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Abortion, Abortions, Roe v. Wade
Supreme Court says draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade is ‘authentic’
Chief Justice John Roberts said he has ordered the marshal of the court to launch an investigation to determine who leaked the document to Politico.
Source: Rebecca Shabad
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that the leaked draft opinion suggesting there are enough justices to overturn Roe v. Wade is authentic.
In a statement, the high court said that while the document is “authentic, it does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” The statement added that it is routine for justices to circulate opinions internally.
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “The work of the court will not be affected in any way.”
Roberts said the court’s workforce, including justices’ law clerks and permanent employees, are “intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law.” He said he has ordered the marshal of the court to launch an investigation to determine who leaked the document to Politico.
“This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the court and the community of public servants who work here,” he said.
AbortionRoe v. Wade
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Master Elök Etrelpa’s Report and Assessment
By Fabian
Report by Master Elök Etrelpas Of The Elders, Deputy Archivist of The Scrollhouse At Ämetatilelël, Realm of Ën Ümel.
ASSESSMENT ON THE ONTOLOMAGICAL STATUS OF THE ACCOUNT GIVEN BY HRËND LAKLO ON THE EVENTS AND FINDINGS OF MIDDLEDAY THE FIFTEENTH.
Background: three days preceding the holy day of St. Ïpït, Hrënd Laklo, son of Ilkren Laklo, claims to have discovered a bag of items nearby the pond of an abandoned farmhouse a day’s ride outside of Äkulel.
The bag reportedly contained a range of “magical items”, including a Robe, that Laklo frothily described as “rare” and “Divine”, gloves, presumably made of dragonskin, a ring, made of Titanium, which Laklo characterized as “absolutely perfect”, and a wand made of what appears to be bones of canine origin, such as a wolf or a fox, though Laklo inexplicably insists on it being “clearly of the Fox”. The bag contained some other items which this report will not bother to expand on, as we shall find that the nature of the items is anything but what Laklo claims they are, and we have a more parsimonious explanation for the bizarre series of events that did indeed seem to occur on that day.
Robe: This report does not deny the existence of so-called “magical robes”, even though the vast majority of them are nothing more than expensive and ostentatious clothing. This is not the case with the Robe in question, which is in fact a genuine article of magical power. It is not, however, a particularly powerful item, and its effects are mostly limited to making the wearer look more attractive and commanding.
Gloves: These are, as Laklo correctly surmised, made of dragonskin, and are thus quite valuable. They are not, however, magical, and their only purpose is to protect the hands of the wearer from cold weather.
Ring: This is indeed a titanium ring, yet we do not share the assessment of “perfection”, given the limited epistemological meaningfulness of such an assessment.
As for the events that followed Laklo’s discovery, we will first attempt to summarize these from a purely perceptual point of view, in other words, as it must have appeared to the rather simple minds of the witnesses on that day.
Upon opening the bag, Laklo first took out the ring and put it on his finger. He then proceeded to put the Robe on, and take out the bone wand, at which point he said some words in a language that no one present could understand. Laklo then appeared to have started to emanate a sort of glow, and his eyes turned “orange”. He then levitated off the ground and started to float around the area of the pond.
From the perspective of those who witnessed these events, it would have appeared as if Laklo had indeed discovered a bag of magical items, and that these items had imbued him with magical powers.
However, we must remember that Laklo is a known pathological liar, and that he has been known to invent stories in order to garner attention. In light of this, it is more likely that Laklo simply put on a show, using mundane items to create the illusion of magical powers.
The most likely explanation for the glowing and levitation is that Laklo used some kind of light source, such as a lantern, to create the illusion of magical powers. As for the orange eyes, this is most likely due to Laklo wearing paint on his eyelids.
It is also worth noting that Laklo’s story changes depending on who he is speaking to. For example, he told the farmers that the Robe made him feel “divine and special", as if he "had been granted special access to commune with others of similar standing”, yet he told the Elders that the Robe made him feel “as if I could fly”. It is clear that Laklo is simply making up stories as he goes along, and that he is not to be believed.
Further, Laklo has no magical experience or credentials whatsoever, and is not registered with any known guild of sorcery within the Realm, so even if he had indeed found a bag of magical items, it is inconceivable that he would have any idea how to use them.
We should also not make the mistake of not carefully examining the merit of our witnesses, as they are, for the most part, farmers with little to no education, and whose testimony must thus be taken with a grain of salt. For example, the shepherd Röplin Hlarbert, when questioned by Master Flololömen on the very evening of the day of the event, was unaware of the role of The Archive’s Elders, and mistook Master Flololömen for a “scribe or a monk".
His wife, Lïsbren Hlarbert, even called Master Flololömen a “moronic codger” when he found her to be completely unable to bring her outrageous testimony in line with the Third Ontic Principle. Their boy, Fërdin Hlarbert, was the only one of the three who seemed to be telling the truth with respect to a complete absence of magic in the matter, though his testimony is nevertheless too confused to be of investigative value, claiming that Laklo’s “floating around” did indeed not involve anything magical, as he was “simply flying like birds do, which have no magic to them either”.
In conclusion, it is the opinion of this report that the events of Middleday the Fifteenth, as related by Hrënd Laklo and witnesses, are to be considered apocryphal, and that the items in question are nothing more than mostly mundane objects with negligible magical powers. This report therefore recommends that no further public investigation be made into the matter of the event itself, and the items be kept in the Archive’s vault to avoid any further mischaracterization of their nature.
Lastly, and unfortunately, it must be noted that some items seem to have been stolen or lost in the aftermath of the investigation. Specifically, the bone wand, the robe and the ring seem to have gone missing sometime between the original event and the subsequent delivery of the entire bag to the Archive by Master Flololömen. It is our opinion that they were clearly stolen by one of the witnesses or even Hrënd Laklo himself, which is further corroborated by the fact that Laklo seems to have gone missing himself after his interrogation.
We recommend that a search be made for Hrënd Laklo and the missing items, and that he be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if found guilty of theft.


*. For younger people living in the third decade of the twenty-first century it may be hard to understand how big a deal television once was. In the 1950s it was conquering the world, much like the Internet would do fifty years later. A switchboard operator in The Apartment doesn’t want a date that will interfere with her watching The Untouchables. That’s how much it meant. Colour broadcasting, however, wouldn’t start taking over until the mid-1960s, which meant that movies were still giving audiences something most people couldn’t see at home. Though this didn’t always mean colour, as it didn’t in this case, or in Psycho, released the same year.
*. Television is both a direct and indirect presence in The Apartment. According to Bruce Block on the DVD commentary Billy Wilder hated television, and once said that the only time he watched it was when they were showing a movie by a director he couldn’t stand, since it would then be the perfect medium. Hence the joke of Jack Lemmon’s C. C. Baxter doing the usual lonely-guy routine of frozen dinner while channel surfing on the couch, but never getting to actually watch Grand Hotel because of all the words from our sponsors. That’s no way to see a movie!
*. But then Baxter and Miss Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) are small-screen types. When she’s recovering at his place Baxter offers to move the TV into the bedroom for her. That’s being a gent. And there’s Fred MacMurray in a very dark turn. David Thomson thought Sheldrake “would shock a new age used to MacMurray’s benevolence on TV in My Three Sons,” but in 1960 he’d already played a heel in Double Indemnity and My Three Sons hadn’t started yet. Also, Block notes how all of the supporting cast here were well-known television actors.
*. I mentioned Psycho for the use of black-and-white, but it was also a movie shot as a TV production, with Hitch using most of his crew from his show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. And both films make something out of the incongruity between the new family hearth and decidedly transgressive subject matter.
*. Nobody gets killed in a shower in The Apartment, but while it’s a step down from Sunset Boulevard (ten years earlier) it was still breaking norms. I think it marks the end of Wilder’s great run of movies that were fresh and shocking then and can still capture an audience today.
*. First and foremost there are the two leads. Sure their work environment is toxic. Wilder even thought of the story primarily as that of two people becoming emancipated from the office, which is full of male predators whose casual cruelty would make one of the Mad Men cringe. But are Baxter and Kubelik any better?
*. They’re both young people on the rise, immoral and unscrupulous. Nor are they much angels outside of the office. Baxter has no qualms about sleeping with the married woman he picks up in a bar. Kubelik does go back to Sheldrake after all (as does Baxter). You could say either that they’re redeemed at the end or that they just suit each other. Will they stay together or are they more likely to bounce at the first opportunity to move up a level?
*. Roger Ebert: “while Baxter and Miss Kubelik may indeed like each other — may feel genuine feelings of the sort that lead to true love — they are both slaves to the company’s value system. He wants to be the boss’ assistant, she wants to be the boss’ wife, and both of them are so blinded by the concept of ‘boss’ that they can’t see Mr. Sheldrake for an untrustworthy rat.”
*. The studio was worried that Baxter might be too unlikeable, and it was suggested that they give him a limp or some kind of disability. I’m glad they kept him as just a weasel, and Lemmon plays the part perfectly. I’ve always thought there was more to Lemmon than just comedy and Wilder was able to bring it out. Meanwhile, MacLaine does a great job of balancing “sexy, funny, and sad” (screenwriter Izzy Diamond). But how dumb is she? She can’t spell well enough to be a secretary and the only job she can get is as an elevator operator. She also can’t see that Sheldrake is playing her. I know nobody is stupid all the time, but that’s pretty thick.
*. Dealing with suicide was tricky, but it’s nicely balanced out with the echoing scenes where they the two lovebirds mistakenly think the other has gone all the way. Overall it’s a beautifully plotted movie (I’m not as fond of the dialogue), with all sorts of cues that have to be stored away to be picked up later. Diamond, who had also written Some Like It Hot, was obviously still on top of his game.
*. Also worth praising is the set design by Alexandre Trauner. The office and apartment sets are perfect complements, and expressive of both theme and character. To return to the movie/television blending I started off talking about, the wide-open spaces of the office are big-screen, the cluttered apartment small.
*. It’s testimony to how ahead of his time Wilder was that while this movie shows some lightening of his darker vision it’s still has twice the bite of today’s rom-coms, whose plots were often derived from the same “wrong guy vs. the right guy” formula. I’m not a fan of rom-coms, but that may be because my favourite examples of the genre all go back half a century or more. Progress in the arts is a mirage.
This entry was posted in 1960s on February 13, 2022 by Alex Good.
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7 thoughts on “The Apartment (1960)”
Bookstooge February 13, 2022 at 5:26 am
I can only think of McMurray in his disney roles. He’s definitely type-cast in my mind.
Alex Good Post author February 13, 2022 at 5:48 am
You would not like him in this then!
I feel bad for actors when that happens. It’s not even his fault. It’s all a mental thing with me.
film-authority.com February 13, 2022 at 5:35 am
What light does this throw on Boba Fett?What does it tell us about The Mandalorian series 3? Will Fennic Shand return the dark sabre to Cad Bane to sort out his womp-rats?
If it’s in black and white, no one is interested. Fact!
The Mandalorian took a lot from Wilder. And the series was shot in black and white and only later colourized. True story.
Saw this in the cinema a few years ago, and it really stands up. I do like One, Two, Three but the public didn’t. Wilder’s acerbic take on life went shonky in the 60’s, but his best work is superb.
Alex Good February 13, 2022 at 7:33 am
He seems to have been one of those weird cases of being way ahead of his time and then becoming old-fashioned. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is downright stodgy.


Four OSCE observers freed by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine: official 27 июня 2014, 12:42
Four OSCE observers who were abducted on May 26 by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have been freed and have arrived at a hotel in Donetsk, a separatist leader said.
Unidentified members of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine get out of a vehicle next to Alexander Borodai (R), Prime Minister of the self proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic". ©Reuters/Shami
Four OSCE observers who were abducted on May 26 by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have been freed and have arrived at a hotel in Donetsk, AFP reports citing a separatist leader.
"They have been freed without conditions. They are a Dane, a Turk, a Swiss national and I believe an Estonian," said Alexandre Borodai, the "prime minister" of the self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk, which has declared independence from the Kiev government after a disputed referendum
He said they had been held by a rebel chief in the neighbouring restive region of Lugansk.
The four observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe appeared tired and tense and they declined to speak to journalists in Donetsk.
"We are happy at the return of four members of the mission who have been absent for 31 days," said Mark Etherington of the OSCE mission in Ukraine.
"We are still very worried about the fate of four other colleagues," he added, referring to a second OSCE team held since May 29 somewhere in east Ukraine by the pro-Moscow separatists.


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Latest Stamp Releases by NZ Post
New Zealand – 2023 Year of the RabbitNovember 23, 2022The story of Chinese New Year starts with Jade Emperor, who created the Zodiac calendar, a 12 -year cycle to help track the passage of time. The Rabbit was chosen to represent the fourth year in the Zodiac after it came fourth in the Jade Emperor’s great race. Chinese believe that the Zodiac and the animal years in which people are born have a tremendous influence on their lives and personalities. Despite the rabbit coming fourth in the Jade Emperor’s great race, being a Rabbit is considered fortunate. The Year of the Rabbit will be commemorated with stamps and collectables in December ahead of the New Year in 2023. Stamps The design of the 2023 Year of the Rabbit stamps is inspired by the style of the Chinese nianhua poster, which traditionally show gods, animals and babies enacting Chinese folklore. The style of the posters can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty when woodblock printing was popularised. The stamps, created by Wellington designer Ying-Min Chu, are intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia while also looking forward to a prosperous year ahead. This stamp issue includes a miniature sheet, first day covers and a presentation pack. [...]
New Zealand – Ross Dependency – Science On IceOctober 12, 2022Antarctic sea ice is a key element in the global climate system. Its growth each winter creates cold, deep ocean conditions that help sustain Antarctica’s ice sheets, it modifies storms in the Southern Hemisphere, and it affects the rate of global warming. The images featured in this series of Ross Dependency stamps represent the work of New Zealand’s leading Antarctic sea ice scientists who are conducting ground-breaking research in McMurdo Sound, investigating how the changing climate may impact the fragile sea ice balance in Antarctica. This issue includes four stamps, a stamp first day cover, a miniature sheet, a miniature sheet first day cover, a presentation pack and a Limited Edition, and the stamps issue on 2 November. [...]
New Zealand – Women in ScienceOctober 12, 2022In celebration of all the women scientists in Aotearoa New Zealand, this stamp issue highlights the remarkable work of four trailblazing women Mākereti Papakura, Lucy Moore, Joan Wiffen and Beatrice Hill Tinsley achieved in the scientific fields of ethnography, botany, palaeontology and cosmology in the 20th century. Born between 1873 and 1941, the women featured on these stamps achieved in the face of institutional and societal structures that often made things difficult for women. Mākereti Papakura drew on her whānau and consulted hapū elders to collate years of letters, notebooks and sketches that provided insights into the lives of Māori women, who were often ignored or undervalued by men writing about Māori society. New Zealand’s main science employer, the DSIR, did not employ any women as scientists until the late 1930s, when Lucy Moore was finally able to secure permanent work more than 10 years after her graduation. Many other women worked as unpaid research assistants to their scientist fathers or husbands, and their contributions were often not acknowledged. Even in the 1980s, when she made most of her discoveries, Joan Wiffen had trouble being taken seriously by the country’s almost exclusively male geology workforce. When Beatrice Hill Tinsley followed her husband to the United States, she shouldered the bulk of the housework and childcare responsibilities, and nepotism rules prevented her getting a job at the same university as him. With lives that spanned the course of the 20th century, these women scientists were trailblazers, setting out on careers of discovery and achievement in spite of the barriers they faced. Date of issue: 2 November 2022 [...]
New Zealand – 2022 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 20th AnniversaryAugust 15, 2022After 12 long months of eagerly anticipating part two of the trilogy, in late December 2002 fans were rewarded with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. After the unbridled success of The Fellowship of the Ring, which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, the second instalment had a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic audiences for the sequel ensured it was not only the highest grossing film of that year but, at the time of its release, the third-highest grossing film of all time. The principal photography for all three The Lord of the Rings films took place in New Zealand from 11 October 1999 to 22 December 2000. New Zealand’s mountains, rivers, forests, fields and plains all played a part, and vast studio sets stood in for the more fantastical environments required to build the world of Middle-earth. Weta Digital, the creator of visual effects for the trilogy, doubled its staff for the vast post-production requirements presented by The Two Towers, with challenges that included a large-scale battle scene and the digital rendering of a speaking character. Thousands of everyday New Zealanders played a part in contributing to this film – from a stadium full of cricket spectators recording an Uruk-hai war cry, to local equestrians riding their horses as extras in the plains of Rohan. Most Kiwis will recognise at least one place as their New Zealand, whether it’s a favourite walking spot near their home or a family holiday destination. The Two Towers is part of a larger legacy left by the trilogy, which gave countless New Zealanders unique experiences, memories to cherish and stories to tell for generations to come. Date of issue: 7 September 2022 [...]
New Zealand – Artwork from IHC Art AwardsAugust 1, 2022NZ Post’s new stamps showcase artwork from IHC Art Awards Four winning artworks from the IHC Art Awards L’affare People’s Choice Award (2019 – 2021) category will feature in NZ Post’s newest stamp release. IHC is New Zealand’s leading provider of services for people with intellectual disabilities and its Art Awards are an annual highlight for the organisation. The four artworks selected for the stamp collection are by Matthew Tonkin (2021), Katie McMillan (2020), Malachi Oldridge (2019) and Charlize Wilson (2018). NZ Post Collectables Programme and Content Manager Lynette Townsend says NZ Post is proud to support IHC by showcasing the talents of Kiwis with an intellectual disability. “These stamps allow the artists to tell their stories through their creations, and we feel honoured to be able to feature their outstanding artworks on our stamps and support these talented people,” Townsend said. The work of IHC Art Awards artists, especially the prize winners, is exceptional says IHC Programmes General Manager Janine Stewart. “The stamp issue recognises this and it’s great more New Zealanders will get to see their work.” This year the awards attracted entries from 412 artists from all over New Zealand. The top 100 artworks, selected by the judging panel made up of actor Libby Hunsdale, sculptor Simon Lewis Wards, and Student Volunteer Army CEO Sam Johnson, will go on display in a pop-up gallery at 69 Willis St, Wellington from 28 July. To see and purchase the full range of stamps visit collectables.nzpost.co.nz About the stamps: $1.70 Matthew Tonkin, ‘Aeroplane’ – Matthew’s screen print, the L’affare People’s Choice Award winner in 2021, was created at Two4nine art studio in Auckland. It is the result of his time spent mastering techniques and experimenting with colours and his own unique designs. $3.00 Katie McMillan, ‘Colourful Unicorn’ – “I love all the bright colours and making this. I hope when people see it, they are happy,” says Katie about her 2020 winning artwork, which is made from coloured acrylic pompoms over a paper-mâché support, mounted on a shield. $3.80 Malachi Oldridge, ‘My Nani as a Māori Girl’ – Malachi won in 2019 with a graphite pencil drawing on paper, paying tribute to his grandmother. The artwork is influenced by the late E. Mervyn Taylor’s artwork, ‘Māori Girl (Hina)’. $5.10 Charlize Wilson, ‘Looking Out from the Inside’ – Charlize was only 13 when she won the L’affare People’s Choice Award in 2018 for her acrylic piece. She says art helps her “be herself” and that she likes doing art, “because it’s so much fun”. available on ebay [...]
New Zealand – Māori Language PetitionJuly 11, 2022Statement NZ Post on 3 August 2022 We’re writing to notify you that the stamp issue titled ‘Māori Language Petition’ will not be issued on 3 August 2022 as previously announced. This decision has been made following additional feedback from key stakeholders that was received after products were printed. While extensive consultation took place in the development of the designs, some expectations were not met and as a result the stamps cannot be issued in their current form or on the planned date.We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience or disappointment caused by this decision. The 50th anniversary of the presentation of the Māori Language Petition is an important commemoration for New Zealand, and we hope to acknowledge it at a future date. Details For most of the 20th century, New Zealand‘s governments discouraged and banned people from speaking openly in the Māori language (te reo Māori). Then 50 years ago, te reo champions calling for it to be taught in schools presented the Māori Language Petition to Parliament. The petition carried the signatures of more than 30,000 New Zealanders. In 1972, 14 September became Māori Language Day, an occasion that eventually expanded to what we know today as Māori Language Week. The peaceful protest also led to the successful te reo Māori claim (WAI 11) to the Waitangi Tribunal and the enactment of the Māori Language Act 1987. The Act recognised te reo as an official language of our country and created the Māori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori). As well as marking 50 years since the presentation of the Māori language petition to Parliament, there are several other significant milestones for te reo Māori in 2022. It will be 35 years since te reo became an official language and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission) began, 50 years since the launch of Māori performing arts festival Matatini and 40 years since the launch of kōhanga reo, an early childhood Māori language education and care service. In 2022 we will also see Matariki Day, the first public holiday to acknowledge te ao Māori, which the Māori Language Commission began lobbying for more than 20 years ago. Matariki celebrates the first rising of the Pleiades star cluster and marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. The 50th anniversary of the presentation of the Māori Language Petition at Parliament is led by Te Whare o te Reo Mauriora with Te Mātāwai guiding iwi and Māori initiatives and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission) leading government initiatives. Date of issue: 3 August 2022 [...]


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Governor Abbott Appoints Three To Texas Racing Commission
November 6, 2015 | Austin, Texas | Appointment
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Margaret Martin and Rolando Pablos, and has reappointed Gary Aber, to the Texas Racing Commission for terms set to expire on February 1, 2021. The Commission oversees pari-mutuel wagering on horse and greyhound racing.
Margaret Martin of Boerne is an independent international business woman who specializes in bringing companies and individuals together in business development and energy. She was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in 2007 and served there until 2015. She is a member of the World Affairs Councils of San Antonio and Austin, San Antonio FBISACAA and Infragard. Martin received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Laredo State University, now Texas A&M International University, and she is Certified in International Protocol.
Rolando Pablos of El Paso is CEO of the Borderplex Alliance. Previously, he served on the Public Utility Commission, Nueces River Authority Board of Directors, and as chair of the Texas Racing Commission. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, University Houston Conrad Hilton College Dean’s Advisory Board, Bridge of Southern New Mexico Board of Directors and the Border Trade Alliance Board of Directors. Additionally, he is former chairman of the Free Trade Alliance and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Pablos received a Bachelor of Arts from St. Mary’s University, Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Master of Hospitality Management from the University of Houston and a Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Gary Aber of Simonton is a veterinarian and owner of Simonton Veterinary Clinic, as well as a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Racing Commission in 2012. Dr. Aber received a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University.


Chantilly families come in all sorts of sizes
Sachi Chitre, Business and Online Manager
Families come in all sorts of sizes and dynamics. They have their imperfections, can be frivolous at moments and generally support each other in times of need.
Older siblings are the bridge between their family as they have a unique bond with their parents and their siblings. Students who are the oldest in their family are often considered to be role models to their younger siblings. While older children don’t have anyone to look up to, except for their parents and sometimes extended family such as cousins, they are the first in their family to experience important life stages, for instance getting a driver’s license or going to college.
“I like being the oldest because everything I do is new and exciting,” junior Olivia Grindal, who has two younger siblings, said. “I feel protective over my siblings and I help them with school and friends.”
Younger brothers and sisters can be bothersome at times to their older siblings, but they frequently look up to them for advice ranging from what classes to take in school to how to resolve arguments with friends.
“I like having older siblings I can go to for advice,” sophomore Graceyn Jones, who has two older brothers including junior Garrett, said. “One thing that’s hard about being the youngest is seeing my older siblings have more privileges, like having a later curfew or being allowed to make more plans than I am.”
Being a middle child has its benefits and disadvantages. Middle children are able to be an older and younger sibling at the same time. They can give advice to their younger sibling as well as have someone to look up to when needed. Some middle children can develop middle child syndrome, which is when the middle child can feel excluded from their family. They can believe that their parents give more attention to their older or younger siblings, instead of them.
“I was the youngest of five and now I’m the middle of seven children,” senior Renae Knisely said. “The pro of being a middle child is that when you mess up, your parents don’t care as much versus if you were the youngest or oldest, they pay attention to you more.”
Being an only child means having everything to yourself and not having to compete for attention from parents. Only children often have a close relationship with their parents, but they can get lonely at times with no siblings to share special moments with.
“I have a more direct relationship with my parents with no standards set in stone,” freshman Tanish Dora said. “On long holiday breaks it gets boring and lonely as there is no one else to share ideas and interact with.”
Every family has its ups and downs, the ability to support one another during sorrowful times, the power to create cheerful memories and be grateful for one another.
“They are very reliable and help with emotional problems I go through,” freshman Nithya Muthukumar, who is the oldest of two, said. “I can count on them to make me feel better and cheer me up.”
Sachi Chitre, Online Manager, Business Manager


How do we fix medicine? Atul Gawande at TED2012
Photo: James Duncan Davidson
How do we get good at anything? Doctor Atul Gawande opens his talk at TED2012 by asking that question. He writes as well as practices medicine, and constantly has to confront that question about everything in his life. But there’s a new crisis, the incredible cost of healthcare. The fight is framed as: Is government the problem, or are the insurance companies? “The answer is yes. And no.” It’s more subtle than that.
He quotes Lewis Thomas, the great physician and writer of science, on the days before penicillin, when a hospital was mostly a place to rest. The doctors were custodians more than healers, and any benefit was from having shelter, food and attention.
Of course, the doctors were still frenetically busy. Was there a diagnosis they might have missed? Something they could have done to make one person better? There were a few conditions they could cure, a few options that might work, but not a lot, and they weren’t great.
Now, Gawande says, only a few generations later the changes are unfathomable, “The volume of knowledge and discovery have eclipsed the imagination.”
Our institutions were developed to handle a situation where a doctor could be an autonomous individual, could know about all diseases, write prescriptions, plate the culture, and set the fracture, spun the blood — could do everything themselves. None of that is true anymore. There are MRIs to run, physical therapy to do, and highly intricate surgeries to perform.
We have treatments for tens of thousands of conditions. There are 4000 medical and surgical procedures, 6000 drugs he is legally allowed to prescribe — and that’s the new problem. We’re starting, Gawande argues, to realize, as doctors, “that we can’t do it all.”
Here’s some data. In 1970, the number of doctors a patient at a hospital saw, on average, was 2. By the end of the 20th century, it was 15. Each doctor is a specialist now, even primary physicians. Gawande says that has been a disaster, “We’ve trained, hired and rewarded people to be cowboys, but it’s pitcrews we need.” There’s data: 40% of coronary heart disease patients receive incomplete care, and 60% of pneumonia patients. Two million people walk into hospital and get infection they didn’t have because someone forgot to wash their hands.
We have amazing clinicians, and access to incredible technologies, but our experience is that it rarely comes together successfully. The unmanageable cost is one of the signs we need pit crews rather than cowboys. Doctors tend to think that that’s just the way it is. More complicated care costs more.
But that’s not true. There is a wide gap between the best results and the worst results, and the outcomes don’t match the cost. The highest price doesn’t necessarily produce the best health outcome. And that, oddly, is a point of hope. “If to have the best results required you to get the most expensive care, we really would be talking about rationing.” But if you look at successful cases, it’s not quality components, but getting everything to come together in the right way. Here’s a thought experiment: “What if you built a car from the very best car parts… What would you have? A very expensive pile of junk that doesn’t go anywhere.” Medicine feels like that. It’s not a system.
A huge part of the problem is that we don’t have some very important skills for making systems.
1) To really evaluate succes and failure. “When you’re a specialist you can’t see the whole story. You have to be incredibly interested in data. That’s not sexy.”
2) Finding solutions to the failings. Gawande got interested when the World Health Organization asked his team for a way to reduce deaths in surgery around the developing world. The normal response would be to do more training, but everyone was well trained. But they looked at other industries. It turns out that a very basic tool of aviation, skyscraper construction, and high risk industries was… a checklist.
It’s surprising, but a checklist is a way make a recipe for how to have a team that’s prepared for the unexpected. So they designed a checklist for surgery and, “We implemented the checklist in 8 hospitals around the world from rural Tanzania to Seattle. After they adopted it the complication rates fell 35% in every hospital it went into. Death rates fell 47%.”
It’s hard to get physicians to do this. It’s not part of their jobs, they don’t want to think about every little problem. But the lists are powerful. They force us to admit to certain things, to admit humility, to value teamwork. The opposite of the cowboy model.
Gawande once met an actual cowboy. He asked him he he did all the corralling of herds of cattle. The answer: Electronic communications, managed by checklists.” “Even cowboys are like pitcrews now”
“Making systems work in medicine is the great task of my generation of physicians and sciences.” In fact, it’s the great task of our generation in all fields. Knowledge has become too complex to handle as individuals which means that, “As individualistic as we want to be, complexity requires group success. We all need to be pit crews now.”
The talk ends, and moves back to the dinner table, to take questions.
Ryan Phelan: You’re one of my heroes. Have you thought about how checklists could be used in the communication between doctors and terminally ill patients.
AG: We’re working on it. With the whole death-panel scare, the government is afraid of it. But we have private funding, and we’re making a list of questions, not about what they want, but about what their biggest fears are, what their goals are. When we understand that we can make recommendations.
Stewart Brand: It strikes me that robotized medicine can replace the checklist.
AG: Yes, we can automate more. But the question is, when should that automated thing to pop the cataract out of your eye. Maybe we could automate that. But we should not cut the human out, we need structure to make us better as teams.
Ken Robinson: I gave a talk to a set of pathologists, at the end I was offered a free autopsy. People give what they can. What they were afraid of was the increasing beaurocratization of the field. Is there something peculiar in the culture of medicine that attracts this? Perhaps I’m naive, but you’d expect if you went into surgery they’d check what they’re doing.
AG: It’s less than norm in most fields. In medicine we’ve become specialized atomized units have not been able to find out how to herd the cats, and how to be interested in building organizations that are highly successful. That’s not necessarily something we think we do.
Chris Anderson: Are you trying to create a science of simplicity?
AG: Yes. There are simple solutions to address increasingly high complexity. But, if we believe it’s only technology that handles complexity, we’ll go adrift. Even the tech needs to fit to the people we’re trying to help.
Ryan Phalan: What you’re doing is truly disruptive. It’s not just about new tools, but about changing the arrogance of healthcare.
What did you love? Reactions from the TED crowd
How to spark inner creativity Julie Burstein at TED2012


Westwood Magnolia Parkway Improvement District Organization
Here you can find information on the Westwood Magnolia Parkway Improvement District organization, recent meeting agendas, minutes and annexation request to have land added to the District. If you need any additional information - contact us.
County Community Centers
Many Community Centers through out Montgomery County.
(https://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_l_-_p/parks/community_centers.php)
Montgomery County boasts numerous Parks through out its communities.
(https://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_l_-_p/parks/index.php)
Crighton Theatre
The Crighton Theatre is a truly historic theatre built in 1934, and is the home base for performances offered by Stage-Right Productions, Sounds of Texas Music Series and Christian Youth Theatre.
(http://www.crightontheatre.org/)
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Our foundation is built on the future and through numerous educational outreach programs, we seek to put the arts in the hands of the next generation.
(https://www.woodlandscenter.org/)
Fernland Historical Park
Fernland Historical Park and Museum and Memory Park are two beautiful additions to Montgomery.
(http://www.fernland.org/)
The Heritage Museum of Montgomery County is housed in the Grogan-Cochran home.
(http://heritagemuseum.us/)
Lake Creek Greenway Partnership
The Lake Creek Greenway Partnership is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit corporation formed to promote initiatives that preserve the quality of Lake Creek and surrounding areas. Our emphasis is on enlisting the support of the community to protect water quality and other ecological services for the benefit of current and future generations.
(http://lakecreektx.org/)
Lone Star College System Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
We are part of the University of Houston, and are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
(https://www.sbdc.uh.edu/sbdc/default.asp)
Lone Star College University Center
The LSC-University Center allows students to earn their bachelor's and master's degrees close to home from our partner universities at our facilities in The Woodlands and at University Park.
(http://www.lonestar.edu/university-center/)
LSC-Conroe Center
LSC-Conroe Center is a full-service Lone Star College center that offers affordable college education accessible to north Montgomery County.
(http://www.lonestar.edu/conroecenter.htm)
OLLU offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in
weekday, evening, weekend and online formats.
(https://houston.ollusa.edu/)
Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary
Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity in Montgomery, Texas, whose mission is to rescue and provide a loving, exceptional home to non-releasable wolves and wolfdogs, and to educate the public about these animals.
(https://saintfranciswolfsanctuary.org/)
Sam Houston National Forest
The Sam Houston National Forest WMA has 161,508 acres with 47,609 acres in Montgomery County, 59,746 acres in San Jacinto County, and 54,153 acres in Walker County.
(https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=30)
Sam Houston State University: The Woodlands
Discover a great name in education in your own backyard and become a Bearkat!
(https://www.shsu.edu/academics/woodlands-center/)
We can be your confidant, your cheerleader and your accountability partner on your path to achieving success.
(https://houston.score.org/)
Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC)
We assist in your professional development by providing seminars and education opportunities.
(https://www.sedc.org/)
Tamina Farmers Market
Founded in October 2016, we have undoubtedly become a foodie's farmer's market! Located west of The Woodlands, you will find us just off of FM 1488 & FM 2978 in Magnolia, TX within the Westwood subdivision. Central to Montgomery, Conroe, Spring, Tomball & the Woodlands, we boast a large variety of high-quality farmer and artisan vendors that will keep you coming back each week.
Aside from our amazing vendors and fun, family-friendly vibe; our market is also unique in that it is held on a gravel and grass lot and backs to a beautiful 15 acre tree farm and a future arboretum. The farmer's market is also adjacent to The Culinary Courtyard, which is home to Victory Pie Co. Café, Toffee Cellar, The British Depot, The Chipper and coming soon, Brick & Brews!
(http://www.farmersmarketontamina.com/)
Texas Economic Development Corporation
Ranked #1 by CEOs For the 15th consecutive year, Texas was named the “Best State for Business” by Chief Executive Magazine.
(https://businessintexas.com/)
Texas Energy Economic Development
Entergy Corporation, providing reliable electric power at very competitive rates and extensive support for business relocation and expansion.
(https://goentergy.com/)
Texas Expansion and Relocation Guide
The office provides various services to assist companies and their legal representatives with the expansion and relocation process.
(https://businessintexas.com/resources/expansion-relocation-guide)
The Owen Theatre
The Owen Theatre is an intimate soft seat venue that seats approximately 250 people and is home to The Players Theatre Company.
(http://owentheatre.com/)
Woodforest Golf Club
Designed by the PGA’s own Steve Elkington, Woodforest features 27 holes on a spacious course carved through the majestic pines and towering oaks of Northwest Houston. Since 2001 this classic design has appealed to golfers of all skill levels, deeming it a “player’s course.” Facilities include a pro shop, the Woodforest Grille, driving range, separate putting and chipping greens, and fairway and greenside practice bunkers. Daily private and group instruction is also available from their onsite PGA staff. Woodforest Golf Club is open for daily fee play seven days a week.
(https://www.woodforestgolf.com/)
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Elon Musk is no longer the richest man in the world
The takeover of Twitter and the decline in the value of Tesla did not suit the billionaire.
Elon Musk was on the first step of the podium for the richest men in the world. He succeeded Bill Gates, or even Jeff Bezos. Famous names in the world of technology and social networks. But today it seems that the world of technology is giving way to the world of fashion. Elon Musk must now give way to the top of the ranking of the richest men in the world in favor of the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, according to the ranking “Bloomberg Billionaires”, published on Wednesday.
The 73-year-old is president of the French luxury empire LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moël & Chandon). According to Bloomberg estimates, Elon Musk’s personal fortune has shrunk by more than $100 billion since January to $163.6 billion. Bloomberg has estimated Bernard Arnault’s fortune at $170.8 billion (about €160.6 billion).
Also read> Sleepless nights, layoffs…: A look back at Elon Musk’s first week on Twitter
In the latest “Forbes” ranking, Elon Musk’s fortune is estimated at $176.8 billion, well behind Bernard Arnault ($188.6 billion). These charts are usually based on publicly available information about assets such as stocks, real estate, art and other luxuries owned by celebrities. They are therefore not accurate and can be contested. Bloomberg attributes Musk’s decline in fortune to the takeover of the micro-blogging service Twitter. Shares in electric car maker Tesla have also lost more than 50% of their value this year.
What is this new baguette served in canteens?
Rescued after losing mother, baby wombat caught on camera sucking thumb in caregiver’s arms


Former DCI Bob Gates - New Secretary of Defense
The probable next Secretary of Defense brings a unique background to the table that may have the unintended consequence of healing the rift between current Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the recently created Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Negroponte.
Robert Gates began his government service as a United States Air Force intelligence officer, followed by a career as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. He rose to the position of Deputy Director for Intelligence in 1982, then deputy director in 1986. There was a break in CIA service when he served on the National Security Council. Although he was nominated to be the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) in 1987, he withdrew his name because of controversy over his role in the Iran-Contra affair. Gates served as the deputy National Security Adviser for President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1991, after which he was named the DCI.
Gates served in the senior Bush White House with Brent Scowcroft, James Baker and Colin Powell, all three now against the current policy in Iraq. Gates himself has been somewhat critical of the conduct of the war - not the war itself, but the execution of it.
Besides being a perceived breath of fresh air at the Pentagon, Gates may be able to lessen the tension between the Department of Defense and the DNI. After the creation of the DNI, Secretary Rumsfeld directed that all intelligence matters in the Defense Department be coordinated by the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and that office to be the primary point of contact between the department and the DNI.
In essence, it was Rumsfeld's way of maintaining Defense control over the majority of the country's intelligence assets. Gates, with his intelligence background, may be able to come up with a better arrangement and improve the ailing intelligence system.
Labels: intelligence
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Britain’s “Iron Lady” Dead At The Age Of 87
April 8, 2013 8:02 pm by Nancy Miller
Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Work provided by Chris Collins of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation
Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of England from 1979 to 1990. That was the longest time for any British prime minister since the early 19th century.
Thatcher was Britain’s only female prime minister and she was considered an important leader around the world.
On Monday Thatcher died of a stroke; she was 87 years old.
When she was Prime Minister, Thatcher was considered by most people to be very strong-willed. Her nickname was “The Iron Lady.” Once when her own Conservative party members asked her to tone down her hard decision, she said to them: ‘The lady’s not for turning.’
On the other hand, Thatcher had a vision for her country and she was loyal to it to the end.
She believed strongly in lowering government spending, letting private companies buy government agencies and letting companies compete with each other without government help.
When a terrorist bomb, meant for her, killed five people, she made a speech that evening telling her own party that the British would never give in to terrorism.
One of her best friends was then-U.S. President Ronald Regan, who shared her values. Together they pushed for the collapse of communism and when the Berlin wall (a symbol of communism around the world) came down in 1989, the two leaders felt rewarded.
Finally, Maggie Thatcher’s right-wing (conservative) policies were too hard for the people to take.
When Thatcher approved a new tax for all ordinary citizens, the British people had had enough. After 11 years in power, Thatcher left the Prime Minister’s office.
By Kathleen Tilly
Margaret Thatcher was known as a tough and strong-willed prime minister. Some people loved her and others didn’t.
Do you think all leaders need to be tough and strong-willed? Why or why not?
Reading Prompt:
This article includes many political words and concepts. Some key words are: Conservative, communism and right-wing.
What do these words mean? Use a dictionary or the Internet to look up these terms. Explain what each of them mean in your own words.
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues (OME, Reading: 3.2).
Grammar Feature: Proper and Common Nouns
In this article, ‘prime minister’ is written several times. Read through the article carefully and explain why some sentences have ‘prime minister’ written with capital letters while other sentences don’t.
Tags: Britain, communism, Conservative, England, grade 5, grade 6, grade 7, grade 8, history, international, Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, Ronald Regan


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At Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust we strive to innovate in education and cultivate learning culture in all areas. We actively support the Future Nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses (2018) NMC proficiencies (pg 27-37).
Guys St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has close links with it’s partner universities: Kings College London King’s College London – Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, London South Bank University Home | London South Bank University, Greenwich University and Coventry University. Once a place at university is secured, an NHS Trust is appointed where clinical placements will be offered with 50% of the course in university and 50% in clinical practice.
Guys St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated Trust offering in-hospital and out of hospital (community) placements. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) stipulates the students require a ‘rounded’ experience during their training. This includes medical, surgical, critical care and community experience. Our supportive and engaging placements are planned throughout the duration of training, ensuring diversity and variety of learning experience. This is achieved by provided excellent placements across our integrated services in South East London.
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"Pretty Little Liars" Recap: Hanna and Caleb's Wedding Bells, and Rosewood Jail Cells
Can't have the good without the drama.
By De Elizabeth
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS - "Choose or Lose" - With the Rosewood police closer than ever, A.D. tries to split the Liars apart in an all-new episode of Freeform’s hit original series “Pretty Little Liars,” airing TUESDAY, JUNE 13 (8:00 - 9:01 p.m. EDT). (Freeform/Byron Cohen)SASHA PIETERSE, TYLER BLACKBURNPhoto: Freeform/Byron Cohen
Welcome back to Pretty Little Investigation, a weekly Pretty Little Liars column that will take you into the deepest secrets that Rosewood has to offer. We’ll examine every last loose thread, shady character, and unanswered question in order to crack the prettiest little mystery of all: Who is Uber “A?”
When we last left our favorite Liars, there was serious ~drama~ about to go down in Rosewood. Hanna and Caleb had just gotten engaged (yay!), Spencer was having secret meetings with Mary, and Aria was fully in black hoodie mode. With only three episodes left to go, this season is getting more and more intense. It’s almost too much to handle!
Tonight’s episode opens with Emily and Ali drinking coffee together and being generally adorable. TBH, I barely held it together when Emily tells Ali that she “looks beautiful in the morning.” We’ve waited seven years for this, and it’s too cute.
Ali apologizes for tossing and turning all night, and Emily reminds her that they can still have a good morning even if they had a rough night’s sleep. They start to head into the bedroom when suddenly they stop in their tracks: the Liar’s Lament board game is perched against the bed, and it seems to have moved rooms all on its own. Before they can wonder what might have happened, they are startled by a banging on the front door: it’s the Rosewood Police...with a search warrant. Turns out that officers are showing up at all of the Liars’ houses at the same time, looking for evidence linked to the murder of Archer Dunhill.
We then cut to Spencer, storming into the Rosewood Police Department building looking for Marco, except he’s nowhere to be found. Instead, she encounters Detective Tanner (!!!), who informs her that she’s now on the Dunhill case. Tanner explains that Marco had been “too conflicted” in his approach to solving the murder, and so he took himself off the case. Before Spencer leaves, Tanner promises to get to the bottom of the mystery.
At the Brew, we see police officers leaving with boxes of evidence. Once Aria is alone, we start to hear a cell phone ringing. The sound is coming from the vents, and Aria removes the cover in the wall to reveal a phone hidden in the crevice. She picks it up and notes a missed call from A.D. Upon calling back, we hear A.D. on the other line in a deep, distorted voice.
A.D.: Since the police took your phone, I got you a new one.
Aria: I want to meet you.
A.D.: IDK if that’s a good idea.
Aria: Please, I’ve literally done everything you asked.
A.D.: Fine. Wear the uniform. I’ll text you the details.
While Aria is busy planning a date night with A.D., the rest of the Liars – plus Caleb – are holed up in a room at the Radley together. Spencer presents the other girls with burner phones, and Caleb says he’s going to start trying to locate the game, which has disappeared yet again from Ali’s house. Hanna goes to open a room service dish and finds the game’s phone lying on a bed of lettuce. The phone immediately lights up with the words: “Choose or lose. Just one plea, the rest go free. If no one steps up, you all go down.” They realize that A.D. is asking one of them to turn themselves in for Archer’s murder – or else they will all face jail time. A countdown clock appears on the phone; they have 36 hours to make the decision.
Suddenly, Mona storms into the hotel room and casually suggests that they should talk to Aria – since she’s on the “A” team. Naturally, the other girls are shocked to hear this, so Mona starts revealing all the things we’ve seen Aria do over the past couple of weeks, right on down to the phone call she had with A.D. in tonight’s episode. The Liars are all stunned, but they want concrete proof.
Later that day, Spencer is getting coffee at the Brew when Toby comes in, sporting some new facial hair. He reveals that Tanner had called him, which is why he returned to Rosewood from his cabin on the lake. Toby admits that he thinks Tanner is building a solid case, and Spencer appears nervous. Before she leaves, he mentions that she’s welcome to come visit his cabin anytime. Aw, #Spoby.
A few hours later, we see Aria sporting the black hoodie, wandering through the woods. She gets a text from A.D., who tells her that she looks good in the uniform. Suddenly, Aria hears the sound of a branch breaking and she runs towards it...only to find herself face to face with the Liars.
Naturally, the girls are furious at Aria, who tries to explain. She tells her friends that A.D. had been blackmailing her with the report that she had written about Ezra but never filed. The girls don’t accept her explanation, with Ali snapping: “Was it a no-brainer to pick Ezra over us?” But it’s Spencer who seems the angriest, in light of the recording that Aria had planted in her home in the previous episode. Their argument is broken up by a phone call from Tanner, who demands to see all five girls at the police station. Spencer tells Aria that she can find her own ride, and they leave her in the woods – alone. Yikes.
Some time later, the Liars are all waiting in the police station for Tanner. The detective joins them and announces that she wanted to discuss some of the evidence that the officers have found. She then reveals that they discovered windshield glass in Spencer’s shower drain that matches the fragments that were underneath Archer’s fingernails. Tanner also announces that they analyzed the Liars’ computer search history, as well as the Radley video footage from the night that Archer went missing. She explains that she wants to give the girls a chance to tell their side of the story before “her side becomes the only side.” Spencer, speaking for all of the Liars, asks Tanner if they’re done, and the Detective reluctantly agrees that they can leave. OK, this does not look good.
On the drive home, Aria calls A.D. on her new cell phone. She’s clearly upset and starts yelling that A.D. got her to turn against all of her friends. “I’ve done everything you asked me to do and you’ve given me nothing,” Aria shouts. “I’m done.”
Unfortunately, it won’t be that easy. A.D. reminds her that their relationship isn’t over until they say it is, and that something big would happen the following day. Sorry, Aria; looks like you’ll have to hold onto that black hoodie a little while longer.
The next day, the Liars (minus Aria) are together discussing their “choose or lose” dilemma. Hanna suggests that she turn herself in, since she’s the one who hit Archer with the car. Spencer says she should turn herself in, because of the snafu with Archer’s credit card at the Radley. And Ali insists that it’s really her fault, since she married him in the first place. Emily points out that this is exactly what A.D. wants – for them to turn on one another. She adds that what happened to Aria could have happened to any of them, and reminds Spencer that she was once convinced to play for the “A” team, too. That seems to resonate with Spencer, who gets up suddenly, telling the others that she has something to do.
Meanwhile at the Radley, Caleb is busy on his laptop trying to locate the game when Ashley walks up and demands to know what’s going on with Hanna, inquiring if she is covering for someone in relation to Archer’s murder.
We then cut to the loft, where Hanna is incredulous that Caleb told her mom the truth about everything. But he reminds her that they’re in this together, and that he couldn’t lie to her mom. Hanna apologizes for “involving him in this mess,” and he takes her hand, clearly saying a million things without uttering anything at all.
Across town, Spencer shows up at Aria’s apartment with an old photo of the Liars. Clearly feeling nostalgic, she tells Aria that she’s sorry for some of the things she said the previous night, and Aria apologizes too. Before they can fully patch things up, the police arrive to return boxes of evidence that they had taken from the apartment and the Brew. Tanner is with the other officers, and she tells Aria that she’s no longer a person of interest in the Dunhill case, as she was “spotted” in New Hampshire the night of his murder. Clearly this is A.D. stepping in to “help” Aria, and Spencer knows it too, because she storms out the door, glaring icily at Aria before she leaves. Just as Spencer is leaving, Ezra walks in. Seeing the cops, he turns to Aria to ask what’s going on.
After the police leave, Aria sits down with Ezra to talk. She confides in him about the file that A.D. had been holding over her head, but to her surprise (and ours), he already knew about it. He admits that he found it the other night after she had fallen asleep. However, he’s not upset about it; he says that Aria had every right to be angry with him for lying to her about the book he was writing about Ali, and for taking advantage of her and her friends when they first met. (Um. Yep. He’s right, because it was a seriously messed up thing to do.) Aria says she wants to tell him everything, but first she leans in for a kiss, noting that he might not want to kiss her again after he knows the truth about her time on the “A” team.
Mean. While.
Caleb takes Hanna to...a court house. OMG. And he has rings in his pocket! He tells her that they should “do this while they still can” and he points out that if they’re married, they can’t testify against one another. (I’m not really on the “Caleb is A.D. train,” but this would be a mastermind move if he were A.D. Just saying.) Ashley walks up just then, holding a bridal bouquet for Hanna. She tells them that tomorrow, it’s going to be all hands on deck with the lawyer she hired, but tonight, they’re celebrating. They head into the courthouse … and … CALEB AND HANNA GET MARRIED. That sound you just heard? That’s all of the #Haleb shippers squealing in delight.
It’s certainly an evening of romance, because while Caleb and Hanna are tying the knot, #Emison are having a sweet night of their own. Ali surprises Emily with a candlelit picnic in the woods, complete with pillows and blankets. “If this is our last chance at freedom, let’s make the most of it,” Ali says before they kiss under the night sky. Aww.
#Spoby shippers weren’t left out of the equation, as the next scene shows Spencer arriving at Toby’s cabin. Or, wait…is that Spencer? Sorry, but I have to point out that she’s not wearing her signature watch (an accessory that was also missing in that airport scene), she’s dressed in all black, and her hair is super-straight. At one point, she makes a flippant comment and Toby literally says: “That doesn’t sound like the Spencer I know.” They end up kissing, and while their scene is just as romantic as the others, it’s hard to shake that feeling that Spencer is acting so strange and unlike herself. All aboard the twin theory train!
Later that night, the Liars are all gathered together (minus Aria, once again) as they await the timer to run out on the game phone. When it does, the phone flashes the words: “Choose or lose. What’s your choice?” To everyone’s surprise, Spencer responds by saying, “I’ll tell you what our choice is,” and smashes the phone with a rock.
Hanna: Why didn’t we think of that earlier?
Me: SRSLY, GUYS.
Just then, Caleb announces that he finally got a location on the game board, so he leaves to enlist Ezra’s help.
Over at Aria’s apartment, she’s calling A.D. yet again – this time to announce that she’s going to turn herself in. Unfortunately, A.D. tells her that it’s too late, the time has run out, and she’s already won the game. Suddenly, her phone legit catches fire and she drops it on the floor in shock. She grabs her real cell phone from the evidence box and sprints to the door.
In the car, Aria is en route to Spencer’s house when all of a sudden, her car stalls to a full stop. Aria gets out of the car and slowly walks around it, inspecting the vehicle. When she reaches the trunk, she opens it hesitantly...and..OMG THERE’S A DEAD BODY AND IT’S MISSING A FINGER. Clearly this is Archer’s dead body, which Aria realizes as well, and she slams the trunk...just as a cop car pulls up behind her. Oh. No.
As the episode comes to a close, Ezra and Caleb are together, trying to locate the game. They’ve traced it to an apartment...which belongs to Mona. We then see Mona standing over the board game, looking fascinated. She’s wearing her old glasses from high school, and appears to be completely entranced with the structure of the game in front of her. Aaaand then, blackout.
Gaaaaaahhhhh!
Burning questions from tonight’s episode:
Real talk: is Mona helping the Liars? What does she know that they don’t know?
Is Mama Marin going to save the day? Can’t all of the PLL moms just get together and take care of this trouble?
Soooo was that Spencer in Toby’s cabin? Or was it #Twincer? All these twin clues have to mean something!
Speaking of Spencer’s twin, are we ever going to find out what happened with her meeting with Wren?!
Will the girls ever forgive Aria?!
Speaking of Aria, will she have to give back her black hoodie?
Most importantly: how are we going to make it another week before we get more answers?!?!?!
Related: The Pretty Little Liars Cast Couldn't Stop Crying When They Filmed THIS Scene
Keywordspretty little liarstv recaps
Wednesday Season 2 Is Officially Happening
Find out everything you need to know about season 2 HERE.
By Kaitlyn McNab
Scream 6 Trailer Shows A Bloody Jenna Ortega Battling Ghostface
The “most aggressive and violent” Ghostface we’ve ever seen.
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 Will Make Fans Upset, Says Antonia Gentry
“It’s a messy, messy situation.”
Will There Be a Ginny & Georgia Season 3?
“I love a good cliffhanger,” says the showrunner. 👀


Air Force seeks software for distributed adaptive planning
By Sean Lyngaas
The Air Force Research Laboratory is looking for software that will allow continuity of air, space and cyber operations even when communications capabilities are reduced.
The Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate seeks software that will allow distributed users to autonomously assess Air Force operations, identify deviations from plans and recommend adjustments during periods of reduced communications.
Air Force officials, like their counterparts in other military services, believe warfare is increasingly multifaceted and involves the ability to disrupt an information environment. In the event that a command and control system is hindered by anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) efforts, the service wants its software to keep operations running.
The goals of the broad R&D efforts described in the announcement, dubbed the Distributed Operations program, are to fill technology gaps for planning, execution and assessment and to apply those capabilities within a distributed architecture to boost resiliency.
"By developing these capabilities and achieving this goal, AFRL expects an order-of-magnitude improvement in the duration of maintaining continuity of air, space and cyber operations at a forward node subject to contested communications," the document states.
Respondents are asked to consider the Air Force's Theater Air Control System and Theater Air Ground System as examples of operational environments for candidate technologies.
The program’s total funding is expected to be $9.9 million through fiscal 2019, with close to half ($4.5 million) being awarded in fiscal 2018.
Click here to read the announcement.
This article originally appeared on FCW, a sister site to GCN.
NEXT STORY: School in Silicon Valley aims to train more software engineers


Seven in the Past
Times and Epochs
Moreover
Турнир святого Георгия
Андрей Залунин
THEY WERE READY TO KILL. WE ARE NOT
Medieval tournament: then and now
Who is stronger, a medieval or a modern knight? Which armour is more solid – the original or the one made by the reenactors? What was a medieval tournament like then and what is it now? Let’s try to find out together with the St. George’s Tournament organiser, a knight who took part in many international tourneys, Dmitry Savchenko.
— – What’s the difference between physical training for modern and medieval knights? Who is stronger and why (if we can compare them at all)?
— Who is stronger: a hedgehog or a rabbit? It’s a very complicated thing, to make a hedgehog fight with a rabbit to find out who is stronger. And it’s literally impossible to compare modern jousters with their medieval counterparts. They lived then, we live now.
Probably a modern knight has more tournaments in his career. However even the grandest ones, like St. George’s Tournament are incomparable with those held in the Middle Ages, when hundreds of fighters could come and participate.
As for the armour, we make it from a modern shaped steel and it seem to be more solid. Physically we are also rather healthier: we eat better. Although if with the medicine of the epoch one lived till 20, he was such a weather-beaten guy who was afraid of nothing.
Maybe if a modern knight met with a famous fighter Jacques de Lalaing, I would bet on the latter. This choice doesn’t have a foundation though.
They were different people. They had a different attitude to risk, life or death. For us it’s an entertainment, for them it was their life. It’s a different level of risk, and that’s important. They were ready to kill. We are not.
We are unable to reenact the mind of a medieval man. It is impossible. That’s why I always say: we’re not playing as if we were knights. To be a medieval knight nowadays is inconceivable.
— What it meant to be a knight in the 15th century?
– A knight was a title one had to deserve. Even kings and dukes were not born knights, but got this title for their service, even if nominal.
Thus the question what was it like to be a knight in 15th century is easy on the one hand, because it meant to serve. On the other hand, one can serve in different ways. A lot depended on a person, his qualities and origin. Some are better known to us as the military, some – as noble men, others as politicians. In this case there’s no single answer.
– A modern man doesn’t have to serve to become a knight. But how can he take part in the St. George’s Tournament? How much to train?
– It’s always better to train more, than to train less.
Apart from, let’s say, physical training a would-be participant is to have good reenactment preparation. There has to be right armour, a civilian dress, a saddle… On the whole, lots of expensive and absolutely useless in the ordinary life things and skills.
Thus there are very few people who can take part in the St. George’s Tournament.
— And how did the knights get to the 15th century tournaments, who had the right to compete?
— Some knights were invited by the organisers, the other were members of the tournament teams of the noblemen. There were no common requirements. For example, in the end of the 15th century — beginning of the 16th in Augsburg there was a full-fledged tournament with jousting, and even not noble people were able to participate.
However the spectacular tournaments organised by the elite had among the participants only the knights of the same rank. For example, I can hardly imagine a situation from the film ‘A Knight’s Tale’ with Heath Ledger happening in the 15th century. There his character presents a false patent of nobility to take part in the tournament. In the real Middle Ages the career of such an adventurer would be short, and his destiny rather unenviable.
— How many years have you been training? Did it become easier or more difficult for you? Is it still interesting to joust, the way it was during your first tournaments?
— I got up on the horse in 2005, my first serious tournament (trainings and performances don’t count) was in 2006. Whether it became easier… Well, on the one hand, I feel more confident, with the experience and everything. On the other… 13 years ago I felt better physically.
As for the interest, there is no such flame like before, when it doesn’t matter where, how and with whom, just to fight. Now I agree to take part not in each tournament: no time for everything, and not many tournaments can surprise me.
Although if there was no interest, I wouldn’t do it. It’s just the interest became selective.I like a lot the tournaments overseas. There are new adversaries, and the trip itself, and in general it’s pleasant to joust at a tournament you don’t have to organise! Nothing to worry about, and you can concentrate on performing, without thinking of some organisational matters.
By the by, speaking about the organisation. At some point I understood that it’s more interesting to organise cute tournaments than to take part in them. It’s very difficult to refuse participation in the St. George’s though, it’s objectively a cool tournament.
— Indeed, you can compare. By the way, you mentioned a modern knight has more tournaments in his career than his medieval counterpart. Can you describe your experience, what tournaments did you partake in?
— The geography is already impressive, I can well boast: the US, Great Britain, France, Denmark, Australia, the Netherlands. To say nothing of Ukraine and Belarus. And also the biggest tournaments in Russia.
The most important one is certainly my first international tournament at the festival Times and Epochs in 2013. Then the ambulance came for me right after the first tilt… And three months later I already won a tournament in Kiev.
In 2014 I went to the US, to the Tournament of the Phoenix. Met lots of interesting people there, later it helped me in my career. In 2016, in Denmark, took part in the championship with 22 horsemen from all over the planet.
In 2017 won the Tournament of the Order of St. Michael in France, and in 2018 visited the St. Ives Tournament in Australia, thus I have taken part in all the three grandest international historical solid tournaments. By the way, the Australian one is the toughest tournament I have ever done.
— Nowadays the organisation of a tournament is a very expensive and complicated work. Only rare enthusiasts do it. How expensive and complicated it was in the 15th century?
— Expensive and complicated. We have many descriptions of the pompous medieval tournaments made by the eyewitnesses.
For example, description of the ‘Golden Tree’, one of the most spectacular tournaments of the time. John Paston, Tommaso Portinari, Giacomo Panigarola, Georges Chastelain, Jean de Wavrin, Jean d’Henin, Olivier de la March and many other wrote about it.
Some descriptions are full of details of costumes, decorations, feasts and armours. Even then it was a tremendous budget. We can only dream of it!
Ethnographic methods of food preservation
MARCH TO ESKI-KERMEN
Part 2. The march
TIMES & EPOCHS 2018


Vatican Researcher Has Revealed The Date The World Will End
I'll be partying on Mont-Royal, who's down?
Teddy Elliot
ID 97900531 © Ig0rzh | Dreamstime.com
New analysis has revealed when exactly the end of the world is happening. Of course, we all know that the world was supposed to end in 2000 and in 2012 and last year and...you get it, the world has ended a lot. This time, however, the evidence is quite conclusive.
Whether or not it has already happened and we're all living in some flat-earth simulation doesn't matter. Point is, according to science, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper (you know the one), has a sinister message somewhere in the painting.
The message? The world will end thanks to a "universal flood", according to Italian art expert Sabrina Sforza Galitzia.
TL;DR An Italian art expert has evaluated Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and has discovered a definitive end of the world date. Sabrina Sforza Galitzia works at the Vatican Archives and deduced that da Vinci left us a message that the world would for sure end by the year 4006.
Sforza Galitzia based her predictions on Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting. According to The Express U.K., she discovered a "mathematical" puzzle regarding the half-moon window above Christ's head. She's apparently deciphered it.
According to her calculations, the world will definitely end sometime around March 21st, 4006. But will definitely be gone by November 1st, 4006.
[rebelmouse-image 26893299 photo_credit="Wikimedia Commons" expand=1 original_size="2000x1000"] Wikimedia Commons
She believes that this puzzle accurately predicts the year that the world will end. That year is 4006 and that a great flood will consume humanity as we know it. Yikes.
After publishing a study on da Vinci for the Vatican, Sforza Galitzia continued her tireless work into deciphering the so-called "da Vinci code". She's currently writing a book that will attempt to explain the code which involved signs of the zodiac and 24 letters of the Latin alphabet.
Leonardo da Vinci was a renowned Renaissance painter that is shown in galleries all over the world. His most famous, "The Mona Lisa", occupies the Louvre in Paris.
da Vinci was a man shrouded in mystery, with many people throughout the years trying to decipher his apparent code. Many have tried and failed to figure out what da Vinci was trying to tell us in his art.
As recently as 2003, Dan Brown's "The da Vinci Code" captured the world's imagination after he made claims that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus and pregnant with his child.
If the year 4006 seems fake to you, it's because it's 1,987 years away. If we are still alive, we'll see what actually happens.
While this is a laughable prospect it is interesting to note that this is one of the first times I've seen a world-ending prediction that isn't in the immediate future.
Since the end of the world predictions come and go without much happening, let's not put too much stock into this one.
If it is true, let's enjoy our remaining 1,987 years on this planet, shall we?


Segregation used to ‘manage’ mentally ill women prisoners
New report finds some prisoners with complex mental health problems were experiencing up to 82 days in segregation.
Report looked at treatment of women at Cornton Vale Prison. iStock
By STV News
Almost 80% of women inmates ‘have had significant head injuries’
Young offenders institute healthcare staff ‘overstretched’
Scotland’s shame: How do we solve the poverty pandemic?
Custody peer mentor scheme aims to break reoffending cycle
Scotland’s only all female prison appears to be using segregation as a way to manage “high levels of distress” experienced by inmates with complex mental health problems, a new report has claimed.
The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland looked at the treatment of prisoners with complex mental health problems, and found some were experiencing up to 82 days in segregation.
This could see women spending some 22 hours a day in cells in Cornton Vale Prison, which were described as “sparse and lacking in comfort”.
However the Commission noted that the women “seemed more disturbed in the SRU (Separation and Reintegration Unit) environment and accounts of their stress and distressed behaviours more pronounced”.
The report added: “For women who were floridly unwell with acute psychosis or manic psychosis, the severity of their symptoms and level of disturbance significantly worsened in the SRU.”
The Commission went on to say it was “concerning to see how little mental health staff were sometimes able to engage with and support women who were acutely mentally ill or distressed”.
A total of 23 women prisoners were kept under Rule 41 – where a health professional requests they are either confined to their cell or put into segregation – for mental health reasons during 2020.
A total of 25 of these episodes were recorded, with these lasting from one day to 82 days, with an average length of just over a month (32 days).
In 17 cases, women were in the SRU for at least part of the time they were subject to this rule – with the length of time this applied ranging from one to 70 days.
The Commission said: “For those women with more complex mental health problems and vulnerabilities, for whom hospital care was often not an option, segregation appeared to be used as a way to manage their high levels of distress and behavioural disturbance in the custody environment, though it appeared to only lead to escalation.”
With a contract awarded last year to replace the existing Cornton Vale women’s prison with a new facility on the same site outside Stirling, the Commission noted that it was “planned that women with mental health needs will no longer be cared for in the SRU”.
Instead, the report told how the segregation unit in the new building would be “used solely for women requiring segregation for disciplinary issues” and that women with “high care needs due to mental health” should be cared for in what was described as an “enhanced needs area”.
The Commission said it has also been told by the Scottish Prison Service that it had updated training for new prison officers in autumn of 2020, to include “a more prominent focus on mental health and trauma-informed care”.
The report was produced in the wake of work by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), which visited prisons and police facilities in Scotland in 2018.
And while the Commission reviewed the records of nine women, who all received mental health care while in prison between 2017 and 2020, it said its report posed questions for the wider prison system.
It found cases of delays in transferring mentally unwell prisoners to hospital, saying that the records showed “patterns of escalating symptoms, indicating that each woman’s acute illness was evolving whilst they were not receiving the inpatient care and treatment they urgently required”.
It also highlighted “repeated inequalities” of women in prison being unable to readily access intensive psychiatric care unit (IPCU) beds or secure forensic female beds, due to a lack of facilities and pressure on local services.
Claire Lamza, senior manager at the Mental Welfare Commission, said: “This document opens a window on the lives of some of the most marginalised women in society.
“It gives some insight into the irreparable damage that is being done to those individuals, and we can only imagine the wider impact on their families and communities.
“We hope this detailed review will be read and acted upon by those who are examining Scotland’s future approach to the best ways to care for mentally unwell people in prison.
“While changes are being made at Cornton Vale, the wider situation needs to be addressed, and Scotland as a society needs to do more.”
Cornton Vale
Mental Welfare Commission
Scottish Prison Service


Advancing Women’s Learning Without Any Fanfare
By Steve Lipman May 16, 2017 2:57 pm
In Orthodox feminist circles, Rabbanit Chana Henkin is considered a pioneer. A native of Spring Valley in Rockland County and a graduate of Stern College, she moved in 1972 with her husband, Rabbi Yehuda Henkin, to Israel, where she founded Nishmat, an independent institution of higher Torah learning for women.
In the last 27 years, Rabbanit Henkin has played a role in educating thousands of women, and training more than 100 to serve as Yoatzot Halacha, experts in the laws of family purity and other health issues.
Rabbanit Henkin, who was a torch-lighter during Israel’s recent official Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration, spoke to us by phone last week in advance of Nishmat’s annual gala dinner, Sunday, June 4, at Espace in Manhattan.
Q.: Israel has a number of seminaries where young women go for advanced Jewish learning. How does yours differ?
A.: Most of the seminaries are post-high school years, which is very important in grounding a high school graduate’s Jewish identity. Nishmat, which has multi-year studies, reaches far beyond that identity-establishing year.
What type of learning opportunities were open to young Jewish women when you were growing up?
There really wasn’t anything outside of the academic world. If what you were looking for was development of textual proficiency, there wasn’t an avenue available for women. Advanced Torah scholarship is based on years of advanced study in a beit midrash [study hall] … that’s where you develop the ability to analyze the broad base of knowledge.
We Jews are people of the book. It doesn’t make sense that 50 percent of your people should be excluded from the book.
We’re finding that women from all over the world come to us for a Jewish learning experience. Some have a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew, or have no knowledge at all. If their interest is sincere, we’re there for them.
“On the whole, the tide has turned against the slippery slope argument, in favor of women as partners in sustaining Jewish life.”
Some critics of women learning traditional “men’s subjects” are concerned such programs will lead to women becoming ordained, which they see as contrary to halacha.
I see a sea of change in the climate in the United States … since the Orthodox Union statement [on female rabbis, issued in February]. What is germane to me is not what they ruled out but what they ruled in … [recognizing] the need for contributions by women Torah scholars. On the whole, the tide has turned against the slippery slope argument, in favor of women as partners in sustaining Jewish life.
There is certainly greater receptivity in the Orthodox community.
We have not expanded into the charedi world, because the charedi world does not promote women’s study of Talmud.
It seems that advances in women’s ritual roles in the Orthodox community seem to stir up less controversy in Israel than here in the U.S.
In Israel, the women’s learning movement preceded the Orthodox feminist movement. It was not viewed as threatening, but rather as a natural outgrowth of women’s changing position in the world. [In the United States], some of the militant statements [made] as Orthodox “feminism” brought many rabbis and lay people to circle the wagons. That never happened in Israel. We’re in the business of addressing women’s needs. We never aroused vocal opposition. The rhetoric was never divisive.