al-Latrun took place in the framework of Operation Dani (see Abu al-Fadl, Ramla sub-disctrict), on 15-16 July, after the end of the first truce of the war. As the second truce drew near, the operation's commander decided to focus on al-Latrun. The plan was to isolate the village from its hinterland and attack it from the east. Once again, the force assigned to isolate the village failed, sustaining nineteen casualties in a confrontation with the Arab Legion, according to the official Israeli version. The sixth and final attempt, just before the second truce on 18 July, involved a direct frontal assault by units of the Yiftach Brigade. The Yiftach forces were equipped with a number of armored vehicles, including two Cromwell tanks that had been dispatched from the northern sector. However, technical difficulties with one of the tanks led to the failure of this effort. Two days into the second truce, a 20 July New York Times dispatch stated that al-Latrun had been completely surrounded by Israeli forces. But it remained accessible from Arab-held territory, being linked by the road to Ramallah. On 10 August, United Nations mediator Count Folke Bernadotte announced that Arab Legion forces had withdrawn from al-Latrun, after having controlled it for many weeks. He did not mention the cause of the withdrawal. The following day, Bernadotte ordered Israeli forces to withdraw from Hill 312 on the al-Latrun-Ramallah road because the position had been occupied after the truce was proclaimed. According to a New York Times report, Israel had agreed to evacuate two unnamed nearby villages and permit 400 inhabitants to return. However, on 12 August a pumping station was blown up at al-Latrun and press reports stated that the 'initial investigation points to Arab irregulars.' In response, the Israeli government countermanded orders for the evacuation of the two villages. Bernadotte then dropped his request that Israeli forces withdraw in the al-Latrun area, according to the New York Times. The History of the War of Independence states that Israel was granted the right to use the al-Latrun-Jerusalem road in the armistice agreement with Jordan. As a result, the old al-Latrun became part of the West Bank and served as a camp for the Jordanian army, whereas the new al-Latrun fell in the no-man's-land. The residents of al-Latrun moved to the neighboring village of '1m was, on the West Bank. Their houses remained empty until 1967, when al-Latrun was captured by the Israeli army during the June War. The settlement of Newe Shalom was established on village land in 1983. All the houses of New al-Latrun have been destroyed. Dense foxtail grass and thorny plants grow among the rubble of former houses. There are also a few almond and carob trees and cactuses on the site.	[]
středa 3. února 2021 Home » , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , » Interview - HELL-BORN - We've witnessed the rise of death metal, and the phenomenon known as The Second Wave Of Black Metal. Interview with legendary black/thrash death metal band from Poland - HELL-BORN. Answered Baal (Bass/Vocals), thank you! Translated Duzl, thank you! Recenze/review - HELL-BORN - Natas Liah (2021): Ave HELL-BORN! Greetings to the catacombs. I hope you are doing well at this strange time. I listen to your new "Natas Liah" all the time and I feel that every time I listen to it, it gets better and better. How did you feel about going to the studio and tell me something about the recording process. Well, it was something very raw, organic so to speak. We've somehow went back to when we were starting this whole thing. We felt fresh, powerful, and with no expectations whatsoever. As for the studio - we've chosen a very young, very talented beginners to work with. Their studio is growing and improving as you're reading this. And they fell the stuff you've come to work with. The recording process felt not only very natural and easy, because of our experience. We've realy felt that teenage hunger and passion, you know. Since 2019 you have a new drummer Diabolizer. Why him? He plays great. Your band has already replaced several drummers during its existence. I think the current one is the sixth. You have quite high consumption of drummers :). How did you get together with Diabolizer? Well, I saw him drumming for THRONEUM live, and I've allready heard him on record, so when I did, I've immediately got in touch with Les to tell him, I got the drummer for HELL-BORN. End of story. As for the changes - it was somehow happening on it's own. We didn't fuckin' plan to switch drummers every record just for fun, you know, haha! I like exactly the raw, dark blackened death-thrash metal that you play. I love the sound of your new album! Sharp, moldy, cold, like old graves. Where did you record and how did you feel going to the studio after 13 years? The sound is really as cut from the late eighties! Well, I've mentioned the story with choosing the studio, right? It's "Creme De La Creme Studio" in Tczew, Poland (the actual home town of Inferno from BEHEMOTH). They've engineered the recordings, and mixed the tracks. The mastering was done by none other than Haldor Grundberg, known for his work on BEHEMOTH stuff. I can honestly say, I didn't expect to get such an awesome sound. That's the way I like the death metal saound. The old way. I admit that your return to the scene is not only great news for me, but also a confirmation that the old bards can still kick everyone's asses! I wonder how the material for the new album came about? Did you compose all the time or did you prepare everything at the last minute? Did you use any old riffs, for example? I don't think Les used more than 2-3 old riffs he allready wrote for a different purpose. All the material was written and worked on at rehearsals in the course of a couple of months. I wrote the final bass lines, lyrics and vocal arrangements in just a few weeks. It was fast, intensive and very pleasing. Why hadn't HELL-BORN been heard for so long? Was it because Baal moved to Prague? But Metal Encyclopedia say that he is back in Poland. How it is about you like a band? What have you been doing since the last album "Darkness" (2008)? Did you play in other bands? Jesus fuckin' Christ, what??? I didn't move anywhere, I was just born there, and stayed there for not longer than a year as a baby... C'mon! Anyways, no we didn't play in any bands. We've played some music, jamin' just for music's sake. Not metal stuff. And we've never really expected to come back with such a bang... Who actually did the cover for the new album? The motif reminds me old Norwegian but also Polish black metal bands from the nineties. What should the cover represent? What it represents is just what you see - our logo in a classy frame, haha. The story behind the album title, and the way it's written on the cover is quite funny. I've allready have planned to use the "NATAS LIAH" phrase. And so later on I find out, that there's allready an album out with that title. Damn, I couldn't let the idea go. So I've decided to use this mirroring we can see now. And yes, it was supposed to look both old, and classy. Lord K. of the repulsive NEKKROFUKK took care of that. Who is the author texts on the new album "Natas Liah"? Where do you get inspiration for them? I write the lyrics for HELL-BORN. Always did, and always will. I can't imagine being the voice of the band speaking someone elses words. It is somehow personal in the end of the day. All the inspiration for my lyrics comes from within. That's how it works. It's the externalization of my thougths, beliefs, emotions... These sort of things. We all know about your role in DAMNATION and BEHEMOTH. But what influenced you in your beginnings as musicians? What was the main trigger for picking up the guitar for the first time? And what was being listened to in Poland then? Please remember for us. Well, with bands like KAT, DRAGON, KREON, TURBO (one of the favourite bans of Fenriz) we've had a pretty impressive example to follow. We've grown up listening to VENOM, METALLICA, SLAYER, BLACK SABBATH... We've witnessed the rise of death metal, and the phenomenon known as "The Second Wave Of Black Metal", that spawned the infamous "true Norwegian scene". We've been a part of that gigantic trend, that everyone of us wished to see as a cult... We wanted to be just like our idols, you know. We wanted to be just like fuckin' Cronos! I know that at the moment the situation is not good for concerts, but when this madness with the flu is over, are you planning any events or tours with HELL-BORN? I would like to go to a club somewhere in Prague, get really drunk and mosh-pit. Can we look forward to it? Well, time will tell. We're pretty busy with our jobs and families to hit the road and tour, but we actually want to do clubs and festivals. No one knows what will happen... What does death thrash black metal mean to you? I mean now how you perceive it as a person and a musician. You can easily embark on philosophical considerations. It's the music I felt in love with as a kid, you know. That's it. As we were all introduced to some anti-religious ideas through metal music, our focus in terms of philosophy and personal beliefs navigated towards the other side. The side of the Devil. And we've tasted the apple of Eden just like the First Ones did. We were the spooky, satanic metal kids. How do you see the development of HELL-BORN in the future? I hope we won't wait for another album for so long! Do you already have any ideas, a vision of how to continue? I don't know, man. Time will tell. We've already started to work on new songs. Plans are being conceived. I don't think I'll take us onother 10+ years to put something out, haha. Thank you so much for the interview. I have to go out in a minute. There is frost, snow and ice. I think I'll put your new "Natas Liah" record back in my headphones, because it's great! All the best to your personal lives. HELL-BORN RULES! Thanx man, I really appreciate it. We've hoped to reach as many people with our muisic, and Odium Records made it possible. Thanx for taking part in promoting our work. 666 Share this games :	[]
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show \| Brand Alley The Brand Alley garden was a space inspired by the conflict of our private and personal lives. Paul used stolen views and changes in levels to explore the idea of ourselves in public being watched, and in private, relaxing. The flowering plant palette was restricted to burnt oranges and lime greens, colours normally quite hard to achieve at Chelsea, drawing inspiration from fashion of the period.	[]
The Loops That Are Part of Slot Machine Gaming slot machine The Loops That Are Part of Slot Machine Gaming A slot machine, also known as the slots, fruit machines, pugs, the mini slot, or mini pugs, can be an electronic gambling machine that generates a casino game of luck because of its users. It generates a random number, or number combinations, which is either a one or a two digit number, and is displayed on screen. The machine matches the number to the symbols displayed on the screen and, if the quantity generated matches with the symbols displayed on the screen then your machine will hit the “win” or “money” slot. The casino management uses the reels or wheels, which are made to spin at fast speeds, to perform the game. Each machine has its own set of instructions and programming that determine what it is going to do and how it is going to do it. Every machine includes a series of random number generators or (RNG). These numbers are just what a slot machine is “guessing” in regards to what the user is going to select when it’s their turn to sit down at the machine to play the game. The number generator utilized by each machine is unique and will produce a different result whenever a person plays the machine. An absolute combination will be a mix of numbers generated by the random number generators for that one machine. To ensure that a slot machine to win, it must match the symbols on the reels to the symbols displayed on the monitor. Most of the symbols displayed on the monitor are going to be the actual symbols that match certain wining combination. However, there are some symbols on the monitors that do not have any link with a winning combination and so are used only as indicators for other activities on the reels. For example, a few of the symbols on the reels can indicate energy levels or even the amount of cash that a player has within their pockets. As a result, a slot machine could be set up so that the random number generators or the machines actually incorporate a random number generator with an indicator for other factors. Despite the fact that casino goers might not realize it, slots employ the usage of probability in order to generate winning combinations. For instance, if one thousand jackpots are up for grabs on a specific slot machine location, then the chances of all the jackpots being won are relatively equal. This is why casinos place so much focus on keeping the odds balanced in order that no individual person or group of individuals outbounds another. This balance is most beneficial maintained by the use of varying jackpots on different slots. Another facet of slot machine game mechanics involves the payout percentage. The payout percentage is basically the percentage of each slot machine game bet that’ll be taken home by the winner of the overall game. In case a bettor won a slot with a ten percent payout, they would then take home 10 % of their total bets. In a few situations, however, the payout percentages are capped. When this is actually the case, only the tops of the charts might get payout percentages above twenty percent. One interesting exemplory case of the impact of probability in slot machine gaming are available in the realm of the fruit machine. Historically, the payout percentages of these devices were abysmal. However, in reaction to customer demand, casinos developed increasingly clever techniques for enticing customers to play these machines. Probably the most popular tricks was to assign a single person, called a “one-armed bandit,” with the 우리카지노 더킹 sole responsibility of ensuring that all of the machines in the casino were paying out. This particular slot machine trick enticed more slot players to try their luck at slots located in key regions of the casino. A vintage example of the one-armed bandit may be the so-called “fairytale” machine. This is where a new player approaches the winning booth looking to visit a winning combination. Upon arrival, however, the ball player is informed that the combination cannot be completed. As a result, the player does not receive any payout with this machine. The reason being the one-armed bandit had been counting on the fact that the other players would be waiting patiently to perform their winnings before allowing the “fairytale” to occur. Although this system has been banned by many state governments in order to limit the quantity of casino slot machines that pay out small winnings, it is still used even today by some players. Slots are games of chance. While good gambling strategy can help a player increase his or her chances of winning, it has little impact on the chances that the device is betting upon. It is very important understand that if you want to place a bet on a machine that has a low win rate, your very best bet could be to simply wait for the ball to land in the jackpot rather than trying to beat the chances. If luck is working for you, you will have a much greater chance of getting your cash back.	[]
Realistically Drawn Disney Princesses I personally could stare at the various Disney princesses all day long. I think that some part of my brain receives extra dopamine whenever I see cartoon-y flowing hair held back by a headband or a magical dress that sparkles. Graphic designer Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen has given the Disney dames a new look, and they are GORGEOUS. If you have ever wondered what flat drawings from the ’40s would look like IRL, then look no further:	[]
Questions we dare not ask: Gülen and the coup [OPINION – ÖZCAN KELEŞ] Questions we dare not ask: Gülen and the coup Özcan Keleş** Gareth Jenkins once criticized Turkey’s infamous Ergenekon indictments on the grounds that they were “products of ‘projective’ rather than deductive reasoning, working backwards from the premise that the organization exists to weave unrelated individuals, statements and acts into a single massive conspiracy.” Other than being a far more extreme example of “projective” rather than “deductive” reasoning, how is the Turkish government and its media’s attempt at connecting Turkey’s failed coup with Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet movement he inspires (also known as the “Gülen movement”), any different? President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been projecting Gülen and Hizmet onto almost every development in Turkey since the corruption investigations of December 2013. From the Gezi protests to the downing of the Russian jet, almost all past, present and even potential future impediments to the wishes of the ruling party are pinned on Gülen. Consider the night of the coup; within two hours of the tanks rolling, President Erdoğan called into CNN Turk. He said he was unaware of the whereabouts of his chief of staff, that the national intelligence services had not only failed to intercept intel on the coup and inform him of it before it had happened but that he was unable to reach his head of national intelligence even after the coup was under way; so much so, that despite the overbearing state machinery in place, President Erdoğan was informed of the coup as it took place by no other than his brother-in-law. Yet despite being in the dark and without being privy to the necessary facts, in part as the facts were still unfolding, President Erdoğan was sure of one thing, that he would pin this squarely on Gülen and Hizmet. If that’s not projecting, I don’t know what is. Yet what disappoints me most is not President Erdoğan but the willingness of the Turkish intelligentsia to uncritically internalize the president’s accusations, especially those who rightly criticized the evidentiary failings of the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer trials; should they not be the very people to caution the country now against this collective déjà vu? What exactly is the weight of the evidence linking Gülen to the coup? Where is the judicial due process that has determined the culpability of Gülen and Hizmet? What is the point of a judicial investigation when its main objective of determining the culprit has already been pre-judged? Gülen and Hizmet have not only been pre-judged but are being pre-punished even before any preliminary judicial investigation into the coup. I fear that by the time the judicial investigation into the failed coup is complete, there will be no Gülen or Hizmet left to prosecute; I suspect that is what the president and Turkish government would like to see. That so many use the term “FETÖ” (Fethullah Terror Organization) when there is not a single court ruling, even now, on the existence of the thing, demonstrates my point about complete disregard for due process and the rule of law. Do we not recall that even when the Turkish government supported the Ergenekon trials, pundits were forced to refer to it as “the alleged Ergenekon organization” to avoid being sued by the suspects of those indictments? What does it say of the motives and principles of those who claimed to defend the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer suspects in the name of justice and due process when they so willingly betray those same principles and positions today? As I have said before, don’t defend Gülen or Hizmet, but defend due process, the rule of law, judicial independence and the right to be heard in the face of overwhelming power. In the light of the tsunami of arrests and dismissals of journalists in Turkey, the cancellation of their press cards and passports and arrests of family members when the journalists themselves cannot be found, who is now able to challenge the Turkish government’s narrative about the attempted coup? Who can challenge the working assumptions within the executive, judiciary and intelligence services in Turkey? How can we know fact from fiction, distinguish claim from evidence? Turkey has fallen so far that even civil society and the media are unable or unwilling to offer an alternative perspective to that of the government. Al Jazeera’s Gülen’s fingerprints in Turkey’s failed coup is one example among many. The piece merely lists and explains the government’s most commonly cited five “pieces of evidence” to incriminate Gülen uncritically and does not provide a right to reply. These five pieces of “evidence” are being repeated in Turkish and in some foreign media, so they merit evaluation. The commonly cited five pieces of “evidence” (hereafter “claims”) are italicized and listed below as explained by Al Jazeera. I evaluate each claim in turn in a point-by-point basis by posing questions and counter-perspectives. With limited time, resources and classified files that are unreachable, there is only so much that can be said. As a result, I am posting this as a “working blog” that I will update based on feedback received from readers. Also, readers are welcome to suggest new or alternative hyperlinks to those inserted below. Methodical deconstruction is time consuming; I apologize, therefore, in advance for the length of what follows. Claim 1 – Police officers were found among putschist soldiers <<The first sign of “Gülen’s connection” with the coup came from the streets on the night of the coup attempt: Among the ones, who participated in the coup attempt along with the putschist soldiers, were ‘police officers who were prosecuted as part of the investigations regarding the Gülen’s organization’s parallel structure but could not be found’. One of those under prosecution, former police chief, Mithat Aynacı was captured in an armored vehicle in front of the Istanbul Police Department. The fugitive police chief was in military camouflage when he was caught. There were other police chiefs among putschists that night as well. Wanted former police chiefs Lokman Kırcalı and Gürsel Aktepe were among the soldiers captured in front of the Ankara Police Department. In his statement, Gürsel Aktepe said he has sympathy for Fethullah Gülen, adding that ‘he had gone to the US on a mission as part of his career, that he had stayed in Gülen’s house for two days there and attended his conversation gatherings’. Stating that he received a monthly financial support of 4,500 Turkish liras after he was be ostracized from profession, Aktepe said that on the night of the coup he received a message telling ‘everyone to go to their former places of duty’ and so he went to the front of the Ankara Police Department. Aktepe said “It is impossible for the coup attempt on the night of July 15th to have taken place without the knowledge and order of the top leader of this organization, Fethullah Gülen.”>> The claim is that three “Gülenist” police officers were apprehended while supporting the coup and that this proves the link between Gülen and the coup. The first point to make is that if Hizmet wanted to support the attempted coup by reinforcing it with current or former police officers, should there not have been thousands of such police officers involved, especially if we accept the government claim that the nation’s police force was overrun by “Gülenists”? Note that the government had purged 45,000 police officers and 2,500 judges and prosecutors by 2015 (and more since, until the failed coup of 2016, when it began a new wave of purges). How is it that of these 45,000 police officers, dismissed, wanted or still active, only three were identified as supporting the putschists? The piece mentions three police officers by name: Mithat Aynacı, Lokman Kırcalı, and Gürsel Aktepe. It claims these officers were “prosecuted” for being part of the “Gülen organization’s parallel structure.” This is factually incorrect. Firstly, any prosecution alleging any link to Gülen or his movement is still ongoing, and so far no court has given a ruling on any charge incriminating Fethullah Gülen, Hizmet or on any alleged association with either. Therefore, suggesting that these police officers have been “prosecuted” and, by implication, found guilty, is grossly misleading. Furthermore, according to media reports, Mithat Aynacı was dismissed, not prosecuted, from the police force on Nov. 1, 2014 for being a member of the so-called FETÖ/PDY. Mithat Aynacı is reported to have taken the matter to court, which ruled in his favor and reinstated him as a police officer. Therefore, at the time of his arrest on the night of the coup, Mithat Aynacı had no judicial investigation or decision against him proving his link to any organization whatsoever. Secondly, had there been any evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, on Mithat Aynacı’s connection to Hizmet, he would have been dismissed immediately after the December 2013 corruption investigations and not approximately a year later. Thirdly, when eventually dismissed in November 2014, he would have been prosecuted and not just dismissed, as others are being, and fourthly, the government would have countered his claim for unfair dismissal in court. Moreover, the terms FETÖ or PDY have no legal standing whatsoever. FETÖ is an acronym for “Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization.” According to Turkish law, an organization can only be designated as “terrorist” by a high court (Yargitay) decision, and there is no such court decision. PDY is an acronym for “Parallel State Organization”; again there is no court decision that has ruled on the existence of such an organization. In its absence, the Turkish government passed a cabinet decree on June 29, 2015, many months after Mithat Aynacı’s dismissal, recognizing “PDY” as an enemy of the state; that proves nothing about Aynacı. As for Lokman Kırcalı, and Gürsel Aktepe, the Al Jazeera piece states that these officers were wanted at the time of arrest on the night of the coup but does not state on what grounds they were wanted. Given the explanation above on FETÖ and the PDY, it is very unlikely that these police officers were formally dismissed on the basis of links to the Hizmet movement if they were investigated prior to June 29, 2015. In any event, no court has yet ruled on any FETO or PDY charges, and therefore there is no formal link between the two police officers and Hizmet. What links the three police officers to Gülen is the popular assumption that the dismissals of police officers following the 2013 corruption investigations were based on links to Gülen. However, it is well documented that following the corruption investigations of 2013, the Turkish government purged 60,000 police officers, prosecutors and civil servants to disrupt the judicial investigations into government corruption and prevent new investigations from surfacing. Unless we concede that the government profiled 60,000 people prior to the 2013 corruption investigations, then we must assume that these were blanket purges of positions considered sensitive by the government. For example, immediately after the corruption investigations, the government purged all financial crime and organized crime units across the country’s police force – the very units that are responsible for investigating government corruption and money laundering charges. Without more evidence, we cannot assume that the police officers purged following the 2013 corruption investigations – including Mithat Aynacı, Lokman Kırcalı and Gürsel Aktepe – were linked to Gülen. Based on the above, the safest assumption is that Mithat Aynacı was purged as a non-loyalist (to the ruling party). We know from the current wave of purges that people of all persuasions and walks of life are being purged under the pretext of being Gülenist. When these people resurface elsewhere, are we simply to assume that they were all Gülenists because they were hanged with the same rope? Nevertheless, the discovery of an off-duty police officer in a tank on the night of the coup is an important lead. If nothing else it suggests collusion between the putschists and that particular police officer. However, despite his importance, there have been a number of news reports by pro-government media outlets that Mithat Aynacı committed suicide while in custody. Reports of Mithat Aynacı’s suicide also coincided with pro-government media reports that Gülen had ordered the assassination of key witnesses held in custody. Conceivably, these latter reports were run to cover up the number of “suicides” occurring in custody. However, soon thereafter, Yeni Şafak ran a new story, this time claiming that Mithat Aynacı was alive and had attended court without providing any accompanying footage to prove its claim or its source. Given Amnesty’s report of detainees being tortured, beaten and in some cases, raped, coupled with unverified reports of the death of at least half a dozen detainees, it is possible that Mithat Aynacı did in fact die while in custody as originally reported by pro-government media. If that is the case, the question that must be asked is, given his importance as a suspect and material witness, why was Mithat Aynacı allowed to commit suicide, if that is in fact how he died? If Mithat Aynacı’s arrest proved the government’s allegation, as suggested by pro-government media and indeed this Al Jazeera piece, then why was he not guarded and supervised round the clock to prevent any harm from coming to him? The death and/or torture of Mithat Aynacı disproves the argument that his arrest was a key piece of evidence for the government. It further proves that the authorities are not interested in investigating this failed coup in a manner and form that provides a verdict that meets the standards of international law. Claim 2 – Confessions of Akar’s aide, Lt. Col. Levent Türkkan <<One of the most important developments, which reveals Gülen’s connection with the coup, took place within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Statements by the Chief of General Staff Hulûsi Akar’s aide, Lieutenant Colonel Levent Türkkan, have once again exposed this connection. Türkkan was the leader of the group which detained the Chief of General Staff that night. Türkkan, who names himself a member of the Gülen organization, said that there was an “older brother” named Murat who was in charge of him. Adding that he was the child of a poor family and met with Gülen organization’s older brothers while he was at junior high school, Türkkan also said he had been given the exam questions before he entered the Işıklar Military High School’s admission exams in 1989. He also told that while he was serving as the Assistant Adjutant of the former Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel, he planted a bugging device, “which Brother Murat gave him”, in Özel’s room.”>> Claim 3 – Brig. Gen. Sağır: I had served the organization for 10 years <<Another statement revealing the Gülen organization’s connection with the coup came from a brigadier general. Commander of the 5th Infantry Training Brigade in Sivas and Garrison Commander Brigadier General Fatih Celaleddin Sağır, confessed his connection with the Gülen organization. In his statement, Sağır said “I had been going to the [Gülen organization’s] houses and and dormitories between 1988-1992, attending all their gatherings. I had served the Gülen organization for 10 years. After 2007, especially with the Sledgehammer and Ergenekon operations, I started to move away. I suspended my relationship with them.”>> Lt. Col. Levent Türkkan’s statement was released to the press with a number of photographs. It is claimed that Levent Türkkan wrote his statement by hand. In the accompanying photographs, Levent Türkkan is shown with extensive bandages covering both hands and his entire waist, consistent with reports that his hands and ribs were broken. What is more, his face shows multiple bruises and swelling. Coupled with Amnesty’s report, it appears likely that Levent Türkkan was tortured while in custody. As a result, his “confession” would not serve to convict himself, let alone Gülen or anyone else. That Al Jazeera has used his statement as an “important development, which reveals Gülen’s connection” is deplorable. At the very least, they most certainly should have pointed out the significant possibility of torture given the accompanying photographs served by the pro-government media. Amnesty’s report, the number of deaths in custody, and the images and footage shown by the AA state news agency showing detainees bearing the bruises and marks of physical assault all suggest that these so-called confessions and statements are being extracted with extreme prejudice and should therefore be treated with great caution. There is ample ground to have these statements dismissed when they eventually reach an independent court of law. Furthermore, we are accessing these statements in bits and pieces through the pro-government media, which is not renowned for its scrupulous reporting. It is both unethical and naïve, therefore, to determine culpability for the coup on the basis of these statements. This applies to the statements of former police officer Gürsel Aktepe and Brig. Gen. Sağır, too. Why is the government parading detainees whose appearance corroborates claims of torture, beatings and inhumane treatment? By using these tactics, the government proves that it is focused on scaring the court of public opinion and dissent into line rather than making its case in any independent court of law. That it has opted out of the European Convention on Human Rights, in an attempt to elude the international court’s oversight on rights such as Article 3 on the absolute prohibition of torture or degrading treatment and Article 6 on the right to a fair trial further supports this view. President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Yıldırım pre-judged and pre-sentenced Fethullah Gülen and Hizmet as the mastermind of the coup while the coup was still under way and before any official judicial investigation had been launched. Given that the coup failed, is it not highly likely that the putschists are tempted to point the finger elsewhere to protect their own affiliations and ideologies? And given that Erdoğan has already identified the mastermind of the coup, is it not convenient for these putschists to corroborate the president’s narrative? Faced with the literal, not metaphorical, stick and offered official and unofficial plea bargains, is life not easier for all concerned, apart from Gülen and Hizmet, if all just join the chorus of blame against Gülen? Does anybody in a position of authority now dare to disclose any evidence that contradicts the president’s narrative? It is reported that thousands of putschists have been detained so far. How many of those interrogated have “confessed” their link to Gülen? How is it that Gülen was pre-judged as the mastermind of the coup without such information? Claim 4 – Tasking list discovered on putschist general <<One of the most notable information exposing the Gülen organization’s connection with the coup attempt was a name on the putschists’ tasking list. That name, which the public had already been familiar with, was Brigadier General Hamza Celepoğlu. Although he is currently in prison as part of a case regarding the stop-and-search of Turkish intelligence agency trucks, Celepoğlu was on the junta’s ‘tasking list’. Next to his name it says ‘ Gendarmerie General Command, Department of Inspection” as his post-coup place of duty. The indictment prepared against him stated that Celepoğlu “was acting as part of the Gülen organization’, which reveals ‘Gülen’s connection’ not only with the coup attempt, but also with the stopping of the Turkish intelligence agency trucks.>> A number of questions emerge in relation to this claim. For example, on whom was the “tasking list” discovered? How was it determined to be a tasking list for the failed coup? Has it been tested for fingerprints and authenticity? Why would the putschists not commit those names to memory and risk getting caught with a list? Why did the putschists not destroy the self-incriminating list when they realized that the coup was failing? On the coup statement being Kemalist in tone and language, some have argued that this does not preclude the coup plotters from being Gülenists as Gülenists like to hide their true identities behind others. Can that statement not equally apply to others, especially when attempting a coup, which should it fail, would have dire consequences for those behind it? Based on that logic, why can’t the tasking list be a decoy, in case the coup failed. The coup looked like it was failing from 1 a.m. local time onwards; if not prepared before, could the list not have been prepared as a decoy from that point onwards? Lets imagine that this was a genuine tasking list, envisaging Brig. Gen. Hamza Celepoğlu as head of intelligence. How has that got anything to do with Gülen? The Al Jazeera piece suggests Celepoğlu is in prison standing trial for the stop-and-search of Turkish intelligence agency trucks and that the indictment against him for this states that “he was acting as part of the Gülen organization.” According to Al Jazeera, that is sufficient to link Celepoğlu with Gülen. The problem with this proposition is that the said trial is still ongoing, so the indictment proves nothing. Former editor-in-chief of secular Cumhuriyet newspaper Can Dundar is also being charged in relation to this incident; are we to concede that he is “Gülenist” also? Furthermore, Turkish authorities have been blaming a great deal on Gülen, willy-nilly, as even acknowledged by the likes of Mustafa Akyol. Therefore, that there is an indictment alleging a Gülen connection is indicative of nothing other than a government crackdown. Claim 5 – Chief of Staff Hulûsi Akar was offered to be put in touch with Gülen <<One of the most striking information about ‘Pennsylvania’s connection’ with the coup can be found in Chief of General Staff Hulûsi Akar’s statement. According to the statement Akar gave to the prosecutor, the putschists asked him to sign the coup declaration that night and told him ‘I you want, we can get you in touch with our opinion leader, Fethullah Gülen”. In his statement, Akar said the person who made this proposal to him was Brigadier General Hakan Evrim, the commander of the Akinci Air Base, the command center of the attempted coup.>> Many argue that this is the most damning piece of evidence against Gülen. Al Jazeera describes it as the “most striking information” connecting Gülen to the coup. Its power comes from the fact that the statement is made by Hulûsi Akar, Turkey’s chief of general staff. However, this accusation is nonsensical and internally contradictory. Akar claims that he was told by putschist Brig. Gen. Hakan Evrim that he could be put in touch with Fethullah Gülen over the phone. The purpose of this offer is to convince the chief of general staff to join the putschists. Why would an alleged crypto-Gülenist, sworn to secrecy, who has infiltrated the military ranks through stealth, patience and cunning, volunteer the most important piece of information regarding the coup, the mastermind behind it, to no other than the chief of general staff, who until that point has proven that he is adamantly against joining the putschists? It makes no sense whatsoever and is at complete odds with how these “secretive Gülenists” are described. Those that argue that the coup was masterminded by “Gülenists” explain the Kemalist tone and language of the coup statement as a ploy by “Gülenists” to hide behind a Kemalist cloak. But why would a group go to such lengths to cover its tracks and then volunteer its affiliation to no less than the chief of general staff? Wouldn’t the putschists know that a call connecting Turkey’s chief of general staff from Turkey with Gülen in Pennsylvania, on the night of the coup, would be intercepted by dozens of foreign intelligence agencies, thereby alerting them as to the real mastermind behind the coup? Could they be so stealthy and stupid at the same time? Instead, according to German Focus magazine, within half an hour of the start of the coup, the UK’s GCHQ detected government communications stating that the coup would be pinned on Gülen and that the purges would start the next day; it was, in Erdoğan’s words, a “gift from God.” The alleged offer to connect Hulûsi Akar to Gülen over the phone was made at the air base to which the chief of staff was subsequently transferred after being held in Ankara for some time; that is, after the coup attempt started to look as if it was failing. Is it not possible, therefore, that the putschists attempted to misdirect and mislead Hulûsi Akar by offering to connect him to Gülen and thereby protect their true allegiances? How has this possibility been ruled out? Why is some evidence taken at face value, like this, but others, like the coup statement which points at a Kemalist leadership of the coup, not? Hulûsi Akar’s claim is not supported by the witness statements of the other people that were allegedly with him on the night of the coup. Brig. Gen. Hakan Evrim rejects the accusation and says he has nothing to do with Gülen or his movement whatsoever. The chief of general staff is no fan of Gülen. As a staunch secularist, he is likely to be against the Gülen movement and indeed the ruling party of Turkey. Given that the government pinned the failed coup on Gülen, does it not make sense for the chief of general staff to corroborate this and thereby eliminate a group that the Turkish military have traditionally opposed? Also, Hizmet participants do not refer to Fethullah Gülen as their “opinion leader.” There are multiple problems with Hulûsi Akar’s position and many unanswered questions which at best make him incompetent and at worst, implicate him as the missing leader of the failed coup. For example, we now know he was informed of the coup at 4 p.m., six hours before the coup took place. Why and how could he not avert it? Why did he not immediately discuss this life-threatening intelligence with the president and prime minister, when, after all, they were the ones being overthrown? A number of Turkey experts, including Gareth Jenkins, Eric Jan Zurcker and others believe that the secularists were behind the coup, which would implicate him. Ahmet Şık claims that the coup had a much larger coalition but that the larger factions pulled out at the last minute. James Clapper, the head of US national intelligence, says he does not believe the Gülenists were behind this coup, making the secularist involvement all the more plausible. This scenario would also implicate Hulûsi Akar. In any event, given that Hulûsi Akar is an “interested party” in this coup, do his statements not merit far greater skeptical scrutiny? This article was first published and updates are added in the author’s blog under this link *Özcan Keleş has been chairperson of the London-based Dialogue Society since 2008 and is a non-practicing barrister as well as a full-time Ph.D. candidate in the sociology of human rights at the University of Sussex.	[]
Sindy Amador Sindy Amador is a former light flyweight world champion now living in Southern California. As a fighter Amador had very little amateur experience and still was able to compete professionally at the highest level. She fought some of the best in her weight division and fans loved her pressure style. Amador, 32, was forced to retire in 2014 despite holding the IFBA world title due to a detached retina. Her knowledge of the fight game and excitement for the sport is a major reason she will be reporting for this web site.	[]
all 94 comments [–]QuestionableThotz 61 points62 points (5 children) run lola run? [–]DMike82 6 points7 points (0 children) That was the film that came to mind as soon as I saw this topic. [–]joey123z 2 points3 points (1 child) that came to mind for me too. but it has flashbacks of the characters talking at night in bed. It's been a few years since I've watched it, but i don't think it took place just the night before. If you count that, it probably takes place over at least a few days. [–]QuestionableThotz 0 points1 point (0 children) That's also sorta why I put the questionmark. I haven't seen in in a decade plus. [–]schnit123 10 points11 points (1 child) Not sure why you're unsure of yourself. The movie is eighty minutes long but takes place over a span of twenty minutes. [–]stringsandthings3 4 points5 points (0 children) Because he hasn't seen every film and maybe there's one that spans 10 minutes [–]Zealousideal_Ad_1604 68 points69 points (5 children) I remember another Jake Gyllenhaal film called Source Code where he’s programmed to live the same 8 minutes over and over again. I forgot how it ended. [–]redHotHotHot 23 points24 points (0 children) Every time he went back 8 minutes it made an alternate reality. He ended up saving everybody on the train that was supposed to be bombed and was able to live in that alternate reality. [–]DMike82 18 points19 points (0 children) Except while he was experiencing the same eight minutes over and over again, everyone in the "real" world was still experiencing normal linear time. It obviously wasn't that much time since they manage to catch Michael Arden's character before he manages to get his van (with the much bigger bomb) out of Chicago so a couple hours within the same morning, but the entire plot doesn't take place over the same eight minutes. [–]dark_wav 2 points3 points (1 child) This movie is so good [–]TheBooHooBlues 2 points3 points (0 children) I saw it like three times in the theatre I loved it so much, lol [–]MuhABD 1 point2 points (0 children) in the end he stayed in that memory forever since he texted the woman that was in charge of him from the train, that in the future i am the solider that will be coming as a test subject for your source code experiment, and you should cut all power to my brain, when i am inside the memory so i can stay there forever and start a life with the woman i met on that train [–]GCRMK 40 points41 points (9 children) My Dinner with Andre is in real time, so only takes about 2 hours total [–]SsurebreC 13 points14 points (1 child) Nick of Time is also in real time and it's only 90 minutes long. [–]PunkPen 1 point2 points (0 children) I was looking for this comment. [–]THRlLLH0 3 points4 points (0 children) Same as 12 Angry Men pretty much [–]lizzpop2003 11 points12 points (2 children) The movie 88 Minutes takes place over just a little more than 88 Minutes, if I remember correctly. It's also horrible, but still... [–]Jbow89 0 points1 point (0 children) Tick tock Doc [–]Candycoatedmuffin2 10 points11 points (0 children) Victoria is a single-take movie and the story takes place over it's two hour and eighteen minute runtime. [–]Bettiephile 34 points35 points (5 children) "Rope" from Alfred Hitchcock takes place in real time and is only 80 minutes long. [–]bretton-woods 16 points17 points (2 children) The events in Rope actually occur faster than real time, which Hitchcock achieves by doing things like having the day turn into evening faster than it would naturally happen. [–]bob1689321 4 points5 points (0 children) I'd argue it's still real time, they just exist in a world where it goes from morning to evening in 80 minutes. [–]Bettiephile 1 point2 points (0 children) Oh, that's right. I stand corrected. Thanks! [–]BrotherhoodVeronica 1 point2 points (1 child) There's a horror movie called The Silent House that has the same premise, along with being all one shot as well. It stars Elisabeth Olsen iirc. [–]gkkiller 0 points1 point (0 children) That's actually a remake of an Uruguayan movie which appears to have the same premise and gimmick. [–]joey123z 9 points10 points (3 children) 1917 is in real time. Edit: never mind, I was wrong. He was knocked unconscious and wakes up later. [–]BeforeJam 10 points11 points (0 children) Counting the bit where the guy gets knocked out, that extends it several hours. I also interpreted some parts of that movie having certain ellipses where time didn't pass exactly as shown, like with the guy getting into the truck after meeting the Mark Strong dude. That truck trip would have been like a couple streets length at most but it was clearly meant to be abridging an hour or so worth of driving. [–]AlexIsMakingThings 6 points7 points (0 children) I love this movie, but no, it’s not in real time. While it is stylized using (the illusion of) a continuous shot to emphasize the relentless nature of war, the movie takes place over a 24-ish hour period of time. [–]powerstride96 25 points26 points (3 children) Vantage Point is like 15 min of alot of different perspectives. [–]bob1689321 2 points3 points (2 children) Was that movie good? I watched it as a kid and can't remember what I thought of it lol [–]powerstride96 4 points5 points (1 child) From what I remember it was pretty underwhelming [–]NimanderTheYounger 2 points3 points (0 children) I couldn't finish. I couldn't again watch the same thing from another camera angle. You're just saving the angle with the answers to the end of the runtime. I couldn't take it. [–]TeamStark31 30 points31 points (1 child) Jacob’s Ladder has to be it it turns out the whole movie is a dying man’s final thoughts Other possibles are Run Lola Run, Rashomon, and Vantage Point. [–]mickdarling 0 points1 point (0 children) Came here for this. [–]TrenterD 19 points20 points (1 child) I don't know how they could make a movie like that, but I bet it's possible with enough creativity. There is a 1962 movie based on Ambrose Bierce's "Incident At Owl Creek". The movie probably occurs over the span of a couple minutes because: An American Civil War soldier survives a hanging and escapes. However, at the end of the story, we see that it was all a hallucination that occurred in the brief seconds as he was falling to his death by hanging. [–]paperthintrash 1 point2 points (0 children) Also a Twilight Zone episode by the same name. One of my favorites! [–]kasetti 6 points7 points (0 children) I would guess something artsy where everything in the film was just a flashback/dream that the character went through in his minds in a blink of a second like that hanging episode in the Twilight Zone. [–]mikeyfreshh 36 points37 points (3 children) Back to the Future takes negative 30 years [–]Zealousideal_Ad_1604 37 points38 points (0 children) 0 to -30 is still a span of 30 haha [–]frizbplaya 7 points8 points (1 child) Doesn't it end the afternoon of the same day it started? Edit: NM, Marty meets doc at the mall at like 1am, it must be the next day. [–]joey123z 7 points8 points (0 children) it starts in the morning and ends the next morning. [–]Specialist-Age729 12 points13 points (0 children) Phone Booth [–]Greenfieldfox 32 points33 points (0 children) Gone in 60 seconds. They really drag that 60 seconds out. [–]insane__knight 4 points5 points (0 children) Victoria (2015) was shot in a single take so I guess that one. [–]mjackson4672 13 points14 points (0 children) Last 33 seconds takes 2 hours, sounds like a real football game [–]BeforeJam 2 points3 points (1 child) Locke is in real time, and it's just under 90 minutes. [–]greg225 0 points1 point (0 children) I do feel like that particular route would have been a bit longer though. Like maybe 30-60 minutes with decent traffic. 90 minutes seems a bit generous but I suppose it's not literally the ENTIRE journey. [–]shivashantz 1 point2 points (0 children) ‘Waiting’ takes place over one evening approx 4pm-11pm (guessing) [–]garden181 1 point2 points (0 children) Before Sunrise Ferris Bueller's Day Off [–]Kolermigon 1 point2 points (0 children) Locke. And I know this one is a little bit longer (spans a single day) but it's a must: Nueve Reinas. [–]framptal_tromwibbler 1 point2 points (0 children) I don’t know about shortest but the movie “11:14” shows the same interval of time from like 4 or 5 different points of view. Can’t remember how long that time interval is though. Maybe 15-20 minutes? Cool movie though. Ties them all together in a in a really clever way in the end too. Been years since I watched it. May be time for a rewatch. [–]BettySchaefer 1 point2 points (0 children) Jacob's Ladder [–]Crystal_Pesci 1 point2 points (1 child) Apparently Nick of Time (1995) has been forgotten! If I remember correctly it takes place over 90 minutes as Christopher Walker blackmails Johnny Depp to kill a Senator in that amount of time. [–]ExistentialSpyCrisis 0 points1 point (0 children) This is a good one. But if I recall, the entire film takes place in real time, until it doesn't... [–]ilovelucygal 1 point2 points (0 children) Run Lola Run (1998) [–]sittingonahillside 1 point2 points (0 children) Russian Ark, it's one long take anyway but I can't recall if it's a single time period. Been almost 20 years. [–]tanv91 2 points3 points (1 child) Superbad takes place over like 6 hours or something [–]DIXIExCUP 13 points14 points (0 children) No it starts before school on Friday and ends Saturday morning [–]Jay_Eye_MBOTH_WHY 2 points3 points (1 child) Groundhog Day does both shortest and longest. [–]The-Soul-Stone 4 points5 points (0 children) It certainly isn’t the shortest by any means. It’s still 36 hours-ish even without the time-loop. [–]T-408 -1 points0 points (0 children) Run Lola Run. With the exception of a very few minutes of screen time, the entire film is a loop. Jacob’s Ladder comes to mind, as it’s all in his head. Mulholland Drive too, as many interpret the entire film to be a dream sequence [–]Asha_Brea 0 points1 point (1 child) It has to be one movie that shows something from different points of view. [–]Rydisx 4 points5 points (0 children) vantage point? [–]russellamcleod 0 points1 point (0 children) Carnage is basically one scene in real time. Brilliantly funny movie with an all star cast. [–]SnowGryphon -1 points0 points (1 child) The Last Temptation of Christ? The whole movie is the titular last temptation which you could interpret as Jesus fantasizing about an alternate universe [–]staedtler2018 2 points3 points (0 children) The whole movie is not the titular last temptation. [–]Arkansmith -2 points-1 points (0 children) Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is over two days, IIRC. Please correct me if I’m wrong. [–]LondonMoon89 0 points1 point (0 children) Phone Booth might be in there somewhere [–]RuthlessBro 0 points1 point (0 children) Phone Booth [–]TheDapperDaddy 0 points1 point (0 children) Snake Eyes with Nicolas Cage. [–]KingMagenta 0 points1 point (0 children) 12 Angry Men. While not fully shot in real time, it’s done in the span of an afternoon. [–]QuintoBlanco 0 points1 point (0 children) Rashomon has three elements: the disputed event told in four flashbacks, the official witnesses giving testimony, the men discussing the events after the court case. The story takes place over 3 to 4 days and one of the main characters is only present in the last day. So Rashomon doesn't really count. I think that movies that can be classified as delusions/deathbed experiences/dreams/time runs faster in another reality don't really count. (Some people argue that The Lighthouse is such a film.) So that leaves real-time movies and there are a bunch of them, but of course many use (proper) flashbacks. I would throw High Noon and Rope in the mix because both movies tell a real-time story in a straightforward way. The events in High Noon (approximately 100 minutes) take slightly longer than the movies run time though. [–]hundredjono 0 points1 point (0 children) Training Day takes place in a single day, probably 12-13 hours [–]GenitalWrangler69 0 points1 point (0 children) I believe Resevoir Dogs all takes place in one day if you don't count any flashbacks. [–]Stendhal-Syndrome 0 points1 point (0 children) Source Code The Cube Dude wheres my car [–]the-mp 0 points1 point (0 children) I believe Doom is supposed to take place in real time, so something like two hours. [–]SlamBrandis 0 points1 point (0 children) Most of these movies shot in one long take are probably in real time, but i haven't seen any of them [–]newttargaeryon 0 points1 point (0 children) Before sunset [–]Dogmum77 0 points1 point (0 children) Panic Room [–]Spartacus_115 0 points1 point (0 children) The guilty [–]canuckgameguy 0 points1 point (0 children) Has to be STAY. Doesn’t it take place over a minute or a few minutes in reality? [–]spacednlost 0 points1 point (0 children) You could make the case possibly for Jacob's Ladder. I can't say why without spoiling the movie. [–]koberulz_24 0 points1 point (0 children) 11 Minutes takes place over...well, 11 minutes. [–]RoRo25 0 points1 point (0 children) Phone Booth. Very underrated movie too. [–]Bears_On_Stilts 0 points1 point (0 children) Not a movie per se, but the anime Dragon Ball Z was notorious for its elongations of time. The Dragon Ball series had established that warriors of supreme ability can move, think and interact at faster-than-visible speeds in the blink of an eye; later, DBZ had I believe twenty episodes which take place within a single five-minute period. It was... interminable. [–]Adamweeesssttt 0 points1 point (0 children) Stay with Ryan Gosling and Ewan Mcgregor. [–]HanSolosHammer 0 points1 point (0 children) 11:14 takes place in a short amount of time from different people's perspectives. [–]theyusedthelamppost -1 points0 points (0 children) Tenet, since it rewinds time Arrival, since all events are happening simultaneously due to non-linear time Butterfly Effect, if you go with the alternate ending, since everything is undone nothing ever happened. Inception, if you with the interpretation that everything we saw was within layers of dreamstates	[]
Editorial: Why U.S. doesn’t want Britain to leave the E.U. Bloomberg View Two hundred and forty years after his country ostentatiously tore up its membership card in the British Empire, the American president is traveling to London to warn the British not to do the same with theirs for Europe. It's a bit rich, as some Brits would put it, but Barack Obama has not merely the right but the obligation to make his case. He's smart enough, no doubt, to be subtle about it. Like most people, the British don't take well to being bossed around by foreign leaders. He should keep his message simple, too, and along the following lines: A British exit from the European Union, which will be decided by a referendum on June 23, would be a major disruption for the U.K. and all its trading partners, at a time when the world economy is far from strong. The U.K. needs to think about what's at stake — not just for itself, but for its friends. On one point, admittedly, Obama's position on Britain and Europe is strained. Exit campaigners worry mainly about the way the E.U. has eroded the sovereignty of its member states — meaning their ability to govern themselves as they see fit. That's a sentiment Americans will understand: As Boris Johnson, London's mayor and a leader of the exit campaign, has observed, the U.S. defends its own sovereignty with "hysterical vigilance." It's unthinkable that the U.S. would ever choose an EU-like arrangement for itself. But Britain did choose it, and by helping to build Europe's deeply integrated "single market," has benefited hugely. The costs of extricating itself from these complex trade commitments — with no guarantee that better arrangements could replace them, and no reason to think the E.U. would help make the divorce a success — would be great. And for all that, any resulting increase in actual, usable self-government might be modest. On Monday, the U.K. Treasury published a detailed report on the potential economic costs of separation. It isn't an evenhanded document — the government, after all, is campaigning for Britain to stay — but its estimates of costs are credible. In what the Treasury deems the most plausible scenario, the annual cost of diminished trade (and, with that, slower productivity growth) would be around 6 percent of gross domestic product by 2030. The true cost could easily be much higher or lower, depending on how events unfold, which is impossible to predict. Yet there's no denying the risk. Adding to the danger, the exit campaigners are divided among themselves about what should come next: They've failed to adequately explain what alternative arrangements they favor or how they expect to secure them. Granted, the U.S. interest in Britain's decision might be a little more complicated than Obama allows. His view that Britain would be a more useful ally as part of the E.U. than as an independent nation, for instance, is debatable. But the economic calculation is clearer. The global economy is already sagging, and the normal remedies aren't working well. A British exit would be a serious economic shock to the U.K., Europe, the U.S. and the rest of the world. That's the last thing the U.S. or any other friend should want — and Obama ought to say so.	[]
Forefoot Pain Forefoot pain, also referred to as metatarsalgia, is a type of pain that occurs in the ball of the foot (around the tip of the metatarsal bones). Generally, forefoot pain is associated with aging. Individuals with metatarsalgia experience pain of varied intensity and discomfort and find difficulty in activities like walking, running, playing, and several others. The forefoot is the anterior portion of the foot formed by five metatarsals, fourteen phalange bones, and soft tissues. This complicated structure makes pain in this region more complex to diagnose. Patients with metatarsalgia usually experience a sharp, aching or burning pain in the ball of their feet. The pain usually worsens during standing, walking, running or when the affected foot is flexed. Some may have numbness or tingling sensation in their toes. In most cases, the skin overlying the affected area becomes thick and hard, rough-textured, along with either complete/partial loss of sensation. This is often referred to as hyperkeratosis or callosity. Some people may notice changes in the shape of the feet or toes depending upon the cause of pain. There are many causes of forefoot pain which requires careful judgment to conclude the diagnosis and the treatment plan. Some common causes include: • Overweight: Excess body weight tends to put more pressure on the metatarsal bones and cause pain. • Overuse: Pain from overuse is seen in sports people (athletes and runners). This condition exhibits from inflammation to fracture of metatarsal bones. • Shape of the foot: People with hammer toes (toe is bent at the middle joint) and bunion (a painful bump at the base of big toe) are also more prone to metatarsalgia. • Big toe arthritis: Arthritis is an inflammation of the cartilage and lining of the bone joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common type which causes excessive trauma and wearing away of the cartilage in the joints of the foot. • Gout: It is a very common, painful form of arthritis which causes swelling, redness and stiffness of the joints. It usually affects the big toe and leads to severe pain. • Stress fractures: Stress fractures of the foot which may occur in athletes or walkers can result in pain. • Morton’s neuroma: Morton's neuroma is a painful condition affecting one of the nerves between the toes (interdigital nerve). Morton’s neuroma refers to the thickening of the nerve tissue between your third and fourth toes due to scar tissue formation. • Sesamoiditis: This condition is an inflammation of the sesamoid bones. These are the small, round bones embedded within the tendons leading to the big toe. The main source for sesamoiditis is consistent pressure and tension applied over the foot. It is common in people who participate in potentially high intensity sports (runners) or jarring (jogging or boxing) activities. • Pes cavus: This is a condition of highly-arched foot shape. The gap between the sole of a foot and the floor is higher than normal in case of Pes cavus. This place excessive pressure on the balls of the feet. • Loss of fat pad under the ball of the foot: With aging, the protective fat pad under the ball of the foot tends to thin out with overuse and may increase the susceptibility to pain in the ball of the foot. • Poorly-fitting shoes: Wearing tight, narrowed or high-heeled shoes can put constant strain on the metatarsal bones causing forefoot pain. A diagnosis must be cautiously made using a comprehensive history of the condition and direct questioning. A skilled knowledge of the forefoot anatomy allows a detailed examination and identification of an injured structure. Your surgeon may order X-rays or MRI of affected foot or ankle to confirm the diagnosis. Early treatment is critical to relieve pain. Mild to moderate cases of forefoot pain can be managed by conservative treatment. Severe cases of neuroma and bunions may require surgery. The following conservative measures help to ease the pain of metatarsalgia: • Medications: Your doctor may prescribe pain medications to reduce pain and inflammation. • Resting your feet and applying ice packs wrapped in a towel over the sole of the affected foot can reduce pain and swelling • Adaptation to a weight loss dietary regimen, if you are overweight • Activity modification: Avoid vigorous activities that exert excessive stress on bones and tendons of the feet. Begin specific exercises to help strengthen the foot muscles. • Use customized orthotics or insoles to support and protect the foot. It also helps cut back the pressure placed on the metatarsal bones. • Immobilization using a cast, splint, brace, walking boot, or other device to prevent movement of the feet and assist in faster healing of the ruptured tendon. Surgery is considered as the last option if in case the symptoms fail to resolve with the conservative treatments and depends on the age and activity level of the individual, extent of damage to the tendon or bone or nerve, and other factors. Surgical treatment involves realigning or reshaping the metatarsal bones.	[]
Kudos to this Texas A&M cadet who threw the best block of the game to protect the school's mascot, Reville. After Aggies defender Nick Harvey pushed SMU's Der’rikk Thompson in the end zone, Thompson lost control, heading straight for the dog. That's when a cadet stepped in, showing the receiver away from the unfazed pup.	[]
Sports Betting Terminology – How to Understand Them Sports Betting Terminology – How to Understand Them Sports betting is the act of placing a bet on the possible outcome and predicting sports results. The overall frequency of sports wagers upon which people place bets ranges by country, with most bets being placed upon sports events that are regularly held. Sports events include football matches, basketball games, baseball games, rugby matches, tennis matches and horse racing. There are also a lot of people who bet upon the outcomes of soccer games and ice hockey matches. There are also numerous people who participate in betting on horse races and auto sports events. sports betting You can find two types of sports betting, cash wagers plus favorite plus odds. In cash wagers, the complete wagering is done using just one bet. This kind of wagering is less common, nonetheless it is also the most popular due to its ease of processing. For this type of wagering, the odds you’re given are based on the easy plus or minus symbols positioned on the wagering odds sheet. These symbols represent the probability that a certain event will occur. Spread betting, because the name implies, is conducted on a spread. A spread is a rectangular area on the betting table where in fact the wagers will undoubtedly be placed. Each bettor is given a range of numbers representing the odds that their team will win the game. Normally, this is done on sports books, sports network websites and through various newspapers. Favorite betting gets its name from the favorite player of every bettor. It basically involves selecting one player from each team. That is done in a way so as to make sure that the favourite is the more prone to win. Bettors will usually pick the favorite at every match they bet on, until the team that they are betting on loses. Every bettor must use a point spread, which is basically the amount where the winner is separated with regards to the total points being bet on that one match. The winner then receives the largest section of the total point spread bet. The point spread used here needs to be taken literally and is not regarded as a tradition. When betting on a game with only one team, the point spread bet could be placed anywhere in the game, but must be predicated on what the favorite team would actually get. For instance, when there is a spread of two points, the bettors must bet either the over or under on that one game. The ultimate type is the money line spread bet. It is a type of point spread bet. In case it is necessary, sports book offers these bets for football games. Unlike the point spread bet, money line spreads are subject to change depending on how close the game is. If the home team is favored on the visiting team by less than the spread bet, that is considered as money line. To be able to place these bets, you need to follow all of the appropriate sports betting terms. For instance, you have to know what the odds of a team winning and losing. Additionally you need to be familiar with all the terms found in placing 룰렛 게임 these bets. It is usually best if you consult a bookie so that you can learn from their techniques and tips. They can help you make a sensible choice and your wager will surely pay back. There are also certain sports betting terms that you need to know. When you place your bet, you need to specify the “over” or “under” bet. These are basically bets where you place your wager at the stage where your favorite team gets the biggest lead on the other. The “over” is when you choose to bet on your own favorite team and they have significantly more chances of winning. However, the “under” bet is when you choose to bet on your underdog. The “under” is once the favorite gets the big lead and you think they will lose.	[]
We waited more than 5 years for a fight that many said would not happen. On Saturday night, the impossible became reality as Floyd Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision. We've had several days to digest and complain about what we saw. I've seen it all from "waste of money" to "bust" to "great fight"... but the bottom line is this...the "Bad Guy" won...and I was impressed. Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images Sport In the hype leading up to "Mayweather-Pacquiao" like many of the great "super-fights" I've witnessed over my lifetime, the promotion forced you to take sides based on "personal preferences". Everyday on social media, everyone explained why they choose their man and most of them had ZERO to do with the sport or the action in the ring but the "character" of the fighter. Manny was the "God-Fearing Underdog", Floyd "The Cocky Greedy and Scared Champion". I grew up in the 80's during the era of the "super-fight" so I've seen my fair share of great boxing matches from Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Tyson and all his knockouts. But one overwhelming opinion that I see is that "fans" feel cheated and called this fight "boring". To the contrary, here are my reasons: 1. This Is Boxing, The Point of the Game is HIT and NOT GET HIT. In this world of MMA, and "WorldStar fight videos" we've grown accustomed to witnessing big knockouts and non-stop action. Fans of boxing know and understand that the big knockout isn't going to happen in every fight but the actual skill that's involved is something to enjoy. Floyd Mayweather is the MASTER of not getting hit, and he showcased that skill against Pacquiao. While Pacquiao tried his best to corner Mayweather, which is what one should do in such instances, he couldn't keep him contained to do any damage, which leads to my next reason.... 2. Pacquiao Fans: Blame Freddy Roach Credit: Harry How/Getty Images The biggest complaint I heard from Pacquiao fans was that Floyd spent much of the match "running" from Manny. NEWSFLASH: He's supposed to! When you respect your opponents power, you aren't just going to stand there and go toe to toe with them. You do what you can to avoid catching one of those punches. Again, this is boxing folks, when you don't learn to make adjustments in the middle of the fight or if you're not being told that you are losing the fight the blame falls squarely on the trainer. Blame Freddy Roach. 3. Not Paying $99.00 For This Fight. Now don't get me wrong, at the last minute, I was prepared to pull the trigger and pay the PPV rate which, as "SNL" described as "the price of one month's food" to see this fight. But instead I went to the movies and saw the "Avengers" (Check out my review below) then I was greeted by calls and invites by friends to witness the fight. But I got to see it anyway and enjoyed all 12 rounds of this event because I understand the "sweet science" and appreciate both of these guys athleticism. As for the "hype", it lived up to it in my opinion as a fan of the actual SPORT of boxing and not the "personal character" of the participants. While both men have tremendous character flaws, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy an evening of sporting fun, or have we learned nothing from watching football every Sunday?	[]
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 Another Day, Another This Way or That Way. Dog Poet Transmitting....... May your noses always be cold and wet. If you have visited any of the mainstream pander press sites of late, alternative sites or any sites that carry the news of the day, you have probably noted the rising level of insanity that is going on, as well as a major shift in the internal politics of nations world wide. From outbursts of random violence in the multiples to the impact of political trends, from Nigel Farage to the Thai military coup, one might say the joint is jumpin with an accelerated rate of rapid change. Add to that the marriage of utter triviality to outrageous embarrassment and juxtapose it with things like this and you should be able to get a sense of where things are headed. You'll need to throw in the obvious orchestrated events like this and then match it up with things that didn't even happen, like this and... what the hey any number of related mind numbing events and you'll get an idea of the wider sense(lessness) of it all. Insane allopathic physicians believed that the cure for most medical problems was 'bleeding'. Their contemporary beliefs are not far afield from this earlier delusion. Somehow a man who is most definitely not concerned whatsoever with the well being of Ukrainians, is now going to be put into a position to help people like himself loot the place down to the rocks and ground. There's no cure for stupid and when stupid isn't the prevailing mindscape, there's nothing that outright fraud won't be able to take care of. Sometimes what might otherwise be seen as a bad trend, has all the potentiality of turning into something good, more or less. You have to be able to look at the whole swirling of contemporary culture as being not unlike the circling of dirty water in a just flushed toilet. It's a kind of tornado and the whirling motion sucks everything into it. I suppose it might be more like a reverse tornado, or something that could be called an Australian or South African tornado because it sucks things down instead of up; that's what tornadoes do right? If you're not focused, which also implied not being sufficiently rooted, you are very likely to get swept up in any one of the many tornadoes, of whatever type that are roaring across the landscape; Sexual tornadoes, political tornadoes, tattooing and piercing tornadoes, strange fashion tornadoes, celebrity tornados, fast food tornadoes, bad medicine tornados, alcohol tornadoes and random violence tornadoes. There are a lot of tornadoes these days. You've either got to be a toreador or well planted in something greater than the pull of any one of these things coming and going 24/7 or you will soon enough not know whether you are coming or going, while achieving both at a high rate of speed. It is beginning to look more and more like the greatest threat to stable continuance is not world war, or so many of the other troubles of the day, be they social, environmental or... whatever. It seems that epidemic and contagious insanity is the thing to watch out for and unless you are securely hooked into something resembling sanity, you will be swept up into the tide of tumbling and turning flotsam and jetsam, apres the tsunami. Things are changing rapidly behind the scenes in a geopolitical sense. Note the massive energy deal that Russia and China agreed to and that is also cutting the American dollar out of the equation. It's time to be secure about where you are and who you are; past time... or time to start doing so. Of course, one can be safe and secure anywhere, depending on who you are. It's not my place to make sweeping determinations on any of it. I can see where it's headed though, barring some unforeseen changes from who knows where. I think I'll segue into a bit of personal circumstance as it may apply by comparison. If I had had to make the changes I am making by depending on relevant savvy or luck, I don't know what the outcome would have been but... I depend on the ineffable; so it was that, out of the blue, I have been able to acquire a large portion of everything I need for much less than half of what any of it would have cost ordinarily and the hits just keep on coming. I'm getting some real teaching moments in terms of where I put my reliance. Instead of having to sheetrock this place; meaning, hang it, tape it, sand it and paint it, I came across a hundred and eighty square meters of A quality tongue in groove spruce for less than what the other would have cost and have saved a good months worth of work and probably more. Everything else is manifesting as well. It doesn't surprise me. I'm used to things falling into place, so long as I don't get involved in putting them into place. I was further delighted to find that the wood came from Russia. My friend Dr. Dormer flew in last week end and is spending a week helping me in this project and that's been a real boost as well. I spend a lot of time talking about certain things with the readers here. I spend all of my time applying these things to my life. I do this because they work and... I share them for the very same reason. I know there are readers who are also applying these things because I hear from them and I also know that these things work for them because they tell me so. I know there are people that wish my temperament was more suited for the role I seem to play but I don't really have time to play pattycake with people, kiss their injuries and tell them it's all better, or cater to the particular interplay they desire of me. I'm not here to develop relationships, or have a mass of interactive back and forths with acquaintances who will be your friend just so long as you do whatever they expect from you. I'm just here to share what I have found to be valuable; what I have already found and what I will find as I go. This is all freely given and no one owes me anything for any of it. I am very well compensated for what I do. Perhaps I am not compensated in the ways so many people prefer to be compensated but I am compensated in the ways that matter most to me. Despite my struggles and the pain I experience as part of the growth process, I am one very satisfied customer most of the time. I have a few things that are absolutely priceless. They are irreplaceable and not subject to revocation by anyone but the authority who granted them and I've been told that isn't going to happen. In some occupations one can see the right and the wrong of them pretty quickly; not that that even matters these days because wrong far too often seems to have the upper hand. In other areas of an esoteric nature, the results and rightness of things are often not seen in any immediate sense. In these matters time will always tell. I know there are people out there who don't like me and I know why too. I don't care one way or the other. I'm here to do what I do until I don't do it anymore. If there is value for anyone in any of it then nothing pleases me more. If there isn't, that's of no concern to me. This sort of thing isn't for everyone. In the end, everyone gets what they deserve and... if I'm lying or fleecing the public, regardless of there being no real evidence of it, that will prove out in time. If I am just what I paint myself as, that will prove out in time. Everything will prove out one way or the other. It's pointless to speculate about it all. It works or it doesn't. You have to pay for it or you don't and... you can extrapolate in whatever direction you like with any of it. I say this for good reason this evening, since I know about certain efforts at work concerning myself and what I do. They'll come to naught but... in the short term... purpose of demonstration needs its preludes and epilogues and movies have all of the various elements they are 'usually' composed of. We don't get where we're going if the scenery we are passing through becomes more attractive and engrossing than the location we are headed for. We don't accomplish what we are engaged in if the surrounding distractions are greater than our own focus on our efforts. I've said it over and over and over again and I'll say it one more time. You have to want it more than anything else and that means you have to love it. It's as simple as that. Everything else will take care of everything else, or something will take care of everything else. You can either spend your time trying to deal with the details and serve only to get bogged down in them, or you can focus completely on what you are doing and leave the details to sort themselves out. End Transmission....... Visible's Self-Improvement Guide, Spiritual Survival in a Temporal World - 'An Exploration Toward the Ineffable' Visible's 'Spiritual Survival in a Temporal World' ...is now available to buy at Amazon. Paperback: $25.00 Buy Visible's 'Spiritual Survival in a Temporal World' from Amazon Kindle Edition: $9.99 More of Visible's books and songs are available through his Store. Knowallbeall said... Peace be upon all. Visible soldier. You march to the drum beat of Mr A. Youve been marching on for a while now. You lead your platoon of invisible friends into the battleground. The fear will be gone. the war will be won. Those left standing will have the angels surrounding them. Infinite glory to the soldiers of light and truth. Down with the dark black masses who choose to be used as cannon fodder. The game is set. All is left to do is light the fuse. Hunker down in the the trenches here it comes. The waves of deluded fools looking for the dream that will become a nightmare of all nightmares. may the inneffable protect all of his own, for truy if not all will be lost. Love To Push Those Buttons said... Regarding your first few paragraphs, all I know is the longer I live, the more alien the human race seems to me. My feelings about this place and everything in it are also closer and closer to flatlining by the day. After all, I'm just passing through, and so is everything else. And compared to where we're all headed eventually, this place is a SLUM! And where I'm at personally is a tinderbox at the moment, though I can't really say I care if it goes up. I don't have to. (Aren't I nice? NOT!!!!!!!!!!) Anonymous said... I sense a hopelessness abroad. I wish to be wrong but I seldom am. If some one as vastly gifted by Grace as I am feels cut and dried... I forgive everyone. Nobody is outside my "pale. Someday I will have a reunion of membership from this life. I will sit in company with Les and Damon et al. [Damon was my brujo buddie from Sky Valley who was murdered for trying to caretake some native property that was the weekend party place for his Landlords from Suburbia]. Les is my beloved and respected stage model of knowsomeness. Long may we all live in service of the One. Alpha est said... Well, I will do what I never do, I will speak in English But I will say the same thing, Fuck those Bastards, you know who zepheri said... Thanks for getting me out of shit rock hell. Had to rip it out because of minor water damage. Never would have thought of a better solution by myself, ole lady doesn't need to know that. Seen a wolverine on the way to my favorite worm herding local. As I was down on all fours night crawling, a splash was herd from a distant stream. I thought it must be a beaver, right. That was it for me so I left with 2 or 3 gallons of natures little soil makers. Anonymous said... I'm going to be anonymous for this one because the last time I was here about six months ago and I said something nice about Visible a couple of people jumped on me for sounding like a groupie without a brain of my own. What I am noticing is that not only has Visible very much toned down what was once no more than an occasional sarcastic reply but now people are going off in a huff about him simply because of a divergence in perception. He doesn't care for Jim Stone then a long time reader who has had extreme freedom in being wack here turns on Visible for not agreeing with him. Then another reader compares him to a Rayelian cult leader because someone mentioned contributing to his work. One thing you don't see around here is any asking for contributions for which there should be N O T H I N G wrong in the first place. He makes another painfully polite response to someone who regular stomps about being cynical about everything under the sun and gets it in the neck again all the while being painted as the offending party when he didn't do a damn thing wrong and all he has ever done is to serve the higher nature of any who want to come and freely drink the water. Grow the fuck up! Lately there are way too many balloon egos dancing around that have zero accomplishments to back having one up. Thank god that it's mostly appreciation here to balance this juvenile behavior out. When you get offended by a small wiff of someone not going along with every damn thing you say all the time then something is wrong with you and not t'other way around. Anonymous said... je detest le pattycake, aussi. frere Vis,.... however my homeland has been hijacked by interlopers, fraud artists, Bandits, Thieves, & MASS MURDERERS & those who bear FALSE WITNESS because they are the "Jewish"... and adhere to the TALMUD... and unfortunately, most of my BRAINDEADGOY "JEW" worshipping "NEIGHBORS" and so-called friends & family do not KNOW and do not care to know that there were never any so-called "JEWS" in the Old Testament... From the Jewish Forward..{28may14} only problem is the Children of Israel never turned into modern day so-called "Jews" who are proselytes to TALMUDIC JUDAISM - which is on its face a - FALSE WITNESS - a violation of the 9th commandment... if there are any Forensic accountants in the congregation assembled around this glowing campfire of pure reason & LOVE of truth let them come forward and talley up the cost of global "JEWISH" hegemony in just the last one hundred years... Jesus said put the tares in the Ovens... any wonder why "Jews" must Hate Jesus in order to be a "JEW" even if they are Yiddish speaking Japhetic - GOG & MAGOG - turko-mongolian "PROSELYTES" to Talmudic Judaism from Khazaria... defending the faith means knowing the truth shakin it here boss Visible said... Thank you whomever. You touch on an interesting point. People get their feelings hurt for no real reason and in bailing do not throw upon themselves an affirming light. None of this shit is important and it is true, I have used a very light touch lately and hope to continue to adhere to this. It sometimes makes me paranoid when usually rational people (for the most part) suddenly take a weird left turn and come off with some outrageous label or parallel for me which is not supported in any way by reality. I expect, at the very least, that people will wait until I actually do something before projecting it on me. Even in those occasions where I had dust ups with people, the motivator was toward the perception of what might happen, not anything that did; certainly not to the level that would mirror the reaction. WAIT UNTIL your fears, fantasies or suspicions are proven out. It is the worst kind of injustice to condemn someone ahead of time. Unless... unless they know all along it's not relevant and just want to stick the needle in for some perverse reason. Anyway... let's move along. Anonymous, I forget about that shit almost as soon as it happens. Quite often when I bring something up it is not related to anything happening on the blogs but rather off camera. I wanted to make a comment about the situation here but thought I ought to address that crap first. I haven't said much about my benefactor here; let's call him Neo. He's a shamanistic philosophical type and he constantly surprises me with the way he handles things and his proven lack of concern for material things. He's the real deal. The other day I was with him in the work-tent (rather large) and I happened to look up and saw his face a little off angle and immediately I knew him and knew from where I knew him; China, long ago. His face changed into the features he had then, rather to say there was a subtle adjustment that orientalized how he now looks. It was a compelling moment and lasted for longer that this sort of thing tends to. In other words, it's wasn't a flash of recognition but rather a more profound series of moments of dawning awareness. Once again I could see how this life of mine is very much orchestrated.\\continued Visible said... Anyway, he's got this personality thing which is rare in people. Instead of getting upset as people might on certain occasions (not having to do with me by the way) he never fails to see the humor in it. He often behaves like one might imagine one of those shrouded masters do and by this time, in my opinion, he's the real deal. We get on phenomenally. When he told people I was coming here to live and mentioned that he had known me all of a couple of days beforehand, he heard all sorts of paranoiac reactions along the lines of, "why you don't even know this fellow, he could be all kinds of things". He just brushed it all off. He's one of those people where intuition and certitude are very much in operation and as he mentioned, after telling me about it very recently, something along the lines of... "well look how it worked out". I seldom run into people that walk the talk to the degree he does and he helps me every available moment that he can because, like me, he believes service is the ultimate statement of higher awareness. He's truly a gem. There is no question the divine is involved in this. It's such a comfort to see the invisible in which I absolutely believe, act out in the day to day and our similarities, right down to our common love of cashews and all manner of things is remarkable. It's also a lot like the blogs, in events too numerous to catalog, I'll say something and he will reply that he was just thinking the same thing. It's near eerie. Next characterization will be on Angelique who is much like the missing 16 year old from the Stieg Larson Millennium books who finally got tracked down in Australia decades later. This is a woman right out of the era of Buffalo Bill Cody and Wyatt Earp. I just met her a couple days ago and already it looks like another of these karmic things. She's indifferent to the games most people play and fiercely independent. She builds boats, delivers lumber and does all kinds of amazing things and I know there's not going to be any of the usual threats I look out for in the opposites game; just a real human being doing her thing and wanting to be alone and on her own and man I can echo that, She's got to be 60 but she moves around with such strength and speed, really larger than life and totally unselfconscious. I hope that more of you will visit and meet some of these remarkable people. Glenn is here at the moment from Sweden and it is, to say the least, amusing. Tomorrow I make Lasagna and a bunch of people are coming over, besides the aforementioned. Life is good. Visible said... Oops, sorry, her name is Angelica. wiggins said... I'm sure Yusuf Yerkel needs time - I shall be making a statement on Thursday - to make up some cock and bull story approving his actions.....Will he play the overplayed anti-semitic card? We shall have to wait and see............... BCii said... I think about all the people wrapped up in the giant spider's web of lies, their every move imprisoning them further, as their persistent efforts to deny and oppose the light of objective truth come back to them in a runaway feedback loop: the vicious, contractile spiral of spiritual death. I am at a loss to explain why I am not one of them, making those kinds of choices. Is there some variable in our intrinsic nature that determines to which end of the matter-spirit spectrum we polarize? Perhaps even this soul trajectory is a cyclical thing..? All I know is that, given the fate of those darkening beings, I am forever saddened on their behalf and thankful not to be one of them on this go-round. But this is probably a subjective judgment; no doubt a being of that other polarity would see themselves as being on the right path and all heart-centered beings as the crazy ones. None the less tragic for all that. Only their exceeding subjectivity born of self-centeredness consoles them; they withdraw deeper and deeper into their psychosis until "sweet oblivion" swallows them up... I may not achieve anything of much value or glory in this lifetime, but I am committed to the effort of going in the right direction anyway. It's a long, slow, and often painful journey to become a real human being with integrity and virtue, but, as you often say, it is faith, certitude, and determination that ensure success sooner or later. The work is unglamorous and unsung, but every moment spent in pursuit of the divine is its own ineffably complete reward. Thank you, Visible, for giving voice to the higher thoughts that call us forward. The service you render here is of no small measure. Thank you. Visible said... BCii, whenever I read something you've written I am usually moved by the intrinsic lyricism of your presentation and often think; that guy should write something. I don't know what but something. Anonymous said... @ MujedihiDEEN, first post. Well Said! God be with you. May his angels watch over you day and night. - the beggar Anonymous said... Hi, I mentioned about the unsecure paypal access page. You are exposing your readers (if they use that feature) to freelance / foreign intel service (and NSA etc) exposures of their Credit Card and Password info. I suggest you secure it or disable it pending a fix. You may of course post this, but this is for you, and need not be published. I want to send you something, but I cannot touch that page. Todd Burgess said... As a glazier, I stumbled on "Smoking Mirrors", thinking glass, and was hooked. Visible has only been genuine from my perspective. If something is shocking, best to know why it shocks, seems to me. Dot connecting has not been strong in my life, but it's getting better. Les Visible has been an excellent source for connect-o-dots. The more variety one entertains, the wider view one achieves. BCii said... Thank you. I intend to write in earnest when the time comes that I have something worth saying. In the meantime, I am trying to focus on seeking, applying, and embodying truth/knowledge/wisdom, purifying my instrument in preparation for that time so that what comes through will be more than just clever or pretty words. I have a sense that I will, in some fashion, be following in your footsteps as a writer. Provided, of course, that that road opens up to me. That is where I feel drawn. Caterpillar stage describes my present occupation: absorbing nutrients (soul food, spiritualizing influences) from sources like you. The other end of the process necessarily involves discernment, application and integration in order to derive benefit (soul growth) from the food ingested. There is a definite 'voraciousness' to my approach, and it seems to serve the needs of the moment. At some point, I may withdraw into a more meditative phase, the pupa.... Ray B. said... Anonymous, May 28, 2014 9:16:00 AM 1) It takes a lot of balls to 'dis' a person while remaining Anon. 2) If 'wack' means being able to see into and interact with the Otherwhere, then I am very proudly wack. 3) My entire 'turns on Visible' was the phrase "Wow. Okay..." Look it up. Best Wishes, Ray B. Duke said... Peace be with the reader. Les you are stumbling in the dark. It is judgment time. Time to wake up. The faithful witness Visible said... Ray B. You are, of course correct but you have to admit it had a positive benefit because here you are (grin). For those who don't know, Duke is a fundie troll who promotes his fire and brimstone, my way or the highway, formula at one of those sites well recognized for Sturm und Drang and is way too full of himself to be representing this Jesus Christ; the version of which does not actually exist. A little further clarification about all of this, I got a series of emails recently which were designed to look like they are from different people except they were obviously written by the same person and someone not sophisticated enough to realize that email sources are easily tracked, unless steps are taken to veil the footprints. It wasn't like it was any big deal but this lead to my being made aware of this long existing cabal of the disenfranchised who have closed ranks on me due to real time efforts that were made to smear me in open water some time earlier. Because I shy away from not printing comments, unless they pass a certain level of discourse, what I wrote should be seen as a 'prior to', given that certain people, albeit inadvertently exposed their hand. As for Paypal, I have no problem with it and never have had and not a single person who has contributed has ever had a problem and... that said, there are any number of ways to contribute otherwise and people do. As for information being lassoed and cataloged, that is going on all the time everywhere and... this is just my opinion, it doesn't amount to anything... or won't. I operate at a level of indifference to these people and their machinations and have to have my faith unshakably placed in the ineffable's hands. If I start operating as if these people had any real power I put myself at a disadvantage and finally, as I said, even in this very post, I wish people would wait until something actually happens before reacting to anything. Visible said... Someone please tell me this is a hoax site. insiam said... this is the most amaizing uplifting story. if your looking for any sign that things are turning in the most ...... well listen anyhow cos words fail me!!! Anonymous said... 5 yrs ago this summer I discovered Visible. The man has been remarkably consistent with his writing. I have seen Visible be more than fair, even compassionate, with many of the troubled souls who come in here. If Visible wanted to mess with people's heads and be a master troll he could really do some damage but he doesn't operate that way. I am not a good person or particularly smart. I rely on writers and philosophers to help me realize my take on life. Visible has directed me Baghavad Gita, Tao Te Chang and the Bible as well as other works from antiquity. We are what we read. I want others to like me. But, not so much as I want favor from the Divine. I have learned that what others think isn't really as important as what they do. I have learned that I don't really know anything but I am entitled to my thoughts. I look at my life's journey as an exercise in trying not to hate myself and my life. And I have made some inroads. To paraphrase Herman Hesse: Egotism and self hatred are the same thing. One can not hate oneself without hating the rest of humanity and one can not hate humanity without hating oneself. To hate oneself is to hate all of existence and it is a dangerous state. Anyway, I have learned a lot from reading Visible's essays over the last five years. I have had my head taken down different pathways which might have otherwise not been discovered. It has helped me immensely in my personal development. I still have a long way to go. Now I am going out to hug some trees and smell some flowers. Love To Push Those Buttons said... I don't think the Crotchdropping Abuse Recovery site is a hoax. I went to the home page, and I saw some of those stories posted on other sites. Of course the individual stories here and there might be questionable, but what do I know? I do NOT yet have my Akashic Library Card. Maybe next year. Actually, from the news stories I'm reading, PROBABLY next year. Smyrna said... This is the the top of the tree you accidental tourist! Ahroooooo Vis is the king! Kardashian-world is back and to the left. Anonymous said... Thanks for work Visible. There is a article on Veterens today about the same subject, that you linked too. from behind enemy lines Anonymous said... The Child Abuse Recovery site isn't a hoax. Go to http://itccs.org/ to get a broader view of the whole situation. Be sure to read about the ritualized torture and murder of native Canadian children while you're there. Oh, and don't forget to go to church this Sunday... Visible said... I am quite familiar with the Canadian story, what I thought was stunning was the claims made about the Popes. I know you suspect such things might be so, especially earlier on but what is said in the article... wow! Go Mr. Apocalypse!!! Anonymous said... There are Jews mentioned in the old testament. "Go assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa,......." Esther 4:16 I think the term 'Jew' can also be found in 2nd Chronicles and 2nd Kings. What is the Aramaic word for 'Jew'? I do not know. But, my take is that Jews are the remnants of the Son's of Israel after being conquered by the Assyrians. Shakespeare also used the term in Merchant of Venice. A part of me wishes all the Muslims, Christians and Jews would go away and leave the rest of us alone. Bunch of troublemakers. On the other hand a lot of them seem like real nice folks. They did build western civilization. Now I am rambling. So I guess I will just ramble on out of here. Good day. galen said... Est, your plain-speak is modern day zen at its best. Ghetto zen. What is remarkable is how much can be said with so little. Thank you. Visible said... You are a delight Love To Push Those Buttons said... It is implied in your post that Western civilisation is a good thing. The state of the world is a MESS because of so called Western civilisation which is about as civilised as a Guinea worm that hasn't eaten in a month. But you could have been being sarcastic, so hey. Visible said... A new Smoking Mirrors is up now- The Ever Intensifying Madness of the Times. John C (UK) said... "Western Civilization"? is that not an oxymoron? est said... don't thank me thank the man that let's us put this up Anonymous said... I don't know if civilization is a good thing or not. But, I do respect guts and hard work; don't we all? I do believe that civilization requires a hierarchy and complex division of labor which is a natural outcome of a religious society. I would go so far as to say that the only reason there is such a thing as civilization is so that people can build monuments to deities. By the way, I like your take on things. Your comments are always interesting. You are one of a kind. Anonymous said... via Homer.. Visible prabhu says.. When we are physically strong, we engage in service. So that when we are not able to work, we will be able to remember Krishna, Prabhupada, our spiritual master and even our spiritual name in sub-consciousness. - Bhakti Swarup Damodar Swami galen said... Re: "Western Civilization". . . I see it being painted in the black or white box when there are so many shades in between, so many ups and downs, pluses and minuses. To cliche': The baby must not be thrown out with the bath water. The contributions that came out of the west are enormous, many, many, from hearts and minds wishing to aide humanity and push it forward. Yes, there were struggles under and in service to the ruling hierarchies, but great innovations came forth to serve the needs of our growing numbers and our natural curiosity, not to mention art, amazing life-stirring art!! I don't think there's been any civilization on earth that didn't contain both virtue and vice and all the mediocrity in the middle. Just had to say. . . Anonymous said... I am not wise enough to know what is best for the world and people in general. I do think it is a legitimate point to question the aggregate good of what ever forces were at work to push society to where it is now. According to paleo-anthropologists there were hunter gatherer groups whose various cultures had lasted for tens of thousands of years. I guess some are still around or so I was told in college. It may have been a golden age were people just hunted, fished and frolicked in the woods. Then a horrible spirit took over some of the peoples and they craved gold. And they made liquor. And they made sexuality into a perverted, dishonest game. And they lined up huge armies for mass slaughter and prolonged organized mayhem. Our advancement has come at a very high price and I often wonder to what end? Visible said... A new Petri dish is up now- Out of the Echoing Darkness the Avatar is Coming. galen said... McCob, except for the first five words in your first paragraph, I tend to agree. And through it all, the dark, bleak, ugly, I see the glistening sparks that, that, I'm not sure what they do, but they're there, like some ancient reminder of something bright, something always becoming something better. There ain't a place on earth that doesn't have 'em, even when they are hard to see. Whatever pushed us to where we are, we are here. Something aided that and gave us voice. I hope I use mine on behalf of the sparks. L Garou said... Here is nice rose flower A classic Visible post: With gratitude to Patrick Willis.	[]
Extract from The Ecologist, 22 November 2000, by Alix Fano ON 21 SEPTEMBER 2000, The Daily Express landed on the newsstands with an explosive story that caught the British public - and much of the GM industry - on the hop. The exposé was based on leaked internal reports describing xenotransplantation experiments on higher primates - including cynomolgus monkeys and wild-caught baboons - commissioned by Imutran, the British subsidiary of Novartis, and conducted by the controversial contract research laboratory, Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire. Now, although many people know that xenotransplantation experiments - the process of transplanting organs, tissues and cells between different species - takes place, few were aware of the horrors that were being perpetrated at Huntingdon in the name of science. The article not only highlighted extraordinary levels of animal suffering in the laboratories, but revealed glaring technical failures in the experiments conducted by the company, despite Imutran/Novartis's earlier claims that they were succeeding. These failures had been brought to the newspaper's attention by the British advocacy group, Uncaged Campaigns, whose 150-page report, Diaries of Despair: The Secret History of Pig-to-Primate Organ Transplant Experiments,1 was based on an extensive cache of leaked documents from an anonymous source. Imutran has taken legal measures to prevent Uncaged from disseminating the report. A court date was set for late November. The extent of the incompetence surrounding these experiments was staggering: the report revealed at least 520 errors and omissions in the conduct of studies, including organ weights not recorded, unlabelled and uncovered veterinary medications, inadequate surgery records, a quadruple overdose, the illegal reuse of animals, conflicting pathology reports, the accidental freezing of a kidney during transplantation surgery and a case of a swab being left inside a primate, which resulted in his death. In one particular incident, seven baboons appear to have been experimented upon despite a warning that they 'must not be worked on due to positivity for Herpes B' - a virus lethal to humans. Reading between the lines Was this just pure incompetence, or is there an even more serious charge here? The documents demonstrated that, after five years of research, Imutran had improved the average survival time of monkeys with functioning pig kidneys from two to just four weeks. The success rate of heart xenotransplantation is even less tangible - just 11 days according to the documents. As a result of these statistics, in April 2000, Novartis had set an 18-month time limit to achieve major improvements in survival times. Uncaged Campaigns charges that Imutran/Novartis greatly exaggerated the success of their pig-to-primate experiments in published articles, by selectively using their 'best' data while ignoring data on average survival times and the overall health of the primate recipients. The 'success' of Imutran's pig-to-primate experiments should now be called into question based on the complete picture revealed by the leaked documents. What is so remarkable about this information is that the research was being carried out in a field that is so dangerous. Here was a corporate-sponsored, government-sanctioned laboratory apparently overstating its success in a branch of science that will have extreme repercussions for mankind. Was Imutran/Novartis really prepared to sanction shoddy and seemingly deceptive work in pig-to-primate organ transplantation - a stepping block to pig-to-human organ transplantation - merely to hit a deadline? The implications are highly disturbing, particularly as xenotransplantation hasn't had that great a track record. Since 1905, 82 humans have received whole organs from chimpanzees, baboons, pigs, goats and other animals, and all have died from infections and complications related to hyperacute rejection within hours or days of the surgeries. Human and animal organs have evolved over the millennia to be able to deal with viruses, necessary immunities and other foibles and subtleties that each species requires. The trouble with xenotransplantation is that you just don't know what comes with each organ. Numerous published documents have warned of the dangers and unpredictability of animal viruses. The swine flu epidemic of 1918 killed 20-40 million people worldwide. During 1998 and 1999, the novel Malaysian 'Nipah' encephalitis virus, which originated in fruit bats, jumped from pigs to humans, infected 269 people, killed 117, and led to the mass slaughter of one million pigs. The virus, which caused brain damage in dozens of victims, has resurfaced this year in several Malaysian villages. In May 2000, a British farmer died after contracting a rare pig disease, streptococcus suis. It appears he inhaled the virus after it was breathed out by his pigs. A 1999 study by British scientists found that cancer-causing retroviruses are transmitted much more frequently and easily between different species in the wild than previously thought, adding concerns regarding the xenotransplantation of pig organs to humans. In September 2000, scientists gathered at the Royal Society of London to determine whether polio vaccines made with chimp kidneys and contaminated with the simian form of HIV could have triggered the epidemic of the AIDS virus which has stricken 53 million people, most of them in Africa. If this theory proves true, it increases the odds that a potentially lethal microbe from another species could accidentally be introduced into the human population via xenotransplantation. Compounding the folly Despite these complex and largely unforeseeable cans of worms opened every time an organ is transplanted from one species to another, the scientists won't leave xenotransplantation alone. Pigs, they say, are source animals of choice because they breed quickly, have been extensively farmed, and have organs that are allegedly 'similar' in size to ours. Today, multinational biotechnology companies claim that they have bred 'germ-free' pigs with human genes whose organs are less likely to be rejected by the human body. Soon, farms could be filled with cloned 'humanised' pigs - living factories, genetically engineered to meet the world's growing demand for replacement organs. For there's money to be made. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a quasi-governmental organisation that co-ordinates human organ and tissue donation in the US, approximately 4,000 Americans die each year waiting for transplantable organs. Compared to the number who die from heart disease (726,974), cancer (539,577), pneumonia/influenza (86,449), AIDS (16,516), and by suicide (30,535), this may not seem high. But with over 60,000 Americans on transplant waiting lists (180,000 worldwide), a perceived chronic shortage of human organs and tissues, and a potential market in pig parts and expensive anti-rejection drugs worth $6-$10 billion annually, the race to cash in on this market is officially on. Some researchers and biotechnology companies claim that putting pig organs into people may become a commercial reality within two years. Robert Michler, chief of transplantation at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, believes that human trials should begin as soon as possible, as soon as 50 per cent of a group of baboons with transplanted pig hearts survive for three months - a target set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In August, scientists at BioTransplant, a Massachusetts-based xenotransplantation company, in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, announced that they had bred a line of miniature pigs that could provide a 'safer source of cells, tissues, and organs for xenotransplants' because they allegedly do not transmit potentially harmful viruses to human cells. (Patents are being filed in the US and abroad to protect such allegedly lucrative 'inventions'. On 8 October 2000, The Sunday Times UK announced that BioTransplant had submitted an application to the European Patent Office for an 'embryonic pig-human hybrid', the uses for which have not been defined by the company.) BioTransplant researchers theorise that generations of inbreeding could have weakened the viruses and taken away their ability to infect. However, Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERVs) - a family of AIDS-like viruses that are harmless to their hosts but potentially lethal when transferred to other species - are incorporated in the pig's genome and cannot be bred out. It has been estimated that hundreds of different endogenous retroviruses may be present in a given animal. BioTransplant admits that their mini-pigs still carry PERVs in their DNA, and thus in every organ, cell and tissue destined for transplantation. Mutation fears Virologists like Dominic Borie and Robin Weiss have cautioned that endogenous retroviruses in pigs could recombine with human viruses and/or mutate into more infectious forms after transplant. Pigs may also contain other as yet unknown viruses. Daniel Salomon, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, has said that earlier studies, which suggested that PERVs have not infected people, 'may not have looked in the right places'. Patients injected with pig pancreatic islet cells to treat diabetes have had their peripheral blood lymphocytes (white blood cells) and blood serum tested for PERVs, and have been declared free of infection. But PERVs do not usually infect blood lymphocytes. They prefer epithelial tissues - tissues that line the inside and outside of organs. Only biopsies of these tissues could reveal the presence of the pig virus(es), and such biopsies have not been done in humans. Baboon cytomegalovirus was, in fact, recently detected in stored tissue samples from a recipient of a baboon liver who died after a xenotransplant in 1992. A blood test will only pick up an active infection; but many infections (eg AIDS or 'mad cow disease') may remain latent in the body for years before they're ready to surface. So the fact that a blood test does not detect PERV in a patient's blood at a particular point in time, does not mean that that patient is not harbouring the virus. Moreover, most studies of xenotransplant patients have been retrospective, meaning that patients' blood was not sampled for PERVs periodically from the moment treatment began, as would be done in a controlled study. Most studies have also lacked a control group - a group receiving a placebo transplant. Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician at Canberra Hospital in Australia, observes that, without a control group, there is no way to determine whether the treatment really worked. Indeed, the testing of xenograft patients that has been done to date has not established the technology's safety or its efficacy. One could go so far as to say that tests have been designed to conceal unfavourable outcomes. Many other questions and concerns remain, one of the most important being whether animal organs will ever be able to sustain human life. Will pig organs continue to grow at a 'pig rate' once transplanted into humans; will they become susceptible to human diseases; will they be able to carry out functions necessary for human survival? For example, unlike the human organ, the pig kidney lacks a mechanism for controlling levels of medicines, which could have a significant impact on a xenotransplant patient who requires several drugs. The porcine kidney cannot handle the high levels of uric acid found in the human bloodstream, which could lead to kidney stones or kidney failure; and it may not respond normally to the hormone vasopressin, which is released from the human brain. Such discrepancies could affect blood pressure, hydration and fluid balance. Human red blood cells are larger than those of the pig and there are incompatibilities in blood-clotting mechanisms, so that in a grafted pig organ, blood clotting, organ failure and death may occur from blockages in the tiny blood capillaries. A pig's heart normally pumps smaller amounts of blood per minute than required by a human, due to its horizontal posture. If the output of the heart is too low, multiple organ failure and death would result. In Transplantation Proceedings (1999, Vol 31, pp905-8), M E Breimer describes physiological incompatibilities between humans and pigs, including differences in anatomy, physiology (regulation of blood circulation, hormone systems), immunology, complement and coagulation systems, pharmacology and metabolism. Despite these seemingly insurmountable problems, pig research continues unabated. The prospect of commercial cross-species transplantation has created huge financial incentives for multinational drug and biotechnology companies. Novartis (which also makes cyclosporine, the leading anti-rejection drug), Baxter Health Care and their many subsidiaries that dominate the field have already invested over $100 million in research. Such enormous capital investment has prompted research collaborations between different companies and medical centres in an attempt to share risks and costs. Novartis is also sponsoring xenotransplant research at several American, European, and Canadian medical centres, to save on contract lab and research costs. Novartis is funding pig-to-primate xenotransplantation experiments at the Universities of Ohio State (Columbus), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Wisconsin (Madison), Stanford University, Massachusetts General Hospital and, in Canada, at the Universities of Western Ontario, Toronto, and Guelph. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which opened a large xenotransplant programme and pig-breeding facility last year, has forged an alliance with Baxter Health Care/Nextran, a New Jersey-based biotech company, to breed transgenic pigs whose organs would not be prone to rejection. Christopher McGregor, Mayo's director of cardiothoracic transplantation, has declined to say how much money Mayo has received from Baxter. Despite these collaborations, there is fierce competition between each individual company or medical centre to be the first to successfully transplant pig organs into humans, driven by the desire to reap financial rewards, to gain publicity and to pacify anxious investors. Alexion Pharmaceuticals in New Haven, Connecticut, is developing stronger drugs to suppress the immune system. PPL Therapeutics, associated with the Roslin Institute in Scotland (famous for cloning Dolly the sheep and filing a world patent on the cloning of all animal species, including humans), is trying to breed transgenic pigs whose organs will not provoke hyperacute rejection when transplanted into humans because they lack a specific sugar called alpha-galactosidase. In March 2000, PPL announced it had cloned a litter of five female pigs using a double nuclear transfer technique. The company claims that pig cloning will ensure a plentiful supply of pigs for xenotransplantation. However, cloning pigs for transplants is an expensive, technically difficult and inhumane proposition. Last May, BBC News Online reported that PPL was having trouble producing cloned pigs because none of the genetically modified embryos were surviving to term in their surrogate mothers. PPL acknowledges a 50 per cent postnatal loss of cloned animals. Cloned animals are typically weaker than their traditionally bred counterparts and may be prone to congenital abnormalities, chronic organ dysfunction, premature ageing (due to changes in chromosome structure), high infant and juvenile mortality and cancer (see Michael W Fox, Beyond Evolution, Lyons Press, 1999). Moreover, cloning pigs will not rid the animals of the numerous viruses, bacteria, and parasites they carry, which may lead to dangerous infections in humans. Nevertheless, over the last several decades, US federal agencies have dispensed tens of millions of dollars to university researchers and private corporations for cloning and related xenotransplantation projects. The Commerce Department's Advanced Technology Program, established under the Bush Administration, has given multimillion-dollar grants to corporations like Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Organogenesis Inc, and to PPL for their pig-cloning projects. A B Cosimi, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, received over $15 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1992 and 2000 to study the immune response involved in xenograft rejection between pigs and baboons. A team of researchers at Duke University in North Carolina received almost $2.5 million from 1997 to 1998 to transplant pig hearts into monkeys and other animals in an effort to elucidate the 'immunological barrier to cardiac xenotransplantation'. In 1997, the NIH published an announcement on the Internet soliciting 'applications [from domestic and foreign researchers] to enhance [the] ability to transplant organs and tissues across species barriers (xenotransplantation)'. The NIH even promotes xenotransplantation in articles designed for children on its website under the guise of 'science education'. Change of opinion? But not all US companies continue to be enthusiastic about xenotransplantation. In August, Geron Bio-Med, a US biotech firm, announced that it was cutting back funding for its Scottish subsidiary's xenotransplant research programme, Roslin Bio-Med, citing concerns about public health risks. Geron stated it would redirect its efforts to cultivating human stem cells for research and transplantation. Ian Wilmut, Roslin's chief scientist, said he was disappointed by Geron's decision but understood concerns about 'unknown [pig] viruses being released into the human population'. Shortly after the Geron announcement, PPL Therapeutics, which is a Roslin offshoot, distributed a press release stating that it was not abandoning its xenotransplantation research programme, least of all because of virus fears, leading critics to question the motives behind the company's sudden retraction. In April 2000, the US FDA suspended cellular xenotransplant experiments in which foetal pig brain cells were injected into the brains of stroke patients. Thomas Fraser, president of the Charlestown, Massachusetts-based company Diacrin, admitted that one patient developed seizures a week after a transplant and another had minor brain swelling and muscular fatigue. The company said it would try to determine whether the pig cells or the equipment used to deliver them to the brain were to blame for the 'side effects'. A study published in the British journal Nature on 17 August 2000 raised further questions about the safety of cellular xenotransplants. Salomon et al showed that when insulin-making pig pancreatic islet cells were transplanted into mice with deficient immune systems, PERVs jumped the species barrier, migrated from the site of transplantation, and infected mouse tissues such as the spleen, liver, salivary gland, skin, small bowel and lung. Given this chain of events, the pig virus would likely be present in saliva, faeces, broken skin and coughed-up lung secretions. Salomon and colleagues concluded that pig-to-human islet xenotransplantation could result in patients becoming exposed to infectious PERVs that might be able to replicate. It is unlikely, however, that Salomon's study, or any other, will be heeded by US regulatory officials or companies investing in xenotransplantation. After all, reports in 1997 and 1998, stating that various strains of PERV from different breeds of pigs infected human cells, didn't seem to raise enough of a red flag for anyone to actually halt xenotransplantation research. André Jestin and his colleagues at the French Agency for Food Safety in Ploufragan found that the complete genomes of, amazingly, 11 types of PERV are expressed in pig organs, including the heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys. Jestin believes that controlling these viruses, or eliminating them via genetic engineering, will be much harder than anyone thought. Porcine pseudorabies virus has been detected in Swedish diabetes patients treated with porcine cells in 1997. And in August 1999, Science published the results of a Novartis-sponsored study of 160 patients in nine countries exposed to living pig tissue over a 12-year period. Some patients in the study reported persistent rashes and strange fevers. But most worrisome was the finding that 30 patients who had their blood 'filtered' through pig spleens tested positive for PERV DNA; 23 patients had pig cells circulating in their bodies 8.5 years after treatment; and four patients, injected with pig cells, produced antibodies against PERVs, leading the authors to admit that 'PERV infection [could not] be excluded'. Who will act? So where do we go from here? At a public meeting in January 2000, Dr Phil Noguchi, director of the US FDA's Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, acknowledged that xenotransplantation is 'fraught with danger'. FDA documents have openly stated that '[X]enotransplantation may facilitate the transmission of known or as yet unrecognised agents to humans'. New pig viruses, like 'Nipah', and strains of PERVs, are continually being discovered. A pig virus, contracted via xenotransplantation, could spread to other humans undetected, causing an AIDS-like plague. Yet there are currently 12 FDA-approved xenotransplant clinical trials ongoing in the US. Most, if not all, are industry-sponsored, and involve the use of pig cells to treat diabetes and neurological diseases, and whole pig livers and cells to perfuse ('filter') the blood of patients with acute liver failure. The FDA (which has also sanctioned the sale of unlabelled and untested genetically engineered foods) has refused to enact even a temporary moratorium on such trials, claiming that it will monitor patients closely to ensure public safety. Sound familiar? In the 1980s, the FDA allowed thousands of people to receive HIV-tainted blood and blood products, resulting in thousands of cases of HIV infection and the deaths of over 10,000 haemophiliacs. Clearly, governments have chosen to ignore the Precautionary Principle in the xenotransplantation debate. They have also completely ignored alternatives to xenotransplantation, including prevention of disease, use of human tissue for transplant and increased human organ donation. Each and every day in the United States, 6,000 bodies full of human organs are buried or burned. That's two million each year, many times the number of organs required for all types of transplants. In 1998, the General Accounting Office found that the US is doing a poor job of retrieving organs for transplantation. Many nations, including the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Belgium and Singapore, have seen organ donation rates soar after the passage of 'presumed consent' laws, which assume that citizens will donate their organs after death unless they 'opt out'. Although a majority of Americans (85 per cent) support organ donation, the feasibility of such a law has not been considered. Meanwhile, in the wake of the Huntingdon scandal on 22 September 2000, Uncaged Campaigns called for an independent judicial inquiry into the information contained in the leaked documents, as well as a ban on animal-based xenotransplantation research in the UK. On 26 September 2000 Novartis announced it was closing down operations at Imutran. However, the announcement added that the company was merging with US-based BioTransplant, perhaps hoping to leave a scandal behind and transfer its operations to the US, with its notoriously lax animal welfare and biotechnology regulations. Novartis, which had been collaborating with BioTransplant to breed lines of pigs with human genes, will own 67 per cent of the company and retain the rights to commercialisation of research from the new merger. In return, BioTransplant will receive royalty payments from Novartis sales. Elliot Lebowitz, BioTransplant CEO, revealed that commercialisation of xenotransplantation could generate 100 million dollars in annual revenue for his company. The work continues. Alix Fano, MA, is executive director of the Campaign for Responsible Transplantation (CRT) and author of a chapter on xenotransplantation in the book, Redesigning Life? The Worldwide Challenge to Genetic Engineering, (Zed Books, February 2001). CRT, an international coalition of physicians, scientists and 90 public-interest groups, is promoting a ban on xenotransplantation and advocating for safer, more cost-effective and humane alternatives. Check out to learn more, sign an online petition and get involved. Baboon xenotransplantation operation Credit: Organ Farm "Although many people know that xenotransplantation experiments takes place, few were aware of the horrors that were being perpetrated at Huntingdon in the name of science." Uncaged Campaigns logo	[]
News Update Analysis: Virginia's gubernatorial election is more important than ever as a national barometer If Republican Glenn Youngkin triumphs in a margin-of-error tussle in the commonwealth, already alarmed Democrats would tip into full-on panic about next year’s midterms, when their party faces a historical disadvantage as the party in the White House. The devastating blow would swell doubts about Biden’s own political authority and capacity to drive an endangered agenda through Congress with a spending and debt cliff looming in December. And Youngkin, a wealthy former private equity executive, would trigger an inquest among Democrats over whether tarring GOP candidates with the polarizing aura of Donald Trump — as McAuliffe has done incessantly — will be quite so potent when they’re not running in deep blue states like California and when the ex-President is not on the ballot. On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, the once and possible future Virginia governor tried to explain why the race is so close in a state where Biden thrashed Trump by 10 points only 11 months ago. Black voters were central to Terry McAuliffe winning Virginia in 2013. Will they help him again?Black voters were central to Terry McAuliffe winning Virginia in 2013. Will they help him again? “This is an off-off-year. If you look at the history of Virginia, it’s not a presidential year turnout. Turnouts go from like 70 percent down to somewhere in the 40s,” said McAuliffe, who won a close gubernatorial election in 2013, a year that followed a Democratic White House win. “Listen, we’re going to win this race because I’m right on the issues,” McAuliffe told Dana Bash. Pundits sometimes over-interpret individual races, trying to extrapolate from them the results of future elections elsewhere while ignoring their idiosyncrasies. But a Democratic defeat in what has become a reliably blue state over the last decade would be impossible to ignore and would cause political headaches for Democrats that reach beyond the Biden presidency. Republicans have struggled in recent years to balance the increasingly populist and nationalist leanings of the pro-Trump base with a need to appeal to highly educated, affluent voters in the suburbs. The task is especially hard in the Northern Virginia suburbs around Washington, DC, which teem with federal workers and highly educated and affluent voters. But if Youngkin can thread the needle, the wider political world will take note. “Every gubernatorial election in Virginia is seen as a leading political indicator. How the parties do in Virginia’s governor’s race, the year after a presidential election, is seen as a harbinger of how the parties will do in the midterm elections,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at University of Mary Washington in Virginia. McAuliffe is a long-time friend of Biden, who endorsed him in the primary, and he shares the President’s moderate leanings. His victory in a Democratic primary over more progressive rivals was seen as an endorsement of Biden-style centrism. Democrats have a midterm turnout problem. Being more liberal won't help.Democrats have a midterm turnout problem. Being more liberal won't help. But he recently admitted that the President was “unpopular” in Virginia and he would have to “plow through” the “headwinds from Washington,” though he has since sought to reframe his remark by venting broader frustration at the failure of Democratic lawmakers to pass Biden’s agenda. He is particularly passionate about a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that progressive House Democrats have refused to pass as they fight to ensure the passage of a larger social spending measure opposed by moderate Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Democratic leaders hope to pass the agenda this month ahead of the Virginia election on November 2. But if anything, the battle between left and more moderate factions is becoming even more heated in Washington — threatening that timeline and McAuliffe’s campaign in the final weeks. If McAuliffe loses and the bills remain in limbo in early November, the implications for the measures themselves — and a prolonged stalemate that could damage 2022 Democratic congressional candidates — will be foreboding for the party. So much at stake in Virginia In the short-term, a Republican triumph in Virginia and implications that Democratic voters lack enthusiasm less than a year into their party’s control of Washington would further dent Biden’s political standing after a brutal summer of raging Covid-19 infections, the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan, rising inflation and lagging jobs numbers. It would also weaken the President’s sway in Congress heading into a critical period with Democratic leaders facing a daunting task of funding the government and raising the debt ceiling in early December with tiny minorities. “Both parties want the bragging rights of a winner in Virginia. And if McAuliffe loses, that’s going to scare some Democrats on the fence on the Biden agenda,” Farnsworth said. Such an outcome would be sure to intensify the battle for the soul of the Washington Democratic Party that has put Biden’s presidency on a knife-edge. Moderates may interpret a McAuliffe loss as a sign that voters are souring on the vast multi-trillion dollar Biden administration spending proposal. Progressives would double down on their view that moderate Democrats — by blocking that $3.5 trillion social spending plan — are dampening enthusiasm among liberal voters. In the end, Virginia may well correspond to its prevailing political character, and McAuliffe could inspire sufficient suburban voters to win a rare second term in office in a state where governors are barred from serving consecutive terms. But a Youngkin victory would also raise profound questions for Biden and Democrats in the longer term that will reverberate in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election. Youngkin walks fine line on 'election integrity'Youngkin walks fine line on 'election integrity' Since 2008, when Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win the state since President Lyndon Johnson, Virginia has held talismanic appeal for the party. Its demographic changes — a suburban population explosion, an influx of young, diverse more socially liberal voters, many in the tech sector, along with a reliable African American voting bloc around the state capital of Richmond — have superseded conservative, rural voters that made the commonwealth a southern bastion for decades. The state is also seen by Democrats as a template for other southern states that are becoming increasingly purple, like Georgia and North Carolina, where Democrats see demographic trends providing a long-term path to power even as some former perennial swing states like Ohio trend Republican. After finally gaining control of all the centers of power in Virginia in 2020, Democrats have passed a transformational agenda, including measures on gun control, abortion and a minimum wage increase, that a Republican in the governor’s mansion could halt. So a McAuliffe loss would have strategic consequences in the state itself as well as being a terrible morale blow to Democrats running for office elsewhere. McAuliffe has driven home a relentless attack on Youngkin, blasting him in almost every media appearance and rally as a Trump clone. “I’m running against a Donald Trump wannabe,” McAuliffe said on “State of the Union,” repeatedly linking his rival to an ex-President who alienated suburban Virginians who dislike culture war politics. Since many work in the government across the Potomac River, Trump’s frequent abuses of power held particular resonance. “I really hate to see what Glenn Youngkin is trying to do to Virginia what Donald Trump did our country,” McAuliffe said. The Trump factor A Youngkin victory might suggest that running a searingly anti-Trump campaign against Republican candidates when the ex-President is not up for election himself may not be as effective as some Democratic strategists hope. Still, Democrats can console themselves with the fact that Trump can be relied upon to be involved in the midterms. He is doing everything he can to make himself the GOP kingmaker as he fires up what is beginning to look like an inevitable 2024 presidential run. After he alienated many women and suburban voters in 2018, when Democrats flipped the House, and in 2020, when Democrats won the White House and flipped the Senate, his ubiquitous presence — including the extremism and lies about the 2020 election that were on display at a massive rally in Iowa on Saturday night — could have a similarly damaging impact on Republican fortunes in 2022. That may be especially true if his attempt to stack GOP slates with loyalists prevents more moderate Republicans from running where they may have more appeal than hardline Trumpists in head-to-head races against Democrats. Plus, the more Trump’s involved, the more he may help gin up Democratic turnout. Virginia Republicans seize on parental rights and schools fight in final weeks of campaign Virginia Republicans seize on parental rights and schools fight in final weeks of campaign But by winning Virginia, Youngkin could also offer an example to other Republicans in battleground states of how to deal with the hangover from Trump’s presidency while keeping the base on board. He has offered coded messages to Trump voters by talking about election integrity, for example, and was endorsed by the former President. But Trump hasn’t shown up in Virginia to campaign for Youngkin, despite McAuliffe goading him to do so. The Republican has also shaped a message on economics that might appeal to both affluent Northern Virginians and those struggling against rising prices in an economy emerging from the pandemic. He proposes eliminating the state’s grocery tax, suspending a recent rise in the gas tax and a list of cuts in state taxes and new rebates. He also beat more overtly pro-Trump candidates in the GOP primary. Still, his formula might not work so well in battleground states that lack Virginia’s vast suburbs and other demographic characteristics and where Trump’s demagogic appeal and lies about election fraud in 2020 have more currency for base voters. Youngkin’s race will be keenly watched by national Republican strategists who believe issues like how transgender kids participate in school sports and a furor fanned by right-wing media commentators over critical race theory could help weaken the Democratic dominance in the suburbs. He was quick, for instance, to seize on a comment by McAuliffe in their second debate when the former governor said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” The issue is a lightning rod for conservative media and played into controversies on race in education that motivates Republican voters at a time when schools have also been consumed by debate over Covid-19 mask mandates. McAuliffe’s attack may resonate with sympathetic suburban voters, but it was a line that actually helped Youngkin demonstrate to base voters that he was firmly on their side — voters he needs to turn out to win. So while Biden and McAuliffe have the most to lose on November 2, Youngkin’s campaign is also a test case for how the GOP can improve its competitiveness as it eyes big gains in the midterms and hopes for a return to the White House two years later. Click to comment Leave a Reply Most Popular To Top WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By :	[]
Fire and Freakiness Have you noticed how freaky people are all obsessed with the word “fire”? See, for example, the “fired with enthusiasm” bit on this motivational poster. Or the expression fundamentalists love, “being on fire for Jesus.” When a student used it in an email to me, I was creeped out for a week. And then there is Sarah Palin with her “fire in the belly.” I’m trying not to read this fire that slowly creeps down towards one’s private parts psychoanalytically but it’s kind of hard. Here is a related video on fires in bellies for your viewing pleasure. Deodorant, Autism, and Green Businesses Blogger Jenn at the Green Phonebooth wrote a very kind and complimentary piece about a small company called The Duggan Sisters. She mentioned a deodorant they make that is greener and better for your health. Jenn praised the product but mentioned that the price of $27 seemed too high for a deodorant that only had 3 ingredients. In response, the company’s owner published a mile-long piece that is the strangest communication from any business owner I have ever seen. I put some parts of it in a PowerPoint slide for you. On the left, you see an excerpt from Jenn’s post that you can find here. On the right, you can see small excerpts from Mary Duggan’s report that can be read in its entirety here. There is a lot more in the response which is very long, detailed, and aggressive. The reason why I’m publishing this post is not just that I like Jenn and feel surprised that she got attacked in return for writing a very kind post about a small business. What bothers me is that alternative medicine and green lifestyles often get undermined by being presented in a way they were in Duggan’s response. There are many assertions for which no sources are ever cited. There is even what I interpret as a suggestion that some link exists between autism and deodorant (as a Soviet autistic child of another Soviet autistic, I’m kind of stunned by something like this). Here is the quote in question: My sister Annie and I applaud folks who want to make their own deodorant or soap or candles or lotions. However, we have been working with thousands of busy mommies and daddies for the past decade and we find that few of them have any desire to return to Little House on the Prairie skill sets. More often, they hound us for solutions and guidance in dealing with their children’s autism, learning disabilities, psoriasis, depression, behavioral disorders, explosive diarrhea in the 5thgrade, that sort of thing. On the company’s website, there is also a suggestion that depression is somehow caused by eating fast food, which is another statement that I find very irresponsible and kind of offensive to the folks who suffer from depression. I think everybody here has already realized that I’m a very strong believer in seeking non-chemical solutions to health issues. I know people who used natural medicine to cure themselves of very serious diseases. However, placing autism, diarrhea, psoriasis and depression on one list and casually linking these very different issues to “deodorant or soap or candles or lotions” or fast food consumption does not, in my opinion, promote the cause of healthier, greener lifestyles. In any case, Jenn has voiced her objections to Mary Duggan’s response better than I ever could here. Stupid Apple or Stupid Professor? And of course some enemy of humanity installed an Apple computer in the smart classroom where I teach this semester. Now I can’t turn it on because – and this might be because of my flu – I have no idea where the actual body of the computer is. I found the monitor with an apple on it, the projector panel, the sound system, the VCR, the DVD, but not the computer itself. So you can just imagine my call to technical support. “The computer in my classroom doesn’t work!” “OK, have you tried turning it on?” “I can’t find this big box with the button I need to press to turn it on. I looked everywhere!” IT person in an aside to a colleague, “I wonder who gives out PhDs to such doofuses.” After Taxes: Canada vs US My sister calculated that, if I lived in Quebec, to take home the amount I do now after taxes I would have to make $15,000 more per year. With progressive taxation, it gets worse. A person who makes $100,000 in the US would have to make about $170,000 in Canada. In case anybody is wondering, the salaries of tenure-track Assistant Professors are lower in Quebec than pretty much anywhere in the US. Two Reasons Not to Have Children 1. You’ll have to start watching films like Harry Potter and learn the names of Disney characters. More than anything, kids don’t want to be in any way different from their peers, so it’s an obligation of every parent to provide this kind of entertainment. I get this but the thought of sitting through a Disney movie gives me a panic attack. 2. You’ll have to hang out with other parents to organize play dates, birthday parties, etc. And there is nothing scarier than people whose primary sense of identity comes from parenthood. I’ll give you a little example. I’m walking on campus when a colleague stops me. “Hey, Clarissa, how are you?” “I’m good, Samantha, just a little sick with the flu. How are you doing?” “I’m fine, thank you. So what have you been doing this summer?” “Just research.” “Oh, really? Well, I have no time to do research. Because I’m a MOM! I have TWO CHILDREN!! I have to take care of them, so I can’t just dedicate my time to doing research!!!” By the end of the conversation, I felt like I was the one who’d gotten her pregnant and then run away to do my research while she was stuck with the kids. Of course, there are people who don’t bug everybody into oblivion with their parenthood, but one’s chances of avoiding those who do diminish dramatically if one has children. A Doom and Gloom Scenario for Professors I’m too sick with flu to determine whether this weird article in Inside Higher Ed is some sort of a parody. So maybe my readers can help me figure it out. It is titled “Get Out While You Can” and presents a really apocalyptic scenario of tenured professors being fired in droves all over the country and being left jobless and broke. The author believes in the imminence of this scenario because of the tired old story about the crazy Peter Thiel who paid 20 kids to drop out of college. Apparently, without these very stupid students the entire system of higher education is doomed to collapse extremely soon. Another bugbear discussed in the article is the scary online education that is going to administer itself without any input from actual professors. I wish the technology-hater who wrote the article provided some links to the places where online courses get generated and administered all on their own. This would save me a lot of time I’m about to spend trying to prepare my own online course. Remember those sci-fi novels from the fifties that kept scaring us about how soon robots and computers would replace real people? It must be the same computers that will run our online courses for us. The other sign that the author is still hopelessly stuck in the fifties can be found in the following sentence: If you think that students will always prefer live, human performances to online education, please ask yourself whether many 18-year-old boys would rather be taught by you or by something that came out of the technology used to create this. [Some video game excerpt is inserted here] The good news is that, nowadays, not only are women allowed to attend college, they also get more degrees than men. Also, in spite of the author’s contempt towards 18-year-old males, many of them can recognize the value of a good education well enough. According to the article, the only reason anybody goes to college is to avoid some imaginary stigma that attaches to you in case you don’t have a college degree. Remember, this is an educator writing. An educator who has obviously not talked to an actual student in decades. The conclusion by this author who is currently writing a book about the danger of smart people and smart technology is fit material for a standup routine: Networking is the key to career management. Professors do much networking, but mostly with other professors. I suggest that professors network outside of academia with a goal of having a set of contacts we could use to acquire a nonacademic position. The best way to do this is to use Facebook and Linkedin to keep in touch with some of our former students, especially those who would make good bosses. I was wriggling with laughter after the very first sentence. After the second one, I started to hiccup from laughter. When I finished reading the article, though, I paused and thought, “What if this very disturbed person is speaking in earnest? And if so, then how can anybody argue that this sort of professor is fit to be retained in his job?” How Not to Deliver a PowerPoint Presentation Today I have finally figured out why so many people cringe when they hear about the use of PowerPoint presentations for teaching. I use PowerPoints a lot and find them very helpful. More importantly, my students love them. So I was always puzzled by reports on how much students hate PPs. I kept persecuting my own students, begging them to tell me the truth about their presumed hatred of PowerPoint. Still, they loudly insisted that my presentations were great. It turns out, however, that there are people who are capable of using PowerPoint to turn even the most fascinating discussion into an intolerable drag. For this reason, I decided to compile a short list of what you should not do when you are delivering a PowerPoint presentation. 1. Don’t read it. If a certain text already appears on the PP, it makes absolutely no sense to repeat it out loud. This bores people just as much as it would if you brought a textbook that everybody has in their hands and started reading from it. What you say has to be different from what people can see on the slides. 2. Bullet points should be short. They also don’t need to be repeated. Once again, if people can read it, they don’t need to hear it said aloud. Here is a random slide from one of my PPs: When the slide appears, I don’t repeat what it says. Rather, I explain what the points mean. 3. Don’t read quotes. Nothing is more annoying than having a presenter read a long quote from a PP. If you put up a quote, it should be done to achieve some goal. For example, you can use it to start a discussion. I usually put up a quote, ask students to break up in groups, go over the text, and answer the questions in a group discussion. This allows to avoid endless page rustling and complaints about how they brought the wrong text to class or how their little brother ate their textbook. The only time when I read a passage out loud is when I want to draw attention to its artistic qualities. Otherwise, reading aloud is a simple waste of time. 4. Drop the cutesy pictures. Sometimes, people add pictures to their PPs that carry no informational value. This infantilizes and annoys the audience. Unless a picture illustrates a point and can be discussed within the framework of the presentation, it makes no sense to include it. I use this picture in a discussion of Sarmiento’s Facundo. Since students have no idea who gauchos are, it helps to have a visual aide. We can discuss different kinds of visual representation of the gauchos and contrast them with Sarmiento’s description. However, sticking a photo of a man on a horse into a PP that has nothing to do with people on horses is senseless. PowerPoint is a great tool if used by people who explore its potential instead of using it as a device to bore their audiences stiff.	[]
The Lady with The Sewing Machine Twenty-nine-year-old Australian embroidery artist Meredith Woolnough lives just two steps away from the South Pacific Ocean. Her home and studio are near the beach in Newcastle, New South Wales, some 150 kilometres north of Sydney. New South Wales was the first part of Australia to be settled, which has earned it the nickname The First State. Its motto is Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine). Now if anyone in Australia or in the embroidery world shines brightly it is Meredith Woolnough, whose art works emanate an incredible beauty. Meredith Woolnough feels greatly inspired by the ocean and underwater life. She and her husband love snorkelling and are fanatical scuba divers. Photo of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland taken with an underwater camera by Meredith Woolnough "When I am sewing, I am building a structure" During her underwater voyages of discovery Meredith uses an underwater camera to take photographs of coral reefs and the multifarious creatures that live in their interstices. Meredith uses these pictures as inspiration for her embroidered art, which often seeks to mimic nature. "I live 500 metres from the ocean," she explains. "I can walk to a lovely beach in a few minutes and I snorkel and scubadive when I can. The inspiration for my work comes from the structures and patterns in leaves, coral and shells. I am fascinated by structures and the way things grow and I attempt to replicate these structures in my embroidery. The photos I take serve as reference material that inspires me and influences my designs. The underwater scenery near my home is really amazing, but my favourite place to dive within Australia is the Great Barrier Reef." Falling in love with coral reefs The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres. It is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Meredith: "The Great Barrier Reef is where I first learned to scuba dive and that is really where I fell in love with coral reefs." The Great Barrier Reef, like many other natural structures, is vulnerable to climate change. Initial estimates show that the 1911 Cyclone Yasi caused severe damage to parts of the reef, where severe gusts of wind broke off pieces of coral. Meredith is worried about the impact of the various environmental threats to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of her country. "Global warming is causing the coral to grow more slowly, and the coral is starting to bleach or die in some areas. Fortunately, the reef has considerable powers of regeneration, but it is definitely getting smaller. Some people are concerned that it will disappear completely in the long run. My work is not generally considered to be 'environmental art', but I am certainly conscious of the dangers to our coral reefs and I hope that through my artwork people will develop an appreciation for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and reefs." Ginkgo Study #1 - embroidery thread, pins, glass rods on Fabriano paper. The Ginkgo leaf is a popular motif in Japanese art. Sculptural art works Meredith uses freehand machine embroidery to create sculptural art works inspired by natural forms such as Ginkgo leaves or coral reefs. Some of her stitched creations can look very lifelike and some people have believed them to be real coral branches when they first saw them. It is only upon closer inspection that people realize that they are in fact detailed embroidered sculptures. How close can elaborate, refined art works get to nature? While studying for her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales, Meredith Woolnough specialised in embroidery during her fourth-year honours course. It was during this year that she developed her special technique for producing her innovative embroidery designs. Meredith's process involves drawing with a domestic sewing machine onto a water-soluble base fabric. After the embroidery is completed she dissolves away the base fabric to leave the bare threads behind. In this way, she transformed a run-of-the mill sewing machine into an unconventional drawing tool, allowing her to create unique pieces of embroidery art with a balanced richness of texture and colour. Her graceful, stylish embroidery traceries capture the beauty and fragility of nature in knotted embroidery threads. Her aim is to create embroidery sculptures inspired by natural forms. By repeatedly stitching threads into dense structures Meredith creates intricate, complex openwork compositions that are subsequently suspended in space with pins, casting delicately dynamic shadows. The Ginkgo tree One special theme Meredith feels attracted to is the Ginkgo tree, the leaves of which form the basis for many of her compositions (see photo above). The Ginkgo tree or Ginkgo biloba is native to China, and is regarded as a sacred tree in China and Japan. One of its most striking features is its fan-shaped leaves. "It's an amazing plant, very fascinating," says Meredith, "It is one of the oldest plants in the world and it has remained practically unchanged for millions of years. I am particularly interested in the structure of its leaves, which are unlike those of most other plants, and in the way it grows. Some of the Ginkgo leaves I make are multi-layered. I find them a great inspiration for my work." The Nautilus shell: a graceful underwater creature Art work inspired by the Nautilus shell, created by Meredith Woolnough One of the underwater creatures Meredith uses as a model for her art is the Nautilus, a mollusc typically found in the sea at relatively great depths in the Indo-Pacific region, whose shell has a beautiful spiral shape. "The Nautilus is not a creature you find in coral reefs," explains Meredith. "It actually lives in much deeper waters. I have used the spiral pattern of the Nautilus shell, which has some very interesting orange blends of colour, as a motif for quite a few of my creations." "I have never photographed a Nautilus in the wild, but I have taken photographs of other living underwater animals. I haven't found the right way to use these in my work yet - perhaps one day. At the moment I am more interested in static forms." Meredith also has a Master's degree in teaching and taught visual arts, textiles and design in secondary schools for several years. She currently works as a full-time artist and is no longer doing teaching work besides workshops in her embroidery technique. Meredith shows her work in at least two or three Australian exhibitions each year, but hopes to be able to attract a more international audience in the near future. Giant red coral branch, embroidery thread, pins and glass rods on Fabriano paper. A refined sewing technique Meredith explains how she produces her embroidery art in somewhat greater detail. "First of all I draw the design onto a special water-soluble fabric. This fabric was originally developed fr use as a dissolvable landry bag in the medical industry, but I am using it as the base fabric for my work. I can only work on a small section of the embroidery at the time, because the embroidery hoop I use is quite small so by sketching the design on the fabric first I don't lose my way. As in most embroidery work I use an embroidery hoop to keep the fabric flat, so I can safely guide the fabric through the sewing machine." " My machine is a normal sewing machine like many people have, but I have set it up in such a way that I can draw with it. Normally a sewing machine will pull the fabric through and direct where your stitches go, because most of the time you want to sew a straight line - if you are dressmaking, for example. But I need to be able to completely control the stitches to follow the lines of my design. I usually go over each line several times so that the final result is a big piece of thick, connected embroidery." "Painting with thread" Once the embroidery work has been completed as described above, Meredith dissolves the base fabric in water and mounts the resulting artwork on a piece of paper or on a wall. "When I stitch I have to make sure that the piece is very dense and the embroidery is all connected like a big spider's web. You need to make sure it really is all connected before you dissolve away the base fabric, otherwise it will fall apart." Meredith doesn't paint her designs: the rich coours arise from her use of different coloured thread. "I use different combinations of colours that blend seamlessly, so that the final result is just as if I were painting with thread." Mushroom coral Mandala, embroidery thread, pins, glass rods on Fabriano paper The Mandala series One of the themes Meredith Woolnough has used in her art work is the Mandala, a spiritual symbol of the universe widely encountered in Hinduism and Buddhism. Meredith has created a special Mandala series, a sample of which is shown in the photo on the right. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four "gates", each one containing a circle with a centre point. "I have always been fascinated by mandalas," enthuses Meredith, "and the process of sewing is almost a form of meditation for me. I find sewing very relaxing: it is extremely repetitive, and quite like the process used in making traditional mandalas. Besides, the embroidery hoop I use in my work has the same circular shape as a mandala, while the complex designs I tend to use are not unlike those found in a mandala." Two Ginkgo leaves, embroidery thread pins and glass rods on paper Detail of Red Nautilus - an embroidered artwork inspired by the Nautilus shell. Meredith Woolnough installing a giant Scribbly Gum leaf'. This is the largest piece of embroidery she created so far, designed to be mounted directly on the wall For more information please visit: www.meredithwoolnough.com.au	[]
Sticky Bees iPhone Review Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr + Sticky Bees - Fourfire Studios From flinging birds at pigs to covering oranges, the game concepts are rampant with creative characters in the app store. So why wouldn’t the next big thing come from the insect kingdom? Well that is what Fourfire Studios is banking on with their new app. Sticky Bees stars the King Bee, defending his bee kingdom from the Hummingbird King. Fight waves of bugs while gathering your chain of sticky bees and trying desperately to keep them together. Simple touch controls allow for easy guidance of the King Bee, though the tasks are far from easy. The King Bee is the only one with the ability to destroy the bugs, by running into them and turning them into colorful music notes. The user touches the King and holds, then swipes around the screen to navigate and hit the enemy bugs. And not just a few bugs, I’m talking enough to fill the whole screen. When they say “Tons of enemies,” in the description, they aren’t kidding. Aside from transforming tons of enemies into the sound of music, the user must also hold on to the other members of the hive that become stuck in a long chain together behind the King Bee. As the chain gets longer and longer it becomes harder to maneuver the King around without some of the enemy bugs causing the loss of the sticky bees. You want those sticky bees to stay, as they are your multiplier for points and the more you have the more points you are going to get. There are also power-ups included such as Invincibility, Pollen, Freeze and Boom, which do help. The enemies come in waves and to pass the level you must withstand all of the waves. This wouldn’t be a problem but there are a lot of waves, 40 and 50 even. Though the controls are easy, the King Bee didn’t always move with my finger. Sometimes he would get stuck and I would have to go back and get him, which usually costed me some sticky bees. It’s definitely challenging to say the least, even from the first level. Though if it’s not challenging enough for you there are achievements that can be unlocked such as never losing a sticky bee. How that is done through 50 waves of enemies, I’m not sure but will congratulate anyone that can complete it. Sticky Bees is all ages and is fast paced with tons of action. There are 8 levels all with full Retina graphics support. Gamecenter support is also included so scores can be compared to others. It has some great potential and I would definitely recommend it for a younger app gamer. It is available in the App Store now for $.99. Sticky Bees - Fourfire Studios About Author Leave A Reply	[]
Play Live Radio Next Up: Available On Air Stations 'Oxford American Magazine' Highlights Southern Music Oxford American magazine's annual Southern music issue is out. It's a greatest hits version highlighting the publication's music writing over two decades and was guest-edited by singer and songwriter Brittany Howard. She's the lead vocalist and guitarist for Alabama Shakes and released her solo album "Jamie" last year. For Oxford American, Howard curated a soulful playlist that includes this song by Betty Davis. BETTY DAVIS: (Singing) They say I'm different 'cause I'm a piece of sugar cane, sweet to the core. That's why I got rhythm. ELLIOTT: Brittany Howard joins us now from Nashville. Welcome to the program. BRITTANY HOWARD: Hey. Thank you for having me. I'm very happy to be here. ELLIOTT: Well, your playlist includes some really strong R&B women. We just heard Betty Davis. There's Odetta, Irma Thomas, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone. What do these singers represent for you? HOWARD: You know, first of all, I relate to them because they're Southern. And, you know, as I say in my little essay, the South just has a thing to it. It's really hard to describe, and actually, it's hard to put into words. ELLIOTT: What is that thang (ph)? HOWARD: The thing is generations and generations of people who were just working hard - you know what I'm saying? - hand to mouth, everybody taking care of each other in the household, spending lots of time outdoors. You know, I feel like in the South, the outdoors - it just seeps into you. You know, it's different from city life. Being outside, you can take a stroll, and the humidity and the birds have a song. And the leaves rustling have a song. Everything around you is just musical, and it gets into you. And the pace of life is just different, and the way people speak to you is just different. ELLIOTT: Is there a song on the playlist that reveals that feeling, that thang? HOWARD: I'd say maybe "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" - Bettye Swann. Another one might be "To Mess Around" (ph) by Ray Charles. "Hit Or Miss" by Odetta is another one I might suggest. ODETTA: (Singing) Oh, can't you see? I got to be me. Ain't nobody just like this. I got to be me. ELLIOTT: You write in your essay that there's no historian like the music that's created in the South. As guest editor, what were some of the pieces that stood out for you? I guess these were articles that had been written in Oxford American over 20 years or so. HOWARD: You know, what really stood out to me was the beginning of the Outkast article - the writer talking about his grandma being a - the chicken factory. HOWARD: I don't know why, but for some reason... ELLIOTT: You're talking about Kiese Laymon's article. HOWARD: That said - that just put me somewhere. It just put me in a place - instantly took me to the South. OUTKAST: (Rapping) My soliloquy may be hard for some to swallow, but so is cod liver oil. You went behind my back like Bluto when he cut up Olive Oyl. Two things I hate - liars and thieves. They make my blood boil. Boa constricted, on my soul that they coil. Touched by the wheels of steel. ELLIOTT: He talked about the stank on his grandma's hands and thinking about that when he first started listening to Outkast because she would come home so dirty from the chicken plant, right? HOWARD: That's it. And she would dress up so nice to go to church. And that does remind me of my grandma - works hard, looks good, has a dignity. And also, I grew up not far from a chicken plant, so it does have a little stank on it. ELLIOTT: You grew up in a little town in north Alabama, not far from Muscle Shoals. That had to seep into you a little bit. HOWARD: That's right. And you know what's funny about growing up right down to - 40 minutes away from Muscle Shoals is that that's a place where we went catfishing, me and my dad. I never made the connection that so much music was made at Fame. I just didn't know the history of it until I was in my twenties. ELLIOTT: So we can't let this interview continue without playing a little bit of your music. I want to play a song from your latest album, "Jamie." HOWARD: (Singing) My daddy, he stayed. My grandmama's a maid. My mama was brave to take me outside 'cause Mama is white, and Daddy is Black. ELLIOTT: That's a song called "Goat Head," and it's about your family and how you grew up in an interracial household. HOWARD: You know, it's something I didn't think about a lot in my youth. Like, when I was a kid, I was just running around doing what everybody else was trying to do - trying to fit in, trying to find my friend group, trying to make sure I get the new pair of Sauconys, you know what I'm saying? There was a part of my family history that no one wanted to talk about. And it wasn't until I was older, I guess, until I could digest this information of this cruelty in this - the way that my father and that side of my family was treated as second-class. It's not just about being poor. It was also about the color of their skin. And there was a lot of cruelty, I learned, in my own hometown. ELLIOTT: What was the little town? HOWARD: I came from a little town called Athens, Ala. ELLIOTT: Athens. OK. HOWARD: Which I do cherish my hometown. There was a lot of cruelty there. I didn't - you know, I just didn't think it happened there. And also what my mother went through, too - having two little brown girls, going to the grocery store and grown women coming up to her and just saying whatever they wanted to about her. How could you do that? How could you bring these kids into the world like that? - you know, at the grocery store. Nobody stood up for my mom. And every time she would take us outside, you know, she had to prepare herself. And it gave me a lot of profoundly deep respect for my family. CLARENCE CARTER: I was born and raised down in Alabama on a farm way back up in the woods. I was so raggedy, folks used to call me Patches. Papa used to tease me about it. Course, deep down inside, he was hurt 'cause he'd done all he could. (Singing) My papa was a great old man. ELLIOTT: One of the other things you wrote about in your essay was while you came from an interracial family, that meant that you had a really interesting exposure to different kinds of music. HOWARD: I'd go over to my grandma's house, and her name is Ruby (ph). She's my mother's mother. We'd always cook. You know, that's something we would do as an activity. We would draw pictures and cook. And while we're doing that, we'd always listen to music - doo-wop from the '60s. And she loved Elvis, that old country music like Patsy Cline. And she would teach me songs from when she was in school and - that song "Catch A Falling Star And Put It In Your Pocket," (ph) "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" - stuff like that that at the time I thought was really silly. Now I just really appreciate it. ELLIOTT: What about your other grandma? HOWARD: My other grandma - her name is Helen (ph), and we all call her Mama Helen. We would get together, and we would sing whatever cassette tapes she had, girl - like Luther Vandross, whatever was in her car - just this kind of smooth, like, cool R&B, you know? We learned all of the classics there. AL GREEN: (Singing) Don't look so sad. I know it's over. ELLIOTT: Is that how the Reverend Al Green ended up on your playlist? HOWARD: Yeah. Al Green was someone that my dad really liked. He introduced me to that. And he also introduced me to P-Funk music because my dad had a tow truck business when I was little. I would ride with him in the tow truck, unbeknownst to me, to repossess people's cars. ELLIOTT: He was the repo man. HOWARD: It was his job. You know, he was just trying to make a living - wasn't personal, you know? But on Fridays, we had a radio station that would play Funky Fridays. And we would listen to The Gap Band, Parliament-Funkadelic, you know, and George Clinton and "Flashlight" and all that stuff. And my dad - he - you know, he's just a goofy guy. So he would always make me laugh singing the songs. And he exposed me to all that kind of music. And I just love it, you know, to this day. I think it's just so great. PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC: (Singing) Flashlight. Oh, I will never dance. ELLIOTT: One of the things you say is that you really benefited from the resilience of generations of people who taught their children and then taught you to believe that everything's going to be all right. And that spirit does seem to come through from the songs that you put on your playlist. Is there a song that really gives you that feeling that I can handle no matter what comes? HOWARD: Maybe "Ain't Got No" - Nina Simone - "I Got Life" - think that's a good one. NINA SIMONE: (Singing) I ain't got no home, ain't got no shoes, ain't got no money, ain't got no class. ELLIOTT: Tell me what the song means to you. HOWARD: Well, when I hear this song, I just think about the lowest of the low of the low times when - I mean, you know, I grew up - we had food, you know, and we had each other. But we - you know, we didn't have a lot. And when you think about it, this song is just saying, like, you know, there's a lot you still do have. SIMONE: (Singing) Nobody can take away. Got my hair, got my head, got my brains, got my ears, got my eyes, got my nose, got my mouth. HOWARD: You know, it's kind of just saying, like, you still matter. You still have the same standing as everyone else in the world, and you have much more than you realize. And that's important to me because of where I come from, where my family comes from. It may sound cliche, but saying that your ancestors' wildest dreams is a true fact when it comes to my life. SIMONE: (Singing) I've got life, and I'm going to keep it. I've got life, and nobody... ELLIOTT: Singer and songwriter Brittany Howard - she's also guest editor of Oxford American magazine's Southern music issue. Thanks so much for being on the show. HOWARD: Well, thank you so much for having me. It's nice to meet you.	[]
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What is Groundwater? Right under your feet, millions of gallons of water exist between rocks, sand, and gravel. Those permeable bodies of rock and sediment that are saturated with water are called aquifers. Much of the water in the world exists below the surface- in fact, there is twenty to thirty times more water in the ground than there is in all the earth’s rivers and lakes. During dry years like this one, groundwater fills up bodies of surface water and serves as a “critical buffer against the impacts of drought and climate change.” In some communities, it is the only source of drinking water. Groundwater also provides water for agricultural operations. But that’s not all. Did you know? 💧 97% of all liquid freshwater on earth is groundwater. (Meaning- most freshwater that is not frozen in glaciers and is available to humans is groundwater.) 💧 Groundwater provides almost 40% of California’s total water supply, with that percentage increasing to 46% or more in dry years. 💧 CA’s Department of Water Resources estimates that the state’s 515 groundwater basins have a storage capacity of between 850 million and 1.3 billion acre-feet. This is an incredible amount when compared to the less than 50 million acre-feet that can be stored in all of CA’s major reservoirs. Groundwater is essential to every facet of life in our state and region and has immense potential to increase our resilient water supply. Sustaining Groundwater Supplies with Better Management In the Central Valley this essential resource was being pumped from the ground faster than it could be replenished. Results of this include lower groundwater levels, which in some areas can cause the ground elevation to lower. This is called subsidence, which can cause damage to surface structures such as roads, building foundations, aqueducts, bridges, pipelines, and flood control structures. When groundwater is not managed sustainably, water quality can also be impacted. Water quality can degrade due to over pumping, limiting its use for irrigation or drinking without expensive treatment. Sustainable management of groundwater is needed to address these issues, in addition to avoiding the costs of energy expenses required to pump groundwater from greater depths, the expense of fixing damages caused by land subsidence, and subsequent indirect impacts such as higher food prices. With these costs in consideration, it is evident that groundwater must be managed sustainability for the well-being of our Central Valley communities, agricultural operations, and economy. Solutions at the Local Level GSA map of the Kings and Tulare Lake Subbasins. Click image to find your GSA. In 2014, California Governor, Jerry Brown passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. This piece of legislation is commonly known as SGMA. SGMA requires local governments and water agencies to bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge by 2040. This led to the creation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), which are agencies that manage groundwater at the local level. GSAs designed Groundwater Sustainability Plans, (GSPs), documents that outline the agencies’ detailed plans for achieving sustainability. GSAs work with local landowners and communities on implementing their GSPs. (We love our acronyms in the water industry!) Measuring Groundwater Sustainability Under SGMA, sustainability is measured using “sustainability indicators” which include: groundwater storage, groundwater levels, interconnected surface water, water quality, and land subsidence. The sixth indicator, seawater intrusion, is not applicable to the Central Valley GSAs. Learn more about each sustainability indicator through the following graphics: Securing Groundwater for Future Generations Meeting each of these measurable objectives and achieving sustainability in the Central Valley is not a job for one group, agency, or industry. Groundwater sustainability requires the collaborative efforts of landowners, farmers, residents, policy makers, advocacy groups, engineers, water providers, and more! You are part of the solution. Connect with your local GSA, advocate for policies that promote groundwater sustainability, innovate recharge projects, and stay in touch with organizations like KRCD to receive regular updates on Central Valley groundwater. As Leonardo Da Vinci said, “water is the driving force of all nature.” Together, we can ensure this powerful resource is available for generations to come. Connect with KRCD on Twitter and Facebook! Get information on SGMA, groundwater, and more sent straight to your inbox by signing up for KRCD’s E-Newsletter.	[]
Share article: Share article: Auditors have problems doing their work during the crisis Credit: Unsplash/Dan Dimmock The pandemic affects all professions but specially auditing firms which need to engage directly with the companies, according to a new study by ACCA. In a global survey among its members, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) found that the coronavirus crisis has disrupted normal client engagement activities. “From increased pressure to complete audit work to issues in getting audit evidence, and very sensitive judgments in areas such as going concern, auditors will need to re-evaluate how they undertake normal auditing activities,” said Mike Suffield, Director of Professional Insights at ACCA. According to the survey, 53% of the respondents said they were experiencing pressures completing client services work, and 36 % said they faced an inability to meet reporting deadlines. A quarter of the respondents said they are experiencing difficulties in gathering audit evidence and an increased audit risk relating to valuation of assets, completeness of liabilities or going concern issues. ”Even in the face of Covid-19, businesses large and small will still face existing risks such as cybersecurity. We need to remember that different ways of working and strategic reactions could change these risks or even introduce new ones. Ensuring that risks continue to be managed, both specifically in response to the crisis and more generally, is essential.” He told The Brussels Times that some countries have extended regulatory filing deadlines because of the lockdown measures. Most of the usual interaction between auditors and audited companies is now happening virtually. “In practice, this is likely to prove more challenging for smaller practices who may not yet have made significant investments in technology,” Mike Suffield said. How do auditors collect audit evidence during the lockdowns? “It’s still possible to scrutinise evidence provided electronically/virtually. Auditors will need to carry out work to establish the veracity of the electronic evidence that they are provided with.” Technology can also help in certain respects, e.g. the use of drones to confirm the existence of physical assets. “Throughout the audit process, auditors will need to continue to exercise appropriate professional scepticism and challenge in evaluating the evidence that they are provided with by companies.” M. Apelblat The Brussels Times Latest news Belgian wind farm closed down to save migrants floating in sea Cinemas will require Covid Safe Ticket from Friday UN issues strong warning ahead of climate change summit in Glasgow Disastrous year for Belgian beekeepers New measures for schools considered as situation becomes ‘untenable’ Belgium in Brief: Back To Masks Belgium a climate slowcoach as EU reveals emissions progress Belgium’s decision on possible third shot postponed until Saturday Experts and politicians respond to new coronavirus measures New fraudulent e-mails circulating in Belgium	[]
'Peter Rabbit' Trailer: Domhnall Gleeson Vs. Cartoons If you've longed for the day when Domhnall Gleeson does battle with a horde of cartoon animals, you're in luck! In Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter's storybook classic comes to life, sort of, in a modern setting. James Corden voices the eponymous rabbit, leading a cast of CGI animals in a film full of pratfalls and sight gags. Watch a new Peter Rabbit trailer below. Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) leads a pretty stellar cast in Peter Rabbit, an in-your-face family comedy update of Beatrix Potter's timeless children's story. In the film, Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) and his animals pals (voiced by Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki and more), struggle to reclaim the land they think is rightfully theirs. Unfortunately, mean Mr. McGregor is having none of it, locking off the land and striving to protect his vegetable garden from these pesky pests. What are a group of CGI animals to do but tear McGregor's life apart in their quest to eat all the food he's grown? Watch the new Peter Rabbit trailer below, and bask in how much yelling there is. Peter Rabbit trailer Apparently realizing that the original Beatrix Potter story was too slim to fill out a full movie, Peter Rabbit director Will Gluck (Annie) has also added a weird love triangle to the plot, wherein both Peter and Mr. McGregor vie for the affections of their next door neighbor, played by Rose Byrne. Sure, why not? Sam Neill is also in this film somewhere, which makes this an exceptionally well-cast movie. Here's the official synopsis: This trailer is mostly harmless, if a bit loud. That said, there is a pretty funny joke at the very end that comes at the expense of the French. Francophiles be warned! Peter Rabbit opens February 9, 2018.	[]
Ships and cities’ soul “Rooms in the bend among towns which are going are going down“ Octavio Paz In the paintings of Federico Romero Bayter the lines seemed go away towards some points inside the paper. These obsessive lines entwine and the images which result, show us strange and disturbing cities, that suddenly, as in front of a blaze, we can succeed to recognize, even tough what it showed to us isn’t the city but one of his faces: perhaps that exclusive profile that only the artist see and there exists,exclusively on the paper and on the canvas. On the margins to the city, on the sea, there are enormous ports and enigmatic transatlantics, when they are uploaded. Where are they going? The artist arrives in a place and he observes it, he questions with his arms, probably with his eye and he lets that this modifies it. The work which was born is the result of this process and of a strange dialogue among the place and the artist. We see so raise those squares, those streets and facades in a disturbing bliss, that, in my opinion, sometimes hides a scream, or a weep. The cities are there, lonely. There isn’t nobody ,inside: they are alone. The same goes for the ships and for the port. Nobody live there, outside of the artist’s eye and of who observes the picture, because the passerby of those spoky squares, the passerby of those impossible ships is who look them. The watcher live them. I recognize in the urban gaze of Fede something of my same story. I have moved too very young in another country. First in Madrid and then in Paris. Weird cities where just arrived, I felt and probably I was, invisible. Cold and nervous towns, from the sharp teeth. These cities have been the onset’s sentries of my europe life , of my youth’s dreams , a period that I considered and that now I meet again in Federico’s pictures, in his way to portray something that I have felt: an essential and vital loneliness, expressed in endless walks through hostile roads, observing everything with distance ,searching to populate these spaces with my first ideas. I recall my come and go in those sharp traits, with memory and with pleasure . The deaf dialogue with the statues , the bows and the forecourts.The questions without answer about life that I had to live. The eternal questions. There is a theory about empty and deserted ships , squares and streets which talks us about the world, how it is today , for those who go migrate and live far away. Pain’s migrants or intention ‘s migrants . A world of nervous and lonely towns , populated by invisible beings who find theirselves in another cities, still more faraway and unattanaible with their desire or in their dreams …The reality’s cities and those of the desire are never the same. In the way that Federico paints them, the cities where we arrive alone. The cities where sometimes we felt afraid because the nigt falls, but in these cities we find a fate that goes beyond the fear. So are the cities to whom Rimbaud sent us, when he signed the path to every artists:” A l’aurore, armés d’une ardente patience, nous entretìrons aux splendides villes” .. That’s why in these pictures, where there aren’t people, but cities and ships, what Federico does is talk us about the human soul, of his fundamental loneliness and of his probable destiny. Santiago Gamboa	[]
Budget War Threatens America’s Survival The Republican Budget War Threatens America’s SurvivalGreg Hunter’s USA Watchdog.com President Barak Obama gave a speech to newspaper executives about the recently passed Republican budget in the House of Representatives. It proposes to cut spending by more than $5 trillion over the next ten years. Yesterday’s speech was, basically, a declaration of war against the GOP and its vision of the government’s budget. The President said, “This Congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan horse disguised as deficit reduction plans. It is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly veiled social Darwinism. It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who is willing to work for it. A place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top but grows outward from the heart of middle class.” (Click here for the full transcript of President Obama’s speech.) It didn’t take long for the Republicans to fire back. The AP reports, “House Speaker John Boehner said Obama is resorting to ‘distortions and partisan potshots’ — while standing behind policies that the speaker says ‘have made our country’s debt crisis worse.’ And a Mitt Romney spokeswoman says Obama’s in no position to lecture about ‘responsible federal spending.” (Click here for more from the AP.) Folks, it is officially “game on,” and every American should be scared speechless about this budget showdown. It is unlike any the nation has ever faced. The country has never been more in debt, and this comes at a time when countries like China are shunning U.S. Treasuries. There are more than 12 million “officially unemployed.” (The unofficial is 22 million.) Home prices are falling despite near record low mortgage rates. The BRICS nations are actively seeking an alternative to the U.S dollar for settlement of trade, which could threaten the dollar’s reserve currency status. We are threatening financial war with any country that trades with Iran, and the nation is facing yet another shooting war in the Middle East. The only question is will it come before or after the election. Last August, Congress raised the debt ceiling by $2.1trillion in exchange for at least $2.1 trillion in budget cuts over the next 10 years. A so-called “Super Committee” of Democrats and Republicans was supposed to agree on a deficit reduction plan, but they couldn’t agree on a single dime of spending cuts or tax increases. That’s right, the deficit was not cut, but the nation went in the hole by another $2.1 trillion. Currently, the deficit is more than $15.6 trillion, and the debt ceiling stands at nearly $16.4 trillion. (Click here to see the U.S. debt clock.) Some predict the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling or, better put, run out of money by September 2012— two months before the November election. Zerohedge.com charted the trajectory of the nation’s debt a few weeks ago. Can you see the budget battle shaping up in this election year? Republicans will want deep cuts to social programs and not a lot of tax increases. Democrats will want tax increases and to minimize cuts to social programs. Neither side wants to give an inch, especially in an election year. This is the exact same deadlock that took shape last year. Now, both sides want to play political football with the nation’s finances, and the country is running out of time to get its financial house in order before we suffer the same fate as Greece. This will be a monumental budget battle that may crush the nation as we know it. I think it is a safe bet the next increase to the debt ceiling will be in the neighborhood of $2 trillion. In the aftermath of the budget battle last year, the credit rating of the U.S. was downgraded. There is no doubt it will be downgraded again. Only this time, will the government, also, be shut down? Will the dollar tumble in value? Will the present administration take the money of federal retirement accounts to keep the country from falling into the black hole of insolvency? Will the 47 million people on food stamps be cut off? Will the stock market crash? Will the government stop paying some or all of its bills? Will this turn into a national security issue? Will enemies of the U.S. attack while the donkeys and elephants play chicken with the lives and fortunes of more than 300 million Americans? Will the coming budget war threaten America’s survival? The answer to these questions may all be YES, and no one should be under the illusion that this nightmare could not become reality. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The country needs statesmen, but what we have are bagmen who are pandering to the special interests that fund them. Stay Connected 1. Serapis It would seem that for the past few months the President has been showing his true colors. Gone is his fluffy marketing of hope and change, teachable moments, and beer summits. Nowadays we get “Pass This Bill!,” and “Trayvon was my son too.” His crackdown on civil liberties has been swift and extreme. His taunting of Supreme Court judges as “unelected” is unprecedented, and he mocks them even as two of the nine are his own appointees! After three years, this guy is tired of pretending, and now America is seeing exactly who they voted for, and are likely to be stuck with for another four years as the Republican Party implodes. As for the defecit, you provide an accurate analysis. No one wants to compromise and risk losing face, or actually cut anything and risk losing votes and the cushy jobs that they provide. But the problem really goes beyond that. There is no practical way to repay the debt. Taxing the rich at 100% won’t do it, neither will cutting everything except for entitlements. As the politicians know this, the goal is now only about positioning themselves to deflect the blame when the average American finally gets wise to this fact. The debt is the biggest hot potato in modern history and no one in Washington wants to be caught holding it when the music stops. • Greg Thank you Serapis and Sean S for the pointed comments. 2. Sean S Well said Greg – as usual. No the country will not go the way of Greece because, as you know, unlike Greece, the Government will continue to be able to issue Treasury debt securities which will be purchased in large volumes by the Fed by way of issuing additional currency. So the USD money supply will continue to be diluted in this way and it’s value/purchasing power will continue to diminish significantly. Does this really worry most US Federal politicians. Apparently not. At the end of the day they did not stand in the way of the last debt ceiling increase and the “super committee” was seemingly a total farce in the congressional style. Despite the posturing, they all know only too well that there will be pressure for another debt ceiling increase which – you just wait – ultimately won’t be blocked either. There is one revenue budget that almost all Politicians are much more concerned about than anything else on their plate. It takes priority over working hard to place the country on a long term stable/sustainable financial footing. This budget is called …………campaign contributions. 3. Stephen Clifton You are looking at this the wrong way. In a previous response I had made the comment that “we weren’t uncomfortable enough to change anything.”. This is exactly the type of idiotic behavior we need to occur and hopefully follow through to all of the above scenarios you listed. If all of the above occur then maybe, just maybe the people will be galvanized enough to force some real “change we can believe in”. Let them them play chicken, let them use us as political chess pieces. Only then will they see how fast the pitchforks come out and how sharp they really are. P.S. I am not trying to incite a revolt but merely pointing at the scenario of taking away the last thing that anybody has and how it could result in an uprising. • Greg Stephen Clifton, Understood,thanks for weighing in. • Troy Unfortunately; there is much truth in your comment. People will live in denial, until such a time that they have ‘NO’ other choice. 4. slingshot Too many questions and not enough solutions. The cards are stacked too high against the American people. If you think we are making some hard choices now, just wait till later. When you have the President, make what is in my opinion, a veiled threat to the Supreme Court, you know your not far from a dictatorship. At this point in time, even if the President was unseated because of his birth certificate, can you imagine what turmoil the country would face. There are those who believe what this Administration is saying and there are those who do not. Complicate this by a news media that has failed to properly investigate and you have successfully divided people into two camps. One who believes everything from the mouth of government and the other who will not believe anything due to the barrage of lies or half truths being constantly fed to them. I have been doing a lot of soul searching the past few weeks and I fear the only way this country is going to make it, is by passing through some type of crucible. 5. Art Barnes Greg, “the country needs statesmen, but what we have are bagmen who are pandering to the special interests that fund them” is so sad but true. This is happening all the while the nation worries about grade school bullies and other such nonsense. The sad fact is that most historical superpowers were arguing among themselves when they looked up and lost their empire by war or economics (or both), our arrogance will be rewarded with a third world status. • Greg Good stuff Art and NM!! 6. nm I was just listening to Ron Paul and he had the following to say about government budgets: The only budget that counts is this years budget. Anything else is just pie in the sky rubbish (my word). All those 5, 10, 15 year projections are an illusion and election gimmick. 7. ABR Agree with your summary of the situation, Greg, and give you credit for having the Cojones to speak the truth. The hard truth is that this nation faces 2 options: 1) establish a glide-path to fiscal sustainability that results in a deflationary depression or 2) kick the can toward a hyper-inflationary depression that lays waste to every part of our society. There really are no other choices. Option #1 will be very hard and painful, but it is nothing compared to the danger of option #2. The ironic thing is that in an effort to maintain the status quo, the powers that be will drive us toward option #2, which is exactly the scenario that will lead to their being swept away. 8. George Too This is a non sequitur. How does freebies for half the population paid out of the efforts of the producer equate to prosperity growing outward? Or prosperity at all. When parasites kill the host, where do they go next? 9. jay So well stated im ashamed to be able to congratulate you on this artical. CNN dont know what they lost. 10. AndyB Greg: the key to solving our debt problem is an objective analysis of its scope, how we got there, and the willingness to change. That aint gonna happen in public discourse. Unfortunately, the great majority of our Congresscritters are wedded to the status quo of corrupt power and influence as the key determinent of public policy; the people be damned. The can will be kicked until all of the possible paths reach the inevitable brick wall. Although the people are awakening, it is too little, too late especially as the police state is already in place to counter any pushbacks by the general populace. IMO that our only remaining hope will be to rebuild from the ashes through nullification and the re-establishment of states’ rights as envisioned by the Founders. • jay I must add, Then blame the wall. 11. Sean When I was a kid I learned that if I wanted extra money that I didn’t earn from a paper route or weekly allowance, I had to make a very strong case and I didn’t always get as much money as I needed. So I came up with a strategy. If I wanted to attend a $30 concert and I only had $10, I would ask for $40 dollars. My parents would put up a fuss and tell me that I should already have some money of my own, and that $40 is more than I need even if I had no money at all. I would protest and say that’s true, but they’re not considering the concert t-shirt and grabbing some food or whatever after the show with my friends. Most times they would say “You’ve got $10, we’ll give you another $20 for the ticket. But we’re not paying for the t-shirt or the snacks. Have fun.” If I’d asked for $20 up front, I probably would have been given $10 and told to save it towards the next concert. And that’s how the federal budget works. We (the voters) are the parents, and the Congress (Dem and GOP working together) are the kids asking for the funding. The Congress concocts the story, creates the conflict, inflates the numbers, and then scalse them back to settle on a figure that the voters would never have approved in the first place if they weren’t walked throught the planned back-and-forth drama to justify a budget number that was agreed upon long before the controlled media stepped up to the plate to generate an acceptable level of voter approval. Regarding Obama’s comment on a “Trojan Horse”, I find it interesting that he used that analogy. I’ve been using Trojan Horse for years as an analogy to represent how the finance globalists have controlled the White House for the last 40 years. It’s a Trojan Horse occupation, under the guise of GOP/Dem party control as determined by voters, but in reality, the White House is populated by figures who are selected by private globalist finance who control the media, under the guise of representing the voters when their true role is faithful implementation of domestic and international globalist policy, regardless of it’s impact on the US Constitution. 12. SheepleAwake You are right Greg, the bagmen are running the country!!! God forbid if Roomney gets in, he would totally do the bidding of Wall St and the One Percenters without any reservations at all. Vulture Capitalism would rule absolutely!!! 13. D. Smith Someone should tell Obozo that “a radical vision” is exactly what this country needs. Other than Ron Paul, they’re all morons. 14. ONTIME The agenda for the left, expand and grow the government and make the government, all goods and energy so costly that the economy collapses and all are dependent on the government…is anyone missing the point of this administration? 15. ncdirtdigger Can we not just pass out bread and increase the allowances for the circus? • Greg Too funny man!!!!! Love the sarcasm!!!! 16. M SMITH Greg, it’s time for every one to think of their own survival,no? I have found physical silver premiums is very small while physical gold premiums for AGE’s & Maples is still getting wider! I found silver junk $1000.00 bags for 5 cents under spot, ASE’s $2.59 over spot with a purchase of 60 coins to 100 coins & 500 1oz coins or more $2.39 above spot. Gold coins minted by the U.S. mint & Canada’s mint need no assay & in a time of need you may swap them easy for cash if needed, but if one is smart, set on any gold if possible & don’t fall for the tricks by the CB’s to pry the gold from your hands as they issue more lies about any recovery. These times remind me of a TV show called “It Take A Thief to Catch One”, so you must think like these crooks, they scare the public to sell their PM’s so they can cover their bets & gain more gold to stack for themselves, they know it’s money or they would not be buying it. Europe CB’s are way aheah of the U.S., each quater they ‘mark their gold reserves to market’, but not the U.S., not yet, but that day is coming, would you agree? Stack if you can! • Greg M Smith, Protecting you and your family is a very smart thing to do at this point. 17. James T I listen to Obama trash the GOP budget plan and talk about how much money would be taken out of the various programs, and how devastating this would be to America. It would certainly be felt, I’m sure, but all this money printing thats been going on is even more devastating to America and we are all ending up with even less. (Dollar devaluation). After his latest actions and comments, I hope people realize what type of individual he is and what he is trying to do to this country. He desperatly needs to be voted out. 18. Jan Excellent article Greg, count me as scared speechless. Our candidates have been chosen for us. We must now choose the lessor of two evils. This one is the most evil and has got to go: Turning Americans against each other to win votes is beyond evil, it is dangerous. NDAA is in place and ready to go, all he has to do is goad the crowds into tearing the country apart so he can use his new powers to save us from the rabble? Double check your emergency supplies, it is going to be a long hot summer. • Greg Thank you Jan for the comment! 19. xxxxx Even a hillbilly boy can own farmland if he don’t care about the house. The barn is worth the expense the house is for show. You haven’t seen the farm land go down in price. The investor class holds worthless paper,big over size houses and cars that no one want. If a investment goes bad maybe it was bad from the start and no law can change that. The D.C. boys and girls are just up to the same old tricks, cutting up the pie. They don’t help pick the berries but they want some pie. Wall street is just one big welfare case , waiting on the next QE. Soon they will be picking weeds for a meal. PEACE 20. droidX-G Well said Greg.Gregory 21. droidX-G One thing that always bothers me when mr. Obama speaks is the Orwellian Duckspeak he uses. He claims the oil companies are getting tax subsudie whenwhat ia really happening is the tax code which covers many industries. Why.would you single out one industry.and not the.others. Mr Obama makes Gobbles look like a white house intern 22. RetiredPara Greg, How can you say that those who want to necessarily cut the federal budget are “bagmen”? If given the opportunity, I would eliminate ALL federal welfare, subsidies, aid, etc., overnight. You would see in instant resurgence in the strength of family, community, and eventually, the nation, as those who made poor choices would no longer be rewarded by those who did not. Take a few more steps such as elimanating the income tax, many federal agencies, and fiat currency, and we could return to real prosperity and opportunity. I see nothing wrong with the Republican plan, other than it does not cut enough! • Greg Do you hear anyone on either side of the aisle talking about cutting all the backdoor bank bailouts? Fannie and Freddie burned through $20 billion in tha last quarter alone and now they’re talking about using $100 billion in “unused” TARP money to pump into The failed GSE’s. How about 0% interest rates for the bankers at the Fed? n Can you borrow money at a negative interest rate? The first thing I would cut is all the ongoing banker bailouts. The system will not truly recover with our real accounting and zero bailouts. This is the big problem, and the Republican plan does not address it. Thank you for your comment. 23. Mary Brown Why when you see talks about cuts corporate welfare is never mentioned? Time to cut off the tap to the big corporations and banks that have driven this country towards third world status by shipping jobs overseas while getting huge payoffs to “bail” them out. • Greg The first thing that needs to get the ax are the backdoor bailouts to the big banks through Fannie and Freddie. I agree, if we are going to cut spendig then let’s cut it all!! 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The COVID-19 pandemic has required courts to adapt amidst seemingly constant change. As the pandemic and our understanding of necessary precautions progresses, courts are returning to session in-person with various restrictions, virtually, or in blended virtual/in-person formats. Provisions to the CARES Act passed last March enabled federal courts to return to session and conduct some virtual proceedings over video or telephone call. Smaller courts followed, beginning to hold electronic proceedings for bench trials, criminal appearances, and even all-virtual jury trials in the Western District of Washington. Attorneys representing cases in 2021 have more to monitor than ever, understanding which elements of cases are virtual and in person, ensuring participant access to reliable internet and devices, and so much more. Whether trial attorneys are catching up on a massive backlog of cases unable to be tried virtually or are working in fields or with judges with nearly no backlog, the return to the courtroom is a major logistical undertaking. Tracking which cases were held virtually, blended with COVID-restrictions when physically in court, and fully in-person will be a data point that attorneys will want to track long-term. How did they perform in various settings? How many of each type of case did they argue? How might time commitments, preparation, or other elements change based on the format of a case? What matters become necessary or obsolete in each setting? Case management software allows attorneys to track and report on all these aspects of their case. Not only can they track the matters, documentation, and court details in one place, but they will be able to pull meaningful reports on hours worked, results, and any other data points meaningful to them. The collaboration abilities that case management systems provide also enable attorneys to share information across a team and store information in a secure, central location to access from anywhere. If you’re searching for a case management tool, here are just a few features you may want your solution to include: • Case intake forms • Reminders and alerts • Deadline and assignee tracking • Document storage • Approval requests • Linking ability for related cases or IP • Robust reporting and custom field options • Nuanced permissions • Due date and overdue notices Brycellyn LaBorde Brycellyn LaBorde Operations Manager, Bigfork Technologies	[]
After a wet start to the bank holiday weekend, things will clear up big time on Sunday. Temperatures will also rise to a high of 13 degrees in some areas. But it will all take a turn for the worst on Monday, once again, with spot flooding and gale force winds forecast. A spokesperson from Met Eireann said: "Patchy frost and mist soon clearing. Sunday will begin largely dry with good sunny spells and isolated showers. "However, cloud will tend to build with scattered showers developing through the day. Relatively cool with highest temperatures ranging 9 to 13 degrees Celsius, coolest in the northwest, in just light westerly breezes." There will be thundery falls across Connacht and Ulster, tonight as the mercury falls to lows of 2 to 5 degrees in some parts of Ireland. They added: "Some further well scattered showers early tonight. However, rain will move in off the Atlantic with very heavy and possibly thundery falls later, especially across Connacht and Ulster, leading to spot flooding. "Southerly breezes will gradually strengthen overnight too, reaching gale force along coastal areas of the south and west. Lowest temperatures will range 2 to 5 degrees Celsius." The wet and cold weather will continue tomorrow with some hail expected. said: "A wet and windy start to Bank Holiday Monday with further heavy spells of rain leading to spot flooding. "Fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds will back westerly with some damaging gusts through the day. "Winds will continue to reach gale force along coastal areas of the southeast, southwest and west. "Into the afternoon, rain will break up into showers with some sunny spells developing, but with local hail too. Highest temperatures will range 10 to 12 degrees Celsius."	[]
Saturday, June 16, 2012 "FELA!" at the Ordway Center Everybody say "Yeah, Yeah!" So begins the experience that is the unique and completely original musical FELA! I saw the show on Broadway in 2010 (where it ran for just over a year, winning three Tony Awards of eleven nominations), and it was unlike anything I've ever seen on a Broadway stage - the music, the dancing, the costumes, "original no artificiality!" The show and much of the original cast is at the Ordway this week, and it's just as dynamic as when I saw it in NYC. FELA! is based on the music and life of Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and activist who became popular in the 1960s and 70s. He developed a style of music called Afrobeat, "a complex fusion of jazz, funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms." I'm not sure what all of that means, but the combination is pretty awesome. The musical is structured as one of Fela's concerts at his club in Lagos, Nigeria - the Afrika Shrine. Fela tells stories of his life, family, and country, and shares his music with the audience in an interactive way. The audience is part of the show, and the more they play along, the more fun everyone has. Be prepared to get on your feet and dance a little, but don't worry, if you can read a clock, you can follow along. :) But it's not all fun and easy. Fela talks about his travels to America, where he became inspired by the Black Power movement. Upon his return to Nigeria, he used his music to express his political views which were not popular with the government, resulting in the government raiding his compound, severely beating Fela and causing the death of his mother. my autographed playbill from Broadway January 29, 2010 Sahr Ngaujah (who was nominated for a Tony for playing this role on Broadway) completely embodies Fela Kuti and brings him to life before our eyes. There's no evidence of "acting;" he simply is this character. Telling stories, singing, playing the saxophone, dancing, leading the band, he never stops. There's a large band on stage and they are amazing. As interesting as Fela's life is, it's the music and dance that drive this show. The entire ensemble is comprised of talented dancer/athletes. Before the show I participated in the Ordway's Summer Dance Series (free dance lessons of a different style every Thursday through the summer) which this week was, appropriately, African dance. I was sweating and exhausted after 40 minutes of it, and it was nowhere near the complexity and difficulty of what the cast of FELA! does. I wish they would make a workout DVD; these dancers have the best abs I've ever seen! They're in incredible shape, and it's from doing that eight times a week. I recognized a few familiar faces among the ensemble; many of them were part of the original Broadway cast. And they'll have another chance on Broadway - the tour returns to NYC this summer. The production makes good use of videos and photos projected onto the walls of the theater, as well as lighting that extends into the audience. Marina Draghici won a Tony for the costumes of FELA!, and deservedly so. They're a really cool mix of traditional African and 70s hippie style, and most importantly, they allow the dancers to move. The women wear fringed skirts that are never still, and the men wear 70s plaid pants and open (or no) shirts. Fela himself dresses in elaborate pastel pantsuits. Another Tony-winner from this show is Bill T. Jones for choreography. He also also co-created and co-wrote the show (with Jim Lewis), and directs the show (and he won a Tony for the choreography of Spring Awakening, so different but equally striking). Words are not adequate to describe the music and dance of FELA!, so here's a look at their Tony Awards performance two years ago, featuring Sahr as Fela and much of the same cast that's currently in St. Paul. Only three performances remain before they pack up and head to NYC, so act fast!	[]
The Northeastern Reporter, Volume 23 Sampul Depan West Publishing Company, 1890 Apa yang dikatakan orang - Tulis resensi Kami tak menemukan resensi di tempat biasanya. Halaman terpilih Edisi yang lain - Lihat semua Istilah dan frasa umum Bagian yang populer Halaman 268 - ... no action shall be brought upon any agreement that is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof, * * * unless the promise, contract, or agreement upon which such action shall be brought, or some memorandum or note thereof, shall be in writing, and signed by the party to be charged therewith, or by some person thereunto by him lawfully authorized. Halaman 37 - ... in the course of professional employment. 3. A clergyman or priest cannot, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to him in his professional character in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he belongs. Halaman 346 - ... on money received to the use of another, and retained without the owner's knowledge ; and on money withheld by an unreasonable and vexatious delay of payment. Halaman 385 - The court instructed the jury that if they should find from the evidence that the plaintiff... Informasi bibliografi	[]
& minghao 1. la_mort_pour_vous Happy Koala Day! Ode to the Alexus My Alexus, you inspire me to write. How I love the way you consoling, Invading my mind day and through the night, Always dreaming about the smart roling. Let me compare you to a library? You are more splendid, selfless and dearly. Snow chills the berries of January, And...	[]
Job Discrimination and Harassment Most Frequently Viewed Resources Can my employer get my summary criminal history? You have rights to form a union and collectively act. Signed on October 6, 215, the California Fair Pay Act, strengthens the California Equal Pay Act, which prohibited an employer from paying its employees less than employees of the opposite sex for equal work. Employers may not have the right to ask for your documents. State law protections for your sexual orientation. Your right to a workplace without unwelcome sexual conduct. What you can do if you've been sexually harassed. Sexual harassment of all types is not allowed by law. The article address employment policies regarding discrimination, harassments, inquiries, dress code and forced resignation. Names and pronouns, restroom accessibility, and dress codes. If you are a federal employee or job applicant, the law protects you from discrimination because of your race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (4 or older), disability or genetic information. FAQ on employment rights if you are or become pregnant. Religion can't be part of a decision by your employer. Alphabetical Listing of Resources Laws and regulations, practical information, recent case law. Is there missing or incorrect info about your federal record? Requirements for your employer to see your credit report. Employers must get permission before asking for a report. Your age can't be a factor in an employer's decisions. Equality in pay and compensation is protected under the law. Women affected by pregnancy must be treated the same. Race/color can't be part of a decision by your employer. Is your background record wrong? Was there a delay or problem? Federal law prohibits: 1) citizenship status discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, 2) national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, 3) unfair documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification, Form I-9 and E-Verify, and 4) retaliation or intimidation. If you feel you have suffered one of these forms of discrimination, call US Department of Justice Worker Hotline: 1-800-255-7688. How long does the mediation process take? How are religious beliefs protected in the workplace? What qualifies as a religion or a religious belief or practice? Equal Employment laws against discrimination. Ways sex discrimination happens, and what you can do. To legally hire any employee in the United States, an employer must be able to verify that the applicant is eligible to work in the United States. You must prove that you are eligible to work. Employers are required to complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to record verification that you showed the employer documents that prove you are authorized to work in the United States.	[]
Help With Family, Finances And The Future Financial exploitation can lead to estate plan challenges On Behalf of \| Apr 3, 2020 \| Probate Litigation Some unscrupulous individuals will prey on older individuals to try to get the elder person to add them into their estate plan. This is a form of financial exploitation that can impact what the beneficiaries and heirs receive when the person passes away. The people who try to do this count on the fact that the person might not have their full mental capabilities about them. They use this to their advantage and often try to become best friends with the elderly person. There are many ways that they might try to have the person take care of them financially. When it comes to the estate plan, the person might try to have things amended. This can include changes to the will and trusts. Some might go a bit beyond that and try to get the person to give them power of attorney over health care decisions or financial decisions if the aging individual ever becomes incapacitated. Some people are able to recognize the signs of financial exploitation while their loved one is still alive; however, this isn’t always possible. Some are shocked to find this out when their family member passes away. Unfortunately, this means that they’ll have to go through probate litigation to get everything sorted out. In order to challenge the estate plan, you’ll need to be a person who has a legal interest in the outcome. You also need to be able to show that you have a valid reason for the challenge. Financial exploitation does qualify for this, but you need to be able to show what happened and prove that your loved one was a victim. FindLaw Network	[]